Camp carnival for 5 1/2 year olds?

[crAZytwinmomma]

Just wondering if anyone had a 5 year old participating in the camp carnival... My twins will be almost 6 years old when we sail on the Splendor in October. I know they will be in the 2-5 age group and wonder if they will enjoy it since they'll be the oldest in the group. (they will be 5.75 years old)

 

There is a big difference in a 2 year old and a 5 year old...

 

Do they tailor the activities for age ranges?

 

Is there a playground of any sort (or just the water one?)? Is the water heated? My girls are freezy cats since we live in Arizona and are used to warm/hot weather.

[kjunea]

On his first cruise, my son was 5.25 and he loved every minute of Camp. Lots of toys to play with, lots of activities, begged me to let him stay up, etc. Cried on the last day because he was going to miss his "class".

 

Next cruise, he was just a little over 6 and in the next age group. He enjoyed it, just maybe not as much. As big of a difference there is between 2 and 5, there is also a huge difference between 6 and 8 and there were more 8 year olds than 6 on that cruise. Took him a day or two to get into the groove, but then he had a good time.

 

This fall, he will be 7.5 when we cruise and he is pumped for camp. Now, DS is small for his age, so I think he fit better when he was in the older part of his group, as opposed to being the younger part of his group.

 

HTH

[WestTxCruiser]

Our daughter was 5 on our first cruise, she loved Camp Carnival. There were more closer to 5 year olds than there were 2's.

If you use the babysitting service after 10pm everyone is together anyway......from 2 to 8.....no biggie.....our daughter would usually lay down and watch a movie and fall asleep.

As for the water temp......our daughter, who just completed her 4th cruise and just turned 9 has never been taken to the pool while participating in Camp Carnival.....I think maybe that is only with the bigger kids........and I am a water weenie and think the water in the pools is a bit chilly.....but refreshing cuz it can be HOT HOT HOT.....depending on when you sail.

I'm sure your kids will LOVE camp, and you will too!!! Happy Sailing!

[Elaine515]

When my niece and nephew were 6 years 1 month old my sister put Emily in the 2 -5 year old group (Em is a Down Syndrome child and my sister thought she would do better in the younger group) while Kevin went with the 6 - 8 year olds....

 

Two days into the cruise Kevin wanted to be with his sister and the Camp Counselors allowed him to join the 2 - 5 year old group... He had a better time with them then he was having with the older kids!!!

 

I think your twins will be just fine in the younger group....

[Cricket63]

Our grandson was 5 when he was there. Had a wonderful time. Looked forward to going everyday. Cried the last day when we had to get off the ship. They keep the kids very busy doing all sorts of different things and was always excited to tell us what he did that day.

[crAZytwinmomma]

Thank you for the replies... I don't think the 6-8 year old would be better for them for sure - just wishing I guess there was a 4-7 year old group:rolleyes: The 6-8 year olds would most likely be doing stuff they aren't into yet and my girls would be left in the dust!

 

I am so glad to hear there were great experiences for other 5 year olds - I know if there are other 5 year olds they will have a blast!!!!

 

For some reason, I though the water splash area with the smaller slide was used with camp carnival... as for the bigger slide - Id' assume they'd do that with us as most 2-5 year olds wouldn't be doing that independently. Our girls love to do big water slides and are super swimmers...just part of living in Arizona where the pool is where you spend all your free time during the hot months.

[JerseyshoreBruce]

Just wondering if anyone had a 5 year old participating in the camp carnival... My twins will be almost 6 years old when we sail on the Splendor in October. I know they will be in the 2-5 age group and wonder if they will enjoy it since they'll be the oldest in the group. (they will be 5.75 years old)

 

There is a big difference in a 2 year old and a 5 year old...

 

Do they tailor the activities for age ranges?

 

Is there a playground of any sort (or just the water one?)? Is the water heated? My girls are freezy cats since we live in Arizona and are used to warm/hot weather.

Last year i got my BIL to go on his first cruise. We went on the Carnival Liberty and he has 2 - 6 year old twins and a 5 year old. Well they got hooked on Camp Carnival and never wanted to be with the parents which in turn gave them so much unexspected time together. To make a long story short they are leaving 8/7/2010 on the Dream. My BIL said its the best vacation concept and is hooked on cruising Carnival now. The kids are so excited and looking forward to Camp Carnival and all their activities including a Camp Carnival sleepover as they did one last year on the Liberty! Hope this ease's your worries!

[Wavesprite]

I'm in the same boat. My daughter will be 5 3/4 in October when we sail on the Splendor. I'm kind of surprised that 5 year olds are grouped with 2 year olds..... My daughter could take care of those 2 year olds! haha!!!

[Angeleyes1382]

My son was 5 and a half on our last cruise. He absolutely loved Camp Carnival. The 2-5 year old's were in the same age group, some of the activities were the same like coloring t-shirts, backpacks, making fruit loop necklaces, etc. Sometimes the kids were separated into smaller groups, like 2-3 year old kids and 4-5 year old kids and they'd do similar activities. He'll be 6 and a half on our next cruise and after seeing the 6-8 year old area we think he'd like the 2-5 year old area, better. He doesn't play video games, he loves blocks, cars, and train tracks. I didn't remember seeing any of those things in the 6-8 year old area. But I guess we'll see when we get there.

[dane225]

My DD's ages 6 and 7 have been going to Camp Carnival since they were 3 and 4. They love every minute of it. On our first cruise with them our youngest was a little scared to go at age 3, but she got into it really quickly and loved it. My suggestion would be to make sure you go the the sail away dance party they have so they can meet the other kids that will be in Camp Carnival with them that week. My girls just love the dance party. Also, I got onto the carnival website and went to the ship we were cruising on and let the girls look at the pictures of Camp Carnival. That really got them excited and ready for the cruise.

[nybumpkin]

My youngest son was in the 2-5 group on our first two cruises. He was 5 1/2 on the second cruise, and they split the kids among the counselors: 2-3 YOs in one group, 4-5 in the other. They were all in the same Camp Carnival area, just in different groups so the 5s weren't with the 2s. There were a lot of kids on that cruise, and I'm not sure whether they can do that on "off season" cruises with fewer kids - but I know my son really enjoyed that Camp Carnival experience.