Single dad with 2 kids - seeking recommendations

[ral1012]

Very recently divorced dad with two kids. I wanted to do a nice trip with my kids over winter break, as a way to sort of start our new chapter of life on a positive, happy note. Budget didn't allow my first choice of cruising, so I booked a trip to a city about 6 hours drive away.  However I recently got a new job with a good salary bump, so I'm looking for cruises again.

 

Notes/requirements:

• Two kids: 6 and 9. Both very well behaved and easy to manage, but can be a bit clingy. Kids clubs will be good for a bit, but they won't want to spend the whole time there (and frankly, I'm not looking for a vacation where I don't see them).
• Needs to be that first week of winter break (travel must be between 12/22 and 12/31, but for religious reasons, we can't fly/drive/etc. on saturday).
• It will just be the three of us (so I'll be the only adult), and I won't be comfortable letting them explore the ship unsupervised or letting them stay in the cabin by themselves while I do my own thing.
• They're kids who sleep a lot, and I'm an insomniac. If a balcony room is an option, that would be a really great place to spend some of that kids' sleeping time.
• EDITED TO ADD: We're in the midwest USA, so a Florida departure port seems most likely.

 

I'd love any recommendations for cruise lines/ships, destinations, etc. While budget isn't as much of a factor as it was before, it still very much is something I need to be mindful of. A very cursory quick search showed me an option on disney cruise lines for roughly $6k for four nights, and that was just too much to take in.

 

Thank you!

Edited October 4, 2019 by ral1012
adding info.

[jbethel11]

22 minutes ago, ral1012 said:

Very recently divorced dad with two kids. I wanted to do a nice trip with my kids over winter break, as a way to sort of start our new chapter of life on a positive, happy note. Budget didn't allow my first choice of cruising, so I booked a trip to a city about 6 hours drive away.  However I recently got a new job with a good salary bump, so I'm looking for cruises again.

 

Notes/requirements:

• Two kids: 6 and 9. Both very well behaved and easy to manage, but can be a bit clingy. Kids clubs will be good for a bit, but they won't want to spend the whole time there (and frankly, I'm not looking for a vacation where I don't see them).
• Needs to be that first week of winter break (travel must be between 12/22 and 12/31, but for religious reasons, we can't fly/drive/etc. on saturday).
• It will just be the three of us (so I'll be the only adult), and I won't be comfortable letting them explore the ship unsupervised or letting them stay in the cabin by themselves while I do my own thing.
• They're kids who sleep a lot, and I'm an insomniac. If a balcony room is an option, that would be a really great place to spend some of that kids' sleeping time.
• EDITED TO ADD: We're in the midwest USA, so a Florida departure port seems most likely.

 

I'd love any recommendations for cruise lines/ships, destinations, etc. While budget isn't as much of a factor as it was before, it still very much is something I need to be mindful of. A very cursory quick search showed me an option on disney cruise lines for roughly $6k for four nights, and that was just too much to take in.

 

Thank you!

Hello, welcome! I applaud you for trying to include positivity as you move on. I understand budgeting can be a key component when choosing your cruise. I would first suggest a ship that has plenty of activities for your 6 and 9 year old. I first looked at ships sailing within your dates, and looked for 6-9 day sailings. Carnival Horizon, Vista, Panorama, Sunrise, Sunshine, Radiance Breeze and Magic are ships that have plenty activities for your kids, and excellent kids camps. Galveston is closer to the midwest than the Florida ports. Carnival Vista serves Galveston, so take a look at some of the 7-day sailings from there. On the other hand, Carnival Horizon and Magic, Breeze and Sunrise, and Radiance all serve Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and Port Canaveral respectively. I priced out Carnival Horizon in a balcony, for three guests starting at $3088.92.

[Kerry's Girls]

Honestly, if you choose based on cost and itinerary, with kids those ages you mostly can't go wrong with any of the major lines.  That's an expensive holiday week, so I would see what your options are and choose from there.  If you can't get a balcony, some people have been successful using magnets or duct tape to put a sheet/blanket up between the kids' beds and yours (9 year old on a top bunk).  I'm a single mom too and it's been nice to lay down when they do with a kindle book (under the covers if necessary) and enjoy just relaxing while they sleep.  Or you can get the internet package and Netflix binge with headphones. 

 

Being together at sea can be very peaceful and healing - and fun.  I've done lots of cruises with my kids where we're together 24/7 and as a working mom, it's really nice.  You might find they want to do the night time parties at the kids club, more like a party than day care so kids look forward to it, but even if not it should be a nice time.  Remember to include in your budget planning the costs of tipping and anything you're doing on shore.  I always have a talk with my kids ahead of time about if they're going to order sodas or pay for other extras on board - we usually decide that the trip itself is the fun and spending money on that kind of thing won't make it more fun (and it adds up).  

 

Have a great time

 

 

[ed01106]

Any of the major lines will have activities for the kids.  i think your biggest challenge will be most week long cruises run Shabbat to Shabbat.  i assume if you won't fly or drive you are not willing to embark or disembark either.

[M2LR]

What about the Carnival Liberty? They have a 4 night cruise that does the Nassau and Princess Cays Departing on Monday Dec 23 Returning Friday December 27th out of Port Canaveral. You could plan on heading up to Orlando afterwards and either just spend a couple days relaxing at a hotel or maybe do a theme park on Sunday or Monday before heading home. The cruise portion for a balcony with gratuities would be $2200. We did something similar a couple years ago (3 nights on Liberty) since I wanted to test out how our young kids would like cruising, now they are hooked and want another cruise. 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

29 minutes ago, M2LR said:

They have a 4 night cruise

these are usually wild booze cruises, instead of family friendly cruises.

I saw some HAL cruises starting on Wednesdays and MSC cruises starting on Fridays. Some RCL cruises also start on Fridays....

[M2LR]

22 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

these are usually wild booze cruises, instead of family friendly cruises.

I saw some HAL cruises starting on Wednesdays and MSC cruises starting on Fridays. Some RCL cruises also start on Fridays....

 

That may be the reputation but that was not my experience. Granted we did the 3 night on the Liberty not the 4 night but I didn't have any problems with drunk or obnoxious people and we went in June 2017. I had a 7 year old and a 3 year old who didn't want to go to the kids club so maybe it was because we didn't go into any of the bars but it was totally family friendly for us. 

Edited October 18, 2019 by M2LR

[Itchy&Scratchy]

2 minutes ago, M2LR said:

 

That may be the reputation but that was not my experience. Granted we did the 3 night on the Liberty not the 4 night but I didn't have any problems with drunk or obnoxious people and we went in June 2017. I had a 7 year old and a 3 year old who didn't want to go to the kids club so maybe it was because we didn't go into any of the bars but it was totally family friendly for us. 

I am glad you had a good experience.

OP is from Midwest and will have an entire day of traveling to and from the cruise, so going on a 3-4 day cruise with 2 days of travel is probably not the best idea, though...

We've always gone on 6+ cruises with our kiddo.

[M2LR]

I guess I am just a different style of cruiser. I live in the Midwest too but I prefer a shorter cruise and to combo it with stuff on land. Our next cruise is a 5 day out of Galveston and 4 nights on land in Houston so that we can do the zoo, space center, boardwalk, etc. Maybe part of it is there is less of the sad feeling your cruise is ending when you know you have a whole other vacation to look forward to afterwards. I've done a few 7 nights and enjoyed them but it is hard to get away from my job so I can't really do more than a couple days on land to go with that.