Bahama Cruise with Girl Scout Troop
Feb 9th, 2011, 09:59 AM
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Bahama Cruise with Girl Scout Troop
I am traveling this June with a group of 8th grade/Freshman Girl Scouts on a cruise to the Bahamas and Key West. We have saved for 3 years to be able to go and would like some suggestions on economical ideas while disembarked. Also, any suggestions on what to pack, bring, see, etc. would be great to communicate to the girls before we travel. Thanks in advance.
Feb 9th, 2011, 12:56 PM
#2
How fun!
My favorite tip, from a few years back when my girls were pre-teens:
Take walkie talkies. They work really well on ships, as there are so many activities that we often separated. I'd choose the Motorola over any other brands. If they are all the same brand it makes it very easy to choose a single frequency or to change it. Costco sells multi-paks, and many have a 5 mile range now (which means about 2 miles in reality)
My favorite tip, from a few years back when my girls were pre-teens:
Take walkie talkies. They work really well on ships, as there are so many activities that we often separated. I'd choose the Motorola over any other brands. If they are all the same brand it makes it very easy to choose a single frequency or to change it. Costco sells multi-paks, and many have a 5 mile range now (which means about 2 miles in reality)
Feb 10th, 2011, 02:07 PM
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A very silly question ... I would assume that it is a 7 day cruise with RCL, right? If you are planning this cruise on a shorter 3, 4 or 5 day cruise, you will definitely encounter the "party" crowd with a fair amount of drinking and other associated behaviors. Not necessary soemthing you want exposed to a bunch of 14 year old girls.
The other question I would pose for you is do you have enough chaperones for the group? Most cruise lines typically will require at least one person (minimum age requirement at 25 years old) to be "in charge" in each cabin. The capacity of each cabin is 4, that means you will need a 1 to 3 chaperone ratio.
Along with the cheperone question, who would be financially ressponsible for all the potential charges to the cabin for purchases made that is not part of the curise price, such as soft drinks etc. Each passeneger would be given a "cruise card" and it works as an ID and credit card. You can place limits on the cards, but someone still has to be responsible for what is charged, and have a credit card (or cash deposit) on file.
Last but not least, travel document requirements. How many of the young teenagers would have their own personal passports? Also, you will need signed consent forms from both parents for each child, and they may asked that the consent letters be notarised because of travel out of the country. (This is for fear of child abduction).
Now, back to your original question, what is an economical ways to spend time while on shore? My suggestion is a cultural walking tour. Have each girl do some research on the port that you will be stopping and have them make a list of interesting places to visit. Have them prepare maps and plan a walking tour (or public transit) from the pier to the various points of interests and then back to the pier again, with information such as local customs etc. It would be both fun and educational.
You can also organise beach activities for an afternoon at the beach. You can even bring towels from the ship. Since food and drinks are free at the ship, you may want to go for a walking tour, back to the ship for lunch, and then off again to the beach.
I hope this helps and I did not pour cold water on you ...
The other question I would pose for you is do you have enough chaperones for the group? Most cruise lines typically will require at least one person (minimum age requirement at 25 years old) to be "in charge" in each cabin. The capacity of each cabin is 4, that means you will need a 1 to 3 chaperone ratio.
Along with the cheperone question, who would be financially ressponsible for all the potential charges to the cabin for purchases made that is not part of the curise price, such as soft drinks etc. Each passeneger would be given a "cruise card" and it works as an ID and credit card. You can place limits on the cards, but someone still has to be responsible for what is charged, and have a credit card (or cash deposit) on file.
Last but not least, travel document requirements. How many of the young teenagers would have their own personal passports? Also, you will need signed consent forms from both parents for each child, and they may asked that the consent letters be notarised because of travel out of the country. (This is for fear of child abduction).
Now, back to your original question, what is an economical ways to spend time while on shore? My suggestion is a cultural walking tour. Have each girl do some research on the port that you will be stopping and have them make a list of interesting places to visit. Have them prepare maps and plan a walking tour (or public transit) from the pier to the various points of interests and then back to the pier again, with information such as local customs etc. It would be both fun and educational.
