Carnival Freedom for Adventurous FUN
Yes, cruising is all about family time together.
On our most recent Carnival cruise we sailed for 8 nights on the Carnival Freedom. My girls were ecstatic. Who doesn’t want to go away for 8 days and visit the ports of Grand Turk, La Romana, Curaco and Aruba? Best off is that our entire family would have a fun-filled vacation – regardless if you were the youngest – my 3 year old, or the oldest – me 30-something.
Cruising Chronicles: The Murphy Family
I spent some time on that sailing sharing my passion for family travel, particularly aboard a cruise ship, with the film crew. Watch and see my passion for family travel on cruises.
Ok, now that you’ve seen my PASSION, here are the details on our 8-nights aboard the Carnival Freedom!
New Camp Ocean & More Kids
My girls fell in love, and I mean it, they fell in love with the fun, exciting, entertaining – shhh don’t tell them, educational activities at Camp Ocean.
We’ve been on Carnival before – this is our 3rd cruise with them. Carnival has really done a fabulous job revamping their kids program. The new Camp Ocean just debuted on Carnival Freedom at the start of the summer. My daughters would wake up each morning eager to know what the plan was for the day – most importantly what time would I be dropping them off at Camp Ocean. Yes, they wanted me to drop them off. These are girls that are usually attached to my side on family vacations. Now I’m all about doing stuff together as a family, but hey, if I can squeeze in some time to go get a hot stone massage at Spa Carnival, I will. Oh, yes I did.
Hasbro The Game Show
Just like the television show, contestants are invited to join in on the life-sized game boards of fun games like Yahtzee and Operation. We enjoyed this on the Carnival Breeze and were thrilled to see the true family fun entertainment now on the Carnival Freedom.
You’ll never guess who was a contestant? And I bet you’ll never guess who won? ME!!! My 7 year old was in total glee with Mami on the stage WINNING the Hasbro Show! It was such fun!
Nighttime Fun
On most days on the 8-night voyage on the Carnival Freedom I would drop off my daughters for at least a portion of the morning, afternoon and most certainly at night.
After dinner – we would all eat together in the dining room – then they wanted to go play with their new cruise friends and I wanted to go play a little roulette at the Casino! Until 10 PM kids could have a blast at Camp Ocean with all sorts of fun games, activities, scavenger hunts, watch movies – all sorts of fun stuff that THEY want to do! While the parents do what they want to do. Camp Ocean Night Owls – extra fee – is worth it if you enjoy the more nightlife fun. Carnival ships are known for the entertainment.
See our late night selfie with friends & fellow bloggers, Alexis of TheExhaustedMom.com and Leanette of TeachMe2Save.com at the Red Frog Pub on the Carnival Freedom!
On the Carnival Freedom have the Punchliner Comedy Program – which we never got to go see because every.single.time we went it was filled to capacity. It must be really good. They have awesome bars that serve delicious drinks. You MUST go to the Alchemy Bar and have an elixir of sorts. There are shows in the Victoriana Main Lounge – particularly Playhouse Productions, my favorite!. There is live music and dancing to be done at clubs like the 70s Dancing Club on Carnival Freedom.
Dr. Seuss is in the House, Or Should I Say Ship?
The brand new Dr. Seuss Bookville, adjacent to Camp Ocean, is full of bright colors, quirky design, books and games galore. It was the perfect spot to relax and enjoy a book. It even acts a bit as an indoor playground for kids as they played around with the bean bag chairs and other comfortable seating.
Dr. Seuss fun extended outside of Bookville with Seuss-a-palooza! We all gathered in the lounge and picked up larger than life props and began to chant “Dr. Seuss is on the loose!” We paraded throughout the ship and ended with a story reading of The Cat in The Hat. Guests were invited to participate and I was selected to be the mean fish. It was so much fun!
Then there’s the Green Eggs & Ham Breakfast! Every detail is considered from the decor to the actual green eggs and ham! We got to meet the characters, too!
My experience with Carnival has been nothing but outstanding. I have sailed 3 times and I have learned so much about cruising with the family. Would love to provide you any additional information you may need. Please leave me a question below with anything I might be able to answer for you as you plan your next family cruise!
Other Cruising Resources for Families
- How to Plan a Family Cruise – Is this your first family cruise? Read through my guide to plan a perfect family cruise vacation.
- Cruise Direct – The place where cruisers go to book their vacation.
- Speciality Dining Review – Learn the details about dining on cruise ships.
- How to Surprise Kids for a Cruise Vacation – We did it! We filmed the surprise, too! It’s a must see!
- Room Service on a Cruise – Not all cruises lines offer this luxury. Carnival does. See how and why parents need to use this each morning of their family cruise.
- Do This, Not That on the Carnival Vista – We sailed this ship and learned so much. Please read through our advice before you set sail.
