Sailing while school is in session

[njdisneylovr]

My DS is in 1st grade now, so we're still at the age where they don't miss that much work and mom can understand it to help them with it. High school is a whole different story. I guess we better do it while we can!

Do you think your DS is having a hard time getting back to reality? I know it sounds silly, but we had such a great time on the cruise that it literally took me about a month to settle back into everyday life. Maybe he's daydreaming about his Disney cruise instead of focusing on work?

Perhaps, yes, but the problem he had was taking tests on material that he wasn't taught. He got the notes, etc., but it wasn't the same. Also, a major project was started while we were away. I really should have booked the summer 8 night cruise from NYC, close to us, no airfare needed. At that time, it was only $1,000. More than what we paid for a 7 ngt out of Port Canaveral. We spent well over $1,000 in travel expenses to get to Florida from NJ. Oh well, live and learn.

 

[taximom00]

EastBound TransAtlantic

Thanks! That would be a great trip!

 

[4butlers]

We went mid-November last year and had the kids out for about 10 days. We let their teachers know as soon as school started and they were excited for them. They didn't even give them homework. I really wouldn't worry about not having any kids onboard. There were plenty of kids everywhere! There will always be kids on a Disney cruise.
This time, we'll be taking them out for about 2 weeks in October! But that's when we can go. It's less expensive and that's when DH has vacay time.
DD starts middle school, so I'm a little nervous how this will go. It may be our last off-peak trip. So, if your kids are young enough, go while you can!

 

[GatorMomInNC]

We are currently in year round schools, so I took my 2 kids on the WBTA and I thought the number of kids was perfect. Keep in mind, this is a 2 week cruise during the school year. There were enough kids that he made friends, but not so many that the pools or clubs were overcrowded. I actually think less kids is better, because they will see the same kids a lot and are more likely to bond. In fact, we are considering moving back to Florida and I am dreading going to a traditional school year where we will have to travel when all the other kids are on break.

 

[scoob2011]

Wow, I am glad most of the teachers are supportive.

The schools here are very strict (even in K to 1 classes) on missing classes but part of that has to do with state funding for each kid that is in school each day.

I miss the days of going off season.
IF you can get away with it, do it- the kids have the rest of their lives to go to school

 

[wdwwishes]

What grades are your kiddos and what would they miss/potentially have to make up in school/how will they handle the extra work before/after the vacation? Those would be my deciding factors. I'd talk to the school/teachers to see how they feel. Maybe offer to have them do a little journal or something during the cruise that can tie into the class. Good luck with you decision.

 

[lookitsaplane]

Disney and Kids go together naturally, so you'll be fine

 

[wendydarling78]

As long as you are willing to help your kids catch up on any work they miss, you should be fine. I teach 2nd grade, and I try to be understanding when families travel during the school year. I myself have taken my daughter out for a week in Kindergarten to do WDW and 1st grade this past January to do a Carnival Bahamas cruise.

The one thing that is truly frustrating to EVERY teacher in my building is when parents request work ahead of time and then don't do it. If you aren't going to do the work before you go/while on vacation, don't ask for it in advance. It is a pain in the rear to gather everything up for the student, and then they come back and have NONE of it done. We get, "Oh, yeah, we just started working on that last night."

Great, thanks. So glad I spent all of my planning time for two days trying to finish up lesson plans and copies so that you had all of your work ahead of time. (Sorry if that sounds snarky, but hopefully you can kinda see my frustration here!)

Also, if your child is already behind academically, DO NOT pull them out during the school year. I have a little girl in my class this year who was pulled out THE FIRST TWO WEEKS OF SCHOOL to do a Disney cruise/WDW trip. She was reading a year and a half below grade level. (So, since I teach 2nd grade, she was reading where an average Kindergartener would be in the middle of the year.)

She came back and was completely lost. She had missed the first two weeks of school, so she didn't know any of the routines of the room, etc. On top of that, she was behind academically and struggled. She has been struggling all year to catch up. (Obviously not ALL of that is due to her vacation, but it certainly didn't help.)

When the kids get older, the teachers are responsible for teaching all of the standards for state testing. (DON'T pull your kids out during required testing!!!) Unfortunately, the students are still responsible for that curriculum, even when they aren't there. Again, that's why it is so important to do the missed work and not just pitch it.

