Carnival Cruise Lines, known as the Fun Ships, wouldn't necessarily strike you as a Top 5 Cruise Line For Kids, but we feel it deserves a spot. The minimum age to cruise on a standard cruise for children is 6 months, with a minimum age of 12 months for transatlantic, Hawaiian, or South American voyages.
Camp Carnival is a free program for kids 2 - 5 years of age. Here kids can win prizes, finger paint, enact puppet shows or read and listen to stories. Fun Ship Freddy, the eternally bouncy ship mascot, will hang out with kids, take pictures and make sure everyone has a smile on their face. Parents of children younger than 3 will receive a pager in case contact is necessary. Kids don't have to be potty trained to participate in Camp Carnival, but you will have to supply your own diapers and wipes, in your absence. Babysitting services for children younger than 2 are available at Camp Carnival during limited hours (check when you board; rates are $6 for the first child and $4 for each additional child).
Standard cabins aboard Carnival ships are larger than most. On the Fantasy-class ships, these staterooms can accommodate up to five people. Beds, consisting of two upper and two lower bunks, can be rolled away for more space or combined to form one larger bed. Check with your travel agent or Carnival Reservations as to the exact layout of the room, thereby ensuring maximum space. While other ships in the Carnival fleet can only accommodate four persons in each cabin, there exists an OUtside Stateroom with Verandah category, dedicating 85 square feet to a sitting balcony...maybe a nice spot to chat while the little tykes take a quick siesta.
Carnival rents strollers to parents per week or per day, including double strollers. ($25 per week or $6 per day on 3- and 4-night voyages) Free cribs are provided upon request. Shops onboard vend diapers, wipes, cream and other baby essentials. You MUST bring your own baby food on your Carnival cruise, as NO food mashing is available. Also, there is NO in-cabin babysitting, however there are children-centric activities until about 10 pm, for children ages 2 -5. There is a central center where babysitting from 10pm to 3 am is available. The children will be watching movies, resting or sleeping until Mom and Dad return. The cost is $6 per hour for the first child and $4 per hour for additional siblings. One more drawback to crusing on board Carnival with kids: non-toilet trained kiddies are not allowed in any pool, regardless of diaper type.
When our 6-8 year-old guests enter the bright and lively world of Camp Carnival they'll enjoy fun-filled and exciting activities like Spin Art, dodgeball, volcano making and more. Your pint-size cuties will also participate in a large variety of themed activities and games - including prize bingo, water colors, jewelry making, foosball, air hockey, and much more.Your kids will have so much fun, they won't even noticed their being supervised. They'll think of our counselors as just big kids.
Intermediates
Your 9-11 year-olds will feel a flurry of excitement every time they step into Camp Carnival. Our young cruisers will play all day long - from dodgeball and pool parties to video games and scavenger hunts. They'll also be excited about the new friends they've made.
Parents can take advantage of our evening "After Hours" services from 10 p.m. till 12 a.m. After 12 a.m., juniors and intermediate will join the younger cruisers for our Slumber Party service until 3 a.m.
Circle "C
"The ultimate spot where children ages 12-14 can cruise, chill, and connect to others. Cool activities, awesome facilities and lots of great new friends to add to their text-mail lists. The activities (think games, dance parties, outdoor movies and more) are supervised and created just for them. The friendly and experienced staff at Circle "C" wants to give your teens the best vacation experience possible. All activities are coordinated by a Circle "C" Director and dedicated to keeping the activities fun for our young guests.
Circle "C" Activities
Our playrooms offer a wide variety of games and equipment including, a video arcade and much more. Specialty items like air hockey, foosball, and karaoke (these are varied based on the class of ship) are also available. There are also special shore excursions, giving your kids the chance to explore our exciting destinations with a fun cruise director.
Every night aboard a Carnival cruise our young guests can "mix and mingle" to the latest pop hits at our shipboard dance club.
