3plus days at Flounders Reef on 7day?

[miketiuf]

1st time cruiser going 6/1 for 7 day, can I get more than 3 reservations at Flounders Reef Nursery, or is 3 the limit.
Am planning to arrive at Port around 11:00, if possible.
Also, if want Palo and Surial Spa reservations which do I do first? Counting down, so excited.

 

[GoofyDisney]

Conventional wisdom says that when you first sign up for FR, you write down every night, then cancel as you go. (Make sure you are familiar with cancelation policy) They will call your room and leave you a message about whether they are expecting you the following evening. But sign up for every night when you make your reservation, it will save you a trip later and the possibility of not getting what you want.

There is no time you can do brunch and have your child in FR on the days at sea. If you don't have someone traveling with you who can watch your kids, you may have to pass on brunch or do it one day while you are in port. As for the Surial, you will need to schedule that for after 1 pm use FR at the same time you are in the spa.

FR doesn't open for ressies until after Palos and the Spa open for ressies. So, do Palos then the Spa, then head to FR to wait outside till they open the door.

11:00 am is good to arrive at the port. You can check in and then get in line. There are tvs in the lobby, but it means someone will have to stand in line, while someone else is with kids by the tvs since they are separate.

Have a great cruise!!!!!!!

 

[stephmarty]

FYI, we were waiting outside Flounder's when they opened the doors on the first day. Doors open at 1:30, we got there around 1:15 and were 4th in line. This was good, as reservation requests are granted on a 1st come 1st served basis according to the brochure. We requested everyday, then cancelled the ones we didn't want when we got the call in our cabin that we got our slot. We received all of the times we requested, including both days at sea, with the exception of one night. In our case, our daughter was already a "Flounder's Reef dropout" by midweek, so the day we didn't get was no big deal. She doesn't go to daycare here at home, and just didn't like being left. But it wasn't for lack of trying on the staff's part--they did everything they possibly could to try and make her happy. If your child doesn't usually suffer separation anxiety, they should really enjoy themselves at FR. Our daughter loved playing there when we were there with her.

 

[jlima]

We asked for & received every night + one afternoon at FRN on the 7/7 cruise last year.

This was a few weeks after the concierge staff stopped making FRN reservations, and we were in a cat 3 cabin. I don't know if they gave more attention to those in cat 1, 2 or 3 cabins, but we got a spot every night for DS16mos. He loved it there, but he was in regular day care and was accustomed to being cared for by others. I wish you could have charged tips for the FRN staff to our cabin; they aren't set up to do that. I gave them cash.

Do get there as early as possible on your embarcation day!! I made it to FRN by 1:40 on embarcation day; about 8 people had already signed the list.

Hope this helps!!

 

[miketiuf]

Thanks for your replies. They have been extremely helpful. I am an at home mom w/4 kids, only the 2 year old is still at home, in no rush for preschool, but w/out a regular sitter or nearby family I was hoping for a few hours here and there on the cruise. She seems to do well with other people especially if there are toys and other distractions to occupy her.

I will follow your leads for reserv.s, will share my experience when I return. Thanks again.

 

[miketiuf]

Can't remember can FR be charged to room and tip must be cash or is whole thing cash only?

 

[akasleepingbeauty]

The charges for Flounder's can be charged to your on-board account. Tips for FR employees cannot be as this is not considered a "tipped" position - you can tip them but they are not considered by DCL to generally receive tips so they do not allow it to be done through your on-board account. We gave each of the 3 FR employees who cared for our dd the majority of the time a phone card and thank you note and they were very appreciative.

When we cruised last year, you were only GUARANTEED 3 (or was it 4?) times (of which only one was supposed to be a formal night) but were allowed to request as many as you needed. I was told this was set up to allow a greater number of families the chance to have at least one night in FR. We requested each night and 2 separate daytime stays and received all of them without a problem.

Happy cruising!

 

[redpants]

How many sessions you may request/get depends on how many children are on the boat. In January, the ship had SOOOO many kids, we were told to prioritize our choices #1, #2, and #3, which they were able to fulfill. Even though we requested to be put on the waiting list for additional sessions, we were never called--nor were any of the other two families we were traveling with.

The Flounders staff knows how full the ship is prior to cruising, so they will be able to tell you how many sessions can be realistically requested at the pre-registration.

Have fun!