Carnival Ships Full of Children?

[Sweetteepi_6799]

My family and I are going on a cruise in May, weare actually looking forward to seeing other families. I understand that you don't want to be where there is lots of kids which is acceptable, but please don't forget we all have been kids before and/or had kids. That being said some parents don't know a lick about discipline. But I thought they maid cruises just for the older crowd to avoid this issue....

[luvtheships]

HUH ?!?! :confused:

 

JH gave out a number. That's it. 808 or 213 or 678. How on earth is this personal and private info ? He didnt give out names, phone numbers, pictures or passport info. It was the amount of kids under 18 booked on the cruise.

 

What difference would it make if the person receiving this info was a legitimate passenger or not ? What horrible things do you think can happen if peolple find out this secret number ?

 

I am totally confused by this post ?!?

while parents of young kids may certqainly want to know the number oof other kids on board for their kids to play with...that is the only legitimate reason to ask this question IMHO...anyone else wanting to know the number of kids onboard...either wants to avoid them.....or wants to be around them.

 

Paranoid..not me...by realistic in my thinking....yep

[luvtheships]

Huh? :confused:

 

Please explain your rationale for classifying general demographic information as "personal and private."

 

It is valuable information in order to make an informed decision about whether to book a specific cruise or not, or perhaps even cancel a previously booked cruise, for those who wish to minimize the experience of having hundreds of uncontrolled street urchins onboard.

I am playing devil's adovate...don't you understand that?

 

Giving out info on age demographics is personal...but I will accept that it is ok....when the following is also answered....and in no way considered discriminatory..

 

How many senior citizens...hispanics...African Americans...Caucasians...Christians....Europeans...etc. etc...will be on board....

 

If you feel it is OK to know how many kids will be onboard...then it is OK to ask about every single other demographic in the population...

 

If you have the right to want to avoid kids...then I have the right to avoid senior citizens or a person of any demgraphic for that matter....

 

Personally..I don't care who is on the ship with me.....and I NEVER ask about it.....because I DO NOT DISCRIMINATE

 

 

once more would you ask about the ethnic or religious makeup of a particular cruise? NO...and if you did..you would be flamed to no end on these boards....and you shouldn't be concerned with the age makeup either.....it is discrimination ...toward kids...young adults...seniors...

 

avoid them if you wish..that is your right...but seriously...keep it to yourself.....because if you can ask about kids...then I can ask about you..and your religious views and ethnic background.

 

BTW...if you call kids..."street urchins"...what may we call senior citizen then? Or pax from a different race as you are? Right...you would NOT call them anything negetive..right? But why is it OK to call kids "street urchins" then?

 

Slippery slope...best avoided IMHO...an and not overreacting...just playing devil's advocate....and hoping someone realizes how horrible some of the posts are regarding kids....and how they would never post such things about other groups.

[Cushing985]

my comments......parents should cruise with their kids..not without them!!!

 

Totally agree with this statement! Both of our kids (now adults) love cruising as much as we do because we always took them.

 

We typically cruise in early June and while there are kids around we have never been overwhelmed by them. I also know there have been scary posts about kids running around and getting in trouble but that has not been our experience. Seems to me that most parents keep an eye on the little ones but, of course, there are exceptions!

[Cushing985]

Most of my cruises have been during school breaks as I work in education and truly I've never noticed an excessive number of kids on any of my cruises. Never noticed a LOT of I'll behaved kids either. I really don't like young kids and they annoy me easily, but I've never had an issue with children on any of the 4 Carnival cruises I've been on.

 

 

---

I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=39.006215,-94.591503

 

I'm assuming you work in administration?:eek:

[Matt62]

We have shied away from Carnival as numerous friends have mentioned the large amount of children on Carnival cruises. Not all unruly, of course, but enough to spoil a cruise for the older set.

 

Are we correct in eliminating consideration of Carnival cruises because of supposed large amounts of unruly kids? We are older folks and have cruised many times on Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Princess and Holland America.

 

Your comments?

 

Like many have said, I would not exclude Carnival because of the presence of children, I would just time your cruise accordingly. We timed our most recent cruise (Dec 20-28, 2011) on the Miracle after researching the question like you are doing. We did not want to be around a majority of very young kids (as our kids are 18 & 16) BUT we wanted to chose a cruise that had lots of teens.

