dolphinwyo Posted October 22, 2007 #1 Share Posted October 22, 2007 Hi, We will be going on Carnival Imagination the end of Feb. I have been researching excursions extensively, as we are traveling with an active 3 y.o. boy and 6 y.o. girl, my questions to whoever can help/advise are: 1. Does Camp Carnival allow the kids to mingle or do they HAVE to be separted by age? What about the night time babysitting - can they be in one room then? 2. How safe is it to leave your kids on board and go to shore excursions alone? How would they contact you? Makes me nervous, but I know people do it everyday. 3. Stop at Grand Turks - my thoughts on this were either just getting off and exploring the cruise center, etc., or booking the semi-sub and then exploring. I am concerned about my 3 y.o. on the semi-sub - is it entertaining? Are there bathrooms? 4. Stop at Half Moon Cay- we were thinking of splurging on the cabana since we could get a break from the sun, (we are fair skinned and snow people:) ), but not sure if it is worth it, or if the clamshells are good enough? Anybody used a cabana or been to Half Moon with kids? 5. Nassau - we were thinking of leaving them onboard and going to Atlantis, I wasn't sure about this port. Suggestions? They do not like dark, caves, etc. so thinking the Dig might be scary, plus it sounds like a trek - is it even worth seeing Atlantis for the day? Would you book it thru the ship or just get off and taxi to it? Any thoughts would be much appreciated..... Thanks!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crusinmama06 Posted October 23, 2007 #2 Share Posted October 23, 2007 1. Your children will be separated. The only time they will be allowed to "mingle" is if the 3 year old becomes upset, they will send the 6 year old over to comfort him. Even at night, the kids are kept separate. The 6-8 year old group at night have a dance party while the 2-5 year olds have a slumber party where they lay down and watch movies. 2. I never leave my kids onboard alone because they can't contact you on shore. The pagers do not work onshore and they do tell you this at Camp. And my child has had a medical emergency onboard a ship so I won't ever leave them alone. :( 3. Have never done Grand Turks (would love too though). For my family, that would be a beach day. 4. Half Moon Cay - never been there either 5. Atlantis, we've been there twice this year. It is my kids absolute FAVORITE place in the world. They LOVE Atlantis. They are 3 and 7. The first time, my youngest was 2. Do your kids like the water? Atlantis is a kid's paradise. There are a few ways to get into Atlantis for a fam of 4...the cheapest would be to get a room at Comfort Inn Suites next door. The cheapest price I have ever seen it is $130 (on sale). We book Atlantis when it's on sale and we have paid $179 - $199. But when you divide it for a fam of 4, that's less than $50 per person which is the price of any excursion. There is tons of info on Atlantis at the Nassau board. Just take a taxi ($4 per person). These are my kids at Atlantis.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dolphinwyo Posted October 23, 2007 Author #3 Share Posted October 23, 2007 Thanks for the great advice - hopefully the kiddos will do o.k. being separated, they are in separate schools/preschools, so should be o.k. Hopefully they will have so much fun they won't mind. We will probably use the evening babysitting more than the camp, so maybe they will be tired enough to just rest.. Thanks for the great pics too - It looks like it might be worth it for the water park, I was thinking they were too little to enjoy it. It would be very upsetting to have an emergency while I was off the ship, so I think I will avoid that! Thanks again! I welcome anyone elses input on the other excursions...Thanks for adding the pics...looks like your kids had fun!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crusinmama06 Posted October 23, 2007 #4 Share Posted October 23, 2007 Thanks for the great advice - hopefully the kiddos will do o.k. being separated, they are in separate schools/preschools, so should be o.k. Hopefully they will have so much fun they won't mind. We will probably use the evening babysitting more than the camp, so maybe they will be tired enough to just rest..Thanks for the great pics too - It looks like it might be worth it for the water park, I was thinking they were too little to enjoy it. It would be very upsetting to have an emergency while I was off the ship, so I think I will avoid that! Thanks again! I welcome anyone elses input on the other excursions...Thanks for adding the pics...looks like your kids had fun!! I don't want you to get confused at all. The "evening babysitting" I know is a confusing term. The babysitting is actually just a continuation of the normal camp. I think they call it babysitting so they can charge for it...lol. ;) There is no resting for the 6-8 year olds, I assure you. Everytime we went to check on our 7 year old, they were dancing in a circle with the counselors. :D Then of course when we got her out, she was asleep before her head hit the pillow. But at the camp she was a ball of energy. Did you check out the camp schedules at the link in my signature? Just click on the link, then Camp Carnival Capers. The schedules are pretty much fleetwide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warm