Cruising with Girl Scouts

I am tossing around the idea of taking my Girl Scouts (they will be in 8th and 9th grade next year) on a cruise next May. Does anyone have any experience, suggestions, ideas etc about this? We are a fairly well traveled group who have been together since 2nd and 3rd grade. It would definitely be a shorter cruise (probably 3-4 nights) and would have to leave from a port we can access by car (Port Canaveral, Jacksonville).

Thanks for your input!!!

If they are not your children you will need to book one adult in every cabin with the girls.

I think it would be an awesome experince for the girls-- not so much for the chaperones.

How many girls are cruising?

You would be looking at the older ships. as they are the ones that do the shorter cruises.

these ships allow for 5 in a cabin but please do not put 5 girls in one cabin as that will be one huge headache.

You will need signed forms from parents knowing that you are taking the girls out of the country.

(im sure you know about the medical forms too.)

you do not need passports as a birth certificate will do. along with a state issued Photo ID card

The price for the cruise do not include tips which cost about 11:50 pp per night

Inside cabins are extreme darkness 24 hours a day.

when ready to book you want to get a cabin that has the number of beds per person. You do not want a roll away. Older ships allow them

We have a CC member who needs a mental health evaluation!

Just kidding, if you can pull off all the logisitcs and most importnantly find enough moms who will go (that should be easy) then you all will have a blast.

If they are not your children you will need to book one adult in every cabin with the girls.

 

I think it would be an awesome experince for the girls-- not so much for the chaperones.

 

How many girls are cruising?

 

You would be looking at the older ships. as they are the ones that do the shorter cruises.

 

these ships allow for 5 in a cabin but please do not put 5 girls in one cabin as that will be one huge headache.

 

You will need signed forms from parents knowing that you are taking the girls out of the country.

 

(im sure you know about the medical forms too.)

 

you do not need passports as a birth certificate will do. along with a state issued Photo ID card

 

The price for the cruise do not include tips which cost about 11:50 pp per night

 

Inside cabins are extreme darkness 24 hours a day.

 

when ready to book you want to get a cabin that has the number of beds per person. You do not want a roll away. Older ships allow them

We would have between 6-8 girls going and probably 3-4 chaperones so, the adult/kid ratio thing should be just fine! Thanks for the info and helpful hints. We've actually traveled a lot with these girls and they are really great to work with! Any ship suggestions?? Unfortunately, it would have to be on the cheaper end....wish we could afford Disney!

We have a CC member who needs a mental health evaluation!

 

Just kidding, if you can pull off all the logisitcs and most importnantly find enough moms who will go (that should be easy) then you all will have a blast.

I'll check on the Mental Health thing! (Actually, if I haven't had a breakdown by now...I'm probably good to go!) :)

Any ship suggestions?

My Mom and I took my sister's troop on the Glory to Canada three years ago. It was their last hurrah as they were all graduating seniors and they saved for two years. It was one of the coolest trips we had ever done (aside from Disney and Savannah) and we recommend it to anyone who is able to pull it off.

All of the above things that the PP suggested is true. With these types of trips you have to make sure you have your T's crossed and I's dotted, because as you know, you are traveling internationally with someone else's kid and the liability factors go up substantially.

We asked all of our girls for a deposit and to apply for their passports in order to book their cabins. The deposit was maybe $50 or $100 and it was before the passport fees went up. We wanted them to have a fiscal commitment so that they couldn't just back out of it. They can travel with a State ID and birth certificate, but what happens if Susie falls ill Grand Cayman and has to fly home at a later point with an adult? I think this is one of the only trips where we added trip insurance just in case something like the above happened.

Be sure to watch the travel advisories for different countries because at one point, GSUSA discouraged us from going to places on the watchlist, which would include some of the bits of Mexico right now.

Confirm that the insurance your council has is approved for International Travel and make sure everyone purchases trip insurance, JIC 'Susie' needs medical attention.

Also confirm whether adult chaperones can drink alcohol at an official event.;)

I'm so glad to see this! My Cadette troop is going to Savannah this summer. They are already talking about what's next and have mentioned a cruise. I really think we can do it and love it! I'll be following this thread.

When I was in girl scouts we saved our money from selling cookies to go on a cruise. We went on a 4 day rccl cruise and it was the best time ever. My stepmom was a troop leader and we actually went with an older troop as well, we were in 8th and they were in like 10th grade I believe. Any way we all got passports (many of us already had them) then the cookie money paid for the trip and we brought along spending money. We had 4 girls to each interior room and I can't remember how the moms slept but there were a lot of them that came as well. Also although the shorter cruises are on older ships it really does not matter to the girls, at least it didn't to us!

