Can kids "nap" in Camp Carnival?

[melli_fera]

I'm the OP. I'm the dad here. The "bad parent" bit should have read tongue-in-cheek. :-)

 

 

Sorry, Dad! I'm with you though... People who say you shouldn't expect "alone" time on a family vacation (that you paid for) probably also think you should never have any alone time at home either because you have a family. For the record, You (collective you - all parents - are NOT selfish)!

[WestTxCruiser]

Respectfully, I asked this question to the other parents here. If you are not a parent that has taken your kids to Camp Carnival, I honestly don't value your input.

My daughter was 5 on our first cruise and we picked her up several times from Camp Carnival and she was crashed out.....especially in the evenings. They would put in a movie for the kids and some of them fell asleep, others didn't.

[boaterette]

They wont be kicked out for sleeping. But what do all you parents do when you don't pick your kids up till the wee hours of the morning and then they wake up early? Do you all just live on three or four hours of sllep a night? I have always been curious about this.

[QLUVS2CRUZ]

Utterly silly that anyone would think kids don't (or shouldn't) occasionally get sleepy at Camp Carnival -- and if they are likely to, then they should be left home. That's nonsense.

 

 

Exactly. I can't believe anyone would say to just leave your kids at home over a nap question.

 

They wont be kicked out for sleeping. But what do all you parents do when you don't pick your kids up till the wee hours of the morning and then they wake up early? Do you all just live on three or four hours of sllep a night? I have always been curious about this.

 

We don't stay out really late, but my kids like to go to Camp Carnival in the evening, so we let them stay later than their normal bedtime. (Bedtime at home is around 8pm, we let them stay at camp until 11pm.) They woke up around 7:30 and were pretty quiet until we were all up and stirring around 8-8:30, so it wasn't too bad for us.

[nickel1522]

Exactly. I can't believe anyone would say to just leave your kids at home over a nap question.

 

Exactly! On this last cruise I let my 15 month old stay up almost to 11 on most nights. Her FAVORITE part of the cruise was the shows (it got so bad that she would run into the Showtime Theatre even though a show wasn't going on, but still wanting to sit and wait for a show lol). Sometimes she would fall asleep during it, other times she would not. We wanted to take both our son (he was 5) and her to the Night Owls for one night to party and dance it up, but just never did. Am I bad a parent for wanting to stay out until 1 am at least ONE time during the cruise? NOPE! Because guess what? I am the one that paid thousands of dollars for my family to have a good time, and as long as everyone is enjoying themselves (especially me, I mean, am I not the parent?) then that is all that matters...:cool:

[nickel1522]

They wont be kicked out for sleeping. But what do all you parents do when you don't pick your kids up till the wee hours of the morning and then they wake up early? Do you all just live on three or four hours of sllep a night? I have always been curious about this.

 

My children have ALWAYS been the kind to wake them up if you move them! I have not used Night Owls, but know this will happen on our next cruise when we use it. Although I am still a little young (about to be 25 although I feel 55 sometimes lol) it does catch up. However, I'm one of those if I just do it one night than I am fine. And unfortunately my children have always been the kind that it does not matter if they go to bed at 8pm or 2am...they are waking up at the crack of dawn! Just makes us even more thankful of mid-day naps! :)

[nydney1]

They wont be kicked out for sleeping. But what do all you parents do when you don't pick your kids up till the wee hours of the morning and then they wake up early? Do you all just live on three or four hours of sllep a night? I have always been curious about this.

 

My 6 year old gets up at 5:00 AM regardless of what time he goes to bed. He has been doing this for 2 years, he is an early riser like me. We don;t use the late night service as we are usually in by 10:00 PM.

 

So the short answer to your question is yes, sleep is sacrificed when kids come in to the picture.

[bike1964]

Do you have kids?

 

Yes. I raised two boys and now they are both on their own. Why do you ask?

[FL Naturelover]

Have to agree that maybe you should just leave the kids at home if you don't think they can handle it.

