Is Carnival for families?

[cookngranny]

Would a family group, from 8 to 71, enjoy Carnival? We have heard it is more for young people.

[A&Jfamily]

Would a family group, from 8 to 71, enjoy Carnival? We have heard it is more for young people.

 

We travel with my mom (now 72) and my kids (6 and 12). There is something for everyone. Youngest loves Camp Carnival, oldest likes to hang out and relax. Mom does trivia, bingo and shows. DH and I enjoy it all, from quiet dinners in the Steakhouse, to the martini bar to the comedy club.

 

It's a great family vacation.

[schultz]

As long as the older ones are young at heart. Definitely different kind of cruise than HAL or Celebrity. My kids started when they were 8 & 10, now they are teenagers & they still love it. So much to do for young families. Or do nothing at all. It's your vacation & you do what you want.

[scorp111]

Our upcoming Dream cruise in November with be the 3rd cruise in 12 months for our family and in-laws with a range of 4 to 71 on this cruise :)

 

For us, it is one of the best ways to vacation together, because everyone can do what they want, yet we still make some great memories together!

[elcuchio24]

Certainly a family friendly cruise line now. Not disney, but family friendly. No more gaggles of drunks, no more topless decks...Makes me nostalgic for the good old days.....:rolleyes::)

[kjunea]

I'm going in three weeks with my 7 yr old, my DH (51), myself (49) and my mom (84). Next summer, its all the same, plus my stepkids (21 and 18) and my inlaws (mid 70's). Lots to do or not do!

 

It's my favorite vacation (next to Disneyworld) and significantly cheaper than Disneyworld!

[Frank12]

Would a family group, from 8 to 71, enjoy Carnival? We have heard it is more for young people.

 

Definitely fun for all ages. I've cruised with family members as young as 12 and as old as 70.

[Rotnkid49]

Most definitely fun for all ages. We have done 2 family cruises, ages 2-83 & everyone had a blast.

[Julienatul]

Nope, you will find all ages. Although sailing around springs break and for the short cruises you will find more "party type" atmosphere. 5+ days and sailing off season you will see all ages

[Hotflashn]

Would a family group, from 8 to 71, enjoy Carnival? We have heard it is more for young people.

 

I assume you mean 8-71 years, not group size. ;) We have had a week long cruise with a group of 3 generations, baby to grandparents and everyone had a blast. For our upcoming cruise we have 4 generations, from 1 to 70. There is something for everyone and it is really what you make it. Kids love it. My five, anyway.

I think Carnival can be more fast paced and "energetic" than some other lines. We have taken a short 3 day weekend cruise that I would not recommend to anyone but the most die-hard party people. It felt like college Spring Break and though we still had a good time, it was too rambunctious for me. I expected the same caliber of travelers as had been on the week long cruise and that was not the case. We finally took on a "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" mentality, which took the edge off, but I am certain their were people that didn't sleep the entire cruise! The weekend party cruises are not for me, but a week-long, or midweek cruise would be fine for a family. My kids have always loved it and my in-laws, too. The bigger the group, the better too, since there is always someone to do something with! Book it, Danno!

[happy cruzin]

Our first cruise...and many there after......have been "family" cruises with a wide range of ages. We find that Carnival has a great number of activities and that everyone - regardless of their age - can find something that interests them.

 

Each person can choose how "busy" or involved they want to be. Since it is difficult to manage (plan all activities) for a larger group - we always encouraged eveyone to do what they wanted - when they wanted - during the days. Our only expectation was that everyone do their best to meet for dinner. We then had that time for everyone to share what they had been doing all day.

 

Yes - I believe Carnival would be a good choice for you!

[happy cruzin]

Our upcoming Dream cruise in November with be the 3rd cruise in 12 months for our family and in-laws with a range of 4 to 71 on this cruise :)

 

For us, it is one of the best ways to vacation together, because everyone can do what they want, yet we still make some great memories together![/quote]

 

EXACTLY!!! ;) :D

[happy cruzin]

We travel with my mom (now 72) and my kids (6 and 12). There is something for everyone. Youngest loves Camp Carnival, oldest likes to hang out and relax. Mom does trivia, bingo and shows. DH and I enjoy it all, from quiet dinners in the Steakhouse, to the martini bar to the comedy club.

