Single parent cruising advice please!

[Rhubarbed]

Hello, I'm a newly single parent and have a cruise booked for August 2016 on the med cruise of Carnival Vista. It was meant to be a family holiday but, as it turns out, it'll be me and my boys who are 6 and 3.

 

This is our very first cruise and I'm so excited but a little bit apprehensive about going on my own. I've been on holiday on my own with them before in the UK and I've travelled all over Europe on my own (I live in England btw!) so none of that is new. But I've never flown with them or had an extended holiday or been on a cruise on my own!

 

Does anyone have any tips or advice about cruising with kids as a single parent and also will people be friendly so I'm not on my own all week!

 

 

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[cb at sea]

Traveling with your kids is no different than living with them daily....you'll be fine! If possible, as for a larger table at dinner...that way, you can meet others. Be "chatty" at the pool, or on excursions.....be open to chatting with others!

 

While I know this will be different than the vacation your thought you would have, it will still be a good time.

[kitkat343]

There is a wonderful single mom on this forum named Mia and I'm sure she will be able to help you a lot. I'm sorry you are going through this and I hope you have a wonderful vacation. People who love kids will talk to you and your kids

[Kerry's Girls]

Hi -

 

Cruising is a great way to travel with young kids, and, as a single parent, really the easiest. A sturdy stroller will be your best friend - preferably a sit n' stand so the 6 year old also has a place to sit during long waits/walks that happen at airports and when boarding/disembarking the ship. Even if both kids are walking, the stroller is a rolling place to hold the bags, snacks, bottles of water, etc. You also want a backpack so if you're without the stroller, you can carry everything and have both hands free for the kids.

 

For our family (mom and twin daughters), the key to successful travel is to never let the kids get over-tired, hungry or thirsty. We all rest/nap before dinner. We never leave the ship without a supply of snacks and bottles of water. (When flying this is even more important. You never know if a flight is going to have a long delay, during which there will be no beverage or snack service. Bring your own snacks and meals. Having your own bottles of water also prevents inevitable spills of the cups/cans offered. It is NO fun flying for hours in wet, sticky clothing.)

 

You'll need/want proof that you're allowed to travel internationally alone with your kids, whether that's a notarized permission letter from the other parent, official custody paperwork, etc. You may not be asked for it, but if you are, it can delay or ruin your trip.

 

People are VERY friendly on cruises, there is a very social element that makes people reach out/be open to chatting with strangers. Sit with the kids in one of the lounges in the main areas and enjoy cocktails/Shirley temples, or let the kids enjoy the kids program and sit yourself at one of the busy bars or piano bar; join one of the trivia games - teams are always looking for another player.

 

The only thing that I find impossible as a single parent with young kids is the buffet. The dining room is much easier and more enjoyable. You can sit and enjoy your kids while others do all the work/serving. If you'd like, you can also be seated at larger tables at breakfast and lunch and have some social time that way. I prefer a table on our own at dinner as I like to focus my attention on the kids and talk about our day and our plans for the next, but you can also request to be seated with another family if you prefer.

 

Join the roll-call for your cruise. That's a great way to get a head start on meeting others you'll be sailing with - possibly other families.

 

Happy to answer any questions you have.

 

All the best,

Mia

[Kerry's Girls]

There is a wonderful single mom on this forum named Mia and I'm sure she will be able to help you a lot.

 

How sweet - thank you!

[whulfc86]

I am a single parent cruising with my 6 year old in August, I've been on cruises before this is the first one just the two of us!

[A&Jfamily]

Hello, I'm a newly single parent and have a cruise booked for August 2016 on the med cruise of Carnival Vista. It was meant to be a family holiday but, as it turns out, it'll be me and my boys who are 6 and 3.

 

This is our very first cruise and I'm so excited but a little bit apprehensive about going on my own. I've been on holiday on my own with them before in the UK and I've travelled all over Europe on my own (I live in England btw!) so none of that is new. But I've never flown with them or had an extended holiday or been on a cruise on my own!

 

Does anyone have any tips or advice about cruising with kids as a single parent and also will people be friendly so I'm not on my own all week!

 

 

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I will second the "eat in the dining room" whenever possible. This is a vacation for you too and having someone bring you your food, refill your drink and make your bed are HUGE pluses IMHO! And yes - join your roll call or FB site.

