Camp Carnival

[Rene in TN]

carnicrew - first of all, thanks for coming to the boards and offering your experience! I will be on the Conquest in March with a 3 yo and 7 yo. I have a list of activities from last March and was wondering if this year's activities will be pretty much the same? Also, I noticed that for the 6-8 yo group, two nights they are taken to the shows. Do you know if they still does this? Thanks!

[luvmy2kids]

You are so awesome to answer questions for us! We will be going on the Sensation on May 22. (wooohooo!! can't wait) My daughter turns 2 two weeks after the cruise. Will she be able to join in the activities with the 2 year olds? She's in a daycare environment now so she's used to being around other children. I have a 6 year old who will also be joining. Thanks so much!

[Daliaha]

Carnicrew thank you so much for allowing questions ... it sure helps us parents with the unknown, before getting on the ships..

 

I hope your still board this morning to answer a few more questions..:)

 

 

My question..

 

I have a son who is 2 , and a 8 year old daughter.

 

My son who is 2, ( he will be 3 in may) is completely potty trained. We will be sailing on the Victory at the end of March, and I was wondering, how the toddler pool works.

 

Do the Counselors take children in my sons age group to the pool? I read they take the older group.. or Can I take him and sit with him, as he splashes around? He loves the water, and we worked very hard on getting him fully potty trained before the cruise. So no swimming diapers.. or regular ones..:)

 

Any information on this would be helpful..

 

Thank you

 

-Dolly

[dad son team]

How does the latenight program work for an 8yo? When do the "per hour" charges start and how late is it open? Also, are the kids up and going the entire time or do things start to wind down as the night goes on?

[ship99]

Thank you so much for the great information. We'll be on the Victory April 2nd, our 11 year old is a little reluctant to go to "camps", how is the camp staff about engaging all campers?:confused:

[*CruiseFan*]

I don't have kids and I am far from it (I want them eventually!) but I just have to say how COOL it is that you've offered your time to answer questions carnicrew! I clicked on the thread just to see what it was about and wow, how awesome.

 

I love Carnival, people like you make the cruises that much better.

 

Annnd my silly nostalgic moment is over :) But yeah, it's cool.

[carnicrew]

carnicrew - first of all, thanks for coming to the boards and offering your experience! I will be on the Conquest in March with a 3 yo and 7 yo. I have a list of activities from last March and was wondering if this year's activities will be pretty much the same? Also, I noticed that for the 6-8 yo group, two nights they are taken to the shows. Do you know if they still does this? Thanks!

Yes the program will be basically the same. The activities may vary a bit as they tend to depending on the youth director on board each ship! And yes the 6-8's and 9-11's attend the production shows. We reserve a section of seats just for camp carnival!

[carnicrew]

You are so awesome to answer questions for us! We will be going on the Sensation on May 22. (wooohooo!! can't wait) My daughter turns 2 two weeks after the cruise. Will she be able to join in the activities with the 2 year olds? She's in a daycare environment now so she's used to being around other children. I have a 6 year old who will also be joining. Thanks so much!

Most often a child who is very close to turning a certain age will be permitted to move up or down in the age groups. However it is usually on an "on trial" basis. If they addapt well to the activites they can usually remain in that group for the rest of the cruise. 2 weeks away from turning 2 years old should not be a problem, but as I mentioned it depends on how well the child does in camp, and is based on the decision of the youth Director!

[carnicrew]

My question..

 

I have a son who is 2 , and a 8 year old daughter.

 

My son who is 2, ( he will be 3 in may) is completely potty trained. We will be sailing on the Victory at the end of March, and I was wondering, how the toddler pool works.

 

Do the Counselors take children in my sons age group to the pool? I read they take the older group.. or Can I take him and sit with him, as he splashes around? He loves the water, and we worked very hard on getting him fully potty trained before the cruise. So no swimming diapers.. or regular ones..:)

 

Any information on this would be helpful..

 

Thank you

 

-Dolly

No the counselrs will not take your toddler to the pool. The pool is there so that parent's can take their small children swimming. The only time the counselors take ANY children swimming is one night a week. There is a pool party for the 9-11's and 12-14's... You can have lots of fun taking him to the pool, I'm sure he'll have lots of fun too!

[carnicrew]

How does the latenight program work for an 8yo? When do the "per hour" charges start and how late is it open? Also, are the kids up and going the entire time or do things start to wind down as the night goes on?

Regular activities run until 10 pm. After 10 pm the charge starts. It is 6 $ per hour for one child. Any additional siblings will be charged 4$ per hour. (so 2 kids =10$per hour...3=14$ per hour, etc).

The babysitting runs until 3 am. So you can pick up anytime before then. Babysitting is held in the playroom and usually just involves quiet time with a movie and snacks (cookies& milk sorta thing)Pillows and blankets will be set up on the floor for the children. Most will fall asleep, although there are some who stay awake and watch a couple movies. On some nights of the week, for the bigger kids there are late night parties, where the kids don't sleep, they get to have lots of fun singing and dancing, making crafts, etc.. but the charge still does apply to any service after 10 pm!

