Crushing with Kids

[TaNyler]

Just booked a cruise for May 31st on the Breeze. This will be me and my wife's 5th cruise and we usually leave my son at home with relatives but after watching some videos of pervious cruises we've been on he became fixated on going with us this year so we decided to take him and boy was he excited. He's 5 and I was wondering if anyone has any tips on cruising with a 5 year old. Do kids others kids generally like camp carnival? Did you find a way to have equal alone/relaxation time as well has family time? Any tips or info would be greatly appreciated!!!

 

Thanks Tyler.

[SteelerCruiser]

he will have a blast......just remember to keep open mind and not have your mind set on the "perfect picture" of what the cruise should be like for him. I know you said he is 5 so most likely if he likes playing with other kids then camp will be good and fun. The camp staff does a good job at making them feel welcome and they are there to have fun. One tip for you is even though he is big enough to walk still bring along an umbrella type stroller that you can use in the ports as well as the ship. Plus it will fold up and can be put away easily. Have Fun!!!

[ray98]

He will probably spend lots of time in Camp Carnival, mine did at that age. He made friends and really enjoyed the planned activities.

[countrygirlcruiser1234]

He will enjoy it, just keep in mind that this is still school time for most of the country so there may not be many children on board.

[cruizinisthebest]

We started taking our kids when our youngest was 5. She helped me plan the next two since! Not sure who loves cruising more in our family - the adults or the kids!

 

Register online for camp ahead of time so you don't have to bother doing that onboard. And be sure to go to the orientation on the first day. Time will be posted in your funtimes. Get two copies of the schedule and be flexible. It will be different from cruising just with you two but totally worth it. YOur son is going to have a great time on the Breeze. So much to do!!

[Cgsanders]

My 6 year old has been on two cruises...she LOVES IT...as far as camp carnival goes she doesn't want to leave their. She thinks cruising the way to go and thinks we should go each year.

[A&Jfamily]

We find that cruising is the perfect family vacation; kids get to do their things, parents get to do their things, and we come together each day for at least dinner, and then have our shore excursion time as a family. My youngest was 2 when he first cruised and he is now 10 about to go on his 10th cruise. Both he and his brother, now 16 love it, and it is wonderful us because they are old enough to have their own room across the hall!

 

A typical sea day starts with breakfast in the dining room with me, DH and my youngest. Usually around 8 when they open. We LOVE eating in the dining room whenever possible. You avoid the hassle of the buffet, finding a table, getting refills etc. We are done by 9 and he heads off to camp. Then we have 3 glorious hours to grab a drink, take a walk, relax on our balcony, whatever the mood strikes. We meet him again at noon (the teen has been motivated by then, but is off doing his own thing - we usually see him in passing) for lunch. Sometimes it's a burger, but often we are back to the dining room, where we plan the afternoon. My youngest decides what camp sessions he wants to go back for, and then if he wants to play putt putt with us, go to the slides etc. Now that he is in the sign-in/out group, he often makes plans to meet a buddy someplace, and again heads off to do his own thing. Again 3-4 glorious hours of parent time. Everyone is required to be back in the room by 5 to rest up and clean up before dinner at 6. We go to the MDR and have a leisurely dinner. Sometimes, if it is a family show we will go together, but again, more often than not, the kids head off to do their own things. And again, a few more glorious hours just us.

 

Of course, port days are busier and we meet for breakfast and spend the day together, but evenings are usually parent only time - they have had enough of mom and dad and are ready for friends!

 

We just LOVE cruising - best family vacation, particularly for the money!

[ccartman2]

he should be fine. My 6 year year old is headed to #3. My 4 year old is going on #2. @ that age keep height in mind. 42 inches if the slide ends on his own. 48 inches if the slide ends in the pool. Not sure why I thought about that. They will be able to do Camp Carnival which our kids love. I'd say check out the family board for specific questions.

[Manatee Mom]

Go on the 1st night to the Family Dance Party, this is where the young ones can meet each other with parents still around.

 

Look through the camp funtimes to see what activities he will/won't like, just to get a heads up.

 

Bring Walkie Talkies so if he does want to leave camp early he can call you or tell you he wants to stay a little longer.

 

My boys love cruising and now have friends around the world that they keep in touch with. If you want to see what the breeze is like for kids check out my video links, I do have to warn you they are not your normal family videos.

[In2why]

My kids love cruising as much as I do, if not more. We went during school so there were not a lot of kids on board, but they still made friends. I also think at that age it depends on the child. Does your son like to spend time away from you at home? My nephew had never been in preschool or daycare so he hated camp. He wanted to play with the other kids but only if Mom or Dad stayed with him. So if your 5 year old is a bit independent and has already spent time with other kids he will likely love it. If not, maybe not. There is a lot for kids to do on board. My youngest was 6 when we went on our first cruise and we will cherish the memories forever.

