What did your child think of Camp Carnival?

[MaiTaiMary]

Wow, the itinerary looks great! Looks like a lot of fun. :D

 

I was wondering what the overall impressions were of CC. (yes, I read 'bout the rubber shark. ;) )

 

My kids will be 3 1/2, 4, and 6 1/2 when we're thinking of cruising with them.

 

I know there are bound to be bad experiences here and there with any program, but overall, is it good program for the kids?

 

Also wondering how much of the cruise (sea days) your kids went to CC.

 

I want to go on a family cruise and enjoy time with my children... but on the other hand... I'd also love to have a good amount of "adult" time and be able to relax on our own a bit. :cool:

[nybumpkin]

We've sailed 9 times with our three sons in all Camp Carnival groups over the past 5 years. Of 9 cruises, we had only one cruise with a not-so-great experience (counselors that just didn't bond well with the kids and seemed to want to be off duty as soon as possible). Overall, our kids have had a great time. Our two younger sons were 4 and 8 the first time we cruised, and I really like the program for the 2-5 and 6-8 groups - youngest son turned 9 during our most recent cruise and we decided to keep him with the 6-8 group because he liked their activities so much. When we sailed Conquest in 2005, youngest son was in the 2-5 group and they divided the kids into 2-3 and 4-5 to do some different activities, which was great for the 4-5 year-olds.

 

Our kids have always gone to Camp Carnival in the morning after breakfast. Lunch is always family time (although our middle son, now 13, tends to leave us early and go play basketball with his friends). Afternoons are usually hit-or-miss, depending on whether they would rather go swimming. If there's something like "water wars" scheduled in the afternoon, they're sure to want to go to Camp Carnival. Most evenings the kids have dinner with us in the dining room (they really like the dining room); however, one or two nights they may have dinner with Camp Carnival. After dinner, they're off to camp again. They've also done some of the late-night slumber parties (available for the 6-8 group and up for an extra charge). Overall, we've had plenty of time for DH and me to have "adult" time but also have had plenty of time for family activities. I think it's a good balance.

[CKEA_Cruising_Family]

We had a great experience on the Pride 5/30 sailing. Both my kids were in the 2-5 age group. On sea days my kids probably spent give or take 2 hours during the day and 3 hours at night at CC depending on activities. Great balance of family and "adult" time. :)

[Tggrtoes]

Thanks MaiTaiMary for posting this... I was wondering the same thing. Well, not so much about experiences, but about what amount of time seems to work out well. I LUV my son and want to hang out with him, but I also need to de-stress and hang out with DH and that doesn't happen so well with a very active 2 year old boy! :p

[Paumavista]

Our kids love the camp carnival experience....but only during the off season.....when things aren't that crowded. But then again my kids don't like any kids club area during the busy/holiday season. When the kids areas become too crowded then resources (including counselors) and physical space just doesn't seem adequate.

 

However, during the off season my kids 3,4,9&10 all love to attend the activities and spend extended periods at the facility.

 

Personally, in addition to choosing to travel off season....I also choose a ship with a larger facility and one where the camp is NOT buried somewhere deep in the ship....I prefer big open rooms with plenty of windows....just my preferce (not sure the kids care....but the rooms look brighter, lighter and roomier).

[CeleBrat]

Our kids LOVE Camp Carnival too. We have found that they don't necessarily want to spend all day there. Rather, we pick and choose the activities they want to attend. So, every day there is at least (1) time that we all hang out at the pool as a family.

 

CeleBrat

[seacrcsvz]

I fully understand your concerns with cruising with young kids. We are off on a cruise in October- our boys will be 2.5, 4.5, and 7. Although this is our first big cruise (only been on a small ship with no kids clubs in Patagonia), we have done some of the All-Inclusive Resorts with kids clubs, and thought they were perfect. Like you, we want a family vacation, but we also need a little down time. The first time we went to one of these resorts, we felt guilty taking the kids to the club. But when they started chanting to go to the club we realized they enjoyed it so much, why not! Hope you have a good experience!

[Lady_Jag]

My 3-year-old LOVED Camp Carnival on the Glory this past May. She still talks about it and sings some of the songs she learned there. (Both of which are a small miracle in themselves, since she is speech delayed!)

 

I had your same concerns before we cruised - will she like it? What do we do if she doesn't? Will the counselors be good to her? Will they even understand her? Will I be able to enjoy myself onboard if she's in the program? All my concerns were eliminated the very first day, though.

 

Port days, my daughter came on shore with us, except when we were in Nassau, and she and I stayed on the ship while the rest of our group (there were 5 of us in all) went into town. On that day, she went to Camp after breakfast while I enjoyed the spa/gym facilities. Then I picked her up for lunch and we spent the rest of the day together until after dinner, when she went back to Camp and we went to the evening show.

 

Sea days went pretty much the same way. I took my daughter to Camp in the mornings after breakfast while we adults did whatever. I'd pick her up at lunch time and we'd either have lunch as a group, or one or two of us adults would have lunch with my daughter while the others did whatever.

 

Then more activities with family members (most often my daughter and hubby would play at the pool or in the hot tub) in the afternoons, dress for dinner, then dinner again. Back to Camp Carnival for showtime, or if we skipped the show, we would take her to a lounge where they played music so she could dance.

 

Once or twice either hubby or my mom would babysit in the evenings and put our little one to bed instead of taking her to Camp. One such night, our poor little girl was so zonked she fell asleep in the dining room before the main course! Hubby saw that there was an in-cabin movie playing that he wanted to see anyway, so he stayed in the room with Sleeping Beauty while my mom and I caught the show. :D

[Tmrlovesjr]

Hopefully our son James will have a pretty girl counseler, then he will be fine. James is a 2 year old Romeo, and loves girls from cradle to the grave he does not care. We want to hang out with him (James is what we call a cool cat) but it would be nice to have some adult time on the ship. We cruised last Dec b4 he was 2 so it was a hard week with no off time. My biggest worry is that he wont like the camp, because he is not in daycare (I am home with him), so he may feel abandoned or something, but if there is a girl........... he should be ok. LOL:D

[ILUVCRUIZN]

This just makes me feel so much better about Camp Carnival. We are taking our son who will be 4 at the time of sailing for the first time. It is a celebration cruise as his adoption will be finalized by the end of the year and what better way to celebrate then a cruise. I think that he will love all of the activities and playing with the other children. My husband and I have been on many cruises, but always just us so this will be an experience for us all. He was great at Disney so I am sure that we will have nothing to worry about.... LOL!!! :)