The New Camp Ocean Aboard The Carnival Freedom

I was recently invited to cruise on the newly updated Carnival Freedom. Eight wonderful days full of family fun & sun while visiting ports in the Southern Caribbean. It was heavenly!

This past April, the Carnival Freedom pulled into dry dock for cosmetic and engineering updates. During this time, the Freedom became the the first ship in the line to receive the full Camp Ocean & Seuss at Sea program with the installation of Bookville, a play space and reading room for children and families. (More on that later…)

On our last cruise, the kids LOVED Camp Carnival (the older version of the kids’ club). There were tons of activities, gatherings and parties that my kids never wanted to leave. They would beg me to leave them there later each night. (I certainly wasn’t going to say no!)

That’s why when we boarded the Carnival Freedom, “The Nag” was already asking to be dropped off. (Unfortunately for him there weren’t activities the day of embarkation.) We toured the new Camp Ocean space instead.

I have to say I was a bit concerned at first. The rooms for my kids, the Stingrays & Sharks, seemed to be filled with nothing but video game consoles. I was pleasantly reassured by the Camp Ocean director Ana that there would be numerous activities and games planned with some video game time sprinkled in. *phew*

Camp Ocean did not disappoint! The boys were more than happy to go each evening after dinner. They even picked certain activities to be a part of on days that we were at sea. They made so many new friends while onboard. It was so cute to see them pass a kid on the ship and yell out, “Are you going to Camp Ocean later?” They thought they were teenagers!

And don’t even get me started on how wonderful the Camp Ocean staff was! My kids were so attached to them by the end of our trip, that they were sad to leave. Just like other crew members on the Carnival Freedom, they really took the time to get to know the individual personalities of the kids. So special!

 

 

Did you know that you can leave your kids in Camp Ocean when you get off the ship at a port? I learned this fact on our trip. Although we didn’t utilize this service, I see how it would come in handy…especially if you have little ones who wouldn’t do well with sight-seeing.

 

Quick Facts About Camp Ocean:

• For ages 2-11
• Kids don’t need to be potty trained
• Night Owls program from 10pm-1am (extra fees apply)
• Kids’ only dinners (optional)
• PlayStation 4 & Nintendo Wii consoles
• Arts & Crafts
• Shark trivia
• Ocean Olympics
• And much, MUCH more!

 

When traveling with your family, it’s great to be together, but not ALL the time! Your kids want kid time as much as you want adult time!

 

Disclosure: This trip was part of a Carnival Cruise Lines media press trip. As always, all our thoughts, opinions and statements are our own.