Twice_a_year Posted March 26, 2008 #1 Share Posted March 26, 2008 A friend of mine asked for a possible cruise for her daughter (30's) and child (under 5). Although I’m a true believer in cruising as being one of our best vacation alternatives, I feel ill equipped to venture any opinion on the best choices for this person. My experiences have been centered on my wife and I cruising together. We are senior citizens. Yet, I would feel capable of making a recommendation on couples cruising with young children, singles cruises, theme cruises, and even gay and lesbian cruises. I have never encountered this particular scenario. Thus, I am unable to be drawing any termination based on experiences. This site has always been able to find someone who can help with almost any query. Perhaps, someone out there can provide some feedback for this person. She will be looking at a Caribbean cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StaySea Posted March 26, 2008 #2 Share Posted March 26, 2008 I would direct her over here to this wonderful site!!! So that she may ask all the questions she may have? It sounds like they would be traveling just the 2 of them? I'm not sure exatly what she is looking for, but I have found both RCI & Carnival to exceptional with regards to children's programs for this age & it will help mom out too!!!! Hope this helps.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crusinmama06 Posted March 26, 2008 #3 Share Posted March 26, 2008 I would direct her over here to this wonderful site!!! So that she may ask all the questions she may have? It sounds like they would be traveling just the 2 of them? I'm not sure exatly what she is looking for, but I have found both RCI & Carnival to exceptional with regards to children's programs for this age & it will help mom out too!!!! Hope this helps.... I agree 100% :D If she is going alone with the child, the child will be charged the full 2nd rate. Maybe she can bring someone along and then the child's rate will go to 3rd/4th rate :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellanora Posted March 27, 2008 #4 Share Posted March 27, 2008 I'm a single mom, and have done a good bit of traveling with my son. I agree with the above posters to encourage them to do a good bit of research on all the lines, so they can determine what activities are the most important for them, or which they may want to avoid. That said - for a single parent with a young child, I would recommend a Disney cruise for their first together experience. I feel that Disney has many more activities that can be enjoyed by one parent and young child together than Carnival does (and probably more than the other cruiselines too, but I haven't been on them yet). Disney has the Mickey pool that is devoted to younger children and their parents, and the Goofy pool where they could float together and watch movies. There's family karaoke that they might get a kick out of watching together, and a family bar where board games are laid out for families to play with. I loved taking my son to the Disney shows and not only enjoying them myself, but being able to watch him enjoy them, too. A preschooler will definitely be able to recognize the characters and songs. As cruisinmama said above, single parents with one child have to pay full price for double occupancy, which is definitely a pain, and Disney is a little more pricey. But for their first cruise - I would absolutely book an inside guarantee during the cheap seasons (fall or late January). They're running $349 per person right now for a 3 night. Hope this has been helpful. I'd be happy to provide any other information on Disney or Carnival from the single parent point of view if necessary. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
driftingaway2017 Posted March 28, 2008 #5 Share Posted March 28, 2008 I am a single parent in my 30's and my DD is 5. We cruised with family members on Royal Caribbean's Liberty of the Seas in Dec 07, and my daughter had a great time. There were plenty of activities for her age group. RC's children's program, adventure ocean was great. We are going again on the Liberty in Aug (just my DD & I this time). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nekochan Posted March 29, 2008 #6 Share Posted March 29, 2008 I cruised alone with my (then) 4 year old son on a Celebrity Cruise. We had a great cruise, except for dinner every night, which was an ordeal. In my case, I had an extremely active 4 year old boy who had trouble sitting and was a very picky eater. At the time, I didn't know he had other issues (turns out he's got ADD and is mildly autistic). A sit down, 4 course meal and a child like this was, well, let's just say challenging. At the time, there really was no alternative dining during dinner. I would recommend either a Disney Cruise, or if that's not affordable, either consider NCL where she can go the main dining room anytime she wants, or realize that she might get stuck going to the buffet or calling room service for dinner. This, of course, depends on how well her child can handle the dining room. Most cruise lines programs for kids that age (except for Disney) are probably pretty much the same - games, arts and crafts, some other activities. The child will probably enjoy any of the kids programs, although I'd have my doubts about Holland America. I'd stick with Norwegian, Royal Caribbean, Carnival or Princess if Disney isn't available or affordable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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