Four Years Old - FUN or WORK?

[mygirlchandler]

HI!

I'm planning a cruise as a Christmas gift to our girls (ages 8 and 4).

 

I'm looking at Carnival Triumph for a January sailing. This looks like a really FUN ship!!!

 

Without a doubt, I know my 8 year old will be fun. She is a fantastic swimmer. She's outgoing. She will soak it up.

 

My 4 year old is also a really good swimmer for her age, makes friends quickly, and is pretty adventurous.

 

What is it like cruising with a young child? Is there plenty of entertainment on board that she'll like? Is the kid's club fun for this young age? I totally see my 8 year old being into it. But it seems like the 4 year old and the 8 year old would be in two seperate groups of kids. Is that necessary?

 

Tell me more about the kids clubs! Do parents stick around? Is there a get-to-know-you type of welcome party?

 

Where can I learn more?

 

THANKS!

[cb at sea]

However it is for you at home, is how it will be on a cruise, but with more "options" for the kids.

She's at a great age, especially if she's outgoing and not too shy, to really have a great time.

Yes...the 2 will be in different groups...and you really don't want it any differently. Make sure they both go to the "welcome" session and meet everyone from the get-go...that way, no one feels like the "new kid"...

There will be tons of time for them to be together with you, as a family. In the kid's club, it's not fair to either to "lump" them together!

[mygirlchandler]

That makes perfect sense! She's super fun at home, so it would be perfect!

 

Good to know about the kids clubs. The welcome party would be a must for both girls.

 

Would one parent go with each child or do you go as family?

 

Thanks so much!

Holly

[harryfat1]

We started taking our boys on cruises when the older one turned 15 months old and the younger one after age of 2. They are now 9 and 7 going on their sixth and fifth cruise this December.

 

It’s a combination of work and fun. Nothing at those ages is pure 100% of one side or the other.

 

You should do some search for the camp Carnival daily activity flier for your sailing so you know what each of the two groups will be doing daily. The younger one will be in the age 2 to 5 group and they do stuff like face painting/arts& craft and board games.

 

The camp has open house the first afternoon of the cruise. Actually, they give the kids a wrist band as soon as they board and you will be given the info right after you step on board with the kids’ counselors having table and info at the Promenade deck. The have orientation meeting on the fist day of the cruise, typically between first and second eating dinner at 7 something where everyone is welcome to attend to meet the counselors at various age groups and you sign up the kids for the camp at that time.

 

After that, you just take them to the camp when they are open (close for couple hours during lunch and dinner times). After 10 PM, you will need to pay for the baby sitting price, but we always pick them up before then.

 

Other will chime in on areas I have missed.

[mygirlchandler]

Great information! I hope we have some swimming weather in January!

 

Thank you,

Holly

[Maryscooking]

My daughter was on the Carnival Destiny with us this September, and she had just turned four. We were on an RCCL cruise back in January, and she was a little intimidated by the kids club, so I wasn't sure how it would go this time. But she has come out of her shell quite a bit since Jan, loves to make friends and play with other kids, and it showed on this cruise. She LOVED Camp Carnival, and given the choice between hanging out with us at the pool (or wherever) or going to the club, she only chose the pool one time. We also gave her the choice at dinner - eat with us or eat with the kids club, and again, only wanted to eat with us at dinner two times on the five day trip (and was ready to go to the camp as soon as she was done). So she was typically in the club 1-2 hrs in the morning, 1-2 hrs in the afternoon, and then from 6-10pm (or so) at night, all by her preference. Keep in mind that she is normally a kid who loves to spend time with her parents at home, so this says good things about Camp Carnival.

[MamaParrotHead]

My nephew (4 at the time) can be a total pain the butt at home. We were all wondering how he'd fare...with the busy days in the hot sun, out of his environment, later than normal bed times, etc. And he was AWESOME. I think the kids are so busy being swept up in all the fun that it doesn't cross their mind to be difficult. Unless they're genuinely tired, which is nothing a little quiet time/nap can't cure. I say go for it. :)

[mygirlchandler]

These stories of cruising kids makes me all the more excited to start planning!