[carnicrew]

Thank you so much for the great information. We'll be on the Victory April 2nd, our 11 year old is a little reluctant to go to "camps", how is the camp staff about engaging all campers?:confused:

We try our best to appeal to all potential campers. The best thing for your son/daughter to do is give it a try. You can take a look at the schedule to see what activities appeal to him/her, and if he/she wants, he/she can come to just those activities! The good thing about the 9-11 group is they can sign themselves in and out of camp so if he/she doesn't like a particular activity he/she can go and come back when the next one that he would like starts. The schedule is made up of varying activities in an attempt to have things that appeal to different kids. But as the saying goes, You can't please everyone all the time!!! At least if he/she chooses not to stay in camp he will have an opportunity to meet other children his/her age, then he/she can have fun with them outside camp on his/her own time, doing what they like!

[bp traveler]

First of all thank you so much for taking your time to answer these questions.

 

Too bad we missed you my 4 year old just returned fom the 2-5 year old gorup on the Triumph last week. He seemed to have a really great time.

 

One question though - why isn't the camp open the first night after orientation? He was dying to go and get his hands on all of those toys. We did take him to the babysitting at 10 so he could get a little fun in the first day but it was such a long wait for him and I am sure for other kids too.

 

The counselors were great and we really like the CC program!

[carnicrew]

Camp has activities right away on the first night but they are not drop off activities we have awelcome aboard party in the disco for families and often there is icecream decorating to follow that. The reason the playroom itself doesn't open until 10 for babysitting is that once we have the orientation for you guys and you fill out your registration form we then have to take those forms and go through them all, making name tags for the kids, making a list of any special needs and allergies the kids may have, and setting up the room for the babysitting program to begin at 10! Depending on how busy the cruise is this can take a little while to go through the hundreds of forms... and is only to help serve you and your child better...Usually before the vessel sets sail the playroom is open for veiwing so the kids and parents can go in and look around and check out the toys!

[sandymac]

Thank you so much for answering all these questions!!!

 

We will be sailing on the Victory Feb 19 and my son (2.5yrs old) has food allergies. I was just wondering how the camp handles food allergies:

 

Is there food offered during the Camp and if so, can I leave "safe" snacks for my son to eat?

I noticed that there are some "ice cream parties", do they have sorbet on the ships (my son has dairy, peanut, and egg allergies).

 

Thanks for all your help!!

 

Sandy

[cruisemomof2]

Carnicrew,

I think you have become everyone's best friend:) . Thank you so much for all of your information. My family will be traveling on the Inspiration in March. What are your thoughts regarding leaving our 4 year old in camp while we take an excursion in the Caymen's? I'm a little hesitant about leaving her and just want to know if this is routinely done.

[soniamarie]

We will be on the Feb.12th Spirit cruise. I look forward to meeting you. We did this same cruise last year.This time we are bringing 8 families with us.

My husband is from Fox News in San Diego and is doing a newspiece on "Cruising with Kids" on this trip for his Family Matters show. We will look for you. Do you know who the new cruise director is yet?

[LHP]

We have been cruising with Carnival with our 2 boys since they were 5 and 8. Camp Carnival has been absolutely fantastic on all 11 ships we have been on. Our youngest son has a form of autism and Camp Carnival has always done everything in their power to make him feel comfortable and provide excellent care.

 

The boys have always gotten a kick out of having a counselor again from a previous ship. That has happened twice.

 

They are 17 and 14 now. We are looking forward to our trip on the Pride in March. The 14 year old's only problem is his fear of Freddie. Again, Camp Carnival came to the rescue. They give us the planned scheduled visits that Freddie will be at (with the understanding that some unscheduled appearances do occur) and that way we can steer clear !!!

 

Were Terrence and Melinda still doing the Art sale on the Triumph when you were there? I haven't talked to them in awhile.

 

Enjoy the Spirit. We loved sailing on her last July through Alaska!! (only 150 kids, if you can believe that!)

[carnicrew]

Thank you so much for answering all these questions!!!

 

We will be sailing on the Victory Feb 19 and my son (2.5yrs old) has food allergies. I was just wondering how the camp handles food allergies:

 

Is there food offered during the Camp and if so, can I leave "safe" snacks for my son to eat?

I noticed that there are some "ice cream parties", do they have sorbet on the ships (my son has dairy, peanut, and egg allergies).

 

Thanks for all your help!!

 

Sandy

I know some counselors on the Victory!! Your kids will enjoy it!

We pay very close attention to food allergies. In camp we do not allow any peanut or nut products, Be sure to note the severity of the allergy when you register your son because we can never be sure if another child has had peanut butter for breakfast or something and arrived at camp with out washing their hands for example. The ice cream party is a usually a family activity so you can make sure your son does not have ice cream. I am not sure if there is sorbet, but you can always check with waiters once on board. All the childrens food allergies are noted on the backs of their name tags which we always check before serving food to any child. Of course you can provide his own "safe" snacks whenever you like, and just be sure to mention it to the counselors at each drop off so that they know it's there. There is also a children's dinner offered, so If you choose to participate in this just make sure when you drop off to let the counselors know what he would like to eat.

