Is Carnival a good fit for families?

[Kesali]

We are looking at a 6 or 8 day Caribbean, or (my real wish!) a 14 day Hawaiian.

 

I was reading pages of threads yesterday, and could not find much information in regards to children & Carnival. Our kids will be DD13 and DS8 (maybe 14 and 9 by time we sail) and I'm wondering how families found Carnival. Is there enough to keep children entertained/happy? Are the cruise councillors good with kids?

 

The prices seem amazingly low but I'm not sure if Carnival would be a good family/children cruise ship. To be honest, I would prefer Disney but their prices are so much higher than other cruise lines I've looked into. Even more so once I add up port excursions. Having never cruised before, we will want to visit all the ports. I'm also looking into RCL and RCC.

 

I would love to hear families' experience with Carnival, please & thank you! :)

[tommie594]

We just returned for a 4 day on the Triumph with our 2 boys (8 and 13).. it was our 1st cruise with kids, and 3rd cruise for my wife and I.

 

Yes, I would like to try Disney also, but it is not in my budget,

 

Kids had a good time on Carnival. 8 yr old spent somee time with camp carnival... we talked to him about activities they had each day, and allowed him to decide.. he had fun....

 

Our 13 yr old.... lets just remember about changes that are happening at that age, and how moody and indecisive they can be..... he tried the o2 club for 11-13? yr olds, and said he did not like it... he spent time with us, time with his aunt and uncle (also cruise with us) and some time on his own....

 

we all had a good time, i think the 13 yr old was the only one to complain... but he always complains.... :D

 

they also told us that they had about 800 kids on this cruise.... we saw a lot.... guess other people decided to take 2 days off of school too

[jtdlmc]

My family had a great time on our Carnival cruise. My son, 9 at the time, didn't spend a lot of time at Camp Carnival. He would check the dailies and go only to the certain activities that appealed to him, other than that he hung around us most of the time in the pool or using the slide. He had a great time. We had a port intensive cruise and only had 2 sea days and he was never bored.

[H82seaUgo]

We are looking at a 6 or 8 day Caribbean, or (my real wish!) a 14 day Hawaiian.

 

I was reading pages of threads yesterday, and could not find much information in regards to children & Carnival. Our kids will be DD13 and DS8 (maybe 14 and 9 by time we sail) and I'm wondering how families found Carnival. Is there enough to keep children entertained/happy? Are the cruise councillors good with kids?

 

The prices seem amazingly low but I'm not sure if Carnival would be a good family/children cruise ship. To be honest, I would prefer Disney but their prices are so much higher than other cruise lines I've looked into. Even more so once I add up port excursions. Having never cruised before, we will want to visit all the ports. I'm also looking into RCL and RCC.

 

I would love to hear families' experience with Carnival, please & thank you! :)

 

absolutely!

 

our kids have been cruising with us since they were 4 and 6, and are one cruise away from platinum. plenty to do, yet have never even seen the inside of a camp. have made plenty of friends right at the pool areas, and then absolutely love the slide.

 

first cruise, we had them converted to real food too!

[MamaParrotHead]

We've cruised twice, sans kiddos. Twice with kiddos, and each of those times in groups of friends and family ages 3-85. And every time, everyone has had a great time and agree that there's something for everyone onboard.

[dolfansam]

We are looking at a 6 or 8 day Caribbean, or (my real wish!) a 14 day Hawaiian.

 

I was reading pages of threads yesterday, and could not find much information in regards to children & Carnival. Our kids will be DD13 and DS8 (maybe 14 and 9 by time we sail) and I'm wondering how families found Carnival. Is there enough to keep children entertained/happy? Are the cruise councillors good with kids?

 

The prices seem amazingly low but I'm not sure if Carnival would be a good family/children cruise ship. To be honest, I would prefer Disney but their prices are so much higher than other cruise lines I've looked into. Even more so once I add up port excursions. Having never cruised before, we will want to visit all the ports. I'm also looking into RCL and RCC.

