Single with a little girl

Is there any fun singles cruises that singles w/kids can go on? I just don`t want to be the only one with a child. Looking to have fun with my girl on a singles cruise, and mingle with other singles (with kids or w/out).

I am a single female with a 9 year old girl (widow for over 3 years now)

AJ

Pretty much any cruise you go on you'll find single people. Lot's of people single or not cruise solo. On my last cruise I met this nice lady from Michigan that was on her first cruise. It was just her and her two young boys. The boys went off to the youth group and mom had a good time meeting people and just relaxing. She'd get a call that the boys wanted to go swimming and such, she'd venture back to the youth group to pick them up and they were off for some family time. Her and her boys had a blast, she's planning another surprise cruise for them around Christmas time.

Have a great cruise, you'll have a great time!

Thanks....I had similar experience on the Spirit.....but there were more couples than singles by far......... I showed up couple of times to the "single ready to mingle" activity only to have a drink with the co-ordinator...she felt so bad that even bought me a drink while we talked.

I dont know if I must book a single's cruise to participate on the single activities.

I didnt mind the lack of singles and joined other CC members on Trivia and tastings but would prefer a table of singles than couples.

Thanks for your comment MrFunInTheSun

AJ

Pretty much any cruise you go on you'll find single people. Lot's of people single or not cruise solo. On my last cruise I met this nice lady from Michigan that was on her first cruise. It was just her and her two young boys. The boys went off to the youth group and mom had a good time meeting people and just relaxing. She'd get a call that the boys wanted to go swimming and such, she'd venture back to the youth group to pick them up and they were off for some family time. Her and her boys had a blast, she's planning another surprise cruise for them around Christmas time.

 

Have a great cruise, you'll have a great time!

Hi I'm a single dad thinking about taking my 12 yr old daughter on a cruise. I'm worried that I'll be bored out of my mind. I know she can join the youth groups but will it a fun trip alone as a single

Thanks....I had similar experience on the Spirit.....but there were more couples than singles by far......... I showed up couple of times to the "single ready to mingle" activity only to have a drink with the co-ordinator...she felt so bad that even bought me a drink while we talked.

 

I dont know if I must book a single's cruise to participate on the single activities.

 

I didnt mind the lack of singles and joined other CC members on Trivia and tastings but would prefer a table of singles than couples.

 

Thanks for your comment MrFunInTheSun

 

 

AJ

If you want to be seated with other singles/solos, after you board you can ask to be moved to a table in the MDR with other singles/solos. A bit of caution, although I don't object (I have three kids), some singles/solos may not be interested in having a child, no matter how well behaved, dining with them. Also, Royal Caribbean seems to consider a woman solo traveler the same as a group of women cruising together and puts us together at a large table in the MDR. Most of these groups have been welcoming but two were openly resentful of having to share a table with an "outsider" and I asked to be moved.

I am taking my 15 year old daughter on a cruise. It is the first with just the two of us. I know she will disappear with kids her own age. I am sure I will be alone most of the time on sea days and am nervous about it.

I am taking my 15 year old daughter on a cruise. It is the first with just the two of us. I know she will disappear with kids her own age. I am sure I will be alone most of the time on sea days and am nervous about it.

Have you signed up for your roll call? On the cruises I've been on solo sea days are the days our roll call arranges slot pulls, lunches, informal get togethers, etc. If you haven't already, check out your roll call. There may be other single parents or solo/single cruisers you can make plans with or you can offer to arrange something like a gift exchange which is great fun.

Sea days for me are the best, wake up late, see parts of the ship I haven't seen yet, join in activities (I like the oldies name that tune), check out the belly flop or sexy legs contest. Find a quiet shady place to read or nap. Or if I'm feeling ambitious, I join one of the dance instruction activities. Of course, there is laying out in the sun or swimming too:)

I understand your nervousness but there is so much to do and people are really friendly, I don't think you will be on your own unless you want to be. Have a great cruise:D

Hey AJ, I'm a full time single dad with a 10 year old daughter. I have had the same concerns, but decided to just book a trip and go! We are heading to the Bahamas on the Ecstasy in May. I'm sure we will stay busy and have lots of fun. I really wouldn't want to take her on a "singles" trip. I might find someone I want to spend time with and feel like I'm being pulled in 2 directions. I'll spend all the time with her I can and if she wants to go hang out with the other kids a while I'll just have to make the best of it :D. I have also been keeping and eye on the roll call just incase LoL. Just take her and go have fun !!!

Have you signed up for your roll call? On the cruises I've been on solo sea days are the days our roll call arranges slot pulls, lunches, informal get togethers, etc. If you haven't already, check out your roll call. There may be other single parents or solo/single cruisers you can make plans with or you can offer to arrange something like a gift exchange which is great fun.

