Camp Carnival Children's Program To Become Marine-Themed 'Camp Ocean'

Carnival Cruise Lines, a leader in family cruising, has unveiled Camp Ocean—an exciting, new marine-themed children's program coming to its fleet of 24 "Fun Ships." Set to debut May 24th on Carnival Freedom, the expansive new program will immerse children ages 2-11 in the wonders of the sea through fun, engaging and educational experiences. More than 200 new ocean-inspired activities will range from educational games such as Sea Creature Discovery, Marine Life Trivia, Under the Sea Mad Libs and Ocean Artifacts Memory Tray to creative arts opportunities such as Design Your Own Aquarium, Make Your Own Sailboat, Sea Salt Art, and Create a Penguin from Oreos.

Camp Ocean, which will replace the line's existing Camp Carnival program, will welcome youngsters in with light blue and white underwater colored spaces and friendly, experienced staff. Three age-related categories will each have their own identity: children ages 2-5 will be dubbed "Penguins," with those ages 6-8 called "Sting Rays" while 9-11 year olds will be "Sharks."

Distinctive areas and activities have been custom-created for each of the new age designations—from miniature play igloos for the Penguins to interactive gaming stations for the Sharks. On Carnival Freedom, which is currently undergoing a multi-million dollar refurbishment, and Carnival Vista, which debuts in 2016, a new purpose-built Camp Ocean play area will include Party Reef, a common shared space that brings each of the groups together, as well as Creative Cove, a breakout room for arts and crafts activities.

"While our current children's program consistently gets very high marks, we've challenged ourselves to exceed expectations with a truly dynamic and diverse program for our youngest guests," said Mark Tamis, Carnival's senior vice president of guest operations. "With our new highly tailored age groupings and themed activities connected to the oceans and their fascinating underwater habitats, we're excited to invite kids to Camp Ocean to have an extra special and memorable Carnival vacation experience."

In developing the new Camp Ocean program, the company convened a Carnival Play Panel comprised of experts in child education, media and play to develop and curate the more than 200 new activities to resonate with today's children and to continually review and guide updates to the children's programming.

The new Camp Ocean activities span across 11 key categories of play, including the core themes of active play, games, free play, arts and crafts and digital, coupled with additional categories such as role play, music, party time, science and discovery, social and food fun, all designed to find the ideal combination of activities catering to children's varied interests.

Carnival will also introduce a Badge Challenge as part of Camp Ocean, which will provide the opportunity for kids to earn and collect badges as a special memento of their cruise. Badge challenges will include a variety of unique activities that provide an original way for kids to learn about their vessel, experience onboard adventures and gain a sense of accomplishment. After completing tasks which may include trying a new food, making an aquatic towel animal or riding the water slide, children will collect corresponding Camp Ocean badges.

The new Camp Ocean program builds upon Carnival's leadership position in family cruising with more than 700,000 kids expected to sail on Carnival ships in 2014. Another recently announced enhancement to the line's children's programming is a partnership with Dr. Seuss Enterprises to introduce the family-focused Seuss at Sea, with youth, family, dining and entertainment experiences inspired by the amazing world and words of Dr. Seuss.

Rollout of Camp Ocean will begin aboard Carnival Freedom in May 2014 following a major refurbishment which will also include the line's first Dr. Seuss Bookville interactive reading venue. Camp Ocean will be introduced on Carnival Magic, Carnival Breeze, and Carnival Triumph later this year with the balance of the fleet implemented by 2016, including Carnival Vista, which is set to debut in early 2016.

Carnival's popular programs for tweens and teens, Circle C (for 12-14 year olds) and Club O2 (for 15-17 year olds) will continue across the fleet.

Images Courtesy Carnival Cruise Lines