In an update to its health and safety protocols, Carnival Cruise Line is easing restrictions for participation in its youth programs fleet-wide. This is great news for families as the summer cruise season is about to begin and more children will be enjoying cruise vacations.
Vaccination Requirements Dropped for Youth Programs
The biggest change to Carnival’s youth programs as summer approaches is young cruisers are no longer required to be vaccinated in order to participate. This was revealed in an update to the cruise line’s Have Fun. Be Safe. protocols on May 18, 2022.
Previously, the protocols mandated that all participants in the youth activities, of any age, be fully vaccinated. It was explicitly stated that unvaccinated youth would not be permitted to participate. Now, there is no mention of vaccination requirements for young cruisers.
Pre-Registration Required
The youth programs may now be open for all cruisers ages 5-17, but participants must be registered pre-cruise in order to join in. Activity schedules are available via the Carnival Hub app once families board their cruise.
Carnival Cruise Line offers three levels of youth programs for its youngest cruisers. The Camp Ocean program is available for ages 5-11 and features a range of supervised ocean-themed activities for children to make new friends and enjoy their vacation. Activities typically include stories, movies, crafts, games, face-painting, and more.
Normally Camp Ocean is available for cruisers as young as 2 years old, but at the moment ages 2-4 are not yet permitted due to ongoing health and safety measures.
The recent program update states, “We look forward to resuming our full children’s program in the future. In the meantime, we are unable to accept children under five years old.”
The cruise line has not yet announced a timeline for when young programming will resume for the very youngest children.
Parents must register their children for Camp Ocean activity sessions, and on some ships and sailings, the program’s capacity may be limited. This will likely depend not only on how many young cruisers are onboard individual sailings, but also on youth counselor staffing aboard different ships.
The Circle “C” program provides guided activities for cruisers ages 12-14, while Club O2 is designated for older teens ages 15-17. No activity reservations are required for either Circle “C” or Club 02, but guests must still pre-register before sailing.
In Circle “C” young cruisers will enjoy activities such as crafts, sports, socials, ice breakers, video games, scavenger hunts, movies, and games. Older teens in Club O2 have options such as video games, foosball, karaoke, movies, social nights, and more to enjoy with their new friends.
There is no indication that either Circle “C” or Club O2 will have capacity limits.
Camp Ocean, Circle “C” and Club O2 programs are available aboard all Carnival ships, but prospective cruisers should check with the cruise line or their travel agent as their sailing date approaches to confirm program details for their specific cruise.
