Sailing Imagination June05, 1st time w/kids

[jacksmama]

Hi,

My mom and dad are taking the entire family on the Imagination, June 2005. I am looking for any and all info you guys can give me about Camp Carnival and other things I need to know for cruising with my then 3 yo dd and 5 yo ds.

 

I must say that I am very cautious/concerned about using Camp Carnival, I am your typical overprotective mom, but it would be nice if the kids like it to let them run and play some with the other kids.

 

My mom and dad are on the umpteenth cruise(they are in the Panama Canal now on RCCL), and this is my first...so I am excited and anxious all in one....

 

I like to have a "plan"...not that I use it...just that it is there!

 

Thanks,

jacksmama(andSarahs too!)

[cruisinqt]

My two kids were 3 and 6 when they went on their first cruise, so maybe I can help. The age groups are as follows: 2-5 year old group, 6-8 year old group, 9-12 year old group, and the 13-15 year old group. Well, the 3 year old was terrified of going that first day, so we just dropped off the older kid and took the younger one with us. But when the 3 year old heard that her older sibling got to paint, play with playdough, had their faces painted like a pirate and went on a treasure hunt, and had a pizza party, she was very jealous! So the next day she really wanted to go but insisted that her and her older sibling be together. Well, the cruise lines won't allow younger kids to move up to an older age group. But they did allow the older child to move down to the 2-5 age group to be with her sister and the rest is history!:)

 

They had so much fun on that first cruise! :D They got to make their own rubber balls tinted to their favorite color. They also helped build a volcano and then got to see it explode. One thing they really liked was painting t-shirts and pillow cases. The counselors all have a degree in a child related subject like teaching or child psychology or child developement. And each age group has 2 counselors to watch the kids. They are very strict with security and will require your I.D. to pick up the child, so don't forget it when you go to pick up the children. One time, they wouldn't let my husband pick up the children despite the fact that he had his I.D. with him. They didn't know who he was and he wasn't on the form that I had signed on the first day stating who could pick up the children. I could have sworn that I put his name on it, but I didn't and they are very strict with security. Only authorized personnel are allowed back in the kids area too. So if I were you, I wouldn't worry too much. They are much more strict there than most schools are.

 

Camp Carnival is open from 9 a.m. until 10 p.m. and is free until 10 p.m. After 10 p.m. there is a babysitting charge of $6 per hour for the first child and $4 per hour for the second child. Each Carnival ship is different in what it offers in it's kids area. But all Carnivals ships have computers, a playground area, and lots of activities planned for each age group. The night before, your cabin steward will leave a sheet of paper with a list of all of Camp Carnivals activities that are planned for the next day. My kids would get it and circle their favorite activities and dream about all of the fun they would have the next day. On Carnivals website it says they have some new activities scheduled for the kids this year that includes paper mache art and making your own ice cream. We leave on the Conquest next week and my kids are just dying to go!:D

[serene56]

http://www.webshots.com/search?query=carnival+camp+capers&tab=photos

 

Camp is not open all those hours. They do close during lunch and some dinner hours. But on Formal nights they are opened and the kids will have their own coketail party during that time.

 

Camp is also opened during port hours so you may want to consider putting your wee one in there for a few hours while you visit the port.

Pagers are given out to the parents in the 3-5 age group so if there is a problem you will be paged.

 

Like the poster stated security is very strict with camp. The person that drops them off will be the one needing to pick them up.