Has anyone here had their 11-year-old child at Camp Carnival, and what did they think

[Nacwolin]

I was looking at photos of the Camp Carnival area, and it looks like it is more geared to younger children, not "tweens". We are cruising with our three children this time, and the youngest will be 11. Anyone have any experience with CC and that age?

 

Thanks!

[cccer]

Our son was 11 on his first cruise and he had a wonderful time at Camp Carnival. They have a lot of stuff going on at all times.

Make sure to go to the meeting on the first day so he can hook up with other kids.

[Nacwolin]

Thanks, cccer!

[Essiesmom]

Go over to the Special Interest board, Family Cruising section, and check out the posts there. Lots of info about the differenbt childrens programs. EM

[mousey]

Depends on your child. Our DS loved the Carnival Camp when he was 3 1/2 (his first cruise), however, when we started cruising with him again when he was 8 he hated it and would not go. It may be because he always seem to fall into a group where he was the oldest age allowed in the group. We have cruised every year with him since then and he will not have anything to do with the kid's clubs. However, last year because of his age 12 1/2 he was able to sign into a group where he could come and go as he pleased. He was cool with that but mostly he didn't go. He usually goes to the game arcade first day on the ship, makes a new friend and then they hang together the rest of the cruise. He has never had a bad time on a cruise. They hang out and play ping pong, go to the game arcade, place cards and games in the game room, etc.:D

[Lib0007]

I have a 10 year old son who has been going to CC since he was 2. He still loves participating, but for the last cruise or two, he has only gone mostly at night. During the day, he prefers to hang with us around the pool and be with his friends . . . pool/pingpong/basketball/golf, etc.

 

On the last cruise, we decided to "try" letting him sign himself in/out of CC but had major boundaries involved . . . and it worked for us. That little sense of freedom, but with responsibility, made him enjoy camp that much more.

 

They have some fun activities in the 9-11 group and get to play the video games too.

[sysguy]

Hi!

We were just on Glory in December, our oldest is 11 (DD) and she ADORES Camp Carnival! There was heaps for them to do and she would check her capers each night and inform us what activities she would be doing the next day!:)

She made a couple of friends and that made it even more fun for her. We allowed her to sign herself in/out as they have scavenger hunts they go on in groups although she was not allowed to sign herself out to just roam around, she had to be meeting us. It gave her a sense of independence while still leaving us with a measure of control.

They spent most of their time in alternate locations like the disco and not too much time up at the camp location itself, as I said, she totally enjoyed it!:D

 

Cindra

[Warrior64]

Just off the Freedom with our 10 yr old and she loved camp carnival. They go on scavenger hunts (always in groups). they have parties in the disco, do crafts (make t-shirts and backpacks), swim, have dance classes, basket ball. putt putt, air hockey, video games, ice cream parties, pizza making parties, build a bear, candy making. On the first night you will get the weeks itinerary, and my daughter just took it from there. Never a bored moment!!!

[arpie05]

My son loves the kids activities. he's 12 so he's in the tween group (12-14). On NCL he was 12 also and it was 6-12 but he still had a blast. He won all the games and activities and if it was too young for him, he left.

 

On Carnival, there's usually a separate area for 12-14 (circle C) and 15-17 (Club O2) and then the 9-11 have activities in Camp Carnival. The scavenger hunts and games are great. My son is friends on facebook with kids he met on the cruise. He's even asked if we can go to Canada so he can meet up with one of the guys he became friends with.

 

With kids - schedule early dining. they don't tell you that. You most likely will want to eat dinner in the dining room with your kids. They will have activities scheduled after early dinner. My son loved the dining room but we goofed last time - our last cruise was late seating and he was always rushing out the door to get to a party or something. (He took melting cake with him the last night on his way to the ice cream eating contest)

[A&Jfamily]

My son has done the 9-11 group last year - he was almost 10 last spring and I let him sign in and out, with rules and pre-planned meeting places. Depending on the ship, the 9-11 usually meet different places and have a wide range of age appropriate activities - the late night sleep over (3 p.m.) is a big hit. They go to the arcade and hang out in some of the big kids rooms. You can search for Camp Carnival Capers for the kids and see more in detail.

 

We are going again in a couple of weeks and again in August and he is really looking forward to it.

[Nacwolin]

Thanks so much, everyone, for the great input! Our 11-year-old has older siblings, but they will be in the 15-17 group. He'll be on this own if he wants to go to the kids programs, but he makes friends easily, so I am sure he will enjoy whatever he decides to do.

 

The sign-in/out thing is a great idea. We plan to bring walkies too, so we can keep track of one another.