Single Mom thinking of cruise w 10 & 12 yr olds, HELP!?

While Disney is a great suggestion - I think your kids are a little older than the perfect age for Disney. We do 4-5 cruises a year. We have a DD10. We've done Norwegian Epic 3 times - it is by far the favorite ship of our entire family. We've been on most of the very large ships - LOVE them! We are doing Oasis and Getaway in the Fall. For best value, I would suggest NCL Epic or Getaway or Carnival Sunshine or Breeze. While we really like RCCL Allure, our DD10(9 on our last sailing) found much more to do on these other ships.

I think you can find some very good deals if you book in advance and can go early in June. This would depend on school schedule, of course. If you are looking for the least expensive time - look at fall and the week after Thanksgiving.

I think cruising is a perfect idea for a single mom. You will have tons of things to do with the kids, but also time to relax by yourself. You will be surprised how quickly they make friends. We often travel with friends and relatives. No matter how many times I've heard - "my child likes to be with her brother, they are shy and not good at making friends, I just don't know if they will like the kids club, my child is too mature for that age group, my child is not mature enough to be with older kids, etc., etc.) - It ALWAYS ends up the same. The kids go to kids club the first night, make friends, and want to spend every minute with the kids club crowd.

WOW!!! You guys are great! I didn't expect so many different points made and great opinions. I was researching over the weekend and I think I have a few options in mind now and I have gotten past the "splitting kids up" thing. Many of you hit the nail when you said the groups are age appropriate...while I would love my kids to be together to experience it all together, they might kill each other too from spending too much time together to being bored!

I decided I won't even look at RCCL Allure and Oasis, those boats are intimidatingly massive for me...i did however like the looks of some tins and the boats for the RCCL Freedom and Independence.

I live in Boston, MA area so we do not get out of school till June 18th-ish...and Snow days could easily push us out another week...July I know is horrid $$ to cruise and so Aug is really my only option...excluding that last week as school could start up before Labor Day or after, we never know!!

I wanted to look more into NCL Getaway and Carnival...I did see a number of good tins on Carnival I would like to try.

I am not a fan of the ships out of Boston (only 1 location really) and NYC is a nightmare to get in and out of...honestly the airfare is the same to FL or TX or NOLA for that matter!!

THANK YOU for the heads up on the cell phones. Airplane mode for music listening it will be only!!! I will invest in a waterproof watch and set timers to check in.

I suspect most times the kids are in the kids club evening hours so it wouldn't be that long as I am not the type to go party and leave my kids...nice spa treatment yes!

Thank you all, you have given me great options and advice!!

I've cruised with hubby many times, but more often I've cruised with just one of my four kids. They each started cruising around age 9 and my "most frequent kid cruisers" are now 15 and 22. We actually did a cruise with the 3 of us this past January and had a blast.

I know every family is different, and our experiences may be vastly different, but in all the cruising with my kids (on Royal Caribbean and Celebrity) they never once did any of the kids/teen clubs. They just personally didn't have an interest and quite frankly, we enjoyed hanging out together anyway. Again, different from many cruisers, we choose port intensive itineraries. Our favorite cruises sail from San Juan, Puerto Rico. 7-day cruises have 5 ports and only 1 sea day so we have plenty of time to be off the ship enjoying our time together. We'd rather be hiking, biking, kayaking, sailing, snorkeling, etc. San Juan is also a great embarkation port to spend a little time pre and/or post cruise.

As you said, you know your kids best, and hope you know whether they do or don't have an interest in the structured clubs/activities. Our experience, anyway, is that you don't have to participate in all of that to have a great cruise vacation!

I'm a single mom and travel with my now 11 y/o son. We've cruised just the 2 of us since he was about 5 or 6. Cruising gives us family time as well as independent time. My son has always enjoyed the Kids Programs and I like some adult activities.

We use a small magnitized Whiteboard (locker size or slightly larger) bring a couple white board markers and some magnets. We will post notes to each other. Lots of the cabin walls or doors are metal so the boards can hang there. I give my son permission to sign in or out of the program (age and requirements differ by cruise line) So, for example, if he signs out of the program, he must go directly to the cabin and see where I am. He then comes to me or writes a note as to what "scheduled" activity he is going to. He's not allowed to just go anywhere. We have strict rules and he has always followed them.

