When it comes to families and cruises there is almost no end to the choices you have when trying to choose the best for your family. You have multiple cruise lines to choose from. Many ports to sail out of. The itineraries are almost endless. There are more excursions at each port than you could possibly ever do. So where do you start?
Know this first.
You and your family are likely to enjoy any cruise line that you choose to vacation with. However each cruise line offers slightly different experiences. The differences won’t be huge, but it’s these small subtle differences that will make a particular cruise line the perfect fit for your family.
Obviously since you are reading this article, you know that I am going to tell you why Carnival is the best choice for your family (at least in this article).
In this article I am not going to tell you which ship is the best for you and your kids (although certain ships will have specific activities that certain age groups will enjoy). I will try to tell you why Carnival Cruise Lines in general might be the best fit for your family, regardless of which ship or specific itinerary that you choose.
Family Personality
Carnival over the last several decades has worked hard to be known in the industry as a family friendly option. While other lines focused on making their brand synonymous with luxury or opulence, Carnival was focusing on what would a family enjoy. So it may not have some of the high end offerings that other cruise lines offer but it does offer some family options that the others have not offered until recently.
Ship Based Kids Activities
Carnival offers all day kids activities based on the age of the child. This gives your child the opportunity to meet and interact with kids their own ages while you get to participate in the activities that you love.
Camp Ocean (Formerly Camp Carnival)
This is for kids between the ages of 2 -11 and is included in the price of your cruise. You can drop your child off in the morning, then you pick them up and take them to lunch. You can drop them off again after lunch and pick them up again before dinner.
How it works
Camp Ocean is divided into three age ranges to ensure that activities and toys are appropriate to the age group.
Penguins ages 2 – 5
Stingrays ages 6 – 8
Sharks Ages 9 – 11
Each of these groups has their own play areas as well as activity areas. The daily activities will be printed on a card for your review so that you can plan for your family. Don’t forget there are also a lot of activities on the ship. This is especially true if the ship is one of the newer classes.
If you and your significant other need a date night without the kids, Camp Ocean is available after hours for a fee. ($6.75 per hour plus a 15% gratuity).
Deck fun
Carnival also has several things that they offer on every ship that can be enjoyed by anyone but kids especially will have a good time.
Mini golf or Putt- Putt – On most of Carnivals fleet, You will find a 9 hole mini golf course. It’s not particularly challenging but it is engaging enough that your family will enjoy the time spent playing together.
Basketball – There is a basketball court on your ship. Don’t worry it is completely covered by nets so that those missed shots won’t end up overboard. If you are interested in play a game of basketball you will need to get there early or have some patience as this is a pretty popular area.
Giant Board games – usually located near the mini golf course, You will find a few giant board games. Which games they have will vary a little based on the ship that you are on. You are likely to find a big chess or checkers board painted on the floor. Somewhere nearby you should also find 2 foot tall chess pieces or checker pieces that are the size of plates. Connect 4 and tic-tac-toe are also popular games that can be found on many of the ships.
Movie nights – Since the mid 2000’s Carnival has been adding huge tv screens (did I mention they were big) to their ships. These are usually located near one of the pool areas. During a couple of nights on the cruise they will show “Dive-in-Movies”. While not every movie that they show is “kid friendly” they typically will have double features with the first being something the whole family will have fun watching and the second feature being for slightly more mature audiences.
Food, Food and more Food
It doesn’t matter which cruise line you take your vacation with. One of the main and favorite features of any cruise is the food.
If you have a picky eater, meal times away from home can be something of a challenge. Carnival has recognized that many of their smaller passengers might be put off a little by the adventurous menus that are often found in a cruise ship dining room, and have made sure that familiar menu items are always available at lunch and dinner times. This includes some of the following;
Spaghetti and meatballs
Chicken nuggets
Hot dogs
Macaroni and cheese
Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
Fresh fruit and vegetables
The Lido marketplace (the buffet).
This also will have a huge variety of foods that should please most of your family members. This is also open most of the day so you can choose to eat whenever you want.
There is also a pizzeria that will make custom pizzas for your family and it is usually open way past normal hours of the lido marketplace and it’s no extra charge.
Also included is swirls the self serve ice cream machine that is open almost 24 hours a day.
Even the pickiest eater should be able to find something that will please them. Trust me no one is going to go hungry on a Carnival cruise.
Your Family will Have a Great time
In the end you will need to decide what cruise personality you and your family have and then find a cruise line that will most closely match that personality.
Is Carnival the best fit for your family, It might be. If the things listed above sound like they may make it easier for your children to travel then consider giving Carnival a go. You will enjoy yourself even if it turns out that this isn’t the best first for you. You truly can’t go wrong with any of the major cruise lines.
I hope you have many happy cruises ahead.