[carnicrew]

Carnicrew,

I think you have become everyone's best friend:) . Thank you so much for all of your information. My family will be traveling on the Inspiration in March. What are your thoughts regarding leaving our 4 year old in camp while we take an excursion in the Caymen's? I'm a little hesitant about leaving her and just want to know if this is routinely done.

Don't feel too guilty!!! a lot of kids are left with us while parents go ashore. The best way to know if your child will be fine with us is to make sure they visit us a few times before the first port so they are comfortable in the environment and know the counselors. Actually during grand cayman there are usually lots of kids because the ship has to tender. And dragging kids along on those tender rides can be a lot of work! From the time camp opens until 12 the kids all have free play, so if your 4 year old needs extra attention she will be very likely to recieve it because there are no "activities" going on. Port mornings are when the counselors really get to play with the kids and get to know them!

But you know your child better than anyone, so make sure that it is ok with yourself and your 4 year old so that you don't have any hard feelings about the situation!

[mimomf2]

Carnicrew,

Thanks for all your insights! I have a question about tipping the counselors. OK, a few questions! How much do parents usually tip? Does it get divided up among the counselors? Do you think the amount you are tipped is adequate? Are the tips a large part of you compensation like it is for other staff?

Thanks in advance

[carnicrew]

We will be on the Feb.12th Spirit cruise. I look forward to meeting you. We did this same cruise last year.This time we are bringing 8 families with us.

My husband is from Fox News in San Diego and is doing a newspiece on "Cruising with Kids" on this trip for his Family Matters show. We will look for you. Do you know who the new cruise director is yet?

I do not know who the director will be! I actually sign on that very day, So I will be new to the ship and probably get lost a few times as this is my first time working on a Spirit class ship!! I do know the camp program very well though so look forward to meeting you and your children and answering all of your questions!!:)

[carnicrew]

We have been cruising with Carnival with our 2 boys since they were 5 and 8. Camp Carnival has been absolutely fantastic on all 11 ships we have been on. Our youngest son has a form of autism and Camp Carnival has always done everything in their power to make him feel comfortable and provide excellent care.

 

The boys have always gotten a kick out of having a counselor again from a previous ship. That has happened twice.

 

They are 17 and 14 now. We are looking forward to our trip on the Pride in March. The 14 year old's only problem is his fear of Freddie. Again, Camp Carnival came to the rescue. They give us the planned scheduled visits that Freddie will be at (with the understanding that some unscheduled appearances do occur) and that way we can steer clear !!!

 

Were Terrence and Melinda still doing the Art sale on the Triumph when you were there? I haven't talked to them in awhile.

 

Enjoy the Spirit. We loved sailing on her last July through Alaska!! (only 150 kids, if you can believe that!)

That is so great to hear... really makes me feel good about doing my job!! No Terrence and Melinda were not there while I was, not that I know of anyway, they may have been there when I got there, but definitly not later in my contract or at the end!

[PaigeM]

OH i have questions. First, my son will turn 12 while we are on the cruise. Do we get to choose his age group? also, my dd will turn 15 just a few weeks after the cruise and all of her friends (we are going wth a group) will be 15. we they let me move her up?

[carnicrew]

Carnicrew,

Thanks for all your insights! I have a question about tipping the counselors. OK, a few questions! How much do parents usually tip? Does it get divided up among the counselors? Do you think the amount you are tipped is adequate? Are the tips a large part of you compensation like it is for other staff?

Thanks in advance

Good question. We are not included in the auto tipping as some cruisers are under the impression. there is no typical amount that parents usually tip it is all dependant upon how well we served you, how much you made use of the program, etc. All of the tips we do recieve are divided up among the counselors as well as go towards tipping the waiters who serve us , and providing birthday gifts, etc, to eachother from the whole team. Tips are not a large part of our compensation, although always greatly appreciated. We appreciate if you make use of the program during the after hours (fee applied), since camp carnival is free all day, it is only after 10 pm where we make our money!

However if you choose not to tip, that is fine what we really want is your feedback, what we did well and what we can do better. Our effort is reflected in the comment cards we get from you at tyhe end of a cruise, so if you had a good time, tell us. More often then not it is the people who have somethign bad to say that fill out the comment cards. But because we are evaluated by those cards it is equally important to be told when you are doing a good job!Mention names, how they did, what they did that was special, etc...

Thank you!

[carnicrew]

OH i have questions. First, my son will turn 12 while we are on the cruise. Do we get to choose his age group? also, my dd will turn 15 just a few weeks after the cruise and all of her friends (we are going wth a group) will be 15. we they let me move her up?

Yes you can choose which group he will be in since his birthday is within that week. You have to make a decision based on the types of the activities provided for each group, decide what he would like best.. SPeaking from experience the boys really love the ps2 time, and typically get more of it in the 9-11 age group, but again it depends on what the child likes, and the friends he chooses to hang around with!

As for your 14 year old turning 15, this should not be a problem, but you would have to check with the club 02 director who is in charge of the 15-17 year old program as this is not part of camp carnival!