Nanny for trip??

[lysha]

Hello,
We're going on our trip in October and were thinking about getting a nanny for the cruise. Has anyone done this before, or is this a good idea or not? We have 6 kids and some of them are older (11 and 14), but the others are all under 7. We were thinking about doing something with each other, even when the kids weren't at activities. Does anyone know any vacation nannies? Thanks for everything!
Thanks again,
~Lysha~

 

[momof3disneyholics]

Nope, I have 3 kids and would never consider getting a nanny. I love spending family time together while we are on vacation.

 

[isyt]

I am sure you know with six kids how valuable alone time for you and your husband would be so I thinks its a great idea!! I love spending time with my kids on vacation but I have also had a babysitter on vacation so the hubby and I can finish a conversation ( unlike this letter I have stopped 3 times). I really don't have any babysitters at home so if I could get one for a trip it would be great. Sometimes the older kids feel left out when you spend time with the little ones so the older kids might appreciate a family activity(maybe).

Good Luck, it sounds like a great idea!!!

 

[kidzmom3]

Will your children be comfortable with a complete stranger? It could also be very expensive as the Nanny would have to have her own room. Two of my cousins have an au pair, and one has a traditional nanny. Each one of the three requires their own room at any vacation destination. Including our family reunion last year, when this really put people out because of the lack of space.

 

[all4fun]

I personally think there is nothing wrong with having some "adult only" time while on a family trip. I'm assuming this is a DCL cruise? (since you're posting on a Disney board that makes sense). What about the kids clubs and for the baby/toddler set (under 3) they have babysitters for hire on board the ship (or so I've been told). When we were on the Magic in 2000 they were giving parents pagers while their kids were in the club. I thought it was a pretty neat set up. Anyway, you might want to check into that.

You might also want to go to the Disney Cruise Line forum and do a search or post a question about that there as I'm not familiar with the details about that.

hth and have a great trip!

 

[cymomtx]

I have always taken our highschool/now college babysitter traveling with us. It makes it so much easier with 3 kids wanting to each go in different directions.

We are sad though, she has to go to summer school this year and can not join us for our annual trip to cancun. We are going to be brave and try it with out anyone this year.

 

[lysha]

hey everyone,
Thanks for all of your posts! It helps a lot. I think we're going to go with hiring a babysitter on the ship. I don't know what we would do without the dis boards!!

thanks,
Lysha

 

[Blueeyes101817]

i went to disney with the family i babysit for...i only actually babysat them 1 night..the rest, we all were out together--it was a blast

 

[polly p]

We brought our babysitter with us to WDW and it was great. We paid all her expenses and she helped in the parks with the kids and watched them at night so my husband and I could be alone. Once all we did was laundry, but it was without kids so we had fun.

If you have an older sitter it might be worth it. Ours was college age and well trusted.

 

[yyzgurl]

We have a full time nanny and she accompanies us on most vacations.

We will be going to WDW in May for 5 days without our nanny because we only plan on going to the parks. However, for our trip to Orlando in September, we will be bringing her as we will be going for 9 days and want to do other things like shopping and relaxing. Also, it is great to be able to go out after our kids have gone to sleep and have someone else stay in while we go out enjoy ourselves.

So if you want some rest and relaxation, I would definitely recommend a nanny.

 

[LaurieA]

How do you pay for nanny while on vacation? Do you pay them hourly, or daily? Do you give them free time?

 

[moopdog]

GET the nanny... that way I can live vicariously through you!!! LOL!

 

[cymomtx]

We don't pay our Nanny, we pay for her travel and food, she pays for her incidentals. Our's has lots of flex time, but tends to stay close to us. She also earns money, babysitting for our friends at the same resort, when we don't need her.

 

[Prncssdc5]

We will be bringing our sitter with us on our trip. We are doing the land/sea cruise and have 5 kids ages 11,9, two 7' and a 9month old.shehas been sitting for us since the twins were 2 and has gone on almost every trip we take. We will be paying for everything so she will not be getting her regular hourly rate. Also I wanted to add she is staying in a room WITH the kids( the 4 older ones, we will have the baby with us) so don't think you have to have a separte room for them. That would apply if the were living in your home.

 

[SleepyatDVC]

How do you pay for nanny while on vacation? Do you pay them hourly, or daily? Do you give them free time?

I haven't taken a nanny on vacation before but I was invited to go on a cruise vacation with my aunt when I was in college to help with her kids.

I think it depends on tbe individual situation with each nanny.

It the person you need to bring normally would not vacation at WDW or elsewhere and would actually prefer the time off while you are away, I think you would need to not only cover her expenses but pay her for her time.

However, if the person would love to travel and would not be able or willing to pay for it on their own, you could "invite" them to come with the understanding that you will be covering their expenses in return for their help in taking care of the kids with no additional pay.

Free time for the nanny/helper is a must, I think.

As I mentioned, my aunt invited me and another of her friends on a cruise when I was back in college. She paid for all my expenses as well as for family excursions to the islands. I paid for anything extra I wanted such as a spa treatment, etc. She had 2 DD at the time as was pregnant with her third child. I shared a Balcony cabin with her friend. It was a travel opportunity I never could have afforded at that age on my own.

She has 8 kids now! She home schools and she loves to travel. So, she always has 1 to 2 high school or college age helpers/babysitters go with her on vacation. They really have it good! She usually travels a lot and usually first class. They've been to China, on multiple cruises, WDW once or twice a year, Europe, the Carribbean, NYC all the time. They've been to the ballet, theater, etc. My aunt treats them like extended family.

Many of our family love to travel with my aunt's family (we all pay our own way of course) because of the fringe benefits. While her sisters' all get the cheapest inside cabins on a cruise, she's up in the owner's suite where they all hang out.

She's the one that got my family hooked on DVC. We like to meet them in WDW because my 2 DD's LOVE to play with her 3 youngest DD's. Her youngest DD is 4 months younger than my oldest DD. My girls are closer to my cousins than they are to their own cousins.