- Carnival Vista Dining Options – This ship is full of new and traditional dining options. In this post I explain it all.
- Brewery at Sea – The Carnival Vista has a brewery at sea! We enjoyed a background tour. See the details.
- Guys Pig & Anchor BBQ – On select ships, including the Vista, this latest Guy Fieri dining spot is full of traditional BBQ fare. So goo buy long wait. Get more details.
- Cruising the Carnival Breeze – We’ve sailed this ship twice and see just might be our favorite. Find out why!
- Key West Aquarium – Wondering what to do with the kids in Key West. We loved the Key West Aquarium. See why.
- Hasbro the Game Show – We’ve enjoyed this life-sized game on several Carnival ships. You’ve got to see how fun it is!
- Warm Melting Chocolate Cake Recipe by Carnival – If you’ve ever sailed a Carnival ship, you know how deliciousness of their warm melting chocolate cake!
Please note this sailing on the Carnival Freedom was part of an invited press trip. Carnival picked up the tab and I picked up the experiences to share with you. All opinions are my very own and not influenced.
What an awesome experience. I love that Carnival offers options for kids to be cared for so mom and dad can have a little grown up time, as well as providing family friendly options. I’ve never been on a cruise, but could see this as a good option for our family.
It really was an awesome trip! And the best part was enjoying with friends!! Can’t wait until the next one….
Looks so awesome! I’m petrified of cruises, but I’ll fly no problem! I may need to rethink my fears so I can go on one of these!
Wow! What an amazing adventure with your family. Looks like every kids dream come true.
Dang that looks like a lot of fun. I had a friend who worked at Carnival years ago, kept telling us that we’d go on a blogger type trip but that never happened. I’m going to say that I am more than a bit Jealous of the trip, that looked like so much fun. Great write up and photos, too.
FANTASTIC video! Love your enthusiasm and darling littles 🙂
I would love to go on a cruise right now. I think fall would be the perfect time.
I loved watching your adventures unfold through FB and Instagram especially since I’ve never been on a cruise! Thanks for all the great information. I’m definitely tempted to try Carnival for an upcoming vacation!
I cannot wait to take my kids on their next Carnival cruise so they can experience the new Camp Ocean and all of the Dr. Seuss offerings! I just know they will love it!
They will surely love it!! My kids wanted to play there all day!
What a fun way to vacation with the family!
My big kids are hoping to go on a cruise when my son returns from boot camp- before my daughter heads out on the mission field. A last hurrah of sorts as far as family travel goes.
If you figure out how to get in one of those comedy club shows, let me know. They were always filled for us too!
I did the same itinerary on a different Carnival ship (Breeze) and it was fabulous! My kids love their kids club.
We LOVED the Carnival Breeze too! That was our 1st cruise with the entire family! Camp Ocean and Dr. Seuss stuff will roll out to that ship in the coming months!
Carnival does a fabulous job of making both kids and adults happy. I looove this itinerary – 8 days and Aruba!! You make me want to go on another Carnival Cruise right now!
They do. Their ships to all ages. And yes, the itinerary was fantastic! Love going to ports I’ve never explored!
I’ll be on the Freedom in December. My son will be almost 2, but not 2 (so he can’t do Camp Ocean). Are there open play times that he can use Camp Ocean with me present? What time are they? Are there other play areas he can use or activities for toddlers his age? I understand he also can’t use any of the pools as he’s not potty trained yet. I’m a little concerned there won’t be enough to keep him entertained. Thanks for any tips you might have!
Yes, Camp Ocean does have open time for Mom & Dad to come with the kids. Best of all, you have Seussville! That’s open all day long and is a GREAT place to let your little one “run around!” There are games, stuffed animals and chairs that make great climbing spots. There is a playground on the deck outside of Camp Ocean. It isn’t used by Camp Ocean all day and is certainly available for use by families. Regardless, check with the Camp Ocean staff when you arrive to get all the latest details. Be sure to check the schedule for Seuss-a-palooza! It’s lots of fun and perfect for your little one! Have fun!
WE have been on the Disney Fantasy and so I’m curious how Carnival compares for Adults and for kids. The big thing was meeting all the characters on Disney but we also enjoyed the aqua duck and other activities.
Kids will be almost 6 and 11 when we go.
Thanks
Oh and we don’t drink so the bar is not of interest. I just like lots of food and on Disney we had all the free ice cream we could eat.
Great question!
I can only speak of my experience on carnival, as we have never been on Disney with the family.
We have sailed 5 times with Carnival and every time the kids have had a blast. They LOVE the water park, the Dr. Seuss events (Seuss-a-palooza & Green Eggs and Ham Breakfast) and Hasbro the Game Show. Plus, the love going to Camp Ocean – the Carnival kids program.
Consider this: as the Carnival sailings tend to be more affordable, you can use part of your budget on better excursions.