Does Camp Carnival vary from ship to ship?

[MaiTaiMary]

Do the play areas and activites vary on Camp Carnival from ship to ship?

 

We recently cruised on the Spirit. We have 3 young children and left them with Grandma for this trip, but plan on taking them next time. I checked out Camp Carnival for the future and wasn't very impressed. The play area was very small and it just didn't seem like there was much for the kids to do! The few kids that were there looked bored. I expected the opposite- lots of kids running around having fun with many things to choose from.

 

I sailed on a RCCL ship and their kids center was amazing! I was very impressed! I thought Carnival had a reputation for a very good Camp Carnival kids program, so I was very surprised.

 

 

Does the set up (play area) for Camp Carnival vary from ship to ship or is it all pretty much the same? Do some of the ships have better programs than others?

 

One of the cruises we're considering is on the new Dream. Has anybody had experience with their Camp Carnival?

 

Thanks!:D

[nybumpkin]

There is a member who posts frequently on the Family Cruises board - crusinmama 06 - who has a link in her signature to kids' schedules for all Camp Carnival ages. The activities are pretty similar fleet-wide, as you will see from the schedules. However, the Camp Carnival location varies depending on the class of ship. I'm not as fond of the location on Spirit-class ships - deck 5 is an odd location and it just has small portholes. On Conquest-class ships, it's on deck 12 forward with windows on either side - it just seems brighter. And depending on the age group, they may use other spaces on the ship for activities.

 

I have three sons who between them have been through every age group in Camp Carnival, Circle C and Club O2. We had one cruise with a less-than-great experience - the counselors didn't seem to bond well with the kids and our sons both felt bored - but that was only one cruise out of 11. Overall, the counselors have been very good and my kids have enjoyed most of the activities (being boys, the "friendship bracelet making" activity wasn't among their favorites:p).

 

We sail during vacation periods and always have lots of kids on our cruises. I've sometimes wondered whether cruises with smaller groups of kids have a different experience in Camp Carnival.

[TigerStar]

I've been concerned with this as well. Looking on line at the stuff for 9 years old, I am afraid that my son will get bored. He would rather swim all day, which we will probably do a lot of, but I am planning on his spending one evening there so my wife and I can celebrate our anniversary at the Steakhouse.

[denred4]

When my sons were 7 and 4 we went on a Carnival Cruise. The 7 year old loved the kid's camp, and the 4 year old hated it (that's just him) so we let them go as much or as little as they wanted. The girls were 13 and 12 and they hung with us during the day, but as soon as dinner was finished, they were off to be with their "friends" Now they are 24, 23, 17 and 14 and all are looking forward to the next cruise. I'm sure the youngest will have a new attitude about the club thing. as long as there are cute girls!