Free child care at Castaway Cay???

[mickey7879]

I saw on the DCL website that there is free child care at Castaway Cay? Really? Do you need to reserve this ahead of time? How does this work? Does this count towards how many hrs you'd have reserved in the nursery?

I've never cruised with kids before. Mine will be 3.5 yrs and 15 months then.

 

[averysmom]

The free childcare is the Oceanear club / lab that they run on Castaway that day instead of on the ship. The last time I sailed, the nursery still ran on the ship - but there was still a charge. So your 3.5 year old could go the the club, but your 15 month old would still only be able to go to the nursery for a fee.

 

[mom2aidanNpiper]

On Castaway Cay day, the Oceaneers Club and Lab are not open on the ship for the period that the ship is docked there. All the staff members for that move to Scuttles Cove on the Island. The check in/out process is the same. Because there are no hours for the Lab/Club it doesn't count one way or another. If your 3.5 year old is potty trained, they would be in the Club.

I am not sure about Flounders Nursery on the ship (the under 3/not potty trained group) when the ship is at CC.

 

[Luckymomoftwo]

I copied this from the FAQ sticky thread. This is for children 3-7

On Castaway Cay a special kid's play area called Scuttle's Cove is open from 9:00 am to 3:30 pm. On this day, kids can ONLY be checked into the club at Scuttle's Cove - there is no onboard program. Plenty of fun activities are planned, including a "dig" and treasure hunt. Parents can be assured that Scuttle's Cove is not near the water, and that kids checked into the program on Castaway Cay will not be taken near the water by the counselors.


For the child that is 15 months old, I'm not sure of the hours of Flounder's Nursery on the Castaway Cay day. Hopefully someone else on here can answer that for you.

 

[mickey7879]

I'm hoping he's potty trained by then! We're working on it! When I got my confirmations, it said that both kids could go to the nursery. I don't want both of them to go unless for some reason they will only go if they are together.

What do you guys usually do with your kids when you go to CC? Do you put them in programs and then go to SB, stay with them the whole time or a little of each?

 

[OurOhana]

I'm hoping he's potty trained by then! We're working on it! When I got my confirmations, it said that both kids could go to the nursery. I don't want both of them to go unless for some reason they will only go if they are together.

What do you guys usually do with your kids when you go to CC? Do you put them in programs and then go to SB, stay with them the whole time or a little of each?

A little of each. We spent time on our own (once to do a couple's massage and lunch) and time together as a family swimming and playing in the sand. Our daughter, 3 at that time, loved the club on the ship and CC. But when we didn't have anything scheduled on CC day, we all stuck together playing in the water. I don't think she went to the club at all on CC the last two cruises.

 

[tjbaggott]

On both trips we've made so far, first one my youngest was 2 1/2 and the second one, he was 6, we stayed on the Family Beach. I have a more enjoyable time watching my kids have fun, while they are little. On the 2nd trip, just last fall, I did check my youngest into Scuttle's cove while I did the Waverunner Excursion. He liked it in there, but was ready to leave when I went to get him. I don't understand why he wasn't a little more enthused about it, as the place looked like lots of fun! There are hammocks at the far end of the family beach. Dh enjoyed kicking back on a lounge chair and relaxing for the day.

 

[mickey7879]

We were thinking of enjoy SB by ourselves for a bit, but at the same time want to see the kids experience CC for the first time. Want to watch them have fun, but don't want to be worrying about sunburns constantly.

Are their umbrella's on the family beach? Kinda sucks that if the nursery is running on ship we'd have to go all the way back to get him and then go back to the beach. Maybe we'll just be keeping the kids with us the whole time if that's the case.

Ugggg, we had such a wonderful time on CC before we had kids. Now all I can see is sand in their eyes and mouth and sunburns on their fair skin.

 

[ldalvarado]

CC is sooooo much fun for kids. I saw tons of babies/toddler a couple of weeks ago happily splashing in the shallows and playing in the sand. There are plenty of umbrellas on the family beach. I have even seen kids/babies napping on the lounge chairs in the shade.

I don't understand why he wasn't a little more enthused about it, as the place looked like lots of fun!

I have heard that Scuttles is HOT! There is no water play (there is a new area scheduled to open up this year with water play) and it is away from the breeze, so it is just an oven on hot days.

 

[disneyfool_1202]

Our last DCL cruise DS was 4.5 and DD was 2.5 and NOT potty trained. DS has some anxiety issues so the noise on the ship almost sent him over the edge so leaving him in the club never turned into an option for us (although we tried). On CC we went into Scuttles Cove with them (couldn't leave my youngest there anyway) and sat in the shade and watched them play with the other kids. Then we spent the rest of our day on the family beach together. It was fantastic.

While I'm hoping that our next cruise we can have some adult only time, if we don't get to I know we will still enjoy ourselves. DS is now 7 and is really looking forward to the clubs, especially since he's better with noise, and has his 5 year old sister with him.

 

[JenGC]

I copied this from the FAQ sticky thread. This is for children 3-7

On Castaway Cay a special kid's play area called Scuttle's Cove is open from 9:00 am to 3:30 pm. On this day, kids can ONLY be checked into the club at Scuttle's Cove - there is no onboard program. Plenty of fun activities are planned, including a "dig" and treasure hunt. Parents can be assured that Scuttle's Cove is not near the water, and that kids checked into the program on Castaway Cay will not be taken near the water by the counselors.


For the child that is 15 months old, I'm not sure of the hours of Flounder's Nursery on the Castaway Cay day. Hopefully someone else on here can answer that for you.

Man! I didnt know this! I have looked at many navigators and I thought they said Oceaneer Lab/Club had activities. So if they are doing something my DD wants to be involved in, I basically have to stay on shore. hmmmmm not sure how I feel about that.