Single Parent Cruise

Looking for tips on cruising as a single parent. Taking my kids on our first cruise and I'm not sure if I want to go it alone or bring another adult.

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How old are the kids? As long as they are old enough for kids club, they will likely spend a ton of time there if they are social. That means a lot of down time for you - is that what you are after or will you be bored?

I haven't done a cruise technically alone but kinda as my ex was "checkout out" from the family on our last. But is was very easy.

I have done Universal alone when my boys were 6 and 12 and that was a full time job with a lot of sending the 12 year old out for a bit or me taking the little one to the pool to give them some time apart.

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The ages of the kids do make a big difference. I took a 6-yr-old and 3-yr-old a cruise...and decided to bring my mom along. To make it even more fun, a family friend came with her 6-yr-old too. The little one DID NOT like the kids' club. I was glad for other helpers so I could get a break occasionally. I could have done this cruise by myself, but it would have been a little more stressful, especially when the little one needed to nap and the older one didn't want to sit in the room with us.

The next time we cruised, they were 7, 9, 10. We also brought along my mom and another family with kids the same age (plus a 1-yr-old) All of the kids loved having their friends to play with. We even had a slumber party one night (half the kids in my cabin, half in theirs).

I could have handled the last cruise on my own and had a blast. The two oldest loved the kids' club and spent a lot of time there. The youngest still didn't like it, but he agreed to go a few times, and the rest of the time we had fun hanging out together. The next cruise...all the grandparents are coming. The kids have decided it isn't a cruise unless there's at least one grandparent there (to sneak them cookies and ice cream when mom says no).

It depends a lot on your kids.

My kids are 10, 12 and 14. I do want to have some alone time but also some social... lol.

It seems single parenting is definitely doable on a cruise and perhaps easier than on other vacations. Which we have done.

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I took my sons when they were 7 and 4. At the time my younger son didn't want to stay in the Kid's club, but he was very attached to me and having issues at being abandoned. Otherwise we had a really great time. I didn't do the "my time" dining that many cruise lines offered and was instead seated with another family for the duration of the cruise. They were extremely nice and helped with some of the loneliness that can set in when you're traveling solo. I'm perhaps not the best solo traveler because I'm very much an extrovert. My kids were young enough that it meant early to bed each night and not taking advantage of much of the night life. If I were still single now that they're 15 and 11 I wouldn't have the same reservations.

Overall I had a great time and do not regret any of it. The staff on the ship really seemed to cater to the boys and would even help me wrangle them at the buffet where I truly didn't have enough hands to manage it all.

I found the vacationing families more outgoing at an all inclusive I did the following year. Not sure why, but it seemed that the families on that particular cruise sort of all stayed with each other and didn't socialize as much. Maybe it was just the age of my boys at the time.

I took my sons when they were 7 and 4. At the time my younger son didn't want to stay in the Kid's club, but he was very attached to me and having issues at being abandoned. Otherwise we had a really great time. I didn't do the "my time" dining that many cruise lines offered and was instead seated with another family for the duration of the cruise. They were extremely nice and helped with some of the loneliness that can set in when you're traveling solo. I'm perhaps not the best solo traveler because I'm very much an extrovert. My kids were young enough that it meant early to bed each night and not taking advantage of much of the night life. If I were still single now that they're 15 and 11 I wouldn't have the same reservations.

 

Overall I had a great time and do not regret any of it. The staff on the ship really seemed to cater to the boys and would even help me wrangle them at the buffet where I truly didn't have enough hands to manage it all.

 

I found the vacationing families more outgoing at an all inclusive I did the following year. Not sure why, but it seemed that the families on that particular cruise sort of all stayed with each other and didn't socialize as much. Maybe it was just the age of my boys at the time.

Thanks! I'm an extrovert too! But I love an early bed time... must be the parent in me. I cherish those early mornings when I'm the only one awake. I'm hoping I can sneak off to the upper decks in the morning to get some quiet time!

I'm hoping that I get such an accommodating crew too!

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Thanks! I'm an extrovert too! But I love an early bed time... must be the parent in me. I cherish those early mornings when I'm the only one awake. I'm hoping I can sneak off to the upper decks in the morning to get some quiet time!

I'm hoping that I get such an accommodating crew too!

 

 

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I think you'll do quite we with the ages of your kids. At that age I wouldn't even blink twice. My biggest challenge had been that my then 4 year old didn't want to part with me. He's 11 now and quite content to venture out on his own.

I think you'll do quite we with the ages of your kids. At that age I wouldn't even blink twice. My biggest challenge had been that my then 4 year old didn't want to part with me. He's 11 now and quite content to venture out on his own.

I remember that age. Mine would have been the opposite and running amuck amongst the ship! [emoji31] both doesn't seem like much fun!

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I have cruised with my kids as a single parent on the past 6 cruises. We have another one booked next April. I love cruising with my kids. When they were younger, they went into the kids clubs everyday so I could go to the gym in the morning. They also went later in the afternoon so I could go lay near the adult only pool to swim and read. They loved the clubs. There is so much to do on newer ships with waterparks, putt putt golf, ropes courses, arcades, comedy shows at night along with nightly shows. We would fall into bed between 9 and 10 exhausted. There is no better vacation as a single parent. I have done 3 Disney and 3 Carnival cruises.