Rhapsody of the Seas: More For Families

In the past, young families with infants and toddlers had a difficult decision to make if they wanted to take a cruise. If their children were too young for the youth program—for which they usually had to be at least three years old and potty trained—their options were limited. With Royal Caribbean’s Royal Babies and Royal Tots program, they can now take a cruise with the assurance that their tiny cruisers will be well taken care of when mom and dad want to participate in adult activities.

Rhapsody of the Seas’ new nursery for babies 6 to 36 months old has drop-off options during the day and in the evening. Parents are given a special bag for their little one’s diapers, wipes, and other supplies that they bring along when they check into the nursery. There is an $8 per hour charge and a maximum of eight babies and toddlers can be accommodated. With one staff member on hand for 4 children, the care is personal and attentive—and they even change diapers so there’s no need for a beeper call for mom or dad to come and take care of it. Food is even delivered for the little ones at lunch and dinner. Parents can instruct caregivers about their children’s preferences at nap time and, if for instance they like to be read a story or be sung to sleep with a lullaby, that will be taken care of.

For fun, there is an assortment of Fisher-Price toys that babies and toddlers can play with and there’s a daily play time for parents to join in. Parents can even plan to pack lighter by ordering the supplies they need—organic baby food and diapers, wipes, and creams by Huggies will be delivered to them upon arrival in their staterooms.

There’s no longer a need to leave little cruisers behind at Camp Grandma since Royal Caribbean has made it so easy to travel with them.

Photo: © CruiseDiva.com