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

Hi All,

I'm new here and I have tried searching for lots of info and i might be in overload at this point. I am looking at next Summer (i'm a planner) to take a Caribbean Cruise with my kids who will be 12 and 10 by then. I only have been on 1 cruise and i was about 13/14 at that time soooo, ya I'm a newbie to this. My parents cruise, but not with kids so their input is the adult side of things.

I already have an idea of what places i want to go to and how many ports i want on my trip, my thing is the actual boat!! I have noticed inconsistency with age groups for kids clubs and wonder if i am over thinking my kids being split up into 2 different age groups and activities...1 girl 1 boy BTW.

What should i look for as a single mom w 2 kids on a boat? How reliable are the crew to come find me should something happen? What lines should I look hard at? Am I crazy cruising alone, should I have another adult with me? (maybe to watch me but thats a diff topic lol). All seriousness will I be over my head taking a cruise w 2 kids that travel very well with me?

I know I am the only one who knows my kids, so please don't read as if I am asking on the kids behavior part, I am asking in the sense of will a cruise work for a 3 top or should i stick to traditional land vacations?

Sell me on the safety and fun of a cruise!!

Please and thank you!

Those are great ages for cruising.

Most ships have kids clubs up to age 11 and then teen clubs for the 12 to 17 year olds. Ages do vary so check carefully if having them together is important to you or if having your 12YO in a kids club (rather than a teen program) is important. Some programs or individual ship's staff will allow a 12YO to "age down" into the clubs, some will not. Check with the line for general rules.

The kids programs are pretty structured - check-in/check-out/supervision. The teen programs are less so - generally more of a come and go as you with proposition, the clubs and activities are supervised, but the counselors are more there to kick off any organized activities and to keep the peace, not to keep track of the kids. Most of the teen activities are divided up into age groups, so don't worry your 12YO will not necessarily be lumped into activities with 16YOs.

I discovered that when my DD had turned 12YO she was really "ready" for the teen program and would have been bored stiff in the kids programming, but that was her.

There is nothing that will "kill" a teen program faster than allowing the under 12 set to participate. When my DD was 12YO she admitted to me afterwards that she did not mention that she was in 6th grade, because most of the other 12-14YOs she hung with were in 7th or 8th grade and (typical to teen girls that age) she felt she would be treated differently if they knew she was in 6th. So I would avoid asking to "age up" the 10YO.

Be certain to set out ground rules for your kids. Where they will be at certain times. Areas that are off-limits. Check-in with you processes. etc. But otherwise the "contained" nature of the ship, makes a cruise pretty easy on parent.

Also, I do not know what your situation is, but if you are divorced or never married to their father, make certain you have appropriate documentation to allow them to travel with you. . . copies of court papers that give you sole custody and/or notarized letter from him giving his consent or whatever. If he is deceased, bring the paperwork that shows that. But that all is common-sense for any travel.

I think a cruise should work well for your family, unless your children are at the age where you need to go to bed at the same time as them.

At 12 and 10, they should be able to go to evening entertainment with you and then head to bed at 9pm or so. You then have the option of turning in or hanging out in one of the shows or bars.

IME, entertainment space typically seats large number of people in one booth or around a table, so it is the norm for couples and singles to share, and then mingle.

Welcome to Cruise Critic. there is a board here for Family Cruising, in the Special Interest Cruising forum. Lots of folks sailing with kids, and lots of advice. EM

Thank you for the responses so far. I didn't think about the possibility of aging down a kid...

Onessa my DD is very similar to yours, and Aug 15' she will be heading into 7th grade and I fear you will be right about her being bored stiff in the younger program. Fortunately she does have a phone and so long as phones work at sea I will have constant contact with her. Otherwise i was thinking walkie talkies if those are acceptable onboard.

I didn't find the family forum but I will check that out as well. Thank you!!

I apologize in advance for not knowing your situation, be it either widowed or divorced.One thing that is very important if you are divorced is to have a notarized letter from your ex giving you permission to take the children out of the country. There are many threads discussing this in the family forum.

As far as keeping in contact by phone, the ship phone charges are very high. Also there have been many threads on walkie talkies, most of which say they do not work well and annoy other people. I am not taking sides on this issue, just reporting others' comments.