 

Sea days for me are the best, wake up late, see parts of the ship I haven't seen yet, join in activities (I like the oldies name that tune), check out the belly flop or sexy legs contest. Find a quiet shady place to read or nap. Or if I'm feeling ambitious, I join one of the dance instruction activities. Of course, there is laying out in the sun or swimming too:)

 

I understand your nervousness but there is so much to do and people are really friendly, I don't think you will be on your own unless you want to be. Have a great cruise:D

I created my roll call! Looks like there is a classmate of my daughters on the cruise already (only 3 of us have posted to the roll call). Thank you for all the suggestions, I really appreciate it there are some great ideas.

Thanks DwDw....

I am booked,,, in fact after my initial post I booked more cruises ;)

I had a great experience on the Spirit.... Wishing for the same on my next Journey.... I do try to make the best if it.... But I think it would be great if we all had children within the age range of 5 to 13....

I know I read somewhere about single parents cruising.... But can't find it now.

Good luck on your cruise.... Come back and post from your experience.

AJ

Hey AJ, I'm a full time single dad with a 10 year old daughter. I have had the same concerns, but decided to just book a trip and go! We are heading to the Bahamas on the Ecstasy in May. I'm sure we will stay busy and have lots of fun. I really wouldn't want to take her on a "singles" trip. I might find someone I want to spend time with and feel like I'm being pulled in 2 directions. I'll spend all the time with her I can and if she wants to go hang out with the other kids a while I'll just have to make the best of it :D. I have also been keeping and eye on the roll call just incase LoL. Just take her and go have fun !!!

I did signed up for my RC.... There are other single cruisers... I don't really have an issue meeting people and having table mates..... I just wish there was other girls on my shoes... I love the parent talks while watching the kids play in the pool.....or over a meal.... Sometimes people without children cannot relate and I find myself talking about my little girl too much...

Thanks for the replies..... This post is so old I forgot I opened it

AJ

Have you signed up for your roll call? On the cruises I've been on solo sea days are the days our roll call arranges slot pulls, lunches, informal get togethers, etc. If you haven't already, check out your roll call. There may be other single parents or solo/single cruisers you can make plans with or you can offer to arrange something like a gift exchange which is great fun.

 

Sea days for me are the best, wake up late, see parts of the ship I haven't seen yet, join in activities (I like the oldies name that tune), check out the belly flop or sexy legs contest. Find a quiet shady place to read or nap. Or if I'm feeling ambitious, I join one of the dance instruction activities. Of course, there is laying out in the sun or swimming too:)

 

I understand your nervousness but there is so much to do and people are really friendly, I don't think you will be on your own unless you want to be. Have a great cruise:D

I did signed up for my RC.... There are other single cruisers... I don't really have an issue meeting people and having table mates..... I just wish there was other girls on my shoes... I love the parent talks while watching the kids play in the pool.....or over a meal.... Sometimes people without children cannot relate and I find myself talking about my little girl too much...

 

Thanks for the replies..... This post is so old I forgot I opened it

 

AJ

AJ, I totally get it, I talk about my kids a lot but fortunately there are a lot of other parents on cruises who love to talk about their kids too:D Have a great time.

Dcl actually does their best to seat single parents that have kids the same age together. My last time on the dream we sat at an8 top of all single moms. It was great, after dinner our kids would go off together and we were able to enjoy the late night shows together

I've never been on a cruise completely solo, but I do tend to cruise with my mom...so... I might as well be solo, lol. I'm also not much of a bar hopper/drinks, etc.

I find that I can easily entertain myself in the casino, with a book, with a nap (God knows I never get to do that at home), or with some of the other activities going on around the ship. Even if I choose not to participate, watching can be just as much fun. So I've never really just felt lonely on a ship.

As was suggested, roll calls can actually be a pretty cool way to meet and get involved with others, if it is active. I've only done a real 'roll call' one time, and that was on my Alaskan cruise - but I met SO many people. While there we did have some activities planned, that also gave people to just hang out with, go to shows/clubs with, etc. Probably one of the best cruises ever - I tend to spend so much time NOT with adults, that I sometimes forget that adult company is fun! LOL.

I can't really say anything about the singles activities, as I've never been brave enough to attend. Maybe I'll suck it up on my May or August cruise and peek in.

Hope everyone enjoys your upcoming cruises!

For those who worry about cruising solo or solo with a child here are some things I learned from my first solo cruise a few weeks ago. First I have to say that I am not a parent so I can't offer any real life experience on that topic. But on the solo part of it I think I can help.

One of my main worries was sitting at a table in the MDR with a bunch of couples or families and myself, alone. I was a little weiry that would bring up a lot of questions and judgements. On the first day I went to the MDR and asked the maitre de (spelling?) what my table looked like as far as people traveling alone. He told me there was one couple and the rest were women. So I was happy with that. Turned out to be a group of very nice people and we always made good conversation, although I was the youngest at the table.

