CAMP CARNIVAL questions, info PLEASE!!

[abster70]

Going on Miracle 8/5/08 out of NYC. My second cruise, first was with RCCL back in '06 and I didn't bring the kids.

 

Have DD 8 and DS6 and know nothing about how Camp Carnival works. I see you have to pick them up for lunch which is fine by me, but can they have dinner there one night so we can try the supper club?

 

Also, my DD wants to be in the 9-12 group since she will be 9 in November, 3 months after we sail. Are they strict with age cutoffs?

 

Can I put them in camp some days and not others, or just in the mornings? Afternoons?

 

Do they let the older kids come and go as they please? How does the staff contact you if the kids need you?

 

Help please, and thanks!

[Bookbug53]

Going on Miracle 8/5/08 out of NYC. My second cruise, first was with RCCL back in '06 and I didn't bring the kids.

 

Have DD 8 and DS6 and know nothing about how Camp Carnival works. I see you have to pick them up for lunch which is fine by me, but can they have dinner there one night so we can try the supper club?

 

Also, my DD wants to be in the 9-12 group since she will be 9 in November, 3 months after we sail. Are they strict with age cutoffs?

 

Can I put them in camp some days and not others, or just in the mornings? Afternoons?

 

Do they let the older kids come and go as they please? How does the staff contact you if the kids need you?

 

Help please, and thanks!

 

Have not sailed with kids but did some research on the Miracle last month for cruising next year with grandkids. The daily activity sheets for Camp Carnival indicates that you would pick the kids up to 'get ready for dinner' at 5 but they can be returned around 5:45 so they can enjoy dinner with the other kids. They listed a menu for them in the activity sheets. The Camp is then open until 10 pm I believe with babysitting available (at a fee) after that. Some evenings had special 'slumber party' nights that went later. The days were generally from early morning through the day with a later opening (12noon?) on port days. Some older kids can come and go if YOU allow it. I believe they provide pagers for contact. They seem to be rather strict about age groupings.

[*Mach*]

You might want to take a look at the Camp Carnival Capers from my recent 4 day on the Inspiration. Of course, yours will be somewhat different but you might be able to get an idea of the structure and types of activities the kiddos will have available to them.

 

http://s242.photobucket.com/albums/ff313/mach_man/Inspiration%20Capers/?start=40

[DqALEX]

Going on Miracle 8/5/08 out of NYC. My second cruise, first was with RCCL back in '06 and I didn't bring the kids.

 

Have DD 8 and DS6 and know nothing about how Camp Carnival works. I see you have to pick them up for lunch which is fine by me, but can they have dinner there one night so we can try the supper club?

 

Also, my DD wants to be in the 9-12 group since she will be 9 in November, 3 months after we sail. Are they strict with age cutoffs?

 

Can I put them in camp some days and not others, or just in the mornings? Afternoons?

 

Do they let the older kids come and go as they please? How does the staff contact you if the kids need you?

 

Help please, and thanks!

I can't say enough great thing about camp Carnival. my kids have been going for years. Go the first night to camp carnival orientation sign up. The time will be in your carnival caper. Your kids have a choice to eat with the camp at night up on the lido deck. Most times they will want to eat with there friends from camp. Camp Carnival will also bring them to the show and they get great seats. You can sign them out of camp anytime you wish and sign them back in. They can also go to camp when the ship is in port if you are going on a tour. From what I have seen the age group they are not flexible on.

[LefNJ]

Going on Miracle 8/5/08 out of NYC. My second cruise, first was with RCCL back in '06 and I didn't bring the kids.

 

Have DD 8 and DS6 and know nothing about how Camp Carnival works. I see you have to pick them up for lunch which is fine by me, but can they have dinner there one night so we can try the supper club?

 

Also, my DD wants to be in the 9-12 group since she will be 9 in November, 3 months after we sail. Are they strict with age cutoffs?

 

Can I put them in camp some days and not others, or just in the mornings? Afternoons?

 

Do they let the older kids come and go as they please? How does the staff contact you if the kids need you?