 

I think we are going to try to book a balcony with two uppers on the Carnival Triumph out of Galveston.

 

I love vacation planning!

 

Holly

[Julienatul]

Fun for us! I cant get my 4 yr old out of the kids club and she LOVES the shows, dining room, put put golf, pools, slides etc.. Definitely fun for us

[mygirlchandler]

Do they have a formal night? What do little girls wear?

[Ula]

Do they have a formal night? What do little girls wear?

 

Honestly all cruises we have been on have a formal night. And the parents due to all the photos and such dress their kids so cute. The kids dressed for the occasion are just wonderful. They get extra special attention by everyone. This is just MHO.

[harryfat1]

Do they have a formal night? What do little girls wear?

 

If you sail on carnival, there will be formal nights. Some of the more casual cruise lines don’t have formal nights, but Carnival does. Depending on number of nights on your cruise, if it’s the standard 7 night cruise, you will have 2 formal nights. Typically they are on the second and sixth night.

 

Can’t comment on the girl’ dresses as I have two boys. But I am sure others can chime in.

[MamaParrotHead]

Do they have a formal night? What do little girls wear?

 

Note my daughter's dress in my picture below. I get her dresses on ebay...check out "Rare Editions"...they have some nice things. I think Dillards and Macy's carry that brand as well. Think "holiday" type dresses.

[youngestof9]

and the time to buy holiday dresses is right after the holidays! I bought my daughters Christmas dresses (yup plural) for $6.80 and $13.20 in Kohl's. Still have the tags on them! so you can buy a really nice formal dress for cheap right after Christmas.

 

Taking my 12 and 5 year old on Epic in January. I. Can't. Wait!!!!

[Cuizer2]

HI!

I'm planning a cruise as a Christmas gift to our girls (ages 8 and 4).

 

I'm looking at Carnival Triumph for a January sailing. This looks like a really FUN ship!!!

 

Without a doubt, I know my 8 year old will be fun. She is a fantastic swimmer. She's outgoing. She will soak it up.

 

My 4 year old is also a really good swimmer for her age, makes friends quickly, and is pretty adventurous.

 

What is it like cruising with a young child? Is there plenty of entertainment on board that she'll like? Is the kid's club fun for this young age? I totally see my 8 year old being into it. But it seems like the 4 year old and the 8 year old would be in two seperate groups of kids. Is that necessary?

 

Tell me more about the kids clubs! Do parents stick around? Is there a get-to-know-you type of welcome party?

 

Where can I learn more?

 

THANKS!

 

Understand that for a young child that this is a really new and very strange experience. A ship the size of the Carnival Triumph is roughly the size of a 90 story skyscraper turned on its side and floating in the water. This can be both fun and a little intimidating.

 

I recommend approaching this as a new adventure. Explore the ship together. Let them know who to go to if they get lost (just in case). The ship's staff wears uniforms. Let them know how to find your cabin.

 

When the ship is moving it will also roll a bit (unless the ocean looks like glass - even the biggest ships roll, which is the side to side motion). This can be fun or scary.

 

You will be on board with 3000 strangers. Very little of ship life is like life at home. For example, you will all be living in the same rather small room (approximately 10 x 18.5 feet or 185 square feet). You will eat out for every meal, and Mom & Dad will not be doing any of the cooking. And just so you know ('cause I guarantee that your kids will find out) there is free ice cream and pizza available 24 hours per day.

 

On the flip side, I have cruised with several kids, from age 14 months to 13 years. They all had a blast. My favorite story along this line is the then six year old told he was going on his first cruise. Mom and Dad were really excited, but the young child, not knowing what all the fuss was about, shrugged it off. Fast forward three years. The now nine year old is told he is going on his second cruise. Now its is the young child who is really excited.

 

I recommend bringing a favorite toy or two for the child. Chances are (s)he will never use it, but it is better to have it and not need it then to not have it and need it. You might also have the room decorated and even order some goodies for the kids to find when they get in the cabin. Nothing like a yummy surprise to start the cruise off right.

 

The children are broken up into age groups out of necessity. Your eight year old might be perfectly okay with your four year old, but the other eight year olds are not going to want to spend time with a "little kid". Further more, their interest levels vary greatly. It is far better to separate the kids the same way the schools do - by age.

