Cruise with 5 year old

[4thcruise]

This will be our first cruise with our 5 yr. old son, it looks like he will be in with the Toddlers (ages 2-5) has anyone had a 5 yr. old in camp?

Do they split the 4/5 yrs. away from the younger ones? I just know he would hate being with what he would call "babies" all week, or would he have the option of going up to the Juniors (ages 6-8).

Thanks for any information

[mrleo33]

I would not give it a thought. If your son has one complaint about Camp carnival I will be very surprised. As the parent of cruising children from ages 2-7, I think you will find that Camp Carnival's Staff is extrememly adept at engaging your child's interest regardless of what group he is in. Most likely the only problem you will have with your son related to Camp carnival is when it is time for him to leave. I was so sad when I came to pick my kids up and when they saw me they knew it was time to go and they started to cry lol! They are usually happy to see me... But Camp is sooo much fun.

[DqALEX]

My youngest was 5 on her first cruise. She had a great time at camp carnival. She still does. The camp is the first place they want to go when we get on the ship now. Camp carnival is a great service to the parents and the kids.

[PelicanBill]

The camp counselors are very good at managing activities that are suitable for the ages that are present at any time. There will often be multiple activities underway. My daughter is not a fan of sports play for example, and she often had the choice of doing crafts, coloring, and movies.

 

mrleo33 had it right - it's rare for a child to complain about camp. Separation anxiety could be an issue if your child is not used to spending time away from you, but that's the only issue we ever ran into (at age 6.)

 

Don't make any special requests unless your child actually tells you they are not enjoying it... 99% of children love it there and hate to see their parents coming to pick them up.

[MrPete]

My now almost 9 year old started cruising with us when she was 4.

 

Never have needed the use of the camps, but those parents that do that we have met have had a hard time keeping theirs out of there, they rave about it so much.

[nybumpkin]

My youngest son was 5 when we cruised on Conquest two years ago, and they did divide the younger kids into 2-3 and 4-5 year olds - there were a lot of kids in that group, so it made sense to split them. He was still running into his new friends while we were in the airport after the cruise.