Cruising with my kids for the 1st time. Need help!

[kab925]

My husband and I have cruised with Carnival before but this is our kids (12, 11 & 7) first cruise.

 

If anyone can tell me a little more about Camp Carnival than the "party line" I would appreciate it. I am having a hard time convincing them that they will enjoy it. They are also apprehensive about being without their siblings or someone they know.

 

I also do not want to be an overprotective and overbearing parent so I am wanting to let the older 2 venture out on their own on the ship but need some advice on how to keep up with them.

 

Does anyone have some specifics about what their children have done in camp carnival and whether they enjoyed it.

 

Thanks in advance.:o

 

Kim

[busymomcanada]

I too am traveling on carnival for the first time with my kids, and they are the same ages as yours! We did take a royal carribean cruise last year and my (then 11yr old) son loved the kids program but my daughter (then 10) would pick and choose what she wanted to be involved in. I am hoping that carnival posts the kids activities in advance so we can do the same this year.

 

My youngest (6 1/2 yr old) is very attached to us and did not want to be seperated in another kids group without her siblings- so she stayed with us throughout the trip.

 

Looking forward to the responses to your questions from other cruise critic members!

[tami99]

Personally, I would not let kids who are 12 and 11 "venture" out on a ship by themselves. Things happen to kids that age too. You are not being overprotective. It's one thing to have them in Camp Carnival without you...they will be supervised, but I would not let them roam the ship on their own without an adult.

 

I have not used Camp Carnival yet, but I hear the kids love it and I'm sure others will post their experiences. I can understand the 7 year old being apprehensive about not being with his/her siblings...that would be kind of scary if they have never done that before. How much time do you plan on putting them in the camp? I'm sure you will be doing things as a family and plan on spending lots of time together....I bet they will have a great time when they are in camp! I think my 9 year old will enjoy going sometimes, but my 6 year old won't, especially since they are in different age groups. I will not push my 6 year old to do it.....she'll just have to stay with us if that's the case.

[poobears]

I know many don't agree but IMO there is no reason for an 11 and 12 year old to be running the ship. Not saying they have to be with your or even in camp 100% of the time but they need to be in enough contact with you that you know where they are at all times. Walkie talkies can work well for that if they are responsible with them and don't crank them up playing on them and annoying other passengers.

[kab925]

We are from a small town and our kids have been sheltered most of their lives. We don't plan on letting them out of our sights without a walkie talkie. They do not have cell phones ( my own personal soap box) so I think walkie talkies will work.

 

This is most definitely a FAMILY vacation and we plan on spending most of our time together but kids don't think lounging by the pool is a great way to spend the day. My DH and I would also like a few minutes alone here and there too. My daughter (the youngest) is very outgoing and I think she will really enjoy camp because she is upset that she will be missing school to go (I know i am a terrible parent we can avoid that topic HAHA). I think I am enjoying their anticipation more than my own. My 2 boys are at that age where they will teen-agers soon and we will be so NOT COOL to hang around so I am going to enjoy it while I can.

Thanks for all the input.

 

Kim

[DeeT]

Hi Kim,

 

We're cruising in August with our 11 daughter and 12 year old son. When we cruised twice a couple of years ago they did camp carnival a few times, depending on the activity, but really wanted to just "Hang Out" in the arcade or mini-golf or pool with the friends they made (separate groups of friends which made it even harder). I wasn't completely comfortable with them being off on their own, and ended up having to go check on them or having them come check back in with me every half hour or so, which was a pain for all of us. I just couldn't relax unless I felt I knew where they were. Unfortunately I found that some of the other kids their age were just allowed to wander the ship on their own and my kids weren't too happy that I didn't allow them to do the same. We did not have walkie talkies with us but this trip I'm going to invest in some. Maybe that will ease my mind a bit. Otherwise I'm hoping we spend some quality family time and get to do our own thing once in a while too.

 

Debbie

[nybumpkin]

My own thoughts as a veteran of 11 cruises, all with kids in tow. We've had kids in every Camp Carnival age group over the course of our cruises. Overall, we've had a great experience with Camp Carnival and our sons enjoy participating.

 

First, even before you sail: Show the kids some of the information about kids' activities on the Web. My youngest son loved looking at the Camp Carnival virtual tours that are available on the Carnival site. ("Mom, can you show me the toys again?":))

 

Second, you will receive a schedule of activities for the entire cruise when you register for Camp Carnival. For the older kids especially, go over the schedule and see what activities are of greater interest than others. (For my sons, friendship bracelet making has never been high on the "to do" list.:rolleyes:) You can get an idea of activities by looking at other cruises' schedules - the activities are fairly uniform across the fleet. Over on the Family Cruises board, member crusinmama 06 has links in her signature to schedules from a number of ships.

 

Third, go to the first night activities. The older kids will get to meet other kids in their age groups. The youngest will have some fun games and get to meet the counselors.

