Any Circle C reviews? Especially on the Magic?

[gotscrapz]

Hi! I am cruising again after 10 years and am so excited. It will just me and my 13 year old daughter. I would love to hear about any circle c reviews- especially on the Magic.

 

We sail August 6th, eastern cruise:D

 

Thank you.

[nychad10]

Also interested in hearing about Circle C. I assume that's what they call it on the Conquest as well? We have a a large group with children from the ages of 6-16 years old.

[moongal]

We were on the Magic last June. My daughter was 13 and was so excited to try Circle C. Basically it was just a meeting place. If you want to do it you have to go the first night. This is when all the groups form. After this the kids just basically run the ship with their group. They never stayed in the Circle C club, it was more of a meeting place. You can give permission for your child to sign themselves out (which I don't think was ever even looked at, there didn't seem to be anyone checking)

There was a schedule given of all the activities, but it seemed nothing on the schedule ever happened. Basically the first night everyone makes friends and then the rest of the time they just hang out together.

 

For us, it didn't work out, I did not want my 13 yr old daughter just running loose on the ship day and night. The group she made friends with were all sneaking into the club 02 (older teens)

 

If you are ok with your child running the ship with no supervision then Circle C is great. The kids definitely think so! For me it was a little too much free rein.

[kctwinmommy]

We went on a cruise in Nov., not the Magic though. Our son was 12 at the time, along with our friend's son who was 13, they hung out there. Now, when we went, there were probably only about 15-20 kids at Circle C. It's not a big kid cruising time.

 

Anyway, our son had a blast! Yes, he had someone to go with, our friend's son, but they had just met on that cruise and they didn't even always hang together. He would hang with a few different kids at different times. Yes, we allowed him to go around the ship on his own (well, with the other kids, or with the Circle C staff) because we trusted him. They sometimes did the activities listed on their schedule, and other times, they changed it. Since it was such a small group, there was no reason to force 10 kids to play something if they all wanted to do something else. He would check in with us, we only hung in a few places so he knew where to find us. This was mostly on the sea days too. When it's a port day, they're only open after we leave port. So he would go back there after dinner every night. Quite often, we'd be back in our room and be waiting up for him to come back. Circle C is open until midnight or later, so he'd be there playing with games. They weren't running around the ship at this time of the night, unless with the staff. It was usually playing games in the Circle C.

 

I was worried about giving him that option to have this freedom, but he's been showing he's responsible. This was new for him too. He's not in a position at home where he walks to/from school or anything like that (we have to drive 25 minutes to school). But we talked about everything before we went.

 

I think if it had been a LOT of kids, much more confusing, then we may have done things differently. But being such a small group, knowing the kids he was hanging out with, it worked for us.

Edited June 6, 2016 by kctwinmommy

[solesman]

Two of our kids have done Circle C. Our oldest son didn't like it but he's not one to hang out in groups or make friends quickly. Our daughter, on the other hand, loved it.

 

It is not Camp Carnival for 12-15yo's. It is more of a social group. The kids can come and go as they please.

[cruizinisthebest]

Two of our kids have done Circle C. Our oldest son didn't like it but he's not one to hang out in groups or make friends quickly. Our daughter, on the other hand, loved it.

 

It is not Camp Carnival for 12-15yo's. It is more of a social group. The kids can come and go as they please.

 

Perfect description. Once they are out of Camp Carnival, there is no need to grant permission to sign themselves in or out. That's not even a component. They meet and gather there.

 

My son was in Circle C for the first time last year on the Sunshine. We'll be on the Magic in August. There were activities but not all day every day like with camp. He's shy but did very much enjoy it. He had rules and I didn't have an ounce of trouble with him following them. I knew from others it was much less structured so we kinda had an idea what to expect.

[gotscrapz]

Thank you all for your reviews.

 

I can understand if it's merely a meeting point for some and that the activities probably vary around which kids show participate and their interests.

 

I won't give my daughter unlimited freedom of course, but I am fine with allowing her to do various activities with friends she meets as long as I know where she is and she checks in and obeys any rules I set, which she always does.

