Worried about no other kids on May 22 cruise

[VACATION IS MY LIFE]

I am planning on taking my family (wife and 2 sons, 17 and 9) on a Liberty cruise on May 22, 2010. My 17 year olds last day of school is on May 21 and this cruise on this week is very cheap. :) My 9 year old doesn't get out of school unitl June 4, but he's only in 3rd grade so I don't think he will miss anything if we take him out for a week.

 

But I am a little worried that my 9 year old will be the only child in his age group in the Camp Carnival program because schools aren't really out for the summer just yet. He is very outgoing and frendly and I know he would have a great time meet new kids.

 

Will there be many other children on this sailing? thoughts?

 

And do they close down any of the kids stuff if there is not a lot of kids on board?

 

Thanks

[Wanna_Cruize]

I've never been on a Carnival cruise that doesn't have kids onboard, it's just that during the summer months, there may be twice as many. Also, there are a lot of kids that are home-schooled these days, so I don't think you would have anything to worry about.

[yogi2929]

We once went on a cruise that had 12 kids total. Our 2 DDs still say that it was one of their best cruises to date.

 

(Maybe because there less than 200 pax and the kids spent 3 days in the 'wave pool' on the Lido.)

[VACATION IS MY LIFE]

I'm sure there will be other kids for my 9 year old to play with.

 

Maybe I'm just being to paranoid.

 

I do want to spend a good family time together. But if my 17 year old son and 9 year old son spend too much time together they start to annoy each other just for fun.

 

Reading all this stuff on this site makes me think of every little detail.

[hdavidson]

Not sure where you are from but I will pose this question for you. Have you spoke to your son's teacher? I am a teacher and by that late in the school year we usually have finished all of our state testing however, those who did not do well on it are given "boot camp" time and then retested during the last two weeks of school. Although I see the importance of family vacations, saving money, etc. don't be too sure that your son won't miss anything important just because it is the last few weeks of school! I would be sure that you have spoken to the teacher :-)

Would you have guessed I'm a teacher? Meeting state standards also deals with the amount of time that children have missed throughout the school year.

[Pirate's Cutie]

Join your Rollcall and go to their Meet & Greet. Also make sure your kids go to the first night's Camp Carnival events. There are always other kids on board. There's nothing much you could miss in the third grade that would keep you out of Harvard.

[shipty2]

Go to the roll call for your cruise and you may find other with kids on your cruise.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1066398

[czimm]

We went on a cruise May 18th a few years ago, and there were TONS of children. Many Southern schools are on their Summer break already in May. I'm sure your 9 year old will find many kids to play with.

 

Have a great cruise!

[steveaaaaa]

I am planning on taking my family (wife and 2 sons, 17 and 9) on a Liberty cruise on May 22, 2010. My 17 year olds last day of school is on May 21 and this cruise on this week is very cheap. :) My 9 year old doesn't get out of school unitl June 4, but he's only in 3rd grade so I don't think he will miss anything if we take him out for a week.

 

But I am a little worried that my 9 year old will be the only child in his age group in the Camp Carnival program because schools aren't really out for the summer just yet. He is very outgoing and frendly and I know he would have a great time meet new kids.

 

Will there be many other children on this sailing? thoughts?

 

And do they close down any of the kids stuff if there is not a lot of kids on board?

 

Thanks

It will be close.....Our school system,Brevard county Florida gets out on May 21st for all grades.The make up days are the 24th and 25th so as long as nothing happens now till the end you might be OK. Here,you do not miss the last days of school or you could fail.That is why I am cruising the next week to be safe.

 

Steve

[vacruizer]

We sailed from Baltimore on the 17th of May. There were still at least a handful of kids that age since so many are homeschooled or on alternative year-round shedules with various breaks now. Not tons of kids but there were a few.

 

What we didn't think about sailing that time of year is college graduation cruises. Tons and tons of kids in the 22-25 year old age range. They didn't cause any problems on our sailing (although we did get a few laughs out of them) but I would imagine it could get a little wild if you got the wrong group together.

[MCC retired]

By May 22nd many Florida ,and other southern state schools, are already dismissed . There should plenty of 9 year olds onboard.

[steveaaaaa]

By May 22nd many Florida ,and other southern state schools, are already dismissed . There should plenty of 9 year olds onboard.

 

What many other Florida counties are out by the 22nd?:confused:

 

We here in Brevard county needed special permission to have this calander year.I was aware of only 1 other county.

 

Steve

[Nicole721]

We usually choose that week because there's typically less children onboard.

 

Usually, we'll see an average amount of teenagers and a few toddlers, but we don't usually see many school-aged kids under 13.

[gazingm42]

Regarding taking DS out the last week of school. In our county the grades are due to the district 2.5 weeks before the end of school. Since we out by the end

of may this was never a issue when our kids were in public schools.

 

But since our kids are not we sail often this time of the year. You find that

kids are always on ships. Many schools in the south are out already

like your 17 year old by then.

[MiMiof2]

By May 22nd many Florida ,and other southern state schools, are already dismissed . There should plenty of 9 year olds onboard.

 

:confused: Polk Co [Florida] last day is Wed, June 9

[frayedend]

I'm taking my 9 and 6 year old out of school the week of January 16th. I assume there will still be plenty of kids. We are going on the Dream. I guess the less kids the better for water slides and stuff and since I'm hearing about a lot of lines. But I can't imagine there being so few they have no one to meet and hang out with. (yeah they just informed me that they don't do "play dates" any more, the "hang out" LOL)

[steveaaaaa]

Regarding taking DS out the last week of school. In our county the grades are due to the district 2.5 weeks before the end of school. Since we out by the end

of may this was never a issue when our kids were in public schools.

