Camp Carnival questions

[primadonut]

I have a few questions about camp carnival. I know the answer will be different ship to ship, but I am just looking for a general idea :-)

 

On sea days, I know the standard opening and closing time is 10AM/10PM, but there is usually a closure in the afternoon for build a bear and to get ready for the evening. What have the closure hours been typically on ships?

 

Camp is available for ages 2+, but the carnival site states that some limited childminding is available for younger children when the ship is in port and after 10PM. Has anyone with an under-2 utilized this? What were the details on your sailing?

 

Does the cell phone they provide for families with kids under 6 and kids with special needs work off the ship if they want to reach you?

 

Is there anything else I should be aware of that isn't clear on the carnival site?

 

Thanks! :-)

[A&Jfamily]

I have a few questions about camp carnival. I know the answer will be different ship to ship, but I am just looking for a general idea :-)

 

On sea days, I know the standard opening and closing time is 10AM/10PM, but there is usually a closure in the afternoon for build a bear and to get ready for the evening. What have the closure hours been typically on ships?

 

Camp is available for ages 2+, but the carnival site states that some limited childminding is available for younger children when the ship is in port and after 10PM. Has anyone with an under-2 utilized this? What were the details on your sailing?

 

Does the cell phone they provide for families with kids under 6 and kids with special needs work off the ship if they want to reach you?

 

Is there anything else I should be aware of that isn't clear on the carnival site?

 

Thanks! :-)

 

 

First, your times are wrong. CC is typically open 9-12 and 1-4/5 pm and 7-10 pm. Can be as late as 3 am with charges per hour after 10 pm. They have all kinds of special theme parties and will often bring the kids back to their room at the end. If your child wants to dinner with camp, they meet on the Lido deck at 6 pm and will take your kid directly to camp after that.

 

Build-A-Bear is usually listed as a 1 hour family activity a few times throughout the cruise and will vary from ship to ship. My kids are too old now, but we like to do it early in the trip so they had a new buddy for bedtime - as they only traveled with one small companion.

 

I have not had the cell phone as by the time they implemented that both my boys were over 5, nor have I used any childcare for kids under 2, as I waited til my baby was 2 before we started cruising; he is almost 11 now and going on his 10th cruise. Can you say rotten?:p

 

I can tell you however that my little one did stay when he was 2 and 3 in Camp while we were in port in Costa Maya and Belize in back to back years while we took big brother on special shore excursions that were not toddler appropriate. The little one never noticed we were gone, had the time of his life and was excited for a snack and some afternoon pool time. I never had a moment's pause leaving him as the ship is secure and the staff wonderful.

[Cruz77]

So if we bring our kids to the Lido deck to eat with the other kids will we be able to leave and go have dinner on our own without them? Is there a fee to have them eat with the other camp kids?

 

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[serene56]

Camp opens on sea days at 10am. Closes at 12:45. Opens at 2 closes wt 5 opens at 7 and becomes paid at 10pm.

 

Dinner with camp you take the kids to Lido deck to a specified area at 5:45. Promptly. Counselors will take kids back to the camp

 

Camp is 2-5. 6-8. 9-11

Cell phones are for 2-5 group and only a limited amount. Others in the age group will get pagers. You can call the camp using any house phone. You can also view your kids on the closed circuit TV located outside the camp area

 

You can not go into the camp with your kids

 

I have not heard about them taking kids u der 2 even at late night babysitting

[rmh661983]

Yes you can leave the kids on Lido with the Camp and pick them up at the camp room later that night and there is no fee for that. Once we realized we could do that on our last cruise we did it. Our son loved it and he was 3.5 yrs old at the time.