 

I would love to hear families' experience with Carnival, please & thank you! :)

 

Most definitely. My sister has 3 kids and they were never bored on the cruise(s) no matter which line we were on. Carnivals program I think is a little better than others (have not been on Disney ir Norwegian yet). Royal Carribean is very good too. On our Princess cruise, I think there was too much going on around the ship they did not want to go to the kids program. Holland America are mostly geriatric so their kids program is pretty much no existant. The kids were not with us on the cruise, but I did pass by the kids program room. It seemed to be about the same size as a cabin.

 

Carnival has the big slides. RCCL has the rock climbing walls and on bigger ships the Flow Rider. Princess has the Movies Under The Stars (MUTS). I give the nod to Princess. They show movies day and night on the big screen. They also have video tournaments on the big screen. The cruise directors staff also seemed to enjoy there jobs more than other lines. They are better at getting people involved in the fun. I was up and dancing and participaying in the craziness. I usually like to watch.

[ansmom]

So glad you asked this question and am enjoying reading the response. I'm debating whether or not to take my DD8 will be 9 when we would cruise on a girls trip just the two of us. I know she would enjoy it but its nice to see others kids have!

[jesseiam2]

My daughter (16 now) has been on 4 cruises and my son (14 now) has been on 3. Their first cruise was about 5 years ago. They have had a blast each time.

 

We asked the kids last year if they would prefer Christmas at home with presents or a vacation somewhere else and they both immediately pipped up and said they wanted a cruise. All their cruises have been on Carnival.

 

The camps for the kids are great, the counselors always seem to make anything they do fun. The kids get to try foods they wouldnt get to see such as Escargot, Frog Legs, ect. They get to see neat things in the ports.

 

We haven't done the Disney cruise due to price being a concern, but at my kids ages now I dont think that cruiseline holds the same appeal for them anymore. You wont be sorry taking your kids on Carnival.

[mykiddiewinks]

We have been cruising with our children since they were 8 and 10 and they LOVE it. Our daughter makes friends alot easier than her younger brother, she is still texting daily with a friend she met last Christmas! Our son does go to some activities but he uses the time while his sister is at o2 to spend time with us by himself.

 

We would love to do Disney too but I just can't seem to justify spending all that extra $$$.

 

Carnival has everything you need to have a wonderful vacation, we don't have many opportunities to have a night out while we are at home but on the cruise we get several date nights knowing they are well taken care of at camp carnival.

[*Mach*]

We are looking at a 6 or 8 day Caribbean, or (my real wish!) a 14 day Hawaiian.

 

I was reading pages of threads yesterday, and could not find much information in regards to children & Carnival. Our kids will be DD13 and DS8 (maybe 14 and 9 by time we sail) and I'm wondering how families found Carnival. Is there enough to keep children entertained/happy? Are the cruise councillors good with kids?

 

The prices seem amazingly low but I'm not sure if Carnival would be a good family/children cruise ship. To be honest, I would prefer Disney but their prices are so much higher than other cruise lines I've looked into. Even more so once I add up port excursions. Having never cruised before, we will want to visit all the ports. I'm also looking into RCL and RCC.

 

I would love to hear families' experience with Carnival, please & thank you! :)

 

 

Although we don't have any kids many of the folks that sail with us on our group cruises do and they universally report that the kids have a fabulous time. Carnival has kid-specific programs (Camp Carnival, Club 02, Circle C...) You can find samples of the event schedules here:

http://www.carnival.com/core/faq.aspx?icid=CC_Header_466#q-974274

 

The staff at the younger folks programs are highly qualified and screened by Carnival to ensure the safety of the kids and the ability of the ship's personnel to take great care of them...

:)

[densol]

We have sailed with Disney many times - however having tried Carnival we are definite converts ! Our boys are now 12 and 15 and much preferred Carnival - even though I thought they "would" have liked the the new Disney dream kids clubs- but they found them a bit boring and made more friends on the carnival. As a family we 100% like Carnival better, better food, much more affordable meaning we get balcony rooms, better entertainment etc.

 

Havent tried NCL but sailing with them in august ( for the Hawaii itinerary )

 

Denise :D

[arpie05]

My son's first cruise was when he was 9 (I think) and he's now been on 9 cruises total and 8 with Carnival. He asks for Cruises for his presents as he is now 15. Okay so for 16 he wants a car but other holiday gifts its a cruise.

