Carnival - party boat or kid friendly?

[LSKC]

we didn't even price a carnival cruise b/c we had heard over the yrs that it is more of a young party boat - 20 somethings and lots of drinking?

 

is that the case? or do they cater to families with young kids too.

we are 30 somethings with 2 children age 3 & 6.

[sm76]

we just recently on the victory with our children, 3 and 8. They had a blast. They have a great kids progam, my kids wanted to be there all day and night:) .

[letscruisegd]

I will be going on my 10th Carnival cruise in a couple of weeks and I have yet to see this drunken party ship that I've heard so much about. Of course I've seen people who had a few drinks too many but I've never experienced this party crowd. What I see onboard are people simply enjoying their vacation.

 

I don't have any personal experience with the Camp Carnival program however I've observed some of the kids activities and they appear to have a blast. My DD and I saw a little boy who appeard to be about 3 years old looking really sad and he kept saying "I don't wanna leave" when we were leaving at the end of the cruise. Based on that, it's safe to assume the Camp Carnival staff take really good care of the kids and see to it that they enjoy themselves.

[SadieQ]

My kids had a great time on our two Carnival cruises. We'll probably go with another line next time we cruise, just to try something different, but I didn't run in to any more "party" people than you see in most tourist destinations.

 

The kids program was very good, and there's pizza and ice cream 24 hours a day. What more do kids need?

[Nebr.cruiser]

We've been on two Carnival cruises, one with just us two, one with four grandkids, 5,5,4 & 3. We've also sailed Princess and Celebrity. I honestly didn't notice any more of a 'party' atmosphere on Carnival than on the others and they were great with the kids.

 

We don't do the late night lounge/dancing scene though, so I can't comment on that. It also might make a difference the time of year you are sailing. Spring break cruises might have more of a party atmosphere, I've heard, as do some of the shorter cruises.

[dolphins76]

We have sailed both RCCL and Carnival with our 2 kids ages 8,9,12 now. They loved both cruiselines but they say Camp Carnival was so much better. So my soon to be hubby and I decided to use Carnival when getting married next year.

 

Happy Sailing!!

Jayme

[I&MsMom]

I agree with the previous posters: I have not seen the "party" atmosphere so many assume applies to Carnival. We choose Carnival for our first cruise (with a 5 year old and a 25 month old) because they not only allow a 2 year old in Camp, but they also change diapers. We had so much fun, we've taken several more cruises, all on Carnival. Between the fact that the kids LOVE Camp Carnival and the incredible value, we haven't been tempted by any other lines. In fact, we're counting down to an eastern Med. cruise on the new Carnival Freedom - we're bringing the kids (who will be 4 and 8), and we're all really excited!

 

I think if you give Carnival a chance, you'll be pleasantly surprised, particularly if you choose more than a 3 or 4 day itinerary. Whatever you decide, happy cruising!

[vetgirl]

Oh no! Please at least consider Carnival for an upcoming cruise.

 

I think they have a great balance of people, activities, etc. and a wonderful, relaxed environment. You will find something for everybody in the family! We are 30-somethings and have a 2-year-old DD with another on the way. We will stick with Carnival as long as we don't have a reason to even think about switching cruise lines.

 

Yes, you will find some partiers, mostly at night when your kids wouldn't be exposed to it anyway. Not out of control crazy partiers, just people wanting to have fun. Maybe utilize their babysitting services and join in!:p

 

We LOVE Carnival!:D

[Julia’s Journey’s]

We have been on 2 Carnival cruises with the kids but they prefer the DCL, the camp doesn't close at mealtimes and we got to relax more as we weren't clock watching.

I also prefer the fresh water pools on the other ships and I did found the crowd around the pool on our last Carnival very loud drunk and roudy :(

[crusinmama06]

My last cruise was Carnival Elation my next one is RCCL Freedom. My children are 6 and 2. I really didn't see any "party boat" behavior. It was like any other cruise we had ever been on. Base your decision on itinerary, price and the ship you would like to go on...not rumor.

 

It was just as family oriented as RCCL.

[abolanowski]

We sailed on Carnival Destiny last Feb with our (then) 17mo DD. There was a fair amount of loud young male drinking around the pools, which themselves were really small and kind of gross. There was a toddler pool up on the top deck which was directly in the sun, no shade watsoever, and absolutely filthy, and surrounded by teenagers with bottle caps and discarded food on the ground around it. My DD went to the kids club for the babysitting on the sea days (two hours around lunch time, $6/hr I think) because she was too young for the camp. She was there with one other little girl and they were both essentially ignored and allowed to play on their own with the toys. Not awful, but she wasn't begging to go back either. Otherwise, the room was great (we had a suite) and the itinerary was fabulous. We never felt unwelcome, even in the dining room where she was a little high maintanence.

 

We are sailing on RCI this time because of the pools (FOS) It would have been nice to at least go in once (and yes, she was an early potty trainer) :p