You can also organise beach activities for an afternoon at the beach. You can even bring towels from the ship. Since food and drinks are free at the ship, you may want to go for a walking tour, back to the ship for lunch, and then off again to the beach.
I hope this helps and I did not pour cold water on you ...
Feb 11th, 2011, 02:37 PM
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Eschew brings up some very practical pointers - although I have not found the "party crowd" to be as intrusive as others when we did short cruises with our kids when they were younger. During the day people just sit by the pool and drink without being rowdy. At night, the rowdiness is more confined to bars, dance area, etc - places I assume 8th graders will not be hanging out at.
The cruiselines are serious about the adults-in-the-cabin thing. We ran into a real mess when cruising in 3 cabins with 2 sets of adults and 4 college-age kids (all related to the adults). While the cruiseline does not care who sleeps where, they do care who gets a key to what - and since the key/cruisecard is linked to a credit card and is also marked as whether one is drinking age or not - it is not as simple as just switching cruisecards/keys. We had been told ahead of time that it could be worked out when we boarded - it could not, and took us 24 hours of dealing with various ship personnel to get it worked out.
As far as what to do in port - don't waste money on "beach excursions" sold by cruiseline if they just want to sit on the beach. At each port there are lots of taxis and often shuttle mini-buses that will take you to a beach for far less money. The Straw Market will be fun for them.
Make sure they get adequate lectures about pickpockets, street safety. At that age I would give them a specific packing list - like they do for summer camp - or you will end up with girls who way over or under pack. Pay attention to required dinner clothing - so you can say something like "bring one nice dress like you would wear to a wedding" if that is what cruiseline suggests. I would also set a real limit on weight/size of suitcase - some of them will bring everything they own. Remind them that if they have seen TV shows or movies about cruises with people dressed like movie stars that this is not the reality they will encounter.
Decide if anyone will be doing any water sports - jetskis, parasailing - and make sure you have parental permission. Not even sure if they can sign up for these without an on-site parent signing some wort of permission or waiver.
In Nassau take them for a nice walk about 6 blocks away from the water thru town - away from tourist areas. There is some incredible authentic buildings and a really old church or 2 that are interesting and free to tour.
I also like the idea of breaking them into pre-trip groups and making them do a bit of research - and you can also include practical stuff. Like one group can report back on what regulations are for flying (like the take off your shoes and liquids thing).
Make sure they understand technology limitations of being on cruise - they are likely all glued to cell phones, Facebook, etc at home - and this will either be impossible or really expensive while on the trip.
The cruiselines are serious about the adults-in-the-cabin thing. We ran into a real mess when cruising in 3 cabins with 2 sets of adults and 4 college-age kids (all related to the adults). While the cruiseline does not care who sleeps where, they do care who gets a key to what - and since the key/cruisecard is linked to a credit card and is also marked as whether one is drinking age or not - it is not as simple as just switching cruisecards/keys. We had been told ahead of time that it could be worked out when we boarded - it could not, and took us 24 hours of dealing with various ship personnel to get it worked out.
As far as what to do in port - don't waste money on "beach excursions" sold by cruiseline if they just want to sit on the beach. At each port there are lots of taxis and often shuttle mini-buses that will take you to a beach for far less money. The Straw Market will be fun for them.
Make sure they get adequate lectures about pickpockets, street safety. At that age I would give them a specific packing list - like they do for summer camp - or you will end up with girls who way over or under pack. Pay attention to required dinner clothing - so you can say something like "bring one nice dress like you would wear to a wedding" if that is what cruiseline suggests. I would also set a real limit on weight/size of suitcase - some of them will bring everything they own. Remind them that if they have seen TV shows or movies about cruises with people dressed like movie stars that this is not the reality they will encounter.
Decide if anyone will be doing any water sports - jetskis, parasailing - and make sure you have parental permission. Not even sure if they can sign up for these without an on-site parent signing some wort of permission or waiver.
In Nassau take them for a nice walk about 6 blocks away from the water thru town - away from tourist areas. There is some incredible authentic buildings and a really old church or 2 that are interesting and free to tour.
I also like the idea of breaking them into pre-trip groups and making them do a bit of research - and you can also include practical stuff. Like one group can report back on what regulations are for flying (like the take off your shoes and liquids thing).
