Children on Spring Transatlantic Cruises

[taglovestocruise]

11 hours ago, Milwaukee Eight said:

Something wrong with kids on a cruise?  I mean, Royal is geared towards family vacations and each new ship rollout shows that trend. 
 

M8

Nothing wrong with kids at all.  14 nights on a Oasis Class with 12 kids instead of 1500 is a treat to enjoy. 

[smokeybandit]

Why would anyone want to take school work on vacation with them? That sounds like a great way to kill the fun for kids and parents.

[rimmit]

14 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

Why would anyone want to take school work on vacation with them? That sounds like a great way to kill the fun for kids and parents.

Because a day on a cruise ship doing 2-3 hours of work is still a infinitely better than a day on land. 

 

Its just like how those that say, “Even a bad day on a cruise is still better than a day on land.”  Same concept.

[Brucemcdou]

10 minutes ago, rimmit said:

Because a day on a cruise ship doing 2-3 hours of work is still a infinitely better than a day on land. 

 

Its just like how those that say, “Even a bad day on a cruise is still better than a day on land.”  Same concept.

yup - we're planning a TA in Oct/Nov 2021 on Harmony and I'll need to stay connected to the office: emails, video calls, review documents, etc.  Not great, but when I close my laptop I'm sitting on our balcony overlooking the ocean!  I'll take that any day over sitting in my office, or worse sitting at home like the last 12 months...

 

For kids schooling on a cruise the parents are certainly taking on the responsibility to make sure the kids do the work, but parents are effectively doing that today across America and around the world.  

[klass2]

I have taken my younger kids on 4 spring TA's. They were either in preschool or kindergarten so missing school wasn't an issue.  

Each time there were very few kids on the sailings, usually less than 20 passengers under the age of 18 according to adventure ocean staff when I inquired. 

 

My youngest son has done 3 TAs and we putz around Europe for a bit before coming home. He does a little schoolwork (worksheets and reading mostly) in the morning and then heads to adventure ocean when it opens.

 

Traveling has allowed him to grasp the concept of different cultures and languages. On our last TA, I told him we were going to Italy and he promptly asked what language they spoke there and wanted to practice Italian on Duo Lingo. At the age of 6, he'd been to 27 different countries mostly due to cruising. 



 

[Iamcruzin]

4 hours ago, rimmit said:

Because a day on a cruise ship doing 2-3 hours of work is still a infinitely better than a day on land. 

 

Its just like how those that say, “Even a bad day on a cruise is still better than a day on land.”  Same concept.

That's a pretty sad concept since you live on land with the exception of a cruise here and there.

The saying is, A bad day on a cruise is better than a good day at work". 

 

When my kids were in school it was a six hour day with an hour or two of homework when they were in elementary school. My DIL is a school teacher and has been conducting online classes in my basement. I can tell you it's more than 2 or 3 hours of class. 

 

Personally I would just pull the kids out of school for a week if it's that important. It's hard enough for the teacher to get them to pay attention while in a normal class room setting. I can't imagine them concentrating  while the flow rider is just outside the door.  

[Etta1213]

7 minutes ago, Iamcruzin said:

That's a pretty sad concept since you live on land with the exception of a cruise here and there.

The saying is, A bad day on a cruise is better than a good day at work". 

 

When my kids were in school it was a six hour day with an hour or two of homework when they were in elementary school. My DIL is a school teacher and has been conducting online classes in my basement. I can tell you it's more than 2 or 3 hours of class. 

 

Personally I would just pull the kids out of school for a week if it's that important. It's hard enough for the teacher to get them to pay attention while in a normal class room setting. I can't imagine them concentrating  while the flow rider is just outside the door.  

I've seen children seated quietly in the Windjammer, doing schoolwork. My guess -- some exceptional parenting, maybe homeschooling, going on. The parents choose what "normal" is.

[Iamcruzin]

1 minute ago, Etta1213 said:

I've seen children seated quietly in the Windjammer, doing schoolwork. My guess -- some exceptional parenting, maybe homeschooling, going on. The parents choose what "normal" is.

Homeschooling is very structured compared to what is happening now with covid. They are making it up as they go. My DIL tells us that many of the students don't even bother to sign on and don't attend.  I told my wife that if we had children school age during this event I would have enrolled them in the state homeschool program. At least that program was designed to be done at home. 

[Milwaukee Eight]

30 minutes ago, Iamcruzin said:

Homeschooling is very structured compared to what is happening now with covid. They are making it up as they go. My DIL tells us that many of the students don't even bother to sign on and don't attend.  I told my wife that if we had children school age during this event I would have enrolled them in the state homeschool program. At least that program was designed to be done at home. 

Many of these young people will be dependent on the government for most their lives. Hoping some pull themselves up, out, and move forward. 

[rimmit]

1 hour ago, Iamcruzin said:

That's a pretty sad concept since you live on land with the exception of a cruise here and there.

The saying is, A bad day on a cruise is better than a good day at work". 

 

When my kids were in school it was a six hour day with an hour or two of homework when they were in elementary school. My DIL is a school teacher and has been conducting online classes in my basement. I can tell you it's more than 2 or 3 hours of class. 

 

Personally I would just pull the kids out of school for a week if it's that important. It's hard enough for the teacher to get them to pay attention while in a normal class room setting. I can't imagine them concentrating  while the flow rider is just outside the door.  

