Our first cruise with kids

[blroper]

So my hubby and I have been on 2 Carnival cruises without the kids. They are 7 and 5 and when we got back a week ago they asked if next time they could go. I am excited to take them but need as much info as I can get about cruising Carnival with kids.

 

What activities do they offer? HOw much time did your children spend in Camp? How do you deal with meal times especially dinner? How late is Camp Carnival open for this age?

 

Any info will be much appreciated.

 

Also we are looking at maybe October this year. I only want to do a short 3 or 4 day. I picked this time of year only because the price is really low. Any other good times to cruise for low prices in case October is too soon.

[MotherofTrips]

So my hubby and I have been on 2 Carnival cruises without the kids. They are 7 and 5 and when we got back a week ago they asked if next time they could go. I am excited to take them but need as much info as I can get about cruising Carnival with kids.

 

What activities do they offer? HOw much time did your children spend in Camp? How do you deal with meal times especially dinner? How late is Camp Carnival open for this age?

 

Any info will be much appreciated.

 

Also we are looking at maybe October this year. I only want to do a short 3 or 4 day. I picked this time of year only because the price is really low. Any other good times to cruise for low prices in case October is too soon.

 

Hi,

 

I have triplets that are 8 years old. They have been on 3 cruises and we are playing one again for October 30th. We will be on the cruise for Halloween! They first started cruising when they were 4 (just about to turn 5). The kids were great on the cruise. The first cruise we took them on was a 5 day to Bermuda. I was so nervous because they had all of us sitting with 5 adults at dinner. The kids were great! To be honest with you, they wanted no parts at the kids camp until they were almost 7. Even then, we only put them in for a few activities (painting tshirts). I think this year they will not have any problem spending more time at Camp Carnival. Towards the end of the last cruise they got use to it and started to enjoy it.

 

They enjoyed swimming, playing mini golf, arcade, the shows at night and ordering room service. And of course, we took them on all the excursions. We have never been to disney and the kids don't want to go. Whenever we give them the choice they choose cruising.

 

We always choose the dinner that is around 6pm.

 

I don't think you will have any problems cruising with them. Our kids knew their way around the ship better then we did. They were directing us!

 

Where were you planning on taking them? I can let you know what excursions we had them did if were went to those destinations.

[Tggrtoes]

I can't comment on the 7 year old, but here's the capers for our recent 5 day Bahamas for 2-5 year olds. Let me know if these don't come through well and I'll PDF them to you. I'd guess that your 5 year old might find it a bit "babyish". I understand that they will let the 7 year old go down an age group, but not let the little one go up higher. So hopefully maybe your 5 year old will have a b-day before you go and they can both be together in the 6-8 range.

 

Our son LOVED camp. He's cruised before, but this was our first time on Carnival and first time allowed in camp given his age (he's 2 1/2). They have tons of activities and some toys and his counselors were great. They watched movies at night. Our son usually went for an hour or two in the morning and then for several hours each night.

 

I had planned for him to eat dinner with us each night (we had great tablemates - all with kids, although my son was youngest). But, while he did great at dinner first night, he opted to go to dinner with his friends the rest of the cruise. Dinner is at 6 p.m. on Lido deck for kids. Set menu and it's posted in your kids schedule. They have spaces reserved and you check them in and they ask the kids what they want.

 

They gave us a phone in case they needed to call us whenever he was in camp... was helpful to have the whole cruise so DH and I could call each from the room or elsewhere on board to figure out where to connect.

 

Aside from camp, there is TONS to do. If your ship has the Evolutions of Fun upgrade, there will be the waterpark. A lot of the others hips have the twisty slide, although I'm not sure what height requirements are for those. The new waterpark upgrade has the splash zone (which actually isn't all that exciting), but two smaller slides for the smaller kids or more faint of heart. Lots of cool lights and things to see throughout the ship... mini golf. We spent a lot of time out on our balcony looking at the ocean, watching for dolphins/whales, etc.

 

[lulamc]

We've taken our kids (now 13 and 14) on cruises for years and years. Camp Carnival has different age groups and you'll get a Camp Carnival Caper for each groups activities. I always gave my kids a highlighter and had them pick what they wanted to do. I wouldn't send them all day, but sometimes they'd choose to go and do several activities in a row. They always loved it, and still do. We sail in 20 days (on Carnival Legend) and they're already talking about making new friends.

[blroper]

MotherofTrips: I want to try a 3 or 4 day so I guess we will be going to Nassau.

 

Tggrtoes: My 5 year old will be 6 2 weeks after the cruise we are looking at. I was worried about her feeling like things were babyish. That is another reason I was asking about other cheap times to cruise. The Fun Times posted but they are really small. I can't really read any of the activities.

 

lulamc: We just returned from the Legend a week ago. We loved it!! Check out my review if you would like.

[tomsgirl3]

We just got off the Pride with our two daughters 7 & 5. They had a blast!! It's a 7 night cruise.

