Camp Carnival for Toddlers

[yuckylucky]

This is the first time we're cruising since the birth of our daughter...she'll be two at the time of the cruise and we're excited about the Camp Carnival option. Has anyone had their 2-year old in Camp Carnival and what was the experience like? We'll be on the Triumph...

 

Thanks!

[kimjay72]

My sister is on a Carnival cruise right now with her 2 year old DS. I'll let you know when she gets back! :)

[yuckylucky]

Hey kimjay72...thanks! I'll check back for your post...I'm sure it'll be a great experience for our daughter...she's in full-time daycare doing all kinds of fun & educational stuff now...I wonder what the child/caregiver ratio is...hopefully not like 20 kids to one staff member! I can barely handle one toddler! :)

[serene56]

http://community.webshots.com/album/299741566PLYKOu

 

Camp papers from the Miracle. We were told that activiites are fleetwide. Only the times may change--depending on the ports This will give you an idea on what some of the activities will be.

 

For the 2-5 year old program you will be given a pager in case of a problem.

Your child will need to be 2 years old.. not even one week shy of their 2nd birthday or they will not be able to use the camps.

[I&MsMom]

My DD has gone on two cruises so far: one at 25 months and one at 29 months. She absolutely LOVED the camp. On the first trip, she and DS were both in the 2-5 year old group, but on the second DS had graduated to the 6-8 year olds. Didn't trouble her in the least. She would go flying into the room, never looking back. She had a great time.

 

I would suggest going to the meeting the first night and then to the dance party in the disco. It helps that you are able to stay with them while they get familiar with their counselors. Also, if your child might have a little seperation anxiety, see if there is an hour the first morning when you can accompany them in the playroom (there was on the Glory, I didn't notice on the Destiny, but I could check the capers.) Other than that one special time, you must leave the child at the "gate" where you sign them in and out. You are not permitted to actually enter the playroom (I was told the exception to this is if you leave them for the late night babysitting and they fall asleep, you can go in to scoop them up.) It might help to prepare your child for this if they are not used to being dropped off at daycare, etc.

 

The counselors are great and the program is really terrific! Hope you have a similarly positive experience, and happy cruising!

[yuckylucky]

Serene56 and I&Msmom: many thanks to both!

 

The activities look like fun and she is turning two this Sunday so she'll be "of age." That's one of the reasons we waited to take a cruise this year...not that we don't want to be with her, but, I'm sure you parents can attest to this, you need that time away from a child to just relax! Not to mention that I can't get her to sit in a booster or high chair for more than 15 minutes so the dinners at the table would be a disaster...

 

Thanks for the heads up on the first night's orientation and on the pick-up/drop-off. She's used to it from daycare and although some days she still gets misty-eyed about my leaving her, within seconds it's like she forgot I was ever there. The pager is a great feature...I'm glad they give us one!

 

Happy cruising to all! I'll post my experiences afterwards!

[I&MsMom]

Just a quick additional note about the pager: after leaving her for a little while on the first trip, I asked when I picked her up if she was OK the whole time. The counselor told me that they will page you even if your child is just asking for you - they don't have to actually be upset. That made me feel a lot better about leaving her, and I didn't feel like I had to be peeking around the corner every 30 minutes!

 

They ask you to phone the camp if your pager goes off - it may be that they just need more diapers or something like that.

 

On our 2nd trip, one afternoon sea day, I got buzzed. The counselor said she was asking for me. When I got there about 90 seconds later, she was playing quietly and happily, but she said she wanted to go "home" with me. I said OK. After dinner, I asked if she wanted to go to camp (expecting a no) -but she eagerly agreed. That was the only incident like that.

 

If your child is used to day care, I can honestly say that you should expect no problems, and for sure she will love it (and so will you!)

 

Have fun!

[kimjay72]

OK, my sister just got back from the Carnival Conquest, which is a Western Caribbean 7 night cruise out of New Orleans. Her DS just turned 2. Here's her take on Camp Carnival, etc. The Camp Carnival didn't open till 9:30 am central time each day. So, she ended up taking her DS to the arcade in the mornings till it opened. When you drop the kids off, you get a beeper. You cannot stay with the children, which my sister didn't like. She convinced them to let her stay, if she helped out. She just wanted a place to play with her DS, not leave him. Now, if you drop them off in the morning, you have to pick them up by noon. Then it reopens from 2 till around 5 or 6. They also have a slumber party from 10pm-3am that you can pay for, sorry don't know the amount 'cause she didn't do that. Also, from 12-2pm, you can play with your child at the Camp Carnival, but that didn't work for my sister 'cause that was lunch and nap time.

 

As for counselors, she asked about the ratio. They said they always have 2 on hand and my sister saw up to 4. The counselors say they just never know how many kids and looks like they don't have any laws to follow for any ratios, since they're in international waters. But, my sister never saw more than 20 kids and that's in the middle of the busiest season.

 

Well, hope this helps.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

 

Kim

[yuckylucky]

Hey Kim!

Thanks for posting! I appreciate taking time to provide feedback from your sister's cruise! And please thank her as well!

 

I'm hoping and fairly confident we'll all have a great time!

[JackieH]

Im glad for this post. We are going on a cruise Aug 2006 on the Valor. We are waiting as my youngest wont turn 2 until Aug 13, 7 days before the cruise starts LOL

We have only bee on on cruise, on RC, with my older 2, and they loved the kids program.

Right now the baby is almost 11 months old. Im just hoping she will be as carefree as her older brother and sister when it comes to the cruise, and not cry. I dont plan on leaving them there all day.

On our last cruise, we had the kids with us all day. We would drop them off after dinner for a couple of hrs, while we went to the shows or casino. It is a great option.

[serene56]

. You cannot stay with the children, which my sister didn't like. Well, hope this helps.

 

 

There is a reason for this-- lots of kids are being in a group setting for the first time in their lives. Seeing other parents could be upsetting to a first time kid. I am very surpirsed that the counselors allowed her to stay there

[yuckylucky]

Hey JackieH

 

You are doing exactly what we did and that's waiting for the child to turn two! Our daughter turned two this past Sunday...LOL

 

We don't plan on leaving her there all day either...more like some time in the morning so we can relax by the pool, then have lunch with her and put her down for a nap from 12-2pm, and then we can take her to the kiddie pool for her own fun time in the water. We figure, depending on the camp's hours, we can have dinner for her on the Lido deck and then she can go back to camp for a little while so we can enjoy a sit-down meal in the dining room...she is NOT good at sitting in a highchair or booster for a very long time and we don't want our dinner nor the dinners of others at the table disrupted. All in all, we figure she'll be in there (not all at one length) for about 4hrs. a day. She is in full-time daycare now so I am pretty confident she'll be fine!

 

Nevertheless, a cruise is a cruise and I doubt anything will spoil it for us! We've been practicing on getting her to sit at the table without flipping out just in case and it's going well...I hope I didn't just jinx it by posting it!