kids programs (Camp Carnival, etc.) - how crowded?

[ennjay]

We are cruising on Carnival (Glory) this summer with our twins who are 2.5 years old. We're not sure yet if we'll have them go to Camp Carnival, but I'm researching it anyway, as something we might all enjoy.

 

Something that I keep wondering about is: do they limit the number of kids who can participate in a certain age group at any one time? They must, right, because they have a limited number of staff? Is there an established ratio of counselors to kids that exists? Do they turn kids away when they get full? Since we're traveling in the summer over school breaks, I keep picturing hundreds of children running wild in a room (yikes). How do they structure this so that there is a safe ratio of staff to children (especially in the case of young children who maybe especially need the close supervision)?

 

If anyone has experience traveling over summer and using the kids program for young kids, I'd love to hear from you about this issue!

 

Thanks,

Jenn

[Kerry's Girls]

They know how many kids are on board and I've found they provide enough staff (more in summer/winter breaks, less during school times). Kids are broken into different age groups, so they're all not in a room together.

 

I also have twins and they cruised Carnival when they were 2. One loved it, one didn't - but that had nothing to do with the program. I had zero concern about the staff ratio or number of kids participating.

 

Best,

Mia

[kitkat343]

We sailed on Princess with our 2 year old. 2 year olds are allowed in the Kid Zone with parental supervision, which is great since they can do arts and crafts and play with all the toys.

 

They told us that there were 150 children on the previous trip (departing January 29th) and only 20 on our trip (departing 1/8) through the Panama Canal. Princess adds crew to trips with large numbers of children, but it is more challenging since all of the kids need to do the same activities when they have a large number of kids at the same time. On our cruise, if my son wanted to paint, they just brought him whatever he wanted. They wouldn't have been able to do that if they were supervising 20 kids at the same time. If you can avoid traveling during school vacations, its usually a good idea.

[Cruisin' Chick]

The cruiselines will know each person's age, including the kids, as you have to provide that info a while before the cruise. The number of kids' program staff will be adjusted based on the quantity of kids in each age grouping. During summer breaks, spring breaks, and winter breaks, some staff may include teachers, recreational students, etc., wanting to get a little extra money besides their current job.

 

BTW, not every berth will be used on board any ship as there's a maximum number of passengers allowed on any sailing due to lifeboat capacity. So the number of children will tend to be limited because of that.

 

I wouldn't worry about crowding in the kids' area as that every kid will be there the whole time the rooms are open.

 

I have found that my child enjoyed the kids' program more when there were a lot of kids.

[Prinycesa07]

I have not cruised in the summer but thought this may be helpful. We cruised last month & were talking to one counselor during the open family time. She said that there was an abnormally low amount of kids on our sailing, even for low peak times (200 kids onboard & only 55 of them in the 2-5 group, usually she says its more like 500?). The whole week there were pretty much the same 10 kids. Anyways she said during peak season (summer) that there are many many kids. I asked if there was a limit or if they needed a certain number of counselors for a certain amount of kids & she said no, there's no such guidelines while sailing.

[Carnival_Brides]

I have never noticed overcrowding at CC when we cruise with our niece.

 

As it has been mentioned before, the lines know how many children in each age group are cruising and deploy staff accordingly. I have heard of families not being able to book certain cruises because the age quotas for the kids clubs had been met.