Breezes Posted October 23, 2007 #5 Share Posted October 23, 2007 We did the clam shell at half moon cay and that was plenty of shade for us. Kids spent most of the time in the water digging up sand dollars and feeding fish rice krispies. At Grand Turk we spent the first part of the day relaxing on the beach right at the dock then checked out the shops that were right there. We the spent some time at the swimming pool at Margarittaville before heading back to the ship. Both days were nice relaxing beach days for us. At Nassau we took the kids to the Pirate Museum and the straw market then spent the rest of the day on the ship. We did the glass bottom boat a on our first cruise. I would not recommend that tour. DD then 4 got her toe ran over by the loading plank and ended up losing her toe nail. No one helped us even though she was crying like crazy. Luckily I carried a first aid kit on me We did not see many fish through the glass bottom. All in all a bad experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crusinmama06 Posted October 23, 2007 #6 Share Posted October 23, 2007 We did the glass bottom boat a on our first cruise. I would not recommend that tour. DD then 4 got her toe ran over by the loading plank and ended up losing her toe nail. No one helped us even though she was crying like crazy. Luckily I carried a first aid kit on me We did not see many fish through the glass bottom. All in all a bad experience. I have to agree about these types of tours. Unless you are 100% certain thet your children will not get sea sick, be careful booking these. We did one in Key West when I first started cruising. As soon as we stood (they removed the cushions we were sitting on so we could see the fish underneath the boat) I suddenly got sick. There is a big difference between sitting on a small boat and standing on a small boat. ;) Many people on the tour were sick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dolphinwyo Posted October 23, 2007 Author #7 Share Posted October 23, 2007 All great ideas and thoughts - I will check out the camp schedule. Sounds like they will have fun no matter what. Great thoughts on the Half Moon and Grand Turks - how hard is it to get a clamshell? Can you reserve those on the boat, or is first come/first serve on the beach? I think we will skip the glass bottom boat, I am just leary about having my 3 y.o. contained in a small space. I didn't even think about seasickness--that would be horrible! Atlantis - in checking with the Comfort Inn- the time of year (Feb) that we are going it is $286/room, do you know how much the ships charge for the excursion? Maybe it would still be worth it. What time do they let you check in? Again...I appreciate all the feedback. In my experience, the more research I do now, the less hassles on vacation...totally worth the time and effort to plan ahead. Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crusinmama06 Posted October 23, 2007 #8 Share Posted October 23, 2007 Atlantis - in checking with the Comfort Inn- the time of year (Feb) that we are going it is $286/room, do you know how much the ships charge for the excursion? Maybe it would still be worth it. What time do they let you check in? Again...I appreciate all the feedback. In my experience, the more research I do now, the less hassles on vacation...totally worth the time and effort to plan ahead. Thanks again. That's expensive...what day will you be there? I will try to search out a better price and I will post it here. I don't know how much Carnival charges for that excursion because it wasn't offered on my cruises. You can check in at ANY time. Your room may not be available but they will give you braclets for Atlantis immediaty. Then the room will be ready by 2pm, so you can come back later, shower and head back to the ship. We usually stay at Atlantis until dinnertime. Then we head back to the ship for dinner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crusinmama06 Posted October 23, 2007 #9 Share Posted October 23, 2007 Atlantis - in checking with the Comfort Inn- the time of year (Feb) that we are going it is $286/room, do you know how much the ships charge for the excursion? Maybe it would still be worth it. What time do they let you check in? Again...I appreciate all the feedback. In my experience, the more research I do now, the less hassles on vacation...totally worth the time and effort to plan ahead. Thanks again. I went to the Port Of Call board and got this website. http://www.smartertravel.com/discounts/Save-Quality-Comfort-Clarion.html?id=16348 The price for Comfort Inn is $254.41 for Feb 29th, 1 night stay. That looks like the cheapest it's going to go. So compare that with the Carnival price when you find it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dolphinwyo Posted October 23, 2007 Author #10 Share Posted October 23, 2007 Feb 29 is when we will be there, so that price is better than I found on the choicehotels site. So, we could skip renting the cabana at HMC that we would pay $200 for, rent a clamshell instead, and put the $ towards the comfort inns room - is it worth that much? They don't mind people using it for the day only? I assume they know that is what you do - I suppose they are making money either way! Are there plenty of places to change in Atlantis then? Camp