Homeschoolers are supposed to go on out-of-the-ordinary trips, full of
educational experiences, with life-enriching activities. After all, we think out of
the box and do things differently. So what do we do, but go on a cookie-
cutter, everything planned cruise. And we had a blast!
We live and homeschool in Galveston,Texas. It's a wonderful convenience to
just drive down to the pier and board a cruise ship. Carnival Cruise and Royal
Caribbean both depart from Galveston. We chose Carnival because it is
inexpensive and short (only 4 nights). To prepare for the trip, head to the
library and check out lots of books. Books on ocean life, books on your ports
of call, books on pirates. And maybe some books on tape, for when the kids
are lounging on deck. This would be a good time for a marine biology unit
study.
This was our first time to cruise, so I had no idea there was to be a boat drill
and we were to muster at our designated muster station with life jackets. Who
knew! Well I quickly found out, as this is not an option. This part is for
compulsive obsessive people that need to do everything in advance. Life
jackets are provided in your room (ask for children's sizes for your little ones)
and a muster station is where you go if the ship starts to sink (highly unlikely)
or some other emergency. Children under 12 must wear wristbands to identify
their muster stations throughout the entire cruise. This is so staff can direct
them to where they need to be if they get separated from parents in an
emergency. Okay the compulsive obsessive people can relax now.
My idea of paradise is lying on deck, looking out over the horizon while the
children play in the pools. For those of you that need more, the ship is full of
activities--art auctions, musicals, games, arcades and more. Just exploring the
floating city is fun in and of itself. You receive an activity sheet daily to be able
to plan your day. Of course some things are extra like the spa and sodas, plus
the many shops to browse through. There are even seminars on shopping
(like we ladies need that) and seminars on the many different tours available at
your destination. Once you leave Galveston waters, all purchases are duty
free, up to a point. Of course much of the fun is directed by those in charge to
get you to part with as much money as possible, but that is just about any
prearranged vacation. So just decide ahead of time, and keep to your budget.
The ship gives you these wonderful little sail & sign cards that are credit cards
for you to use, nothing is in cash, so be careful.
Come ready to eat. The food is glorious and abundant. You can eat 24 hours
a day. There is gourmet pizza, ice cream, salad bars, dessert bars, buffets and
that’s for the casual diner. The formal dinners are spectacular. I would highly
recommend going to the formal dinners. You have the choice of early seating
and late seating. There are pros and cons of both. A sense of elegance comes
when your family dons their best attire and attends a meal together. It’s good
for the children to learn how to act in these situations and this was good
training ground. I think a short unit study on formal manners would have been
helpful for us, but it was a beginning. I must say the waiters made the dinners
special, they work hard to make your time there memorable.
There were some fantastic stage shows. The music was good, the dancing
good, and it was fun to take in a show after dinner. I must also give another
warning: check at the pursers information desk about the content of the
shows; even though they say family shows, their idea of family is not
necessarily my idea of family. It was a bit of a spectacle, me diving across
several family members in an attempt to cover the eyes of my children and
yelling in the best whisper tone I have “CLOSE YOUR EYES! CLOSE YOUR
EYES!” It’s also embarrassing to have to explain to your mother-in –law what
a full monty is and how I knew that. The singing-dancing act wasn’t exactly a
full monty, but it was close and there were some moves I would rather not
have seen myself.
I can’t speak for other cruise lines, but I can say that the kids really enjoyed
Camp Carnival. We checked in on them often, met the counselors and set
rules ahead of time. The camp was a come and go camp. We could sign the
children in anytime during the day and sign them out at our convenience, and
we were responsible for taking them to meals. There was a babysitting
service after 10pm, but we never used it. The older kids (9 and up) could sign
themselves in and out. Under that age only the parents could sign them in and
out and the parents received a beeper to notify us if necessary. Now I did not
like my 9 year old daughter having freedom to go and come as she pleased so
it was made clear to her and her counselor that she was not allowed to do that
and they abided by that. Also, that group had a scavenger hunt in which
groups of kids set out to roam the ship without the counselor with them for
about 45 minutes. Didn’t like that either, but it happened before I realized, so
double check with the counselor on activities. A great idea I’ll use for our next
cruise is walkie talkies. Several children had them to communicate with their
parents and the parents could always call to find out where the kids were.
