Review of Camp Carnival on the Triumph - 10 year old

[Ellanora]

Myself and my 10 year old son, along with my parents, were on the 9/22 sailing of the Carnival Triumph (7 nights). This was my son's second cruise; we sailed the Sensation last September for 4 nights. On that cruise, he only participated in a couple Camp Carnival activites - everything was new to us and we pretty much stuck together. This time, he got a little more involved.

 

On the first night, Camp Carnival hosted a Family Welcome Aboard party in the disco lounge. All of the kids that attended (approx 20 - 25, all ages) and some of the parents got on the dance floor and participated in the different group dances and activities. My son was a little too shy at first, and we just watched for a little while, until they got in a circle and started passing a balloon around (if the music stops while you are holding a balloon, you have to sit on it to pop it). I convinced him that we could do it, and got him down on the dance floor. After the balloon dances, we did the Cha Cha slide, the Twist, and a bunch of other stuff. He was very glad that we ended up participating, and I believe this set the mood for his participation in Camp Carnival the rest of the trip. Also, I want to commend the Camp Counselors and Funship Freddy for all the enthusiasm they showed at this dance, and at all times during the cruise - they really did a great job and worked hard to make sure the kids had a fun time.

 

Over the next few days, my son participated in a scavenger hunt, coloring, a movie (Ice Age), swimming, and Pizza Fear Factor (hot sauce on a slice of pizza - he could only manage one lick :p .

 

He also went to the late night party 10 PM to 3:30 AM. We agreed that I would stop by at midnight to check on him, as he wasn't sure he would be able to stay awake that long, but when I did, he was having a great time and decided to stay the remainder of the party. One of the counselors brought him back to the room at about 3:40 AM. He was walking slow, as he had fallen on the stairs towards the end of the night and bruised his tailbone. He was sore for the next few days, but healed up just fine.

 

On the final night, he went to the Farewell party and danced again with all the others. He was sorry to say goodbye to a few of the friends he had made, and also to the counselors, Gabby and Irene.

 

I did sign the paper that allowed him to check himself in and out of Camp without my presence, as that is the only way they are allowed to participate in the scavenger hunt (which they do in groups of two or three). However, he and I had an agreement that he would not check himself out, and he always knew what time I would be there to pick him up. If we had taken a friend with us for him to hang out with, it might have been different, but I wasn't comfortable with him roaming the ship alone. I think this confused the counselors a little bit - they always seemed a little surprised when I would show up to pick him up and drop him off, or when I would confirm where they would be at certain times, but they got used to it.

 

Overall, Camp Carnival is a really fantastic service and the counselors on this ship are top-notch.

[crusinmama06]

Sounds like you all had a great trip! And I always wondered what the Fear Factor food would be. So it's hot sauce huh? lol...ick.

 

Welcome back! :D

[Ellanora]

And I always wondered what the Fear Factor food would be. So it's hot sauce huh? lol...ick.

 

Yep - and they also do Fear Factor ice cream with hot sauce - my son didn't even want to try that, he said the pizza was bad enough! :p

[crusinmama06]

Yep - and they also do Fear Factor ice cream with hot sauce - my son didn't even want to try that, he said the pizza was bad enough! :p

 

HAHAHAHA well at least the ice cream sounds better because it would cool off his mouth after he ate it. :eek:

[CC Help Michell]

Very valuable post here, thanks for sharing! I read all posts about Carnival's kids' activities (I'm looking for a family cruise for all 13 adults and 5 kids in mine, which I will be the one to organize, because I know about cruises, and also because apparently my family thinks that, as the oldest sibling, I LIKE pain! :) ), and I found this post great for stressing the importance of attending the "orientation" meeting as an ice-breaker, nerve-calmer, and chance for the kids to meet one another so they have a "friend" when Camp really starts.

 

Oh, and PS, THANK YOU to the OP for just mentioning your son's bruised tailbone/soreness as a "passing incidental" instead of starting a big ol' hairy thread about suing Carnival, expecting compensation, and yada yada yada. I'm not saying that it was insignificant -- I'm sure it bothered him a lot until it got better -- but an accidental fall doesn't always justify some big honkin' thread about "what were those counselors doing, anyway? Couldn't they watch my precious baby?" etc. A few years on CC kind of leave one expecting that stuff -- congrats to you for recognizing that accidents happen anywhere, including on a cruise ship.