 

We pretty much hit the nail on the head with this choice. There were more young kids than I expected but other than dripping water on rare occasion in an elevator or two and hogging the hot tubs, these little ones did not detract at all from our cruise. Overhearing a very young girl fail to contain her excitement to her mom next to me in an elevator about what towel animal awaited her in their cabin largely offset any negatives. Sometime little kids help remind us of how exciting things we long think we've outgrown can be.

 

I say, pick the cruise ship/line/date that suits you best but I wouldn't exclude Carnival for reasons involving kids and end up on RCL or some other line where there will also be a similar number of kids on certain weeks.

[Yvonne]

BTW...if you call kids..."street urchins"...

 

Personally I call the little ones either rug rats or ankle biters. ;)

 

And yes, I have children AND grandchildren and love 'em to pieces but I do feel it's nice to take a cruise and not have so many children on board.

[wentworth]

I'm assuming you work in administration?:eek:

 

 

"Like"

[skacton]

The Jan 1st sailing of the Magic had 1,179 kids and at least that many people in their early 20's on board! For the most part they were very well behaved. We are doing a b2b and are curious to see what this coming week will have for passengers.

 

The fog delayed us getting into port until after 12:00 today and now at 3:40 passengers are still disembarking. Something to consider if you are flying home after cruise.

[QLUVS2CRUZ]

We took our two kids, ages 6&7 at the time, on a cruise last year while school was out in December, and WE never saw them...their choice...they loved Camp Carnival so much, we let them go to all the activities they wanted to...it's their vacation too (don't worry, there were lots of ports, so we spent plenty of family time together)...so I think even during school break time when lots of kids are on board, they are otherwise occupied! Even the teens tend to stick together in packs and just walk around.

[kroozers]

Not wanting to vacation with children is why I haven't cruised in 5 years. Instead I've been going to adults only AI resorts. There is a reason I don't bring my kids along on vacation. For those who have tried to point out that inquiring how many kids will be on board or that info being disclosed is somehow discrimination or intrusive...I am speechless. Really people?? So this means that the Serenity area is somehow borderline criminal and abusive towards a minority group?

[luvtheships]

Personally I call the little ones either rug rats or ankle biters. ;)

 

And yes, I have children AND grandchildren and love 'em to pieces but I do feel it's nice to take a cruise and not have so many children on board.

of course...but that also must apply to all of the other age demographics as well....we all certainly have our preferences as to the ages we would like to cruise with.....it has to go both ways IMHO!;)

[luvtheships]

Not wanting to vacation with children is why I haven't cruised in 5 years. Instead I've been going to adults only AI resorts. There is a reason I don't bring my kids along on vacation. For those who have tried to point out that inquiring how many kids will be on board or that info being disclosed is somehow discrimination or intrusive...I am speechless. Really people?? So this means that the Serenity area is somehow borderline criminal and abusive towards a minority group?

nope not at all...but letting the general public know how many minor children will be onboard is totally different.

 

you have no clue as to why someone needs this info. It was recently discussed somewhere on these boards that DCL is probably the least safe place to let your kids out of your sight. Anyone can book DCL......

[H82seaUgo]

In John Heald's blog, he frequently announces the number of children in various agre groups that are on a particular sailing. He also discloses the numbers of Russians, Germans, Spanish, Polish, British, Americans, Japanese, etc that are on board. I don't think its wrong, immoral or discriminatory at all - to me it's just interesting to see the diversity that Carnival attracts. And THAT is why I think John discloses the information - to illustrate that Carnival doesn't just sail with pompous, zenophobic Americans.

 

actually, he only does that on current sailings. imagine posting that info in advance where people could change their travel plans due to unfavorable demographics, or groups.

[CanadaJulie]

nope not at all...but letting the general public know how many minor children will be onboard is totally different.

 

you have no clue as to why someone needs this info. It was recently discussed somewhere on these boards that DCL is probably the least safe place to let your kids out of your sight. Anyone can book DCL......

 

Still completely lost as to how this number would be *dangerous* to know.

 

My daughter's school has 2500 kids. Her previous school had just under 500. Her cheer class has 36. How on earth could someone use this info in a dangerous way ?

 

Assuming some nefarious character finds out there are 568 kids on my next cruise way in advance, how can they use this info in a dangerous way ?

[bplazo]

I am concerned that JH would disclose the number of kids on board...did he tell you prior to the cruise? Or did you speak to him while you were on the cruise? If it were on the cruise..then maybe he gets a pass on this one...but if you emailed or blogged with him prior to the cruise and you got this info from him..it makes me think that maybe too much info about pax is being given out...remember if it were prior to the cruise, he has no way of knowing if you are a legitimate pax...or something else...which I hate to think about.