 

But since our kids are not we sail often this time of the year. You find that

kids are always on ships. Many schools in the south are out already

like your 17 year old by then.

 

What are the many schools? And where are you getting this info?:confused::confused: or are you just making it up?:rolleyes:

 

There are very few state legislatures that have changed their laws to even allow this.Some are thinking about it in order to meet the federal program's goals of providing schools flexibility to boost time spent on instruction,but almost no state has acted yet.Several states have enacted new laws to start the week before labor day, but that gets them out in early June.

 

Steve

[frayedend]

What are the many schools? And where are you getting this info?:confused::confused: or are you just making it up?:rolleyes:

 

There are very few state legislatures that have changed their laws to even allow this.Some are thinking about it in order to meet the federal program's goals of providing schools flexibility to boost time spent on instruction,but almost no state has acted yet.Several states have enacted new laws to start the week before labor day, but that gets them out in early June.

 

Steve

 

 

Actually in Georgia many schools start in early August and end on May 21st. A few in Florida end in late May, a few days after the cruise starts. I'm sure many states are similar.

 

 

http://www.doe.k12.ga.us/DMGetDocument.aspx/2009_2010%20GA%20SCH%20CALENDAR%20REV01%20FINAL.xls?p=6CC6799F8C1371F60F62DD12BD732D29B9E2EAE54C3D43A7150A7B315B0A0818&Type=D

[Vanessa L]

Don't worry, OP. My son (12) and I cruised 11/30 on the Fantasy. As I was sitting in the big room waiting to board I saw exactly 1 kid!! I was thinking, "Oh no! He won't have anyone to play with!!" We went to Camp Carnival the first night (he was in Circle C 12-14s) and within an hour had met 3 other boys, all his age, that he hung around with the rest of the week. The CD announced that there were "only" 200 kids on board that cruise (vs. 900 the cruise before--Thanksgiving break). I agree with the person who said that you'll find kids given the number who are homeschooled now. My son is homeschooled so we can cruise anytime we want ;)

 

Your child will be fine and have the time of his life! My son told me (this was his first cruise) that, even if he had not found any pals, this would have been the best week of his life :D The mom and son time together (we ate supper together each night, did shows together, watched the hairy chest contest together and both laughed hysterically, etc.) was priceless. I know he'll remember this trip for the rest of his life. And it's never too early to create NEW cruise addicts, IMHO. LOL! For what it's worth, eating together in the main dining room was awesome for my son, who is willing to try anything once! He discovered that he is not too fond of lobster but loves snails! LOL! Who knew??!!

[jsgrandma]

Join your Rollcall and go to their Meet & Greet. Also make sure your kids go to the first night's Camp Carnival events. There are always other kids on board. There's nothing much you could miss in the third grade that would keep you out of Harvard.

 

Your sig. got my morning off with a good laugh:)

[cls624]

We took a Cruise in May a few years ago, and there weren't a whole lot of teens on it.

Our daughter was in her mid teens. She did bring a friend (thank god), but they had a hard time finding guys, or girls their age.

They did manage to find a few.

Not as many as in June when school is out!

 

Good luck! You never know.:rolleyes:

[steveaaaaa]

Actually in Georgia many schools start in early August and end on May 21st. A few in Florida end in late May, a few days after the cruise starts. I'm sure many states are similar.

 

 

http://www.doe.k12.ga.us/DMGetDocument.aspx/2009_2010%20GA%20SCH%20CALENDAR%20REV01%20FINAL.xls?p=6CC6799F8C1371F60F62DD12BD732D29B9E2EAE54C3D43A7150A7B315B0A0818&Type=D

 

Thanks for the link. I guess I should have considered GA as South.:o I was refering to FL.My bad.

 

Steve

[Crusin6]

We took a Cruise in May a few years ago, and there weren't a whole lot of teens on it.

Our daughter was in her mid teens. She did bring a friend (thank god), but they had a hard time finding guys, or girls their age.

They did manage to find a few.

Not as many as in June when school is out!

 

Good luck! You never know.:rolleyes:

Not finding "new best friends" should never really be an issue when a family is cruising together. Just use the time to make family memories.:)

[Crusin6]

Join your Rollcall and go to their Meet & Greet. Also make sure your kids go to the first night's Camp Carnival events. There are always other kids on board. There's nothing much you could miss in the third grade that would keep you out of Harvard.

Very well said!!! Very funny!!!

 

But believe it or not....my 19 yo used an experience she had in 3rd grade to write her Ivy League application essay.....I still truly believe that it had a lot to do with her getting accepted.....everything else helped of course....but you never know what an admission counselor will find appealing!:) The kid could write about the cruise!!!

 

FWIW, I have always stated on these boards that although we never have taken our kids out...because they never wanted to miss school....that I as their mom do wish that maybe we had taken a few school year trips when they were younger because with college, high, middle school and elementary school ages kids at this time we can just forget about it!!!!

[frayedend]

Thanks for the link. I guess I should have considered GA as South.:o I was refering to FL.My bad.

 

Steve

 

LOL I guess being from Massachusetts I consider everything below North Carolina to be South. :)