Welcome to Club O2 where teens 15-17 can hangout around the clock. This special space blends friends, music, entertainment, sports and style for a teen-themed cruising experience unlike any other. All supervised events, parties and activites are just for them. This amazing place is full of things to do, people to meet and stories to create.
ACTIVITIESSome of our Club 02 activities:»Latest Game Consoles»Board & Card Games»Sports»Music Hangs »Teen-Only Shore Excursions »Karaoke Sessions»Dance Parties
»Pool Parties
CLUB 02 | 15-17 YEAR OLDS »Camp Carnival- ages 2-11»Circle C- ages 12-14»Club O2 - ages 15-17About Club O2Club O2 LoungeThe Director
It's Club O2
Club 02 activities are designed to be cool and a little more relaxed. Teens can hangout with their friends and watch a movie, listen to the latest music, play video games or join karaoke jam sessions. We've even set up teen-only shore excursions so your young adults can enjoy the sites and sounds of our beautiful ports with their peers. From the moment your teen steps into Club O2 every activity and event - from basketball and volleyball, to ping pong and high-energy dance and pool parties - has been specially created with teens ages 15-17 years old in mind.
One more drawback to crusing on board Carnival with kids: non-toilet trained kiddies are not allowed in any pool, regardless of diaper type.
I'm wondering if any cruiseline allows kids in the pools (other than perhaps wading pools) if they aren't trained. Even swim diapers wouldn't prevent bacteria from getting in the pool if there's an accident.
I'm wondering if any cruiseline allows kids in the pools (other than perhaps wading pools) if they aren't trained. Even swim diapers wouldn't prevent bacteria from getting in the pool if there's an accident.
Patty,
Good Questions, and there are a couple of cruise lines, including Royal Caribbean and NCL, that allow children to enter a pool with swim diapers...but not just any pool....the kiddie, swim-diaper pool.
I think its nice to have the option, being that I am the parent of a child still in diapers, to engage in a little aquatic fun times. I, too, am glad that they separate the areas from one another...and I am also fairly confident that most bacteria and viruses are immediately killed in the chlorinated waters....but this is simple hearsay on my part... I'm no doctor.
We've used the wading pool for the girl when she was very young (on Carnival). But I would have qualms about doing that again in hindsight because if even one kid has an accident, you're exposing your child. Even if you keep your child upright, there's always the possibility of cuts or other unseen wounds getting infected on the expose part of the body.
It seems some parents of small kids bring a small inflatable pool, inflate and fill it up and place on a balcony.
We've used the wading pool for the girl when she was very young (on Carnival). But I would have qualms about doing that again in hindsight because if even one kid has an accident, you're exposing your child. Even if you keep your child upright, there's always the possibility of cuts or other unseen wounds getting infected on the expose part of the body.
It seems some parents of small kids bring a small inflatable pool, inflate and fill it up and place on a balcony.
Patty....what a great idea. Inflatable pools reduce down to nothing in a suitcase...and as long as you have a decent pair of lungs (or a travel air compressor), you can have an instant kiddie pool.
I must admit I have never heard of anyone doing this before? Can we foresee any problems with doing so, i.e., people below your balcony, etc?
What are your thoughts? Have your brought your inflatable pool along with you on a cruise yet?
We don't have an inflatable pool. Just have read that other people have done this. Not sure how easy it is to fill it though (I guess the ice bucket?) We haven't had a balcony cabin so it wouldn't have been an option for us anyway.
We did have some friends who passed on their kid's inflatable floatie suit to us. We did bring it along on our Caribbean cruise when she was three.
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Cruising With Kids: Carnival Cruise Line
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The friendly and experienced staff at Circle "C" wants to give your teens the best vacation experience possible. All activities are coordinated by a Circle "C" Director and dedicated to keeping the activities fun for our young guests.
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From the moment your teen steps into Club O2 every activity and event - from basketball and volleyball, to ping pong and high-energy dance and pool parties - has been specially created with teens ages 15-17 years old in mind.
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