He's been on every cruise I've been on since 2005. He loves the kids activities and spends his time onboard in the kids club.

He's now in O2 and enjoys it. He loved it when he was younger, probably even more.

It's just us two so we're doing Canada this summer. He loved Alaska. The kids will have a great time (As you will notice we quickly returned to Carnival)

He would rather us cruise more often than spend more money on one cruise.

[mpcaruth]

I believe Carnival offers an AWESOME affordable family vacation. Here are links to some of my favorite detailed family cruise reviews with lots of pictures. (Including my own review)

 

Dream (kids ages 14, 16, 8, & 6)

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1407878

Dream (kids 7 & 9)

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1383999

Freedom (kids 8 & 10)

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1347741

Destiny, Imagination, Valor and Freedom (kids 14 & 16)

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1361443

 

I am sure there are many more out there but I had these in my subscription list. You should be able to get enough information from these picture-heavy reviews to determine if you think Carnival is right for your family.

[mcgovernsandra]

We are looking at a 6 or 8 day Caribbean, or (my real wish!) a 14 day Hawaiian.

 

we are cruising on the Liberty next week with our four children (22, 17, 15 and 7). They love cruising and there is always plenty of activities to enjoy, especially on Carnival's "Fun Ships"!

 

Just to note -my husband and I did the 12-day Carnival to Hawaii last year and absolutely loved it. Kids stayed at home. I would not recommend this specific itinerary for kids. It was an older crowd (I assume due to the price and duration of the trip),and I literally did not see even a handful of kids on the ship. (It was the Spirit). Probably best to stick to a one-week or less itinerary if your kids wants lots of action.

[Warm Breezes]

My kids like to cruise period. Whether Carnival is right for your family or not depends on what you and your kids like to do. Our friends like to cruise too. But their boys were quickly bored with Carnival because they had become regular RCL cruisers and they like the extras that RCL offers...ice skating, surf boarding, rock climbing, etc. My kids don't like to do those type of things so it wasn't missed on a Carnival ship. Each cruise line/ship has their own advantages/disadvantages to families. Your best bet is to research the ship you want to take and see what it has that will appeal to your family.

 

We have cruised 5x on Carnival as a family and had a blast on each cruise. We are looking for something differnent on our next cruises so we are trying NCL Epic. The kids are looking forward to seeing the shows and the love the bigger basketball/soccer courts NCL offers. They also want to try the bungee trampoline, bowling and the slides.

 

All ships have the kids clubs and they are all pretty similar. My kids don't go to them because they were always in different age groups (except on our next NCL cruise they will both be in the teen club so I hope they take advantage of that).

 

If your kids like mini-golfing, trivia games, production shows, comedy clubs, dining out, hanging out at the pool, ice cream, plus many other things then they will like Carnival. But you know your kids best, do your research and pick what your family will enjoy.

[jolyroger]

We have sailed with Disney many times - however having tried Carnival we are definite converts ! Our boys are now 12 and 15 and much preferred Carnival - even though I thought they "would" have liked the the new Disney dream kids clubs- but they found them a bit boring and made more friends on the carnival. As a family we 100% like Carnival better, better food, much more affordable meaning we get balcony rooms, better entertainment

 

Denise :D

 

 

Totally agree with you! We are A big Disney , crazy family, the girls who are 11 and 8 have been every year since they were born....So naturally we had to try the Disney wonder...Yes it was great , Disney does make gorgeous, classy looking ships....But food eh, ok, entertainment was good...It was great having a tub in cabin, but we did get a porthole which is huge The price, yeah we did a 5 day cruise, no balcony cost more money than a 7 day with Balcony on the Carnival Dream!....That being said we took girls on the Carnival Dream......Yes they did like the Wonder, but both agreed they like Carnival better!!!! In fact we're going agagin this April and its an 8 day cruise and its still cheaper than that 5 day we did couple years ago!!!!

So here's another vote for Carnival!!!!

[jonesy111]

I am glad you posted this too! We went on RCI in 2010 and we all loved it, my daughter just had the best time. I made an agreement with her that if she made the honor roll this year (grade 7) I would take her back on a cruise! Not sure I should have done that but wanted to give her some incentive to really try this year.

