Carnival Newbie with a 3 year old!

[chuchycruise]

Hi All

Am new to Carnival but not to cruising. We are going on a 4 day Bahamas cruise at end August.

 

I have been reading about allocated times for check in - this is not something I have experienced before. Does this apply to all rooms classes and all ships? How do I find out my allocated time? What happens if I arrive early or late?

 

Also we are travelling with a nearly 3 year old for the first time. What are the kids clubs like on Carnival. How do we book into them? Does this need to be done before I arrive or can it be done on board.

 

We are visiting Nassau and Freeport - any recommendations on places to visit or things that will keep a 3 year old entertained?

 

Am sorry for all the questions, but as mentioned new to Carnival. We are travelling from UK so want to organise as much as possible in advance.

 

thanks in advance

[Freckle53]

You can preregister for Camp Carnival online within your booking. There is a open house type thing the first day where you can check the facilities out and make sure your child is registered. You may be given a ship cell phone since your child is pretty young in case they need to contact you.

 

Last time we were in Nassau we went to Blue Lagoon and it was very nice. There are Little Tikes climbers around the beaches. Once we also got a day pass at Melia and they had nice shallow pools and a very uncrowded beach.

[KJENN]

We've done blue lagoon twice and it's been great. Very shallow lagoon with no waves that is perfect for young kids. Also you can watch or participate in dolphin and sea lion things. It's fun to just even watch the Dolphins from afar.

 

 

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[*Cassie*]

We just did a Bahamas cruise with a 3 year old. As was said, you can pre-register online, but then once you board you'll still need to go up to CC to go over all your information and sign the papers.

 

In Nassau, we went over to the Atlantis Aquarium. It was nice and she really liked it. We didn't plan anything for Freeport. We got off the ship to walk around the port and check out the shops but quickly realized a 3 year old in those small souvenir shops was a bad idea... So we spent the day enjoying the splash zone and pool on the ship.

 

And as far as check in, I believe it depends on the ship.

Edited May 13, 2016 by *Cassie*

[DebbieMo]

You can set or check your check in time online on carnival website. Not all ports are set up for staggered check in so it just depends on where you are leaving from. If you arrive early you will have to wait until your assigned time but if you get there later you should be able to go right in.

 

You can register for the kids club online also with your online check in. You could do it before but I believe you can do it once onboard also.

 

See programs here

 

https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1397/~/carnivals-youth-program

 

 

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[dacsmom]

You choose your own check in time, it is not assigned. It all depends on what port you leave from, not all are requiring to choose your check in time yet. Carnival is gradually rolling it out. If you are leaving from Miami (except Vista), go on the Carnival Website and under check in online there will be a question on the left hand side of the page that asks what time you want. If you do not see that, you are not required to choose a time yet.

[SadieN]

Check the Family Board. Lots of advice over there.

 

 

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[Foxinspace]

I have lots of advice. I'll start with the couple questions I can answer right off.

 

Check in time: I've never sailed out of a port that required this. I will say make sure kiddo has a few toys with them so they can play a bit as they wait. (couple of cars, or people whatever they enjoy) The lines are a bit of a pain, but at least they keep moving. We brought a stroller which gave DD somewhere to sit if she wanted.

 

Kids Club: You register in advance on line. Than on the first day 9after boarding) go over and visit. We didn't end up using the clubs (personal preference) but we visited them one day to make a stuffed animal ($). They looked nice and I think we will try them out on our next trip. We did get a sticker/colouring book which was awesome to take along to dinner.

 

Things to do in Nassau and Freeport:

Nassau we did a city tour. DD is fairly easy going so she had fun just being with the family and hanging out. If we were to do it again I think I'd like to see the zoo! We had planned on doing that after our tour but I was ill and we just went back to the ship.

Freeport. We got a day pass to an all-inclusive. We swam and hung out there, which was nice. We didn't have a lot of time here, but the beach was beautiful and I think I'd like to go back just to make sandcastles!

 

I'll try to find something I wrote about on another post about cruising with 3 yr old and post it here later.

 

Have fun!