Just back from the Pearl

[MrsLeo]

Linda absolutely! I'm not knocking the value of books, my daughter and son are both avid readers. But it is terrific that we can offer them real world experiences too.

I think the most memorable adventure we had with the kid's was Guatemala. I had booked a tour with a fellow who owned a hotel in Livingston. He took us for a boat tour down the Rio Dulce and a lunch at his hotel (local cuisine). This country is very poor, but filled with hard working, good hearted people. The Rio Dulce is a very deep beautiful river that is surrounded on both sides by towering limestone cliffs and rich rainforest vegatation, full of wild life. I thought they would be awestruck by the beauty of their surroundings, but no, they were very concerned about the children they saw that morning. These small children about the same ages as my two kids (probably 4 and 6) were paddling down the river in a home made dugout canoe, that still resembled more of a tree than a canoe. These kids were out working their family's fishing traps and nets. My kids asked me who will save them if they fell in the water? because their parents were not around. They just could not understand that these kids were out in that deep water alone and having to work at their young age. We visited a place that was like a local marketplace where the local people could market their homeade wares and support themselves. We stopped at a dock and got out of the boat, we followed a dirt path up into the lush forest to a hut, where we could buy craft items, cardamom and local coffee beans. Also docked near us was a houseboat, which seemed very out of place...almost decadent in such humble surroundings. I looked closer and realized it was a portable dental clinic sponsored by the Rotary Club to offer free dental care to those in need. Which was educational for me, because when I was young I used to think my bosses Rotary meetings were just an excuse to take a long lunch hour lol!

This trip taught my kids so many valuable lessons. We're going back in March and very much looking forward to it. We'll also be going back the Dominican Rep. too. D/H and I honeymooned there, strangely enough, the same area our cruise will be taking us, I know we will get so much out of it.

[MrsLeo]

MS, yes there was ballroom dancing in the Spinnaker Lounge, I believe it was the last night on the 5 day. There were some terrific dancers and the also had dance hosts for those who were travelling single or who have reluctant partners. With regard to the food, I really had very few issues at all, but I never had the buffet for dinner and only ate dinner in the dining room one night. I heard great things about La Cuccina, which is free of charge but difficult to get into, so keep trying as early as possible to get in. I had no complaints with any of the speciallity restaurants. I had no problems with slow service, except for lunch one day in Blue Lagoon. Although I have read reviews from several people who reported excrutiatingly slow service. I also never had the opportunity to eat at Las Ramblas, which we will have to try next time.

[wwb]

MrsLeo,
We also used the hotel-owning guy for our tour in Guatemala. Did he take you to the school on the hill? We took lots of school supplies in our backpacks which the kids were thrilled with. To answer some of the other replies...Books are great, but experience can't be beat.
wwb

[MrsLeo]

Javier Putal from Hotel Casa Rosada? He showed us the school from a distance, but the day we were there or perhaps it was the time of day, I don't think the school was in session at that time, which is probably why we saw quite a few kids on the river.

[sazzle99]

[quote name='MrsLeo']I don't think any of your posts merit an answer. But here ya go, since it is obvious you want to keep the judgmental tone of your orignal post going. The kid's crew are authorized to seek medical care for my child in my absence. We have trip insurance which covers medical treatment and or evacuation. I have left 10 mile radius walkie talkies with the kid's crew in my absence in the past. With this kid's crew, it was nearly impossible to go to the thermal spa, let alone leave the ship for more than an hour or two. The kid's club is not a baby sitting service, it is a place which enriching activities where kid's socialize and learn. They do science projects, arts and crafts. They have a whole ecology segment on protecting the oceans. You seem to have some preconceived notion that people are just dumping their kid's and forgetting they are parents while they cruise along. I also can tell you that the best parents need to come together once in a while as a couple and as individuals, and children need to develop a sense of independence and learn how to interact as autonomous individuals. To imply that parents who allow their children to attend the kid's club's are selfish or negligent is just incorrect. Since I spend each day with my kids, homeschooling them, I feel this is very important. They need to learn to interact with more people than just me.
Regarding emergencies: Every time I walk out my front door, there is a chance that disaster may strike. Doing anything, innocuous as it may seem, the unexpected can happen. I can say without a doubt that ship is a safer place for my child than some of the ports that the cruise ships go to. They have trained staff to deal with emergencies, they know who to contact, if something should happen to me, they can provide medical care, or evacuate to a place where advance care is available. Your posts leave me with the distinct impression that you have absolutely no clue about what you are talking about.[/quote]

I don't have kids but just wanted to say hear hear

[Jana]

When I read the original remarks, I thought it was a joke, a tongue-in-cheek notation. "C'mon," I thought to myself, "...that poster's pretty mellow, she couldn't have been serious." When I read the second comment, I was quite astounded to see that it was serious after all.

What I find amazing though is that people feel the need to validate these self-righteous musings. Completely ignoring them rather than defensively responding would make a bigger statement, I think. That's just my opinion, of course, and here I am responding too :rolleyes:

[quote]I for one love my kids dearly, but find I am a better parent to them when I have a few minutes to myself on a regular basis -- and that occasionally includes a hot stones massage or dancing with my husband. [/quote]

Ain't that the truth! And it may explain why [I]someone[/I] is so cranky!