You and your children will have a great time on a cruise.

Having the kids split up allows them to do their own thing

They are in separate groups but you could ask for them to be together

Would not suggest that for

Kids sake

Anything during school holidays there will have lots of kids on so don't worry about them meeting people and having fun

Hard part will be punning them down to spend some time with you

Relax they will live it and so will you

Did heaps with

My kids right through from little. Rugrats to big rugrats

Never was an issue and that as a single dad in case you were thinking it would be different for a single parent

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

"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!

Honestly your kids age is right on the cusp of what I personally (this is only My Opinion) would consider old enough to want to take on a cruise. You already sound like you will be nervous when they are out of your sight. Why not stick with more traditional family vacations for a few more years and go on a cruise now with friends and leave the kids at home ;)

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

Thank you for the replies. I have such a letter from previous travels and am aware of that procedure. It's a pain but I get it.

Now if i can find a sugar daddy... Lol thanks all!!!

Fortunately she does have a phone and so long as phones work at sea I will have constant contact with her.

That's a very good way to come home to a sky-high bill. The average per-minute charge to use the ship's cell towers is $2.49. There are no other cell towers in the middle of the ocean :)

Search the boards for "cellular at sea" and/or the name of your cell phone provider to find out what it's going to cost you to use your phones onboard. There are numerous cautionary tales of people that didn't realize their smartphones kept downloading app updates and email in the background, racking up hundreds of dollars in data charges.

If you decide to use walkie-talkies - you'll need fairly high-end ones to work properly on a ship, due to all the metal in the walls.

Do not, I repeat, do not allow kids unlimited access to a cell phone while on a cruise. My neighbors did just that with their teens, and between their texting, calls, emails and using the phone for Internet, they came home to a phone bill of over $2K. Calls, even if they call you on the ship, are $2.49 a minute. The same charge if they surf the net. Texts are $.50 to send and $.05 to receive.

Best to lock up the phones and not use them on the ship.

The age groups for the kids clubs are pretty strict. If the ship has lots of kids on board, and summer cruises are always jammed with kids, they will not allow kids to go in different age groups.

Your kids will have a blast, and they do NOT need to be together in the same group! The activities are really perfect for each age group. They will see each other PLENTY during the day...no worries!

If you are interested in giving your kids some autonomy on the cruise, I'll say check out Disney. The ships aren't huge and each room gets 2 Wave phones to stay in touch on the ship and on their island. You can rent additional phones so that you can all have one. There is a club for kids between 11-13 in addition to the younger club and the teen club. That way your older one isn't forced to choose between little kids and teenagers.

Some of the limitations of DCL are only 4 ships and limited itineraries because of only 4 ships and lack of the ice skating and rock climbing. Disney may not have some of the whistles and bells that RCCL does, but I wouldn't want my kids that age wandering around one of the big RCCL ships.

Hi All,

 

I'm new here and I have tried searching for lots of info and i might be in overload at this point. I am looking at next Summer (i'm a planner) to take a Caribbean Cruise with my kids who will be 12 and 10 by then. I only have been on 1 cruise and i was about 13/14 at that time soooo, ya I'm a newbie to this. My parents cruise, but not with kids so their input is the adult side of things.

 

I already have an idea of what places i want to go to and how many ports i want on my trip, my thing is the actual boat!! I have noticed inconsistency with age groups for kids clubs and wonder if i am over thinking my kids being split up into 2 different age groups and activities...1 girl 1 boy BTW.

 

What should i look for as a single mom w 2 kids on a boat? How reliable are the crew to come find me should something happen? What lines should I look hard at? Am I crazy cruising alone, should I have another adult with me? (maybe to watch me but thats a diff topic lol). All seriousness will I be over my head taking a cruise w 2 kids that travel very well with me?

 

I know I am the only one who knows my kids, so please don't read as if I am asking on the kids behavior part, I am asking in the sense of will a cruise work for a 3 top or should i stick to traditional land vacations?

 

Sell me on the safety and fun of a cruise!!

