Anthem... 9 day or 5 day. (First world problems)

[SailAwayInAugust]

A bit of backstory..

 

I had the 7 night NCL Breakaway to Bermuda booked for Memorial Day week. That cruise? Been there, done that, not impressed, but not completely turned off for us to never sail her again. I booked again because of the amazing deal and I honestly would rather sail from my home port then add the extra expense & headache to fly down to Florida. My kids on this sailing would only miss 4 days of school.

 

Then I discovered how amazing the Anthem looked, so I put a deposit on the 5 night cruise to Bermuda leaving a week after my my booked NCL cruise. Again, the kids for this sailing would only miss 4 days of school.

 

The price difference was minimal, BUT the NCL cruise included the alcohol pkge so that, combined with the extra day in Bermuda was the only thing that kept me holding on to that reservation.

 

So now my dilemma stems from my wondering eyes. I just priced the 9 day Anthem and now I'm obsessing. Its a bit more money obviously, but its a 9 day sailing opposed to only 5 nights. Problem is, my kids will miss 6 days of school.

 

I guess I don't have a real question here... Just contemplating my options. Don't know what to do. I have this trip on hold at the moment. it looks so tempting. The itinerary looks amazing too.

 

What would you do? Would you take the kids out of school for this? (Kindergarden & 3rd grade). Is it too long of a sailing? Would you stick with the 5 night?

 

Wow... total first world problem here. I am so sorry. And if you made this far reading this post.. thank you!

 

 

By the way... I just cancelled my NCL Breakaway cruise. So now its the 5 night vs the 9 night on Anthem.

Edited October 13, 2016 by SailAwayInAugust

[champagne123]

I have been on the Breakaway and I am leaving on the Anthem 9 day next week. I actually wanted the 12 day (amazing itinerary), but some people in my family could not get away for 12 days.... The point I am trying to make is, 5 days to me would be like a long weekend. Not nearly enough time unless you were just looking for a quick getaway. The shortest I have been on is 7 and that still felt too short. See if your kids teachers will allow them to bring homework on the ship and set aside an hour or two a day just for that. I'm sure your children won't mind if it means a 9 day cruise!!! Good luck in whatever you decide. :)

[welshrich]

Hi

 

Only you can decide about the schooling issue but I would certainly love the 9 nights on Anthem. If it helps, we did a 5 night cruise to Bermuda on Anthem in April and were worried it was too short but we did manage to do all of the shows and see almost all of the ship and experience what she has to offer such as Northstar and ifly, imo the management was so good to enable us to do everything so i'm sure you will enjoy it.

 

Hope this helps.

Edited October 13, 2016 by welshrich

[florence3333]

I have my kids on the 9 day next week and they will miss 8 days of school they are 1st and 5th, its really not too big of a problem I just let their teachers know way beforehand and they will have work sent home before it. I say do the 9 day!

[marci22]

I would rather my kids miss 4 days of school than 6, but of course that is up to you. If you said they were 4th grade and up, I would say definitely not.

 

We usually travelled during the summer during the school years, or when there were days off during the week like teachers' convention, holidays, etc, so that they didn't miss so much school.

[SailAwayInAugust]

I guess the good thing is that this is in May going into Memorial Day week, so I'm hoping the teachers wont mind too much.

 

Thanks for your replies!

[padlock]

As others have said, it's really up to you. Personally, I would have no problem taking my kids out of school for 6 days, and they have missed more than that in the past. In my opinion, a family vacation can be just as much of a learning experience as the time they spend in school. Having said that, my kids are both good students and their schoolwork isn't particularly challenging. If they were struggling, I would probably feel differently.

Edited October 13, 2016 by padlock

[SailAwayInAugust]

 

We usually travelled during the summer during the school years, or when there were days off during the week like teachers' convention, holidays, etc, so that they didn't miss so much school.

 

This would be ideal, but the prices for these sailings are way out of our budget. I just can't justify spending hundreds more (Actually thousands :eek:, from what I priced!) just to leave a few weeks later.

[padlock]

This would be ideal, but the prices for these sailings are way out of our budget. I just can't justify spending hundreds more (Actually thousands :eek:, from what I priced!) just to leave a few weeks later.

 

While I agree with you, I am somewhat amused by the irony of your login name.

[marci22]

This would be ideal, but the prices for these sailings are way out of our budget. I just can't justify spending hundreds more (Actually thousands :eek:, from what I priced!) just to leave a few weeks later.

 

3rd-4th week in August is another time to look at as these sailings typically are cheaper than prime summer (early July to mid-August).

[ColoradoGurl]

For kids that young, missing that much school isn't going to do much harm. They probably have some worksheets you can get ahead of time and make sure you do with them on the ship. My daughter was ok missing school through 5th grade, and a day or two in 6th grade wasn't a big deal either, but any grade after that, missing anything more than a day put her too far behind that she doesn't even want to stay home when she's sick if she can help it. Taking kids out of school to see other parts of the world is educational enough to me to say it's worth it, and since your kids are young, you can take advantage of cheaper rates by taking them out of school. I say go for it.

