Single Parents?

[Kimberly9701]

Hi! I'll be taking my son on the Fantasy Nov 26, 2016.
Just wondering if there are other single mothers who have done a Disney cruise with their child/children, and your experience.

 

[TexasMouseFan]

I have cruised alone with my children. I encouraged them to go to the kids clubs and meet friends. My only 'rule' was that we all had to eat dinner together. We had main dining so we normally went to the show together after dinner. It was a good balance of alone time and family time. Enjoy your cruise!

 

[ladybugmommy84]

Following! Single mom here of 1 and November 18th will be out first cruise. Any advice is great!

 

[cruisesinflipflops]

I've done several cruises with my boys. Best vacations ever! The kids spent lots of time in their clubs and I enjoyed the pool, spa and classes like cocktails and cooking. We had the rule of eating dinner together. There's usually a singles lunch where you can meet other single parents. Check your navigator. I also met people through online groups for the specific cruises. I enjoyed the time on my own. As a single parent (widow), time for myself is a rarity. DCL is the best vacation for everyone...kids have fun, mom has fun and we all had fun together too!

 

[JMHDisney]

I never thought I would enjoy cruising but DCL is the only vacation as a single mom where I get a vacation too! My son would not be into random hotel kids clubs, but tell him Capt. America will be there and suddenly I have an afternoon free! I like to schedule a Palo brunch for myself (I'm generally more comfortable dining solo at brunch than at dinner). I usually schedule a spa visit too. If your child is shy, it can be good to join your cruise meet group and try to find them a buddy. Make sure they go to the club the first night to meet the other kids. I have also called DCL and asked them to seat me at dinner with kids near my son's age. They claim to not get that specific but it has worked out. Also, don't forget to give yourself some downtime. It can be tempting to run around and do everything, but I've also really enjoyed spending an afternoon reading on my veranda. I never get time to read at home! You are going to have a great time!

 

[teacher5]

Hi! Great question! I'm not a single mom but my husband is not going on our next cruise. It will be my daughter, 17, and me. I am looking forward to some relaxation! I was leary about eating at Palo by myself. I agree with Brunch but there is no availability for my cruise. I'll keep trying but our vacation starts in 11 days.

 

[mickeysgirl17]

I will be leaving on my first cruise in 12 days as a single mom of 2. I plan on putting the kids in the kids clubs during the day and doing the nightly live show and dinner together as a family every night so that im not dining by myself.

 

[scootch]

My hubby doesn't cruise with us. I have two daughters. One likes the clubs, the other does not. We have made wonderful memories over the years.

 

[Kimberly9701]

I never thought I would enjoy cruising but DCL is the only vacation as a single mom where I get a vacation too! My son would not be into random hotel kids clubs, but tell him Capt. America will be there and suddenly I have an afternoon free! I like to schedule a Palo brunch for myself (I'm generally more comfortable dining solo at brunch than at dinner). I usually schedule a spa visit too. If your child is shy, it can be good to join your cruise meet group and try to find them a buddy. Make sure they go to the club the first night to meet the other kids. I have also called DCL and asked them to seat me at dinner with kids near my son's age. They claim to not get that specific but it has worked out. Also, don't forget to give yourself some downtime. It can be tempting to run around and do everything, but I've also really enjoyed spending an afternoon reading on my veranda. I never get time to read at home! You are going to have a great time!

We have a veranda room on deck 9.. I am hoping to wake up earlier than him so I can enjoy reading out there! Vacations are about the only time I wake up before he does.. Mainly bc I'm a complete over scheduling maniac, and the poor kid is exhausted.lol.

 

[Kimberly9701]

Hi! Great question! I'm not a single mom but my husband is not going on our next cruise. It will be my daughter, 17, and me. I am looking forward to some relaxation! I was leary about eating at Palo by myself. I agree with Brunch but there is no availability for my cruise. I'll keep trying but our vacation starts in 11 days.

When does DCL allow you to book a reservation, is it at the same time as shore excursions?

