8 year old and Camp Carnival...

[MaiTaiMary]

My son will be going on his second cruise in a couple of months. He is 8 years old, almost 9. We were talking about the cruise last night and he said he really doesn't want to go to Camp Carnival at all. :( It took me by surprise, as I thought he liked it a little better than that.

 

He didn't spend much time in CC last cruise. I don't remember them doing much more than playing video games, which got boring quickly.

 

I read a lot here about how much kids love CC and I'm just trying to figure out what the fun things were that they did (6-8 year old ago group) that he missed out on.

 

What are some of your child's favorite things to do in CC? I'm trying to get my son more excited about it! :D

 

Thanks. Again, talking about the 6-8 year old group, since I know activities vary greatly by age group.

[SadieN]

Much of any Camp depends on the other kids. Have him go to the first night's meeting and see if he clicks with anyone.

[turboteacher]

I'm worried about this as well. My daughter is pretty outgoing, and it's a "Spring Break" cruise, so I'm assuming there will be tons of kids. In those "Camp" rooms all I see is TV screens...I hope there are some "activity" things that they get to do. I've seen scavenger hunts and basketball/court activities on the FunTimes, so I'm hoping that there are some FUN activities. While video games are fun, they lose their appeal after awhile.

 

Anyone weigh in on what your child(ren) enjoyed about Camp Carnival?

[seller254]

My DD was in that age group on our first cruise in 2009. She actually preferred Camp Carnival to spending time with her cousins during that cruise. She's outgoing as well, and made several friends, including a boy whose family happened to be assigned to our dinner table. She enjoyed the dance parties, group movies, and the craft activities. Also eating with her camp group. She particularly enjoyed the last sea day activity in which the kids got to design their own backpack and have their friends and the workers sign it.

[Trumpster]

My 9 year old is looking forward to the camp ocean on magic. She is moving up to sharks and had plenty of arts, crafts, games last year on Breeze. It was not all video games and movies.

 

My youngest is now 6 and is not happy about leaving the penguins for stingrays but is still looking forward to having fun.

 

They didn't see much difference between camp ocean and camp carnival, except for the ocean theme and a few new games with ocean themes.

[Trumpster]

If he is 9 he will be in the oldest group.

 

I have the activity schedule from the breeze cruise last year.

 

Some of the activities were,

 

Giant Jenga, Giant rock paper scissors, pirate adventures, ocean trivia, dodgeball, who am I ocean edition, super heros vs villians, scavenger hunts, art and other crafts.

Rock star madness, hasbro games of fun.

 

The movies that week were , the lego movie, Rio,

 

And of course Wii video games.

[Domergirl]

My three daughters have always loved camp. I think one of the previous posters nailed it dead on...it's probably best to have him go on the first day they're open. That's when none of the kids know each other, and it's probably easier to meet up with other kids. We always get each of our kids a copy of the detailed camp schedule, and then let them go through it with a highlighter. That way, they know which activities they definitely want to be there for on each day.

 

That being said...I have often heard that girls tend to like camp better than the boys do...I don't know why that is? (I'm mom to 3 daughters, so I have no experience with boys!!)

[PatyCake]

My DD was in that age group on our first cruise in 2009. She actually preferred Camp Carnival to spending time with her cousins during that cruise. She's outgoing as well, and made several friends, including a boy whose family happened to be assigned to our dinner table. She enjoyed the dance parties, group movies, and the craft activities. Also eating with her camp group. She particularly enjoyed the last sea day activity in which the kids got to design their own backpack and have their friends and the workers sign it.

 

Ditto for my 7 yr old grandson. He has 31 days of sailing and absolutely loves Camp Ocean,,the new name He begs to go back to the after hours time also. He says he prefers Carnival to Disney.

[cruizinisthebest]

The camps are full of activities from the time they open until they time they close the regular program @ 10pm with things to do. They really don't watch television or play video games as an activity. They can always do that if they like but very few activities center around tv and video games. As they get older, they can and often do opt to play video games with each other, but there are always activities going on.

 

Both of my kids love camp. They will be going on their 4th cruise this Summer and we've developed a practice of having them look over the schedule the night before, then we plan our day. Otherwise, your entire vacation can be dictated by pick ups and drop offs with camp. That is if they like it. Very important they go to the meet & greet/ice breaker activity the first day it's open. That said, most kids love it. Mine sure do. But it's simply not for all kids. Let him at least try it again.

[Nashmom2]

My daughter really enjoyed the activities when she was in the 6-8 age group. When she moved up to the 9-11 she did not enjoy it as much. When we were on the Fascination they met in a conference room part of the time and played games on the floor or had dance parties (which she did not enjoy :) ). Then on the Dream last summer since there were so many kids they met in another conference room several times and again had more dance parties and just hung out bc they had nothing in there. We are going on the Dream again over spring break and she has said she will be more selective of the times she goes. She enjoys the arts and crafts and scavenger hunts. My daughter can also be shy. With all that said, she still had a good time but my advice is to have him look at the Camp schedule and choose times based on what they are doing.

[MaiTaiMary]

They really don't watch television or play video games as an activity. They can always do that if they like but very few activities center around tv and video games..

