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Toddler on Canival or Princess?


bestestbuddiesbaby
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I'd always pick Princess over Carnival. It's just better. Your three year old would have fun on either ship, but there will be more kids on Carnival which can be a bad thing. Too much stimulation and unruly kids. Princess ships are pretty- with a lot going on. The pools are great with families and the outdoor movie theater is a great feature. I love Princess and so do my kids.

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I haven't sailed Carnival with children, but my son was very happy with the kids club on Princess. Their counselors were excellent, and they had a very strong kids club program with lots of developmentally appropriate activities.

 

In general, people on this forum seem to be happy with the kids clubs on Carnival, so hopefully you will have a great trip either way!

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If you son/daughter isn't potty trained you may want to investigate the pool situation. I don't believe Princess allows swim diapers in the pools. I know Carnival doesn't but don't no if that's all ships.

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If you son/daughter isn't potty trained you may want to investigate the pool situation. I don't believe Princess allows swim diapers in the pools. I know Carnival doesn't but don't no if that's all ships.

 

Neither allow swim diapers in the pools.

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Either /or....for the child, the experience will be the same. Pick the one YOU want!!!

 

This.

 

We pick by itin. Usually Carnival over Princess.

 

Where are you coming in from? If stayong in Long Beach (Carnival) there is a free Long Beach Passport Bus that goes to many of the hotels, WalMart, cruiseport and the Aquarium.

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We were on the Miracle last fall with our 3 year old and had a great time! I too researched both Carnival and Princess at the time, and here are a couple of major differences than helped influence my decision:

 

1) Princess requires children to be at least 3 years old and fully potty trained to participate in the kids program (Princess Pelicans). Camp Carnival starts at age 2 and don't have to be toilet trained. (Our DD had just turned 3 but wasn't yet potty trained at the time of the cruise.)

 

2) Room/Bedding. On the Carnival Miracle, you can get an oceanview or balcony room where the 3rd bed is a sofa bed. On Princess, the oceanview and balcony rooms are smaller and don't have a sofa. The 3rd bed would be an upper bunk. I don't know about you, but there is no way I would put my 3 year old in an upper bunk to sleep at night.

 

NOTE: You can get a sofa bed on Princess if you spring for a mini suite, but they cost $$$.

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We cruised Star Princess last year with my daughter (who was one year old at the time). This year we are going to do Carnival Miracle (we have cruised Carnival before, but that was pre-child). I am hoping Carnival will be more fun for my daughter. I recall it being way more geared towards families/kids than Princess. In our experience with Princess, there were hardly any children and not really any kid-friendly activities outside of the kids program (which she wasn't old enough for at the time).

 

Some of the kid-friendly aspects of Carnival include Seuss at Sea, an arcade, and towel animals. The Seuss at Sea program is suppose to include a Seuss-a-palooza Parade, Seuss-a-palooza Story Time, and a Green Eggs and Ham breakfast, all of which I think my daughter will love. Also she loves pressing buttons on the machines at arcades (I don't even have to put any money in)!

 

Either way, I would try to spring for a room with a balcony if you can. The extra space is invaluable with a little one, and provides a nice, safe outdoor play area.

 

As others have mentioned, kids must be potty trained for the Princess kids program (not a requirement for Carnival).

 

With Princess, you have to get a mini suite if you want a bathtub. Carnival you have a to get a suite to a bathtub. My husband didn't want to spring for a suite, so we will not have a bath tub and I am definitely not looking forward to that :(

Edited by dr_dani
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We took our 3 year old on the carnival magic. She had a blast. The ocean view rooms have couches and the ocean view deluxe have 2 bathrooms. One has a toilet & sink and the other has a sink a small bathtub.

 

The kids club was great, waterworks has some toddler size water slides and of course she loved the pool too. The Seuss stuff was also really fun.

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I'm looking forward to Carnival with an 18 month old because of Suess at Sea. Also, we plan to buy an inflatable bath tub to put in the shower since we won't be in as suite :) I have no experience with Princess though :cool: ETA: there is a cute review written from a 2 1/2 year olds perspective of the Carnival Pride. I know its a different ship, but it answered a lot of my questions. It's recent and on the Carnival forum

Edited by angiegal
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We were on the Miracle last fall with our 3 year old and had a great time! I too researched both Carnival and Princess at the time, and here are a couple of major differences than helped influence my decision:

 

1) Princess requires children to be at least 3 years old and fully potty trained to participate in the kids program (Princess Pelicans). Camp Carnival starts at age 2 and don't have to be toilet trained. (Our DD had just turned 3 but wasn't yet potty trained at the time of the cruise.)