[T. Advisor King]

I always like to provide a counterbalance when I see someone posting that someone he or she does not know "will love" being on a cruise. While it may be that the majority of 5 year olds will enjoy it, there is a non-zero probability that your son will not enjoy it or be neutral.

 

I generally agree with the other comments about Camp Carnival, especially going to the orientation session on the first day. Most kids enjoy the activities, but not all of them. Some, particularly those who are less outgoing or take longer to be comfortable with new people, will never find their comfort zone during a short (e.g., 1 week) cruise. There is a good chance that you will be able to mix your time between time spent alone with your wife and time spent as a family of three. But you should be prepared for your son to give it the thumbs down on the first day and not want to go back.

[G&TQ]

My son (10) loves to cruise. We are planning his 3rd cruise for this spring. His first was when he was 6. We almost all meals together. I think once we let him eat with his new friends at camp while we went to the Chefs table. Evenings he heads to Camp and the late night parties and we have Adult time. Since he has developed a liking for comedy we will probably take him the family comedy show and or the hasbro show. Port days we go together and sea days we have in the past at his insistence taken him to camp an hour or so in the mornings and then again after lunch. Our last cruise was 3 years ago and since then he has learned to like swimming and water slides so we will probably spend more time together this year. And don't forget the putt putt. There are board games in the library and so much to do. Check out the family board lots of info there. And I can't stress enough take a mini first aid kit with you, from band aids to benadryl. Best if you get it in tablets or the melt-a-ways as they are easier to pack. If they have children's meds in the gift shop they are expensive and might not carry the brands you are use to.

 

Hope you all have a blast!!!!

:D

[G&TQ]

I forgot. I found the game "Left, right, center" was so handy to have. I is a dice and chip game that comes in a tube about the size of mentos package. Easy fit in a small purse I use when cruising or traveling and a great way to keep everyone entertained while waiting for anything. I whipped it out and the three of us played while waiting for boarding and the next thing I knew DS already made friends who wanted to play.

[LREcruise02]

That is a great age! My 6 year old is going on her 5th cruise this year :) I would say that about age 4/5 is when she really started to like camp. Our schedule usually works on sea days they go to camp when it opens at 10. We get them for lunch then they like to do the water works or swimming areas. We always do dining room dinner because my girls love going and dancing with the waiters. But camp also does a kids dinner. Then they almost always want to go back to camp after dinner.

 

They also like to do some of the late night parties. They are like 10-midnight and a small extra fee. They are themed and always fun! And gives us some late night time on the ship kid free :)

 

On sea days we are always all in port together so they usually stay with us until after dinner and then go to camp. I think the kids camp really helps give a nice balance of time. Parents get adult time and the kids get a chance to meet new friends and just do kid stuff for a while. We have been cruising with our kids since they were 1 and wouldn't have it any other way :) have a great time!!

 

 

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[dbrown13]

We are planning a wedding cruise for next April and our girls will be 7 and 8 by that time so this thread is extremely helpful. I was a bit worried there wouldn't be enough to keep them occupied but my hopes are renewed! After a Disney cruise we aren't sure how they'll feel about Carnival but it sounds like it will be just as fun(minus all the characters everywhere)

[asalligo]

At that age my children were completely infatuated with Camp Carnival from day one. It is all they wanted to do.

[1Honey12]

Go on the 1st night to the Family Dance Party, this is where the young ones can meet each other with parents still around.

 

Look through the camp funtimes to see what activities he will/won't like, just to get a heads up.

 

Bring Walkie Talkies so if he does want to leave camp early he can call you or tell you he wants to stay a little longer.

 

My boys love cruising and now have friends around the world that they keep in touch with. If you want to see what the breeze is like for kids check out my video links, I do have to warn you they are not your normal family videos.

 

watched the Youtube video from the Breeze, i love it!

Adopt me!

[Retired_to_Cruise]

Just booked a cruise for May 31st on the Breeze. This will be me and my wife's 5th cruise and we usually leave my son at home with relatives but after watching some videos of pervious cruises we've been on he became fixated on going with us this year so we decided to take him and boy was he excited. He's 5 and I was wondering if anyone has any tips on cruising with a 5 year old. Do kids others kids generally like camp carnival? Did you find a way to have equal alone/relaxation time as well has family time? Any tips or info would be greatly appreciated!!!

 

Thanks Tyler.

 

Would not advise the "Crushing".

