Would DD11 Enjoy a Cruise without a Buddy?

[sallysue66]

Found a good deal on a cruise but afraid DD will be bored with just me and her dad. Thoughts or experiences?

 

[Justsyd2]

There's a lot to do on and off the ship. I think she'll be fine. Most of the ships have kid's clubs too, so that's another option. Really, there's tons of things to do on a cruise!

 

[valleygirl]

She'll have blast! Most cruises have kids clubs and the kids make friends right away. The last cruise we went on my daughter was 10 and she couldn't wait to get to the kids club to hang out with her friends. What line are you cruising with? We've always gone Royal Caribbean and love their kids clubs and activities. Disney, of course, has great kids activities and I've heard good things about Carnival's kids clubs.
Maura

 

[gr8leg8]

Our DD (8) only child loves cruising

3 day out of Long Beach (stops in Catalina & Ensenada)
&
4 day Disney Cruise

She loved having Dad and I all to herself,
dressing up for dinner,
Castaway Cay was a huge hit,
as was Catalina.
I think she has gills.

 

[Priorityonecb]

Our 12 year old loved the cruise we did in October. We would camp out in one spot and just let her have the run of all the pools. If she changed pool locations, she had to stop by and let us know. She made friends instantly, and then the families would trade off...her friends new mom took them to make Build a Bears (Carnvial). We took the girls to a show one night. It was great.

 

[HeatherC]

She'll have a blast. My advice is to "MAKE" her go to the kids club the very first night when they do the orientation thing. That is when she will meet kids and then when they go back the next day they already know a familiar face.

It seems like the kids meet up the first night and tend to hang out together the rest of the week.

My 3 kids love cruises. Just wish I had the money to do them more often!

Which ship are you looking at?

 

[Priorityonecb]

Just a note on the previous poster. We fully intended to "make" our 12 year old go to the kids club the first night for just that reason. However, it was SO loud in there (Carnival Sensation), lights all over and she was in near tears at the thought that we were going to make her stay. We didn't make her stay, and she still found tons of kids at the pools the next day and did great!

 

[HeatherC]

Oh wow! I wouldn't have made her stay either. Most of the ships we've been on (Royal Caribbean's Voyager Class) it takes place in a dedicated kids space. The counselors were always at the door waiting and encouraging the kids to come in and visit. They are able to look around, ask questions, get engaged with an activity or two, that kind of thing. Pretty low key.

I think if I were 12 I would be intimidated with the noise and flashing lights too.

 

[Green Tea]

There will be so many things to do there is no way she'll be bored. You can do family activities, swim, play ping pong, go to a movie. It is a great trip, and if she makes friends with other kids that is good too. But tons of things to do even if she doesn't enjoy the children's program.

 

[Priorityonecb]

I know, I was expecting more friendly engaging counselors too. Seriously, when we were trying to talk to her we had to literally *yell the music was so loud. She's a sensitive child anyway, it was just all too much. But, it turned out just fine in the end!

 

[sallysue66]

She'll have blast! Most cruises have kids clubs and the kids make friends right away. The last cruise we went on my daughter was 10 and she couldn't wait to get to the kids club to hang out with her friends. What line are you cruising with? We've always gone Royal Caribbean and love their kids clubs and activities. Disney, of course, has great kids activities and I've heard good things about Carnival's kids clubs.
Maura

She'll have a blast. My advice is to "MAKE" her go to the kids club the very first night when they do the orientation thing. That is when she will meet kids and then when they go back the next day they already know a familiar face.

It seems like the kids meet up the first night and tend to hang out together the rest of the week.

My 3 kids love cruises. Just wish I had the money to do them more often!

Which ship are you looking at?

We are looking at the 5 day Carnival Fascination to Nassau and their private island. Mainly because it leaves out of Jacksonville so we can drive there in about 6 hours. Should we find a better ship? There is a ship leaving from Charleston, about 2.5 hours away, but it's a 7 day. We didn't want one that long.

 

[valleygirl]

I don't have any info about the fascination but check out cruisecritic.com. They have both professional and passenger reviews of the ships as well as message boards about the various ships/cruiselines.
Maura

 

[Mom2aGoofyBoy]

We cruised on the Fascination out of Jacksonville Last spring and had a great time. My son is an only too and was never bored, he begged us to get to go to Camp Carnival. He was 4 1/2 at the time so a little younger than yours, but they had tons of activities for them and lots of family stuff for the group as well. Book it, you will all have a great time!

Julia

 

[Disney Hot Mama]

My daughter , age 11, loves cruising. We took a cruiselast summer... Just her and I - she loved it and met a very nice girl in the kids club. She would do the kids club at sea day and when we were in port she was with me. If you daughter is OK making friends she will have a blast. There are lots of schedule activities on board.

 

[DisneyMomma81]

Depends on your child ~ we took a 4 day weekend cruise early Dec. ~ the only other time my kids had been on a cruise was when DS was 3 and a 1/2 and DD was 6 months old. DS loved the cruise (*kids club) at 3 ~ really didn't like it @ 9 ~ but he's the kind of kid who doesn't want to get to know you if he's never gonna see you again. DD on the other hand loved the club ~ she's the type who can make a friend anywhere, and while that's great it's kind of scary as well! I think to get him on a cruise again we'll need to invite a cousin or friend ~ or bring lots of card/board games, his DS and/or PSP ~ for his sake I'm glad it wasn't a week long cruise!

 

[G's mommy]

Totally agree with the PP, our son who is an only child has been cruising since he was 3 years old. He is one that never meets a stranger, is not afraid of trying new things and loves group activities. He loved the kids clubs on all our cruises and we have done Disney, Carnival and RCCL. On the other hand, my sister's preteens had no interest in meeting other kids or doing any of the activities. They were content to sit in the room and order room service and venture to the pool for an hour here and there! My son would always rather find kids his own age and hang out with them than sit by the pool with me all day while I read a book! Cruises are great vacations for families and especially 1 child families.

 

[disney1990]

We sailed in January with our 9 & 11 year old granddaughters. They quickly made friends and every night at midnight we had to drag them out of the clubs. The 9 year old never saw any of the shows and the 11 year old only saw one.