Carnival cruise with toddler?

[ottawa_cruiser_81]

My husband and I are considering taking out first big family vacation next year with our son, who will be turning 3 at the time.

 

We have done NCL cruises in the past but have heard that Carnival is fairly family oriented - not to mention a good deal more economical.

 

A few questions to those of you that have cruised with a toddler on Carnival before:

 

- Were rooms toddler friendly? (I.e. was there a separate sleeping area for them or curtain to keep their part of the room dark?)

 

- Can you be locked out on the balcony?

 

- How was children's daycare/ programming (we may only use it a few times)

 

- Were there family-friendly excursions in port?

[Essiesmom]

Carnival does not have any way of separating portions of the rooms for sleeping. Can't say about the balcony door, they open out,rather than sliding doors. Carnival children's programs (Camp Carnival) generally get good reviews. Be aware that Carnival will charge your toddler the full third person rate, whereas NCL might only charge a token amount and taxes for a small child. You will also be expected to pay gratuities for a child that age. EM

[familycruzr]

I have stayed in inside and outside cabins on Carnival, so I can not answer your question about the balcony. We have never had a curtain that divides the room. My youngest was 10 on her first Carnival cruise, so I don't know what Camp Carnival is like for the little ones.

 

When mine were that age, we cruised on Disney. It's a lot more expensive than Carnival, but it was really great for little ones. Every night around 10, they would put out cots and show a Disney movie. One night, we came to pick them up after a show and our 3 year old was sound asleep on a cot and our 5 year old was in the captain hook ship playing dress up with one of her new friends. The whole experience was amazing.

[spcopps]

My husband and I are considering taking out first big family vacation next year with our son, who will be turning 3 at the time.

 

We have done NCL cruises in the past but have heard that Carnival is fairly family oriented - not to mention a good deal more economical.

 

A few questions to those of you that have cruised with a toddler on Carnival before:

 

- Were rooms toddler friendly? (I.e. was there a separate sleeping area for them or curtain to keep their part of the room dark?)

 

- Can you be locked out on the balcony?

 

- How was children's daycare/ programming (we may only use it a few times)

 

- Were there family-friendly excursions in port?

 

This will be our 2nd cruise with carnival but 1st with toddlers...we are taking a 7 year old and twin 3 year olds YIKES!! Anyway, I will tell you what I know about the Grand Suite which is what we book. There is a curtain to divide the king bed from the sofa bed. I haven't used the child care yet but plan to do so. A friend of mine took 5 kids in their group and said they all LOVED camp carnival and several nights didn't even want to eat with the adults LOL. I am going to play this by ear and use the camp at least once and if they don't like it they don't have to go again. As for excursions it depends on your port of call. However I would avoid Freeport unless you want to take a taxi or an excursion through the cruise line because nothing is really within walking distance to the port (which is a ship yard). Nassau has the Atlantis water park BUT for a 3 year old not sure if you really want to pay the $$$ to go there but JMO. We chose key west and cozumel because of the ports with the little ones. Key West has a little train ride around the town and no need for transportation. In Cozumel things are close by so again no need for taxi or excursion unless you just want to take one. Not sure what type of room you are looking for but 2 connecting rooms could be an option (but I would try to have at least 1 an ocean view only for safety reasons but I am a paranoid mommy about the balconies). I know for our grand suite for $100 more we can also get a connecting Ocean view room so we are hoping one of the connecting rooms become available. I would also look at the Fantasy class ships because they have the waterworks splash park added to most of them. The great thing about a cruise is you can do as little or as much as you want with your little ones. Also remember to ask their Dr. what you can take for the little ones in case of sea sickness!! Hope this helps a little with your decision. We travel in October and our kids are super excited!

[lovecruzing]

I too have stayed in inside and OV cabins with the kids but never a balcony with them. The kids program is really great, lots of activities planed and we have also uesd the program after 10:00 p.m. where extra charges will apply. Pretty much had to demand my daughter have dinner with us at least on the formal night as she wanted to have dinner everynight with camp carnival and her friends. The kids really do have fun. My little ones are now 8 and 5 and they are quite looking forward to their cruises this coming November.

 

Regarding the excursions, we usually just wing it but whatever we do it always involve beach time. I know in St. Thomas Coral World is a great place to take the little ones. We did the mini-sub tour the last time we were there with the kids.

