So you're having trouble getting the attention of your grandchildren. The eldest is a teenager and has discovered, among other things, girls. The second-eldest thinks grandparents only show up on birthdays and at Christmas, bearing gifts. The youngest is having trouble communicating with you. There's a good reason. She hasn't learned how to talk yet.
A solution?
Royal Caribbean has one. Potentially. Tell the grandkids that if they're good (i.e., an occasional phone call or email), you'll enter a draw that could mean they'll go on a big ship with you, but more importantly with Alex and Gloria and King Julien and the Penguins. It doesn't matter that they don't really understand what "could" means, nor that you don't understand who Alex and Gloria and King Julien are — remember the object of the exercise.
They'll know. If you feel that you need to, Alex and Gloria and King Julien are characters from Madagascar, and if you don't know that Madagascar is more than an island in the Indian Ocean, the grandkids will upgrade you right after you tell them about the big boat and the characters. This is all about a contest Royal Caribbean is running in conjunction with the release of Madagascar 3, the movie now in theaters.
Entering is easy…we think.
Go to Royal Caribbean's Facebook page. Tell them you like them. Click on "enter" and fill out the form. If you're sensitive about your age, forget about the contest (also getting the grandchildren's attention). You can enter even if you're 112…but then your "grandchildren" would be in their retirement years and probably wouldn't know Alex and pals either. You have to answer a trivia question or two, and every correct answer enters you in the draw. You can go back tomorrow and do it all again.
After June 20, the winner of the Madagascar at Sea Sweepstakes will win a 7-day cruise (with three guests) anywhere Royal Caribbean sails. If you have three grandchildren, since the prize is for four you'll need to ask them to keep a secret.
Grandpa won't be going.
Sapphire Princess
7 nights
June 30, 2012
Vancouver, Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, College Fjord, Anchorage
Inside: $599
Cost per day: $85
www.princess.com