Cruising as single parent

[Agshipp]

Good Morning! This will be my first cruise as the only adult/parent with two kids. Previously we did a family Disney cruise so there were other adults in our group. This time I will have my 6 year old daughter and 15 year old nephew. We are leaving next week on the Fantasy. Anyone else traveled as a single parent? Any tips or advice. I am hoping for both kids to spend some time in the kids clubs and I will get a break to go to the adults only pool or some other relaxing activity.

 

[Marc D]

Unfortunately, the kids will not be allowed together in the clubs, outside of open house hours. The oceaneer‘s club/lab are 3-12 and Vibe is 14-17. They are strict with the maximum age limit. I’m mentioning it since some kids are not enthusiastic about being in the clubs alone without siblings. Visiting during open hours on the first day might help her make friends.

They plan some activities for solo adults, like the solo lunch, an solo coffee time in Cove Cafe. If the 15yo is responsible enough, you could enjoy a solo dinner in Palo while the kids eat by themselves in the MDR. They will be treated like royalty by you serving team.

 

[msmama]

I travel as a single parent all the time. My son says Disney cruises are the best the best vacations ever because we each do our own things that make us happy and then just come together for meals. I'm a loner and an introvert so being alone doesn't bother me at all. That said, any time I've wanted to join something (trivia for example), I've always found a team to welcome me with open arms. We sit every morning at breakfast and kind of plan out of day, see if there's any events we want to do together or any must do's either of us want to do separately.

2 of my 4 cruises I've been on, I've been placed with other single "parent" travelers at dinner (twice it's been grandparents/grandkids). I've not made life long connections like some people, but it's been perfectly pleasant.
If you've not joined a cruise meet up group you might want to do that. Another single mom on my last cruise kind of got adopted into a couple of families so she had more people to spend time with (like I said, not really my thing so I didn't look into it).

For the older kid, you may want to make sure he goes to Vibe the first night as the older kids seem to make connections that first night (my son is 11 and didn't mind not having "friends" through the whole cruise - he was happy just hanging out with whoever was in the club at the time, but that's the kind of kid he is).

Have fun!

 

[Agshipp]

Unfortunately, the kids will not be allowed together in the clubs, outside of open house hours. The oceaneer‘s club/lab are 3-12 and Vibe is 14-17. They are strict with the maximum age limit. I’m mentioning it since some kids are not enthusiastic about being in the clubs alone without siblings. Visiting during open hours on the first day might help her make friends.

They plan some activities for solo adults, like the solo lunch, an solo coffee time in Cove Cafe. If the 15yo is responsible enough, you could enjoy a solo dinner in Palo while the kids eat by themselves in the MDR. They will be treated like royalty by you serving team.

Thank you, I am pretty sure my little one will be okay in the kids club alone for her age group. At least for a couple hours.

 

[Agshipp]

I travel as a single parent all the time. My son says Disney cruises are the best the best vacations ever because we each do our own things that make us happy and then just come together for meals. I'm a loner and an introvert so being alone doesn't bother me at all. That said, any time I've wanted to join something (trivia for example), I've always found a team to welcome me with open arms. We sit every morning at breakfast and kind of plan out of day, see if there's any events we want to do together or any must do's either of us want to do separately.

2 of my 4 cruises I've been on, I've been placed with other single "parent" travelers at dinner (twice it's been grandparents/grandkids). I've not made life long connections like some people, but it's been perfectly pleasant.
If you've not joined a cruise meet up group you might want to do that. Another single mom on my last cruise kind of got adopted into a couple of families so she had more people to spend time with (like I said, not really my thing so I didn't look into it).

For the older kid, you may want to make sure he goes to Vibe the first night as the older kids seem to make connections that first night (my son is 11 and didn't mind not having "friends" through the whole cruise - he was happy just hanging out with whoever was in the club at the time, but that's the kind of kid he is).

Have fun!

Thank you, I was wondering who we might be seated with for dinners. Last cruise since we had a larger group we didn't have any other families seated with us.

 

[Mommb]

If you trust your nephew with your daughter, you can give him permission to pick her up from the kids' club. That might be helpful if you are in the middle of an adult activity when she wants to leave. You would, of course, have to make arrangements in advance to let you know where she is if she's not in the club.

 

[MomOTwins]

Thank you, I was wondering who we might be seated with for dinners. Last cruise since we had a larger group we didn't have any other families seated with us.

We're a family of 5 and are usually seated with a family of 3 with a child the same age as one of our kids. I'd guess it would go in the reverse (i.e., you'll be with a family of 5)

 

[anjuan]

I'm a single mom of a daughter who has been doing Disney cruises for the past 7 years. I think it's a great way to travel as a single mom since I don't have to worry about driving a bunch of places or do much planning at all.

I think like others said you can find other adults to talk to on the ship if you want. The Facebook groups are a helpful suggestion. And as others said there are some solo activities. Don't be afraid to sign up for things on your own. I've done Palo brunch by myself several times now and really enjoy it.