 

Help please, and thanks!

 

We were on the triumph in April with our 4 & 7 year olds. Your children (6 & 8) will be in the same group. I did not try, but I have heard from others that they are strict about putting children in older age groups. My experience on the triumph was that on some sea days the 6-8 yr old group was together with the 9-12 year old group (don't know if this was unusual or if it is always that way).

 

You can put your kids in camp any day(s) and for as long or short as you (or the kids) want. They have dinner with the camp options just about every night -- just drop the kids off and they can eat with their friends and the counselors.

 

Kids 9 and older can sign themselves in and out. Under 9 they must be signed in and out by parents. If you have a child in the 2-5 age group (which you don't) you get a beeper. I got a beeper for my younger one and was able to give the beeper # for them to contact me if my older one needed me. I did see some children in the 6-8 yr old group with walkie-talkies. The ship does not provide them -- bring your own. (My DH & I used walkie talkies on the Triumph and they worked pretty well).

 

My kids loved the camp. Enjoy your cruise!!!

[PaulMedik]

Going on Miracle 8/5/08 out of NYC. My second cruise, first was with RCCL back in '06 and I didn't bring the kids.

 

Have DD 8 and DS6 and know nothing about how Camp Carnival works. I see you have to pick them up for lunch which is fine by me, but can they have dinner there one night so we can try the supper club?

 

Also, my DD wants to be in the 9-12 group since she will be 9 in November, 3 months after we sail. Are they strict with age cutoffs?

 

Can I put them in camp some days and not others, or just in the mornings? Afternoons?

 

Do they let the older kids come and go as they please? How does the staff contact you if the kids need you?

 

Help please, and thanks!

 

 

abster70,

 

They offer several evenings of CC dinner so you should have no problem choosing a night for you and your husband to try the supper club. They also take them to the shows in the lounge when they have them for dinner.

 

DD will not likely be able to move up. Moving down is generally allowed, but not up.

 

You DD will not be able to sign out on her own. Children nine and older can do so with parental consent. Also only the parent that signs them in can sign them out.

 

You can take them mornings, afternoons, or evenings whenever you like. You can also pay for them to stay until 3:00AM if you like.

[serene56]

You might want to reconsider putting your 8 year old daughter into the older program. (even if allowed) those 3 months makes a huge difference when dealing with a 12 year old boy.

 

9-12 year olds can sign themselves in and out of the program. without permission the kids can not particiapate in some activities that include-- the ship wide scavenger hunt.

 

You are cruising during a high family sailing time and there will be lots of kids onboard-- Carnival camps are strict-- liability issues to the ages of the kids in the camps-- it is easier to put a kid down in age groups then it is to move them up. If you were sailing during a lower sailing season the opportunity might be differnt.

 

 

Camps open at 7pm on the nights they do close for dinner-- you can take your kids to the camp on those nights and make your reservations for after 7 at the supper club.

 

camps do have a coketail party on formal nights-- (dont know if i would give up a formal dinner in the dining room for the supper club though.

 

you do not have to particiapte in all activities== you get a calender on the first day-- hightlight what the kids would be interested in.

[taszmom]

I can give you some general info....

 

On the first evening they usually have a meet n greet with the Camp Carnival staff. That's where you;ll get all your info for your specific cruise. They will also provide the daily schedule of activities by age group and hours of operation. Hours vary by ship itinerary depending if the ship is at sea or in port. In general they operate from 9am-noon, break for lunch, 2pm-5pm, break for dinner, and then 7pm-10pm. After 10pm, babysitting is available for a small fee.

 

They will have a few nights where they will do kid's dinner and basically they go to the buffet supervised and then back to the kid's area afterwards. Dinner in the main dining room is a bit long (which we enjoy) but our DD gets bored. So we take her to the buffet for dinner around 6pm-7pm, and then me and my husband do the late dinner seating. Its more relaxed for us.

 

You can bring/take the kids out of Camp Carnival whenever you like. The younger children have to be signed in & out by a parent. They will allow the older children (I forget the ages) IF the parent signs a permission form stating the child can sign him or herself out.

