Questions about Camp Carnival .. and others

[MonkeySea]

Hi everyone,

My family is booked on the Conquest on 12-17. We are really excited, this is our first cruise and I was hoping some of you veterans could answer a couple of questions for me.

1) I have two girls ages 8 and 12 that will be on the ship. From what I understand they divide the children into age groups. My 8-year-old will be 9 the following month and I really wanted her to stay with her sister, will they let her stay with her sister at Camp Carnival? How strict are they on this?

2) Do you have any tips on how to carry around your S&S card? How do you keep from loosing it? Do you swim with it?

3) Will my children get S&S cards? If so, Can I assign a certain amount of money to each of their cards individually?

 

Any help with these questions would be greatly appreciated!

 

Thanks!

 

Any help with these questions would be greatly appreciated!

 

Thanks!

[EngIceDave]

1. Probably not. Same happened with my girls.

2. you can get a rubber lanyard (coiled cord) at casino or carry in your pocket. It is similar to a credit card.

3. Yes and yes.

 

FYI, don't know about your girls, their maturity or your comfort in their freedom, but my girls were about the same age as yours and really didn't care for Camp Carnival. According to them, it was "To juvenile"

 

My girls are responsible, courteous and well behaved, so we allowed them to be on their own aboard the ship. They did have to check in often. They stayed together, met friends quickly and mostly hung out near the arcade and some of the more quiet places all jibber-jabbering. They ate a lot of ice cream and juices. They explored the ship top to bottom and had far more fun than if they were in daycare...which is what Camp Carnival is.

 

Point is, only you know your kids and only you know your comfort, but don't worry if they want freedom. At 9 & 12, they'll be able to sign themselves in and out anyway. They'll be perfectly safe. It's a contained place, if anything happened, there's no where for anyone to go.

 

They will love the cruise.

Mine keep bugging us about our next one

[MonkeySea]

Thanks for the reply.

 

My girls sound a lot like yours. I just really wanted them to stick together, probably more for my peace of mind. Thanks for the advice!

[EngIceDave]

BTW, I did notice that in areas the kids gravitated to, there were cameras.

 

I thought that was interesting.

 

We were on the Legend, and they have an area called the "Enchanted Forest" which was a quiet area of fake trees...the kids would mingle there and it was fairly close to the arcade.

 

There were a few cameras in that area, some visible and some not.

 

Carnival is pretty on top of it.

[EngIceDave]

Silly glitchy forum

[Mysticks1]

 

1) I have two girls ages 8 and 12 that will be on the ship. From what I understand they divide the children into age groups. My 8-year-old will be 9 the following month and I really wanted her to stay with her sister, will they let her stay with her sister at Camp Carnival? How strict are they on this?

It will really depend upon the counselors there if they will allow this. Some have reported that they will and some will not. Go to the meet and greet the first night and explain to them what you want and ask if it is possible. My dd was 11 last year on the Conquest and she absolutely loved it. She didn't want to spend time with us at all. She also participated in the 2 late night parties ($26 each I think). The counselors escort them back to their cabins afterward so you don't have to get up.

 

2) Do you have any tips on how to carry around your S&S card? How do you keep from loosing it? Do you swim with it?

You can get a water safe to carry it in. They are just a little bigger than the card and you can carry your DL and money in it also. The one I have has a black lanyard for around your neck. It was watertight and floated if dropped in the water. I bought mine on ebay but they had a larger version on the ship.

 

3) Will my children get S&S cards? If so, Can I assign a certain amount of money to each of their cards individually?

You can assign a certain amount or have the charging privilege turned off on it.

[Quilting_Cruiser]

... had far more fun than if they were in daycare...which is what Camp Carnival is.

 

You must have a pretty great daycare! Camp Carnival has a lot of activites for the kids--my DD has loved it every time! I think a better comparison would be a camp environment rather than a daycare.

 

They'll be perfectly safe. It's a contained place, if anything happened, there's no where for anyone to go.

 

I just need to add a word of caution on this one. I would never consider my child "perfectly safe" on a cruise ship. Even on a cruise there are people who cannot be trusted, and I wouldn't even consider giving them the opportunity to find my child alone. Our DD is not allowed to go anywhere on the ship without her older sister (who's 20) or her father or me. You should use the same precautions on a cruise that you use in your home town.

 

Jayne

[EngIceDave]

Your child isn't perfectly safe anywhere.

 

But in a closed environment, the chances are less that anything will happen.

 

How many children cruise per year and how many bad incidences are there involving children?

 

My kids are well educated in regards to the dangers in life.

[Cotton]

Dave - What did you mean by "Silly glitchy forum".....:confused:

[EngIceDave]

It put up my post twice.

 

Sometimes when using the quick reply, the system "seems" to lock up, because it just sits there forever.

 

So, you stop and resubmit, and your post is up twice.

 

Ever notice you see a lot of double posts?

[Cotton]

:D Yes, lots of double posts. Just didn't know what you meant out of the blue like that.

[LHP]

You must have a pretty great daycare! Camp Carnival has a lot of activites for the kids--my DD has loved it every time! I think a better comparison would be a camp environment rather than a daycare.

 

 

 

I just need to add a word of caution on this one. I would never consider my child "perfectly safe" on a cruise ship. Even on a cruise there are people who cannot be trusted, and I wouldn't even consider giving them the opportunity to find my child alone. Our DD is not allowed to go anywhere on the ship without her older sister (who's 20) or her father or me. You should use the same precautions on a cruise that you use in your home town.

 

Jayne

 

I often warn parents who may become "to comfortable" with the "vacation aspect" of the surroundings. This is a small town with 1,000's of people. And while the staff and crew have all been checked out to some degree....there are 1,000's of passengers who have not. You have no idea who your neighbor is.

 

Ask yourself if you would drive into a small town where you don't know another living soul and let your 8 and 12 year daughters old run around town unattended?

 

If your daughters don't do Camp Carnival, I would also add a walkie talkie to the rule that they must stay together.

[LHP]

Silly glitchy forum

 

 

Excellent description. I think that should become the "industry standard" comment for when this happens!!

[lovncruzn]

Yeah, I agree- I have read cruise bruise(probably a bad idea) and would definitely keep a really close eye on my kids onboard.

[lovncruzn]

Yeah, I agree- I have read cruise bruise(probably a bad idea) and would definitely keep a really close eye on my kids onboard.

[lovncruzn]

Silly glitchy forum

:p

Oops! Same here

[MonkeySea]

Thank you all for your responses. I don't really know what I will do. I am really over protective of my children and I won't even let them stay at home by themselves while I run to the gas station. It is not that I don't think they are mature enough, or wouldn't be able to handle it, I just would never be able to forgive myself if something happened to them. Living in Dallas, TX. you cannot be to careful. I really don't even want them without each other at Camp Carnival. I hope that they will allow them to stay together.If not, I will have just as much fun with them by my side at all times. Thanks for the great replies!:)