Teacher sailing at Spring Break... suggestions for which cruise?

[PhinsAndGills]

For the first time in history, my district gets a week long spring break. Now, I am on SPRING BREAK but would like to avoid as many kids as possible just because it's a TEACHER spring break, too! I know, I know, then sail a different time... I can't take the days off... period. I HAVE TO sail this week or not sail at all.

 

Now, I won't complain about amount of kids and I won't let them ruin my cruise. I understand it's most everybody's spring break the week before Easter, not just mine. But I would like to avoid as many kids as possible. I'd like your suggestions. I'd like to stay with RCCL being they've given me no reason to switch!

 

PLEASE do NOT turn this into a "why kids should/n't go on cruises" thread... I just need suggestions from someone who has done these before.

 

1. 4 day vs. 5 day vs. 7 day. I've looked at ALL possibilities. Obviously 4 and 5 look better cost-wise. I've heard, though, there's more kids on shorter cruises. 4 days aren't an option on the website right now.

 

2. Departure city - On the 7 days, Florida or San Juan? On the 5 days - Florida, New Orleans, or Galveston?

 

3. Ship class? Large, small?

 

4. At sea days? - Do more at sea days really = less kids?

 

I think I like the looks of:

Serenade of the Seas 7 day

San Juan, St. Thomas, St Maarten, Antigua, St. Lucia, Barbados, at sea, San Juan.

 

THANKS for your help and suggestions! :)

[calicruzer]

As a school principal, I understand you desire to not be surrounded by kiddos during your time off. I love them, but. . .

 

Our family (including my kids) does a cruise every year at Spring Break. We noticed the most kids on Celebrity's Millinieum two years ago (over 500 kids!) This year, we went on Holland America, and there were quite a few less (157 kids on board that week) I know you want to stick with RCCL, but HAl may not be a bad option for you if you really want to get away from kids.

 

I would think that not as many families travel to San Juan, as that means more airfare. Just a guess though.

 

Even if you book a cruise filled with kids, you can choose "spa days", less family oriented excursions, etc and avoid some of them. Even with lots of little ones runnign around, it is still vacation!

[It'sRC4ME]

Two tips:

 

Make sure to choose a ship that has extensive kids facilities - Serenade falls into this category, as does the Voyager class. This may sound counterintuitive, but look at it this way: if there are lots of kid-specific things for them to do, they are less likely to overrun the solarium.

 

More port days may not mean fewer children, but it does mean fewer bored children cooped up on board the ship.

 

My worst cruise experience in terms of dealing with children on board was on a 10 night cruise on Celebirty Millennium. Not only did the ship have much less for children to do (in terms of both facilities and activities), but the last two days were sea days. I have never seen so many bored kids creating havoc. And it really wasn't their fault - I was bored too! (Celebrity seemed to be heavy on the bridge play and art auctions, and light on anything else to do).

 

Long story short, a port-heavy cruise on Seranade should feel about as "kid free" as any spring break cruise on Royal Caribbean.

 

Good Luck!

[mrsb]

I'm a teacher, so you won't get any grief from me for wanting to get a vacation from kids on your vacation!! I would suggest that you avoid the large ships. We went on the Voyager during a Feb. school vacation week one year--and it was MOBBED with children (my own included). Families tend to like the larger ships because they offer more for the kiddos to do.

I think calicruzer had some good ideas--especially the suggestion to consider less children oriented cruise lines. I think there would be a lot of children on any RCCI ship the week before Easter.

[PhinsAndGills]

I will look into Holland America. Who knows, maybe I'll like them just as much! My ONLY experience is that my 72 year old grandmother and her 81 year old sister LOVE Holland America, but I realize they aren't the ONLY ones on HAL and there are 72/81 year olds on RCCL, as well as 27 year olds on HAL! :) I've just only heard HER reviews, which are stellar. I LOVE my grandma dearly, she certainly doesn't act her age... maybe she'll go with me! I'd LOVE to have her along!

 

THANKS for all the helpful advice! I was SO afraid this would turn into a "how kids on spring break done me wrong..." discussion...:eek: :)

 

Does anyone know if the Majesty is going to keep going on its little 3 and 4 nighters? They're not listed on RCCL website right now.