 

You are going on a great ship for a first cruise and the kids will have a ball! My boys have cruised since 2 and 8 respectively (now 12 and 18) and have always loved the kids groups. And while I have not cruised solo technically - my last family cruise with my ex was 2 weeks before we split. He spent the entire time doing his own thing, so I might as well have been solo parenting. And probably far more lonely than you will be because I was not in a position to go to the singles meet and greet and get togethers. Places that are quieter - like the martini bar are a great way to strike up conversations with others. And there is always something going on on a Carnival ship from ice carving to trivia.

 

And lets face it - splitting is tough, no matter how great the reasons or necessary it may be. A cruise is a great time for "me" time because the kids can go to camp. Splurge on the spa. Work out in the gym or talk a walk/run around the track. Go to the serenity area and relax with a book - how often to moms get to do that, much less, solo ones? At night, play slots, watch a show (comedy is generally pretty good) or stroll under the stars and ponder life. As long as you remember that despite the ups and downs you are very fortunate to have this experience and to share it with your kids, your heart and mind will be in a great spot and all 3 of you will have a fantastic time!

[rebeccalouiseagain]

I agree- bring the stroller. I also would recommend doing the ship excursions instead of going it alone. You will feel more secure by doing so IMO. There will be other adults along and children on a summer cruise. My sons enjoyed sitting up high in buses. At age 6 and 3 they will be fine. If the guide is walking too slowly or it's boring for them. Just agree to meet back at the bus at the given time.

 

The kids are going to like the ship the best- so don't worry about spending a lot of time on excursions anyway.

 

Utilize the youth program. I'd select a set time for dinner. They are apt to seat you with other parents and children. Get a large table.

 

I love trivia and make friends really easily there. Even if you aren't wild about it- go without the kids because they would be bored and antsy. The other teams will welcome you into the fold.

Edited May 11, 2016 by rebeccalouiseagain

[azmaui]

Hi I'm taking my 4 and 6 years old on vista in June :) I'll let you know how it goes! I know they will love the ship, don't know how they will handle sight seeing. I'm looking forward to kids club which I know they will enjoy and it will allow me to have some adult mommy time.

Hope there will be other young kids on our sailing! I choose my time dining so we can go to dinner when we are ready, I don't want to stress and rush kids for specific time.

 

 

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[kitkat343]

I have to disagree with the recommendation to take ship excursions. Private tours for just your family will give you greater flexibility over the itinerary, and will allow you to adjust your schedule to your children's needs. On a ship tour, you can't schedule touring around your kid's nap schedule and can't stop immediately to feed your child or let him run around whenever your kid starts to get the tired/whiney signals that warn of an imminent meltdown. My son was able to see everything on the Baltic cruise at 3 (including all of the highlights of St. Petersburg) because we had private tours and were able to accommodate his needs and interests (we rushed through the lesser rooms in Catherine's Palace and at other locations so we were able to see the highlights of all the major attractions). We stopped and fed him whenever he got whiney/tired and he was all happy again. If you can afford private tours for just your family, it will maximize your chances of being able to show your kids the highlights of the Med.

[Kerry's Girls]

I did a Med cruise as a single mom and I have to echo the suggestion for private tours. I studied and posted at the ports of call board here and arranged for private tours in most of the ports. These worked out to be not much more (and sometimes less) costly than ship tours and we were able to plan a day that was kid friendly. The worst thing on ship tours are the shopping stops and the long waits for the bus to fill. With your own tour, you can take as long as you like in each place, eat when you want and stop at a playground to play with the local kids (which we did in each port). When we didn't have a private tour, we hired a cab for the day for just us and did the same thing. The great thing is, with a private tour, you beat the big busses to the major attractions, so the kids are able to explore, have fun without waiting in the lines for the most part.

 

I also requested kid-friendly guides when I made the arrangements. This was wonderful - I have pictures of my girls holding hands with guides, riding on their shoulders, etc.

 

I also found other parents on our roll call and we all got together and hired a van together to see Rome (we had planned to take the train). Joining your roll call can be very helpful - I think the port heavy cruises have busier roll calls because everyone is looking for ideas.