 

Fourth, the older two will be able to sign in and out by themselves. For the 11 YO, you will have to sign a sheet giving him permission to sign in and out. He will need this permission in order to participate in activities such as scavenger hunts (which my 10 YO son loves). What we've done with our son is give permission to sign in and out, but we walk over to the activity site with him when he signs in and meet him when he signs out. Your 12 YO will be in Circle C. These kids sign in and out on their own. Have a clear understanding with your son as to where he can go. Other kids' cabins should be off limits without a parent in tow.

 

Hope this helps - I'd be happy to help with questions!

[Warm Breezes]

I'm going to answer your question from the perspective of someone whose kids do not enjoy doing the Camp Carnival Scene. DD(13) and DS(15) have been on 3 Carnival Cruises and have tried Camp Carnival a couple of times but did not enjoy going. They were always in a seperate age groups and being on the shy side do not go out of their way to make new friends. They preferred hanging out together and going to the arcade, basketball court, mini-golf, shuffle board, ping-pong, hanging out on the deck, playing trivia or playing cards on the Lido deck. I allow them to go off without us but they need to 1) go to together (I let the 15 year old go off more on his own if DD wants to stay with us) and 2) we need to know where they are at all times and they need to know where we are - if anyone leaves their known area they need to go let the others know where they going by either informing them in person or leaving a sticky note in the room.

 

Even though my kids do not enjoy Camp Carnival, cruising is their favorite type of vacation. There will be plenty for them to do.

[crusinpsychRN]

My kids wouldn't do Camp Carnival. Went once and that was it.

[Shelleywood]

Hi Kim! We have children pretty close in age to yours and they loved camp carnival. My kids are 15, 10 and 8. I guess it helps that they aren't the shy type. They just jump right in and make friends wherever they go. So, I can see how someone with a really shy child might not like camp.

 

We always go the very first night so they can look around and see what they have in the camp.. example: video games, etc. Also gives them a chance to meet a few kids while we are there along with the counselors. At the meeting they give you a paper with each age groups daily activities posted on it. So, we have a good time in the cabin going over each list and letting them highlight the activities that they want to do. Makes them feel really involved in their vacation.

 

With that being said, we spend the rest of the cruise just spending time together. They don't have activities all day long that each kid wants to do so we just schedule our day around the ones that they do. Most daytime activites that they like are in the afternoon after lunch so we would spend the mornings at the pool or water slides and after lunch take them to camp. Pick them up and dress for dinner and back again to camp after we eat dinner together. Most of the really fun things are at night time... late night party, icecream sundae contest, etc.

 

We didn't let our 10 year old sign himself out but did try to make sure he got to participate in everything he wanted to do and our 15 year old daughter made so many new friends that she wanted to stay in the camp each evening until they threw them out..:D Our 8 year old made a giant volcano in camp, which they erupted, and he wanted us to drag that thing back home.. too bad someone else beat us to it.;)

 

I think you'll have a great time no matter if they like the camp or not. There are plenty of things for them to do on board no matter what.. goofy golf, swimming, slides, etc. Happy Cruising!

[vawalkers]

Our first Carnival cruise was on the Legend when our son was 7. He loved Camp Carnival. We spent time on the Carnival website showing him the tour of Camp Carnival. We looked at the deck plans so he could see where Camp Carnival was and where our cabin was. He loved playing video games with the friends he made. He really enjoyed the scavenger hunt and the hunt for Funship Freddie. They did some science experiments, made paper airplanes, did spin art. They had a "Build a Bear" workshop one evening (very reasonable). One night they had a party and he stayed up until 1:00AM ( a very big deal for him). He ate with the kids and staff almost every evening. He stayed at Camp Carnival when we were ashore in Cost Maya. We are cruising again in April and he is looking forward to making friends and having fun at Camp Carnival.

 

I have no experience with children in the older age groups so I can't comment on that. I also would think very hard about letting the older ones go unescorted around the ship. Just remember that you are in a floating city of 3000 strangers. Be as protective as you need to be to feel comfortable and enjoy yourself.

[Giggles2007]

Took my kids on thier first cruise 4/2009. Since I have cruised before, I had schooled them on what I knew about Camp Carnival just to give them some insight before we left.

 

Once we boarded and received the agenda for the week's activities, my boys (13 & 14) highlighted all the things they wanted to do. My daughter (11) on the other hand, wanted nothing to do with any of the activities. She can be a shy type at times. Even at home, when all the other kids are playing outside, she will sit in the house and do crafts or read a book.

 

Next cruise - April 2011, the boys are already siked about the activities and my daughter said that she would give it a chance.

[megamoo]

Do you know around what time they have the meet and greet at the camp carnival. We have a 12 year old and a 7 year old so they will be in different groups. We have the early sitting for dinner and just wondering if it will be at the same time or not.

[wingnt68]

The first time my children sailed they were 5 and 8. The 8 year old was awesome from the get go and the 5 year old was the oldest in her group and was a little bored until the camp carnival counselors made her an "junior helper" gave her a shirt and a little carnival name tag. From that point on we couldn't get them out of there.

 

The second cruise we went on the older one (10) at the time was allowed to roam the ship with a little more freedom. We made him prove that he could be responsible enough to do so and made him check in every 3 hours. He could just call the cabin and leave a message.

 

When we ask our kids what they want to do on vacation now it isn't Disney - Its a cruise.

