carnival and teens programs

[lizi116]

We are cruising with DD-13 and DS-16. I know that they are in seperate "kids club". My question is what do you think of the teen's clubs on Carnival. Are they well supervised? Did your teens use them? Any comments are appreciated!

[Warm Breezes]

My DS and DD were the same ages as yours on our last Carnival Cruise. Because they have never been in the same age group, they don't like going to the teen clubs. They prefer to hang out together or with us. I would try to get them to go to the meet and greet. But don't worry if they don't want to go...there are plenty of other activities for them to do. Cruising is my kids favorite type of vacation and they haven't used the kids/teens clubs since they first started cruising. They tried it the first few cruises, but really did not like them.

[cb at sea]

The older teens tend to shy away from "organized" activities....they usually meet each other in the club, then migrate to other areas, like the arcade, sports deck, pool, etc...

[nybumpkin]

My oldest son did a number of Club O2 cruises from 2006 to 2009. He enjoyed it - he's still friends on Facebook with kids he cruised with (he turns 20 next week). Club O2 was a great place to meet other kids his age; they didn't necessarily do organized activities, though. On one cruise they organized their own bathrobe party.

 

My middle son did a number of cruises with Circle C. Again, he enjoyed meeting kids there, but the number of scheduled activities that he participated in was somewhat limited. He loved the sports activities and computer games, but not the arts and crafts. The nice thing about this program is that they really can pick and choose what they want to do. If son doesn't want to make "friendship bracelets,":p there are enough other kids to head off to the sports deck for a game.

[lizi116]

Thanks, NY. That's what I was wondering. My kids love to make new friends on vacation, and they are really looking forward to this cruise!

[abitaturbodog]

Check out the roll call for your sailing to see if there are any kids about the same age as yours. If there are, try to get them to email or facebook before you leave. You can arrange for them to meet at a set time once on board.

 

Also, show up for the meet-greet the first night. Usually this is the only time that all of the kids get together. They'll make a couple of friends that night and then pal around for the rest of the cruise.

[CruisingChronicler]

I was a Teen Director on Carnival, so if you have any specific questions feel free to email me!

But your teens definitely need to at least check out the clubs and go to the meet and greet and a few activities. This is just a starting point. What usually happens is that teens meet friends and then they do their own thing - they will be in and out of the clubs for what they want to do, getting ice cream in between. Most boys would come for video games and anything involving food or sports, and then all the teens would come to the dance parties.

At the Meet and Greet you can get a copy of the schedule of activities for the cruise, that way your teens can pick out what they want to do. Also you will get a registration form needed for your teens to participate, and there may be a teen tour offered (these are awesome to go on, and then the parents get a break too!) In Roatan, we used to do the Pirate, Birds, and Monkey tour, and every single teen couldn't stop talking about it!

You mentioned your teens are different age groups, but don't stress out about that - if you stress out about it, they will. If you talk up the clubs, they will get excited (they may not show it, but they will at least be more open to it.) There are a few activities throughout the cruise that are combined (both Circle C and Club O2), but at 13 your teen can't move up into the next age group, and a 16-year-old won't be able to move down (and probably wouldn't want to hang out with the younger teens as it is.)

Hope this helps a bit, I know you will love your cruise!

[lizi116]

I was a Teen Director on Carnival, so if you have any specific questions feel free to email me!

But your teens definitely need to at least check out the clubs and go to the meet and greet and a few activities. This is just a starting point. What usually happens is that teens meet friends and then they do their own thing - they will be in and out of the clubs for what they want to do, getting ice cream in between. Most boys would come for video games and anything involving food or sports, and then all the teens would come to the dance parties.

At the Meet and Greet you can get a copy of the schedule of activities for the cruise, that way your teens can pick out what they want to do. Also you will get a registration form needed for your teens to participate, and there may be a teen tour offered (these are awesome to go on, and then the parents get a break too!) In Roatan, we used to do the Pirate, Birds, and Monkey tour, and every single teen couldn't stop talking about it!

You mentioned your teens are different age groups, but don't stress out about that - if you stress out about it, they will. If you talk up the clubs, they will get excited (they may not show it, but they will at least be more open to it.) There are a few activities throughout the cruise that are combined (both Circle C and Club O2), but at 13 your teen can't move up into the next age group, and a 16-year-old won't be able to move down (and probably wouldn't want to hang out with the younger teens as it is.)

Hope this helps a bit, I know you will love your cruise!

 

Thanks for all the info! My kids are both very excited and don't mind that they are in different groups. They probably prefer it! They both are very social and can't wait to meet new friends. Looking forward to the Meet and Greet. I assume that this is on the first day, and it will be well publized?

[CruisingChronicler]

Thanks for all the info! My kids are both very excited and don't mind that they are in different groups. They probably prefer it! They both are very social and can't wait to meet new friends. Looking forward to the Meet and Greet. I assume that this is on the first day, and it will be well publized?

 

 

Yes, it will definitely be listed in the Carnival daily caper you can pick up around the ship or available in your stateroom, and if you take a look at the club during the day (it is usually open for viewing), there will be a sign up that tells you where to meet and what time. We always had ours around 7:00 (for Circle C - 12 to 14yo, the club was a little too small for a meet and greet, so we had it in the Paris Hot lounge on deck 5, but club O2 had it right in their club.)

[katiepe]

I was a Teen Director on Carnival, so if you have any specific questions feel free to email me!

But your teens definitely need to at least check out the clubs and go to the meet and greet and a few activities. This is just a starting point. What usually happens is that teens meet friends and then they do their own thing - they will be in and out of the clubs for what they want to do, getting ice cream in between. Most boys would come for video games and anything involving food or sports, and then all the teens would come to the dance parties.

At the Meet and Greet you can get a copy of the schedule of activities for the cruise, that way your teens can pick out what they want to do. Also you will get a registration form needed for your teens to participate, and there may be a teen tour offered (these are awesome to go on, and then the parents get a break too!) In Roatan, we used to do the Pirate, Birds, and Monkey tour, and every single teen couldn't stop talking about it!

You mentioned your teens are different age groups, but don't stress out about that - if you stress out about it, they will. If you talk up the clubs, they will get excited (they may not show it, but they will at least be more open to it.) There are a few activities throughout the cruise that are combined (both Circle C and Club O2), but at 13 your teen can't move up into the next age group, and a 16-year-old won't be able to move down (and probably wouldn't want to hang out with the younger teens as it is.)

Hope this helps a bit, I know you will love your cruise!

 

Just read this thread for the first time.

I wish we could know ahead of time what the excursion would be.We have already booked tours and Carnival's own rules wont let you cancel within sailing at least that was my understanding??