Keeping Cruising "In The Family"........

Sarge6870 · February 20, 2013

Almost 10 years ago, we took our (then) 12 year old niece Stephanie as a third person in our cabin aboard the Carnival Pride. We did this because at the time, her parents were going through a nasty divorce. They were splitting up, selling the house and putting the girls in new schools, thus removing them from the friends they grew up with. We felt it was a good idea to get Steph away from this environment, if only for one week, to give her something to smile about. We made it clear that she MUST do her school work during the cruise, which she did. She had a blast and Uncle Timmy (that would be me) took her shopping in Cozumel and brought her EVERYTHING that she showed even the smallest interest in!! She returned to the ship looking like she just came back from Mardi Gras in New Orleans fully adorned with beads, hats and t-shirts!! Her biggest thrill was riding the glass lifts (elevators) in the Atrium. My wife hasn't let me live it down to this day saying I spoiled her!

We are now considering taking our other niece, Stephs sister Shannon who is now also 12 years old, with us on our upcoming cruise aboard the Brilliance of the Seas in November. As when Steph cruised with us, this would take Shannon out of school for a week. We explained to her that up to the day of the cruise, she MUST keep her grades up and as with Stephs agreement, take and complete her studies onboard. Lisa, my sister-in-law is going to have a talk with her but Shannon is FULL throttle about going with us. Keep your fingers crossed for me. I would hate to see her not be able to go since she is so looking forward to it now.

KeithnRita · February 20, 2013

We commend you both for being such a great Aunt and Uncle!

DebbieandJerry · February 20, 2013

What a great incentive! Congrats on looking out for your nieces.

WeCruiseToo · February 24, 2013

That’s fantastic! We’ve taken it upon ourselves to help our nieces and nephews experience as many new things as possible – be that trying scallops or sushi for the first time or cruising to Alaska or visiting Hawaii. Of course we usually take along a parent or grandparent so we don’t have to be 100% responsible the whole time…

One niece will be going to school in London soon (a huge change from small-town Wisconsin) so some of our wanderlust must have rubbed off!

Sarge6870 · February 25, 2013

That’s fantastic! We’ve taken it upon ourselves to help our nieces and nephews experience as many new things as possible – be that trying scallops or sushi for the first time or cruising to Alaska or visiting Hawaii. Of course we usually take along a parent or grandparent so we don’t have to be 100% responsible the whole time…
One niece will be going to school in London soon (a huge change from small-town Wisconsin) so some of our wanderlust must have rubbed off!

LONDON!!! Now that's going out and getting an education Amy!! When we took Stephanie with us, we had a letter of temporary guardianship which would allow us to make decisions like medical if the case arose. Trust me when I say the LAST thing we want is bringing her mother along with us . Just found out that Shannon DOESN'T know about the cruise yet. It seems her confirmation is that month and my sis-in-law is waiting to see what the date is before she mentions it to her.