Make sure they understand technology limitations of being on cruise - they are likely all glued to cell phones, Facebook, etc at home - and this will either be impossible or really expensive while on the trip.
Feb 11th, 2011, 10:20 PM
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At these ports of call there are a lot of free things to do within easy walking distance. Booking excursions on the cruise ship is not necessary.
In Key West, Ernest Hemmingway Home, Southern Most Point Marker and Little White House are easy walks around town.
In Nassau, hop a "Jitney" (local bus $1 fare) to Cable Beach for a west tour of the island or to Potter's Cay for an east tour of the island and to visit Atlantis.
Atlantis has a free walk through aquarium that is very nice. Also, at Potter's cay you can sample local food that is a lot cheaper than eating at Atlantis.
If you just want to walk around town head to The Queen's Staircase (built by slaves) near Fort Fincastle for great view of Nassau Harbor. From there you can stroll to Government House then back down Bay Street and Rawson Square before returning to your ship.
For more Nassau tips:
http://dmbtraveler195.blogspot.com/2...ds-in-sun.html
In Key West, Ernest Hemmingway Home, Southern Most Point Marker and Little White House are easy walks around town.
In Nassau, hop a "Jitney" (local bus $1 fare) to Cable Beach for a west tour of the island or to Potter's Cay for an east tour of the island and to visit Atlantis.
Atlantis has a free walk through aquarium that is very nice. Also, at Potter's cay you can sample local food that is a lot cheaper than eating at Atlantis.
If you just want to walk around town head to The Queen's Staircase (built by slaves) near Fort Fincastle for great view of Nassau Harbor. From there you can stroll to Government House then back down Bay Street and Rawson Square before returning to your ship.
For more Nassau tips:
http://dmbtraveler195.blogspot.com/2...ds-in-sun.html
Feb 12th, 2011, 08:42 AM
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Gail brougt up a very good point about cellphone etc.
Cell phone charges would be in the hundreds, if not thousands of dollars, especially for internatinal roaming charges. They maybe okay in keywest but once you are on baord and the ship is out of land cell tower range, you will be paying big bucks.
You could be paying as much as $1 for a text message and $5 a minute for LD calls. Data charges on cell phones would be even more expensive.
Internet on ships are about $1.50 a minute so it is not cheap either.
Cell phone charges would be in the hundreds, if not thousands of dollars, especially for internatinal roaming charges. They maybe okay in keywest but once you are on baord and the ship is out of land cell tower range, you will be paying big bucks.
You could be paying as much as $1 for a text message and $5 a minute for LD calls. Data charges on cell phones would be even more expensive.
Internet on ships are about $1.50 a minute so it is not cheap either.
Feb 14th, 2011, 10:06 AM
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Walkie talkie is an annoyance to fellow passengers if not used discretely. It is almost like having someone on a cell phone taklking constantly sitting next to you. No one wants to hear the cell phone or walkie talkie ringing while having a quiet evening or enjoying a show.
With the metal infractructer etc, I doubt the effectiveness of the "consumer" walkie talkies. Those type of walkie talkies don't work too well in a shopping mall and I doubt it will work well within the confines of a cruise ship.
A better idea is to find a meeting place and meet at pre-arranged time or intervals. The ship also has house phones through out so that could be another way to stay in touch.
With the metal infractructer etc, I doubt the effectiveness of the "consumer" walkie talkies. Those type of walkie talkies don't work too well in a shopping mall and I doubt it will work well within the confines of a cruise ship.
A better idea is to find a meeting place and meet at pre-arranged time or intervals. The ship also has house phones through out so that could be another way to stay in touch.
Feb 15th, 2011, 01:11 PM
#11
We had the retail Motorola walkie talkies back when the range was only 2 miles, vs today's 5 mile versions. They worked wonderfully throughout the cruise ship. That's why I recommended them.
Because of the nature of walkie talkies, they are usually reserved for very brief messages. House phones won't work unless the recipient is in their cabin.
Because of the nature of walkie talkies, they are usually reserved for very brief messages. House phones won't work unless the recipient is in their cabin.