 

In regards to the age groups, they are not strict about it. When there are siblings, they will let them go into groups together. It's a vacation, they want everyone to have fun.

 

I am not sure if they still use the beepers (it's been a while, but we will be on the Valor in June). When you sign your child in, they will also have you put down where on the ship you plan on being. What I did for my upcoming cruises if buy walkie talkies. This way my DD can contact me if she wants to leave Camp Carnival. Not sure how good they will work, we're testing them out this coming Sunday on the Caribbean Princess, then again on CCL Valor.

[serene56]

In regards to the age groups, they are not strict about it. When there are siblings, they will let them go into groups together. It's a vacation, they want everyone to have fun.

.

 

 

yes this is true-- but will not take a younger kid and move him up to be with the older kids.

 

the older kid will have to move down to be together.

But remember-- sailing in the first week of dec compared to the first week in August will be different as not many kids will be onboard that week.

[gazingm42]

We love camp on carnival and so do my kids.

 

 

1. They are normally VERY strict about the age groups. Where they might

be flexible is if you have another child in that age group already. But

in your case I don't see them allowing it.

 

2. Your child must be 9 to sign in and out. They do not issue pagers for 8

year olds, only the small children. If you are concern you will know where

they will be from the caper. You can check in with the kids to see if

they are ok.

 

3. Camp is closed from 12 - 2pm

 

4. Camp closes at 10PM. After 10pm there a charge of $6 per hour, $4 for

the 2nd child.

 

5. Same parent who signs them in MUST sign them out. Mom can not

sign them in and Dad sign out. You MUST have your S&S card with

a signature on the card.

 

6. Our kids 9 & 11 like to eat with us. But they can eat with camp on the

lido deck.

 

7. Our kids spend a lot of time in camp. They have a lot of fun there.

[abster70]

wow...you guys are great. Thanks for the input! I was thinking I wanted my DD to stay with her brother in the 6-8 group anyway. The 12 year old boy thing is enough to freak her Daddy out anyway! Now that you tell me there's really no flexibility in age groups, I can blame it on Carnival.;) It'll also be easier to track them both down in the same place to check on them or pick-up.

 

Walkie talkies are a great idea. Anyone have success using them? I have a feeling DD could easily lose it though with all the activity. Love the idea of buffet dinner with the kids and a late supper club reservation.

 

Any other suggestions would be great. Thanks!

[cstandish]

Walkie Talkie work good in most situations, but there are certain parts of the boats that you do not get good reception. It worked great for us, but my children are older and could sign themselves out. They are correct you need to go to the first meeting, this is where kids meet everyone and start friendships. A little side note: watch out for the time change, we were using our cellphone for a watch and was an hour late because it did not match up with the ship's clock. :(

[msnyder6706]

Going on Miracle 8/5/08 out of NYC. My second cruise, first was with RCCL back in '06 and I didn't bring the kids.

 

Have DD 8 and DS6 and know nothing about how Camp Carnival works. I see you have to pick them up for lunch which is fine by me, but can they have dinner there one night so we can try the supper club?

 

Also, my DD wants to be in the 9-12 group since she will be 9 in November, 3 months after we sail. Are they strict with age cutoffs?

 

Can I put them in camp some days and not others, or just in the mornings? Afternoons?

 

Do they let the older kids come and go as they please? How does the staff contact you if the kids need you?

 

Help please, and thanks!

 

We were on the Miracle last November. My kids at the time were 5, 7, 8, and 9. The 9yo made friends with other kids, my 7&8yo got lucky enough to be together but my poor 5yo was made to stay with the kids in his age group. He really had a hard time with this and wasn't allowed to participate in some of the activites. You can try and see if they let your dd be in the older group but don't count on it. They can go to camp whenever they want except during lunch. Mine wanted to go first thing in the morning, then we had lunch and then swimming. They ended up eating with the other camp kids all but one night- they liked that they didn't have to dress for dinner, plus it gave us a break. As far as coming and going, they allow that at 9yo but you can tell them that only you can sign them out and that they are not allowed to sign themselves out. You will be issued a phone also so they can get in touch with you.

