First Time Cruising with Kids- Questions

[tricky_tink]

1. Does Carnival Breeze have laser tag? Cannot find info on that anywhere but heard someone say most ships have this?

 

2. Does camp carnival have any other pay programs...like the Build a Bear? I've heard in the past they do things like tie dying and you need to by the shirt, bag or whatever for the kids to dye. I have boys so the bear thing won't interest them.

 

3. How much does the arcade games cost? Is it like chuck e cheese everything is one token/credit= .25 cents or is it like some other places were pinball is one credit but all the good games cost a 1.00 each?

 

4. I've heard to pack things like bubbles and glow sticks, inflatable pool toys. Anything else I should bring just for kids.

 

Thanks

[reerun25]

How old are the kids?

[tricky_tink]

lol...oops 8 and 4 years old.

[emelvee]

Our daughter started cruising when she was 4...she loved cruising the first few years (we go about once per year), though not as much the last couple (she's 12 now).

 

Haven't done laser tag...I would think Breeze would have it. Looks like minimum age is 6.

 

I don't remember any added-fee activities other than stuffed animals, but we might have missed them.

 

Our daughter never got into video games, so she never played them. It sounds like the "good" games might run about $1...I'm just basing this on what I found via Google.

 

Our daughter likes to draw, so we would bring paper and crayons/pencils/markers to keep her busy when we're getting ready. We would pack a small bucket and shovel for playing in the sand on the beach.

 

Have a great time!

[valandemmy]

2. Does camp carnival have any other pay programs...like the Build a Bear? I've heard in the past they do things like tie dying and you need to by the shirt, bag or whatever for the kids to dye. I have boys so the bear thing won't interest them.

- They have a late night baby sitting service ( I think it is past 10pm) that you can pay for...like if you want to go to the adult comedy or what ever...

- They do have they build a bear...

3. How much does the arcade games cost? Is it like chuck e cheese everything is one token/credit= .25 cents or is it like some other places were pinball is one credit but all the good games cost a 1.00 each?

- Arcade video games are 1.25 each

4. I've heard to pack things like bubbles and glow sticks, inflatable pool toys. Anything else I should bring just for kids.

- Depends on the kids... I would bring a night light because it gets pretty dark in the rooms, but it may scare the kids...and the bathroom light is pretty bright.

[horn hi aces]

1. Does Carnival Breeze have laser tag? Cannot find info on that anywhere but heard someone say most ships have this?

 

My experience was that laser tag was set up on the stage used for bingo, shows etc. It might happen a couple of times per cruise and it costs 5 bucks a head. My kids enjoyed it.

 

2. Does camp carnival have any other pay programs...like the Build a Bear? I've heard in the past they do things like tie dying and you need to by the shirt, bag or whatever for the kids to dye. I have boys so the bear thing won't interest them.

 

Your info sounds right to me

 

3. How much does the arcade games cost? Is it like chuck e cheese everything is one token/credit= .25 cents or is it like some other places were pinball is one credit but all the good games cost a 1.00 each?

 

The way I look at it is that 10 bucks lasts about 10 minutes max and you have generally nothing to show for it - unless they somehow win a ipad or whatever. My 6 and 9 year old love the place (or think they do), so I do let them blow 10 or 20 each over the course of the cruise.

 

4. I've heard to pack things like bubbles and glow sticks, inflatable pool toys. Anything else I should bring just for kids.

 

I have not seen people bring inflatable toys. on a nice day, the pools are pretty crowded, so i wouldn't think pool toys would be of much use. Maybe in a wading pool, if your ship has one.

 

Thanks

[Redsfan]

don't think laser tag is offered on Breeze...didn't see it offered on our December cruise...

[emelvee]

This post says no laser tag on Breeze, as of January 2013

[tricky_tink]

Ok Thanks everyone. I've added a few things to my list. I meant small inflatable balls for the pool not big ride on things. Nightlight was a great idea. The breeze has a key slot you use to have lights on so I wonder if the outlet work with the lights off. Guess I'll see. I will avoid the arcade cause my kids will blow through a ton of money.

[Seago2]

Ok Thanks everyone. I've added a few things to my list. I meant small inflatable balls for the pool not big ride on things. Nightlight was a great idea. The breeze has a key slot you use to have lights on so I wonder if the outlet work with the lights off. Guess I'll see. I will avoid the arcade cause my kids will blow through a ton of money.

 

I wouldn't bring anything inflatable for the pool. The pools get very crowded. I would definitely bring some inflatables for the beach, though!

[gelo7]

I wouldn't bring anything inflatable for the pool. The pools get very crowded. I would definitely bring some inflatables for the beach, though!

 

I concur.

[sb4ever]

There is usually t-shirt decorating, bag decorating, etc. in Camp Carnival, but it's all included (or at least it was when we sailed the last time. Bear in mind that it's not fabulous quality, but the kids get really excited about it.

 

My daughter loved face painting the most and that is offered almost every day and goes along with the theme.

[emelvee]

My daughter loved face painting the most and that is offered almost every day and goes along with the theme.

Our daughter loved the face painting too! I guess she's too old for it now. :(

[maryred]

.... I will avoid the arcade cause my kids will blow through a ton of money.

 

Why teach avoidance when you can teach financial moderation. Did you know you can put a daily spending limit on their S&S account? The amount will be whatever you set it at and is use or lose it for a 24 hr period. So say you put the limit at $10 daily for each, & the kids each buy a shake and play a couple of rounds of video games totaling $8 spent, you will only be charged the amount they spent but unless they use the other $2 it does not carry over to the next day. Once they hit their limit no additional charges can be put on their card that day.

 

Other options you have are to set their accounts to cash and either give them an allowance (better yet let them bring they own saved allowance from home) for the duration of the trip that they add themselves to their S&S account or suspend charging abilities their S&S account completely. At their ages they can not just leave the kids area (though I think you can give permission for the 8 yo to sign himself out) and there is no spending opportunities in the camp area (not even soda purchases). So for the most part they will be with an adult that can make the spending decisions regarding beverages and FunShop purchases. Not completely sure about the Breeze but on other Carnival ships you need tokens for the arcade and they can be bought using cash or the S&S card at a quarter at a time or in packages. The packages tend to give little bonuses like instead of the straight 4 tokens for a dollar you might get 22 token for a $5 purchase 45 for a $10 purchase & so on. If you go that route you can dole out X # of tokens per day based on what you have planned for the day. Just be careful not to buy too many tokens they are not refundable.