Jenny Johns took a field trip she'll never forget.

She traveled on a raft through a rain forest in Jamaica, the same kind of rain forest she studied in a year-long project at Indian Hills Elementary.

"Mrs. Buxton, our teacher, organized a school-wide aluminum can drive and we sent money to save the rain forests," Johns recalled, "and there I was in a real rain forest."

For Jenny's mother, Becky, the best part was experiencing the rain forest from the raft. "We could explore the whole thing without all the bugs and snakes," she laughed.

The Johns family was one of eight from our neighborhood who took their kids with them on a cruise of the western leg of the Caribbean on the Regal Princess. We had 24 children with us, and most of them were teenagers.

Ocean cruising is not the usual family vacation, but according to Becky Johns, it may be the only way to travel comfortably with kids.

Many Americans agree, according to Jill Biggins, public communications director for Princess Cruises.

"We see the cruise business almost doubling to 8 million passengers by the year 2000," Biggins said in a telephone interview. "And the strength of this increase is predicted to be the family cruise segment."

Though the initial cost of a cruise may seem prohibitive, consider that transportation, food and accommodations are included in the package price. Many activities are also included, but some offshore excursions require additional fees.

The cost of a cruise varies with the season, the stateroom (a suite vs. a regular room) and the room's location on the ship. The brochure rates for seven-day vacations on the Regal Princess range from $1,380 to $3,360 per person, but a third or fourth person may share a stateroom for as little as $680. These basic fares are subject to early booking or other discounts.

What's in a family cruise for mom and dad?

"Everyone could do what they wanted," said Becky Johns. The kids were busy all the time with the youth activities program on the ship, my husband loved the gym with its air pressurized weight machines, and I could talk with my friends or read without worrying about what everyone else was doing. It's much better than going anyplace in a car or a train or an airplane."

What's in it for kids?

Plenty. Shipboard life was like spending seven days at an amusement park. The ocean was a natural roller coaster and the activity schedule ran nonstop.

On sea days or evenings, the ship's youth director supervised arts and crafts, table games, basketball or ping pong tournaments and even a Frisbee toss. (Some Princess ships have a dedicated Youth Center with an 18-hour-a-day staff; other ships provide a supervised program if at least 15 children are booked on the cruise. The Regal Princess didn't have a Youth Center, but a youth director joined our cruise because of the number of kids in our group.)

"It totally amazed me that the youth director could do so much with so little," Becky Johns recalled. "She did it all with a deck of cards and a bit of embroidery thread."

In addition to such predictable planned activities for kids, youth director Anne Harrington, (both a certified teacher and a registered nurse) guided our clan through the bowels of the ship for a hide-and-seek game, conducted a get-acquainted-with-the-facility scavenger hunt and produced a karaoke singing finale where 14-year-old Jamie Wheeler gave an unforgettable Elvis impersonation.

To get acclimatized on the 12-story, 1,600-passenger ship, Jon Bench, John Alldredge, David Todd and David Hopkins made a beeline for the pizza parlor, open 10 hours a day.

Once they discovered there was familiar food, they found the formal dining room not nearly so intimidating.

Andy Millar, 16, vowed to be adventurous in placing his dinner orders.

"I tried new things I'd never eaten before like oxtail and banana soups or pastas with unusual sauces," Millar admitted. "Sometimes I ate appetizers or fish that others at the table ordered and then were afraid to try."

Millar admitted to adding the cruise-projected eight pounds to his frame, but the seven pounds that Russ Morrow gained posed a more serious problem.

"I wrestle for Highland and I really had to work to get back to my weight limit when I got home," he told me after the cruise.

For the younger kids like David Todd, 12, the menu seemed more precarious.

One evening he ordered Lobster Thermidor. He took one look, consulted his father, Doug, and negotiated with the waiter, who promptly brought him Beef Wellington.

"That lobster thing looked sick," Todd moaned. "I couldn't even think of eating it."

Then there was the night all six 12- and 13-year-old boys selected French fries, then one by one declined a serving of vegetables. When the last "no, thank you" slipped out, the boys giggled at the success of their plot.

