Last week, we took the kids on another homeschool adventure as we hopped on a cruise to the Bahamas. Having been cruising with the kids before, I’ve learned that it isn’t yet worth learning about where we’re going before our “holiday” (as my daughter calls vacations) since they often have to change the itinerary (earlier this year we attempted a cruise to Bermuda but they switched our destination to Saint John, New Brunswick the night before embarkation). Even if that’s the case, homeschool cruising is definitely worth trying in your family.

While typing up this post, I had a fun idea! After the holidays, we can make a lap book or interactive notebook of all the places we traveled in 2023, and one of all the places we are considering traveling in 2024. That would be a nice way to create a year in review and one in anticipation, and it can include both small towns, like visiting Grandma and Grandpa’s house, and countries, like the Bahamas or Canada. At my kids’ ages, I think it would’ve been confusing to study somewhere right before our vacation and then not go, but a general study of possible or anticipated places should be fine.

A Few Benefits of Cruising as a Mom

We have gone on both short and long road trips with the kids, but I think I enjoy cruising with them most of all. There are a ton of benefits of taking your family on a cruise, and they start even before you board the ship 

You choose the cruise line, dates, destination, and duration, and then you get to put it all in the captain’s hands. You just need to pack and get on the ship, then all travel is provided, all food is provided, and the majority of cleaning is provided (mom break!). Although we always pay to get the Internet package, you can choose not to and go off grid for the duration. And there are usually a ton of pools on board to play in with (or without!) the kids, including in an adult-only area for kid-free time if that’s your thing.

Our cruise was December 10-17. This was right in the middle of the holiday season and I loved how the ship was decorated with gingerbread houses and poinsettias and they had activities planned to celebrate various holidays. We attended a Christmas tree lighting on the first evening and there were many Christmas themed events on board (crafts, coloring, trivia, etc.). They had a large menorah with a lighting ceremony and service each evening of Hanukkah. And there was a kinara lit for Kwanzaa, though they didn’t hold any celebrations since Kwanzaa wouldn’t begin until after our cruise.

Some Benefits of Cruising for the Kids

Depending on the ages of your kids and who goes with you on the cruise, you’ll have all sorts of levels of family bonding time. My in-laws have come on each cruise we’ve been on with the kids, so they get to spend time with some of their grandparents as we all are in a more relaxed environment with fewer responsibilities.

But in case you need a break or want to give your kids other options, there is usually a kids’ area where you can drop off your kids to play and socialize with others in their age group (for a fee), and sometimes an extra area for open play that’s free to go to with your kids. We’ve never done drop off, but my kids love exploring new toys and meeting other kids during open play.

Additional Benefits You’ll Notice as Homeschoolers

Each of the above benefits are also great for homeschoolers, but there are even more things you’ll notice are worthwhile to your homeschooling family. Whether you want to build excitement for upcoming trips or continue the excitement after you return, you can use unit studies and/or lap books to learn more about the places you visit while homeschool cruising.

Every port has excursions you can book (for a fee), and most include history, art, music, culture, and cuisine of the port city/country. When we went to New Brunswick, we took a bus tour of the city, learned a ton of fun facts, and visited the Reversing Falls Rapids, which is a fascinating natural wonder. Even if you don’t pay for an excursion, you can usually still get a taste of the history, art, music, culture, and cuisine in the port itself, just off-ship. If you plan ahead, you can ask your kids to make notes on things they’re learning, or have them photograph and record videos of things they find unique or interesting.

Even if ports are canceled or you choose to remain on board, exposure to other cultures is a given – not only are the crew from all over the world (with their home countries listed on their name badges), so are the guests. This also means there tends to be a huge variety of international food choices, even when it’s not a theme night, as the Executive Chef tries to make all guests feel welcome and at home. For example, on our cruise there were plenty of typically American food choices, but they also had Asian and Indian foods available at every meal.

Character Building while Homeschool Cruising

There are plenty of lessons on character building that we teach our kids that can feel like they go in one ear and out the other. Luckily, many are reinforced by cruising! Not only is patience a virtue, but it’s also something that your kids will hopefully have on a cruise ship. Waiting for food in the main dining room (or even at the buffet), as well as waiting for the elevators (including waiting for the NEXT elevator when the first one is full), will provide many lessons in patience throughout the trip. Even you will likely become impatient at times, so it’s important to reflect on how your behaviors affect your kids.

The crew members are an integral part of the experience of homeschool cruising – your kids will learn to treat and respect the cabin stewards (housekeeping), the wait staff and servers based on how they see you and others treat them. I’d recommend discretely pointing out instances where others are disrespectful and following up on those occasions privately later. Depending on the age of your kids, they could see these instances and potentially learn to be disrespectful too. Following up later will ensure they understand why it’s wrong and also teach them more about compassion.

From my experience, many of the crew members take the time to get to know me and my kids, even if they have no reason to interact with us (such as the hostess at a restaurant on board that we walked past but never went to – she asked for my kids’ names and always said hello, greeting them by name, chatting with them, and giving high fives). Make sure your kids take note of the demeanor of crew members and how they show interest and become friends so that they can use these skills in their own lives.

Final Thoughts on Homeschool Cruising

I know that not everyone can afford to go on a cruise, but I really enjoy taking my kids on cruises when we can. They are exposed to so many people, places, cultures, and foods that they wouldn’t experience in our typical lives. There are innumerable opportunities to learn and grow as people and as students. And there’s fun to be had no matter where you go.

P.S. If you plan to go on a cruise, make sure you look up and look for “cruising ducks.” You can think of cruising ducks as a scavenger hunt, but the goal is to find ducks that other passengers have brought and hidden on board the ship. This is a super-fun activity you can enjoy whether you bring ducks on board or not. While homeschool cruising last week, we found ducks in gingerbread houses, on tables, and hidden beneath things. There were also several times that someone got my attention and hid a duck specifically for my kids to find. You can easily cruise without “duck hunting,” but it’s a lot of fun to find ducks, and to hide them when your kids are older and won’t be heartbroken when someone else finds “their” duck.

Thank you for joining us In Our Homeschool.