 

2) Room/Bedding. On the Carnival Miracle, you can get an oceanview or balcony room where the 3rd bed is a sofa bed. On Princess, the oceanview and balcony rooms are smaller and don't have a sofa. The 3rd bed would be an upper bunk. I don't know about you, but there is no way I would put my 3 year old in an upper bunk to sleep at night.

 

NOTE: You can get a sofa bed on Princess if you spring for a mini suite, but they cost $$$.

 

I totally agree with you, about the room size and layout. My 8 year olds have cruised since they were 2, and have been on 9 cruises (8 carnival and 1 princess).

 

The rooms are layed out much better on carnival and are slightly larger. As for the kids club... I would say they are equal. My kids LOVE camp carnival...in fact we have to drag them out. Princess was our most recent cruise, and the kids said they definitely want to go again. So....as for kids club, it's a toss up. As for room/cabin, carnival is our choice...hands down.

 

I could go on and on about pros and cons of each, but will stick to OP concerns.

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We cruised Star Princess last year with my daughter (who was one year old at the time). This year we are going to do Carnival Miracle (we have cruised Carnival before, but that was pre-child). I am hoping Carnival will be more fun for my daughter. I recall it being way more geared towards families/kids than Princess. In our experience with Princess, there were hardly any children and not really any kid-friendly activities outside of the kids program (which she wasn't old enough for at the time).

 

Some of the kid-friendly aspects of Carnival include Seuss at Sea, an arcade, and towel animals. The Seuss at Sea program is suppose to include a Seuss-a-palooza Parade, Seuss-a-palooza Story Time, and a Green Eggs and Ham breakfast, all of which I think my daughter will love. Also she loves pressing buttons on the machines at arcades (I don't even have to put any money in)!

 

Either way, I would try to spring for a room with a balcony if you can. The extra space is invaluable with a little one, and provides a nice, safe outdoor play area.

 

As others have mentioned, kids must be potty trained for the Princess kids program (not a requirement for Carnival).

 

With Princess, you have to get a mini suite if you want a bathtub. Carnival you have a to get a suite to a bathtub. My husband didn't want to spring for a suite, so we will not have a bath tub and I am definitely not looking forward to that :(

 

 

I agree with you about balcony. We found the balcony to be a well worth added expense, especially with young children. On the rare occasion that one or both of our twins were over tired or having a melt down, it wasn't nearly as horrible being stuck in a cabin if we had a nice balcony to lounge on. Plus, That extra space and fresh air is definitely invaluable.

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yes a balcony

 

As far as entertaining...keep your eyes open when you're at target or dollar spot, micheals or where ever.

I keep a box for stuff I find (typically on clearnace) that I pack for cruises. In our current box I have magnet sets (Elsa and Cinderella), a few simple crafts (crown, wond, bookmark), books, colors/markers, a few water toys, a paint/art set.

 

I make magents for the doors, oh, so much fun for little hands while waiting in the room/getting ready. I do the foam puzzles she can put together or characters. I have a sticker book (that's be saved for dinner), paper dolls. and a few other things.

 

One of my favorite memories was taking dd, 2 at the time, outside to the lido and painting (it was just simple water, where the 'paint' is on the paper). she had fun, she was busy. Another was her playing with the chairs, moving them around.

 

Tip. PLAN and make room for quiet/down time. Even yours doesn't nap or need it at home. We always planned quiet time, dd could 'read' or play quietly with her toys (we let her pack her little bag-I have final approval of course).

 

The balcony is GREAT for after bedtime or during naps. Or just to unwind. I wouldn't cruise with a child without a balcony (i'd rather not cruise :eek: )

 

I pack her 'princess soap' (i've been refilling the same little bottle for three years now). She hates showers at home, but would shower with me, uh, no real room, but if I have her the shower head, she'd play, wash herself down, and end up mostly clean.

 

We haven't used the kid's club on any cruise, so no comments there. We do go to open house hours if they have them. Carnival has the Dr. Suess stuff which my 3 year old is thrilled about.

Edited by Gardeneroflove
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