Circle C-does your young teen like it?

Another parent who's child has been cruising for a long time. Started in the 6 year olds and has now, (well her next cruise), graduated to O2. Since being in the older club, she failed to follow the rules only once, and learned her lesson. As stated before, set guidelines, meet ups, and they will enjoy themselves.

My son did not like circle c. It was unstructured, he was used to camp carnival. He likes a little more structure than just hanging out. That said, he still has a ball on the cruises but does not go to those activities. He does not hang out with us either. If he is cruising with all adults, he does his own thing, we may do the pool together or game room but he likes to relax in the cabin , get ice cream, pizza, watch movies outside. He is an only child at home so he is used to being by himself. When he has friends with him or cousins, they don't usually attend the clubs either as they are in different groups. They hang out at the pool, basketball courts, pizza, slides, etc . They also go to shows. I was surprised this past cruise when my son said he would like to play bingo. I didn't think about him going before I went but will take him next time if he wants to go.

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I could be wrong, but I remember all three of mine wearing the muster wristbands during our trip last year. They were all in Circle C.

My son was 13 this past summer and no muster wristband. We had a 9 and 10 year old at thanksgiving and they had to get bands. I think 12 is the cutoff.

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Does anyone ever get nervous about letting their kids roam the ship by themselves? Or once they leave the camp to come and meet you? My daughter is 12 and turning 13 in March. Mature in some ways but still immature too, lol. I just can't get comfortable with her being by herself on that big ship. How do others feel about this?

I have four so we have made them buddy up, last trip, only our three youngest went. We have a system. I make them leave me post it notes letting me know what time it is, where they will be and how long will they be there. If plans change, they have to do a new note. We do the same so they can find us as well. They are not allowed in the room areas of the ship and must remain in public areas at all times. They get no chances, screw up and you are in your cabin.

Yes, I struggle with this as well. My son turned 12 on our last cruise and he definitely was wanting to be more independent. We have rules, too, but I still get nervous. He is pretty mature and I trust him to follow the rules, It’s just hard letting my baby spread his wings! I would prefer that some kind of buddy system be in place, but we haven’t had a buddy before...another reason I would like for him to go to the club and make some friends to hang out with. We usually unplug on cruises and don’t use our devices, but I think we’re gonna have to break that rule this time so we can use our phones to stay in touch. Does the Carnival Hub app work well for this purpose?

Same here. Our son 12 will be going to Circle C for 1st time on Dream spring break in March. He loved Camp Carnival and we let him sign in /out. He usually came back to the room . We are nervous about him roaming ship alone . Hoping he will meet some friends to hang out with. Having his phone to text will help me feel a little better .

Same here. Our son 12 will be going to Circle C for 1st time on Dream spring break in March. He loved Camp Carnival and we let him sign in /out. He usually came back to the room . We are nervous about him roaming ship alone . Hoping he will meet some friends to hang out with. Having his phone to text will help me feel a little better .

Just set the rules before you go and have consequences if he doesn't follow them. Our son always knew what he could and couldn't do, where he could/couldn't go, etc... He would check in usually once, maybe twice a day. Then he had to be back at the set time for dinner, and again at bedtime. He would go on the first night to meet the other kids, find the kids he wanted to hang with, and then they would spend their time together. Often, he played the video games in the club, then go eat, get ice cream, eat some more, swim, and just hang out. He knew that we were around, and we could always find him somewhere, so he knew to be on his good behavior.

And to the OP - my son had loved it for all 3 of his Carnival cruises that he's been on. He had a great time! He also did the RC club this past summer and has some of those kids still friends on his snapchat.

Thank you for the reference, that's very interesting.

 

Interesting, because our recent experience was that the rule they enforced was "12 and under" when we were on the Sunshine last month over the holidays. This was a B2B, and the same rule was applied on both cruises. We paid particular attention to this, because we also have a 12 year old, and she was not too thrilled that she had to wear the band again, so we clarified the rule to make sure.

 

I'm not sure if different ships have slightly different rules, if some staff have the rule wrong, or if they have changed recently and the website isn't up to date? All I know is that on our two cruises a few weeks ago, the kids had to wear the bands if they were "12 or under".

Yeah, we were on the Inspiration two weeks ago and they were announcing frequently that all kids "12 and under" need wristbands.

My son was one week short of his 12th birthday when we cruised two weeks ago. When we went in to Camp Ocean (for 9 - 11 age) on the first evening, the team member said there weren't many kids his age registered for that club, but being that he is almost 12 we could take my son down to Circle C (for 12 - 14s), and they would likely allow him in that club. We took him down and he loved it - and the fact that he could sign in and out on his own. With Circle C they had a lot of computer games and my son enjoyed that. He would probably have been begging me for more money for the Arcade if he did not discover that he can play computer games in his club for no charge (and no complaints from dad !!!!).

(This is the child who spent $73 in the arcade within 30 mins on a previous cruise - before I shut his card down and grounded him). I suppose games in the kids club is a better idea than having dad complaining every 5 mins about the Arcade charges LOL

I have kids who aren't fans of the clubs or Circle C.Just not their thing. I wanted to ntoe that like an earlier post, I did "force" my eldest to try Circle C the first cruise. She did two activities, and I wouldn't say she was miserable but she never went back and does not have a desire to try again. She hangs with us throughout the trip, and I'm okay with that.

My youngest is similar. She does enjoy finding a friend but would prefer to do that at the pool, etc. She made a friend from our table last year and they went to the kid's club a couple of times together when there was a special activity.