 

All the best,

Mia

[rebeccalouiseagain]

I think the private tours are a good idea. From my experience I enjoyed the ship tours and felt a certain amount of security in a group and the knowledge that the ship wouldn't leave without us. For two people (in my case) the ship tours were cost effective. A private driver is usually more and I liked being in a bus instead of a car- where car seats would be needed.

 

The ship tours that we did that were great were to Taormina, Orvieto, Herculaneum, the Cinque Terre and Pompeii. I can only speak to that experience. My boys were really easy from 3 on up. As long as they could walk around- they were happy.

 

The tour that bored both of us was the city tour of Lisbon, and we wished we had done a tour in Rome (we did the one called "Rome on our Own) because it rained that day.

 

Keep in mind that the kids may be more excited by the ship anyway. So I'm not sure I spend a fortune on excursions- private or ship ones.

Edited May 12, 2016 by rebeccalouiseagain

[whulfc86]

I had thought that I would only book tours from the ship for safety reasons, but after researching I have now just booked a private tour that will do the itinerary we want and is cheaper than anything similar that the ship was offering.

[celle]

Unless you have sole custody, I believe you will need a signed and legally witnessed authorization from your ex, giving you permission to take your children on the cruise and out of the country.

If you have sole custody, you will need written proof of this.

 

You may not be asked for these documents, but it's better to have them and be able to cruise than to not have them and be denied boarding.

[rebeccalouiseagain]

Good point. I was asked for this documentation when boarding the Serenade of Seas in Barcelona in 2013. I had a notarized letter of consent from his father and our passports. I have a different last name than my son- so I also brought his birth certificate which shows my name on it.

Edited May 12, 2016 by rebeccalouiseagain

[whulfc86]

Unless you have sole custody, I believe you will need a signed and legally witnessed authorization from your ex, giving you permission to take your children on the cruise and out of the country.

If you have sole custody, you will need written proof of this.

 

You may not be asked for these documents, but it's better to have them and be able to cruise than to not have them and be denied boarding.

 

Thanks for adding this! I have sole custody do you think just a copy of my documents are fine? I don't really want to be carrying originals around

[rebeccalouiseagain]

Take the originals. You never know about the staff at check-in. Some will ask and others won't. They make copies for their records usually. So it does have to be a formal decree if you have sole custody. They may accept a copy- but why chance it?

[azmaui]

I'll be traveling with the kids alone (my husband stays home) does anyone knows if I still need the letter from him? Or does it apply only if you are no longer married?

 

We are planning all stops on our own. Rome4kids seems great and we will do some tours through them and in couple ports just have a driver for the day so he can take us wherever we want to go to. In Livorno we will take Tuscany bus to Pisa and in Rhodes just walk around. I'm planning on few half days so kids don't get burned out!

[rebeccalouiseagain]

Absolutely get the notarized letter and no one knows why I am traveling solo. They've never said are you divorced- they just want the letter. I've been asked for it when I travel. It really depends on the agent at the counter, but they did ask for it in Barcelona in 2013. Strangely you can leave the United State by plane without this documentation- so not sure why one needs it on cruises but they do.

Edited May 13, 2016 by rebeccalouiseagain

[Kerry's Girls]

I'll be traveling with the kids alone (my husband stays home) does anyone knows if I still need the letter from him? Or does it apply only if you are no longer married?

 

We are planning all stops on our own. Rome4kids seems great and we will do some tours through them and in couple ports just have a driver for the day so he can take us wherever we want to go to. In Livorno we will take Tuscany bus to Pisa and in Rhodes just walk around. I'm planning on few half days so kids don't get burned out!

 

As Rebecca said, you absolutely need to bring notarized permission with you that you are allowed to take your children out of the country. Otherwise immigration has no way of knowing if you are a non-custodial parent trying to cross the border. Along with the passports you'll want to bring certified birth certificates to show both parents names, and the notarized permission from their father. All parents travelling alone have to do this as immigration has no idea who is divorced, widowed, one birth parent, etc. You could be asked for this on landing, on boarding the cruise, or before your return flight (and I have even been asked for it when re-entering the US). You don't want to deal with a delay when juggling kids!

 

Have a great time.

