Cruising with my 4 year old & Grandmama

[In2why]

Hello everyone! Great to have found this site since it is very helpful and just reading through the boards is giving me info I never even knew I needed.

 

I have a couple of questions.

 

We are bringing our four year old with us (he is well behaved but of course being 4 he isn't perfect) and I am wondering about the on board activities. He loves to swim (is too shy to splash others) and play but we are going to be on Celebration and I noticed some said the children's area's are smaller on this ship. Are there still activities for families? And if so did your children seem to enjoy them or were they just thrown together so the ship could say they had children's activities?

 

I read that they had nightime childcare. Has anyone used this and what did you think? Are the childcare providers good with the children? Are they people they already know from some of the family activities?

 

We are bringing Grandma with us in a nearby room to be with the little man when we aren't, but would like the opportunity to do things with her a night or 2 as well.

 

We are leaving in March....do they heat the pools or is the weather just that good that they don't have to?

 

Can you think of any special tips for cruising with little ones that we should know to make it more enjoyable for all? (of Course I won't let him play in adult areas or push all the elevator buttons..but I can't promise to keep him from running up and down the stairs to burn off energy...heck I will even encourage it as long as it is a normal hour and isn't bothering anyone)

 

Thanks

[buddyjo143]

My experience from our family cruise at Christmas (with nieces/nephew ages 5 to 13) was that when Camp is open for family activities it is with minimal to no supervision from the staff so it is not like your child will see staff at family play and see them at night for slumber party/babysitting.

 

Will your child go to other Camp daytime activities without you? That is where he will interact with the staff. After 10 p.m. there is a charge for group babysitting. They do activities with the awake children, and those who want to sleep are set up with mats and pillows and blankets.

 

Our family was older and the 5 to 8 year olds LOVED Camp and especially the late night activities. It was such a treat for them to not have to go to bed, be with other kids, play, have snacks.

 

I would say, give him a short try on your first full day, see if he likes the staff and other kids and go from there.

 

Enjoy.

[buddyjo143]

Can you think of any special tips for cruising with little ones that we should know to make it more enjoyable for all? (of Course I won't let him play in adult areas or push all the elevator buttons..but I can't promise to keep him from running up and down the stairs to burn off energy...heck I will even encourage it as long as it is a normal hour and isn't bothering anyone)

 

Thanks

 

Me again, tip your room steward and dining room staff a little extra. Some people think they shouldn't have to tip for children but you know how much cleaning you do after him at home. The steward and waiter will be cleaning up after him on the cruise.

 

Even if he is not a super messy eater, kids always have crumbs under their chair and the waiter should try to take extra care by pushing food quicker to your little one to keep him from being cranky at dinner.

[VentureMan_2000]

The pools on Carnival ships are filled with filtered ( yes, very clean ) sea water. The temperature of the pools are the same as the temperature of the ocean. You might want to warn your child that the pool tastes "salty".

 

However, I've never seen this slow down a 4 year old on a ship. Make sure to bring a life vest or arm floaties. I'm sure he will have a grand time in the pool. :)

 

I can't speak to other activities available on board.

[Rowan555]

My kids were 2 and 3 when they took their first cruise on the Holiday, which is the same class of ship as Celebration. They loved Camp Carnival and enjoyed doing the activities each day. They were usually so tired from Camp Carnival that they didn't want to get in the pool - we would just eat and then relax in the stateroom or somewhere on the Promenade Deck.

 

The Celebration does have a much smaller Camp Carnival area than other ships - but as a first time cruiser, your son won't know the difference! Had you cruised on the Conquest last month I'd say you have a problem :-) -- but he'll have a blast and enjoy every minute of it.

 

My kids are 6 and 8 now and are about to take their 7th Carnival cruise. We've been on Holiday, Fantasy, and Conquest class ships, and they enjoy them all equally. The Camp Carnival staff are SO wonderful, and they will make sure your son has a great time. The late night babysitting is done by the same staff who do Camp Carnival during the day, so should you choose to leave him there between the hours of 10 PM and 3 AM, he will know the people who are caring for him. Usually during these hours they'll dim the lights, put on a movie, and lay pillows and blankets out. Most of the kids end up sleeping the whole time. Which is a GOOD thing, because then they're ready to get up the next morning and have fun, rather than being exhausted from a late night of playing.

