Cruise Review: Homeschool on the Seas
Bermuda 2007

By Mary Ann Kelley

I have been on a multitude of vacations from camping in the mountains to enjoying the elaborate and impressive snow sculptures in Sapporo, Japan. None has been more relaxing and enjoyable than the Homeschool on the Seas cruise I took September 9-14 to Bermuda on Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas. I was traveling on this fabulous ship for 5 days with other homeschool families including 50+ kids from preschool to teen.

After an easy drive from Virginia to New Jersey, we topped the crest of a bridge and gasped at the site of our ship in the harbor. It was enormous and I couldn't help but use the same expression that my nine year old favors: "That is soooo cool!" Despite the large number of passengers disembarking and boarding, everything was orchestrated down to the last detail and before we knew it, we were settling into the cabin that would be our home for the next 5 nights.

Homeschool on the Seas

Since we were traveling with an organized group, we had a dedicated conference room where we gathered for a meet and greet the first afternoon. We met most of our group as well as the cruise organizer, Mike Sobbell. Mike was traveling with us and he and the HotS education director, Mik McEwen, had put together a  homeschool program for the kids that introduced the ecology and history of Bermuda. I was presenting cooking workshops for the moms, with topics including menu planning, bulk cooking, and healthy families. The most fun part of the homeschool program for the kids in the group was the Homeschool on the Seas (HotS) Quest, a list of questions about interesting topics to which the kids (and parents) could try to find the answers while sight-seeing in Bermuda. Whether the families were snorkeling, touring museums, exploring caves, or just relaxing on the beach, they ran into locals that they could engage with their quest topics.

Universally, the families loved the HotS quest. Everyone agreed that they would not have known what to ask and wouldn't have been as likely to engage the locals in conversation had it not been for the incentive of the HotS quest. We really felt like we knew much more about Bermuda's history and culture after the two days in Bermuda with the HotS quest as a reference. The kids also loved the scavenger hunt on the ship that took place the last day of sailing as well as the stargazing slumber party where they ate cookies, laid on the deck with blankets, and studied the stars using star charts.

Our homeschool group dined together in one area of the dining room and we made great friends after the 5 nights of dinner companionship. The children made fast friends with one another and seemed to greatly enjoy Royal Caribbean's Adventure programs for kids. The fact that the ship is also home to the University of Miami's Ocean Lab, a state-of-the-art oceanographic and atmospheric science lab, was a huge bonus. The scientists at the Ocean Lab held daily workshops and Mike arranged for a private tour for our group.

Royal Caribbean

My favorite part of the cruise itself was the attention from the staff. After the first meeting, our stateroom attendant greeted us by name with a big smile every time we saw him. Our waiter Rupresh was outstanding and had the best sense of humor I had ever seen in a server. Every one of the staff was accommodating and always had a smile and a laugh. My mom had treated all of her kids and grand kids to a trip to Disney World last December and I can honestly say that while we thought Disney had amazing service and was an incredible experience, the service on Royal Caribbean exceeded our experience at Disney. Even the photography staff on the last night was full of fun and surprises. I don't think I laughed as much in the past 6 months as I laughed on our cruise.

Swimming with dolphins

I can't leave out my favorite experience of the 2 days in Bermuda. I have always wanted to swim with dolphins and when I found out that Dolphin Quest was one of the excursions on our stop to Bermuda, I was determined to make it happen. I failed to book the excursion online before we left (lesson learned) so I tried to book it on board the first day. Unfortunately, we couldn't get a spot but the attendant encouraged us to just show up at the office and they might find us a spot, so we did. After a bit of begging when we were told it was full, we had spots reserved for a 2:30 dolphin experience.

We had the privilege of swimming with Mamma dolphins and their 3 month old babies as well as an adolescent male. It was such an intense experience to touch and interact with these intelligent and responsive mammals. We couldn't pick up our pictures the same day because of another commitment, but when we went back the next day to get our pictures our guide from the previous day was there training the dolphins. After watching in amazement as the dolphins let the trainers express milk for research analysis (the dolphins laid on their sides docilely during the entire process), the trainers fed the dolphins and Lexi, our trainer from the day before, came over and spent 15-20 minutes answering questions and just sharing with us. Even if you do not swim with the dolphins, you can still have an up close experience watching them and possibly talking with the trainers with your admission to the Maritime Museum at the Naval Dockyard (where Dolphin Quest is located only a 10 minute walk from the ship). I recommend this experience for adults and kids alike. Everyone we talked to that did this excursion was wholeheartedly enthusiastic. 

My experience with Homeschool on the Seas exceeded my expectations on every level from the choice of cruise line to the organization and attention from the owner, Mike Sobbell. For more information about this cruise and others, visit HomeschoolOnTheSeas.com.