Beware Kids - No Rubber Shark Abuse on Carnival!

[crusinmama06]

Hey folks I'm baaccckk :D

 

I think I learned one very important lesson on our 3rd Carnival cruise, a 3rd time is not the charm. ;)

 

I think we are done with Carnival for a while. I gave them a chance (3 chances...lol) and I just don't think they are for us.

 

With that being said, I am writing the review for Triumph out of New York City to Canada and posting it here...

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1004642

 

Come on over and read about the rubber shark abuse and learn that you are not suppose to run around during duck duck goose. :eek::p

[sandytoes03]

Thanks for the review!

 

I thought it was really rude what that one counselor said about your youngest--basically that she does what she wants and runs the show, or something like that. I would've been so mad, and upset.

 

But, glad that you had fun on your tour and enjoyed the Port of Call. Would you do Canada again--on another line--or would you rather sick with the warmer climate?

[crusinmama06]

My 5 year old is energetic, yes, I know this. But demanding and "running the show" - HA! It was just such a moronic comment.

 

I did like going to Saint John New Brunswick. It was different from the Caribbean. But it was a nice change of pace. I have no complaints about the itinerary. We got to see new things and discover new experiences --always good. :D

 

And we saw WHALES! I was like a little kid. I was so darn excited about those whales. :D

[nothriver]

Thanks for letting us know you had this posted! Great report, I'm new to cruising and I can't even tell you how much I appreciate good reports with lots of pictures!

[rolloman]

Great review as always. Sorry you got beat up a little bit by the usual pack of wolves who comb every single board. I am convinced for Kids of any cruising age, Disney or RCCL are you best choices, the only negative being the price is a tad higher.

[smoothy]

Thanks for the great review, its interesting to hear about cruising to areas that can be considered fairly 'non-standard'. It sounds like Carnival assigned it's B-Team of counselors to the ship... I can imagine the student reports in September: "What I Did This Summer. This summer I was fired from the kid zone on the ship because I ran during Duck-Duck-Goose"

[clansac]

I posted on the other thread but thought I'd put the info here too. We are two days off the Carnival Paradise and my kid got in trouble for stupid stuff too! First he was in trouble for running during duck duck goose and had to sit out. Who plays duck duck goose with 6-8 year olds and expects them not to run anyway?

 

The more frustrating part was that I got called to come pick him up for "noncompliance". My son is 6 and has been in school full-time for two years with no trouble ever, not once! I was stunned and hurried down. Turns out he wouldn't color all of the squares on his decorate your own t-shirt. Yeah. Coloring noncompliance. That counselor wasn't back the next two days- I'm not sure if she got sent back to the little guys or something else happened. It was weird!

 

Having done Carnival with and without kids and also RCCL with and without kids, I have to say that I much prefer RCCL. Carnival was fine for the price. But I far preferred the adult activities on RCCl and their kids club (minus some weird bathroom issues that happened) were far more fun and exciting. My son enjoyed both but liked RCCL from last year much better.

[Cruising Aussie Mum]

Michele I am so sad and sorry that you got "beat up" by some for posting an honest review. I am always amazed on these boards when people become critical and personally attacking over the most minor things.

 

I am a psychologist and, I can assure you that you do not have a personality disorder unless it is maybe the one shared by me and half the people on this board: cruise obsession personality disorder.;)

 

I must admit, after reading your review, I am hoping that I did not make a mistake in booking Carnival's Splendor for January. We love Royal Caribbean and Disney, but decided to just give Carnival a try - I hope we don't regret it. I will make sure I tell my children not to run, laugh or overly enjoy duck duck goose...

[crusinmama06]

I must admit, after reading your review, I am hoping that I did not make a mistake in booking Carnival's Splendor for January. We love Royal Caribbean and Disney, but decided to just give Carnival a try - I hope we don't regret it. I will make sure I tell my children not to run, laugh or overly enjoy duck duck goose...

 

Millions of people love Carnival, so don't worry. Just have a great time. And be sure to come back and tell us all about it. And remember, stay away from the rubber sharks. :D

[Sneezykevina]

We leave on the 29th on the Triumph and my daughter can be a real PITA.

 

I hope I don't have issues with CC!

[crusinmama06]

We leave on the 29th on the Triumph and my daughter can be a real PITA.

 

I hope I don't have issues with CC!

 

Good luck with that! :D

 

And please come back and tell us how it went. I hope you have a wonderful and problem-free cruise. And even if you have a different experience than we did, I want to hear about it please.

 

Thanks!

[calikak]

Michelle, fantastic detailed review, thank you so much for posting it! I can't believe some of the reaction over there--oh wait, this is the internet, so yes I can. Please try not to take any of that stuff personally, because we all know you're awesome!

[sunandseagirl617]

Michele,

 

Thank you for taking the time to post your review. Your reviews are always well written and factual. I'm sorry you received the responses that you did. (I am guessing some were removed?)

 

We always appreciate the advice and honesty of helping us plan our cruises and we are fortunate to have you here with us.

 

So did you little one attend shark anger management classes? :D:p;)

 

To be honest, I'm a little apprehensive about posting my review!:o

 

Theresa

[lephysteria]

Michelle, thanks for the review. I'll tell James not to abuse the rubber shark on his cruises! LOL

 

I really do think (and part of me thinks this is because I want to believe in the good in people) that you had a bad bunch of counselors on your cruise. We had nice ones on the Splendor ... even if it was just to tell us that James didn't want to participate in the sleepover! LOL

 

Nevermind to those that want to be a particular cruise line's cheerleader. You couldn't have said anything derrogatory about their loved one .... :eyeroll:

I guess be thankful you had lots of posts and didn't post a "good god carnival sucks" type of review or else you'd be flamed off the boards for sure! :eek:

[teachnh]

I liked reading your review too! We love cruising with/without our kids. It is where we choose to put our money. It is a shame you got beat up for liking to cruise with your kids (and how many time you have gone). We have been lucky so far to have good experiences with the kids on NCL and on CCL. But, on any given ship and any given cruise that can all be different! :D Keep up the good work!

