Camp Ocean 2-5 year olds Questions ???'s

[patchofheaven]

Good Morning Y'all,

 

We are bringing are son, daughter in law and 2 1/2 yr old granddaughter on this cruise. I'm wanting to get some input/information from any of you that have used the "Camp Ocean" for ages 2-5 before. I know there is some sort of Parent Orientation in the beginning of the cruise, but I just wanted to give my son/daughter in law a heads up on the requirements/rules. I couldn't find anything on Carnival's website that goes more in depth about the program.

 

One major concern is that our granddaughter is not fully potty trained - Is that a deal breaker? She is an only child and never been in a daycare environment before - do we need to bring her shot records? These are a couple questions I've been thinking about and I know somebody out there can help me.

 

Our daughter in law is a Stay at Home Mom and granddaughter is an only child (so far) so she doesn't get much interaction with other toddlers. She loves going to the park and getting to play with new "friends" basically any little boy or girl she meets at the park is her "friend" - so I think this experience will be wonderful for her and give mom/dad/mimi & poppy some much needing fun adult time too.

[scoggins84]

We did Camp Ocean when my daughter had just turned 3 and she LOVED IT! She wasn't fully potty trained either, but she did know to tell the counselors when her pull up was wet and they would contact me to change her. It is imperative that mom and dad go to the registration time on the first day because the counselors will get some additional info on the child and they will give mom and dad a cell phone for the counselors to contact them directly. You don't need her shot records and she will wear a name tag everyday so that the counselors will know her name and make sure they have the correct info sheet for her. I bet she will love it, my daughter still asks to go back to camp carnival on the "BIG BOAT" every week! :)

[A&Jfamily]

In addition to the above, camp, on sea days will run from 9 am - 12, then you pick up for lunch. Afternoon activities will run from 1-4 ish. Then they can have dinner (if mom and dad want a break) with camp on the lido deck at 6 and will be taken to camp facilities for the 7-10 pm program. It is all very age appropriate and the counselors are wonderful.

 

You can have her in camp as much or as little as you want. But she seems social from what you describe, so don't be surprised if she wants to be there all the time.

 

Best advice for dinner: eat in the MDR. Get early seating if you can, if not, do YTD. If you have early, you can tell the wait staff that you will be there nightly and ask them to have a fruit plate and milk ready; it gives them something healthy to eat rather than filling up on bread. Our staff has always kept out kids a course ahead - they got their entree while parents had appetizers, and dessert while parents had main course. Then, by 7-715 ish, one parent can walk the child to camp and sign her in while the other orders coffee and dessert.

 

The best overall advice? Know your kid. How much sleep does she need? When does she nap? Try to keep the schedule the same as at home if possible. Don't let her stay at camp until 10 if she goes to bed at 8. You might be able to push it to nine and sleep in an extra hour...but keeping her rested will keep her happy!

[riffatsea]

Hi,

For a child who has never been away from her mother, being left in camp on her own is very different than playing in the park with Mom sitting nearby.

Definitely go to the orientation but be prepared for both "love it" and want to stay or tears the first time she is left somewhere.

Not all little ones are the same.

[BethersD]

We were very impressed with Camp Ocean last January when we were on the Conquest. They gave us a cell phone on the first day at orientation, and we were given a tour of both spaces and an agenda for the week, that was packed with tons of activities. Our 7 year old loved it so much it was often a challenge to get him to leave for lunch.... our youngest who was 3 at the time had his ups and downs. He wasn't fully potty trained but the staff were very good about calling and asking us to come up if he needed a change. There was also one day when he just wasn't happy to be there, the staff were very good about calling us when he clearly wasn't going to settle. They actually apologized for calling us and asking us to come and get him. Both kids came 'home' every day with crafts and stories, I was impressed as I thought maybe it would be glorified babysitting, but it's more like summer camp. When we told the boys we would be cruising again this January, the first thing they asked was if they could go back to Camp Ocean.

[patchofheaven]

Thank you all for the information! I know she will love it! Can't wait only 3 more days!!!

[john91498]

Be sure to get the cell phone as the phones are not always offered. My 2yo daughter hated camp, but my 4 year old son loved it. The staff had to call me when my daughter started getting fussy and wanted daddy.

[klfrodo]

I'll mention it.

She can't go in the pool even in swim diapers if not potty trained.

[Freckle53]

Carnival will change diapers, though I'm sure you can have them call you if you'd rather they didn't. You can get a ship cell phone so that they can contact you if there are any issues.

 

My youngest was a bit over 2 the first time we cruised and he lasted about 45 minutes the first sea day and wouldn't go back. He was also never in day care and I thought he'd love it, being able to play with other kids, but he didn't. When dropping off our older son, the counselors for the little ones would always call him by name and ask him if he wanted to come play with them which I thought was nice.

[A&Jfamily]

I forgot to say it also helps if on day 1 you can take them by and let them see the fun stuff to play with and get them excited.

[isaiahsnana]

Thank you all for the information! I know she will love it! Can't wait only 3 more days!!!

 

The forms that can be filled out in advance or at the time of the registration are available with your forms in My Cruise Manager. We do the forms in advance and have them ready when we go to the orientation with the grandboys - we had two in that age group in March and they both really enjoyed the activities and always had stories to tell, and crafts and medals won for contests - dancing, telling jokes, coloring, games, etc.