 

I would say though, that 9 days might be too long of a vacation. By day 7 I'm always ready to go home. It's also a long time to have kids that young away from their regular routines, and major tantrums and breakdowns could start to happen more often in the last few days of your vacation, taking away from the enjoyment of a longer cruise. I'm not sure where the Anthem goes on a 9 day besides Bermuda, but if it's just extra days in Bermuda I would get too bored.

 

If I were you I think I'd lean towards the 5 day. I'd be more comfortable missing 4 days than 6, it's cheaper, and 9 days is too long to be away from home doing the same thing every day.

 

 

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[MikeBTN]

6 days is a lot for kids to miss if they're older (I'd say 6th grade+). Before that, I don't think they "miss" much. In our school system, though, if a child misses 10 days total, every absence thereafter must be accompanied by a doctor's note, so missing 6 days is a bit of a hassle. We're pulling ours out of 3 days of school in 3 weeks to do an 8-night on Oasis, and to us its not a huge deal.

 

Personally, I'd probably stick with your NCL sailing unless the kids are fairly young.

[grouchomarx]

The Anthem is a big ship with a lot to do. You won't get anywhere near trying and seeing everything in 5 days. Even 9 will be a challenge. So many places to eat, things to see and do. I would do 9 nights if you can swing it.

[champagne123]

For kids that young, missing that much school isn't going to do much harm. They probably have some worksheets you can get ahead of time and make sure you do with them on the ship. My daughter was ok missing school through 5th grade, and a day or two in 6th grade wasn't a big deal either, but any grade after that, missing anything more than a day put her too far behind that she doesn't even want to stay home when she's sick if she can help it. Taking kids out of school to see other parts of the world is educational enough to me to say it's worth it, and since your kids are young, you can take advantage of cheaper rates by taking them out of school. I say go for it.

 

I would say though, that 9 days might be too long of a vacation. By day 7 I'm always ready to go home. It's also a long time to have kids that young away from their regular routines, and major tantrums and breakdowns could start to happen more often in the last few days of your vacation, taking away from the enjoyment of a longer cruise. I'm not sure where the Anthem goes on a 9 day besides Bermuda, but if it's just extra days in Bermuda I would get too bored.

 

If I were you I think I'd lean towards the 5 day. I'd be more comfortable missing 4 days than 6, it's cheaper, and 9 days is too long to be away from home doing the same thing every day.

 

 

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Totally respect your opinion. Just wanted to clarify that the Anthem is only in Bermuda 1 day and then goes to the Caribbean for other ports. (no over-nights) I have never been bored on a ship and with the mega ships, I always find there is not enough time to do and see everything, regardless of the length of the cruise. Have you sailed on any of the mega ships?

[RadioRob]

I'm leaving on Anthem 5 day to Bermuda this weekend. Once we're back to the US, we're taking an extra couple of days in the Big Apple and going to enjoy the city before heading back home. We've got tickets to Wicked and Hamilton and plans to hit the streets to do some shopping.

 

It should be lots of fun and a great way to ease us back to the land of doing things ourselves. haha

[champagne123]

I'm leaving on Anthem 5 day to Bermuda this weekend. Once we're back to the US, we're taking an extra couple of days in the Big Apple and going to enjoy the city before heading back home. We've got tickets to Wicked and Hamilton and plans to hit the streets to do some shopping.

 

It should be lots of fun and a great way to ease us back to the land of doing things ourselves. haha

 

UGH How the heck did you get Hamilton tickets??????????:(:(:(

[John&LaLa]

This would be ideal, but the prices for these sailings are way out of our budget. I just can't justify spending hundreds more (Actually thousands :eek:, from what I priced!) just to leave a few weeks later.

 

They cost more for a reason. ;)

[lakelorain]

The Anthem is a big ship with a lot to do. You won't get anywhere near trying and seeing everything in 5 days. Even 9 will be a challenge. So many places to eat, things to see and do. I would do 9 nights if you can swing it.

 

I agree. We did a nine day and there was not enough time to do everything we wanted to do. Anthem has so much to offer that a 5 day would be only an appetizer. Go for the 9 day if you can.

[4xcruisers]

We will actually be in this sailing. It is graduation present for our son with two of his buddies. We did the 9 day this past march and loved it. The ship has plenty to do as does Bermuda.

As for the school issue I agree we the others only you can decide whether to take them out. But they are young and would likely not miss much. And it's close to the end of the school. Bermuda does have a history museum that shows history of the island. Take the kids there and use that as part of the "education". Not all knowledge comes from school.

 

 

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[cb at sea]

Kindergarten and 3rd grade....yes...I'd take them out as long as they weren't missing much more than that during the rest of the year. I would NEVER take HS kids out for a vacation....they simply miss too much!

[papajoe117@aol.com]

Go for the 9 day cruise five days is too short. As for school the teachers will give them the work that they will miss while gone. Plus there are alot of historic places you can visit while in port.

l

[Arzeena]

 

UGH How the heck did you get Hamilton tickets??????????:(:(:(

 

I would also like to know.