One thing to note about this ship is that the camp is I believe on level 5 and it can get rocky in there. My kids complained of feeling sick sometimes because of the motion. If you have any other questions, let me know!

Also, we used walkies with the older one and just told the camp staff about it and they held on to it until he wanted to use it. The only problem was some interference when he was out running around. If Natalia is still there, she is wonderful! Let me know if you want pictures.

[imlulu]

I have used walkie talkies on our cruises. There are dead spots on the ship where you get no reception. I do have to buy some new ones for our upcoming cruise as ours died during our last cruise.

 

My kids loved Camp on our Feb cruises. Our last cruise was in July and the younger kids groups were packed with kids. The teen groups had no one particpate. It is all dependent on the sailing.

 

I let my kids pick and choose what they want to go to. We always eat meals together. However on our upcomign cruise my 15 yr old is pretty much deciding whether he wants to eat dinner with us or not.

 

For the 2-5 group Ive gotten a beeper not for the 6-8 and up.

Have a great time. We loved the Miracle!

[Muumuu]

Have cruised often with our grandsons and here is a hint for pick up of the kids. If both go and both sign them in then either one can check them out. I found this a great advantage if one of us were busy at pick up time.

[flowerchild]

Have cruised often with our grandsons and here is a hint for pick up of the kids. If both go and both sign them in then either one can check them out. I found this a great advantage if one of us were busy at pick up time.

 

Thanks you, that is great advice...

[abster70]

that is a great idea, thanks...

[Wennfred]

Example of the activites:

 

Valor's Camp Carnival:

 

Ages 2-5 years http://members.cox.net/wennfred3/2-5.html

 

Ages 6-8 years http://members.cox.net/wennfred2/6-8.html

 

Ages 9-11 years http://members.cox.net/wennfred3/9-11.html

 

Ages 12-14 http://members.cox.net/wennfred4/12-14.html

 

Under 2 years old http://members.cox.net/wennfred2/Under2.html

[serene56]

 

I let my kids pick and choose what they want to go to. We always eat meals together. However on our upcomign cruise my 15 yr old is pretty much deciding whether he wants to eat dinner with us or not.!

 

 

15-17 have their own "hang-out" area now using club 2o

there will be a get together the first night== make sure you teen gets there. Since carnival did this change over the teens have been having a better time. They have their own disco-- and yes the 14 year olds cant get in-- yes the younger kids are carded.

[abster70]

luckily the oldest on my group is my niece at 13 so no clubbing for her!

 

My 6 and 8 year old will be together and she can do her own thing. Am I correct from reading that the 6-8 year olds don't get any way to communicate with me from Carnival? Since they can't sign themselves out, which is reasonable, seems like the only way I'll have to keep in touch is the walkie talkies.

 

I just want to be able to know if they are bored (doubt it!), tired or just want to come back and hang with us.

[Hebejeebe]

My 6 and 8 year old will be together and she can do her own thing. Am I correct from reading that the 6-8 year olds don't get any way to communicate with me from Carnival? Since they can't sign themselves out, which is reasonable, seems like the only way I'll have to keep in touch is the walkie talkies.

 

I just want to be able to know if they are bored (doubt it!), tired or just want to come back and hang with us.

 

It's understandable that parents are anxious the first time they hand off their little darlings to Camp Carnival. But you don't use a walkie talkie when the kids go off to school do you? The first day you could come back in a couple of hours and peek in to see that everything is okay. The most common kid reaction when parents arrive early is "NOT NOW... I WANT TO PLAY LONGER". I highly recommend that you go to the Camp Orientation and that your children attend as early as possible so that they can make friends.

[abster70]

I'm sure you are right...but it's not school, this is their vacation too. I just want them to be able to do what they'd like, whether it's with or without me, it's their choice. I don't want them to feel 'stuck' if an activity is going on that doesn't interest them.

 

I will for sure hit the orientation that first night...