 

I am glad it can at least be a place to meet kids her age, and hopefully they will have some activities for them as well.

[kctwinmommy]

Thank you all for your reviews.

 

I can understand if it's merely a meeting point for some and that the activities probably vary around which kids show participate and their interests.

 

I won't give my daughter unlimited freedom of course, but I am fine with allowing her to do various activities with friends she meets as long as I know where she is and she checks in and obeys any rules I set, which she always does.

 

I am glad it can at least be a place to meet kids her age, and hopefully they will have some activities for them as well.

 

Exactly! That's how we were with our son. He knew the rules and he doesn't get in trouble. So he was allowed to go and do things with the different kids, and they would check in once in awhile. Even the kids got to know who the parents were so they would tell us "He was over there, etc..."

 

I think daytime activities were harder to schedule than night. Usually all the kids went there at night, after dinner. Of course, it doesn't mean they did what was on the schedule! LOL! But they did play some games, went to the basketball court, etc...

[bookmomoftwins]

Great thread--we will be traveling with our twin 13yo boys on the Freedom during Christmas break, so I'm anxious to learn as much as I can about Circle C. Since it's during a school break, I'm sure the ship will be full of kids and this sounds like a good way for the boys to meet others their age. Keep that Circle C info coming!!

[CruiseWeekTV]

Here is a review from some kids actually ON the Magic.

 

[kctwinmommy]

Here is a review from some kids actually ON the Magic.

 

 

Thanks... although they don't talk about Circle C that much, just more about cruising in general. And sorry, but a 12 year old talking about driving a jet ski at 87 MPH scares me! LOL! It gives you an idea of what kids think about cruising though, all the same stuff my own kid tells me.

[Elder121]

Does anyone know of a current link to some of the Circle C dailies for the Magic? I have looked and looked and they all seem a year old or older. I was able to locate more recent Camp Carnival dailies for the 9-11 group but nothing for Circle C. Would be GREAT to have so we could plan "logistics" with Camp Carnival, Circle C and the Funtimes events. Yep, I'm a planner.........

[cruizinisthebest]

Does anyone know of a current link to some of the Circle C dailies for the Magic? I have looked and looked and they all seem a year old or older. I was able to locate more recent Camp Carnival dailies for the 9-11 group but nothing for Circle C. Would be GREAT to have so we could plan "logistics" with Camp Carnival, Circle C and the Funtimes events. Yep, I'm a planner.........

 

We were on the Magic 8/27-9/3. I think I may have the schedule. I'll check for you. You can email me at cruizinisthebest at gmail dot com. I'll reply and send them to you.

 

I can tell you that my son did not like Circle C on the Magic. He went in there a few times but never stayed. They did not follow the schedule according to him. And he said all the kids wanted to do was walk around the ship. Sounds alot like what Moongal described. He enjoyed it alot more on the Sunshine last year. I was very disappointed for him, but he made the best out of it. We did things together and he went to the arcade. Overall, Circle C was a huge let down. My daughter who was in Camp Ocean, on the other hand, enjoyed it.

[Elder121]

We were on the Magic 8/27-9/3. I think I may have the schedule. I'll check for you. You can email me at cruizinisthebest at gmail dot com. I'll reply and send them to you.

 

I can tell you that my son did not like Circle C on the Magic. He went in there a few times but never stayed. They did not follow the schedule according to him. And he said all the kids wanted to do was walk around the ship. Sounds alot like what Moongal described. He enjoyed it alot more on the Sunshine last year. I was very disappointed for him, but he made the best out of it. We did things together and he went to the arcade. Overall, Circle C was a huge let down. My daughter who was in Camp Ocean, on the other hand, enjoyed it.

 

Thank you SOOO much - just sent over an email for them. This is VERY appreciated! My kids have both been to Camp Carnival and my son started going to Circle C and seemed to enjoy it - but it has always been on smaller ships. This will be the first Carnival Cruise on a bigger ship with more dedicated space. Thanks again!