The counselors have experience in child care, and are given background
checks. They also were from different parts of the world. One of the
counselors was from Croatia and the other from England. So have your kids
ready to ask questions about where they live. In fact all the employees were
international and it was very interesting asking them about their homeland.
Maybe even keep a journal of the different countries encountered, the names
of the people and details about their home.
Some web sites to read about Camp Carnival are www.cruiseweb.
com/CARNIVAL-CAMP.HTM and go to www.carnival.com.
Definitely look into aids to prevent motion sickness. Most of my family used a
Transderm Scop patch, behind the ear. I couldn’t; I’m one of the rare, odd
people that have adverse reactions to it, but no one else did. (www.travelpatch.
com ). Ginger is supposed to be helpful too; check at a health food store.
There is also Dramamine, Meclizine and Bonine over the counter at drug
stores. If you feel queasy, never look down into the water; always look out
over the horizon and keep hydrated.
Susan Richie
The newest addition to cruise ships sailing out of Galveston is the Voyager of
the Seas. This beauty is one of the world's biggest cruise ships,
accommodating 3,114 guests.
Voyager of the Seas is an engineering wonder, worthy of in-depth study of
naviation and physics. Homeschoolers can hit the books on deck, and enjoy
unique features like an ice-skating rink, Royal Promenade and a rock-climbing
wall.
Added Note: Check travel advisories on all travel to Mexico.
educational experiences, with life-enriching activities. After all, we think out of
the box and do things differently. So what do we do, but go on a cookie-
cutter, everything planned cruise. And we had a blast!
We live and homeschool in Galveston,Texas. It's a wonderful convenience to
just drive down to the pier and board a cruise ship. Carnival Cruise and Royal
Caribbean both depart from Galveston. We chose Carnival because it is
inexpensive and short (only 4 nights). To prepare for the trip, head to the
library and check out lots of books. Books on ocean life, books on your ports
of call, books on pirates. And maybe some books on tape, for when the kids
are lounging on deck. This would be a good time for a marine biology unit
study.
This was our first time to cruise, so I had no idea there was to be a boat drill
and we were to muster at our designated muster station with life jackets. Who
knew! Well I quickly found out, as this is not an option. This part is for
compulsive obsessive people that need to do everything in advance. Life
jackets are provided in your room (ask for children's sizes for your little ones)
and a muster station is where you go if the ship starts to sink (highly unlikely)
or some other emergency. Children under 12 must wear wristbands to identify
their muster stations throughout the entire cruise. This is so staff can direct
them to where they need to be if they get separated from parents in an
emergency. Okay the compulsive obsessive people can relax now.
My idea of paradise is lying on deck, looking out over the horizon while the
children play in the pools. For those of you that need more, the ship is full of
activities--art auctions, musicals, games, arcades and more. Just exploring the
floating city is fun in and of itself. You receive an activity sheet daily to be able
to plan your day. Of course some things are extra like the spa and sodas, plus
the many shops to browse through. There are even seminars on shopping
(like we ladies need that) and seminars on the many different tours available at
your destination. Once you leave Galveston waters, all purchases are duty
free, up to a point. Of course much of the fun is directed by those in charge to
get you to part with as much money as possible, but that is just about any
prearranged vacation. So just decide ahead of time, and keep to your budget.
The ship gives you these wonderful little sail & sign cards that are credit cards
for you to use, nothing is in cash, so be careful.
Come ready to eat. The food is glorious and abundant. You can eat 24 hours
a day. There is gourmet pizza, ice cream, salad bars, dessert bars, buffets and
that’s for the casual diner. The formal dinners are spectacular. I would highly
recommend going to the formal dinners. You have the choice of early seating
and late seating. There are pros and cons of both. A sense of elegance comes
when your family dons their best attire and attends a meal together. It’s good
for the children to learn how to act in these situations and this was good
training ground. I think a short unit study on formal manners would have been
helpful for us, but it was a beginning. I must say the waiters made the dinners
special, they work hard to make your time there memorable.
There were some fantastic stage shows. The music was good, the dancing
good, and it was fun to take in a show after dinner. I must also give another
warning: check at the pursers information desk about the content of the
shows; even though they say family shows, their idea of family is not
necessarily my idea of family. It was a bit of a spectacle, me diving across
several family members in an attempt to cover the eyes of my children and
yelling in the best whisper tone I have “CLOSE YOUR EYES! CLOSE YOUR
EYES!” It’s also embarrassing to have to explain to your mother-in –law what
a full monty is and how I knew that. The singing-dancing act wasn’t exactly a
full monty, but it was close and there were some moves I would rather not
have seen myself.
