Girl Scout trip

[DukeASUGirl]

I lead my daughter's GS troop. The girls are in 8th grade, and most of them have been in Girl Scouts since kindergarten. Maybe 2 or 3 of them will continue on in high school, but this is the last year for most of them.

 

We will be spending the majority of the troop's bank account on one last hurrah, and have decided it will be a cruise! Planning on Carnival Firenze 5-night to Cabo and Ensenada. They had wanted to do a Bahamas cruise, but that was going to add about $400/person in airfare, so that's a lot of cookies they'd need to sell this year. But roadtripping to LA we can make it work.

 

So proud of these girls for their hard work and budgeting!

[sparks1093]

Good for them!

[klfrodo]

Good opportunity to teach them the power of entrepreneurship.

Since cruises out of LA tend to have a lot of weed consumption on board. Bring the cookies. Should be able to generate enough revenue to cover all expenses.

 

The above is said slightly in jest. I think this kind of thing is a great reward for their hard work. 

[jimbo5544]

Good for all of you, enjoy.  How amny cabins are there?

[Essiesmom]

If you can swing the cost, I recommend a deluxe OV cabin, esp. with teen girls and if you do four to the cabin.  It has two bathrooms, one with toilet, shower, sink, and the other tub/shower and sink.  EM

[kdr69]

Dont forget to line up all the documentation you will need before hand if the Girls arent travelling with parents. Notarized permissions can take time to gather.

[DukeASUGirl]

Dumb question, but what does "Dining Preference: WAITLIST" mean? They never asked my preference, and if we have cabins, how can we be waitlisted for dining? I can see how we might be waitlisted for one seating or the other, but wouldn't we still be assigned to a seating?

[hurricane0226]

10 hours ago, klfrodo said:

Good opportunity to teach them the power of entrepreneurship.

Since cruises out of LA tend to have a lot of weed consumption on board. Bring the cookies. Should be able to generate enough revenue to cover all expenses.

 

The above is said slightly in jest. I think this kind of thing is a great reward for their hard work. 

People do get the munchies.

[cyntil8ing]

My troop, that I got all the way through high school, also seriously planned for a cruise, but service unit hoops we had to jump through, and eventually the pandemic quashed our plans. We ended up sending checks to the girls after graduation. Best of luck to you in your planning!

[tree.critter]

Waitlist means your dining choice is full and will be given either your time or late dining option. You will definitely get an assigned choice. Also depending on how many girls you have if you go straight to the dining room after boarding, explain your group and if possible they will switch your dining time to what you’d prefer.

[DukeASUGirl]

1 hour ago, tree.critter said:

Waitlist means your dining choice is full and will be given either your time or late dining option. You will definitely get an assigned choice. Also depending on how many girls you have if you go straight to the dining room after boarding, explain your group and if possible they will switch your dining time to what you’d prefer.

We were never even asked about a dining choice though!

[tree.critter]

43 minutes ago, DukeASUGirl said:

We were never even asked about a dining choice though!

This is something that can be done on the manage my cruise page. Did you use a PVP or TA to book? Either of them should be able to get your first choice in on your bookings.

How many scouts and rooms did you book?

 

[Buckeye_Siggy]

this reminded me of a thread about another troop cruise from a few years ago.

this may have some good info for you:

 

 

[carohs]

On 11/30/2023 at 8:23 AM, klfrodo said:

Good opportunity to teach them the power of entrepreneurship.

Since cruises out of LA tend to have a lot of weed consumption on board. Bring the cookies. Should be able to generate enough revenue to cover all expenses.

 

The above is said slightly in jest. I think this kind of thing is a great reward for their hard work. 

Idk the policy of on board soliciting but I doubt it's favorable.

 

Otoh, putting it out there on the roll calls for their sailing. Maybe a prepurchase link? I can totally see people buying in on some cookies 😄

[pe4all]

I gather there will be an adult in each of the girl's cabins, as they couldn't book otherwise.  Also, please make sure you lay ground rules out, such as never go alone anywhere on the ship, do not go into a stranger's cabin, do not sit on railings, leave sodas open and unwatched, etc.  Have a way to communicate on board, even if it is just with post-its on the doors.  (the CCL chat feature for $5 may be good - if it works.  It is hit or miss.).  Take nothing for granted.  Maybe have set times they have to "check in" with an adult.  Girls of that age (and I speak from experience, having lived through 2 who are now 32 and 35 and have cruised since 4/7 years of age and have been on over 30 cruises with us) may tend to push boundaries, not knowing any better.

[cynt]

That sounds great. Having planned many group cruises, I would encourage families to cruise with their daughters. It's a lot of responsibility cruising with kids.

 

You didn't mention how many girls are cruising? The more chaperones the better. 

 

I would make everyone get passports and travel insurance. You don't need them until you need them. 

 

Set ground rules and consequences prior to boarding ship.

 

Happy planning. What an awesome reward! YOU ROCK!

[mz-s]

yeah pretty sure you'll get kicked off the ship if you try to sell the cookies onboard. Only Carnival gets to sell things onboard. Read your cruise contract.

[jimbo5544]

12 hours ago, pe4all said:

I gather there will be an adult in each of the girl's cabins, as they couldn't book otherwise.  

Are you sure?

[PayneAS]

3 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

Are you sure?

If it is the same person that has been posting for (about a month?) about this trip, then all but one girl's parents have decided to join their child on the sailing. So yes, there should be enough chaperones. Whether or not they'll stay in the same cabin, well they could have two adults in one room and the children in a room next to/nearby. Pretty sure it is in the rules somewhere that they have to be berthed near each other although I don't currently have the time to pore through the website to find where it is mentioned.

[jimbo5544]

44 minutes ago, PayneAS said:

If it is the same person that has been posting for (about a month?) about this trip, then all but one girl's parents have decided to join their child on the sailing. So yes, there should be enough chaperones. Whether or not they'll stay in the same cabin, well they could have two adults in one room and the children in a room next to/nearby. Pretty sure it is in the rules somewhere that they have to be berthed near each other although I don't currently have the time to pore through the website to find where it is mentioned.

My point was that they do not have to b ein the same room.  I certainly understand the motivation to have it be that way,

[pe4all]

6 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

My point was that they do not have to b ein the same room.  I certainly understand the motivation to have it be that way,

Very true.  I should have made that clear in my post.  Yes, there must be an adult to book the cabin, but once onboard they can play switchies to their heart's desire.

[KaiBlue]

Good for you and your girls!  You will have such a wonderful time!  I led multiple troops through the years and took two of them to Walt Disney World when they reached their senior year.  Takes a lot of planning but you will have a blast!

[CheckersMidwest]

This will be fun ! I took my daughter's girl scout troop to Disney once. They loved it. I had each girl list their top 3 things they wanted to do & I made sure we hit all of them. That meant we had to miss a few things we walked by but the girls understood we had a mission or not everyone would get to see/do what they most wanted.

I am sure you've been together a long time and already know 'who' needs chaperoned the most 😄 ! (Referring to an above post stating how kids can be....this is a Girl Scout leader. She's already been through it all too!)  I did have moms come along - they were the challenge. They didn't pay attention when we talked about the itinerary so we could see those most wanted things....always wanted to know why/when we were doing something.....they were on their phones the whole time....stopped at most smoke spots (we kept walking by the way). The girls were great!