 Family Travel Files Ezine Family Vacations Resource |
Cruises: Carnival Fun Ships, Family Cruising - Activity Walls, Water Parks and Camp Carnival.  If you are planning a family vacation and want to make sure your kids will have other kids to connect with Carnival may be your answer. The number of children vacationing this year aboard Carnival Cruise Lines’ “Fun Ships,” is expected to reach 600,000 – a six-fold increase from just 12 years ago.
“At Carnival, we take ‘fun’ very seriously and the ‘Fun Ships’’ numerous kid-friendly amenities, enthusiastic youth counselors and spacious state-of-the-art facilities provide the ultimate family vacation,” said Gerry Cahill, Carnival president and CEO. Carnival, which carries more kids than any other cruise line, offers the cruise industry’s top-rated children’s program, “Camp Carnival.”
In addition to a full schedule of fun, morning-til-night activities, the program features such amenities as expansive indoor play areas – some as large as 4,200 square feet -- stocked with a wide variety of games and toys. Arts and crafts centers, including spin and sand-art machines, “activity walls,” indoor climbing mazes and computer labs are also featured on several vessels.
Most recently, "Camp Carnival" activities have been expanded to include new programs focusing on art, reading, geography, science, physical fitness and music. Additionally, outdoor play areas with mini basketball hoops, jungle gyms and other playground equipment, as well as game rooms offering the latest video and arcade games, are available fleetwide. Kids who like to have “fun in the sun” also enjoy acres of deck space for Carnival’s outdoor games and activities such as ping-pong, volleyball and shuffleboard, along with multiple swimming options, including children’s wading pools and main Lido deck pools offering cascading water slides.
And when it comes to dining, young cruisers get the full “Fun Ship” treatment, with expanded children’s menus offering a variety of kids’ favorites, as well as a “daily junior special” promising something new and different each day. The new menus are included on the back page of a fun coloring/activity book featuring word finds, mazes, tic-tac-toe, crossword puzzles, connect the dots and other games. Crayons are also provided. In addition to updated children’s menus in the main dining rooms, Carnival’s poolside restaurants also house a 24-hour pizzeria, a grille area serving hamburgers and hot dogs and a complimentary soft ice cream and frozen yogurt station. A children’s turn down service offering freshly baked chocolate chip cookies at bedtime is available, as well. 
Also offered is Carnival’s “Fountain Fun Card” program, good for unlimited soft drink purchases throughout the cruise for guests under age 18. The cards, which are purchased once on board, range in price from $12 on three-day voyages to $26 for eight-day voyages. Carnival also features some of the largest staterooms in contemporary cruising with a wide range of accommodation categories, including extra-roomy 230-square-foot family staterooms on the line’s “Destiny-” and “Conquest-class” ships. Many staterooms are inter-connecting, ideal for large families or family gatherings.
“Camp Carnival” activities are held from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. under the watchful eyes of the ship’s youth staff, who also conduct babysitting services from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m., as well as from 8 a.m. to noon for children under 2 on port days. The cost for babysitting is $6 per hour for the first child and $4 per hour for each additional child in the same family.
Carnival is the largest and most popular cruise line in the world, with 22 “Fun Ships” operating voyages from three to 16 days in length to The Bahamas, Caribbean, Mexican Riviera, Alaska, Hawaii, New England, Canada, Bermuda, Europe, South America and the Greek Isles. The line also has three new SuperLiners scheduled to enter service between now and 2011. Carnival Cruise Lines is a proud member of the exclusive World’s Leading Cruise Lines. Our exclusive alliance also includes Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Cunard Line, Costa Cruises, and The Yachts of Seabourn. Sharing a passion to please each guest, and a commitment to quality and value, our member lines appeal to a wide range of lifestyles and budgets. Together, we offer exciting and enriching cruise vacations to the world’s most desirable destinations.Get the details at www.Carnival.com
For additional information and reservations, contact any travel agent, toll-free 1-866-299-5698, 1-800-CARNIVAL or visit www.carnival.com
Content and images provided by Carnival Cruise Line. Copyright 2009.
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