The cruise ship industry is booming right now, with over 20 million people cruising in 2025 and even more projected to in 2026.
I went on a Caribbean cruise with my family in late October and early November, and I can see why it is so popular.
Some people say that you shouldn’t miss school to go on a cruise, but I disagree. It is a great experience and an opportunity to get away. Missing school and catching up on work is the tricky part, but it’s worth the effort of making up the work.
Royal Caribbean Star Of The Seas is one of the biggest cruise ships in the world. It holds 7,500 people, more than half the population of the City of Beachwood. The ship offers seven night cruises from port Carnival Florida. It also includes stops at different islands.
The cruise ship includes different themed neighborhoods to enjoy that are a part of the boat, including Thrill Island, Hideaway and Surfside. Surfside was mostly for smaller children. It has a pool with free food (included with the price of the cruise) and an unlimited ice cream station.
There are over seven pools on the Star of the Sea, and it has the largest waterpark at sea. To get to each floor you can get on their designed elevators or walk up the stairs. Floor 15 had a huge buffet that served breakfast, lunch and dinner.
The buffet was included, and you could eat as much as you like. Floor five had a pizza place that stayed open late until 2 a.m. Not only did it stay open late, but the pizza was also included with the price of the cruise.
You can save a lot of money by traveling in the off-season, which is why students end up missing school for it.
According to NerdWallet, the cheapest month to go on a cruise is September, with an average room fare $807 and an average balcony fare of $1,117. July is the most expensive month, with an average fare of $1,162 and average balcony fare of $1,630.
The fifth floor of the ship had shops where you would pay with your Star of Sea’s card, which is very smart and impressive. Stores included Starbucks, a candy shop and a drug store.
Our cruise took us to three different islands.
At each stop we had a designated time of 7:00 p.m. to be back before the ship set sail to the next island. While we were on the cruise the sun went down around 7:00, so the view was beautiful as we were setting sail.
The first island we stopped at was Coco Cay in the Bahamas, which had an amazing beach where drinks and food were served.
Puerto Rico was the next stop. You could walk around and see different stores and also enjoy the Puerto Rican neighborhood of San Juan. There’s also a fantastic mall to visit in Puerto Rico, but you have to take a taxi to get there. You also had to take a taxi to get to the beach.
The last stop they offered was St. Martin, where we could go to the beach again. They brought us back to Florida on the seventh day.
If you want to keep up with emails, school work or social media while sailing on a cruise, you can do so by paying an extra for wifi. The charge is $128 per device. If you have an unlimited data plan through your cell phone provider and don’t want to pay for Wifi, you can still use your cell phone and data when you are on the islands.
While many children or teenagers are on the boat, there are also places just for adults. There is a club for adults 18+ and a pool for adults separated from the children’s side. On the other hand, if you are under the age of 18 they have teen rooms for each age as well as children’s groups.
If an adult wants alone time to go to the spa or somewhere else, they could take their small children or family members to the age groups centers, where they have adult staff supervising the children until 2 a.m.
While I was on the boat I met plenty of new people from all over the world at the teen clubs. One person I met was Sam, who was from Puerto Rico. He introduced me to some people he knew on the boat, teens from Chicago, Detroit and Florida.
Some things we did for entertainment included going to the teen room, which had video games and music.
The curfew for everyone under 18 is 2 a.m., if you get caught, you could face trouble while on the cruise ship like fees, being denied boarding, or immediate removal from ship at the next port.
Being on a cruise ship also lets you see another side of life without wifi. If you choose not to pay for it, you have no access to school or work for seven days. This can be a good thing because every teenager deserves a mental break from school and the loads of work.
The only downside is the rooms on the ship can be cold, but you have heat so you can turn the heat up, or, if too hot you can always turn the air on. The showers aren’t the best. They do not get as hot as a normal shower at home would, and there is not as much water that comes out.
Between ports, passengers enjoy “sea days,” when you stay on the boat while you get to the next island. Even on these days, there is still so much to do: shopping, eating, going swimming and getting in the hot tub.
The only time this might be a downfall is when it is raining, especially since the pool and some restaurants and stores are outside on the deck. The buffet is inside and free, so you don’t have to worry if it is raining.
Everyone should experience going on a cruise ship at least once or twice in their life. It exposes you to new experiences, new people and lots of fun activities, most of which are included in the price of the cruise.