[kab925]

My younger son and daughter make friends rather well and I think that if they give it a chance they will enjoy it. I appreciate all of the advice and I know they will love the cruise they have been asking to go since my husband and I went for our anniversary back in 2006. We are planning on being at the port early so we can board as soon as possible and we are going to show them around the ship while it is not extremely crowded. I look forward to logging on every day to cruise critic to see what's new every day.

Your information and advice is priceless.

 

Thanks Kim

[LHP]

I think it is important in the way you "present" Camp Carnival to them.

 

If presented as a "babysitting service" that they have to go and a stay all day and night, I doubt it will be well received.

 

If presented as an entertainment "option" where they can pick and choose which events they want to attend....then they will feel more in control of their vacation.

 

Once they get in there, our boys did not want to leave. Our two boys have been through all the different age groups on most of the Carnival ships....we have found a consistantly good program that they enjoyed.

 

As a parent, when our 2 boys were not in Camp Carnival, they were either with us or in the cabin for the night (asleep....not bothering others in the cabin next door with rowdy behavior) .

 

Every child is different.....but given the option ..Camp Carnival or stay with Mom and Dad.....Camp Carnival is going to win....

 

again, let them know that they will get an entire listing of the activities for the entire cruise on the first day...so they can pick and choose.

[Warm Breezes]

I think it is important in the way you "present" Camp Carnival to them.

 

If presented as a "babysitting service" that they have to go and a stay all day and night, I doubt it will be well received.

 

If presented as an entertainment "option" where they can pick and choose which events they want to attend....then they will feel more in control of their vacation.

 

Once they get in there, our boys did not want to leave. Our two boys have been through all the different age groups on most of the Carnival ships....we have found a consistantly good program that they enjoyed.

 

As a parent, when our 2 boys were not in Camp Carnival, they were either with us or in the cabin for the night (asleep....not bothering others in the cabin next door with rowdy behavior) .

 

Every child is different.....but given the option ..Camp Carnival or stay with Mom and Dad.....Camp Carnival is going to win....

 

again, let them know that they will get an entire listing of the activities for the entire cruise on the first day...so they can pick and choose.

 

Not my kids....given the option...Mom and Dad win everytime. They just don't like Camp Carnival and would rather hang together (which they can't do in Camp Carnival) or hang with us (which I don't mind since it is a family vacation). I no longer ask or sign them up because I know they won't go. They tried it on Disney and Carnival and they just don't like it.

[goofytoo]

I know its already been said, but walkie talkies are a great help in keeping track of your kids.

 

I am also thinking of getting a personal alarm for my 12 year old to use on our next cruise. Something that wil make alot of noise if she feels threatened.

[TigerStar]

I've seen it mentioned before, but can't find it now that I need it....

 

What hours is Camp Carnival closed? I hear that they close for lunch and some other times.

[mwebb]

Kids are now older teens but throughout our cruises have enjoyed each of the age specific activities and have even maintained contact with cruise friends that they have met several years ago . It is important that you take them to the meet and greet on the first night as this is when they do some of the icebreakers. The web site should have a sample camp carnival list for each of their age ranges.Generally it is around 7:30 which is not ideal if your dinner runs slow. We did not have good luck with static onthe walkie talkies as many other children were on the same channel calling "mom,...." We ended up using a code which was our birthdays- 1-10 calling 7-21. I personally did not feel comfortable with them signing them selves out when they were younger. When they got a little older we established check in times and they knew where I would be- generally same vicinity poolside. Before a few of our cruises I made our kids their own business cards or computer labels that they could exchange with other kids with a few of their interests, address & email. Previous poster mentioned-it is a floating city and there are creepos everywhere I have also encouraged mine not to set their drink down and walk away from it.

[nybumpkin]

I've seen it mentioned before, but can't find it now that I need it....

 

What hours is Camp Carnival closed? I hear that they close for lunch and some other times.

On sea days, it is generally closed 12-2 and 4-6 (it can vary somewhat). It opens at 6 for dinner, then goes until 10 at no charge. After 10 there is a charge, until 3 a.m. They're open during lunch on sea days, but do ask that you pick up your child if you're on board.

[sailaway4]

Two years ago on the Fantasy our boys did Camp carnival.Our oldest,11 at the time,loved it especially the scavenger hunt and the late night party.The hunt was done in groups and the late party ended about two in the morning but the Camp counselors walked everyone to their staterooms and made sure they got in.He was able to sign himself out BUT we always told him where we would be and to meet us there.We gave him a card to get in the staterom so if he couldn't find us he was to go right back to the room.He made a friend who happened to live within 20 minutes of our home in Illinois so we let them hang out togethere some.Now my 7 year old at that time did not care for the camp so after the second day he pretty much stayed with us.All in all I felt like I did a lot of walking around keeping track of my oldest but we discovered short cuts around the ship so didn't mind at all.

Almost forgot.Don't know if they have done this since but they were trying out a Meet the Captain on the Bridge opportunity.Both boys went on the Bridge and had their picture taken with the Captain.This was only offered if registered with Camp Carnival.