With more than 19,000 total square feet of space catering to children, ’tweens and teens – from expansive indoor and outdoor play areas to a sprawling aqua park housing the cruise industry’s longest water slide – the 130,000-ton Carnival Dream is designed as the ideal family vacation.   

In addition to modern facilities and the most dedicated space to families in the “Fun Ship” fleet, Carnival Dream’s kid-friendly amenities will include supervised programs for three age groups – Camp Carnival (ages 2-11), Circle “C” (12-14) and Club O2 (15-17) – offering a full schedule of morning-til-night activities organized by highly trained staff.

Slated to debut Sept. 21, 2009, Carnival Dream will further bolster Carnival’s distinction as the family cruise leader, carrying an estimated 625,000 children aboard its 22-vessel “Fun Ship” fleet – roughly half of the total number of kids carried by the entire North American cruise industry.

Expansive ‘Camp Carnival’ Play Area

The focal point of Carnival Dream’s children’s activities will be an expansive play area encompassing 5,000 square feet of space and offering magnificent ocean views.  Located on Deck 11, Camp Carnival will be divided into three distinct sections, each catering to a different age group.

The first area, designed for children ages 2-5, features an arts and crafts center and a variety of age-appropriate toys and games; the second, aimed at six- to eight-year-olds, offers video game consoles such as PlayStation2 and Wii linked to the latest plasma TV screens; and the third, catering to kids 9-11, includes a karaoke machine, air hockey and foosball tables and PlayStation2 and Wii video game consoles.  A reception desk will provide parents with a convenient and inviting venue to check their kids in and out of the program.

Like all “Fun Ships,” Carnival Dream will offer a wide variety of activities specifically geared toward children, including the WaterColors art program; ExerSeas, emphasizing physical fitness, SeaNotes, with fun music-oriented games and activities; and EduCruise, designed to educate kids on the ship’s diverse European and Caribbean itineraries.

Children can also create their own custom-designed Carnival T-shirts, as well as build their own Carnival Cuddly or “Fun Ship” Freddy plush toy. A number of multi-generational activities – including pizza-making sessions, family water play and trivia contests – will also be offered.

Camp Carnival will also serve as the site for Carnival’s babysitting services, which are available from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. nightly and cost $6 per hour for the first child and $4 per hour for each additional child in the same family.

Older Kids Enjoy ‘Circle C,’ ‘Club O2’

Sure to be a big hit with older kids are the modern, high-tech Circle “C” and Club O2 facilities,  catering to 12- to 14-year olds and 15- to 17-year olds, respectively.

Located on Deck 4, the 1,075-square-foot Circle “C” center gives ’tweens a place to call their own, with a dance floor, DJ, a video jukebox and Internet workstations, providing the perfect place to just kick back and relax.  Adjacent to Circle “C” is Club O2, a 2,740-square-foot teen club where older kids can make new friends, and dance to the latest hits cranked out by a high-energy disc jockey.

Designed as the ultimate “chill” space, this expansive room also includes a soda bar, music-listening stations and a state-of-the-art sound and lighting system.  Both the Circle “C” and Club O2 programs have a dedicated director who oversees a host of fun activities, including late-night movies, video game contests and pool parties.

Located next to the teen club is The Warehouse, an expansive game room featuring the latest video and arcade games. Teens can also enjoy Carnival’s popular Y-Spa youth spa program offering a variety of soothing treatments.      

Expansive Outdoor Activities

As the largest “Fun Ship” ever constructed, Carnival has made maximum use of the Carnival Dream’s massive open decks, creating a variety of fun and inviting features, including Carnival WaterWorks, the largest and most elaborate water park at sea.

In addition to a 303-foot-long, four-deck-high corkscrew water slide – the longest in cruising – there will be another 104-foot-long spiral water slide that leads into a giant funnel, providing riders with an exhilarating and memorable conclusion to their journey.  WaterWorks also includes twin double-lane 80-foot-long racing slides and various water spray apparatus with squirting fountains, splash zones, “dump buckets” and more.

Carnival Dream’s other open-deck activities include the line’s first 18-hole miniature golf course, as well as basketball and volleyball courts with stadium-style seating.

Family-Friendly Staterooms, Kid-Friendly Dining

Carnival Dream’s family friendly features even extend to the ship’s accommodations, which include spacious deluxe ocean view staterooms with a unique configuration featuring two bathrooms.  In addition to twin beds that convert to a king and ample closet space, the extra-roomy cabins will include one full bathroom and a second bathroom with a junior tub, shower and sink.  In addition to dozens of inter-connecting staterooms, many of the Carnival Dream’s accommodations can hold up to five guests – a rarity in new ship construction and also ideal for families.

With dining such an important part of any cruise, Carnival Dream will also offer the widest variety of kid-friendly culinary choices at sea.  In addition to a grille serving hamburgers and hot dogs, The Gathering casual poolside restaurant offers 24-hour pizza and ice cream while extensive children’s menus, with a daily junior special promising something new each day, are available in the main dining rooms.  And with Carnival’s “dining under the stars” program, kids can also enjoy a meal with the youth staff in the Lido restaurant allowing parents to have a night to themselves. 

