Carnival Cruise Line Intros New Activities for Kids & Families
by Dori Saltzman /Teens will be able to participate in cultural enrichment activities fleetwide by spring 2023. Photo: Carnival Cruise Line
Carnival Cruise Line has rolled out new enrichment programs for children and teens onboard Carnival Celebration, ahead of rolling them out fleetwide.
“The updates we’re making to our youth programming ensure our young cruisers have even more to be excited about when they come onboard,” said Melissa Mahaffey, director of youth experience for Carnival Cruise Line. “We’ve already seen early success with our launch on Carnival Celebration, and I’m looking forward to expanding the reach of our new additions to families sailing with us across our fleet.”
Under 2 Turtles
The most significant addition to Carnival’s youth programming is the all-new Turtles program for kids under the age of 2. The program introduces an array of special activities for Carnival’s youngest travelers, including Turtle Playdates, Turtle Band, toddler sensory activities and Baby Turtle Trek – an interactive event featuring fun facts about sea turtle conservation, which encourages toddlers to reenact the journey of a baby sea turtle as they crawl on a custom-made ocean mat to their cheering family on the other side.
The program also offers designated drop-off time in Camp Ocean and late-night babysitting.
Nautical Explorers
Also new is the Nautical Explorer program, which gives kids of all Camp Ocean ages the opportunity to participate in maritime-themed activities to learn nautical knowledge and earn their seafarer book. Activities range from designing their own giant cruise ship to having fun with nautical flags to using a compass and meeting a ship’s officer.
New Teen Enrichment
Carnival Celebration also introduced new cultural programming inspired by the Cherry Blossom Festival in Japan.
At Circle “C,” younger teens (ages 12-14) can participate in activities like anime drawing lessons and pop culture games. Teens in the 15-17 age group will enjoy an authentic tea ceremony, Japanese crafts and other games.
Similar enrichment programs for teens will be offered fleetwide by spring of 2023.
Updated Bookville
The Dr. Seuss Bookville experience onboard Carnival ships will be expanded as more iconic characters from the world of Dr. Seuss come to life. Thing One and Thing Two will help families put on their very own circus, while The Cat in the Hat stops by to conduct a science experiment and Sam-I-Am leads a hunt for green eggs.
(Other ships with the Dr. Seuss Bookville experience include Mardi Gras, Carnival Freedom, Carnival Horizon, Carnival Panorama and Carnival Vista.)

