I will be taking my first cruise with my children ages 2,6,8. I am looking for reviews of camp carnival. Specifically safety and cleanliness issues. Did they keep the kids busy or were they board? This will be an extended family cruise, so there will be cousins that are the same ages as them in there as well. My sister and I are going to get three rooms so that the children will be all together between the adult rooms. Also any additional ideas and tips would be greatly appreciated. Should we get drink cards for the kids? We usually do not allow them soda, but I fear they will be board with juice. What about milk? Can you get it? How much? Thank you so much!!!! Oh, we are going Eastern Carribean.

Hi Cissy,

Welcome to Cruise-Chat! Unlike at home where the kiddos always complain about being bored, I don't expect you'll have any problems with that aboard a Carnival cruiseship. You've made a very good choice for your childrens ages. They'll love Camp Carnival. The only issue is getting them in a strange place to want to go without Mom & Dad the first time. Hang with them there until they're comfortable and they'll want to spend as much time as possible there from then on. If you don't normally give them endless sodas at home, don't change the rules onboard. There is lemonade, fruit punch and more available that's all free. If later on in the cruise you decide you'd like the convenience of having the drink cards you can get them anytime. Since the cost is prorated daily you'll save a few bucks on each card if you do decide to purchase them toward the end as a treat for wonderful behavior from the kids. Might just be a great incentive to get cooperation when they want to do their thing and you have other plans for them. You'll have a wonderful time and so will your children!

Cheers, Neil

Be aware that there are several age groups within the camp and that their activities are tailored to that age group. That also means ,your kids might be split up. My son was 9 when we went on the Victory last year and had a blast. (Scavenger hunt throughout the ship). My daughter on the other hand was 6 at the time and she was the oldest in her group and said they did mostly "baby" stuff. They both liked the the slumber party though. ('til 3 am in the morning)
My kids love the lemonade, so there was no need to buy a soda card.
Enjoy your cruise

My children son 9 and daughter 8 did not enjoy camp carnival (especially my son). They said it was boring. The activities seemed to be more for younger children. 4-6 maybe. There weren’t many older children participating in the activities.
They wanted to stay with us. So, we just stayed by the pool a lot. They had a blast, and so did we.

Our daughter loved it , she was 9 last April when we were on the cruise, I must say we did not use it full time as it was a family vacation, but there were a few events they were doing she wanted to take part in , so we would sign her in and out as needed, they did a GREAT job in all events, so no worries as they say

Most kiddos will have a blast if they give it a chance and participate. Some however will feel less comfortable being away from their parents. Everyone should give it a try and see what the comfort level of the child is. If they hate it or say they're bored simply be happy they'd rather hang out with you. I'm sure for many in todays busy lives it's a chance you don't get regularly.

Cheers, Neil

quote:

Originally posted by Cissy:
I will be taking my first cruise with my children ages 2,6,8. I am looking for reviews of camp carnival. Specifically safety and cleanliness issues. Did they keep the kids busy or were they board? This will be an extended family cruise, so there will be cousins that are the same ages as them in there as well. My sister and I are going to get three rooms so that the children will be all together between the adult rooms. Also any additional ideas and tips would be greatly appreciated. Should we get drink cards for the kids? We usually do not allow them soda, but I fear they will be board with juice. What about milk? Can you get it? How much? Thank you so much!!!! Oh, we are going Eastern Carribean.

Welcome to Cruise Chat.

I have had 10 years of experience with Camp Carnival at every age level. We started cruising with our 2 boys when they were 5 and 8.
(The youngest is now 16 and headed out on his 20th Carnival Cruise).

You can relax. The Camp Carnival Staff have always provided a safe and fun environment. Our youngest son is a special needs child...so I have a PhD in being overprotective.

If your children are still 2, 6 and 8 when they board the ship...the 2 year old will be in the 2 - 5 age group and the 6 and 8 year old will be together in the 6 -8 age group.

Here are a copy of these two age group Capers...so you can get "an idea" of the activities they provide.

http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2106961440071922719KeToqn

http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2288606170071922719cFklNS

While this may not be the exact ship you are going on...the activities are pretty standard from ship to ship....so this will give you a good idea.

We have always found the staff to be excellent.
Of course as with anything...some are better than others...but we have never had a bad experience.

If your oldest is going to be 9 when they get on the ship...let me know and I will post the 9-12 Capers for you.

Yes, there is milk on the ship...anytime. You can also order it with room service.

Except the fact that the 2 year old may fuss a little...like going to a new nursery at church the first time...but you will have a pager and the little one will settle down.

Happy Cruising!!!

When we wnet on our first Carnival cruises our daughter was 7 and Camp Carnival was very new to the line and she loved it. There were times when she was upset that we made her do family things with us instead of her being with the other kids. The staff was wonderful and I never felt uneasy with leaving her with them. She is now grown and has a family of her own and would love to take her kids on a Carnival cruise so they can enjoy the camp just like she did.

All i can say is Camp Carnival is a great place for the kids.They do a great job with the kids.From what i have seen is most kids love it.

I have a few questions about camp carnival myself My niece and cousins will be cruising with us in May and I was wondering just how safe is camp carnival I mean these are our babies, is there some kind of sign in /sign out type of deal or is it color coded to your child what secures their safety from leaving with the wrong individual. The pagers are a nice touch I must say.

They put wristbands on the kids. And yes the Parent or Custodian are only allowed to sign the kid in or out to my knowledge. I have never heard of someone getting the wrong kid.

Dwayne

quote:

Originally posted by Spiritfilled:
I have a few questions about camp carnival myself My niece and cousins will be cruising with us in May and I was wondering just how safe is camp carnival I mean these are our babies, is there some kind of sign in /sign out type of deal or is it color coded to your child what secures their safety from leaving with the wrong individual. The pagers are a nice touch I must say.

For the past few years, the only adult who could sign them out had to be the same one who signed them in....you had to show your Sail and Sign card and they matched up the Folio numbers which are on the card. I believe I read where they had expanded this to the person who drops them off "and" one of the person you designate...but I am not positive. It may still be only the person who dropped them off.

They are very vigilant. But they are human and I am sure the mistakes do happen. I just know that they do everything in their power for it not to.

As I am sure you already know, the children must be 2 years old to go to Camp Carnival.
By that age, they usually "recognize" Mom or Dad.

Actually the danger on cruise ships are for older children who are not supervised. A child predator is not going to chance being identified by going to Camp Carnival. They are going to lurk in the shadows of the ship.

This is why it is SO important that parents supervise their children on these ships. We know that Carnival has done background checks in employees...but you never know who your neighbor is. There have been to many pictures found on predator computers of these creeps with "groups of kids"...so going in a "group" is no substitue for parental supervision.

OK...I am off my soapbox now. Sorry, I have just seen far to many kids put at an unnecessary risk on these ships.

My daughter has done the camps on several cruises. Sometimes she gets involved in particular activites and sometimes just hangs out at the pool with me. It really depends if she meets someone right away in the camp, then she stays more. I find that boys 9 and older find it to be boring unless they are playing the play station or something. The video arcade is separate and they using like roaming with new friends better. Girls however love crafts and different things such as scavenger hunts. Whereas older boys don't care for it. So each cruise can be different depending on the kids on the boat and their ages. I get the soda card for my daughter because she loves the umbrella and fruit they put in it, plus she likes to be able to order from the waiter, makes her feel grown. I just limit her and usuary it is sprite which is caffeine free. But as already stated, lemonaide, fruit punch and tea is available at the windjammer, self serve. Have a great trip.