Advice Needed- Showing Kids The World

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Wow, good for them!  I still think they must miss interaction with their peers.  But it must be nice to have them onboard--I like it when there are some well-behaved kids onboard--in the winter we live in an adult condo and I love it when the neighbourhood grandkids come to visit our neighbours.

[Go-Bucks!]

On 3/18/2019 at 11:47 AM, Wendy The Wanderer said:

I still think they must miss interaction with their peers. 

 

Maybe, but in the long run this will likely be a life changing experience that they'll never forget.  How blessed to have parents who are able to do this for their children. 

[Floridiana]

You are not really showing your kids the world behind the ports. You are getting them used to a luxurious way of traveling and to interact with adults. Nothing wrong with it. It's probably a great bonding experience with the family. Maybe in your present life, you are all running in different directions to various schools, different sports activities etc. On a ship, you are all in the same place. 

[Keith1010]

On 6/12/2019 at 4:20 PM, Floridiana said:

You are not really showing your kids the world behind the ports. You are getting them used to a luxurious way of traveling and to interact with adults. Nothing wrong with it. It's probably a great bonding experience with the family. Maybe in your present life, you are all running in different directions to various schools, different sports activities etc. On a ship, you are all in the same place. 

A world cruise does provide a wonderful opportunity for children (adults too) to learn about the world.  

 

I know on the line we sail often we learn so much on board the ship from the lecturers and the other enrichment.

 

On land there is a great opportunity to learn.

 

Both offer so much more opportunities to learn than often we find at home.

 

So like most things we all have different views.

 

Keith

[CruiseDigits]

@CruiseCriticMamaBear we have four children, two still in the house being homeschooled and we've taken them all over the world using a mix of cruises and independent travel.  Be careful though, our eldest son is so comfortable with travel and different cultures that he went to university in London and he now lives in Hong Kong ;)

 

I echo the comments from @Keith1010 to try to find ways to get off the beaten path and in to the community.  If we are staying somewhere for a while then we figure out the public transit system.  We ask locals where they like to eat.  We love to go Mass wherever we are -- pro tip is that a bilingual service in Barcelona does not usually include English, it's Spanish and Catalan!  We've also purchased opportunistic plane tickets when we've seen an unbelievable fare sale then figure out lodging and everything else from there.  We're going to Alaska for the first time next month and then we'll be in Barcelona again for a while the following month.  Next year is still a blank slate for us.

 

Your comprehensive approach is rare to see!

[JKrise]

On ‎3‎/‎4‎/‎2018 at 12:06 AM, florisdekort said:

If you want your children to have truly valuable, local, real experiences you should take them on land trips, not Disney cruises.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I couldn't agree more.

 

Additionally, make sure they have time to earn (get a job and save, do household tasks and save their allowance) for their own spending cash. Souvenirs tend to be a much more valuable memory when earned through ones own work. 

 

I still have items I saved for when I was 14 baling hay for 0.05 a bale. To me their perceived value far surpasses their monetary value. Was a great lesson taught to me by my parents. If you want something bad enough...work for it and save for it. Set me up good for life.

Edited September 3, 2019 by JKrise

[arielmomma]

I'm not sure if the OP is still following this post, but I think its great that you are planning to show your kids the world! I, too, am a homeschooling mom who is also considering taking my children on a world cruise. I see that you have several Disney cruises planned. They are great for getting kids used to cruising. We also started with Disney. I can't recommend their Panama Canal cruise enough. We were fortunate to be aboard the Disney Wonder on her final trip through the old canal and also when she was the first passenger ship in the world to travel through the new canal. We got to make history! Plus, we all learned a lot, too. I have heard great things about their Alaska & Med cruises, but have not done those. We recently started traveling with Cunard. They offer so many educational enrichment opportunities. My family will likely travel with them for our world cruise. I've only recently started researching WCs, so I still have much to learn. Best of luck in your planning and travels. You are literally giving your children the world!

[rafinmd]

On 9/29/2019 at 8:59 AM, arielmomma said:

I'm not sure if the OP is still following this post, but I think its great that you are planning to show your kids the world! I, too, am a homeschooling mom who is also considering taking my children on a world cruise. I see that you have several Disney cruises planned. They are great for getting kids used to cruising. We also started with Disney. I can't recommend their Panama Canal cruise enough. We were fortunate to be aboard the Disney Wonder on her final trip through the old canal and also when she was the first passenger ship in the world to travel through the new canal. We got to make history! Plus, we all learned a lot, too. I have heard great things about their Alaska & Med cruises, but have not done those. We recently started traveling with Cunard. They offer so many educational enrichment opportunities. My family will likely travel with them for our world cruise. I've only recently started researching WCs, so I still have much to learn. Best of luck in your planning and travels. You are literally giving your children the world!

I think Cunard is a great choice for that.  Great entertainment, I think a pretty good kids program for your potential world choices.  I’l also suggest you take advantage of some of the longer tours, possibly something like leaving the ship in one port and returning a port or 2 later with some land travel in between.

 

 Roy 

[arielmomma]

1 hour ago, rafinmd said:

I think Cunard is a great choice for that.  Great entertainment, I think a pretty good kids program for your potential world choices.  I’l also suggest you take advantage of some of the longer tours, possibly something like leaving the ship in one port and returning a port or 2 later with some land travel in between.

 

 Roy 

Thank you, Roy, for the advice. I'll keep longer tours and potential land travel in mind. I'm open to any, and all, advice. There is so much to look into, but I think it would be an amazing opportunity for our family. We've been very impressed with Cunard. Of course, we've only been on 2-14 day cruises aboard QM2, so far. 113 nights is a tad bit longer. I think she's a good fit for us though. My teens and I are becoming quite the ballroom dancers!