We've cruised mostly NCL over the last few years as the budget and their freestyle concept fit us the best. We've also done Carnival and upcoming we will be on a Royal Caribbean Ship. We loved all the Epic had to offer for both of us. In January we are scheduled to do the Getaway. My son liked the Carnival kids program least of all. We have not done Disney, too pricey for us. We like more cruises and I've found I can do 2 cruises on many other lines for the price of 1 Disney. We lived in Florida and have done Disney, so that is just us.

NCL has a Solo Gathering each night on all their ships (not just the ones with studio cabins) I think most cruiselines are doing this, but not definite. I like to go to these gathering. I always say I travel semi-solo. I love my son, but we don't have to spend 24 hours a day on a ship, we don't at home, so we don't have to on ship.

Good Luck, hope you have a fantastic cruise!!!

My girl has been on 8 cruises now (the last one a couple of years ago at age 15; her first at age 23 months -- and I really disagree with whoever was saying that infants and small kids = a bad cruise. With the right planning and selecting the right cruise, the whole family can have fun).

Had to address that. But now back to the OP:

As others have said, cell phones should go into the safe. We did buy an Internet package on our last cruise that our my daughter and I shared. But as far as communicating on board, we used notes. My daughter knew when to show up to get dressed for dinner. Many ships also have courtesy phones all over the ship (note that any boat you'll be on would be tenders or on excursions) that you can leave messages on your cabin phone if you want.

Plus, it really isn't hard to find each other.

Now for the kids' programs, if your kids are split up, don't fret. I'm guessing they are in separate schools or will be in a year or two, plus they undoubtedly don't hang out with each other when at school.

BTW, Princess starts their teen program at age 13. The 12-year-olds are in Shockwaves. But Princess doesn't really do the Caribbean during the summer as they concentrate on Alaskan cruises (which are really fun for kids, believe it or not) and European cruises in the summer. The kids do a lot of science-oriented activities (a big fave is squid dissection on some of the cruises).

"What should i look for as a single mom w 2 kids on a boat?"

 

 

A husband :D lol just kidding with ya, but hey ya never know!

 

 

 

When you go look around at the people with the really young kids and babies. Then look at the people that left the kids at home and see which one you think is having a better time. I'm sorry but no matter what anyone says there is no reason to bring a baby on a cruise.

 

You said it all when you said you know your kids best. If they are mature and responsible then you will be fine leaving them where ever and go have some fun. Meet that husband!

 

 

Bo

A friend of mine just came back from a cruise with her baby and had a blast. The good news is, its each person's personal decision and your opinions and thoughts really don't matter... especially since the OP didn't ask about a baby.

A friend of mine just came back from a cruise with her baby and had a blast. The good news is, its each person's personal decision and your opinions and thoughts really don't matter... especially since the OP didn't ask about a baby.

This is a forum. Do you know what forums contain lots of????? Huh do you??? Opinions and thoughts come to mind. I am so happy for your friend and her baby I can't wait to read the babies trip report! I just added the baby part as once again part of my, Personal Opinion, I didn't charge extra for that thought. I do notice YOUR post mentions a baby in the first sentence but then a sentence later you acknowledge that the OP didn't ask about a baby. So might I ask why you are even posting? YOU didn't even go on the trip! Again I will have to wait for the babies version of events first hand.

This is a forum. Do you know what forums contain lots of????? Huh do you??? Opinions and thoughts come to mind. I am so happy for your friend and her baby I can't wait to read the babies trip report! I just added the baby part as once again part of my, Personal Opinion, I didn't charge extra for that thought. I do notice YOUR post mentions a baby in the first sentence but then a sentence later you acknowledge that the OP didn't ask about a baby. So might I ask why you are even posting? YOU didn't even go on the trip! Again I will have to wait for the babies version of events first hand.

Just a bit sarcastic, are we?:rolleyes: