Nursery time?

[lilouisianagal]

My husband and I have cruised twice before and we are getting ready for a Dream cruise in February 2016. We have a 2.5 yr old and I know we will need to have him in the nursery if we want to drop him off (but we can visit the kids clubs during open open house time). How do we pick when to sign up for nursery in advance? Is the nursery available on CC or only on the ship?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

My husband and I have cruised twice before and we are getting ready for a Dream cruise in February 2016. We have a 2.5 yr old and I know we will need to have him in the nursery if we want to drop him off (but we can visit the kids clubs during open open house time). How do we pick when to sign up for nursery in advance? Is the nursery available on CC or only on the ship?

When your excursion booking window opens (based on your Castaway Club level) you can book nursery hours then. Just use your "best guess" as to what hours you want. There is a maximum number of hours you can pre-book, based on the length of your cruise. For a 3 or 4 night cruise the most you can pre-book is 10 hours. You can make adjustments and add hours once onboard, depending on availability.

During your Castaway Cay day, the nursery is only onboard the ship.

 

[lilouisianagal]

But how do I know when we will need the nursery? I'm just not sure what times I would need to be reserving.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

But how do I know when we will need the nursery? I'm just not sure what times I would need to be reserving.

As I said, make your best guess. Do you want to leave your little one there during dinner time (so you can have a "date night")? Maybe just drinks and a show after dinner? Or will you want some daytime adult only time for hanging out at the Quiet Cove?

You can always make adjustments once onboard, if it seems like those times don't work for you.

 

[Kuzcotopia1]

It's a guessing game and you can always change it (if your cruise isn't booked and there is options). I'm planning to give myself time during the day for the adults only pools, hot tubs, etc. Then at least a couple hours one night to just sit in the Meridian Lounge and chill out. If you don't anticipate using the hours you booked make sure to cancel too.

 

[amanda ek]

Our last cruise had 3 at sea days so we booked the nursery online for each of those days for nap time from 12-2. We added additional hours once on the ship, eg when my husband and I went to see a movie. We never had a problem booking extra hours but never tried at peak time (evening).
For this upcoming cruise, we only have hours reserved during our palo brunch. We are traveling with family this time and don't think we will need the nursery as much.
What do you see yourself doing child-less on the cruise? Dinner? Pool time? Spa? That will help you figure when to use the nursery.