Fancy Going on a World Cruise? ESOL Discussion Activity

This resource is completely free, so please help us by sharing it widely!

If you have any feedback about this free resource, we’d love to hear from you! Please leave a comment or review below or on Facebook or Twitter.

1. Work with a partner. Discuss the following questions about going on a world cruise:

• Have you ever been on a world cruise? Tell me about it. What other water-based trips have you made?
• Would you like to take a few months off and see the world by cruise ship? Why? / Why not?
• Which countries and cities in the world would you most like to visit? Why?
• Which excursions and overland trips would you pay extra for? Tell me more.
• Which parts of the world do you have no desire to visit? Why?
• How would you feel being at sea for such a long time? Would you get seasick?
• What would you do if there was an emergency and the ship was far from port?
• How would you afford to book a cruise, including taking time off work?
• Would you enjoy meeting other people on the ship? Would you make friends for life, or get sick of seeing the same faces day in, day out?
• What would be the better investment – buying a new camper van or going on a world cruise?
• What would you learn most from this kind of holiday?

2. a) Read the Daily Mail article about ‘the ultimate round-the-world cruise’:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-7168635/The-ultimate-round-world-cruise-194k-Viking-Ocean-Cruises.html

b) Find the following words in the text and check the meanings:

• perks
• myriad
• amenities
• disembark
• plutocrats
• adorned with
• infinity pool
• grotto
• extravagance
• strolling
• geopolitics
• upcoming destinations
• sumptuous
• circumference
• landscapes
• occupants
• veranda
• pedestrian
• thrilling

c) Find the idioms in the text and check the meanings:

• mere mortals
• come the evening
• to stretch your legs
• top dollar
• all aboard
• bucket list
• tourist hotspots
• to have money to burn
• to tear yourself away from sth (something)
• time to kill
• to be fobbed off with
• to tick off sth
• the experience of a lifetime
• a full complement
• the same old sth
• bill of fare
• king-size bed

d) List the attractions for passengers on the cruise.

3. Look at the map and discuss the route. Would you go… a) for two weeks? b) for the whole trip? c) never in a month of Sundays?

4. Draw a world map; plot your own route for a 4-month world cruise. Which countries and cities would you visit and what would you do along the way? Present your ideas to the class.

5. Think up five possible questions you could ask a travel agent about your cruise.

6. Role play the questions: one of you is the customer, who is interested in the 4-month cruise, and the other is the travel agent.

7. Imagine that you go on the cruise, but it is far from perfect. In fact, you have five specific complaints. Role play the complaints together and decide on the final outcome, e.g. a full refund.

8. Present your finished role play to the rest of the class, who offer constructive feedback, and then share their work.

9. Homework / further study 1: Write up one or both of the role plays as written dialogues.

10. Homework / further study 2: Write a comprehension quiz based on the image in the article, e.g. ‘Where does the cruise stop on day 60?’ and ‘How many days does the ship spend in Brazil?’ etc.

Which countries and cities would you most like to visit? Why?

Images: Viking Cruises and stokpic from Pixabay