 

[KAS_73]

I've cruised twice with just myself and my 2 kids. Once when they were 6 and 8 and once when they were 7 and 9. Absolutely love it!

 

[sabrecmc]

I am a single mom to a 10 year old. We've done 12 cruises. Love it, obviously! My only word of advice: Make sure to let the club/lab know that you want both WavePhones to receive text messages. I learned the hard way that this is not the default. When there is 1 adult in the room, only 1 phone (Phone1) is set up to receive texts from the club/lab. But, what if you have to charge that phone and are totally unaware the other phone is useless, you ask? Yeah, exactly. All it takes is them checking a box in their computers at the club/lab to get both of them receiving texts, but it is not automatic.

That being said, after I discovered this little issue last year when I didn't get a text that my daughter was upset and wanted to leave the club, I emailed Karl Holz (who, of course, did not actually read my email himself)...but I did get a response from a very nice man who called to tell me that they had seen my email and were going to take care of this issue and thanked me for bringing it to their attention, which I thought was wonderful. So, it might be completely fixed by now or it might have only been on the older ship's systems (we were on the Magic), I don't know. But, it doesn't hurt to check when you get them checked in for the club/lab to make sure both phones will be receiving messages.

 

[darnheather]

Taking my two girls on a cruise soon. I can't wait. When we do family vacations I have to plan everything for ages and then be in charge of everything. My husband does nothing but drive when I pass him the keys. So not having him along makes it even easier! My 10 year old will probably have lunch for me each day and both will need to have dinner with me each night. I think we'll have a blast.

 

[sdjen]

Single mom here with a ten year old. We just completed our 5th DCL cruise a couple of weeks ago. As PP stated, it's an awesome vacation for a single parent. Your kids will usually enjoy the kids clubs which gives you some alone time for brunch, a spa visit or just relaxing.

This last cruise I finally made it to the adult pool and also tried the rainforest day pass. Loved them both. We would always have dinner together and do the shows at night.

I would also second the suggestion above to join your cruise meet group. In the past I "met" another single mom on the same cruise and we arranged to sit together at dinner, and we are still friends! Your kiddo might be able to connect with other kids the same age prior to sailing which helps with making friends.

Have a great time! Prepare to get hooked!

 

[yippeeDCL]

Single mom here...Took my two kids on our 1st cruise at age 8 & 12! We are returning for our 6th...now age 20 & 24! Those were our most prized memories. Just the three of us...in the middle of the ocean...laughing and sharing new experiences. I'm blessed, they still enjoy sharing precious time together. Hope your family experiences the same joy!

 

[Syreeta]

Thanks for adding this topic. I'm cruising April 22 for 3 nights on the Dream. I have three children ages 5,7 and 9. I planned to have the kids eat dinner with me and attend the shows but its nice to read others have taken this route. Otherwise I want to leave it up to them. I've suggested each of them taking a day to spend with me since they never have alone time with me but I will let the magic of the ship guide our days.

 

[squirk]

I think JeniLynn has posted a few articles on the DIS about single-mom cruising. Might be helpful.

 

[TestingH2O]

There's a sub-forum for single parents doing Disney travel. It's not cruise specific, but I know the idea came from a cruise parent. You might get some good thoughts there too.

http://www.disboards.com/forums/disney-for-single-parents.196/

 

[Kimberly9701]

There's a sub-forum for single parents doing Disney travel. It's not cruise specific, but I know the idea came from a cruise parent. You might get some good thoughts there too.

http://www.disboards.com/forums/disney-for-single-parents.196/

Thanks for this! I've also posted on our ship's thread here, and on another site- about doing a ladies brunch at Palo and dinner at Remy. 2 people have responded so far, I'm hoping more will as well! I'd like to go to both restaurants and would rather not go alone.

 

[Kimberly9701]

I know it's still several months away.. But so far on the fb page and meet up page here, there doesn't seem to be any other women traveling with children as the only adult. Hopefully this changes in the future.
I've never had any apprehension about traveling alone with son before. But I'd prefer to not be the only one on board.
May need to load up my kindle library.lol