Still, my kids choose crusing over just about any type of trip we could take (so that's what we do now even if it's not my first choice). I was worried they would find it boring if they didn't like the clubs or make friends, but it wasn't true for us.

My 12 and 14 year old boys just got off the Vista February 4th. Younger one had to wear a muster station bracelet. Both enjoyed Circle C, though the older was quite happy to head off to Karaoke every afternoon on his own, as well.

Both closed out the club most nights, before heading for pizza/ice cream and hanging out in the Clubhouse (On sports deck).

Same here. Our son 12 will be going to Circle C for 1st time on Dream spring break in March. He loved Camp Carnival and we let him sign in /out. He usually came back to the room . We are nervous about him roaming ship alone . Hoping he will meet some friends to hang out with. Having his phone to text will help me feel a little better .

Bonsai, If your on the March 18th Dream, let’s make sure they meet!

I’m seeing more comments about 12 year olds having to wear the band when the Carnival site says otherwise. I’m glad I didn’t tell my son that he wouldn’t need it on this cruise....but I hope he won’t-he sure hates that thing! :D

This is a tough age and very kid/developmental/group dynamic specific question. My youngest adapted better than his older brother but he is the more extroverted and athletic of the two. But even he did not like it on one cruise (Christmas) because for some crazy reason, the Circle C director had all these kids rehearsing for the kids Christmas show - 12-14 year olds, especially boys are generally NOT interested in such things. He is 13 almost 14 now and enjoyed it greatly this past Christmas on the Triumph.

The most important thing for both Circle C and Club O2 is to go to the first meeting. The kids seek out like minded/interested kids VERY quickly and will bond and hang out all around the ship rather than in the clubs. And it is at the first meeting where the start forming their groups. My oldest would often have on a Harry Potter or Pokemon t-shirt so he might has well have been wearing a flag to attract his fellow peeps. My youngest is inevitably in gym clothes so again his interests are pretty obvious.:)

We just sailed on our first cruise on the Breeze in January. My youngest daughter is 14 and did NOT want to go to Circle C. Mom kinda forced her to go the first night :cool: even though I ended up needing to stay for a good 45 minutes before she felt comfortable. She ended up loving it, making some good friends she is still chatting with, and was voted "prom queen" toward the end of the cruise.

There was a good combination of scheduled structured events, and free time. The kids really liked having a place to meet up and the staff at Circle C was fabulous.

Our next cruise she will be needing to move to Club O2 and she is not excited about it, but again I think if she goes the first night and makes some friends it will be good.

Her siblings are all late teens/early 20's so are not keen on spending the entire cruise hanging out with a 14 year old. By this point their interests have diverged quite a bit. ;)

I'm glad to see this. We will be on the Magic in June with our 13 year old and 17 year old daughters. I have been pushing the Club activities to my 13 year old. She is scared no one will talk to her. You know how girls this age are so self concious. I told her she needed to go the first day and at least try it. If she doesn't like the initial meet up, fine. She is welcome to hang with us, I just thought she would enjoy things with kids her age. This is her first cruise and she doesn't know what to expect.

She would be able to text us via the Hub app to come get her if she didn't want to stay, correct? I haven't sailed on Carnival in many years so these boards have been very helpful!

I'm glad to see this. We will be on the Magic in June with our 13 year old and 17 year old daughters. I have been pushing the Club activities to my 13 year old. She is scared no one will talk to her. You know how girls this age are so self concious. I told her she needed to go the first day and at least try it. If she doesn't like the initial meet up, fine. She is welcome to hang with us, I just thought she would enjoy things with kids her age. This is her first cruise and she doesn't know what to expect.

 

She would be able to text us via the Hub app to come get her if she didn't want to stay, correct? I haven't sailed on Carnival in many years so these boards have been very helpful!

She can check herself out and come find you, you don't have to sign her out. :cool:

Bonsai, If your on the March 18th Dream, let’s make sure they meet!

 

I’m seeing more comments about 12 year olds having to wear the band when the Carnival site says otherwise. I’m glad I didn’t tell my son that he wouldn’t need it on this cruise....but I hope he won’t-he sure hates that thing! :D

We sail on the 11th :( Bummer

Does anyone ever get nervous about letting their kids roam the ship by themselves? Or once they leave the camp to come and meet you? My daughter is 12 and turning 13 in March. Mature in some ways but still immature too, lol. I just can't get comfortable with her being by herself on that big ship. How do others feel about this?

we are fine. We have some strict rules in place. She will know where we are at any given hour. Usingthe HUB APP she can see where we are because we will mark up our favorites. THere is NO going into cabin areas for any reason whatsoever. She is not to walk any new found friend back to their cabin because they forgot something. Stay in Passenger areas at all times--NO EXCEPTIONS.

The wrist band thing for 12 years olds is definately weird. They announced you needed one if you were 12 or under on Liberty over new years. My son was 12 and they clearly knew that and didn't make him wear one or even offer him one. We were share they would place it on him at circle c but they didn't. The wrist band was the whole reason he didn't want to go. He couldn't stand the thought of sleeping with it (sensory kid). I didn't even consider whether he should be allowed to be unsupervised on the ship. I just told him no going in the cabins of others or allowing people into ours. Perhaps because he is an only child and plays sports at a high level so he is used to being independent but I didn't see it as any different than allowing him to walk to the mall with his friends, which he does at home.

We sail on the 11th :( Bummer

Aw, that’s too bad! Well, not for you guys-you get to leave a week earlier than us! Could you please leave a few towels out on some chairs and a bucket of beers by the aft pool for us the day you disembark? ;p Ha, that would bring a whole new meaning to chair hog! I hope circle C works out for your son.