[Ellanora]

Oh, and PS, THANK YOU to the OP for just mentioning your son's bruised tailbone/soreness as a "passing incidental" instead of starting a big ol' hairy thread about suing Carnival, expecting compensation, and yada yada yada. I'm not saying that it was insignificant -- I'm sure it bothered him a lot until it got better -- but an accidental fall doesn't always justify some big honkin' thread about "what were those counselors doing, anyway? Couldn't they watch my precious baby?" etc. A few years on CC kind of leave one expecting that stuff -- congrats to you for recognizing that accidents happen anywhere, including on a cruise ship.

 

LOL - Trust me, the first person I blame when he gets hurt is myself - he gets his graceless-ness from me; I can't even walk past a wall without stubbing a toe! We're actually two-for-two on cruise injuries; he slammed his head into the wood floorboards after slipping by the pool on the Sensation - he wasn't running or anything, both feet just slipped out from under him. He had the biggest goose-egg I have ever seen on the back of his head.

 

I also don't like it when people blame others for pure accidents - but then I'm big on individual responsibility. :rolleyes: :)

[SweetAngel]

My daughter was 10 last year on Carnival Ecstasy, and she was so thrilled at being able to check herself in and out of Camp Carnival. I have to admit it made me terribly nervous. For her, though, that chance to be independent was just the best thing about the cruise.

 

It's such a different world we live in now. When I was 10, I used to wander great distances from home, but my daughter had never really done that before. A cruise ship, however, makes a fairly safe environment for exploration, especially since she was always with her best friend (also 10).

 

The girls did really well at leaving me post-it notes on the mirror, so I could always find them. Generally, though, I'd find them in the room eating something that they had ordered. They thought room service was the greatest. We left them $1's for tipping.

 

In Camp, she loved the Fear Factor and pizza parties the best.

 

And I agree about the importance of orientation the first night. We had a lot of fun at the disco dancing with Freddie too. My kids are also very shy, and those first activities together with the parents and counselors all having fun together set a nice first impression for the trip.

[jazzdog]

We just returned from the Legend yesterday. My 11 year old son also enjoyed Camp Carnival for the most part. He didn't really participate in too many of the daytime activities because he was usually having fun in the pool, but he went to the late night activities every night. I would sign him in at 10pm (that's when they could play video games) and then picked him up an hour later. I did have to pay for that one hour though. He also did the late night party, and he LOVED that!

My daughter who is 13 did not participate in anything sponsored by Camp Carnival. The activities they had going on were sporadic and not well attended. She went to the Teen Disco the first night, but nobody else showed up. There were plenty of kids her age on board, but it just seemed as though they had already paired up, or else had brought friends along from home. I think that the program for this age group needs to have it's own "hang out" place, so that the kids always have a place to hang out and meet other kids.

That was my only complaint about the program. My niece and nephew loved the program (they are 2 and 4 yrs)

[Ellanora]

My daughter who is 13 did not participate in anything sponsored by Camp Carnival. The activities they had going on were sporadic and not well attended. She went to the Teen Disco the first night, but nobody else showed up. There were plenty of kids her age on board, but it just seemed as though they had already paired up, or else had brought friends along from home. I think that the program for this age group needs to have it's own "hang out" place, so that the kids always have a place to hang out and meet other kids.

 

On the Triumph, I noticed that the Hollywood Disco Lounge (one of our favorite lounges because of the dance floor, tvs across the walls, and bubble lights everywhere) was closed multiple times for the 12-14 year old activities and dance hours. I did see kids participating each time I walked by, although I suppose the number varies by sailing. I didn't read any Capers for the 12-14 years, and I wondered what other activities that age might have; besides, the disco, it seemed a little sparse.

[SweetAngel]

On Carnival ships, kids' activities aren't generally listed in the regular daily capers since each age group gets its own individual kid-capers upon registration.

[SweetAngel]

Some ships have special teen rooms and teen pools that only teens can use. Some teens really enjoy those spaces while others do not care so much.

 

I think that age would be a hard group to please. My daughter is only 11, but oh she is showing the rebelliousness already!!

 

Disney has a ship with a teen room (the Stack) and my daughter noticed that the 10-12 year olds get to spend a couple hours in that space. That is the biggest thing she is looking forward to on our upcoming Disney cruise. She wants to grow up way too fast.

[Ellanora]

On Carnival ships, kids' activities aren't generally listed in the regular daily capers since each age group gets its own individual kid-capers upon registration.

 

I know, I meant that I wasn't able to view the 12-14 year old kid capers.