 

There is no charge to have them there from 9:00 am until 10:00 pm, charges from 10:00 pm until 3:00 am are $6 per hour for first child and $4 for the second per hour. There are some activities, like build-a-bear, that have additional fees. Not many really. They also have family activities during the day too. We did the cookie decorating. I know they also had a digital scavenger hunt and others during the week.

 

On Sunday night at the Camp Carnival meeting I went up to the director and nicely said to her I had a question to ask her and the worse thing she could say was no. My daughter will be 6 in September and her sister and other 2 friends would be in the 6-8 group is there any way she could move up? She actually said yes!! I was not prepared for that after what I read on the threads and what my TA had told me. She then added that she would have to verify her birthday and if it was too much for her they would have to move her down. She did great and stayed with them every time the kids went in. But I would have had to deal with it if they had said no and I was prepared for that. I also think it had to something to do with how many kids were in the 6-8 group registered and I think they had more kids in the 2-5 group so it was good to bump someone up.

 

Basically what we did is the girls were with us during the day and did have dinner with us in the main dining room every night. After dinner, about 7:45, they would go to Camp until 10:00 pm.

 

On the days that they had late night parties (they started at 10:00 pm) after dinner we would take them to the show with us and they would go to camp at 10 until whenever the party was over. One night it was midnight and one night it was 1:00 am.

 

Within the first 2 hours of being on the cruise we met a family while getting tatoos and we hung with them almost the entire time. I am sure they will become life long friends! We've even talked about taking another vacation together! All of the girls, including us mothers, were crying when we were saying goodbye! My husband even hugged the other guy goodbye and that is saying a lot for my husband!!!

 

They will have a great time! Having just been back a day I feel as though not only did I have a family vacation but at the same time my husband and I had a vacation! Enjoy!!

[LHP]

This is about the age our boys were when we started cruising with them.

 

(they are now 22 and 18)

 

I am OCD overprotective of the youngest son because of his Autism....and I can tell you that (35 cruises later) the Camp Carnival staff have NEVER disappointed us.

 

On a typical Sea Day....the boys would go to Camp Carnival at 9AM and stay until we picked them up for lunch.

 

They would usually swim and go down the slides with us after lunch and then head back to CC at 2pm. We would pick them up for dinner...and then they would go back from 7pm until about 1am. (we always used the babysitting service)

 

They loved Camp Carnival because they were always in different age groups.

They would cry when they had to leave.....

[MamaParrotHead]

So my hubby and I have been on 2 Carnival cruises without the kids. They are 7 and 5 and when we got back a week ago they asked if next time they could go. I am excited to take them but need as much info as I can get about cruising Carnival with kids.

 

What activities do they offer? HOw much time did your children spend in Camp? How do you deal with meal times especially dinner? How late is Camp Carnival open for this age?

 

Any info will be much appreciated.

 

Also we are looking at maybe October this year. I only want to do a short 3 or 4 day. I picked this time of year only because the price is really low. Any other good times to cruise for low prices in case October is too soon.

 

 

DH & I also did 2 cruises with adults and then our last one with our kids (who were 6 and 10 when we sailed). Honestly, it was just as awesome with the kids (as to me, the only reason to want to get off the ship was to go home to SEE them before, LOL).

 

We only had 2 sea days on our itinerary, and of those days, Camp is closed 12-2 and 4-6 for staff breaks and meals and such. Then they literally begged to go each night after dinner for an hour or two (which was fine with us, gave us some down time to have a few drinks and some adult time). Camp fees are included in your cruise fare up until 10 p.m, after that it's $6/hour for the first child and $4/hour for the second child. LOTS of activities...dancing with the ships' performers, magic, science experiments, art activities, games, lots of fun.

 

My kids ate all meals with us...meal time at home is family time and I think it's just as important to reflect on the days' fun times and laughs on vacation as when we're at home. My kids had no problems sitting through dinner at all (we chose early seating this past cruise, going to try "Your Time Dining" on our upcoming cruise...only because as "mom", I had a total of about 15 minutes to get myself ready for dinner each night after supervising the kids getting cleaned up and dressed).

 

I don't know how you are planning to travel to the port of embarkation, but if you have to fly, I might suggest that you look at a longer itinerary if possible. Sitting in airplanes and airports was the most exhausting part of the trip for ALL of us. So to us, two days of travel isn't worth anything less than a 7 day sailing.

 

Hope that helps!

[tomsgirl3]

MamaParrotHead

 

I so agree with you about the dining! We did early dining this cruise but I think I would try anytime next cruise and just ask for the same wait staff. An added 15 minutes should would have been great to get myself ready!

[MotherofTrips]

MotherofTrips: I want to try a 3 or 4 day so I guess we will be going to Nassau.

 

Tggrtoes: My 5 year old will be 6 2 weeks after the cruise we are looking at. I was worried about her feeling like things were babyish. That is another reason I was asking about other cheap times to cruise. The Fun Times posted but they are really small. I can't really read any of the activities.

