I'm not going to lie, I'm terrified

[Manolo2121]

..I have five combat tours under my belt, I've served all over the world as a soldier and a civilian, but the this surprise cruise I gotten for my two kids, Jan 2, 2016 with ( a boy 13, girl, 10 ) has me scared to death...

I don't know what to expect vis-a-vis being a single male parent... Make no mistake this is for the kids and creating memories, I just don't want to spend this entire time talking with, my albeit brilliant, children, and no other adult.

What are my options? Will the line pair me with another single parent family or am I on my own? Believe me, I can do alone with one hand tied behind my back, it's just I don't prefer to do it if I don't have to do it...

Can someone enlighten me please? Any info is greatly appreciated. Safe travels all....

Regards from the desert southwest

 

[momofboyz3]

Hi There,
First off thankyou for your service.
I am planning our first ever cruise with my 3 boys. I have no idea what we are in for as I have never cruised before so I have no advice but I will be following along to see what others have to say. I know they will have a blast & I look forward to the relaxation of it all.
I took my boys back in 2013 on our first wdw trip and it was phenomenal. I did not once feel awkward when they ran off to play the arcades or go pole fishing. Everyone was friendly. Actually, the most awkward was when I was sitting by the pool bar and another single parent came over to chat... Lol... I just wasn't expecting that at wdw.
Have fun planning!!!!

 

[Mindertaz]

I just came back from DCL cruise with my two kids over Thanksgiving. Here are my thoughts:
You will spend a lot of time with your kids, but they will probably also spend a lot of time in the kids activities
Find the forum on DCL for your cruise and see if there are some other single parents - our forum did a meetup on day 1.
There was a singles meetup on the ship as well.
There are also activities for adults and families that should appeal to every interest.

I am painfully shy, so I didn't do the meetups - but if you are moderately outgoing there seemed to be people to talk to. I spent some time on the adult deck while the kids were in the clubs and people were friendly. If I was better at engaging with strangers, I think I would have had more fun. There were enough activities that if you wanted to do them, you could certainly fill your time while the kids are in the clubs. This was our first cruise and I was dealing with my son who is on the Autism spectrum and I don't know that I relaxed until the last 2 days - he was nervous and didn't get comfortable enough to spend more than 45 minutes at a time in the clubs until then. Next time I will do more activities because I won't have to worry so much about him.
Most of all enjoy - even with all the challenges my son faced for this cruise, and lots of alone time for me, we had a great time and will do another. My daughter was delighted from minute one and she found the whole thing magical.

 

[4Mickeys]

Holidaying with kids as a solo parent is really just and extension of our everyday life as solo parents. We do most things 'alone' or 'alone' with our kids. Is this a new adjustment for you? Maybe that's why you are feeling so nervous - I have been doing this solo for quite some time now. I have noticed that if I am off on a holiday just my kids and I - I cope with it better actually - the time I spend with them is more relaxed and I really enjoy it - not a cruise but we flew from Australia to LA to do DL and the LA area in 2014 for 3 weeks - so being so far from home there was never any downtime for me in that trip and I loved every minute of it and have the best memories. But I find when I have gone on other holidays closer to home e.g. camping or island resort with friends who are married and have kids I don't cope as well emotionally - I find myself feeling very alone on the inside wishing for what I have lost.

 

[Madmacdad]

Hi,
I'm a single dad with two daughters 13 and 11 and we love Disney cruises! We're going on our 5th in August on the Fantasy. My kids love the clubs and end up making friends that they hang out with off and on during the cruise. When they're at the clubs, I'll usually hang out at the Family Pool watching a movie on the Dumbo-tron or maybe do some exploring around the ship. I just make sure to leave a note on my stateroom door message board we bring. I always keep my Wave Phone with me and have the girls call me when the leave their club/activity so we can meet up. I set rules which they follow. While I believe they are safe on their own, having a meeting place and knowing what they should do if there is a problem is an added level of safety.

If I'm really looking to be with adults and may be have a conversation, I'll head up to the Currents Bar (Fantasy or Dream) and have beer. There is usually someone to have a conversation with.

Because there is the 3 of you, you'll probably share your dinner table with another family. We had that happen on our cruise on the Dream last year and had a nice time. Then we'd see each other during the rest of the cruise. Head over to the Disney Cruise Forum and check out the Meet Up Links for your cruise. I've signed up for boards for the cruise we are going on and you start to feel a part of a virtual community. Someone usually plans a Meet Up during the cruise (maybe boarding day), then you get to meet the folks you have "met" online. Really fun! And I am not the most outgoing guy.

I hope you have a great time on your cruise!

 

[Manolo2121]

Hi,
I'm a single dad with two daughters 13 and 11 and we love Disney cruises! We're going on our 5th in August on the Fantasy. My kids love the clubs and end up making friends that they hang out with off and on during the cruise. When they're at the clubs, I'll usually hang out at the Family Pool watching a movie on the Dumbo-tron or maybe do some exploring around the ship. I just make sure to leave a note on my stateroom door message board we bring. I always keep my Wave Phone with me and have the girls call me when the leave their club/activity so we can meet up. I set rules which they follow. While I believe they are safe on their own, having a meeting place and knowing what they should do if there is a problem is an added level of safety.

If I'm really looking to be with adults and may be have a conversation, I'll head up to the Currents Bar (Fantasy or Dream) and have beer. There is usually someone to have a conversation with.

Because there is the 3 of you, you'll probably share your dinner table with another family. We had that happen on our cruise on the Dream last year and had a nice time. Then we'd see each other during the rest of the cruise. Head over to the Disney Cruise Forum and check out the Meet Up Links for your cruise. I've signed up for boards for the cruise we are going on and you start to feel a part of a virtual community. Someone usually plans a Meet Up during the cruise (maybe boarding day), then you get to meet the folks you have "met" online. Really fun! And I am not the most outgoing guy.

I hope you have a great time on your cruise!

Thanks for the advice...I really am looking forward to it.... It's still some time away...and I'm getting fired up about this adventure... Thanks again for info. It is truly appreciated...

 

[firepuppy]

I have been on 6 cruises as a single mom. We have number 7 and 8 ready to go. They will try to match you up for dinner with others who have kids close to the age of your kids. I also set rules and have a meeting place. My DS is now 19 and thinks it is funny he can come in to the adult area. Some of the cruise groups have a ton of fun things to do with the group before the cruise and while you are on the cruise, it would be fun to look at what they are doing. Have fun and keep us posted.

 

[txdisneymama]

I cruised solo with my kids for the first time last summer. Yes, you will spend a lot of time with your kids. But they will (hopefully) also want to do a lot of the kids' activities, which which will give you plenty of time to explore and relax. We were not on a Disney cruise, but it was still mostly families. I didn't meet any other parents traveling alone with their kids. That said, the family we sat with at dinner was so nice, funny and fun, and they didn't seem to bat an eye that I was there by myself. But maybe that was just luck! When they would see me out an about on the ship, they would invite me to sit with them and have a drink or whatever. We were from the same state, so that probably helped too. But even if I hadn't been lucky to be paired with that family, I'm sure there would have been someone on board with whom I shared a common interest. I also found that when I was alone, the crew members would be chatty if I welcomed it. They were mostly from abroad, so they enjoyed talking about their native homes, which I often found really fascinating.

 

[kamerino]

I did a Disney cruise with my daughter (I'm a single mom) two years ago. I joined the Facebook group for our sail dates, and was able to meet a few other single parents there, and as luck would have it, I was paired for dinner with a single dad and his fantastic daughter. Our kids hit it off, and we ended up spending much of the cruise together. It was a lot of fun, and I ended up making a good friend.