In 2006, my husband, Dave, and I did back-to-back cruises in the Caribbean/Gulf of Mexico out of Galveston. The itinerary included Costa Maya, Belize, Roatan and Cozumel. As we planned, we decided we didn’t want this vacation to be just another typical tourist experience.
Meredith and husband, Dave
While we both love to snorkel and do beach activities, as well as touring and learning about the culture of our ports of call, this time we decided to do something totally different. We decided to make our cruises more about others than about ourselves.
We arranged a private tour for our first stop in Roatan that took us to the typical tourist stops, but we asked the tour driver to take us to an orphanage, so we could learn firsthand about some of the lives of the children on that beautiful island.
Before leaving home, we had packed an extra suitcase with clothing, flip flops, toys, games and school supplies for the orphanage (this was before the airlines began charging a baggage fee). Thinking we would make a short stop and leave our supplies, we were pleasantly surprised when we visited.
The Roatan orphanage that Meredith and Dave visited
A short stop turned into a visit of over an hour. In addition to meeting with the director and his wife, we met many of the adorable (and very polite) children who ranged in age from about 5 to 17. We had an extensive tour of the property and got a glimpse of the vision for outreach to the children and families of the island. We saw the medical clinic, the supply pantry, the baseball field, and the worship center under construction. All in all, it was a beautiful day and one that will not be forgotten.
The following week on the 2nd leg of our back-to-back cruises, we were joined by four of our friends from Colorado. They, too, had brought extra suitcases filled with school supplies, etc. Again, our tour operator took us to the orphanage, and our friends also got to experience the island in a very different way. We spent at least an hour there again sharing our lives with the director, his wife and the wonderful children of Roatan.
Dave meets Virgina
We consider ourselves to be very blessed to have experienced 17 wonderful Princess cruises taking us to exotic destinations. Cruising is a wonderful way to vacation. But cruising is also a wonderful way to dig beneath the surface of a port or country and to become involved in the lives of other people.
Yes, we are church-going people, and maybe that was a part of our initial motivation for what we did in Roatan. That being said, we Americans tend to be pretty provincial in our outlook on this amazing world. We tend to be too focused on our own desires, and often overlook the beauty of the people and differing cultures on this planet.
Kids at the orphanage enjoy crafts
After our visit to Roatan, we began to look at cruising much differently. We now realize that when we cruise we are given a window on the world. We can choose to look just outside that window at areas that cater to tourists, or we can choose to look at the rich tapestry of people and places in the ports where Princess calls. As loyal Princess cruisers, we choose the latter way and encourage others to do the same.
another aspect my husband and i thought about directly before christmas 1996 when our
sorry , an aspect my husband and i came up with prior to our post christmas cruise in 1996 was to include our children then 7 and 4 in contributing…prior to christmas ‘their’ job to help clean for the festivities was to pick out the toys they had outgrown for our mexico trip…., come the week after christmas those toys accompanied us to mexico, where we handed them over to the local hotel workers for their families…..it made an impression on the kids too!
Other than hubby picking up a t-shirt at every port,we always look for the items that are hand made and not from China. Pictures are our souvenoirs. We have always wanted to go to orphanages and schools, but didn’t know we could go. We have take supplies and then hired a taxi to deliver them for us. We did this twice in Puerta Vallarta where we researched and found the name of an orphanage. Roatan we sent them to the “School” such as it was, desks in a ditch under a huge tree. Now we are going to personally deliver items! Thanks!!
I met a lady once on a cruise who did the same in Cozumel…small toys for the children and Spanish tracts for their parents. I helped her; it only took a few minutes and it was fun to give back and interact. I plan to cruise to Jamaica this summer and will be taking childrens books. Since I can drive to the port I don’t have to worry about luggage. But, for those who fly…if you try to keep underneath the limit and you first pack your little gifts instead of clothes it will help you cut back on what is probably too many clothes and then it leave room in your suitcase for souvenirs on the homeward bound flight! And instead of buying meaningless souvenirs, buy items that are handmade or toys and candies from the ports and give to your church’s children’s mission programs. Our children love to see how children live in other countries.
Hello
On our cruise to Roatan, some folk had put together a box of school things and stopped off while on tour to hand in the box to a local school, had never thought about doing this before, nice story thank you for posting it.
I loved reading about what this couple did on their cruise. Like them, my husband and I usually take shore excursions that allow us to glimpse the people and culture of where we are visiting. We took a shore excursion in May 2010 in Eleuthera, Bahamas that allowed us to visit a Kindergarten class. We loved seeing the children and listening to them in class. Later we read a newspaper article about students from the same place being allowed to come aboard the Emerald Princess for an afternoon. Thanks also to Princess Cruises for sharing your beauty with others!
I think this is a wonderful thing you did.
We can only hope that, someday, no child lives in an outreach center, shelter, or orphanage.
We did a similar thing on a visit to Christmas Island when we did the Tahiti to Hawaii cruise several years ago. Princess supplied the school with paper, pens, pencils, etc., and several of us on the cruise had gathered small toys, soap, shampoo, lotion, hard candy and clothing items for the Islanders. Thanks to Mark, our Cruise Director for making us aware of the needs of our “future new friends” on the equatorial island so we could have this opportunity!
We too visited an orphanage and a school to drop off supplies and toys! We live in Fla so it made it easy to get extra luggage to the NCL Jewel. Several of our Cruise Critic friends also brought supplies for us to deliver. It was a wonderful experience and we are looking forward to our next visit!
On our last cruise, in Grenada and Dominica, we got drivers and had them drive us around the island to his neighborhood, saw the schools, hospitals(daughter is a nurse) and animal shelters(I do animal rescue.)Meredith and Dave had a great idea and next time we go, we will have to try it. .
DID A PRINCESS CRUISE IN THE FAR EAST(NOV 2010) IN BANGCOCK DID VERY MUCH THE SAME AS THE ABOVE CRUISERS DID,WENT OUR OWN WAY,NO DISRESPECT TO PRINCESS CRUISES,BUT FOUND EXACTLY WHAT LIFE WAS ABOUT BEHIND THE ‘TOURIST CURTAIN’.IT DOES GIVE A TOTALLY DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE TO CRUISING, PROVIDING YOU HAVE THE CONFIDENCE TO GO IT ALONE
What a wonderful story. Thank you for making a difference!
Thank you, Meredith and Dave, for “giving back” during your cruise. You’re truly an inspiration.