Carnival Cruise Lines unveiled Camp Ocean, a marine-themed children's program coming to its fleet of 24 ships. Set to debut on Carnival Freedom on May 24, the new program for children ages 2-11 will include more than 200 new ocean-inspired activities, 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 have three age-related categories with 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."
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 begins 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.
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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 panel includes:
- Toni Linder, professor emeritus at the University of Denver who consults on child development and education for young children both nationally and internationally and also serves as graduate coordinator at the College of Education at the University of Denver specializing in child engagement and education.
- George Arthur Bloom, who has more than 20 years of experience in children's media and programming including writing for longtime favorites such as Magic School Bus, My Little Pony and the original Transformers TV series.
- Matt Brown, recognized expert in play who has been VP of LeapFrog and SVP of Scholastic, is an advisor for PBS Kids, and currently works as chief gaming officer of Conteneo.
- Chris Byrne, a 30-plus-year veteran of the toy industry and current partner in aNb Media who also serves as content director for TTPM.com.
- April Norris, Carnival Cruise Lines guest and mother of two who serves as a trusted advisor to the brand.
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 a 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.
For more information, visit www.carnival.com.