Carnival Conquest for those w/young kids

[bensmom1]

I posted a full review in Carnival forum (we went on 3/26/06), but wanted to share the kid-relevant parts here, too:

Stateroom: Our stateroom (8A balcony) was very roomy, even with a child. The steward made up the couch into an extra bed for DS and he slept great every night. . . . One thing I wish I had brought was an inflatable tub to bathe DS. The shower is just too small for an adult to get in there w/a child. I was glad we had a balcony, mainly b/c we traveled w/friends who stayed next door. We got the steward to unlock the privacy divider between our balconies and had "cocktail hour" out there every evening--one of the nicest parts of our cruise. We didn't bring a bungee cord to keep the door open, but you can just wedge a towel to do that. I didn't feel the balcony was any danger for DS, b/c the door was way too heavy for him to open himself and he was never out of our sight when we were out there.

Kids: OK, for yor parents of young kids, I will try to give plenty of info on Camp Carnival as it was hard for me to find beforehand. DS was in the 2-5 year group. You sign up the first night, but it isn't open until the next morning. For the 2-5 age group, they issue you a beeper for the whole cruise. The staff told us there were over 600 kids of Camp Carnival age on our cruise, but in the 2-5 room there were never more than 30 at a time--which sounds like a lot, but it really wasn't--and most of the time there aren't nearly that many. They hang out in a big but comfortable playroom (they don't go outside--which is much safer and you don't have to worry about sunburns). It was well-equipped w/toys, a computer, and TV screens for the late-night "babysitting" from 10 pm - 2 am (they show videos during that whole time--we picked up DS one night at 1:15 am and he was still awake!) It has it’s own kids’ bathroom which was great for DS b/c he is not used to an adult-size potty. It’s not necessary for your child to be toilet-trained, however—just bring diapers. Other than the last night of the cruise, the kids can have dinner w/CC staff in the upper part of the Lido restaurant. Usually this is at 5:45 pm, except the two formal nights when it's at 7 pm. CC is closed for an hour or so before dinner. On port days, if you're on board, they want you to pick up your kids for lunch, but if you go into port you can leave kids at CC for lunch and until you return. On sea days, it's closed between 12 pm - 2 pm for everyone except kids UNDER 2 years old. So, for kids under 2, the only time they can use CC is 12 pm - 2 pm, and the "babysitting" time after 10 pm. On the first day, we saw a single mother of an 18-month old trying to get her daughter in--her travel agent hadn't told her of the age restrictions. I felt bad for her, but they are very strict about the minimum age, which is perfectly reasonable--you really can't expect the staff to look after younger kids at the same time. They had plenty of structured activities balanced out w/free play time (covered in the Camp Carnival Capers which you get when you sign up). The staff seemed very good. DS was reluctant to go a couple of times but he always had a lot of fun (and has been asking when if he can go back!). However, be prepared to get “beeped” and pick up your child if he/she has a lot of separation anxiety. The family who traveled w/us with had a son, also 3, who had to be picked up b/c he was too upset for too long. Again—a reasonable policy. Don’t wait to try CC until a port day when you want to go into port w/o your child. We took DS to camp each day at least for awhile, and didn’t go into port w/o him until the last port day so we could be sure we was enjoying it enough to stay there. It was so nice to be able to drop him off and do our own thing, but so much better than leaving him at home! Camp Carnival really made our cruise a success.

 

Other kid info: the aft pool on Lido was great for young kids, though DS never used it (just not a water boy). The video arcade is good for older kids--the only thing DS did in there was air hockey. The shops have some good kiddie souvenirs. We took DS to dinner in the dining room w/us the first night and one other night, and he did great. Don't worry about your kids making noise--it's really not a problem w/the acoustics of the dining room. The wait staff is very welcoming of young kids. DS ate nothing but pizza, french fries and ice cream the whole week, but what the heck?

[cliosmom]

Thanks so much for posting this. We are going on the Conquest in Aug. with a 2 yr. old and this info. was VERY helpful!