Best cruise for a single parent

[snooksmum]

Hi,

 

I'm trying to decide which cruise line will be best for my next cruise for myself and my 5 year old son.

 

We've just returned from NCL Mexican Riviera. We loved the kids club and I especially liked the fact that the kids club was open non-stop from 9am to 10pm. Having it open through the dinner hour allowed me to have a grown up dinner a couple of times during the week. The food, however, was disappointing and the buffet was dire.

 

I've looked at RCL, but it looks like their kids club is closed from 5 to 7. I was wondering how people manage an adults-only dinner if the kids club is closed during the dinner hour?

 

Are there other lines with good food, (including good casual restaurants), good kids club and childcare during dinner?

 

Also: If I'm at a shared table at dinner, I'm wondering how my table mates will react to dining with a reasonably well-behaved five year old. That will depend on the individuals, of course, but I'm wondering how kids in the dining room are generally perceived.

 

Thanks!

[lardai]

On both of my 7 night RCCL cruises kids club offered a kids dinner at Johnny Rockets (free) if signed up in advance on 3 nights during the cruise. My oldest ate there once per cruise but otherwise my kids always eat in the dining room with us. Both of these cruises we had an extended family of 13 at one big table so no strangers with us to comment on. My youngest has never wanted to eat with kids club so she always eats with us. On my Carnival cruise dd was 17 months old and always ate in the dining room with me and my friend but since the cruise wasn't full (October 2001) we had a table for 3.

 

On Disney obviously kids are expected. On our honeymoon cruise on Disney Magic 3 night cruise we were seated with a mother/grandfather and two young kids plus a single mother with a teen age son. Dh and I enjoyed talking to the kids and never figured out why they left so early each night but looking back they were probably in a rush to get to kids club. The teenager was very nice and friendly. His mom had a terminal illness so he spent almost all his time with her. Basically even though we were childless that cruise we had no issues sitting with kids in the dining room.

[Kerry's Girls]

I think on both Carnival and Princess, the kids clubs are also closed between 5-7. You could do adult-only dinner by taking your child to the buffet for dinner early, then doing the late traditional seating for yourself.

 

Kids are welcome in the dining room at traditional seating, but sharing a table may be another matter. I've never shared a table when cruising with my kids. Maybe you could request a table with another family. Personally, I wouldn't want to share a table with passengers who are cruising without children. Or request a large table so you can migrate toward those who are more accepting of a small child among them.

 

I travel as a single parent on Princess, but it sounds like RCCL might suit you more because of the different restaurants. There is no casual restaurant on Princess, but they have a grill (burgers/chicken/hot dogs) and a pizza grill and a so-so buffet. Carnival has a better buffet, but the food in general isn't as good as Princess or RCCL.

 

Best,

Mia

[junglejane]

You could go on Princess and sign up for Anytime Dining instead of Traditional Dining. The dining rooms, menu and dress code are exactly the same as in traditional dining. Some nights you could dine early (5:30 or later) with your son, and you could even ask if there are any other families you could be seated with that night. Other nights you could feed him early in the buffet or the grill or pizza by the pool, and then check him into the Fun Zone. Then you could dine yourself after 7 pm and ask to be seated with others. That would give you flexibility. They also have some kids' dinners but I think they are at 7 pm.

 

--Junglejane

[#1TravelMom]

I highly recommend Princess. My 4 1/2 yr. old loves Princess kids club. I often will take her to the buffet then go to formal dinner myself. We especially like the freshwater pools and MUTS!!!

[RENMama]

when we sailed with carnival in 06 the kids club was open at 4pm and did take the kids to dinner if you asked. they took them to the buffet up on deck.

we always took our boys (5yo and 15m at the time) with us to formal dinner though. but when we walked by the kids dining with camp carnival they seemed to all be behaving and eating.

[LizaMM]

I am a single parent as well and have only sailed Carnival so far...I have sailed solo and with my kids and always had a great experience!

 

As far as dining goes...when I have sailed with my kids i have been seated with another single parent also with kids around the same age.

 

I have also seen people who opt for Late Dining and either take their kids to the buffet for dinner or let them go to Camp Carnival dinner so they can dine alone.

 

When I cruise with my kids we usually spend the day and have dinner together and then they do the Camp activities in the evening (for free and then for a fee after 10) and I go "play" as well.