[mustangjoe]

As athletic director for 8 hs & 9 ms here in Akron, I also don't want to be around a lot of children. My dw and I took our first cruise ever this past spring break on the Grandeur out of New Orleans. Even though there was a ton of kids on the cruise, they were all well behaved and very rarely were in spots they were not suppose to be. We had excursions and events palnned for every day of the cruise, so we didn;t let the kids interfere with our plans.

 

And lastly, just remember these 2 things. 1) A cruise or any type of vacation is what you make of it and 2) Most importantly, even a bad on a cruise is still better than your best in school.

[bosteph]

We were on Rhapsody this past spring break with over 800 children on board. Our cruise had zero problems but the week after was a different scene altogether (kids throwing chairs and life vests overboard, etc.).

 

While we were in Cozumel, we met a family on a HAL ship. The kids were complaining to my son that there were not many kids on board their ship. Their parents were smiling and nodding...:D

 

I agree that HAL may be the best option for "kid limited" spring break cruises.

[cruizeblues]

I think that you are definitely on the right track with sailing out of San Juan! We sailed on the Mariner last Easter with our kids PLUS about 1,200 others :eek: most of them teens! I teach also, and would have liked a more peaceful week!Airfair to San Juan is nearly triple what it is to FL, not to mention the fact that you can not get there by car! I think that will definitely cut down on the number of families on board! We have sailed out of San Juan twice in the summer and have not noticed a huge number of kids on board. We are hoping for the same on our Feb. cruise on the Serenade. The islands on the southern itin. are gorgeous too! We can't wait to go back!

[steve20832]

If schools are on a vacation week or holiday/summer break, there will be more kids on just about any ship compared to traveling when school is in session. I'm going in the middle of January when most kids are in school so hopefully it won't be too bad as far as the number of kids on the ship. You never know though, the cruise I picked goes out on a Thursday and comes back on a Monday. RCCL does have 4 day cruise if you search for the ship Enchantment of the Seas (It also does 5 day cruises as well for not much more $$). IT just got refurbished too with some great reviews here, search the forums if you are interested.

[kenandlaura06]

I am a teacher and can feel your pain! ;) I had a nightmare recently that some of my students were on my honeymoon cruise!

[MM27]

I too am a teacher and was on NOS over spring break this year. There were many, many kids (I think they said something like 800 or so). Lots of high schools taking senior trips.

[PhinsAndGills]

I too am a teacher and was on NOS over spring break this year. There were many, many kids (I think they said something like 800 or so). Lots of high schools taking senior trips.

LOL - my "senior trip" was for one day to Wapakoneta, Ohio to the Armstrong Space Museum. WOOHOO! :D

[ljmandelbaum]

All of my cruises have been during the New York city public school vacations since that is where I teach. I have never noticed a problem or had ships over run with kids.

[MM27]

My senior trip was to Six Flags for the day :mad:

[PhinsAndGills]

THANKS for all this great advice. From what I'm gathering, the San Juan RCCL and something by HAL may be the way to go! I'll just have to price compare the two. Keep that advice coming if you have suggestions about others! I'm so glad I asked this.

[Cindy]

I'm a principal, so I know what you mean about being limited as to when you can travel and wanting to have a nice adult experience even though it's Spring Break.

 

We were on the Grand out of Galveston during Spring Break in March. Even though there were 750 children on the ship, I barely noticed them. There were two adult-only pools with PLENTY of lounge space where you could read, swim, etc. in a quiet atmosphere. We had late seating for dinner and saw very few children in the dining room or at the late shows. It seemed like there were plenty of activities for youth of all ages, and I didn't see any of the misbehavior I've read about on Cruise Critic.

We had a similar experience on the Rhapsody out of Galveston over Thanksgiving a few years ago. We weren't bothered by the large numbers of children at all. Both of these were 7 day cruises.

Those are just my experiences. Others on the same ships might have thought the children were awful. My tolerance level is probably pretty high, but my husband never said anything, and he's not used to being around large numbers of children all day.

I say go for it! In the education business, if you wait to travel when there won't be a lot of children on board, you'll be retired!!! :eek: We enjoyed our Spring Break cruise enough that we're doing it again next March! :D

[calicruzer]

Who knew there were so many educators onthis board. Guess we all have time to read the boards during summer. I know I don't once school starts.