As far as meals a couple of times we were seated by ourselves and a few times with families who had daughters close in age to mine. We're actually hoping that we are seated with others on our upcoming trip.

 

[PaoDCL]

On our first Disney cruise I traveled with my two DD (3 and 7 at that time) by myself, the hubby stayed home. On our last cruise in May, my DH and I went to Palo on our first night and the girls went to the MDR by themselves, they are 6 and 10 now. It was such a great experience for them to enjoy our servers by themselves, they treated them like princesses.
The girls knew that after dinner they can go straight to the kids club, and we can enjoy our dinner having peace of mind that the girls are safe and having a great time.
And yes, Disney Cruise is the best place to have vacations

 

[ubish00]

I've been taking my niece on an annual cruise since she was two. We've also done land trips and road trips together. We love the cruises and have done 7 together. There's plenty of opportunity to do things together or apart. The kids club is great. We always sit at a larger table for dinner and let Disney match us up with table mates. They do a great job at it. They matched her up with another girl who was 2 days older than her on our 2014 cruise and we have stayed in close contact since. We've cruised together since and gone to visit them over the years despite having to cross a border. (us/Canada). In addition to this family, we've made so many dear friends over the years. It's incredible the amount of people you meet on Disney cruises. Like a poster said above, we have frequently been adopted as part of other families very quickly.



Did you join the Facebook page for your sailing?

 

[dprincessmom]

Both cruises we have completed has been DD (then 14 ) and they have been fabulous. First cruise we were seated with what was supposed to be two other families (mother, father and child) except one of the moms didn't make the trip at the last minute. Second cruise it was all single parents and one kid (we hit it off with 2 of the other 3 couples and did activities together throughout the cruise).

I thought my DD would have liked to do the kids club, but it wasn't for her. We look at the navigator and see what we can want to do. There have been times when we go our separate ways, but it just feels weird to me to be on a family vacation but not hanging with the family.

 

[haynay]

This thread has made me feel so much better. I'm looking at taking my DD (16 next year) on a European cruise. We've only cruised as an entire family so this will be our first without my DH and DS (they are taking their own trip with my FIL for 2 weeks at the same time.)
I worry that DD will want to spend all of her time on the ship with the other teens as she did on our cruise over Christmas this year. (even though she said she won't.) I normally would hang with DH, but that won't happen this year. I don't mind being alone, but for hours on a week long cruise that isn't ideal for me. I didn't realize we might be put at a table with another family and really makes me feel better as far as meeting people and not completely being on my own while on the ship.

 

[dprincessmom]

This thread has made me feel so much better. I'm looking at taking my DD (16 next year) on a European cruise. We've only cruised as an entire family so this will be our first without my DH and DS (they are taking their own trip with my FIL for 2 weeks at the same time.)
I worry that DD will want to spend all of her time on the ship with the other teens as she did on our cruise over Christmas this year. (even though she said she won't.) I normally would hang with DH, but that won't happen this year. I don't mind being alone, but for hours on a week long cruise that isn't ideal for me. I didn't realize we might be put at a table with another family and really makes me feel better as far as meeting people and not completely being on my own while on the ship.

She will love it - if you can maybe "gift" her a spa treatment on the ship. They have a mother/daughter massage package and we have enjoyed that time together. Unless they change it, you will have to wait and book once you get on the ship (ask for the chill spa menu at the spa). We also found several games to do in the D Lounge. I took my book and enjoyed some down time, knowing she was going to have fun. We also decided to go all out for formal night (gowns, hair the works) which is so not something we would usually do. You will be surprised how she might gravitate toward hanging out with you.

We start the cruise off with a cheese and cracker plate and make an effort to try different foods on the ship. Figure out what her interests onboard might be, explore the excursions with her and let her help plan if she will. You just might find something special on this cruise.

 

[auntlynne]

This thread has made me feel so much better. I'm looking at taking my DD (16 next year) on a European cruise. We've only cruised as an entire family so this will be our first without my DH and DS (they are taking their own trip with my FIL for 2 weeks at the same time.)
I worry that DD will want to spend all of her time on the ship with the other teens as she did on our cruise over Christmas this year. (even though she said she won't.) I normally would hang with DH, but that won't happen this year. I don't mind being alone, but for hours on a week long cruise that isn't ideal for me. I didn't realize we might be put at a table with another family and really makes me feel better as far as meeting people and not completely being on my own while on the ship.

My niece (then 17) and I did a Transatlantic + 11-night Med. The port-intensive European cruise did not leave a lot of time on the ship. Even if she does the teen club, you won’t be alone long before you are in bed, getting ready for another busy day.

It was an itinerary which lended itself to late dining; we had some days when we were skimming in to the dining room after a long day of touring. This is especially true for Florence and Rome.