[primadonut]

Thanks for the replies...it seems each ship is different in the timing. I checked again in the Carnival FAQs about camps and ages...my kids are actually 4,6, and 8 so they will all be able to go to camp but I am hoping that a friend travelling with us can have a bit of child free time with us, even if it means evenings after 10 or staying on the ship in port... if anyone is curious, this is what Carnival says about the under 2 set...wondering if it is actually true at all :-)

 

"Is Camp Carnival available for children under 2? Camp Carnival is unable to accept children UNDER the age of 2 during activity times. There are no age exceptions to this policy. We do not offer in-stateroom services. We do offer limited services for Under 2's each evening from 10:00 pm-1:00 am and during port times. Services in port varies depending on the time spent in the port, please see Youth Staff on board for additional information There is a fee for these services which will be charged to your S&S account. There are available times on sea day morning’s where the parent can come and play with the child (or drop off for a fee). Check onboard for specific ship details. There are NO in-stateroom services available"

[rmh661983]

Just as a heads up for the late night activities for under 2 my son was 11 months and they ended up calling us 15 minutes after we left b/c he was crying. So just know if they are like that the staff won't keep the child b/c they can't have one person solely with an inconsolable infant. That can put a damper on any child free night.

[primadonut]

Just as a heads up for the late night activities for under 2 my son was 11 months and they ended up calling us 15 minutes after we left b/c he was crying. So just know if they are like that the staff won't keep the child b/c they can't have one person solely with an inconsolable infant. That can put a damper on any child free night.

 

I bet that did put a damper on it... did they charge you for the time?

[Freckle53]

No, the phone they give you do not work off the ship.

[rmh661983]

I bet that did put a damper on it... did they charge you for the time?

 

No they didn't charge us. Luckily I hadn't put my $ into the slot machine yet when the phone rang. We had just walked into the casino, but we made it work and it saved me $ in the long run. :p;)

[cruisecraze96]

I took my kids on their first cruise this past spring break DD (11) and DD (4). DD (4) did not want to leave camp, they are not open the first night only a preview. But the 2nd night I asked if she wanted to eat with the camp or with us she jumped up and said with camp. It was great to be able to bring her to the camp for dinner and see her run up to friends just met and not even look back or be sad.

 

If you do the late night camps, or they did have some night owls parties for the kids, those are a charge but it allows for the adults to have some adult time together. I did bring her to camp for Belize and Costa Maya since I did not feel those were good ports for her and they just asked to pick her up for lunch if we were on the ship but they would feed them lunch that day if we were not on the ship for any reason.

 

The phones do not work off the ship, but they were a great way for my oldest (11) to call me with one of the house phones if she needed to know where I was at or ask to leave camp to go to the pool etc.

 

They did have babysitting at night for a fee for younger kids, but as others have said they will call you if your child is crying or has a potty accident etc. Mine had a blast but I did see several others her age that they had to make the call, but from what I saw on the Dream the staff did try to calm them and it was not an immediate call if they were crying for a few minutes.

[nickel1522]

The cell phones are great but make sure that you are careful with it as it will cost if it is lost or ruined. Also, we only got phones when are children were in the 2-5 group and not when my son moved up to the 6-8 group.

 

As for time for children 2 and under, when we went on the Magic in 2012 my daughter was 15 months and they had a time before camp opens (1 hour) that the parents can bring the child in and play, but parents have to stay with the child the whole time.

 

Lastly, Camp Carnival does do diaper changing (during the day for ages 2-5. Not sure about after hours as we have never used it). A lot of people think that if the child isn't potty trained he/she cannot go, and they can. I personally asked if they would just call me if my children went (I felt bad because that takes time away from other kids and activities), or I would make sure to come back and get them before I knew they would have to go.

 

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Edited January 4, 2015 by nickel1522

[JinxyB]

On sea days they have an option from 8-10am to either play with your child (under 2) at camp or drop them off for a fee. They did offer paid babysitting at camp for 4-hour blocks during port days for under 2's. I think you can drop off the under 2's for paid babysitting after 10pm but I'm not 100% sure about that one. It was $6.75 per hour when I used the babysitting during the day a couple of years ago, so things may have changed since then. They will change diapers and pull ups.