What's new with Carnival? Cruising with kids for the first time

[MMW37]

Hello!

My husband and I cruised 3x with Carnival early on in our marriage, and then got busy with graduate school and having kids. Our last cruise was probably 2010. I'm planning on us going on our first cruise as a family of 4 in April of 2017, out of New Orleans on the Triumph. It's a 5 night to Progreso and Cozumel. Our boys will be 2 and 5 when we sail, and we travel pretty frequently so they're pretty adventurous and used to being out of their routine. We're definitely planning on a balcony room at minimum - DH and I have never cruised without one, and I'm guessing that with young kids it's almost mandatory if we want to relax in the evening. So first question - how cramped will 4 of us be in a standard balcony room? Should we consider paying extra for a jr suite or extended balcony room? I know the suite perks are pretty minimal, and if we upgrade the money will come out of our fun budget somewhere else.

 

I can see that quite a few things have changed - the drink program is new (and I think we'll participate). Dining seems to have changed - are there no longer assigned seating times? It looks like there are more things to do on the ship than before too.

 

What other changes should I make myself aware of? Any tips for cruising with small kids for the first time? Are the Camp Carnival/Ocean counselors pretty good with even the little ones? I'm hoping we all have a great time!

[john91498]

We're going on the Miracle in Aug and got a balcony with our 2 kids, age 7 and 4. The kids have been on 3 cruises total and 185 sq feet has been perfectly fine.

 

Enjoy your cruise :)

[KPfromCT]

Is there any chance of doing the Dream out of New Orleans?

Much more for the kiddos to do with a nice waterpark, etc and a much newer ship with a better itinerary, I'm sure.....

 

They still have assigned early/late dining, but they have just added the option of your time dining, meaning you can show up whenever you please.:D:D

[winddawn]

Hello!

My husband and I cruised 3x with Carnival early on in our marriage, and then got busy with graduate school and having kids. Our last cruise was probably 2010. I'm planning on us going on our first cruise as a family of 4 in April of 2017, out of New Orleans on the Triumph. It's a 5 night to Progreso and Cozumel. Our boys will be 2 and 5 when we sail, and we travel pretty frequently so they're pretty adventurous and used to being out of their routine. We're definitely planning on a balcony room at minimum - DH and I have never cruised without one, and I'm guessing that with young kids it's almost mandatory if we want to relax in the evening. So first question - how cramped will 4 of us be in a standard balcony room? Should we consider paying extra for a jr suite or extended balcony room? I know the suite perks are pretty minimal, and if we upgrade the money will come out of our fun budget somewhere else.

 

I can see that quite a few things have changed - the drink program is new (and I think we'll participate). Dining seems to have changed - are there no longer assigned seating times? It looks like there are more things to do on the ship than before too.

 

What other changes should I make myself aware of? Any tips for cruising with small kids for the first time? Are the Camp Carnival/Ocean counselors pretty good with even the little ones? I'm hoping we all have a great time!

Welcome back to cruising!

 

Your boys would probably enjoy Seuss at Sea, and especially the Seuss character breakfast (small fee). Seuss at Sea is pretty new to Carnival.

 

https://www.carnival.com/onboard/seuss-at-sea

 

https://www.carnival.com/fun-activities/green-eggs-and-ham-breakfast

Edited June 24, 2016 by winddawn

[MMW37]

We're set on our dates, so it will definitely be on the Triumph. DH and I lived in NOLA for many years, and are sandwiching the cruise in between Jazzfest weekends. Seuss at Sea is of the reasons we're going with Carnival! That and the fact that they'll take kids into the club at 2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of doing anytime dining instead of assigned?

[Schoifmom]

What are the advantages and disadvantages of doing anytime dining instead of assigned?

 

FWIW, DH and I love YTD because we don't have to be tied to a schedule (which may be important with little ones as well).

 

Some people will tell you that they miss the opportunity to get to have the same wait staff every night, but we have (when we find a wait team that we like) asked to have the same wait staff and they have accommodated that without issue.

 

With assigned dining, you will probably be seated at a larger table with other families. With YTD, we have typically always been seated at a table for 2, although we have gotten to know our neighbors very well (the tables are very close).

 

It's really whatever you think is going to work best for your family.

Edited June 24, 2016 by Schoifmom

[Bringonthesun01]

Welcome back to cruising! On our last cruise, we sailed with my nephews (10,8,5,3) which was their first time cruising (but not traveling abroad). We did not sail on one of the newly renovated ships, but our ship still had water slides and play area for kids.

 

They loved Camp Carnival, now Camp Ocean, and had a blast. The 5 year old was a little upset because he wanted to be with his older brothers, but the 3 year old was happy to have him in his age group. On most nights the boys stayed and had dinner with the camp, which allowed for my Sister and BIL to have dinner with us without the kids. They also offer Night Owls, which means if you want to go to the comedy club or a show, they will entertain the kids after camp hours (for a small fee). Since you will have a 2 year old, they will give you a cell phone for emergencies. Make sure to register your kids in the camp before hand and once you board check the fun times for when check in is for the camp. You do not need to take the kids with you if you do not want, or you can and show them the play rooms. But this is when they would give you the cell for the younger kids. It is best to get there early if you want a cell phone because I am pretty sure they only have a few. The cruise we took was one that we did not leave the Carnival Beach area, so we were able to walk off the boat and walk back within 5 mins. For this day only the eldest came off the ship with us. The 3 younger decided they wanted to stay aboard and play in Camp Carnival. The cell phone still worked since we were so close to the ship. The boys had a blast, and are sailing again come November now.

 

My sister opted for the Junior Suite because of the extra room. Two of the boys were in with my parents, but on nights they wanted to sleep in with everyone else they had plenty of room. I would say with just the 4 of you, you should be good to get a balcony for 4 because they are a little bigger then the standard balcony.

[jeanie1724]

Like others mentioned, definitely do the Dr. Seuss stuff with your kids. On our recent cruise, there was also the Towel Animal theatre, which was super cute. My 3 year old and almost 6 year old loved Camp Ocean, and in fact ate dinner with them on 3 nights (Camp Ocean will feed your kids in the buffet between 6 and 6:20 on most nights). So my husband and I got to enjoy some nice long dinners by ourselves. Also, we went to the Hasbro game show and we all enjoyed it a lot. We had a ocean view room with the fold down beds for our kids. It was cramped but we expected it to be, so it was fine. Have a great cruise!

 

 

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[Otowncruiser]

A balcony room should definitely be enough space. The first cruise we took our kids on we had 2 connecting rooms and somehow still ended up in the same bed for most of the time. Next cruise we had 4 in a balcony room which was fine. Definitely do Seuss breakfast and I highly recommend Playa Mia in Cozumel!