 

Does he give out other pax names and home addresses as well? Get my drift?

 

This is personal and private info..IMHO...and CCL should respect that..and has nothing to do with a parent wanting to know how many other kids of certain age groups will be on the ship for their kids to play with at Camp Carnival.....

 

I really do not see the big deal if they give out hom many children are on board or how many people are sailing. So what.

[Alan the sponge]

actually, he only does that on current sailings. imagine posting that info in advance where people could change their travel plans due to unfavorable demographics, or groups.

 

Why do you continually find fault in what Heald says and does?

[H82seaUgo]

Why do you continually find fault in what Heald says and does?

 

how does a stated fact imply fault?

[Alan the sponge]

how does a stated fact imply fault?

Yes, your right, your comments about Heald and his Facebbok page are warm and fuzzy. He offers a service and thousands seem to appreciate it.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

We have shied away from Carnival as numerous friends have mentioned the large amount of children on Carnival cruises. Not all unruly, of course, but enough to spoil a cruise for the older set.

 

Are we correct in eliminating consideration of Carnival cruises because of supposed large amounts of unruly kids? We are older folks and have cruised many times on Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Princess and Holland America.

 

Your comments?

 

Yes the kids on other cruise lines are all well mannered. Only the unruly ones book with Carnival.:rolleyes:

 

Bill

[hues of blue]

We cruise every year in February, this upcoming one is number 10. I think it just depends on when you cruise. We were on the Miracle last yr over Valentines day and we referred to it as the geriatric cruise.lol.......staff told us there were 35 kids total ( and it was obvious there were very few) and a record number of walkers, wheelchairs, and canes. The comedians had great fun with

this . We had a really good time but after 10:00 everything was quiet except the casino. There was never more then a couple of people in the night clubs, very odd. In past yrs during the same month I would say around 300 kids on board but only a guess, never see many except at the pool or when going in groups for a Camp Carnival adventure. Bottom line, if you cruise over school vacations or holidays, there will be more kids.

[MyDogRudy]

I am concerned that JH would disclose the number of kids on board...did he tell you prior to the cruise? Or did you speak to him while you were on the cruise? If it were on the cruise..then maybe he gets a pass on this one...but if you emailed or blogged with him prior to the cruise and you got this info from him..it makes me think that maybe too much info about pax is being given out...remember if it were prior to the cruise, he has no way of knowing if you are a legitimate pax...or something else...which I hate to think about.

 

Does he give out other pax names and home addresses as well? Get my drift?

 

This is personal and private info..IMHO...and CCL should respect that..and has nothing to do with a parent wanting to know how many other kids of certain age groups will be on the ship for their kids to play with at Camp Carnival.....

 

No names or personal info was given out. I remember this Q and A exchange and it was fine. Someone wanted to make sure when cruising while school was in session there would other children to play with. If this was not a 'legitimate passenger' what could a non-passenger do with this generic info? I work with convicts and sex offenders daily and do not see what harm this info can do.

 

And why is it so horrible to ask questions trying to find out the best time to encounter fewer children? It used to be you could travel in quiet when school was in session but now so many parents pull their kids out if school to travel for their convenience they are everywhere all the time. They are in hot tubs unattended with snorkling gear or running/yelling in hallways. I understand kids are kids but is it unrealistic to hope for some peace in adult areas on a 7 day trip in the middle of the ocean in January? I don't think seniors infringe on my vacation the same way unattended children can.

 

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[hockeyluver]

We have shied away from Carnival as numerous friends have mentioned the large amount of children on Carnival cruises. Not all unruly, of course, but enough to spoil a cruise for the older set.

 

Are we correct in eliminating consideration of Carnival cruises because of supposed large amounts of unruly kids? We are older folks and have cruised many times on Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Princess and Holland America.

 

Your comments?

 

Our cruise on the Miracle last February they announced 81% of the ship was aged 61 or older, we are all in our 40's (8 of us) and felt like kids. My daughter (21 at the time) and her friend found very few people to hang around with, spent alot of time with crew members.

[hues of blue]

Our cruise on the Miracle last February they announced 81% of the ship was aged 61 or older, we are all in our 40's (8 of us) and felt like kids. My daughter (21 at the time) and her friend found very few people to hang around with, spent alot of time with crew members.

 

We were on the same cruise then:) We had never experienced anything like in our previous cruises.

[michelle1836]

we go during the summer when there are a lot of kids on board. the spirit class ships do a great job with the kids as the camps are strategically placed on the ship away from most.