Carnival Inspiration & Others - 12 yr old Experiences to share?

Greetings!

I am taking my 12 yr old son on the Inspiration next week, 20 - 24. He has been on 2 cruises (3 yrs old and 5 yrs old), however he has no memories of either, lol. I had to show him pics to prove he was actually on them!

Anyway, he had an amazing time as a child on both, we couldn't tear him away from the kids clubs (1 on Carnival, 1 on RC). Well, now he's 12 and super excited about the cruise.

Does anyone have any experiences, pics or stories to share about the cruise life for a 12 yr old? What kinds of activities they do, how much the "kids" liked it, etc.? Just trying to get an idea for him before we go.

Thanks!!

Jefferson (and Jackson)

Hi Jefferson and Jackson. I am taking my stepson on his very first cruise 20-24th on the Inspiration as well. His name is Javier and he is 11 as of May. Maybe Jackson and Javier can meet each other at camp orientation and see if they would like to hang out together. If interested please note that we will be at Camp Ocean Orientation on June 20th at 12:30 PM. I hope to meet you both.

The first night is usually just sign up. Have him go anyways, he should meet up with others in his age group.

Lots of activities, including a scavenger hunt.

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Hi Jefferson and Jackson. I am taking my stepson on his very first cruise 20-24th on the Inspiration as well. His name is Javier and he is 11 as of May. Maybe Jackson and Javier can meet each other at camp orientation and see if they would like to hang out together. If interested please note that we will be at Camp Ocean Orientation on June 20th at 12:30 PM. I hope to meet you both.

Thanks, sounds good! Our boarding time is 12:30 - 1, so we'll probably make our way to CO right away!

The first night is usually just sign up. Have him go anyways, he should meet up with others in his age group.

Lots of activities, including a scavenger hunt.

 

 

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Excellent. He can't wait, it'll just be a different experience for him, even though he doesn't remember the first two. We never saw him the first two cruises, because he wouldn't leave the kids clubs....even for lunch or dinner! He's a very social kid, so no worries about him making friends, should be interesting to see how much time he's there vs. out on the deck with Dad. :cool:

We took our then 13 year old son on his 2nd cruise two years ago. At dinner, we were seated at a large table with three other families that each had a child the same age as ours. The four of them made friends the first night and stuck together for the entire cruise. It was great! Our son is 15 now and still stays in touch with one of the other kids he met.

Before the cruise, he absolutely insisted that he did not want to sign up for "Camp". We signed him up anyway and gave him the choice of whether or not to go. Yep, he went.

11 and 12 year olds will be in different camp groups so meet up outside of camp time

The 12 yo will be in Circle C and the meet and greet first night is critical. Activities vary from ship to ship but you can have anything from video game time to Apples to Apples to sports outside. Mostly, once they are in Circle C, they meet a friend group that first night and just meet up around the ship and hang out, play putt-putt, sports, swim etc.

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Thanks for the info! I have no doubt he will meet some friends and I'll hardly see him the rest of the week! Kinda bittersweet.....but I just want him to have fun.

Just go on the first night, when you have to check in for Circle C. They do some activities, give the kids a chance to know each other and such. Ours went on his first cruise when he was 12. And although we went with another couple, who had a 13 year old that he met for the first time on our cruise together, our son met other kids and hung out with them as well. He had a small group to hang with and that was good for him. He would sometimes do the planned activities, or just hang in the Circle C lounge and play video games. He's loved every cruise he's been on and has always found some kids to hang with!

A little feedback....got back Friday morning on the Carnival Inspiration and my son had a blast! He went from being nervous on day 1 to begging to be dropped off the minute the club opened. He made great friends, they already have a chat group to text on their phones.

I was really pleased (and a bit surprised, in a good way) that they didn't spend all their time playing video games, they were out and about, doing lots of different activities, all over the ship. The age group was 12-14 and he said there wasn't anyone in the club that was bad/rude/mean, etc. A few quiet ones, but otherwise everyone got along great!

He did stay out til 2:15 am the last night!! But they were fine.

Also, he loved Catalina (parasailing and they have a blow up playground out in the water for the kids to play on) and Ensanada (Zip line and canopy tour). Both were fantastic.

Thanks for the info!

The only 12 year olds I ever sailed with are named Johnnie Walker and Dewars. I don't know about them, but I had a great time, and even won Superstar Karaoke with one of them.