Carnival- late nights Camp Carnival?

[nessz79]

My boys have been in Camp Carnival during the day and have loved it. They did ask to do the late night parties last time but I didn't think we were ready to do that yet. However, this next cruise, we are considering it. I know that it's $6/hour per kid (I think anyway), but have no idea what the activities are like or what happens when the kids get tired, etc. Do they contact you or do you have to guess?

 

Has anyone's kids done this? What is it like? My boys will be ages 8 and 6 on our next cruise, for reference.

 

Thank you!

[MamaParrotHead]

My boys have been in Camp Carnival during the day and have loved it. They did ask to do the late night parties last time but I didn't think we were ready to do that yet. However, this next cruise, we are considering it. I know that it's $6/hour per kid (I think anyway), but have no idea what the activities are like or what happens when the kids get tired, etc. Do they contact you or do you have to guess?

 

Has anyone's kids done this? What is it like? My boys will be ages 8 and 6 on our next cruise, for reference.

 

Thank you!

 

My kids were 6 and 9 on their first cruise and did participate in the after hours activities. The "late night/group babysitting" is $6/hour for the first kiddo, $4/hour per kid after that. The "late night parties" are often a different fee...rather than paying the hourly, it's like $30 for the whole 4-5 hours (though we honestly only let our 11 year old go, and only until 1). During the late night babysitting, I'm pretty sure the kids always have the option of laying down voluntarily, though they don't "contact" you in anyway. Glory the late night sitting was more relaxed in that the just put a movie on the big screen and laid pillows and blankets out for the kids. Liberty they actually had organized "parties" each night for them with activities. Hope that helps!

[nessz79]

Yes, thank you!

[Naomi John]

DD has done the late night parties for the 6-8 and 9-11 groups. The 6-8 was OK, that was on Triumph in April of 2010. Nothing special, charged the normal rate of $6.00 per hour. Of course, this may have changed since then.

 

The 9-11 party she did in January 2011 was great. First, it was $26 (began at 10 PM ended at 3:30 AM), so you save about $5.00. Second, they bring them back to your Cabin when it is over, BIG PLUS!!! Last, she got several cute gifts: a backpack, rubiks cube, note pad, something else I can't remember. She said she really enjoyed it.

[Parent22]

We just got back from crusing with a 3.5 yr old and a 6.5 yr old. Both really loved the parties. They really talked them up to the kids during the day, and even sent special invitations to the cabin. There were different themes. The first was a glow stick party. The last involved Funship Freddy and a congo line. I can't remember what else. There seemed to be free giveaways galore -- my kids got the notepads, rubiks cube, backpacks, t-shirts, who knows what else. There was facepainting. And snacks, stories, games, etc. The only thing that was a little strange was the age groupings -- for the couple parties my kids attended it was ages 2-11 together. It was fine for my kids because the group seemed to be heavy on the middle ages in that range, but I imagine if you were there with mostly little kids and you were 10-11, you might be a little bummed. Alternatively, if the group were heavy on the older kids in that range, the younger ones might feel intimidated. There was no set fee for the parties -- just the regular babysitting rates of $6 for the first and $4 for the second per hour after 10 pm. What was nice about this was they bill in 10 or 15 minute increments. So, we picked up at 10:30 one night, and it was $5. My kids are still young enough to think it's "midnight" even if it isn't. ;)

[Parent22]

Oh, and if the kids are tired, they can go into the other room and lie down with blankets and pillows while the party rages on without them. One night my 3 year old conked out while my 6 year old partied on. They won't call you when that happens. But the kids can ask to have you called. My oldest didn't like the club one afternoon when there weren't many kids, and they called us in our cabin. We happened to be there; don't know what would have happened if we weren't.

[MamaParrotHead]

There was no set fee for the parties -- just the regular babysitting rates of $6 for the first and $4 for the second per hour after 10 pm.

 

I think the OP is talking about the actual late night "parties" for the older age group. They take the kids to different areas around the ship (the disco, the arcade, lido to make pizzas, etc) one night and deliver the kids to your cabin around 3:00 a.m.

[nessz79]

Thanks everyone! If the kids are up to it, we will try it out :).

[Parent22]

I think the OP is talking about the actual late night "parties" for the older age group. They take the kids to different areas around the ship (the disco, the arcade, lido to make pizzas, etc) one night and deliver the kids to your cabin around 3:00 a.m.

 

That may be the case for the older kids, but not the groups my kids were in (2-5 and 6-8). They still had "parties" for those groups, from 10 pm -12 am (or maybe even 1 am one night), but it wasn't the party where they stay up to 3:00 and deliver the kids to your cabin -- that was for the older groups. The parties my kids attended were for ages 2-11, started at 10:00 p.m., happened in the kids' club, and cost the regular babysitting fees. I think there was a party for ages 9-11 on another night that ran until 3:00 am and they would deliver the kids to the stateroom, but I didn't pay much attention since my kids weren't eligible. No idea what that one cost, other than that there was a fee for it.

[Parent22]

Ok, found the schedule. Not sure if all ships are the same, but for the 6-8 group (which you mentioned is the one your kids will be in) on the Fantasy, here was the deal:

 

1st Day: 10 pm to 12 am -- Super Slumber Party (Fees Apply) for 2-11 year olds. "Start the cruise off right with Video Gaming, Karaoke, Games, Dancing & more!" Location -- 6-8 year old room in kids' club. 12 am -3 am--Babysitting (Fees Apply).