[AngAndBoys]

I say be prepared for anything. And set up expectations with your child before you go...as in, Mom and Dad need SOME time on the cruise, so you will have to go to camp some of the time. I say this because up until my kids hit age 9 an could sign themselves in and out, they wanted NOTHING to do with camp. They took one look at the pool and the slide and that is all they wanted to do...all day every day. Which I spent my days doing with them...but I insisted that they go to camp after dinner each evening so I could have some time to myself (I took them, all 3, alone on several cruises, starting when the youngest was around 6, not even tall enough to get on the slide, just wanted to be in that pool).

 

Of course, for mine, part of the problem is that they were not all in the same Camp group and they rather be together. 3 boys in 5 years...they are best friends, 1/2 grown now...but vacations were busy for me back in those days. Relaxing was kind of few and far between. :D

[TaNyler]

Awesome! Thanks everyone for your replies. The info about the first day family dance and the walkie talkies is a great idea. My son is a dancer so I'm sure we will be doing a lot of that. One reason we chose the Breeze is the amount of activities for kids. My son also wants to meet The Cat in The Hat and Thing 1 and Thing 2. :D And thank goodness for good genes cause my son is just tall enough for the water slides

 

Another question for anyone that may know is we have a close friend of ours coming with us. They have their 7 year old coming along with them and he and my son are best friends as they say. I saw that Camp Carnival is split by age and that would put them in different groups. Has anyone had any success getting their kid into a higher age group?

[TaNyler]

Would not advise the "Crushing".

 

Sorry about that my phone auto corrected it and i can't figure out how to fix it.

[AngAndBoys]

Awesome! Thanks everyone for your replies. The info about the first day family dance and the walkie talkies is a great idea. My son is a dancer so I'm sure we will be doing a lot of that. One reason we chose the Breeze is the amount of activities for kids. My son also wants to meet The Cat in The Hat and Thing 1 and Thing 2. :D And thank goodness for good genes cause my son is just tall enough for the water slides

 

Another question for anyone that may know is we have a close friend of ours coming with us. They have their 7 year old coming along with them and he and my son are best friends as they say. I saw that Camp Carnival is split by age and that would put them in different groups. Has anyone had any success getting their kid into a higher age group?

 

I have if they are close to the age group they are trying to move into. But, it has been a while since I did it. The web site swears this is not even a remote possibility, but the time I asked nobody even batted an eye. They moved my middle son up to my older son's group. Seems he was around 2-3 months shy of the right age.

[Manatee Mom]

We are planning a wedding cruise for next April and our girls will be 7 and 8 by that time so this thread is extremely helpful. I was a bit worried there wouldn't be enough to keep them occupied but my hopes are renewed! After a Disney cruise we aren't sure how they'll feel about Carnival but it sounds like it will be just as fun(minus all the characters everywhere)

 

Breeze has all the cat in the hat characters

 

watched the Youtube video from the Breeze, i love it!

Adopt me!

 

Thanks! the older breeze video is even funnier and shows my kids a little younger. My husband does not believe in standard vacation videos:D

[In2why]

Awesome! Thanks everyone for your replies. The info about the first day family dance and the walkie talkies is a great idea. My son is a dancer so I'm sure we will be doing a lot of that. One reason we chose the Breeze is the amount of activities for kids. My son also wants to meet The Cat in The Hat and Thing 1 and Thing 2. :D And thank goodness for good genes cause my son is just tall enough for the water slides

 

Another question for anyone that may know is we have a close friend of ours coming with us. They have their 7 year old coming along with them and he and my son are best friends as they say. I saw that Camp Carnival is split by age and that would put them in different groups. Has anyone had any success getting their kid into a higher age group?

 

 

Each ship sets that rule even though the paperwork says no. When we were on the Legend the ages 4 and 7 were in the same large room but they did offer some separate activities. So they were able to be together without any problem. Not sure if the Breeze uses the same room for all ages in Camp Carnival but I think they do.

[RTRMom]

I like the idea of giving the expectations to your kids before you leave. This is my youngest child's first time on a cruise and my oldest has been on 4 already..but he was old enough for the camp only one time. He was 3 at the time and really clingy. The camp didn't go over well. He is a lot older now, so he is excited about the camp.

 

 

We have been talking about all the fun activities in camp carnival. I have also been talking about the waterworks and such. So we will try the first day and advise them of how fun the camp will be and have them look forward to us picking them up for lunch and to go swimming. Then probably do more camp time after that before dinner.

 

We plan on having them eat with us each night for dinner. I like to have that as family time.

Edited February 11, 2015 by RTRMom