At home, a mother would have insisted on vegetables for everyone.

Dining at home seldom includes the "dress-for-dinner" rules imposed on the ship, but the kids rotated tables, placed individual orders, carried on 90-minute conversations and learned to let the waiter place their napkin - all a nutshell course in etiquette.

After-dinner entertainment included a variety of musical performers and high-energy entertainers. Not all the comedy routines would qualify for a G-rating, but the overall package kept the kids occupied for another hour.

Biggins explained that the line considers wholesome, family-geared entertainment with a lot of spectacle a priority in the cruise business.

Late-night activities included swimming in the ship's pool and relaxing in a hot tub not jampacked with people, marathon ping pong tournaments, card games, dancing and the midnight buffet.

Lillian Alldredge reported difficulty getting her son John, 12, away from the endless activities and into bed.

"He doesn't function on a few hours' sleep," she explained. "He always wakes up at 6 a.m. no matter what time he goes to bed."

An early wake-up call on in-port days provided an extra dimension to the cruise.

Our first stop in the Bahamas introduced the kids to the warmth of the Caribbean waters.

"It's just like a bath," claimed 9-year-old Melissa Todd.

Warm waters surrounded the tiny Bahamaian island of Eleuthera, a private beach leased by the cruise line.

A taste of the sunny climes prepared the group for a full day on the island of Jamaica.

While the Johns explored the island on a river raft and went to a sugar cane processing plant, others in our group hired a driver and van for a private tour. We drove to the highest point above Montego Bay for a panoramic view, then toured the coast to Rose Hall, a restored plantation house.

A downtown shopping spree at the duty-free shops found Melissa Todd in a reggae cap complete with dreadlocks, while her sister, Becca, succumbed to native pressure to corn-row braid her blond hair.

(We spent about four hours in the tour van at a cost of $5 per person.)

Our third port of call was George Town on Grand Cayman.

Known for its unique green turtle hatchery and white sand-Seven Mile Beach, Grand Cayman offered a complete tropical experience.

Snorkel and scuba expeditions uncovered brightly colored fish and coral reefs, but the highlight of the explorations was the stop at Sting Ray City.

"Sting Ray City was the best part of the whole trip," said Jon Bench, 13. "I couldn't believe how big those things were."

For Suzee Millar, 13, the size of the sting rays was overwhelming.

"I was snorkeling along by my dad when a sting ray about three feet across came too close," Suzee said. "I slid onto my dad's back and he sunk. He said all of a sudden he was breathing water not air, but I got away from the sting ray."

Veteran traveler in our group, Jim Wheeler, booked reservations for the sting ray snorkeling trips. The four-hour charter boat ride with eight to 10 passengers included rental gear, two native guides, squid to feed the sting rays, a second stop at a coral reef and transportation back to the ship. The cost was $25 per person.

In Mexico we chose from three excursions: the ruins of the ancient Mayan civilization at Tulum, Cancun or the island of Cozumel for duty-free shopping and water sports.

We opted to shop on Cozumel followed by a 10-minute, $3 cab ride to the cozy Chankanaab Lagoon, part of the Playa del Sol Beach, a quick-stop snorkeling sight. Well-maintained and shaded beaches skirt an inlet heavily stocked with brightly colored fish. Shallow water and easy access to the lagoon simplified the snorkeling for everyone.

With a final day at sea, kids and parents alike relaxed amid the shipboard activities.

Karen Johns, 15, found time to do a report for her art class.

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The ship boasted a million-dollar contemporary art collection aboard; Johns toured stairwells and passageways taking notes and photographs. She settled on a painting by Frank Stella as her favorite, trying to recall why she recognized that name.

The answer arrived back home.

"We had a Scholastic Magazine in the mail when we got home," Becky Johns added. "There was Frank Stella in the feature story, one of the most important contemporary American artists."

From every aspect: art, food, music, culture, history, etiquette or recreation, a cruise provides a broad educational experience for kids. Not to mention hours of relaxation for parents.

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