 

2nd Day: 10 pm to 12 am -- Curfew Extended -- Glow Stick Party! (Fees Apply) for 2-11 year olds. "Mom & Dad: make your own plans, because the kids are out for a night of fun. It's all about games and dancing galore." Location -- 6-8 room in kids' club. 12 am to 3 am -- Babysitting (fees apply).

 

3rd Day: 10 pm to 12 am -- Pajama Jam (Fees Apply) for 2-11 year olds. "Features: Team Competitions, PJ Contests, Games, Pillow Wars, Hide-n-Seek in the Dark, Snacks & Dancing." Location -- 6-8 room in kids' club. 12-3 am -- Babysitting (Fees Apply).

 

4th Day: 10 pm to 1:00 am -- Kids Just Wanna Stay Up (Fees Apply) for 6-8 year olds only. (This night had no special party for the 2-5 group, just babysitting, and perhaps it was the night when they had the special party for the 9-11 where the kids stayed up 'til 3:00 and they returned them to your cabin.) "This is your chance to let loose and play video games, dance and belt out karaoke." Location -- 6-8 room in kids' club. 1:00 to 3:00 am -- Babysitting (Fees Apply).

 

5th Day: 10 pm to 12 am -- The Last Blast with "Fun Ship" Freddy (Fees Apply) for 2-11 year olds. "Say Goodbye to your new friends and the Carnival Fantasy in style! This party features a little bit of everything and Freddy himself will be there to dance the night away!!!" Location -- 6-8 room in kids' club. 12-3 am -- Babysitting (Fees Apply).

[FIVEONTHEAVENUE]

Ok, found the schedule. Not sure if all ships are the same, but for the 6-8 group (which you mentioned is the one your kids will be in) on the Fantasy, here was the deal:

 

1st Day: 10 pm to 12 am -- Super Slumber Party (Fees Apply) for 2-11 year olds. "Start the cruise off right with Video Gaming, Karaoke, Games, Dancing & more!" Location -- 6-8 year old room in kids' club. 12 am -3 am--Babysitting (Fees Apply).

 

2nd Day: 10 pm to 12 am -- Curfew Extended -- Glow Stick Party! (Fees Apply) for 2-11 year olds. "Mom & Dad: make your own plans, because the kids are out for a night of fun. It's all about games and dancing galore." Location -- 6-8 room in kids' club. 12 am to 3 am -- Babysitting (fees apply).

 

3rd Day: 10 pm to 12 am -- Pajama Jam (Fees Apply) for 2-11 year olds. "Features: Team Competitions, PJ Contests, Games, Pillow Wars, Hide-n-Seek in the Dark, Snacks & Dancing." Location -- 6-8 room in kids' club. 12-3 am -- Babysitting (Fees Apply).

 

4th Day: 10 pm to 1:00 am -- Kids Just Wanna Stay Up (Fees Apply) for 6-8 year olds only. (This night had no special party for the 2-5 group, just babysitting, and perhaps it was the night when they had the special party for the 9-11 where the kids stayed up 'til 3:00 and they returned them to your cabin.) "This is your chance to let loose and play video games, dance and belt out karaoke." Location -- 6-8 room in kids' club. 1:00 to 3:00 am -- Babysitting (Fees Apply).

 

5th Day: 10 pm to 12 am -- The Last Blast with "Fun Ship" Freddy (Fees Apply) for 2-11 year olds. "Say Goodbye to your new friends and the Carnival Fantasy in style! This party features a little bit of everything and Freddy himself will be there to dance the night away!!!" Location -- 6-8 room in kids' club. 12-3 am -- Babysitting (Fees Apply).

 

This is great information, however, I am still a little bit confused. It says that for age group 6-8 (which is the category we are in) from 10pm - 12 am. Fees apply. From 1-3am. regular babysitting fees. So is there a separate fee for the 10 -12am party or is this also regular babysitting fees? If I kept my child there for the party and until say 1am. I guess I would have to pay the fee and the babysitting fee? Not sure how this works but it sounds like fun and I am sure my daughters will want to do this a few nights. Thanks for the info.

[Parent22]

This is great information, however, I am still a little bit confused. It says that for age group 6-8 (which is the category we are in) from 10pm - 12 am. Fees apply. From 1-3am. regular babysitting fees. So is there a separate fee for the 10 -12am party or is this also regular babysitting fees? If I kept my child there for the party and until say 1am. I guess I would have to pay the fee and the babysitting fee? Not sure how this works but it sounds like fun and I am sure my daughters will want to do this a few nights. Thanks for the info.

 

On our ship, it was just the regular babysitting fee starting at 10 pm no matter what was going on -- party or babysitting. So, it was $6 for the first child and $4 for additional kids per hour. And they pro-rated. So, one night our two kids stayed for the first half hour of a party (until 10:30). They charged us $5. Another night, we picked them up at 11:00 p.m. (halfway through the party, which ran 10-12). They charged us $10. If we had left both of them there until 2 in the morning (2 hours of party and 2 hours of babysitting), it would have been $40 (2 kids times 4 hours from 10-2). In other words, there was no difference in fee between the "party" part of the night and when the party ended and they started just "babysitting." Don't know if there was a special extra fee for the party for the older group where they bring the kids back to the cabin at 3 am, because that didn't apply to our kids' age groups. Hope this helps.