 

It's a great family vacation.

 

 

Agreed!!

 

We did the first one reluctantly - because my parents gave it to everyone has a gift. But now...we try to plan it for every other year. It IS a great way for a family to vacation :D!!

[mamasue]

DH and I are 59 and 64.....we've sailed NCL, Carnival, and RCCI..... and loved them all!

We were on the Liberty 2 weeks ago.... and decided we wanted a lazy week..... did almost nothing!

Other Carnival cruises, we did loads.... just up to how you feel at the time!

Yes... there's definitely something for every age group!:)

[gusandgidgetsmom]

We cruise with all ages in our party--us in 60's kids in 30's,40's and grandchildren 1yo to 21 yo. We find we do not like the short cruises--too much of a party atmosphere for us--find we are apologizing to the kids for others behavior, but just our opinion. Great way to vacation!!!!

[nothomeonacruise]

We cruise with my mom who loves all the fun things to do. There is something for the whole family onboard. It depends what you like to do. There are different types of bands and music in the clubs. There are games that can appeal to all ages from Trivia and Bingo to contests of all sorts. You can participate in everything or do absolutely nothing. It's up to you! My husband and I aren't usually party people, but we really like particpating in lots of things onboard. Our teenager enjoys hanging out with friends she meets onboard. I cannot think of any vacation that better mixes all age groups.

I highly recomend the Tea Time on the cruise, which has chamber music and small delicate things to eat with tea. It was a charming respite for my daughter and I in the afternoon. :)

 

I agree about the longer cruises. We always go 7 or 8 days. Thanksgiving is a wonderful family time to go, by the way.

[skiorcruise]

My family took a group cruise (53 people) on Carnival to honor my Mother's 80th birthday. The youngest on board were still in diapers. 4 years later my grandkids still ask when we get to go on the big boat again. That was Mom's 9th (?) cruise, and she had at least 3 more before she passed away a year ago. Dad is over the loss, and talking about another family cruise on Carnival early next fall.

 

Do it - you will enjoy it. Mostly it is in your attitude - go looking for parties/drunks to frown at and you will find them. go thinking you will enjoy your trip and you will.

[BOUDREAUX]

Heck yes, it is. I've taking my 14 DD and my 8 DS and they totally loved it!! We are oing again in Dec. Both kids loved camp Carnival, they made a lot of friends and my DD still keeps in contat with the friends she made. It's not like the old days Carnivla really caters to families. DO NOT let anyone tell you differntly.

 

B

[pkrchkr]

I think Carnival is one of the best lines for families...We are going on a our second family reunion cruise this coming Feb. and have people from our patriarch who is 73 and matriarch who is 70 to the youngest of the group who is 7 and many teenagers and teenager whanabees in between..I don't think there is a better line to go on for a family cruise...

[madgally]

Yes it's geared towards familes. I find it funny that anyone would go on Carnival for a honeymoon (I guess it is the cost factor) but their ships are made for family travel. My kids always have a wonderful time and if I did not insist we all have dinner together I might not see them often.

[CruisinManiac]

Carnival is for all ages according to their ads. Carnival is also one of the least expensive cruislines, so if you are wanting the best value, go with Carnival. :)

 

Our immediate family has taken one Carnival cruise and we had a blast!

 

We've taken one extended family cruise on Carnival. The teens and young adults loved it, but we and the older adults were not as thrilled. It was spring break and too many kids for us and my parents.

 

Because Carnival is such a bargain, we are trying it again with the older adults in November. ;)

 

My first choice for family would be RCCL, which is a tad bit more expensive. We had 14 extended family members on the Mariner one summer and everyone had a great time! You may want to look into RCCL, also.

 

The cruiseline that my family (at that time ages ranged from 15 - 77) enjoyed the most was Celebrity. ;)