Toddler on Carnival Valor

[trpt13]

Hi all...I just spent 3 hours reading these boards and still have some questions...

 

I will be on the Carnival Valor next month with my DH and DS (2 yrs old)

 

1. Does Carnival provide a pack-n-play for sleeping?

2. or Will they make a 'bed' on the floor for him?

3. Does Camp Carnival have a place for Napping?

4. Are Formal nights usually on Sea days? - I want a toddler free dinner on formal nights, but camp carnival is limited on Sea Days.

5. How does "in-room' babysitting work and does it 'sell-out' fast

6. what are the lines really like when you drop your kids off at camp carnival on port mornings? has anyone ever had a cruise excursion not wait for them?

7. when are the mandatory times you must pick up your child from camp carnival?

 

I think that is enough now...I could probably ask 100 questions!

I would love advice from anyone that has cruised on Carnival, especially the Valor, preferably recently, in case things have changed over the years.

Thanks so much!

A very overly anxious mom!

[I&MsMom]

Hi! I can't address all of your questions with 100% accuracy, but I can cover a few. As background, we took our first cruise ever when DD was 25 months in 1/05. We've taken five others since, all Carnival.

 

1. Not to the best of my knowledge.

2. I would imagine you could move the bedding to the floor.

 

What we did: put DD on the "couch bed". It's basically a twin. The pads that constitute the "back" of the couch during the day are removed and the "seat" becomes the bed. We then moved the table away from the bed, and put the couch cushions on the floor. That way, if she rolled out (she never did) she'd hit the soft couch cushions.

 

3. Again not sure. We always took DD out of camp for her nap. I do know that children often fall asleep in the evenings, and that doesn't seem to be an issue.

 

4. Yes, they "usually" are. We've always had dinner with the kids in the dining room, but from what I've read, Camp has been available for the kids during formal nights, complete with a "Coke-tail" party.

 

5. There is no "in room" babysitting on Carnival. Camp is free until 10 pm, then "group" babysitting rates kick in.

 

6. We've never left the kids on port mornings, but I've been told the Camp is open from when the ship docks until sailaway. I do know sign-up/sign-out is completely dependent on how many kids are on board for your sailing. The more kids, the longer it takes, even though they put the older kids somewhere other that the actual Camp space if there are tons of them.

 

7. It varies day to day, but generally hours are 9-noon, 2-5 and 7-10, with group babysitting available after 10. The last sea day afternoon, hours are reduced because that is generally when they have the kid's talent show - even the little ones learn a routine.

 

HTH, at least a little, and if you have any other questions, fire away!:)

 

I hope you have as positive an experience with your cruise as we've had with ours!

[crusinmama06]

Hi all...I just spent 3 hours reading these boards and still have some questions...

 

I will be on the Carnival Valor next month with my DH and DS (2 yrs old)

 

1. Does Carnival provide a pack-n-play for sleeping?

2. or Will they make a 'bed' on the floor for him?

3. Does Camp Carnival have a place for Napping?

4. Are Formal nights usually on Sea days? - I want a toddler free dinner on formal nights, but camp carnival is limited on Sea Days.

5. How does "in-room' babysitting work and does it 'sell-out' fast

6. what are the lines really like when you drop your kids off at camp carnival on port mornings? has anyone ever had a cruise excursion not wait for them?

7. when are the mandatory times you must pick up your child from camp carnival?

 

I think that is enough now...I could probably ask 100 questions!

I would love advice from anyone that has cruised on Carnival, especially the Valor, preferably recently, in case things have changed over the years.

Thanks so much!

A very overly anxious mom!

 

1 and 2. Yes Carnival does provide a bed for him. They brought a smaller bed for my 2 year old to lay on the floor.

 

3. Camp Carnival does not schedule a nap time. If he crashes, they do have blankets and pillows. But it is pretty active there during the day.

 

4. No, formal nights can be on a port day too.

 

5. Carnival does NOT have "in cabin babysitting"....that would be RCCL. Carnival has group babysitting at the camp.

 

6. The excursion will not wait for you to drop the child off at Camp. You have to be prompt. Sometimes there are a few people in line dropping off.

 

7. On sea days, Camp closes at lunch time and about 1-2 hours before dinner. It then reopens at 5:45pm for dinner and stays open till 1am (after 10pm it's a charge per hour)

[trpt13]

Thanks for the advice! It's nice to hear from real experiences.