 

Yes, I do have 2 of my own, 11 and 13. I leave them at home so I don't worry about where they are or what they are doing. We parents need a break too. I will eventually take them when I feel that they can handle it and I do not need to worry as much, that way everyone enjoys themselves.

[bmichell]

Someone just posted the Splendor Fun Times and Camp Carnival. Passing along.

 

From the week of July 22-29, 2012. Also the Camp carnival schedules and rules. They do have people at camp that will come and watch your kids in your room. Not sure of the cost.

 

Enjoy and ignore critics.

 

http://www.ronrythm.com/CarnSplJuly2012.html

[Athankfulheart]

I've not yet taken my children on Carnival, but I remember beanbags and movies for quiet times on RCCL. My POV is that once they are out of the baby/toddler years then their vacation schedule can be as flexible as mine. That said, I dont have children with any exceptional needs. Mine were aged 18 months - 13 years old when we cruised with them in Hawaii and everyone had a blast. We forgot our "daily schedules" as soon as our plane took off :) My vote is do what makes your family happy :)

[jenninkanata]

They wont be kicked out for sleeping. But what do all you parents do when you don't pick your kids up till the wee hours of the morning and then they wake up early? Do you all just live on three or four hours of sllep a night? I have always been curious about this.

 

Coming from a new cruiser (first cruise in 2 weeks yay) I lived the first 4 yrs of my kids life with 2-3 hrs of sleep at a time (if I got 5-6 hrs I'm in heaven LOL) Now my girls are older but I still go to bed 12-1am and the alarm goes off at 6 and I am up between 6-7 most days. Still sometimes I am up in the night with the girls if they are sick or whatever or on the very very very rare occaision I go out at night with friends or hubby and I have date night and go out morning still comes and they get up early when we want them to sleep in LOL... That is what COFFEE is for ;) the less sleep the more coffee ;) I think this parent is asking that since camp carnival is free and the evening one is very reasonable rates that they as a couple may partake is some adult fun at a comedy club or dancing etc I doubt they were considering this for the whole cruise. I know I am hoping to do some of this too as this will be our first cruise and I am excited to have a few hrs here and there that will be kid free ;) I love the fact I don't have to cook - thats vacation enough for me ;)

 

Jenn in Canada

[Kerry's Girls]

IF mom and dad were to leave the kids at Camp Carnival in the evenings for a couple hours, what happens if they are tired? Are there places that are dark/quiet for nap time? Does the Camp Carnival staff allow the kids to crash?

 

DO kids come to Camp Carnival in their PJs after dinner for evening activities, then if they are tired they can "nap" until mom and dad come get them

 

I have read countless trip reports about parents leaving their little ones in Camp Carnival for evening activities -- but what if the kids just want to (or parents want the kids to) crash?

 

 

If the kids want to or do sleep, they can. The staff will not make the kids sleep though if that's what you're hoping to request. My 7 year olds would be horrified to wear pajamas to camp when their peers are dressed :rolleyes:, so I bring them in comfortable pants or shorts & t-shirt. It will probably be easier for your 4 year old to sleep than the 9 year old because more of the kids in the younger group will do the same (and after 10 pm there are also under-twos who are sometimes brought sleeping in their strollers). I wouldn't count on any time in the kids club as sleep time though since there is no guarantee they won't stay up and play and be crabby the next day. I usually insist on a nap in the cabin before dinner, especially if we're going to be out after dinner.

 

Have a great time!

 

Best,

Mia

[dadof2boys]

As others have said, yes they put out blankets and pillows during a movie after 10:00 (sometimes they get that movie going around 9:00) my boys have never been asleep when we've gone to get them, but others were. Once we left the, until midnight and we were in line watching the tv monitor, there were two kids up and like 10 asleep. I said to my DW,"I'm glad our kids don't stay up that late". Of course it ended up being our two boys.

 

Anyhow, we have a very strict sleep schedule at home. The first couple of cruises the boys went on we did not enjoy ourselves because we were bound and determined to stick to that schedule. It seriously ruined those cruises.

