Carnival recently enhanced its complimentary fleet-wide kids’ program "Camp Carnival." Added to the kid-friendly amenities is a new turn-down service with bedtime cookies, an updated children’s menu and more logoed items to all "Camp Carnival" participants.

At Carnival, fun is a family affair. We don't just allow kids. We love kids. Every "Fun Ship®" has a terrific supervised program just for children. We call it Camp Carnival where your kids will have the time of their lives.

Whether they're teens or toddlers, Camp Carnival has an age-appropriate program offering full days of high energy fun under the friendly and competent supervision of Camp Carnival® counselors.

We haven't forgotten about the grownups, either. Whether you're looking for dazzling Vegas-style shows or a late romantic evening in an intimate piano bar, Carnival's got your fun. And, assuming you can pull your kids away from the fun they're having, there are plenty of great activities for the family to enjoy together -- sumptuous meals, sports and games, and all kinds of entertainment. And that's just on board. You can explore the activities, culture and sights at every port of call.

So, bring your kids and your taste for fun. This year, treat the family to a perfect family vacation aboard a Carnival "Fun Ship®". And discover for yourself why Family Circle magazine calls Carnival "The Best Family Vacation Value" among all-inclusive vacations.

"It’s the little things that add up to a great vacation," says Bob Dickinson, Carnival president, "and these enhancements represent our continued commitment to providing guests of all ages with a high quality cruise experience."

The new turn-down service provides kids with freshly baked chocolate chip cookies on their pillows on the first and last night of their cruise. Accompanying the cookies is a special poem, one welcomes the child on board and the other thanks them for their "Camp Carnival" participation.

The children’s menu now includes kids’ favorites like hamburgers, hot dogs, French fries, pepperoni pizza, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, banana splits and daily "Junior Specials." In addition, the ever-popular "Fountain Fun Card" still offers unlimited soft drink purchases for children under age 21. The cards, purchased on board, range in price from $8 on a three-day cruise to $18 on seven-day voyages.

Ping pong, scavenger hunts, poolside water games, toys, puzzles, computers (including Apple iMacs), outdoor play areas and three swimming pools are just some of the activities and facilities children can enjoy on a Carnival Cruise.

Babysitting for children under 2 is also available from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. Cost is $5 per hour for one child; $3 per hour for each additional child in the same family.

Carnival Expands Camp Carnival
From a family reading club to a recreational fitness program and even youth spa treatments, a host of new activities have been added to Carnival Cruise Lines' fleetwide children's program, "Camp Carnival."

The new activities complement the wide variety of family-friendly amenities available on Carnival's 20 "Fun Ships," which are expected to host a record 450,000 kids this year - roughly half of all children carried by the North American cruise industry (CLIA member lines).

"'Camp Carnival' is already number one in the cruise industry and we've made this popular kids program even better, with more fun-filled activities and hands-on projects than ever before," said Bob Dickinson, Carnival president and CEO. "Children have their own unique vacation expectations and these new activities, combined with a huge diversity of family-friendly amenities, should further bolster our position as the leader in family cruising," he added.

Included among the new activities is a youth spa program, recently introduced on Carnival Miracle, which allows kids ages 12-14 and their parents to experience luxurious body and beauty treatments together on port days at discounted rates in the ship's expansive Spa Carnival health and fitness center.

Packages, which are available in mother/daughter and father/son combinations, include hair and nail treatments, health evaluations, and foot and scalp massages. Following the trial run on Carnival Miracle, the program is expected to be expanded to other "Fun Ships" by the end of the summer.

Also new is "ExerSeas," a recreational fitness program designed to encourage kids to "get out and play" through intense physical activity. The program encompasses a diversity of fun, supervised outdoor activities, everything from obstacle courses and basketball to popular games such as "steal the bacon" and "capture the flag."

There's also "A-B-Seas," a new reading program in which the youth counselors read popular children's books aloud to parents and kids in the ships' libraries. The program also includes nightly bedtime stories in the children's play rooms. Following the readings, parents and kids, with the aid of the youth counselors, present their own creative interpretations of the stories through puppet shows, skits and other group activities. Also planned for this program are writing workshops where kids can hone their writing skills and express their creativity while penning short stories and essays.

A new science program, H2Ocean, features a wide variety of fun, hands-on science projects. Conducted under the watchful eyes of the youth counselors, the program allows kids to partake in such activities as making their own ice cream and creating custom-made helicopters and miniature hovercrafts.

The line's popular EduCruise program has also been expanded to include even more interactive projects focusing on the cultures, landmarks, history and geography of the destinations to which the "Fun Ships" sail. Through this program, kids can make their own "dream catchers" popularized by various Native American cultures and create colorful maps of various Caribbean nations.

Also in the works is a new art program that goes beyond typical arts and crafts, enabling kids to create their own artistic masterpieces - paper mache, oil paintings, and watercolors, for example - while learning the techniques employed by professional artists.

All of these new activities are included in the complimentary "Camp Carnival" program, which is available from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.