[azbaby8062]

I have sailed twice with just my son and I. When we sailed on the Miracle this past June, there were many nights where Camp Carnival had dinner on the Lido Deck. That gave me the option, if I wanted to have dinner w/o him. They also had the extended care (for a small fee) after hours, which gave me a chance to do some adult activities. What I also liked was the fact that they even brought the kids to some of the shows, even having them on stage for one of them. My son absolutely loved that.

[rebeccalouise]

I travel frequently with my child and in most cases they will assign you to a table with other children. Only on one line, Holland America, did they seat us at a table with only adults.

 

I highly recommend that you try Celebrity. They offer a kids dinner at 6PM each night- then the kids go back to the Fun Factory immediately after their dinner. This gives you the option of dining without your child at the early seating. I also found Celebrity to be very single friendly. Celebrity tends to be a bit more formal than RCL though. The Fun Factory is the best youth program at sea- bar none. We've tried them all.

 

I have mixed feelings about Royal Caribbean. I think they are great with kids because they are more casual, have more dining options and entertainment for kids. However, I thought the pool area on Radiance was filthy and my son got sick on that ship. For those that intend to use the blow up pool- please remember that when you drain urinated pool water on the main pool deck- it stinks! All-in-all- I am not a big RCL fan but am giving them a third try on Independence of the Seas at the end of the month.

[BostonGal07]

I'm a single mom that has traveled on Royal Caribbean - request the main seating for dinner and a large table. Better luck to be seated with other families. RCI does have kids night dinners at Johnny Rockets that the kids do not want to miss. Enjoy!

[Eeyoregon]

If anyone is interested we are in the works of planning a CC member cruise for single parents and friends/family in 2010...just waiting for the rates to come out. Come on over if you are interested http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=747850

 

gina

[farmerjohn]

The last time we took our children on RCI, all of the families with children were grouped together in the same area of the dining room. I don't know if they do this on every cruise or just on this one. It actually made it easier on the parents since there were plenty of other parents with children around you and you were not as worried about the noise. The waiters in this area also seemed very used to dealling with children.

[stsomewhere]

Disney children's programs are open all day . The kids can eat lunch and dinner there.

[wfinley]

Hi,

 

I'm trying to decide which cruise line will be best for my next cruise for myself and my 5 year old son.

 

We've just returned from NCL Mexican Riviera. We loved the kids club and I especially liked the fact that the kids club was open non-stop from 9am to 10pm. Having it open through the dinner hour allowed me to have a grown up dinner a couple of times during the week. The food, however, was disappointing and the buffet was dire.

 

I've looked at RCL, but it looks like their kids club is closed from 5 to 7. I was wondering how people manage an adults-only dinner if the kids club is closed during the dinner hour?

 

Are there other lines with good food, (including good casual restaurants), good kids club and childcare during dinner?

 

Also: If I'm at a shared table at dinner, I'm wondering how my table mates will react to dining with a reasonably well-behaved five year old. That will depend on the individuals, of course, but I'm wondering how kids in the dining room are generally perceived.

 

Thanks!

 

Carnival offers kid only dinner on the lido at 6pm every night. They then go to camp carnival after that. PS Carnival has great food.

[doctordi]

The last time we cruised Carnival, the children ate in the Lido Deck with the camp staff several nights and my husband and I had an adult dinner.

 

I think that RC has a different situation. The children go to dinner with the parents in the main dinning room, they are given their dinner fairly quickly, and then after about 30-45 mins, the kids staff come to the dinning room to escort them to the activities. That is just about the time the adults are getting their entrees. I think that would work well. I didn't have children with me on that cruise but I was seated at a table with children and they used this service.

[Ellanora]

I'm also a single mom and have done Carnival and Disney with my son, and will do them both again this year. I love going on both lines, and I'm sure the other lines work fine for single parents too. However, so far I'm giving a slight edge to Disney, and here's why - the adult pool area. It's fantastic. My son and I spend the mornings and evenings together, and all day on Castaway Cay together, but during the other afternoons, he usually wants to do all the activities with kid's club - game shows, scavenger hunts, karaoke, etc. The adult pool is the best place for me to relax for the two or three hours of the day we are separated; it's never crowded, there's a dedicated bar with servers who will bring you drinks while you are IN the hot tub, extra nice padded chairs, and the coffee cafe is right there too. On the first night of the 3 night cruises, there is a singles meet in one of the adult area clubs. There's not always a lot of takers, but I don't mind talking to the Disney crew who work there - they are a lot of fun and usually very nice. I'm not a very social person, generally very busy between work and my son, so I'm always proud of my self for making the effort to be a little social on the cruise. :p