Childcare Facilities aboard the Carnival Vista

On a Carnival cruise, kids can enjoy all the best parts of a family holiday and all the fun of a summer camp, all in one!

Firstly, make sure you book the kids clubs online before you board as not only will it guarantee a space, but it also saves time once onboard.

Carnival has well-organised activities for children, at Camp Ocean, organised by age.

• Penguins – age 2-5 years
• Stingrays – age 6-8 years
• Sharks – age 9-11 years

There are a plethora of activities to keep the kids entertained while giving parents some free time as well.  The best part is that aside from late night babysitting, it is completely free, although be prepared to carry a brick of a phone around with you if you have Penguins, just in case of any issues.

It is safe to say that my kids LOVED Camp Ocean and all the activities they got to do. It is situated slap bang in the middle of the ship above the Lido restaurant and they got to do arts and crafts, structured play, free play, watch films, their own meals and even some video gaming. All the activities are advertised on a timetable so the kids can pick and choose when they want to go to club.

If you want to go on any shore excursions, you are able to leave the kids in Camp Ocean all day if necessary. I wish we had known they would have been so happy in our first port as we would have taken the excursion to Mt Etna, but we did leave them for a full day when we visited Rome and when we arrived back to pick them up, they wanted to stay!

Dr Seuss Bookville is situated just outside Camp Ocean and is a room decked out in bright colours, fun and whimsical furniture and is packed full of Dr. Seuss books — the shelves are filled to the brim for hours of fun reading. We even found a Happy Birthday book for Kian to read for his birthday.

For older children there is Club C which allows ages 12 to 14 go to hang out, meet new friends, and enjoy activities like dance parties, games, outdoor movies and more, in the special Circle “C” area or around the ship. It’s all supervised by friendly and fun-loving counsellors who want your young teens to have the best holiday ever.

For older teens aged 15-17 there is Club O2 where they can hang out and watch movies, listen to music, play sports and video games, join karaoke jam sessions… maybe even have a pool party or two, with new friends their own age. Kian went along a couple of times, but is quite shy so preferred to stay with us, although he was drawn to the arcade too.

I cannot thank the staff enough for the care they took of this kids. They greeted each one by name and always had stories to share of what they had been up to. My favourite one was of Sebby who offered toys to a crying child, who kept sobbing and eventually he gave her a hug…….how sweet.

We have come home with all the things they have made, hand prints, drawings, painted money boxes as well as bags, pencil cases, funky straws and even medals for winning games.

Interested in finding out more about the Carnival Vista – check out what the five Carnival families thought of the cruise and facilities on my other blog Are We Nearly There Yet?