Carnival Dream will also offer the line’s Fountain Fun Card program which, for a one-time fee, offers unlimited soft drinks throughout the voyage.  And greeting guests each night as they return to their staterooms are Carnival’s wildly popular “towel animals” – in the shape of a swan, monkey, pig or dozens of other creatures – custom-designed by the line’s talented stateroom stewards.

The “Circle C” program complements our other youth-oriented programming, including “Camp Carnival” for younger kids and “Club O2” for 15- to 17-year-olds, ensuring there are  activities  tailored to each of these unique age groups.   Check out what some online publications have to say about “Circle C”:

Linda Coffman, aka “Cruise Diva”- Carnival Cruise Lines’ “Circle C” is Fun for “Tweens”

Travel Trade- “Carnival Unveils ‘Circle C’ for Older ‘Tweens’”

USA Today Cruise Log- “Carnival launches new program for tweens”

Building upon its distinction as the family cruise leader, Carnival Cruise Lines has introduced a new on-board program called “Circle C” aimed specifically at the 12- to 14-year-old age group, with expansive new clubs, a full schedule of activities and trained staff.

The “Circle C” program complements the line’s other youth-oriented programming, including “Camp Carnival” for younger kids and “Club O2” for 15- to 17-year-olds, which combined are expected to host 600,000 kids this year – the most in cruising.

In conjunction with the launch of “Circle C” – and just in time for summer travel planning – Carnival is offering exceptionally attractive rates for families, with prices for third and fourth guests in a stateroom starting at $199 per person for three-day cruises and $329 per person for seven-day cruises on select dates.  These rates are featured at carnival.com/family, which also contains a variety of helpful information on Carnival’s youth programs. 

“Circle C” facilities are already in place on Carnival Legend, Carnival Pride, Carnival Victory and Carnival Valor with Carnival Imagination, Carnival Inspiration, Carnival Liberty, Carnival Fantasy, Carnival Paradise and Carnival Glory scheduled to be retrofitted by the end of the year.  The balance of the fleet is expected to be completed by 2010.  

“Carnival has earned its position as the family cruise leader by investing significant research and resources into understanding kids’ unique vacation needs and expectations,” said Ruben Rodriguez, Carnival’s executive vice president of marketing and guest experience.  “‘Circle C’ – with its high-tech spaces, fun-filled activities and energetic hosts – is a direct result of these efforts and reflects our ongoing commitment to providing exceptional vacations to guests of all ages,” he added.

Expansive ‘Circle C’ Facilities      

The focal point of “Circle C” activities will be custom-designed clubs, providing 12- to 14-year olds a place to truly call their own.

The facilities feature a dance floor with high-tech sound and lighting system, along with 42-inch plasma-screen TVs displaying movies and music videos, and a touch-screen jukebox stocked with the latest hits. Also featured are gaming pods with the latest video games and consoles, with 20-inch plasma-screens positioned throughout the room and used exclusively for video gaming.

The facilities offer a sleek modern design created especially to appeal to younger teens, with a vibrant motif, oversized picture windows, and plush comfortable seating — perfect for hanging out with new friends.

Special Activities

The “Circle C” program also offers a full schedule of activities, which include everything from sports such as basketball, volleyball, ping-pong and various water games to late-night movies and “swimming under the stars” pool parties.  “Circle C” activities are listed in a special edition of Carnival Capers printed daily. 

A new logo and branding campaign incorporating the “Circle C” theme of “cruise.chill.connect” has also been created.

‘Fun Ships’ Are Tops With Families

“Circle C” is just the latest enhancement to kid-friendly amenities aboard the “Fun Ships.” Children ages 2-11 can enjoy diverse activities and dedicated facilities of “Camp Carnival,” which continues to evolve with new 1,600-square-foot play areas on “Fantasy-class” ships and new programming fleetwide.  For older kids, there’s the “Club O2” teen program featuring teen dance clubs, just for teens shore excursions, and more.

Also new is Carnival WaterWorks, an aqua park featuring a 300-foot-long twister water slide, dual-lane racing slides and water spray apparatus, currently rolled out as part of the “Evolutions of Fun” refurbishment program on select ships.  Carnival Splendor, set to debut in July, will boast Carnival’s largest play area to date and a water spray park. 

Other fleetwide features include babysitting services, stroller rentals, children’s menus, and a variety of spacious accommodation categories, with dozens of inter-connecting cabins — ideal for large families or family gatherings.

Carnival is the world’s largest and most popular cruise line with 22 “Fun Ships” operating three- to 18-day voyages to the Bahamas, Caribbean, Mexican Riviera, Alaska, Hawaii, Panama Canal, Canada, New England, Bermuda, Europe and South America. The line currently has three new ships on order between now and 2011.

For additional information and reservations, contact any travel agent, call 1-800-CARNIVAL or visit carnival.com.

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Carnival Cruise Lines, a unit of Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE:  CCL; NYSE:  CUK), is a proud member of the exclusive World’s Leading Cruise Lines.  Our exclusive alliance also includes Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Cunard Line, Costa Cruises, and The Yachts of Seabourn.  Sharing a passion to please each guest, and a commitment to quality and value, our member lines appeal to a wide range of lifestyles and budgets.  Together, we offer exciting and enriching cruise vacations to the world’s most desirable destinations.