[mariaw8889]

Michele, did you happen to see this thread? http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=999485 Same ship, different itinerary. I can't help but think maybe same counselor. One bad counselor can really make for a bad experience.

[crusinmama06]

Michele, did you happen to see this thread? http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=999485 Same ship, different itinerary. I can't help but think maybe same counselor. One bad counselor can really make for a bad experience.

 

Yes I did...lol. :)

 

I saw that right before we left and swore that I would ask the counselors about it...never got a chance to because I had my own problems with them. ;)

 

Everyone swore that it didn't happen, the poster was a troll who never returned. After cruising with those counselors, I can see how it CAN happen, no doubt. I was very open with those 9-11 group counselors that my 9 year old was not allowed to leave camp. She could sign out, but she needed to wait for me to pick her up. Even if it meant sitting outside the camp door. At one point, one of their activities ended early and they told my daughter that she could leave and go back to her cabin because she had sign out privlegdes. She said "No, I have to wait for my mom". So they told her to sign out...but she knew to wait for me.

 

She isn't new to a cruise ship so she knows how it works. I can easily see how ANOTHER 10 year old would have signed out and gotten lost going back to the cabin. Those ships are confusing.

[Kristi Williamson]

Sorry to hear about your experience, Michelle! I was one of the few who defended the other mother, as well. I think things can and DO happen on ships all the time. It's mindboggling that so many think the cruise lines are perfect and anyone with a complaint is either a liar or a troll. It's REALLY bad when some of those people start to blame a 10 year old for getting lost on a ship, ya know? :rolleyes:

 

At any rate, it's good to know that you enjoyed the itinerary and that you still had fun. We've had small problems on CCL and RCL, but nothing like the shark incident. LOL I'll warn my youngest to beware of the rubber shark! :D

[Lady_Jag]

Thanks for the review.

When I first opened it, I thought "How odd! Why would this post be locked?"

 

Then I got to the first remark about "snobbish" and realized it could only go downhill from there. By the time I got to Mr. "Don't-Expect-Everyone-To-Put-Your-Children-At-The-Center-Of-The-World," I knew it was going to get REALLY ugly by the end of the thread. Sigh!

 

Anyway, sorry you had a bad experience on both counts, and I enjoyed your review! Now, I'm just a little bit nervous about our Carnival Dream Cruise next year. We've never had to worry about school schedules when cruising before, but this time, we have to wait until my daughter gets out of school. I'm hoping that with her private school releasing kids a week before the local public schools, it won't be too scary, but I guess you never know.

 

My daughter's first cruise last month was spectacular, and Camp Carnival was really good to and for her. I've mentioned before that she has apraxia of speech, but we did notice a marked improvement in her speech by the end of the cruise. :)

 

Now I'm worried that the counselors might not take as good care of her as the couselors on her last cruise did. I saw my daughter playing duck-duck-goose when I went to pick her up from camp one evening. It was new to her, and she LOVED the game. But who's to say how much she'll want to run around and keep running by the time she's 4. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

[Palmfam]

Michelle,

 

You are too sweet..sorry for the grief you received!

 

I was at Pottery Barn Kids today and noticed they had rubber sharks for sale, $14.99. I thought of you and laughed out loud. :p

 

I am so truly sorry you and your daughters had that experience! What a shame.

[crusinmama06]

Michelle,

 

You are too sweet..sorry for the grief you received!

 

I was at Pottery Barn Kids today and noticed they had rubber sharks for sale, $14.99. I thought of you and laughed out loud. :p

 

I am so truly sorry you and your daughters had that experience! What a shame.

 

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

 

Funny you had that happen TODAY. We actually met up with some of the CCers that we met onboard the Triumph, today. We all went to a local amusement park. We were walking back to the cars to drop off towels when we all noticed that there was a child in front of us with a rubber shark. Then one of the CCers said to my daughter "No, you cannot abuse that shark!"

 

Oh well, like I said in the review, at least we met a great group of people who have become friends beyond the cruise. :D And the shark will forever hold a place in our heart...and in our jokes...LOL. :D

[Cruisin' Chick]

Still reading your excellent review. Just got to the lanyard incident. Those counselors were ridiculous. And it makes my blood boil to hear so many are removing their tips. Jeez. May Karma get them.

[gvi]

Cruisinmama06,

 

Thank you for the very informative review. We are on a similar cruise next month. I have a question about the Fundy Coat to Fundy Shore tour you did (we are thinking of doing the same one.) Did you take a booster seat for your 5 year old? I have a 5 year old boy.

 

Thank you!

 

Gretchen

[crusinmama06]

Cruisinmama06,

 

Thank you for the very informative review. We are on a similar cruise next month. I have a question about the Fundy Coat to Fundy Shore tour you did (we are thinking of doing the same one.) Did you take a booster seat for your 5 year old? I have a 5 year old boy.

 

Thank you!

 

Gretchen

 

I did take one because all kids 5 and under in Canada are required to be in a car seat. However, Freedom Tours said that they would bring a car seat for us. I brought my own only because I am used to traveling with it. But I should have just used theirs. :) This is their direct link for that tour...

http://freedomtours.com/content/151140

[gvi]

Thanks Cruisinmama06.

 

That is what I thought. Always helps to ask someone who has been there!:)

 

Gretchen