I can’t speak for other cruise lines, but I can say that the kids really enjoyed
Camp Carnival. We checked in on them often, met the counselors and set
rules ahead of time. The camp was a come and go camp. We could sign the
children in anytime during the day and sign them out at our convenience, and
we were responsible for taking them to meals. There was a babysitting
service after 10pm, but we never used it. The older kids (9 and up) could sign
themselves in and out. Under that age only the parents could sign them in and
out and the parents received a beeper to notify us if necessary. Now I did not
like my 9 year old daughter having freedom to go and come as she pleased so
it was made clear to her and her counselor that she was not allowed to do that
and they abided by that. Also, that group had a scavenger hunt in which
groups of kids set out to roam the ship without the counselor with them for
about 45 minutes. Didn’t like that either, but it happened before I realized, so
double check with the counselor on activities. A great idea I’ll use for our next
cruise is walkie talkies. Several children had them to communicate with their
parents and the parents could always call to find out where the kids were.
The counselors have experience in child care, and are given background
checks. They also were from different parts of the world. One of the
counselors was from Croatia and the other from England. So have your kids
ready to ask questions about where they live. In fact all the employees were
international and it was very interesting asking them about their homeland.
Maybe even keep a journal of the different countries encountered, the names
of the people and details about their home.
Some web sites to read about Camp Carnival are www.cruiseweb.
com/CARNIVAL-CAMP.HTM and go to www.carnival.com.
Definitely look into aids to prevent motion sickness. Most of my family used a
Transderm Scop patch, behind the ear. I couldn’t; I’m one of the rare, odd
people that have adverse reactions to it, but no one else did. (www.travelpatch.
com ). Ginger is supposed to be helpful too; check at a health food store.
There is also Dramamine, Meclizine and Bonine over the counter at drug
stores. If you feel queasy, never look down into the water; always look out
over the horizon and keep hydrated.
Susan Richie
The newest addition to cruise ships sailing out of Galveston is the Voyager of
the Seas. This beauty is one of the world's biggest cruise ships,
accommodating 3,114 guests.
Voyager of the Seas is an engineering wonder, worthy of in-depth study of
naviation and physics. Homeschoolers can hit the books on deck, and enjoy
unique features like an ice-skating rink, Royal Promenade and a rock-climbing
wall.
Added Note: Check travel advisories on all travel to Mexico.
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
A Caribbean Cruise
A Non-typical Homeschool Vacation
Homeschool Cruises
You would be amazed how educational a homeschool cruise can be. Dry, rote
learning goes by the wayside, as geography becomes mapping your ship's
course, earth science becomes swimming with dolphins, and history is learning
about ancient civilizations.
You may choose to go on your own, or join other homeschool families on an
arranged educational cruise. In October 2010, School at Sea will be visiting the
Bahamas. The C.S.I. Spy School Cruise Event, on board the Carnival Pride, will
feature fingerprinting and forensic science. This cruise departs out of Baltimore,
Maryland. A Marine Biology Cruise will depart out of San Diego, CA. in January
2011. On board the Carnival Spirit, it will visit the Mexican Riviera.
Another Marine Biology Cruise will depart out of Galveston, TX. in April 2011. The
Carnival Conquest will visit Grand Cayman, Montego Bay, and Cozumel.
For more information on these homeschool cruises, go to School At Sea
You would be amazed how educational a homeschool cruise can be. Dry, rote
learning goes by the wayside, as geography becomes mapping your ship's
course, earth science becomes swimming with dolphins, and history is learning
about ancient civilizations.
You may choose to go on your own, or join other homeschool families on an
arranged educational cruise. In October 2010, School at Sea will be visiting the
Bahamas. The C.S.I. Spy School Cruise Event, on board the Carnival Pride, will
feature fingerprinting and forensic science. This cruise departs out of Baltimore,
Maryland. A Marine Biology Cruise will depart out of San Diego, CA. in January
2011. On board the Carnival Spirit, it will visit the Mexican Riviera.
Another Marine Biology Cruise will depart out of Galveston, TX. in April 2011. The
Carnival Conquest will visit Grand Cayman, Montego Bay, and Cozumel.
For more information on these homeschool cruises, go to School At Sea
| Homeschool Travel Resource |