Single parents with young children

[Kimberly9701]

I'm only a few months away from my 5th DCL cruise with my daughter (9). Our first cruise was when she was 5 and we obviously love it!!

She liked the kids club when she was younger but not so much now. We make a deal that she has to do the kids club for at least a few hours each trip. I schedule a spa visit and a Palo brunch (don't miss this IMO) but the rest of the time is family time. I still haven't made it to the adults only pool!

One other suggestion would be to make sure to join the meet group for your cruise. Since it's just the two of is its been helpful to "meet" other families ahead of time. Our second cruise I chatted with another single mom and we linked to sit together for dinner. The kids got along well and it makes it easier for the kids to have friends to go to the club with if they don't have siblings. The moms hit it off well also so we did Palo brunch together too!

I haven't done the parks yet but I really love cruising with her. We can do as much or as little as we want to do. We cruised to Alaska this summer and were busy on port days but just hung out on sea days. I've also priced a week long park visit and IMO cruising is either comparable or cheaper when you consider the food and entertainment

Have fun!

Thanks I didn't even know that there was a meet group! I will definitely join that closer to departure!
As far as pricing, it is a little bit less, Will be about the same after shore excursions. However, the main reason I didn't choose he Mediterranean (which was my original plan) was bc I just can't bring myself to pay that much for a just turned 6 year old, at time of travel, when he barely eats, and again, wouldn't use the kids club outside of maybe 3 hours max. Putting that on the back burner for about 4-5 more years.

 

[Weedy]

The clubs never max out. There is always space available. This is why sometimes when someone tries to add a child to their cabin after their initial reservation they can't. It so happens if the lifeboats in that area are full.
Disney knows how many kids are on board.

 

[firepuppy]

I am a single mom and have always taken my DS on cruises by myself. We just finished number 6 and have 7 booked. Depending on when you sail is how many kids will be on the ship. If you are going in the fall or early winter the number of kids will be lower. I have enjoyed taking my son out of school for him to enjoy and experience new things. His teachers did his homework around where we were going. On our last trip we had less them 300 kids under the age of 18 y/o.

I would recommend going the group as early as you can. You will have a chance to find other parents with kids around the same age and other single parents. Each group is different and I have enjoyed getting to know others and most of the time they will have events during the cruise.

Enjoy you cruise

 

[EvieBug]

We love to cruise and love the Disney ships. But just an FYI if your son loved the pool at the hotel you need to understand the pools on the ship can be VERY crowded (they have been called kid soup). Just wanted to let you know this before hand.

Some helpful hints. Go early
and plan to leave around 11:30am when it gets crazy. There are lots of things to do on the ship during the crazy crowded pool time.
Skip the sit down dinner one night and get quick service by the pool. The pools clear out about 4:30pm when people start to get ready for dinner and the shows.
There are excursions at many of the ports that involve swimming.
Stay on the ship one of the port days when most people get off the ship.
Plan a day at the pool at a hotel before or after your cruise. The pool at the Yacht and Beach Hotel is wonderful.
View attachment 126212

WOW.

Thanks for the tips, that looks moderately horrible!

 

[Racer X]

IMHO and since you asked... you are waaaay over extended with a 5 year old. Knowing you are trying to make it perfect, honestly less is more. He probably would have loved just spending the day at the pool then you could have grabbed a nap then a character dinner. 2 character meals, park, pool, fireworks, parade... oh my. I would have a tantrum after all of that.

 

[ubish00]

I have been travelling solo with my niece since she was 23 months. We have done both resort and cruise vacations. She's 4 and will be going on her 3rd Disney cruise this year. She LOVES it and I much prefer it as well. You can do as little or as much as you want. This up coming cruise will be the first where she doesn't take daily naps. She went to the kids club a couple of times on the last cruise but we enjoy spending time together. Disney matched her up with a table mate that was 2 days older and you would have thought they'd known each other for years.
I generally just go with the flow on sea days. We go at her pace and she's one happy kid. I have only signed up for one or two adult events in the past and put her in the kids club. She's a little older now so I will take more adult time for myself. She loves the characters and princesses so I will look for kid's club events where they will be in attendance.
As for the pools, she enjoys them and will spend an hour or two and then want to do something else.
This year I joined the Facebook group when I booked the cruise and we have planned some adult only and kid friendly meet and greets and events. I am truly looking forward to meeting people in person.
In summary, I have encouraged many friends to cruise with their young children. Personally I think it's so much easier.

 

[Kimberly9701]

I took my son to WDW three times before we did a cruise, and I can honestly say that a cruise is WAY more relaxing than the theme park! We love WDW, but I end up being sort of a touring commando. The cruise is so much more laid back...we slept in, didn't feel like we HAD to be anywhere, and my son LOVED the kids' club. We our first cruise for Thanksgiving 2013 and are booked again in December (for my son's birthday - his choice). I think cruising is a great option for single parents, and since my son is an only child, it was also a great opportunity for him to socialize.

My plan is for my son and I to spend any days in port together (doing excursions) and to eat dinner together every night. Beyond that, I let him tell me what he wants to do and where he wants to go. I do book Palo Brunch for myself, and he likes to watch the movies and shows, so we do that together. But, I don't feel guilty at all for letting him spend time in the kids' club since he enjoys it so much.

I am a single mom and have always taken my DS on cruises by myself. We just finished number 6 and have 7 booked. Depending on when you sail is how many kids will be on the ship. If you are going in the fall or early winter the number of kids will be lower. I have enjoyed taking my son out of school for him to enjoy and experience new things. His teachers did his homework around where we were going. On our last trip we had less them 300 kids under the age of 18 y/o.

I would recommend going the group as early as you can. You will have a chance to find other parents with kids around the same age and other single parents. Each group is different and I have enjoyed getting to know others and most of the time they will have events during the cruise.

Enjoy you cruise

Thanks! It's good to read these posts. I am taking him out of school, but from what I've heard/read that it still is an extremely crowded time of year. I'm still back and forth between the Magic or the Fantasy- so will be Nov 26th or 27th, but either way we will still be going to Orlando for a day at Legoland. And hoping to fit in an MK day in as well, all of the crowd calendars I've seen have the last week of November and first week of December in red .

 

[ubish00]

Thanks! It's good to read these posts. I am taking him out of school, but from what I've heard/read that it still is an extremely crowded time of year. I'm still back and forth between the Magic or the Fantasy- so will be Nov 26th or 27th, but either way we will still be going to Orlando for a day at Legoland. And hoping to fit in an MK day in as well, all of the crowd calendars I've seen have the last week of November and first week of December in red .

We cruised on the Magic last year the week after Thanksgiving and even though they said it was full, it didn't feel crowded. The kiddie pool was nothing like the picture posted above.

 

[Kimberly9701]

Good to know! I admit that picture is very frightening! I don't know if the fantasy will be worse since it is so much larger, I would rather leave from PC bc of the Orlando days, but I would also rather do an eastern over western Carribean. There are only 4-5 rooms left in the category I want so I do need to decide quickly.