 

I loved RCI but the prices on Carnival have gotten my attention, plus she would love the waterslides on the ship. I am glad to see it is really family friendly and I think it will be just the two of us (leaving Dad at home) so I would hope she can meet some kids. She did go to the kids club a bit on RCI but really didn't care to go, she did meet a couple of other girls at the club and ended up hanging out with them the rest of the cruise, so it worked out great.

 

Also would November be a good time to go or is that still Hurricane season? I would like to go around our Remembrance Day.

[Kesali]

Thanks for all the wonderful replies! They have made me feel much more confident booking with Carnival.

 

We asked the kids last year if they would prefer Christmas at home with presents or a vacation somewhere else and they both immediately pipped up and said they wanted a cruise. All their cruises have been on Carnival.

 

My son's first cruise was when he was 9 (I think) and he's now been on 9 cruises total and 8 with Carnival. He asks for Cruises for his presents as he is now 15.

 

I think that's great your kids would prefer cruises instead of presents. My husband keeps asking what I want (birthday, Christmas) and I really don't want anything in particular. I would rather go without, save up and have a vacation every year or two!

 

We have sailed with Disney many times - however having tried Carnival we are definite converts ! Our boys are now 12 and 15 and much preferred Carnival - even though I thought they "would" have liked the the new Disney dream kids clubs- but they found them a bit boring and made more friends on the carnival. As a family we 100% like Carnival better, better food, much more affordable meaning we get balcony rooms, better entertainment etc.

 

Totally agree with you! We are A big Disney , crazy family, the girls who are 11 and 8 have been every year since they were born....So naturally we had to try the Disney wonder...Yes it was great , Disney does make gorgeous, classy looking ships....But food eh, ok, entertainment was good...It was great having a tub in cabin, but we did get a porthole which is huge The price, yeah we did a 5 day cruise, no balcony cost more money than a 7 day with Balcony on the Carnival Dream!....That being said we took girls on the Carnival Dream......Yes they did like the Wonder, but both agreed they like Carnival better!!!! In fact we're going agagin this April and its an 8 day cruise and its still cheaper than that 5 day we did couple years ago!!!!

So here's another vote for Carnival!!!!

 

I'm glad to read these. I love Disney, and I want to go back to WDW so much. The main reason I kept eyeing a Disney cruise was the thought they would have the best activities for kids. But... I'm not sure how much my young teen would enjoy it. And I cringe at $4,700 for the Caribbean cruise. We could stay at Disney for 2 weeks at that price, and I know my kids would love that!

[H82seaUgo]

Thanks for all the wonderful replies! They have made me feel much more confident booking with Carnival.

 

 

 

 

 

I think that's great your kids would prefer cruises instead of presents. My husband keeps asking what I want (birthday, Christmas) and I really don't want anything in particular. I would rather go without, save up and have a vacation every year or two!

 

 

 

 

 

I'm glad to read these. I love Disney, and I want to go back to WDW so much. The main reason I kept eyeing a Disney cruise was the thought they would have the best activities for kids. But... I'm not sure how much my young teen would enjoy it. And I cringe at $4,700 for the Caribbean cruise. We could stay at Disney for 2 weeks at that price! And I know my kids would love that.

 

after one disney cruise, and one carnival cruise, i asked the kids what they wanted to go back on. they said BOTH!

 

so there was no difference in their minds. we have cruised disney twice since, but it's always the same ole same ole. and the food is not that good.

[Kesali]

Although we don't have any kids many of the folks that sail with us on our group cruises do and they universally report that the kids have a fabulous time. Carnival has kid-specific programs (Camp Carnival, Club 02, Circle C...) You can find samples of the event schedules here:

 

http://www.carnival.com/core/faq.aspx?icid=CC_Header_466#q-974274

 

The staff at the younger folks programs are highly qualified and screened by Carnival to ensure the safety of the kids and the ability of the ship's personnel to take great care of them...

 

:)

 

Thanks for the link! That reminds me I read a thread where someone posted copies of some Dailys. I'll have to see if I can find those as well.

