Camp Carnival at night

[heymonkey89]

We are taking our son who will be 4 on his first cruise in October. We are kind of celebrating our 10 year wedding anniversary. We decided to do a family vacation instead of spending a week away from our son who is growing up so fast. We plan on keeping him with us most of the time during the day but would like to use camp carnival most evenings and nights.

 

What kind of things do they do in the evenings? Are there are lot of kids in camp carnival at night? Will it be easy for him to fall asleep there? He has a special blanket he likes to sleep with can we leave that with him at camp carnival during the babysitting hours? What was your experiences with camp carnival at night? Any information or reviews of camp carnival in the evenings would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

[SuperCoolOne]

We were on the Fascination a few months ago.

 

There were 1 or 2 nights when they had the build a bear activity (which costs extra) during the late night babysitting. So, double check the schedule in case you don't want to pay for that.

 

There were at least 10-20 kids each night when we were there. They usually had a quiet spot set up with blankets and pillows for kids who wanted to sleep. I don't think there would be a problem with him bringing his own blanket. I would probably put his name on it (or get an iron on tag) just to be safe.

 

They watch movies, have a party theme on some nights. This can include face painting and art projects.

 

I would say that if you plan on using the sitting at night, don't count on your 4 year old going to sleep at a usual time. They do have activities going on. This could affect your day time plans, especially if you want to be off the ship early in port.

[sunrise&set]

I can't help, but wanted to mark this thread as we are also taking a family cruise next April when DS will be 4. He's been on 2 cruises but we've never used the kids club before and we'll want to use the club mostly in the evening.

[kimba9615]

Heymonkey89 - Your post could have totally been me writing it. We are taking our 5 year old on a cruise with us in August. We are celebrating our 10 year anniversery and we wanted to incorporate it into a family vacation because our daughter is starting kindergarten in the fall. We plan on doing stuff as a family most days but hope to utilize the Camp at night. I hope more people chime in with thier experiences.

[NYteacher]

Be sure to check the schedule. On our Carnival Miracle cruise, the camp was actually held in a variety of locations all over the ship. They have specific drop off and pick up times. Plan on 10-15 minutes each time for pick up and drop off when there are a lot of kids.

 

If you are traveling with family members their names must be specifically on the list for pick up or they (wisely) will not release the child to them.

[YOWmom]

We were on Glory in January and our 5 year old DD went to Camp most nights from about 8 to 10 p.m. (after dinner, before bedtime) and she quite enjoyed it. They had different themed activities - so check the schedule - I think there was a pirate party, face painting, etc. It did seem busier at night than during the day, but not out of control busy. She was usually begging to stay but she is not the type of kid who could fall asleep there, and 10 was already well past her bedtime and we knew she's be miserable the next day if we let her stay later. I think it costs $6/hr if they stay past 10 (or maybe it's 10:30?), but she never could have stayed that late. Make sure you let him go on the last night as they have a special little good bye gift for the kids, which DD loved... However, another thing you may not have thought of, is that DD also really enjoyed the stage shows with all the singing and dancing and sound and lights - we even brought our 11 month old once or twice and they both had a ball, dancing in the aisle in front of our seats...

[seashell36]

We've used the camp facilities for the kids at least once during each of our cruises. For the younger kids, probably 8 and under, the only activities that were done outside of the Camp Carnival room were dinner and going to the show. But attending the show was only done once or twice. You can check the Camp Capers just to make sure.

 

As far as bringing a special blanket, yes just make sure that it's marked with his name. We even took the 5 yr old in her pj's to camp one night because we knew she'd be staying after 10pm. She fell asleep while watching the late night movie.

[Tggrtoes]

Ditto what everyone else has said. We were on the same cruise as SuperCoolOne on Fascination. Given we're on Phoenix time zone, 10 p.m. was like 7 p.m. for us, so DS staying there late wasn't a big deal. Babysitting fees begins at 10 and they are open until 2 a.m. if I remember right. Check out the capers for your particular sailing- cruisinmama probably has one for your ship in her signature. On our ship, there were usually activities until 8 or 9 and then it was free play and put in a movie. They had pillows and blankets laid out for the kids and think it would be easy for your son to have his as long as it had his name on it. Our son fell asleep once and they let us go in and pick him up so we could try not to wake him (didn't work of course). You can take kids in pjs if you want, but as someone else said, if your child doesn't fall asleep there (or won't stay asleep), you might want to be prepared that it might take awhile for your child to fall asleep so schedule that.

[MamaParrotHead]

My kids would beg to go after dinner each night (around 7-7:30), and we'd typically pick them up around 11 or so. By that time they were all sprawled out on the floor of camp, with blanket and pillows, watching a kids' movie on the big screen TVs on the walls. They all looked pretty comfy and some were asleep.

[xitappers2bx]

What kind of things do they do in the evenings?

 

its more of what don't they do in the evenings? up until 10p they do arts and crafts, games, playing, etc and from 10p-3a its a pj party, which my daugher LOVES (and usually cries when i pick her up she has so much fun there after 10p)

 

Are there are lot of kids in camp carnival at night?

 

it really depends whats going on on the ship that night... some nights it was jampacked, and others not so much.

 

Will it be easy for him to fall asleep there?

 

after a fun-filled day of doing all the fun stuff there is to do aboard, my hard to get into bed daughter can't keep her eyes open, and has no problem falling asleep while others are playing in camp carnival.

 

He has a special blanket he likes to sleep with can we leave that with him at camp carnival during the babysitting hours?

 

yes, he can bring it with him. my daughter has a bear she's carried around with her since she was an infant, and they not only allowed him to come along, he even gets his own nametag and muster station band ;) the staff are really amazing, if he only uses it to sleep you can ask them to put it on a shelf so nothing happens until he needs it.

 

What was your experiences with camp carnival at night?

 

every experiance i've had with CC at night has been stellar. for nights that my daughter didnt want to eat in the dining room (ie: every night after she realized she could eat with the kids) she would beg to eat with the camp carnival people in the lido buffet and then try adn bargain with me what time i would pick her up. she is very much lookingn forward to going back again, and was beyond bummed when i told her the night of her bday she's eating with us (we ordered her a bday cake, etc) in the MDR. the one time i dropped her off later so we could go to the late adult show, she was counting down the time until the afterhours babysitting, and went through four pairs of pj's, she couldn't decide which she wanted to wear.

 

Any information or reviews of camp carnival in the evenings would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

 

 

i really can't say anything but good stuff about the camp carnival in totality... from the staff to the activities my daughter loved it through and through, and while on her first cruise (when she turned 5 onboard) she was slightly reluctant, once she got into the swing of it, she really did enjoy it, and when we went back it was the first thing she wanted to do.

[heymonkey89]

Thank you very much for all the detailed replies! What a huge help!

[familycruzinnewbie]

By the time we go, our oldest may be 12 years old. Do I understand that up to age 12 it is free until 10pm and then you pay $6 per hour, but for the 12+ crowd, there is no fee and the activities go until around midnight? Also for the 9-11 year old group, I have the option of whether or not to give him sign out privledges, but for my just 12 year old, she will be able to come and go. Thanks