 

There is a get together. I've got a few pictures from the younger kids get together on the Carnival Pride (the ones in the red jackets are the Camp Carnival staff). This was held right after dinner on the first night ...

 

 

 

And here are a couple of pictures from the Victory's Camp Carnival (the Victory is a sister ship to the Triumph) ...

 

 

 

And a couple of pictures from Camp Carnival on the Carnival Glory ...

 

 

 

However, while the kids are actually participating in Camp Carnival, it is just the counselors and the kids - no parents (don't worry, the adults have some places they can go that the kids can't, so it all evens out in the end).

 

I've been on five Carnival cruises and have three more booked. I've been on fifteen cruises on five different lines, and will be on my sixteenth cruise in about three weeks.

[jam82]

HI!

I'm planning a cruise as a Christmas gift to our girls (ages 8 and 4).

 

I'm looking at Carnival Triumph for a January sailing. This looks like a really FUN ship!!!

 

Without a doubt, I know my 8 year old will be fun. She is a fantastic swimmer. She's outgoing. She will soak it up.

 

My 4 year old is also a really good swimmer for her age, makes friends quickly, and is pretty adventurous.

 

What is it like cruising with a young child? Is there plenty of entertainment on board that she'll like? Is the kid's club fun for this young age? I totally see my 8 year old being into it. But it seems like the 4 year old and the 8 year old would be in two seperate groups of kids. Is that necessary?

 

Tell me more about the kids clubs! Do parents stick around? Is there a get-to-know-you type of welcome party?

 

Where can I learn more?

 

THANKS!

 

I think both your girls will have a blast. My son is almost 4 and he LOVES cruising and the Carnival Kids Club. He's going on his 12th cruise next month, and we wouldn't keep going if it was work. (I'm so looking forward to packing light on this cruise since we won't need diapers, wipes or sippy cups. Back when he needed those things it would take me days to pack. Now I can pack in only a couple of hours. :-)) We don't go to many shows, but there is so much to do and see that I'm sure your 4 year old will love it. The activities that Camp Carnival does are really geared to 3-5 year olds, so 4 is really the perfect age. Buy them cute dresses and they will get tons of attention in the dining room. I will say they once they go to camp, it's better to change them into play clothes or PJ's. Although when my DS went to camp at 2 years and 3 days old, I sent him in his tux and the only other little kid who was dressed up was a 5 year old girl. She fell in love with him and was like his big sister in camp for the rest of the week.

 

BTW - The Triumph won't be in Galveston until late 2011. If you're talking about this January, the Triumph will still be in NOLA.

[mygirlchandler]

Thanks so much for the words of advice and the great photos! I soak up EVERY bit of information that I can and this planning phase is one of the best parts of going on vacation!

 

Great idea about holiday dress buying for the little ladies! We will want to get dolled up for sure! We will only be doing a 4 night this first time.

 

I love the Camp Carnival photos! I love hearing about it from parents who have done it!

 

I will have to check the sailing that I thought was on the Triumph. At first I looked at sailings from NOLA. I'm betting I just have Triumph stuck in my head. BOO, because it looks awesome. We were thinking Jan/Feb 2011.

 

Thanks thanks thanks!

Holly

[Cruisin' Chick]

Just to add:

1) there's usually a "private dinner" for the kids once or twice during the cruise. You drop off your kids at the buffet (if that's where it'll be) and after the dinner, the staff will take the kids to Camp Carnival for the evening activities.

2) there's often advance notice required to take advantage of the post 10-pm kidsitting (usually they watch movies or play video games; and at some age, the kids stop wanting to do that...I discovered my daughter didn't want to stay after hours when she was 8).

[Aelsantokie]

For DH and I if we didn't vacation, we would almost never get a "date night". We don't have any family who live close (closest person is my mother who lives 4 hours away) and we never use a babysitter.

 

Our first cruise (and we've cruised at least once a year, every year since) was when our boys were 3 1/2 years old and we really enjoyed it. We never get to enjoy the late night entertainment or a lot of on the onboard activities because of the restrictions of having 5 kids with us. With that being said, sometimes we get to have dinner with just each other, when they were younger we would do excursions with just DH and I or with just our daughter. It was only last year that we took the kids on all the excursions.