 

All the best,

Mia

[celle]

I'll be traveling with the kids alone (my husband stays home) does anyone knows if I still need the letter from him? Or does it apply only if you are no longer married?

 

We are planning all stops on our own. Rome4kids seems great and we will do some tours through them and in couple ports just have a driver for the day so he can take us wherever we want to go to. In Livorno we will take Tuscany bus to Pisa and in Rhodes just walk around. I'm planning on few half days so kids don't get burned out!

I think you still need the letter of consent. Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

 

It's a good idea to plan short and easy shore trips. The last thing you want is overtired children in a strange city.

[MoniMommy]

Hello,

 

It's August. You have either already departed or will depart shortly. I'm in the same situation. We will be cruising in October on the Carnival Sunshine My children are 2 and 4. I've cruised before, but before I had children. I'm looking forward to using the kids camp and having some alone tine. When you get back, please share how your trip went and pass along any advice that you think would be helpful to me and other single parents traveling with children. I've read several posts about single parents with one child, but few had 2 children. So I am really looking forward to knowing what advise you have based on your resent trip.

[Dididi]

Hi! I wanted to share several "single mom with a seven year old daughter" cruise experiences from our August cruise as I have learned excellent pointers on this board:

 

ROME: Our cruise was a roundtrip from Rome and we flew a couple of days prior to the cruise. My daughter spent a wonderful day at the Explora Children's Museum's Campus (summer camp). She had visited the museum three years before and loved it. Although it was in Italian, she got to play with a lot of kids in the museum, make crafts, have lunch, and avoid the intense heat outside. All for only 35 euros per day.

 

We also went to a film at the Cinema dei Piccoli on the Parco Borghese, a cute 63-seat movie theater that shows children's films during the day and adult films at night. The playground next to the Cinema was not in the best shape (no grass) but my daughter played there a bit.

 

LIVORNO: We took the bus to Pisa (Livorno Tourism Office) for 25 euros (total for the two of us) and for an extra 8 euros (total) got on the hop on hop off Livorno bus. Taking the bus was easy and comfortable. We went up the steps in the Battisterio in Pisa because one has to be eight years old to climb the tower. As part of the Livorno hop on bus tour, we went on the cable car (funiculare) to Monte Nero to visit a church, look at the view, and eat gelato. The cable car is very old but works very well, and without a conductor, it makes the ride fun and somewhat mysterious.

 

We had a second day in Livorno and took the train to Florence. After some "regular" sightseeing, we found a beautiful merry go round a couple of blocks from the cathedral.

 

MONACO: We took a ship's tour. My daughter enjoyed smelling lots of perfumes at the Fragonard store and riding on a two-story merry go round during our free time in Nice. In Monaco, we loved the Oceanography Museum and wished had had time to get on the rides by the port (including bungie jumping). While folks from our tour visited the Casino in Montecarlo (only adults can go in), we spent a relaxing hour or so in the Japanese Garden.

 

BARCELONA: We were there for two days, so the second day was the "fun" day. We took the metro up Montjuic and spent a couple of hours in the swimming pool. Admission was 9 euros, I believe. This was an Olympic-size pool (there was a diving pool nearby but it was closed to visitors) with a fantastic view of the city. Lots of locals but it was not crowded. We took the cable car down the mountain, going past our ship and onto the Barceloneta area. From the cable car we saw that there was another gorgeous public pool in Barceloneta, by the shore. Next time perhaps!

 

PALMA DE MALLORCA: We made arrangements to ride horses with Rancho Grande. This was on the other side of the island, but my daughter loves horses and we were picked up at a hotel in Palma. In the afternoon, we visited the cathedral, which is a fascinating building.

 

VENICE: Riding the vaporetti instead of "regular" buses is always fun. We got daily passes to make catching rides easier (and ultimately cheaper). We went to Murano, saw the glass making demonstration and later bought pendants at another store. It was interesting to see the ambulance-boats and the police patrol boats.

 

As far as the ships are concerned, I agree that dining room is better than buffet, and that some time in the children's club is good for moms who need some me-time.

[Jamie1127]

Anyone know which cruise line has best deal for Single parent? It will just be me and my 2 year old son :)

 

 

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[Essiesmom]

MSC running a BOGO promo fare. EM