 

lulamc: We just returned from the Legend a week ago. We loved it!! Check out my review if you would like.

 

I don't know how carnival is, but when we took the kids on their first cruise on Royal Carribean they were a couple months away from the next age groop and they allowed me to bump them up.

 

Why don't you think about taking them on the Dream on October 30th for Halloween and you can join us!

[blroper]

LHP: You cannot imagine the feeling I had when I read your post. My son has sensory processing disorder. I left this info out because I wasn't sure anyone on here would have experience with kids with disablilties and cruising. Thank you so much for your post. Can you tell me how experienced the counselors are with sensory issues? Did you tell the counselors or Carnival how to help your child or let them kind of figure it out on there own?

 

MotherofTrips: I will have to check into that cruise. How do your boys handle being out of school and making up work?

[MrPete]

So my hubby and I have been on 2 Carnival cruises without the kids. They are 7 and 5 and when we got back a week ago they asked if next time they could go. I am excited to take them but need as much info as I can get about cruising Carnival with kids.

 

What activities do they offer? HOw much time did your children spend in Camp? How do you deal with meal times especially dinner? How late is Camp Carnival open for this age?

 

Any info will be much appreciated.

 

Also we are looking at maybe October this year. I only want to do a short 3 or 4 day. I picked this time of year only because the price is really low. Any other good times to cruise for low prices in case October is too soon.

 

We started taking our DD (11) when she was 4. 9 cruises later, she has yet to step foot in a camp. We have early seating, and eat as a family. No problems. Then we are out and about till about midnight, and then retire after a swing by the pizza shop.

 

Best of season prices we have found was September, followed by March.

[thekings23]

Thank you for this thread! The "family cruising" part of this board is always so slow and blah to me. We are taking our toddlers cruising next year, at 2 and 4 we are 1/3rd excited and 2/3rds terrified.

[wfinley]

DD (4) went with us on my 2nd cruise. We choose a 4 day on the Paradise. She loved it. She would wake up wanting to go to camp. We did not realize how much fun she had until we go home when she kept asking when we could go back. We have two more cruises booked both this Oct and next. 2011 will be a 7 day trip. On the small ships during off peak times there are fewer kids and the room for the 2-5 and 6-8 are connected. They might be able to do the same program just ask. The babysitting is great. The first night we used it we went up expecting her to be asleep (it was 12am after all) we walked up and she turned around and said "hi daddy." Your kids will have a blast. The staff is great and works well with kids who have special needs. They all have excellent training.

 

So, go have fun

[lillian marie]

Cruising with kids is great. We just did a cruise last week with our 3 yr old. Camp C is open for a good part of the day and there are lots of activities. We didn't use it and just had a lot of family fun.

[emtntn]

Took my boys on my first cruise when they were 7 months, 4 and 12. My older boys loved camp. I did make them go to dinner with us every evening even though they begged to stay with their friends. I have never used the babysitting due to the fact that the boys were usually worn out by that time. Needless to say I always missed out on the late night activities.

I do believe if camp was open the entire day I probably would've never seen my kids until bedtime if it was left up to them.

[Momto2PrncChrmgs]

Thank you for this thread! The "family cruising" part of this board is always so slow and blah to me. We are taking our toddlers cruising next year, at 2 and 4 we are 1/3rd excited and 2/3rds terrified.

 

HAHA!! That's me too (the terrfied and excited part). Our boys are 7 and 3 (he'll turn 4 a few days after we get home), and the youngest is quite...uhmmmm...spirited, entertaining...I could go on! I'm not so terrifed for the ship because there's plenty of room to run around, things to do, but the plane...2 hrs to Atlanta, 4 hrs to San Juan...EEK!!!! :eek:

[MamaParrotHead]

HAHA!! That's me too (the terrfied and excited part). Our boys are 7 and 3 (he'll turn 4 a few days after we get home), and the youngest is quite...uhmmmm...spirited, entertaining...I could go on! I'm not so terrifed for the ship because there's plenty of room to run around, things to do, but the plane...2 hrs to Atlanta, 4 hrs to San Juan...EEK!!!! :eek:

 

You are a BRAVE woman, LOL. I don't think I'd even take my 10 YO and 6 YO on those flights, LOL.

 

My best advice would be to pack lots of goodies...snacks, juice boxes, small clearance toys (pick them up and stash them away until you absoutely NEED them in flight), maybe a portable DVD player or iPod with kiddie movies, favorite blanket or stuffie, colors, books. And make friends with the flight attendants, they can be your BEST friends. :)

[tammyrs]

We took our kids on our last cruise. The older 2 did great. My 12 year old made appearances at night in the cabin to sleep. lol My 16 year old ate dinner with us every night. Than would head off to the teen club. They both had a blast!

 

The 5 year old was more difficult because we were always worried about picking him up on time... where he was, who was going to pick him up... I honestly found it a bit stressful. We never used the babysitting, but I think on the next Dream cruise we may... I didn't even see any shows last time, because little guy was too tired!