For most parents I know, virtual schooling takes the same amount of time it took for us when we homeschooled our kids, which is about 2-3 hours based on the assignments for the days.  That being said homeschooling is easier than virtual school,  but for logistical reasons we have stopped homeschooling.
 

My kids have been in school the entire year in person.  Their school day is 7 hours and about 15 min-1 hour of Homework.  They are in kindergarten and 4th grade.

 

We have homeschooled them on a ship and it has gone relatively well.  And due to quarantine requirements due to travel have virtually schooled them on occasion on return from travel.

 

I do not see how it is such a sad concept to say a bad day on a cruise is better than being on land.  On land no one cooks and cleans up my home.  There isn’t entertainment readily available or immediate social interaction steps from my door (pre Covid).  Even if I have a bad day on vacation, I still don’t have to find food or clean.  If vacation wasn’t better than life on land why spend the cash to go on a vacation? 
 

Do I enjoy land?  Absolutely, but even if something goes wrong on a cruise there are still many amenities available that we do not have easy access to on land.

Edited February 19, 2021 by rimmit

[Iamcruzin]

5 hours ago, rimmit said:

For most parents I know, virtual schooling takes the same amount of time it took for us when we homeschooled our kids, which is about 2-3 hours based on the assignments for the days.  That being said homeschooling is easier than virtual school,  but for logistical reasons we have stopped homeschooling.
 

My kids have been in school the entire year in person.  Their school day is 7 hours and about 15 min-1 hour of Homework.  They are in kindergarten and 4th grade.

 

We have homeschooled them on a ship and it has gone relatively well.  And due to quarantine requirements due to travel have virtually schooled them on occasion on return from travel.

 

I do not see how it is such a sad concept to say a bad day on a cruise is better than being on land.  On land no one cooks and cleans up my home.  There isn’t entertainment readily available or immediate social interaction steps from my door (pre Covid).  Even if I have a bad day on vacation, I still don’t have to find food or clean.  If vacation wasn’t better than life on land why spend the cash to go on a vacation? 
 

Do I enjoy land?  Absolutely, but even if something goes wrong on a cruise there are still many amenities available that we do not have easy access to on land.

We don't cook or clean on land vacations. I would rather be home on land than on a ship in quarantine.  

[lizzius]

3 hours ago, Iamcruzin said:

We don't cook or clean on land vacations. I would rather be home on land than on a ship in quarantine.  

BREAKING: some people like to vacation differently.

 

For us, a hotel never has enough room for the kids and we spend most of our time in a car venturing out to eat, find entertainment, or places to play... So if on land, we normally choose a vacation rental, which almost always means we'll be picking up some cooking and cleaning. A cruise ship has all of that right outside of your door, not to mention you get to see different places on top of that (and there may even be a nursery for the occasional happy hour or meal alone if your kid is a good fit for what's being offered).

Edited February 19, 2021 by lizzius

[rimmit]

3 hours ago, Iamcruzin said:

We don't cook or clean on land vacations. I would rather be home on land than on a ship in quarantine.  

From your previous statements there was no indication you were referring to land vacations, and never in my comments was there ever mention of quarantine.  The comments were strictly related to living life on land vs a day (good or bad) on a cruise ship.

 

I cannot imagine many people who would choose ship quarantine over a regular day at home on land.

 

For many that vacation on land, especially families with school age children, that often means renting a beach condo, a cabin in the woods, or an Airbnb.  For a family, that often entails some degree of cleaning and cooking.

[OZ.]

I hardly ever see very many kids on the TAs.

[rimmit]

36 minutes ago, Heymarco said:

Does the kids club still operate like normal with so few kids onboard? We have our first TA planned this fall if it will happen. Excited to see less kids onboard but a bit sad that it will be so few for our son. 

Yes it operates the exact same.  But keep in mind different ships may have different hours for the nursery, but the kids club hours are standardized on all ships.  There can be some variability regarding adventure time dining so that may not be as consistent we have found, but the standard hours of 9-12, 2-5, 7-10 (with late night party zone) for the kids club are standardized regardless of itinerary.

[Bobal]

9 hours ago, Heymarco said:

Does the kids club still operate like normal with so few kids onboard? We have our first TA planned this fall if it will happen. Excited to see less kids onboard but a bit sad that it will be so few for our son. 

 

It does still operate but they may combine age groups due to low numbers

 

There are so few kids that the staff lavish attention on them and they sometimes have one to one contact 😀

[gfkcruiser]

Thanks for the info.  Was just curious if TA on Royal differ from Celebrity.  

 

One thing surprised me a few years ago on our TA was seeing a small dog walking through the lobby - on a leash - with a passenger.

[kwokpot]

21 minutes ago, gfkcruiser said:

Thanks for the info.  Was just curious if TA on Royal differ from Celebrity.  

 

One thing surprised me a few years ago on our TA was seeing a small dog walking through the lobby - on a leash - with a passenger.

Ha! We must have been on the same TA. I remember that too!!!

[Ex-Airbalancer]

4 hours ago, gfkcruiser said:

Thanks for the info.  Was just curious if TA on Royal differ from Celebrity.  

 

One thing surprised me a few years ago on our TA was seeing a small dog walking through the lobby - on a leash - with a passenger.

Was it a black dog? 

one lady did have a hearing service dog with her on a TA