 

 

I believe Carnival offers an AWESOME affordable family vacation. Here are links to some of my favorite detailed family cruise reviews with lots of pictures. (Including my own review)

 

Dream (kids ages 14, 16, 8, & 6)

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1407878

 

Dream (kids 7 & 9)

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1383999

 

Freedom (kids 8 & 10)

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1347741

 

Destiny, Imagination, Valor and Freedom (kids 14 & 16)

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1361443

 

I am sure there are many more out there but I had these in my subscription list. You should be able to get enough information from these picture-heavy reviews to determine if you think Carnival is right for your family.

 

Wow, that is wonderful. I can hardly wait to read these! Unfortunately my kids come home from school soon and I will have to wait until later tonight. Thanks!

[Kesali]

after one disney cruise, and one carnival cruise, i asked the kids what they wanted to go back on. they said BOTH!

 

so there was no difference in their minds. we have cruised disney twice since, but it's always the same ole same ole. and the food is not that good.

 

That's funny. Last week I asked my son (currently 7) if he would like to go on a cruise or go back to Disney. He knows a bit about crusing from his friend's experience on RCC August past. He watched that Discovery show of the RCC ship a few times and has seen ships sailing out from webcams.

 

Poor kid. Maybe that was an unfair question. After a few minutes he told me it was "your choice mom. I can't decide!"

[mom22tinks]

Having done 3 Disney cruises and now 4 Carnival cruises, my children 11 and 9 prefer Carnivals kids club over Disneys kids club. Although, I like the fact that Disney gives you pagers so if they have a problem or your child wants to come out, they can page you and let you know. The other thing I miss about Disney is that they feed them lunch and/or dinner if they are in the club. With Carnival you HAVE to sign them out for lunch which can be really inconvenient. Although I do believe they will have them stay for dinner. Carnival has an all night party that for an additional fee, they hang out and party till the wee hours in the morning and they drop them off at your cabin. This is by far my daughters favorite thing to do! They also have these great scavenger hunts which my DD seems to love to do. Hope this helps and have a great cruise!

[Manatee Mom]

Hi here is my 2 cents.... My boys have both been sailing since they were 6 months old (now 10 & 12). We are fortunate enough to take at least 1 cruise a year. We have sailed CCL, Disney, Princess, NCL, Princess & RCL. I have to start with we have not tried RCL in a long time and the new ships do look nice but to us all the extra fees (rock climbing, ice skating, etc) don't.

 

My boys if they have their choice choose CCL or Disney. What they did not like about NCL with the camp is once they check themselves in they have to stay for 2 hours before they can leave (CCL doesn't do that).

 

If you are interested i'm attaching the link to our last 2 cruises so you can see what life on board with a family is like. To us a day on a ship is better than any day at home.

 

Good Luck with whatever you decide!:)

 

Flat Stanley sails the CCL Dream:

 

Flat Daddy sails the CCL Liberty:

[Candie]

Great replies everyone! We are taking our kids ages (almost) 5 and 7 on the Splendor in Feb. We can't wait! We too have cruised on Disney with the kids and a few others without.

I loved the cabin on the Disney cruise. They have a privacy curtain separating the couch area from the main bed. And the split bathroom with tub was handy.

That's what we will miss. But, they can't wait to try the spray park water area, water slide and mini golf.

[alligirl78]

My father took myself, my sister and my 2 DS's...then 9 and 6...on the Liberty in April. It was our first cruise. When we got home, my 9 yr old insisted that when he is a father, he will buy his kids a cruise and when he is a grandpa, he will take his grandkids too. They both said it's the best vacation ever..and I try to travel with them as much as possible. We are sailing the Dream on Saturday..tho the boys don't know. It's their Christmas present since they will be with their dad for Christmas.

 

Camp Carnival staff/activities were AMAZING. I adored them to pieces. The boys loved the water slide, the pool, the 24 hr self serve, soft serve ice cream stations, the food (and I have 1 picky eater and 1 walking garbage disposal..both thrilled) and did NOT want to come home.

 

They are 10 and 7 now and I am pretty sure they will cry from sheer joy at seeing the Dream and realizing they get to sail her. The Waterworks area will be a HUGE hit for them.

 

For the price..I don't think you can beat Carnival for kids. I looked into Disney but wow...$$$$