Open Play
An area unique to the Oasis Class (Oasis, Allure, Harmony, Symphony) ships is the open play area in the center of the Adventure Ocean facility. This space has toys, both large and small, for children six months to 6 years. My kids used this a few times on the cruise. It's a nice option if your child wants to play inside, rather than in the sun/rain. It is unsupervised, so you need to remain there with the child(ren), and socks need to be worn, no shoes! My big guy kept playing with the giant Legos, and my little one was fascinated with the slide as you can see in the final picture on the right (below) ;) The hours are 9 am-10 pm, so it's a nice chunk of the day that the kids can use it.
AquaNauts
Aquanauts is the room for kids ages 3-5. My older son was part of this group during our trip.
He went each night for Adventure Dining (5-7pm). We dropped him off at the room before 5 pm and they took the kids up to the Windjammer Buffet and served pizza, chicken nuggets, and french fries. While repetitive, this works for MOST kids. It worked for him until the final night when he said: "I don't want to eat the same thing again!"
From 7 pm-10 pm he attended the evening sessions back in the Aquanauts room with organized activities. If you check out my other post about Adventure Ocean, I have scanned and posted each day's events for all Adventure Ocean groups. Not just Aquanauts. He had a lot of fun. They had everything from Circus school, face painting, hero capes, science experiments, art projects and more.
He went each night for Adventure Dining (5-7pm). We dropped him off at the room before 5 pm and they took the kids up to the Windjammer Buffet and served pizza, chicken nuggets, and french fries. While repetitive, this works for MOST kids. It worked for him until the final night when he said: "I don't want to eat the same thing again!"
From 7 pm-10 pm he attended the evening sessions back in the Aquanauts room with organized activities. If you check out my other post about Adventure Ocean, I have scanned and posted each day's events for all Adventure Ocean groups. Not just Aquanauts. He had a lot of fun. They had everything from Circus school, face painting, hero capes, science experiments, art projects and more.
In the Adventure Ocean complex there are a few specialty rooms as well. They have a full Science Lab and Art Studio, as well as a theater for their black-light puppet show and movie screenings. This is, by far, the most exciting kids club I've ever seen on a ship!
Royal Babies & Tots
Our, almost, one year old went to the Royal Babies & Tots Nursery on every night. Sometimes we sent him during dinner, and we always sent him while we went to shows. The remaining time on the cruise he was with us. Cost is $6 an hour before 6 pm and $8 an hour after 6 pm. The nursery bill was the biggest chunk of our onboard charges. However, having some kid-free time on vacation was a nice touch.
We've used the nursery onboard a few other Royal Caribbean and Disney cruises in the past. On this trip, I wasn't overly impressed, but they kept the kids safe and happy. That's the main point. Is it the ideal environment I would want my kid in back home for daycare? No. They seemed to be overwhelmed with the number of kids. They maxed out at eight babies at a time, but when four cried at once, I can understand the challenge. There were a few extreme criers that did make it challenging for the nursery workers. We saw a lot of the babies in their strollers in front of the TV while the women were tending to the kids who needed attention.
My younger son went nightly, so he was always asleep 30 minutes after dropping him off. They kept him in his stroller for sleeping, which made getting him back to the room a snap! On the two occasions we sent him before dinner, they had me answer questions about what he could eat, and they fed him shredded chicken, mashed potatoes, and carrots. They changed diapers, gave bottles, and did their best to ensure that each child was safe and happy. I will use the service again on our next Royal cruise (right now that's next December on the Independence)
We've used the nursery onboard a few other Royal Caribbean and Disney cruises in the past. On this trip, I wasn't overly impressed, but they kept the kids safe and happy. That's the main point. Is it the ideal environment I would want my kid in back home for daycare? No. They seemed to be overwhelmed with the number of kids. They maxed out at eight babies at a time, but when four cried at once, I can understand the challenge. There were a few extreme criers that did make it challenging for the nursery workers. We saw a lot of the babies in their strollers in front of the TV while the women were tending to the kids who needed attention.
My younger son went nightly, so he was always asleep 30 minutes after dropping him off. They kept him in his stroller for sleeping, which made getting him back to the room a snap! On the two occasions we sent him before dinner, they had me answer questions about what he could eat, and they fed him shredded chicken, mashed potatoes, and carrots. They changed diapers, gave bottles, and did their best to ensure that each child was safe and happy. I will use the service again on our next Royal cruise (right now that's next December on the Independence)
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