At 2nd grade, I typically excuse the kids from most of the work they missed. I occasionally grade a few items. But our upper grades grade it ALL. So if the kids don't turn it in, it's a 0%. (Because a vacation is not an excused absence.)

As long as you are upfront with the teacher and willing to do the work that your kids missed, you should be fine!

Wendy

 

[christinaspring]

DD will be missing the full week after Thanksgiving this year. It's Kindergarten, and I plan to ask for any work she'll be missing well ahead of time. I personally know all the teachers at DD's school, and they will be more than supportive of such an amazing family vacation.

I think there will ALWAYS be plenty of kids onboard a Disney cruise!

 

[DLW8]

We have pulled our kids out for our WDW and DCL trips as well. if I can, I will book it when they already have a day off or at least some early release days. If that doesn't work, we still go and have a great time.

In September we are taking them on a 7 night DCL so they will miss a week of school and are starting middle school. This will probably be the last time I pull them for a whole week of school. I purposely chose mid-September as they will still be in "review" mode at school. We went this same time last year to WDW and it was perfect. Low crowds and the kids did their work in the room so were all caught up when we returned.

There are plenty of kids listed on our meet thread for this cruise. Some are pulling out of school and some are homeschooled. And, as your child gets older, they may change their mind about the club/lab anyway and just want to hang more with you. It's all good, it's DCL!

 

[eeyoremommy]

I am a former high school teacher. I am not going to weigh in on to pull or not to pull your child out for a vacation. I am instead going to give you my experience of a non-peak cruise (week-long cruise prior to the Christmas week cruise) versus a peak cruise (Thanksgiving week).

When my son was in pre-k (He was 4 turning 5.) and I was teaching, we missed two days of school (I didn't know I was going to be teaching when the cruise was booked.) to take the Magic Western Caribbean cruise the week prior to the Christmas week cruise. There were kids on the cruise, but it was a doable amount. I would consider that week a non-peak week. I never felt like things were overly crowded at all. At the times that DS decided to go to the clubs, there were always kids with whom he could play.

Jump ahead a year to Thanksgiving week and the Eastern Caribbean cruise on the Magic. We did not miss school because we had the entire week off. Apparently, everyone else did too. If the ship was not at capacity, I would be shocked. There were kids everywhere. I felt like I had no break at all from teaching because some of the kids on the ship were worse behaved than what I was teaching. That is saying something because I did not have the cream of the crop. Parents were not watching the kids. Parents and kids were cursing at each other (insert F word) at the breakfast buffet). It may have been a function of the sheer number of children, but it was not as enjoyable as the first cruise. DS have plenty of kids to play with in the club, but he didn't want to go there. It was definitely a peak time.

My advice...if you can minimize the amount of school missed and your child doesn't miss other times during the year, go any time but during a peak time. One of the best times my DS ever had was on a cruise the first week of January prior to his school starting back. It was somewhat off-peak, and he didn't miss a day of school.

 

[pooksma]

If only this ability applied to teachers. I have to travel when "the masses" do and if I take time outside of that, it is a loss of pay!

Meanwhile, I provide work for students who are missing class time and more often than not, it doesn't get done, despite everyone's best intentions.

I certainly see an advantage to year round schooling as more and more parents are travelling outside of peak times. It would certainly be cheaper for DH and I as well as DS whome Disney now considers an adult.

 

[NC_Tink]

We're cruising at the same time as you but next year (May 4th) on the Fantasy Eastern. Our DS rarely misses school, too so he has plenty of time available before his absences would become a problem. Thanks for responding - glad to hear there are still plenty of kids on the early May sailings!

Hi littlebitsmom -- feel free to come join our meet thread. Here's a link: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2822595

As for cruising off season -- we've cruised in early December, mid-September, and did the Mediterranean in late-April/early May. Definitely not overrun by lots of kids, but our boys have never had a problem with finding other kids to hang with. There are still plenty of kids, both non-school aged and school aged.

 

[Funky Chicken]

We are in a year-round district. There are 4 breaks of 3 weeks each in January, April, July, and October. There are also the typical shorter breaks around major holidays. This arrangement is ideal for vacations we are never looking to travel during the big vacation weeks for families.

Our big trip of the year comes in January. Fares are low and destinations are not overcrowded. We were on an RCL cruise this past January and there were still kids around but the ship was not overrun with kids-the kid's club employees were able to get a lot closer to the kids. It was great. I can't imagine 1200 kids on a ship being anything I would want to be a part of.

