CRUISE LIKE A DAVIS : Triumphant Thanksgiving... Camp Ocean

Camp Ocean aboard The Carnival Triumph

We sailed on The Carnival Triumph on Thanksgiving Day 2015 on a 4 day cruise (November 26-30, 2015) sailing out of Galveston, TX. This was the first time we took our kids with us on a cruise so we were new to the Camp Ocean experience.

Once on board we went and finalized our registration after having checked the kids in via our online check-in prior to embarkation. We also added my parents and sisters as people who could drop off and pick up. Going to Camp Ocean in the early part of the afternoon was very beneficial as we already had all of the information filled out when it was time for the 1st activity.

Overall, our kids did not like the Camp Ocean experience as much as we had hoped they would. My 3 year old is very particular with his babysitters and we expected him to be a little shy in the whole process. However, he just did not like it all. It kept telling us it was loud and dark. Both of which were true. The Triumph has the Penguins (2-5 year old) on Deck 11 in the far forward and it is very small and crowded. Luke just does not like to be crowded or confined so this made sense to us.

Natalie, our 6 year old. also did not like the program as much as we expected. She is very social and easy going so we expected her to make friends and do real well. She like it the 1st night when they had the welcome aboard activities but when we took her back the following day she only lasted 1.5 hours before the program called us on the cell phone they gave us to let us know she wanted to "be with us". The Sting Rays (6-8 year old) had lots of activities that we thought the she would like but every time we asked her she would always say she was bored. And the few times she went she always came back with coloring sheets, which I agree can be boring.

She did attended the Farewell Selfie Party and T-Shirt design on the last night and she LOVED it! Perhaps more fun activities like this would help kids like ours appreciate the program more. Of course, this was the kids 1st cruise AND we were traveling with grandparents and an aunt so she honestly did just want to be with us.

Penguins (2-5) Schedule

The Sting Rays (6-8 year old) Schedule

I think it is great that cruise lines are offering services like this to their guests and I think overall Carnival has done a great job planning activities and each worker I met seemed to be nice enough to leave my kids with. We did come in at the beginning of a new crew so I could tell there were issues and questions among the workers but that is to be expected!

We have another cruise booked with the kids for December 2016 and we are hoping BOTH of them spend a little more time in Camp Ocean! I attached the program schedule for both the Penguins and the Sting Rays so you can see what they offer! I hope this helps for anyone traveling with little ones!