While on the ship, things I did to keep busy were to go to the activities like bingo, the martini tasting, and trivia games. Sit at the front or be on the lookout for people your age or who may seem to be alone. I made conversation with people this way.

Go to the spa tour. I was never going to spend money in the spa but when I was walking by on the first day I saw many women there and I was the only man. Either way, I met two ladies who I actually had an excursion with at one of the ports so it was nice to get to know them a little before hand.

I made it a point to go to the comedy shows and the theatre shows. I hung out at the casino bar. I don't smoke but it was a good place to see other singles. Karaoke of course is a good way to get noticed. I really didn't go to the dance club that much as it was very crowded and I don't do well at meeting women in a crowded night club where yelling is the only way to communicate. Excursions are another way to meet people. I think you have a better chance than just going to shore alone with no plan. On one of my excursions I was the most popular one there because I was alone and a few of the other people were asking me to sit with them at the different bars.

Walk around! Don't stay in your room. Walk around and mingle. I was sitting in one of the couches by the alchemy bar waiting for late dining and just struck up conversation with a nice couple sitting next to me. Ended up running into them a few nights and had someone to talk with.

What I have noticed from my two cruises is that people on a cruise tend to be friendly and open to meeting people. Maybe I was lucky, I don't know. But I had the experience that everyone was positive about my solo status and all I heard was "good for you" and "you are so brave." Again maybe I just didn't meet any of the jerks. LOL.

There were times I felt lonely. Like watching the sunset off the back of the ship as we left Grand Cayman. But I tried to think that here I was, not working, relaxing, having new experiences, instead of at home alone. So better alone on a vacation than alone at home. When I was tired and wanted some solitude, I would go to the second floor of the Lido buffet. Most of the time there were only a few people there and I would look out the window and listen to music.

I never made it to the role call or the singles meet and greet but that's also something to try to consider.

Hope this helps. Most important thing is to have a positive attitude and go with the flow of things. At least that's how I try to think about it.

This will be my third cruise with my daughter (age 8) and I really hope to find other single parents just to have some company! She really loves the Carnival youth program, and getting dressed up for dinner every night.:p We are typically seated with couples, so I end up feeling like we are crashing their dates. I've never been very comfortable venturing into a bar alone, so I spend a lot of time reading. :rolleyes: But as a single parent, there's no better value for taking your child to see the world, allowing them some independence, without worrying that they will venture into unsafe territory. I've posted to the roll call for our next adventure - Carnival Conquest July 28 out of NOLA. Have never had much luck with that on the Carnival site, so I'm hoping Cruise Critic will help us out. So far these posts have been fabulous at helping find contacts for zip-lining, swimming with dolphins, and horseback riding on the beach.

Getting ready for our 1st cruise and am worried that my 13 year old DD will leave me in the dust when we arrive as she cannot wait to get to the "teen room" lol. I did tell her she will eat with me every night if nothing else lol.

I to am nervous about the dinner seating and how that will work. I am hoping to find some singles around my age to talk to :)

Super excited!:)

I'm a single mom with a 10 year old son. We're cruising on may 25 on the Explorer. This will be our 4th cruise with just the 2 of us, and it still makes me nervous! On Disney I did meet a few other single parents, which was nice if you didn't want to sit at a show alone. I didn't have the same experience on RCCL, however. We've tried both my time dining and MDR, and been placed rather awkwardly. This time that will be my first stop when I get on board. I definitely relate more to other parents, so would love to be able to meet some others to hang out with when the kids are in the clubs! Not a very active roll call for our sailing, so I have no idea what to expect this time!

My last cruise was awesome as far as dining arrangements. I was with my 11 and 4 year old and 2 other couples with 4 year olds so it worked out great. Our kids hung out together at the kids room and at dinner. We all went and dropped the kids off after dinner and head to the shows.

I'm cruising with my 12 year old daughter on the oasis on 8/3. I feel the same anxiety that everyone else has mentioned. I have signed up for the meet n greet but haven't had any luck contacting anyone in advance on the roll call. Just wondering if anyone here is on our ship?

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I have enjoyed reading all the posts - and agree with a lot of what has been written. I am shortly off on my 3rd single cruise - this time going Transatlantic.

I have been lucky with cruises so far - the people I have met have been lovely to talk to, and with P&O, you get placed on a "singles" table for dining.

I have enjoyed the talks, visits and cannot wait for my up-coming cruise. For anyone who is contemplating travelling as a single or solo - my advice is simply "Go for it - you will meet a lot of interesting people from a variety of walks of life"

I now would never return to package holidays to the Med - Cruise holidays are the way forward for me!!!:):):)