 

I was thinking back to our Alsaka cruise 2 years ago, and we met a family that was traveling on HAL and they were complaining that there were not enough kids on board.

 

Having cruised with HAL last spring I will say that there were many more older pxs than on RCL or Celebrity, but it was NOT the "old folks cruise". There was just a more relaxed atmosphere.

 

They way I see it, on a cruise there may be lots of kids, but at least I am not in charge and having to disciplne them in my office as I do everyday at school!

[mcgore83]

Both my husband and I are educators. We do not cruise with our children. As I have posted before, I am just too paranoid about safety for children on a ship. We cruise with family and friends and always have a great time.

 

I do not mind children on the ship. My experiences have been very enjoyable. I have never encountered unruly kids (maybe I am just lucky). However, they have never ruined my vacation.

 

We take several vacations each year. Most vacations are with our children. From vacations at Myrtle Beach, to Hilton Head, to Disney World, we have always run into current or former students, LOL! However, on our cruises, we have never encountered students we knew or our children, so we have had great experiences!

 

Don't worry about the kids! Go and have a great time. You won't regret a moment.

[bluehorizonlover123]

I also am a teacher. We always sail during spring break. I think Princess or HAL will have the least amount of kids but if you go on RCL then make sure they have all the bells and whistles to keep the kids busy, ie. rock climbing wall, golf, ice skating, etc.

[wrp96]

I think going with a sailing out of San Juan is a good idea (hey, it's what I'm doing). The cost of airfare can be prohibitive for a lot of families. Also, avoid the shorter cruises, such as the 4 and 5 day cruises. They can be more affordable for a lot of families, and then you get the combination of the party cruisers and lots of kids.

 

Also, don't assume that just because it is HAL there won't be children. I've seen posts over on the HAL board mentioning that their pricing has been less expensive than even Carnival so a lot of families are choosing to cruise them.

[ACCagent]

I have been on several cruises at Spring Break and we have only had a problem once. It was no biggie, just a huge number of children but that's because we had to do a 5 night on Carnival. They really weren't bad, but it was pretty chaotic at the pool. You won't want that! We've done 4 Spring Breaks on Royal Caribbean with no problems. They have great programs and keep the kids occupied. Serenade is a great ship and sailing from San Juan should really cut down on children. Celebrity and Holland America may have less children but they also have fewer things for them to do.

[kenandlaura06]

Hi Fellow Educators!

 

 

 

Is everyone enjoying their summer vacations?

 

 

 

Laura (and Ken)--both teachers

[deaconess]

Our spring break is the week after Easter, as is most districts in our area...so if you are the week before Easter...you may have an easier time than you thought....I agree that ships that are more family oriented will have more children...but I went on EOS the week after school got out this summer, and didn't feel overrun by children at all....so it may not be bad.

 

Depending on what you teach...you may be able to get CPDU's or other "perks" depending on where you go. San Juan has a beautiful rainforest, and I teach ecosystems....it worked out well. Some districts have a travel stipulation, that they will grant CPDU's for travel experience and sometimes will reimburse up to X dollars! (my district only does CPDU's)

 

I also had a unique experience...a former student had moved to San Juan and showed up at the pier as I got off the ship! She just wanted to say hello and get her picture taken with me, and off they went!

 

I think that the 4-5 day cruises will probably be more crowded with children- esp. if they are on the voyager class ships. I think many families want to avoid being gone for the holiday (if extended family is involved) and many want time to get the kids back to the school routine before school starts up again, plus they are cheaper!.....just my opinion!

[22tango]

Well, I haven't cruised before so have no experience to share. However, spring break is late this year. Last year it was in mid march and in with many, many districts who have a mid march break and don't tie the break to easter.

 

Also, as said by another, the districts that do tie the spring break in with easter seem to split---some before and some after.

 

That said, I don't think the week before easter is going to be as bad as it was this last year in a lot of kid friendly places like cruises and Disney World.

 

It seems from my research too there are some many areas were kids are not allowed that you could easily avoid them if you wanted to. Like the adult pool, spa, clubs and bars, casino.

 

It will just be my daughter and I on the 4/8 sailing of Navigator out of Miami. She's told me that she may not see me the whole trip. So I'll be trying to find something to do solo!

[kenandlaura06]

In MA we have February and April vacations. February vacation is always the week of President's Day and April vacation is always the week of Patriot's Day.