Jana

[msescada]

thanks mrsleo for the info on the dancing and the restaurants. As I said, we've been on enough cruises that we don't 'go' for the food, but merely for sustenance and to continue our tradition of family dinner every night possible.

Jana,

You caught my drift. LOL, thank you.

[msescada]

How fascinating an experience that was for you. I read about that tour guide in a magazine and it really struck home: our younger son IS from Guatemala. Our older son came with us to bring the younger one home and saw enough in Guatemala City (and on the rest of our trips) to understand so much more about the differences and similarities of people all over the world. We so enjoyed the people we met there, so many of whom were kind and helpful and beautiful. We hope to be able to go back when the little one is older to show him what a stunningly beautiful country and proud culture he comes from....now if only the politicians and gang leaders would move OUT.

thanks again for the info.

[Jana]

[quote name='msescada'].

Jana,

You caught my drift. LOL, thank you.[/quote]

I sure did, and you're welcome!!

Jana

[LindaRH]

[quote name='MrsLeo']

I think the most memorable adventure we had with the kid's was Guatemala. I had booked a tour with a fellow who owned a hotel in Livingston. He took us for a boat tour down the Rio Dulce and a lunch at his hotel (local cuisine). This country is very poor, but filled with hard working, good hearted people. The Rio Dulce is a very deep beautiful river that is surrounded on both sides by towering limestone cliffs and rich rainforest vegatation, full of wild life. I thought they would be awestruck by the beauty of their surroundings, but no, they were very concerned about the children they saw that morning. These small children about the same ages as my two kids (probably 4 and 6) were paddling down the river in a home made dugout canoe, that still resembled more of a tree than a canoe. These kids were out working their family's fishing traps and nets. My kids asked me who will save them if they fell in the water? because their parents were not around. They just could not understand that these kids were out in that deep water alone and having to work at their young age. We visited a place that was like a local marketplace where the local people could market their homeade wares and support themselves. We stopped at a dock and got out of the boat, we followed a dirt path up into the lush forest to a hut, where we could buy craft items, cardamom and local coffee beans. Also docked near us was a houseboat, which seemed very out of place...almost decadent in such humble surroundings. I looked closer and realized it was a portable dental clinic sponsored by the Rotary Club to offer free dental care to those in need. Which was educational for me, because when I was young I used to think my bosses Rotary meetings were just an excuse to take a long lunch hour lol!

[/quote]

Mrsleo...I very much enjoyed your story about your trip to Guatamala (one of my favorite places to visit) with your kids. It touched my heart. I had the strong feeling to grab my ungrateful 17 year old and send him down to Guatamala to stay for a year.... :D Thanks!

[MrsLeo]

Linda you're really cool! I hope we get to cruise together some day!

[Jana]

[quote name='MrsLeo']Linda you're really cool! I hope we get to cruise together some day![/quote]


<<sniff>> Can I come too? My daughter's also adopted, and I've been to Guatemala...

Jana

[MrsLeo]

You betcha Jana, we'll have a ball!

[LindaRH]

[quote name='MrsLeo']Linda you're really cool! I hope we get to cruise together some day![/quote]

I think you are to! Let's plan it...I'm going on a cruise in January. The Pearl leaving Jan 25th.

[MrsLeo]

Well as much as I'd love to, I already have two booked for 2008. We're doing the 14 day Spirit repo New Orleans to NYC in March and remember my story about the problems I encountered trying to book the Transatlantic on the Jade and the guy who refused to make the booking for me until I asked for his supervisor? Well, he never followed through with ensuring that my credit from the cruise rewards got applied to the reservation and then they cancelled it. Well I was more than a bit frustrated and annoyed since this guy reeks of arrogance and was extremely unprofessional and after making a bit of a stink at an executive level, he emails me that even though he and I "got off to a bit of a rough start" he was willing to reinstate the reservation and take care of it, since he didn't follow up on it the first time. I am sorry but isn't this his job? He made it sound like he was doing me a favor. There was no way I was going to deal with that schmuck again, so I went to a different cruiseline and looked and 18 day Med/Transatlantic cruise for the same time period. This cruise is 7 days longer and saved me about $1000 over what NCL was charging. It turns out d/h's parents are going to let us use their timeshare week at a Tuscan villa near Pisa for a fun precruise stay. So I think it is going to be great fun.

Now if we can't get together this year, maybe we'll be able to do something at another time. That would be a hoot!

[LindaRH]

[quote name='MrsLeo']
Now if we can't get together this year, maybe we'll be able to do something at another time. That would be a hoot![/quote]

That would be fun! We do cruise about twice a year. Been on many. The one in January was a throw in. I liked the itininary. One of our favorite ports are in the southern caribbean and that's where the Pearl goes.

My DH and I are thinking about an Amazon River or South American cruise or both. As you know I have a 17 year old that will be graduating from school next year. After that we will be booking one of those cruises. They are usually longer than the typical 7 or 9 day cruises. Our longest cruise was 16 days going through the panama canal. We did that on the Zaandam (HAL). I would do that again in a heartbeat! :) My husband does not like the long cruises so I might be looking for a cruisemate to cruise the longer ones with. Keep that in mind for the future. You can email me a [EMAIL="renlee311@yahoo.com"]renlee311@yahoo.com[/EMAIL] . You to Jana! :)

Enjoy!
Linda