 

Then one our friends told us to basically lighten up. We did and this past March and June we had the best trips ever! We still went to bed as a family around 11/12 at night. We napped as a family, but when the kids were looking like they could use it, not at the exact scheduled time. It was great. Also, something about that ship with the gentle rocking, our kids never sleep so late at home.

 

Go and have fun.

[carpeperdiem]

Ah... a flood of rational parents join the thread! Thanks for the tips and the experience.

 

dadof2: I just had my DW read your post! We also have very strict bedtime policy at home -- and the little one is a mess when we vary from it too much -- but she recovers pretty quickly. The older DD has been begging us to stay up for the olympics -- and she usually falls asleep by 10pm - that is, my DW ;-) but your advice is welcome and noted.

 

And to others that have posted their CC experience - thanks for sharing!

J

[tomsuelaw]

Thanks for the replies!

I didn't know they had mats and blankets... useful information.

I know that every family has different parenting priorities: a colleague let his then 3yo son watch violent R-movies and stay up past midnight on school nights -- 12 years later the kid is honor roll and a total mensch -- so there are no hard and fast rules. We have found that good sleep = happy girls. That's just us.

 

My DW asked me about this... just looking for some experienced parent cruiser real-world stories.

 

My soon to be 9DD declared that she was going to do the night-owl parties. She read about it on her kindle fire (so much for parental controls).

 

So just thinking out-loud about the DD almost-4.

 

 

Thanks to all for sharing!

 

J

 

Not sure why some people reply the way they do on this board at times. You gave like 50 disclaimers in your initial post and some people still seemed a little snarky about it. Don't feel bad. A few months ago I asked about bringing my kids cave tubing and quite a few jumped down my throat while one person said I should be investigated for child abuse. :rolleyes: I did not know giving your child a cool life experience that involves them needing to wear a life jacket is child abuse. In that case, my parents were horrible because they let me do all kinds of cool stuff :p

 

I appreciate your attitude about different parenting styles and I think it is cool that you don't let your kids sleep schedule run your life. If they can and are willing to take a nap in Camp, why not?

 

I think it is sometimes hard for people to realize that we all come from different world and life views, different cultures, different families, and different life experiences but it doesn't make it wrong.

[larkz]

Not sure why some people reply the way they do on this board at times. You gave like 50 disclaimers in your initial post and some people still seemed a little snarky about it. Don't feel bad. A few months ago I asked about bringing my kids cave tubing and quite a few jumped down my throat while one person said I should be investigated for child abuse. :rolleyes: I did not know giving your child a cool life experience that involves them needing to wear a life jacket is child abuse. In that case, my parents were horrible because they let me do all kinds of cool stuff :p

 

You're right. These self-righteous naggers display just a little too much fake sensitivity, especially considering how many parents truly do suck (20 percent in my opinion, enough to make me reconsider my first career of youth and family crisis counseling). I sent my teenage daughter to camps for rock climbing, flying lessons, dolphin research, and various rugged outdoor activities, and got rueful comments from various relatives about how I'd be sorry if she ever got injured, or worse!

 

No, she got healthy, smart, and confident, mostly paid her own way through college, and now works with kids herself. Imagine that.

[kdawg954]

Seriously, some of you all are extremely ridiculous with your replies.

 

 

Don't know if this was said but I recently went on a cruise with my Brother in law, his wife and 3 year old son and we actually took him to the "Night Owls" program while he was asleep on the last night (he was in there during the day and on previous days) and it was no issue what so ever. He is extremely well behaved so I can understand parents who may be worried about their child waking up and wondering where he is but he slept the whole time while we watched the adult comedy shows and went inside the club. It is actually a fairly normal thing.

 

The Camp Carnival staff is extremely solid.

[legion3]

The answer is a simple no. Naptime is not part of the program and no area exists for it. My younger 2 yo would simply go to a corner a lie down on her own and take her own naps despite the mayhem about. But she does that.

 

They did actually cover her with a blanket and she was always out of the flow.