 

Obviously, everyone's situation is different but for us we felt more relaxed on vacation than at home (at least for the most part, we had some moments on the Carnival Splendor last year). Some things are harder when you are on vacation (for us it was bedtime. The kids are so excited about the bunk beds and being in a different environment. MDR meals can be a little stressful when they start acting up.

 

We've only cruised Carnival and the kids absolutely love it! This past August was the most relaxing time of all (the boys are 6 years old). They look forward to going to Camp Carnival. We've only done one all inclusive so I don't have much experience to compare but we did one in June in Mexico and we hated it. They didn't know how to keep the kids occupied and no activities. Not to mention the kids hated the food so I am pretty sure it's safe to say we will be cruising for awhile!

 

I'm sorry to get off topic but I hope I helped to answered some of your questions!! have fun@!

[Maryscooking]

JCPenneys tends to have nice formal wear (aka holiday dresses) at very reasonable prices for little girls. It goes on sale frequently, so no need to pay full price.

[Mack2]

JCPenneys tends to have nice formal wear (aka holiday dresses) at very reasonable prices for little girls. It goes on sale frequently, so no need to pay full price.

 

 

Target sometimes has pretty dresses for under $20

[jam82]

Thanks so much for the words of advice and the great photos! I soak up EVERY bit of information that I can and this planning phase is one of the best parts of going on vacation!

 

Great idea about holiday dress buying for the little ladies! We will want to get dolled up for sure! We will only be doing a 4 night this first time.

 

I love the Camp Carnival photos! I love hearing about it from parents who have done it!

 

I will have to check the sailing that I thought was on the Triumph. At first I looked at sailings from NOLA. I'm betting I just have Triumph stuck in my head. BOO, because it looks awesome. We were thinking Jan/Feb 2011.

 

Thanks thanks thanks!

Holly

 

Don't worry, since the Ecstasy went to dry dock it's really nice too and it has the Carnival Waterworks for the kids. You can google Carnival Waterworks you will get the idea. I have pictures on my other computer so I can't send you any from here. Since you were looking at the Triumph, I assume you want a 4 or 5 day cruise. I've never been on the Triumph, but I have been on the Victory which is her sister ship. If I compared the Ecstasy to the Victory, I would say that there are advantages to each. If you can do a seven day, the Conquest out of Galveston is a nice ship (IMHO), better than the Triumph because it has the steak house. You would also get more ports. I know a lot of people, myself included, were a little nervous when cruising with a small child(ren) for the first time, but having done it I've found that longer cruises are always better.

[mygirlchandler]

Thanks, JAM~

 

I have not priced 7 day cruises. We'd be taking the girls out of school anyway, so why not an extra few days?

 

I'll take a look at some longer iteneraries!

 

Thanks again,

[jam82]

If you're looking at a five day Mon-Sat, it would be the same amount of time off school as a seven day Sun-Sun. They also have a 5 day Sat-Thursday that would save one day of missed school. The 4 days go Thursday-Monday.

 

In the past, I've found that you can get some really good deals out of Galveston on the 5 day cruise, but we've never done a 5 day because it eats the same or almost the same amount of vacation time as a 7 day cruise and as I said before, longer is always better and IMHO it's worth more for better ports and more time cruising. IMHO, the 4 day cruises out of Galveston are not so cheap, but work great with conserving vacation time.

 

Sometimes the 7 days are just a little bit more than the 5 days. If you're looking at going MLK day (school holiday) there will likely be more kids on board than other weeks in January.

 

Also, have you decided on how you are going to surprise them? We did a cruise as a Christmas gift last year and made up t-shirts. Other ideas would be to give them stocking stuffers as clues like beach toys, snorkel, water shoes, underwater camera, or even order a chocolate ship or little Fun Ship Freddy doll.

 

Planning is so much fun.

[jam82]

If you're using Carnival's website to check fares, make sure you click all the way through the reservation, and don't just look at the first page of fares. Often times, if you let them select your cabin for you, you can save quite a bit of money.