Just love Camp Carnival!!!!

[lillian marie]

My 4 yr. old can't stop talking about Camp Carnival-in her words, "the best school ever". She'll cruise with us twice next winter, she can't wait. She loves the crafts. I've been impressed by the quality of staff on the 3 cruises that we've used CC for our kids. There have been women with teaching educations and nursing educations among the Camp Carnival staff. I have always felt very secure in leaving my kids in their care. There's also an extensive camera system recording the playrooms for safety. It amazes me that it's free. It's another great perk. The crafts, free t shirts, etc are all really nice. I have a painted suncatcher hanging in my kitchen window that my 6 yr. old did that is so cute. What do you or your kids like about Camp Carnival? What are your experiences?

[DZNYROX]

Great topic:D Im dying to hear peoples exp myself. We have a 9 and 10 year old going in oct and I would love to hear whats up!!

[tea4ular]

I was getting a hair cut yesterday, and this 6 year old boy was with his Dad. The lady cutting the boys hair asked him about the cruise he went on last week, and the little boy got BIG eyes and said (really loudly I might add), BEST...TIME...EV..ER! Then just about fell over himself telling about all the fun he had at the "camp" on the ship.

 

Made me smile from ear to ear!

 

:p

[gsm1cox]

Thanks for the wonderful words, we are returning to cruising after the birth of our now 2 1/2 year old. so this will be his frist time at camp carnival, on the Dream so it is good to know that he will be in good hands so we can enjoy the spa.

[MyMoses]

Overall my 2 year old had a good time there, but I have to admit that I was concerned with the long hours they work. They work insanely long hours and I often picked up my dd from a staff that seemed exhausted and kind of apathetic. I really can't blame them when they've had to deal with other kids for 14 hours a day, 7 days per week. I really think this is something Carnival needs to consider. All of their staff work insanely long hours, but people in childcare really shouldn't be doing this. It's not good for them or our children.

[NJsharon]

My girls loved the camp on board HAL & still talk about Club Hal. So they are super excited to be going to Carnival camp soon!!!

[RVmom]

We were on the Carnival Legend in January 2011 and my children (age 14 and 11) raved about their counselor at Camp Carnival, so much so that they BEGGED us to go back on that ship before their counselor left in April. (Didn't happen - not in the budget!) She found great activities to keep them busy, interacted with them, enjoyed their company and seemed genuinely sad to see them leave. What a positive experience!

 

That said, I can now compare it to their experience on the Carnival Freedom in January 2010. Their counselor on that ship didn't show up at scheduled activities, talked on the phone when she did show up, and generally sent them on the same scavenger hunt several times to get rid of them. After two days of that my kids decided they had had enough and spent most of their time just wandering around trying to find other kids to hang out with. Not what I was looking for them in a vacation, but they kept themselves busy. Not a positive experience.

 

Our first cruise as a family in January 2009 was sort of a middle of the road experience. The camp counselors had lots of planned activities, they were attentive, fun, and full of energy. But because of the age break-down, my daughter was with children who acted a lot less mature than she did and she could not wait to leave camp.

 

So my overall impression of Camp Carnival? The majority of the counselors are extremely hard working, full of energy and fun to be around. But there may be that rare instance when you get that one person who really does not seem to like their job - as my kids counselor did. But I am guessing that either she, or Carnival figured that out and hopefully she moved on.

[nessz79]

On my kids' first cruise last year, we were on the Destiny. The boys were ages 5 and 7 so they were in separate age groups. My 7 year old couldn't get enough of Camp Carnival and he loved all the activities and interaction. The staff was always very nice and enthusiastic in his group. My 5 year old liked Camp Carnival but wasn't as ecstatic about it. I think because he was at the top of his age group and was with toddlers, it just didn't appeal to him as much. I didn't really see a lot of his staff other than the check-in person so I can't comment on that.

 

The check-in person on Destiny was ok. She was friendly enough but seemed rather apathetic and almost grumpy on a few occasions. I think this is probably due to the long hours as another poster mentioned.

[lbosarge]

Our 6yo son had a blast at camp carnival. So much so he skipped excursions.

 

The only issue I had was on a day when they were going to do a scavenger hunt after lunch. It said be there at 2:15 and you would need to be punctual. We were there at 2:14 and the girl told me she was sorry but I was late and they had left. I told her it wasn't 2:15 and she argued with me that it was after. I pointed to the clock on the wall inside camp carnival and it was just turning 2:15. She takes the clock off the wall and moves it ahead a few minutes. I was dumb-founded. There were other parents there behind me and they looked shocked too. I asked to speak with whoever was in charge and she told me she was. I would have understood if she had said they had left early but to change the clock on the wall in front of me and other parents was outrageous. My son was really disappointed BUT this was the only thing we ever had an issue with.

 

Our son ate with them most nights allowing my wife and I to have a nice adult dinner for a change. It was great!