 

There was a LOT of video game playing on the Miracle for the 6-8 age group. I remember looking at the schedule and asking my kids how they liked doing "xyz" and they would tell me all they did was "Just Dance Wii".

 

I'm not opposed to video games, I would like like to see them do more than that.

[A&Jfamily]

My son has been going to camp since he was two and loved them all - until our Christmas cruise this year. He is 11 and with the exception of a few games of dodgeball in the chapel, there wasn't really anything in the evening he wanted to do. Every night they were spending an hour rehearsing for one dance in the Christmas show and everything else was Tshirt coloring, decoupage boxes or some other such craft. There was literally nothing for an athletic active boy to do 75%+ of the time. I blame the lead counselor for having a lack of variety. So I would say don't let one bad experience deter you or him. It's easier in 9-11 because once they meet friends on first night, they can have more freedom and will make independent arrangements to swim, play putt-putt etc. I think the key, after first night, is to pick and chose the things that interest him. Do a search on here for recent program offerings on your ship and then you will have a better idea. Good luck.

[cruizinisthebest]

There was a LOT of video game playing on the Miracle for the 6-8 age group. I remember looking at the schedule and asking my kids how they liked doing "xyz" and they would tell me all they did was "Just Dance Wii".

 

I'm not opposed to video games, I would like like to see them do more than that.

I could show you the schedules of the sailings we've taken with our kids. Not alot of video game centered activities. Especially during the day. But whatever. We have never been on the Miracle. I base my input on my own experiences.

 

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[MaiTaiMary]

I could show you the schedules of the sailings we've taken with our kids. Not alot of video game centered activities. Especially during the day.

 

What I'm saying is that there were other things on the schedule, but all they ended up doing was video games. :( We will be on the same ship this time, but it'll be about a year and a half later. Hopefully things have changed.

[cruizinisthebest]

What I'm saying is that there were other things on the schedule, but all they ended up doing was video games. :( We will be on the same ship this time, but it'll be about a year and a half later. Hopefully things have changed.

Actually that's not what you said, but I understand. However if you're saying that there are other activities but your kids played video games instead, then that's a choice they made. I said in the part of my post that you omitted that games are there and they can play them if they choose but that there is a full day of activities going on. I also said we sit down the night before and go over what they want to do, and I never would sanction video game playing all day.

 

I'm fine with games too but not all day. Camp Ocean I found to be a little more educational with the whole ocean theme. I don't know if it's on the Miracle. My 7 year old did like it a little more than Camp Carnival.

 

I hope it works out for you. I remember one trip review and you were a little frustrated with all the picking up and dropping off at camp. I can totally relate.

 

 

 

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[MaiTaiMary]

Sorry, it's early here and I've only had one cup of coffee. ;)

 

What I'm saying is....

On the Miracle they would list activities in the Camp paper (forgot what it was called) but they wouldn't be offered. The kids would have "Wii" available and that was their only option for much of the day. :( Or board games. Sounds like this isn't the norm and I'm really hoping they have other choices this cruise.

 

yes the "checking in and out" was very tedious on our cruise. (good memory! ) This cruise our cabin is FORWARD instead of AFT, so I hope that help. We will be MUCH closer to CC and won't have to walk the length of the ship every time we want to check in/out. Also, this will be the last cruise that we will have to sign in/out. DS will be 9 in the summer and next September they will ALL be able to sign themselves in/out. :D:D:D

[supercanadian]

Somewhat related answer and a question.

 

Years ago when my son was 4, he didn't enjoy the camp. He was also a very shy child. He ended up going for maybe an hour before we were paged to pick him up.

 

My daughter will be 7 when we sail on the Dream in May, and I am really hoping she will love the camp. She (unlike my son) is very outgoing, but had a bad experience at a summer camp last year where she was only 1 of 2 children who ended up attending..and she hated it because of that. Seems like the key to her loving any type of camp again would be for her to make friends, thanks to those of you who recommended to go on the first night, as I think that will be a huge deciding factor for her.

 

My question...do the camps still give parents pagers to use on board in case their kids want/need to be picked up?

[Trumpster]

Somewhat related answer and a question.

 

Years ago when my son was 4, he didn't enjoy the camp. He was also a very shy child. He ended up going for maybe an hour before we were paged to pick him up.

 

My daughter will be 7 when we sail on the Dream in May, and I am really hoping she will love the camp. She (unlike my son) is very outgoing, but had a bad experience at a summer camp last year where she was only 1 of 2 children who ended up attending..and she hated it because of that. Seems like the key to her loving any type of camp again would be for her to make friends, thanks to those of you who recommended to go on the first night, as I think that will be a huge deciding factor for her.

 

My question...do the camps still give parents pagers to use on board in case their kids want/need to be picked up?

 

 

no not usually.

 

If they have phones they are for the younger children or those with some special needs.

 

We only got one when our youngest was 2. We did not get one the next year when she was 3.

 

You can tell the staff where you'll be but ultimately we found the best way is to peak in at the front door and see how its going. If all looks good then we just slip away.

Edited February 25, 2016 by Trumpster