 

Hope this helps, and I hope you guys enjoy your cruise!

[boaterette]

Don't forget to also tip the camp counslers.

[mginsb8256]

Going on our 7th cruise on Thursday. We have taken our 7 year old on all of them. the last 3, and the upcoming 4th are on Carnival. We choose this line because of Camp Carnival. Our son always has a great time. The staff is wonderful, and I think they have great security with the signing in / signing out.

BUT..I am not sure / can't remember what age children are accepted for camp carnival. Please double check that, because I seem to recall that they can be fairly rigid about the age thing.

That being said.. Our routine was always to have breakfast as a family, then drop our son off at camp...we'd have some adult time, and then pick him up and have family lunch, and swim. Then we'd shower and get ready for dinner. Our son would go back to Camp carnival, and we'd have an adult dinner. After dinner we'd take in a show, and pick our son back up on the way back to the cabin.. We seemed to have the right balance of family and adult time, which made it / makes it a great vacation for eveyone.

Enjoy!!!

[Rowan555]

The youngest age group for Camp Carnival is 2-5.

 

You can probably search on Webshots and find the Camp Carnival capers for the Celebration, to give you an idea of the activities and what to expect.

 

The sea day hours of Camp Carnival are generally 9-12, 2-5, and 7-10. This is perfect because it allows you to have meals and some fun time together in between sessions. From 10 PM to 3 AM you will pay $6 per hour for babysitting if you leave your child at Camp Carnival. Sometimes they'll ask you to let them know ahead of time that you'll be using the babysitting, and other times (probably when there are fewer kids on board) you can just decide on the fly to leave them, and you pay with your sail and sign card when you pick them up.

 

On port days Camp Carnival is open all day, but they ask that you pick them up for lunch if you're on the ship. Some people will leave their kids at Camp while they go into port. I really don't recommend this, but people do it. We normally go into port for several hours, then come back, shower, and let the kids have some down time at Camp Carnival before dinner. On port days they usually do more low key activities like watching movies.

 

Camp Carnival also has dinner several nights of the cruise - you drop your kids off around 5:45 or 6 on the Lido Deck and they eat dinner and then go to the Camp Carnival room for the 7 PM to 10 PM session. My kids don't care for this, as they prefer to eat with us in the dining room. You might want to give it a try one night just to see if your son enjoys it (and to have one "adult" dinner for yourself).

[In2why]

Will your child go to other Camp daytime activities without you? That is where he will interact with the staff. After 10 p.m. there is a charge for group babysitting. They do activities with the awake children, and those who want to sleep are set up with mats and pillows and blankets.

 

Our family was older and the 5 to 8 year olds LOVED Camp and especially the late night activities. It was such a treat for them to not have to go to bed, be with other kids, play, have snacks.

 

I would say, give him a short try on your first full day, see if he likes the staff and other kids and go from there.

 

Enjoy.

 

I am really glad I brought this up. I didn't realize that they had camp activities during the day that didn't include parents. I thought all the activities were as a family. What type of things do they do during the day? I guess I will try to hunt down a Capers so I can takke a peek. Are these fee based? Other than of course tipping the staff?

[In2why]

The pools on Carnival ships are filled with filtered ( yes, very clean ) sea water. The temperature of the pools are the same as the temperature of the ocean. You might want to warn your child that the pool tastes "salty".

 

However, I've never seen this slow down a 4 year old on a ship. Make sure to bring a life vest or arm floaties. I'm sure he will have a grand time in the pool. :)

 

I can't speak to other activities available on board.

 

 

I didn't realize that the pools were salt water, but that makes sense. We live on the water so that won't be a problem in the least....except he will be amazed he can see underwater lol. I imagine that the water will warm up the further south we get. I know what the water temp is like here in March and brrrrrr.