Carnival Cruise Lines sails two ships, the Inspiration and the Legend, out of the Tampa Cruise Terminal. Both ships travel to the Western Caribbean, either for four- or five-day itineraries for the Inspiration and seven-day trips for the Legend.
The Inspiration's four-day trip stops in Cozumel, and the five-day trip adds a stop in Grand Cayman. The ship was one of Carnival's first to receive an "Evolution of Fun" upgrade, according to cruise website Cruise Critic. These upgrades includes adding children's water parks, a new design and features for the pool and the creation of an adults-only deck area.
The ship caters to families with the Camp Carnival program, which offers supervised free play until 2 p.m. on days in ports of call, with scheduled activities from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. This allows adults to schedule port-of-call excursions that might not be appropriate for children. The cruise line also offers teen-only port-of-call excursions. The dining room features a "daily junior special," plus a regular children's menu.
The second ship, Carnival Legend, sails to Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Belize City and Roatan. It was the first Carnival ship to offer flexible dining, which means passengers can choose from traditional dinner seating or the flexible choice, which lets you eat dinner anytime between 5:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.
Legend also has its own version of Camp Carnival, which is centered around a 2,400-square-foot enclosed play area, known as "The Fun House." This area offers supervised activities, with three designated rooms for crafts, computer games and traditional games that are connected by tunnels. A deck below "The Fun House" is an arcade featuring virtual-reality and video games. In addition to the ship's main swimming pools, it also has a children's wading pool and corkscrew water slide. Teens are invited to overnight slumber parties.
Royal Caribbean International sails three itineraries on its six-story ship Grandeur of the Seas. The ship offers four- and five-day itineraries to the Western Caribbean, with stops in Key West, Cozumel, Progreso, Belize City and Costa Maya, depending on which version you book.
Grandeur of the Seas features the Ocean Adventure youth program, which offers age-appropriate activities for kids. Activities include an un-birthday party for ages 3-5, pirate night for 6-8, adventure science for 9-11, break-dancing for 12-14 and a Mardi Gras party for 15-17 years old.
Holland America welcomes families and can have more than 100 kids on board during the summer months, according to Cruise Critic. The ship was renovated in 2009, with enhancements to the spa, lanai and spa cabin categories and additional dining options.
Its Tampa ship, Veendam, sails seven-day itineraries to the Western Caribbean, stopping in ports of call such as Santo Tomas and Costa Maya.
The ship features youth lounges on Deck 12, and parents aren't allowed, though the area is supervised by youth instructors. The lounge houses four rooms, including Club HAL for younger children and a video arcade. Steps lead to Deck 13 Oasis, a private sun deck for teens. Structured programs are also available, such as karaoke and kid Olympics.