Hope you do get to take them and have fun!

I'm so glad to see this! My Cadette troop is going to Savannah this summer. They are already talking about what's next and have mentioned a cruise. I really think we can do it and love it! I'll be following this thread.

I took our girls to Savannah in 2010. It was an absolute blast. The girls raised enough money for us to rent a beach house on Tybee Island for 3 nights! As I've told them time and time again, "if you raise the money, I will take you ANYWHERE!" They've talked about a cruise for about 3 years now. I am actually getting really excited about making this happen for them!

BTW...let me know if you want any Savannah tips! We did just about everything you can imagine on that trip! I am sure you'll all have an AMAZING trip! (and going on the 100th year of the GS....doesn't get any better than that!!)

When I was in girl scouts we saved our money from selling cookies to go on a cruise. We went on a 4 day rccl cruise and it was the best time ever. My stepmom was a troop leader and we actually went with an older troop as well, we were in 8th and they were in like 10th grade I believe. Any way we all got passports (many of us already had them) then the cookie money paid for the trip and we brought along spending money. We had 4 girls to each interior room and I can't remember how the moms slept but there were a lot of them that came as well. Also although the shorter cruises are on older ships it really does not matter to the girls, at least it didn't to us!

 

Hope you do get to take them and have fun!

Did anyone mind having an interior room? I can't imagine we'll spend too much time in the room anyway and...if it saves us some $....I'm thinking that might be the way to go!

Confirm that the insurance your council has is approved for International Travel and make sure everyone purchases trip insurance, JIC 'Susie' needs medical attention.

 

Also confirm whether adult chaperones can drink alcohol at an official event.;)

Thank you! More great tips! (although...I'm thinking we wouldn't deal with the alcohol aspect....more trouble than it's worth!)

My Mom and I took my sister's troop on the Glory to Canada three years ago. It was their last hurrah as they were all graduating seniors and they saved for two years. It was one of the coolest trips we had ever done (aside from Disney and Savannah) and we recommend it to anyone who is able to pull it off.

 

All of the above things that the PP suggested is true. With these types of trips you have to make sure you have your T's crossed and I's dotted, because as you know, you are traveling internationally with someone else's kid and the liability factors go up substantially.

 

We asked all of our girls for a deposit and to apply for their passports in order to book their cabins. The deposit was maybe $50 or $100 and it was before the passport fees went up. We wanted them to have a fiscal commitment so that they couldn't just back out of it. They can travel with a State ID and birth certificate, but what happens if Susie falls ill Grand Cayman and has to fly home at a later point with an adult? I think this is one of the only trips where we added trip insurance just in case something like the above happened.

 

Be sure to watch the travel advisories for different countries because at one point, GSUSA discouraged us from going to places on the watchlist, which would include some of the bits of Mexico right now.

More great tips!! Thank you! :)

Thank you everyone!! Keep the comments coming! All your hints and suggestions are incredibly useful AND it is really inspiring me to organize this!:D

We are super excited about Savannah! We'll be spending 4 nights in a big old house near the JGL Birthplace. And being there for the 100th year will be wonderful!

We didn't mind being in an inside cabin, none of us had been on a cruise before so it may have been just because we didn't know. We were only in there to sleep so it wasn't really a big deal to us.

My Mom and I took my sister's troop on the Glory to Canada three years ago. It was their last hurrah as they were all graduating seniors and they saved for two years. It was one of the coolest trips we had ever done (aside from Disney and Savannah) and we recommend it to anyone who is able to pull it off.

 

All of the above things that the PP suggested is true. With these types of trips you have to make sure you have your T's crossed and I's dotted, because as you know, you are traveling internationally with someone else's kid and the liability factors go up substantially.

 

We asked all of our girls for a deposit and to apply for their passports in order to book their cabins. The deposit was maybe $50 or $100 and it was before the passport fees went up. We wanted them to have a fiscal commitment so that they couldn't just back out of it. They can travel with a State ID and birth certificate, but what happens if Susie falls ill Grand Cayman and has to fly home at a later point with an adult? I think this is one of the only trips where we added trip insurance just in case something like the above happened.

 

Be sure to watch the travel advisories for different countries because at one point, GSUSA discouraged us from going to places on the watchlist, which would include some of the bits of Mexico right now.

I'm the crazy leader that has taken girls to NYC, Baltimore, Washington, Disney World, Savannah and our last hurrah was the cruise to Canada. Your council needs to give approval to take girls out of the country 12-18 months in advance. Check S/W, for adult to girl ratios. By Carnival's rules there needs to be an adult in each room, by S/W there needs to be 2 adults....solution, book adjoining rooms. Put 2 adults in 1 room, 3-4 girls in the other!!

