Disappointed with Camp Carnival - Valor

[earn]

Not sure if this is a ship specific issue or Carnival wide, but my boys aged 9 and 11 were very disappointed with the kids club. There were about 80 kids in the 9-11 group, but for most activities they were grouped with the 6-8 year olds. They spent most of their time listening to the camp staff telling the young ones how to behave and how to wash their hands etc. The activities were very dull for them and they ended up only attending when there was an activity that was around the ship and unsupervised i.e. scavenger hunt.

 

We really enjoyed the cruise, but the boys' experience of Adventure Ocean was so much more postive that it will probably swing the decision for the future. I spoke to the camp staff and all they said was that they should tell them if they were bored.

[SuperCoolOne]

Our girls were in the 6-8 group on Fascination and they had a great time. As far as I can remember, they were never mixed with the 9-11 year olds.

 

The highlight for them was the morning on the last sea day when they had activities in Circle C but they were still alone.

[MrsZee]

Did you just get back? If it was perhaps a spring break cruise, there would have been more kids on board. And it seems, according to these forums, that the staff are sorely prepared when it comes to a large influx of children.

[earn]

We sailed after the main spring break, on April 11th. The kids club people said the week before there were so mnay children they could not have combined the groups. I think they were perhaps needing a rest from that!

[kdunn]

We were on the truimph a couple years ago and my son was in the 9-11 and it was thankgiving week and alot of kids were on board but my son was never with the little ones .

[seashell36]

The week of April 11 was the main spring break time for a lot of the school districts in our region. So, that may have been part of the problem. We sailed on the Inspiration the first week of Feb. this year. Our DS (7) really enjoyed Camp Carnival. Their age group was only with the older group for maybe 2 or 3 activities through the whole cruise.

[ourfamilylovescruising]

I am very surprised about them mixing the groups Carnival has one of the best camps on the ships. and my kids have never been put in a younger age group. I am sorry your boys were bored but I dont think that happens very often. I dont even know who you should talk too but someone should know because carnival takes pride in there Camp.

[earn]

I did highlight it in the feedback form, so hopefully someone will find out The boys were so looking forward to the club. ast year we had a hard job dragging them out of it! They really liked the flumes and big screen though.

[nybumpkin]

When we sailed on Conquest in February, they did schedule a lot of the 9-11 activities in the same play area as the 6-8s, but they were completely separate activities for the most part (I asked son to make sure they weren't lumping them all together) - there were some combined activities like movies.

 

We had one Carnival cruise in 2006 where Camp Carnival just wasn't that great - both my then-6 YO and my then-10 YO said they were bored. That hadn't happened before, and it hasn't happened since. I chalked it up to a poor program director, and it did get noted on the comment card. Overall, my kids have loved their Camp Carnival experience.

[lollylew]

Sorry my mistake. Please ignore!

[MamaParrotHead]

We sailed after the main spring break, on April 11th. The kids club people said the week before there were so mnay children they could not have combined the groups. I think they were perhaps needing a rest from that!

 

I sailed the week after Thanksgiving (also very large groups of kids, obviously) and I had one in 6-8 group and one in 9-11 group, and the kids were rarely together, outside of the later evening babysitting time (after 10 p.m.).