 

Bevie

[itchin2cruz]

I took my 3 year old (now 6) on a cruise. He loved camp carnival and there was always something for him to do. We had an oceanview cabin. You can always find an excursion that a 3 year old can go on but we just chose a beach day.

[familycruzr]

Also remember to ask their Dr. what you can take for the little ones in case of sea sickness!! Hope this helps a little with your decision. We travel in October and our kids are super excited!

 

Our pediatrician recommended benadryl. As it turns out, the girls don't get seasick, but it has done wonders for their carsickness.

[serene56]

My husband and I are considering taking out first big family vacation next year with our son, who will be turning 3 at the time.

 

- Were rooms toddler friendly? (I.e. was there a separate sleeping area for them or curtain to keep their part of the room dark?)

 

- Can you be locked out on the balcony?

 

- How was children's daycare/ programming (we may only use it a few times)

 

- Were there family-friendly excursions in port?

 

My GD first cruise was when she was 18 months old. She is now 5 and been on three cruises.

 

 

In a balcony cabin your toddler will be on the sofa bed- there is no curtain.

The balcony door is quite heavy- no way can your son open the door by himself to get out there.

Just watch his fingers coz if someone opens the cabin door while the balcony door is opened it will slam shut.

You do want the balcony to have a place to escape to while he is napping.

 

Camp for his is 2 - 5 years old. Activities run in increments of 30 minutes. They keep them busy. Camp is opened on sea days at 10am and closes at noon open again at 2pm and closes at 5pm. opens again at 7 and for a fee at 10pm.

 

Our 5 year old did not like the camp-- for whatever reason. She is the kind that is afraid she will miss out on something and has a better time with us anyways.

 

When she was little we got the chilled soup offered each night and let her eat it with a straw. We then took her out on the outdoor promanade deck to run around and get rid of some pent up energy from sitting for two hours.

[spcopps]

Our pediatrician recommended benadryl. As it turns out, the girls don't get seasick, but it has done wonders for their carsickness.

 

Wow thanks for this info!! 2 of my 3 kids get car sick, and you can bet each time we drive the 13 hours to Ft. Lauderdale BOTH will be sick going and coming :eek:. I will try the benadryl before we take the drive again in October!! Does it make them sleep so they don't get sick or does it just prevent them from getting sick??

[hfweather]

My 3 year old granddaughter has been on 3 Carnival cruises, 1 RCCL cruise and 1 NCL cruise. Her favorite is Carnival, I realized this the other day. I had to run to Port Everglades to take something to someone on the Allure which they forgot at home. Anyhow she was with us & I pointed out the Allure to her because of it's massive size, I thought she'd be impressed. She yelled "There is the boat Freddy is on, I want to go!" when she saw the Carnival ship.

 

Carnival has a nice program also where you children can eat with the other kids for dinner, so you have the option of dining without them a night or two if you want. I did this one night, but felt guilty because I know how much she enjoys the chilled soups on the dinner menu in the MDR, so after that night we decided to keep her with us in the dining room.

[familycruzr]

Wow thanks for this info!! 2 of my 3 kids get car sick, and you can bet each time we drive the 13 hours to Ft. Lauderdale BOTH will be sick going and coming :eek:. I will try the benadryl before we take the drive again in October!! Does it make them sleep so they don't get sick or does it just prevent them from getting sick??

 

It prevents them from getting sick. It has something to do with drying up fluid in the inner ear. It's worked wonders for my girls. Good luck!

[sofaman61]

Carnival is great for kids!

Just stay away from HAL...not for kids,just the elderly or wanna be elderly

[H82seaUgo]

My husband and I are considering taking out first big family vacation next year with our son, who will be turning 3 at the time.

 

We have done NCL cruises in the past but have heard that Carnival is fairly family oriented - not to mention a good deal more economical.

 

A few questions to those of you that have cruised with a toddler on Carnival before:

 

- Were rooms toddler friendly? (I.e. was there a separate sleeping area for them or curtain to keep their part of the room dark?)

 

- Can you be locked out on the balcony?

 

- How was children's daycare/ programming (we may only use it a few times)

 

- Were there family-friendly excursions in port?

 

no, no, never used it, and just beach it when we have the kids.