On all trips, my girls knew the words "Buddy System" and I never saw one girl without a buddy. We had 2 adults and 3 girls in the room (we had a balcony to give us extra space, in case someone wanted to chill). Post-it notes were my best friend. With a buddy the girls could go any where, all they had to do was leave a post-it to tell me where they were.

My DD is getting married on a cruise next year, having traveled with "my girls" for years, we've suggested to my mother and other guests to have a passport "just in case". The cash deposit worked well, as it became the tips at the end of the cruise.

ENJOY!!!:)

After serving as a Daisy troop leader (and reading all the rules for this activity and that trip...), I didn't volunteer for any more scouting leadership. (but then I'm not exactly the outdoorsy type)

One thing I would add is to make sure the cabins are all together in the same area and mark your bookings "NO UPGRADE." Else you may find your travelers all over the ship.

We get inside cabins most of the time. Not a big deal especially as you're talking about a short cruise.

Brenda,

Thank you! LOVE the buddy system idea. I was floating an idea like this in my head. I also love the adjoining rooms idea too! Thanks again!!

More great ideas! I didn't even think to ask about no upgrades! Thanks so much!!

Did anyone mind having an interior room? I can't imagine we'll spend too much time in the room anyway and...if it saves us some $....I'm thinking that might be the way to go!

On our first cruise we did 5 of us to an inside cabin. We did not mind at all.

But let me tell you- 4 girls to an inside cabin could prove to be a nightmare.

There is one bathroom and one vanity. Getting ready for dinner could be deadly--LOL

we used the showers in the gym area.

Putting 4 girls in a inside cabin- someone could get a roll away- how do you determine the bed issues. Who gets the top bed? who gets the real bed?

Inside cabins are extreme darkness 24 hours. Set alarm clocks or the girls will spend huge quantities of time sleeping.

Rules? Curfews? will you have those? what are the penalties?

Carnival does have camps/clubs for the girls- they are broke down by ages.

Do any of the girls fall below the age requirement?

9-11 12-14 15-17 they are rather strict with that clubs.

One suggestion I have that should be there for the girls--NO going into the cabin areas for any reason. to stay in the public area of the ship.

Will dinner in the dining room be madatory? I made that a huge number 1 for us. It was the only time I saw the kids

Telephones in the cabin are equipped with voicemail. set it up when you arrive in the cabin. I dont know if i would like girls leaving post it notes on the cabin door of their where abouts

For our troop (and for my family), dinner together is always mandatory.

To the OP (or others who have done this)- what are you expecting for the cost per girl? Will you budget in tips? Or expect them to pay that separately? Will girls cover the cost of leaders? How will you handle excursions? Are they expected to have passports?

I dont know if i would like girls leaving post it notes on the cabin door of their where abouts

If your referring to the PP's comment, you misread it. The girls left notes inside a pre-determined place inside the cabin. Since there were only three girls, they were together at all times because they had to be a truddy.

You should also contemplate if the girls will be allowed to do excursions with the Carnival teen groups. I know that the oldest group definitely had their own excursion, where the leader took the teens off the ship for a pre-determined activity. Our girls stayed with us and we did the Duck Tours in Halifax and shopped in Saint John.

If your referring to the PP's comment, you misread it. The girls left notes inside a pre-determined place inside the cabin. Since there were only three girls, they were together at all times because they had to be a truddy.

 

You should also contemplate if the girls will be allowed to do excursions with the Carnival teen groups. I know that the oldest group definitely had their own excursion, where the leader took the teens off the ship for a pre-determined activity. Our girls stayed with us and we did the Duck Tours in Halifax and shopped in Saint John.

I was looking at is as the girls will be in their own cabin and the leaders will be in another.

For our troop (and for my family), dinner together is always mandatory.

 

To the OP (or others who have done this)- what are you expecting for the cost per girl? Will you budget in tips? Or expect them to pay that separately? Will girls cover the cost of leaders? How will you handle excursions? Are they expected to have passports?

Well, our initial budget(including tips) is somewhere around $400/person. We earn quite a bit in cookie money, so about half the cost of the cruise will be taken care of by that. However, since this is a more expensive trip than in the past, we will definitely need to have each family supplement the additional cost of the trip. The cost of the leaders is built into the full cost and then divided among the total number of girls. Of course, that includes the leader's own children.

We DEFINITELY plan on doing excursions together. (frankly, the cheapest options possible!) AND we plan on eating dinner together! As for Passports, the consensus advice seems to be to have passports, especially in case of emergencies!