Our daughter would suffer if she missed school. Fortunately we are not faced with that decision. I have to figure that on any given DCL cruise there are going to be other kids for my daughter to interact with.

 

[Jaxs27]

We just got back from a May cruise and there were plenty of kids of all ages.

 

[itutorfortravel]

The school system where we live has several 2 day breaks during the school year. We would like to sail during one of these breaks b/c that would mean our DS would only have to miss 3 days of school as opposed to 5. Plus the rates are cheaper since it's not a peak time. My only concern though is there won't be many other kids his age in the Oceaneer Club/Lab. On our cruise over spring break in April, there were tons of kids his age and he made some new friends. I just don't want him to be bored with the potential lack of playmates. I'm just wondering if we should suck it up and pay the extra $3,000 to go over Spring Break of 2013. Although $3,000 would buy a whole other cruise for the 3 of us at a non-peak time!! Please help!!

If you feel comfortable taking your child out of school for a cruise, then I would definitely do that twice vs. just one cruise during a school break. Believe me, there are lots of other people doing the same thing so it's doubtful your DS won't have anyone to play with! And the lower crowds might be nice!

I would do the same thing in a heartbeat if my DD were younger and if there wasn't so much make up work at her age. We had actually considered taking her out of school a couple years ago when we first sailed but we were able to get cat 12's so cheap during school breaks that we did that instead. One thing I had thought about doing is a cruise towards the end of the school year...after spring break but before summer. The rates are lower and I figured it would give me enough time to monitor DD's absences and cancel if we had a particularly bad year in terms of illnesses and we couldn't afford the extra days out. I've heard May is a wonderful month to sail...Just my thoughts...

 

[rosermama]

I am doing the same thing this year DD is missing 4 days instead of 6 because they have 2 days off togther in Nov. This also happens to be a popular week of vacation in NJ so the cruise is going to be packed with kids. THis will be our 3rd cruise durning the school year and each one has had tons of kids on it.

One of ours was the week before the Thanksgiving cruise and it was close to half the ship was under 18, that time DD had to miss 5 days of school.

 

[littlebitsmom]

WOW - thanks everyone!!! I'm just now getting around to my daily fix of the DisBoards, and thought my thread would be on Page 3 of the boards and not page 3 of the replies

A shout-out to the poster who mentioned standardized testing... never thought of that. And yes, that would not be fair to the teacher to have to make all of that up. We're switching our DS from private to public school next year, so I better check to see when SOL's are... I'm guessing it is sometime in May since they get out the first week of June.

It has been very helpful to hear from both teachers and other parents. Thanks again

Hi littlebitsmom -- feel free to come join our meet thread. Here's a link: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2822595

Thanks! I'd love to join the thread... just holding off a little longer to make sure we'll be able to sail on this date.

 

[GatorMomInNC]

Aha! You are track 4! We used to be but are now track 1 (off in June, September, December and March). I love year round schools, and it is looking more and more like we may move to Florida and traditional schools and I can't stand the thought of traveling during peak seasons!! I know I shouldn't resist moving just because of that, but I actually called the Florida Dept of Education to see if there was ANYWHERE they had year round schools, without luck. I would even pay for private school if I could get year round...

We are in a year-round district. There are 4 breaks of 3 weeks each in January, April, July, and October. There are also the typical shorter breaks around major holidays. This arrangement is ideal for vacations we are never looking to travel during the big vacation weeks for families.

Our big trip of the year comes in January. Fares are low and destinations are not overcrowded. We were on an RCL cruise this past January and there were still kids around but the ship was not overrun with kids-the kid's club employees were able to get a lot closer to the kids. It was great. I can't imagine 1200 kids on a ship being anything I would want to be a part of.

Our daughter would suffer if she missed school. Fortunately we are not faced with that decision. I have to figure that on any given DCL cruise there are going to be other kids for my daughter to interact with.

 

[ame]

Yeah, I had never really thought about the year-round and homeschooled kids, not to mention the international ones. This is why I have become hooked on the Dis Boards!! I always get very helpful responses. Thank you!

This is us. In Australia our kids have two weeks off in April, two in July, two in late Sep/Early Oct and 6 weeks from the week before Christmas to late January. Sep & April are popular times for Australians to travel to the US as plane fares are much more reasonable

I'll take my kids out at the end of a term but usually never at the beginning.