Scholarship at Sea

[momthecruisedirector]

So....I know it's vacation, but what 'classes' do they offer for the Scholarship at Sea program? I saw something a while ago about needlepoint and photography? Anyone know??

[KathiSF]

I was on the Sapphire last month. Here are some of the topics on their scholarship @ Sea Program brochure.

 

Ceramics @ Sea ($6 - $30 per piece)

 

Culinary Arts -The free ones were so crowded, you had to get there EARLY or forget it.

 

Dance Classes

 

Arts & Crafts - Carnations, Boxes, Picture Frame, Greeting Cards

 

Alaska's Nature - The Naturalist, Susan Strand, was very good. Libby Riddles (the first woman to win the Iditarod dog sled race) was fascinating. They also had US Forest Rangers and Alaskan entertainer.

 

Behind the Scenes Tour - Both Backstage and Galley tours

 

Photography ($10.00 a class)

 

Computers at Sea - Complimentary Lectures (very basic concepts), Group Classes $25.00 a class or four classes for $75.00, and Private Tuition $75.00 an hour.

 

Bridge @ Sea

 

Floral Arts

[momthecruisedirector]

Thank you!

[edYYZ]

They seem to have split off the Scholarship@Sea program quite a bit this year. Computers@Sea is now its own thing with a dedicated "computer expert", and digital photography was handled separately through the photo department as well. I think pottery (I know it is offered on the Coral Princess) is still under the original Scholarship@Sea name. If this is your kind of thing, there should be many choices. I can't imagine taking a course on vacation though (well, maybe ones more appropriate than these).

[kryos]

Thank you!

Note that most of the computer classes carry a $25 charge for about 50 minutes of instruction. Pretty pricey, IMHO.

 

The pottery/ceramics classes will carry a price tag of the cost of your materials.

 

Some of the photography classes had a $10 charge, but I believe you got a book with the class, so that's most of what the $10 is probably going for.

 

The other classes (Bridge, arts and crafts, etc.) are free as far as I know.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[momthecruisedirector]

I shared the info with my husband - who promptly said, Are you crazy? We'll be on vacation!

 

I thought the ceramics class might be fun on an at sea day -- will check it out if time permits while on board.

 

Thanks again for your responses.

[onemyst]

where do you find information about this??? I cant find any info about Scholarship@sea on princess's site....In their cruise answer book there is a little description but no details....WHere do I find details>> Thanks

 

Misty

[momthecruisedirector]

I saw what you saw then asked here - the wonderful people at cruisecritic have all the answers!

[Travelgrrl]

I'm scheduled to lead arts and crafts classes on the Sea Princess in November, which makes me think that they, like other lines, bring in people to lead some of the classes. (Mine are free, by the way)

 

I'll be discussing various ways to preserve your personal, or family history; with classes in scrapbooking, taking care of your photographs, and journaling/writing your family history. I've done them before on another line and they've always been very well attended and people seem to enjoy them.

 

It's a way to take a little something back from your trip in terms of knowledge or expertise - in a very relaxed and fun environment. And like most activities, an hour or less out of your day! :)

[seastar2]

There will be listing of all classes, cost, times etc as well as the information as to were to sign up in your cabin upon arrivial onboard the ship. Some repeated information also in the patter during the cruise.

Last March on the Dawn they had a book at the pursers desk to sign up for some of the computer classes,the year before on the Island you just showed up for the photo labs class. Payment is done at the time of the actually classes.

[Pam in CA]

The list and variety of classes, other than the basic Computer software, pottery and photography classes, will depend on who is onboard and what they have scheduled. Every ship is different and it'll even vary by cruise on the same ship.

 

There'll be a complete list of what's available in your cabin when you board; and there'll be notices in the Patter if there are any additional classes. My sister is an expert needlepointer and whenever we're on a cruise with sea days, she asks the Cruise Director to put a notice in the Patter about people doing needlepoint to get together at a particular time and place. On our Hawaiian cruise, we had about 20 ladies who got together every sea day. They all had brought their own knitting, crocheting, needlepoint, etc. and just enjoyed being together. It was great!

[booboo4031]

A couple questions:

 

1. Does anyone know if the Star Princess has the pottery classes?

 

2. And if they do, if you choose the option of not throwing the pottery but just painting... is that freehand painting or are there stencils available??

 

Thanks

[where next?]

The Diamond Princess pottery classes were held on the upper level, inside the retractable pool area by the ping pong tables. My daughter and I really enjoyed painting our pieces. It took us two visits and we felt the time was very relaxing. We also enjoyed meeting Hannah, a lovely Australian girl, from the CD staff who led the pottery classes, and fellow passengers who were painting with us. Again, the time was peaceful and we had a great souvenir to bring home!

[TKD Cruiser]

My wife and I did ceramics a couple years ago and I had a great time. It didn't really involve much instruction; just glazing already prepared greenware. But it was done outside and I found it most relaxing.

[cruisemom42]

I would like to see some real "scholarship" type classes or lectures offered. Princess doesn't seem to offer very much in terms of the history of the ports visited, only "shopping talks".

 

The last really good lectures I remember on a Princess cruise were in 2005 on our Baltics cruise -- John Lawrence the CD would give talks on the Romanovs and on Russian history. I thought they were great and I was very surprised that they didn't offer anything similar when we did the Egypt/Aegean itinerary the next year.