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I miei nonni partono per una crociera.

I miei nonni partono per una crociera.
My grandparents are leaving on a cruise.
From Lesson 277:Concessive conjunctions (a meno che non)·Italian

Questions & Answers about I miei nonni partono per una crociera.

Why do we use the article i in i miei nonni? I thought family members didn't take the article with possessives.
You're remembering a great rule, but there is an exception for plurals! While singular, unmodified family members drop the definite article (like mio nonno), plural family members always keep it. Therefore, it has to be i miei nonni.
Why use the preposition per here? The English translation says "leaving on a cruise."
The verb partire (to leave) teams up with the preposition per to introduce a destination or the purpose of the trip. So while we might say leaving "on" a cruise or heading "to" a city in English, Italian consistently uses per, as in partire per una crociera or partire per Roma.
Partono is the simple present tense, but the translation says "are leaving." Why not use a future tense here?
Just like in English, Italian frequently uses the simple present tense to talk about fixed plans or scheduled events in the near future. Partono translates perfectly to "they are leaving" or "they leave" when talking about a planned trip like this.

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