Carnival - so the evening camp is from 7-10 and then the babysitting fees kick in? Do you have to sign up in advance once on board for the babysitting/camp schedules that you want, or is it rarely full? Since we are going before spring breaks might not be too crowded. Thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warm Breezes Posted October 24, 2007 #11 Share Posted October 24, 2007 Try to be on the first tender to the island because the clam shells are first come first serve and they are taken fast. Go to the rental place which is right by where the tender docks right when you get on the island. The cabanas can be rented ahead of time on the ship but not the clam shells. I rented a clam shell and a float and we were set for the day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warm Breezes Posted October 24, 2007 #12 Share Posted October 24, 2007 Try to be on the first tender to the island because the clam shells are first come first serve and they are taken fast. Go to the rental place which is right by where the tender docks right when you get on the island. The cabanas can be rented ahead of time on the ship but not the clam shells. I rented a clam shell and a float and we were set for the day. To add to this, I just wanted to mention that clam shells were free on the beach at Grand Turk. The beach was right next to the dock with the Cruise ship right by it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crusinmama06 Posted October 24, 2007 #13 Share Posted October 24, 2007 They don't mind people using it for the day only? I assume they know that is what you do - I suppose they are making money either way! Are there plenty of places to change in Atlantis then?Camp Carnival - so the evening camp is from 7-10 and then the babysitting fees kick in? Do you have to sign up in advance once on board for the babysitting/camp schedules that you want, or is it rarely full? Since we are going before spring breaks might not be too crowded. Thanks again! No, they don't mind. They know that people are only using it to get to Atlantis. Yes there are plenty of places to change at Atlantis. Is it worth it? For us it is. After being there twice we still haven't seen everything. The place is that big. We would just hop from one swimming area to another. And we never made it to them all. Now your kids (like mine) are too short for "Aquaventure"...so the more intense water rides, they won't be allowed on. The kids are allowed on the Lazy River and any kid slide between pools. And there are at least 3 kid only pools that I can think of off the top of my head. One has a pirate ship and a whole water works set up. Then there are pools of sharks, turtles, stingrays, starfish all over the place. You'll just be walking around and see one. They are everywhere. The kids love that part. Camp Carnival - as soon as you walk onboard you will be greeted by a camp counselor. They will put the tender braclet on your children (the kids have to wear these the whole cruise...I know, they won't like them) When you get time the first day, make your way over to Camp carnival to register the children. Then they can come to any activities. You don't have to sign them up for any activity. And you don't have to sign them up for babysitting either. Once 10pm hits, if the kids are there then the meter starts running (so to speak ;) ) When you go to pick them up, if they were there past 10pm, you will be asked for your SS card and they will bill you right there, you will have to sign for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dolphinwyo Posted October 24, 2007 Author #14 Share Posted October 24, 2007 Thanks so much, you have been a great help! I will talk to my hubby about Atlantis - sounds like a fun day for everyone! Do you get to see dolphins at Atlantis, or only if you do the encounters? I will start priming my kids for Camp - explaining they will be apart, but it should be o.k, same as church camps. They have to had wear bracelets somewhere else, and got used to it after a while...then you take them off and it feels strange to have them gone. Good to know that camp is not first come first serve, I suppose they see the list and get ready before we even get onboard. I will have to ponder all these great ideas and come up with our shore excursion plan of attack. Relaxing on the beach and swimming sounds great to me:) Thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crusinmama06 Posted October 24, 2007 #15 Share Posted October 24, 2007 Do you get to see dolphins at Atlantis, or only if you do the encounters? I didn't see any dolphins but I wasn't looking either. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellanora Posted October 25, 2007 #16 Share Posted October 25, 2007 In regards to Half Moon Cay and a cabana, here is a thread with my review of our cabana a few weeks ago: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=641559 I highly recommend the cabanas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dolphinwyo Posted October 25, 2007 Author #17 Share Posted October 25, 2007 Thanks for the detailed info on all the excursions...now it just comes down to decisions, decisions....but at least they are all good choices and we can't wait for the fun to begin!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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