 

Please and thank you![/Q

To me the best cruise for kids and one parent is Disney. Totally safe and they will love it.. They have so much to do for the kids. They will find u as u get a tracking device when the kids want to leave there activities. They can not leave on there own Mom or dad has to get them.. Have you cruised before.. Fun you would have lots .. Where are you from I am up in Manitoba Canada.

im sure if your going cruising your doing okay finacially.. ask your kids dad to help you out there lol. kidding im joking.. what do u do for work

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

One thing -- there are not a lot of ships to choose from during the summer months in the Caribbean. Many of them head to Alaska, the Med, Baltic and Canada/New England.

You really should go and talk to a travel agent in person and pick up some brochures.

And I agree with Kitty9 -- lock up the cell phones.

Thank you for the responses so far. I didn't think about the possibility of aging down a kid...

 

Onessa my DD is very similar to yours, and Aug 15' she will be heading into 7th grade and I fear you will be right about her being bored stiff in the younger program. Fortunately she does have a phone and so long as phones work at sea I will have constant contact with her. Otherwise i was thinking walkie talkies if those are acceptable onboard.

 

I didn't find the family forum but I will check that out as well. Thank you!!

they do NOT work at sea unless you are willing to pay as much as $2.50 a minute ON TOP of what your provider charges for roaming. texting can be less expensive( only about 50 cents each) but you are still incurring other charges. some cruise lines have phones you can rent on board for use or you just set VERY clear rules and ENFORCE them.

DO NOT use walkie talkies!!!!! DO NOT. they suck( do not work at all for the most part) and do nothing but annoy the bejeezus out of everyone around you.

By and large all lines are very strict on age groups.. moving down *might* be allowed. moving up will pretty much never happen. don't be too concerned keeping them together.. might be good for them to 'have a break' from each other and to develop new social circles.

I think any mid priced cruise line would be a good option..Carnival, Royal, Disney. okay Disney is not miid priced ...;)

the larger ships have more bells and whistles( water slides, etc)

To me the best cruise for kids and one parent is Disney. Totally safe and they will love it.. They have so much to do for the kids. They will find u as u get a tracking device when the kids want to leave there activities. They can not leave on there own Mom or dad has to get them.. Have you cruised before.. Fun you would have lots .. Where are you from I am up in Manitoba Canada.

FYI, the kids don't really get tracking devices but the younger one would get a magic band to wear in the club/lab. You could choose if she has sign in/sign out privileges. The 12 year old will automatically have sign in/sign out privileges.

I did feel okay with my kids traveling around the ships together without adults in general. They were 10 & 7 (with another 10 year old cousin) the first time and 11 & 8 the next time. They weren't allowed to just roam but could go to movies, do Midship Detective Agency, get ice cream, etc.

I took my 9 and 11 year olds by myself on Royal's Navigator of the Seas in May and they said it was the best vacation we have ever had! There was so much to do on the ship that they never even spent much time in the kids' club. They loved the ice skating, rock climbing wall, sports court and especially boogie boarding on the flow rider. There were kid appropriate movies by the pool two nights and they liked that too. I did let them explore the ship by themselves a little bit but only when I was on the same deck and close by. They were just happy hanging at the pool or having a snack at the promenade cafe while playing a board game. They even liked the acrobatic show we went to one evening.

We did shore excursions through Royal at each port. Since I was by myself I wanted the extra level of safety knowing that Royal knew where to look if we weren't back on the boat.

At dinner they sat us with 3 other people (an elderly mother and her two adult children) which at first I thought wouldn't be a good match but turned out to be lovely. My son got very adventurous and tried lots of new foods at dinner.

We cruised Disney previously and I think they are obviously a big family cruise company but now that my kids are older they preferred Royal.

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

A cruise would be a great vacation for you and your children! :D

LuLu

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.

Bo

I think you are wrong about that

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

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.

 

 

Bo

I think you are wrong about that

Ditto, not to mention it has nothing to do with the topic.

Your kids will have a wonderful time on any cruise you pick. Though the options aren't as great in the summer to the Carib, there are still a few ships. You can easily do an online search to see who is sailing the dates/locations you want.

Disney, RC, and Carnival are 3 that pop into mind. Also MSCs Divina has been improving their US product in the area too.

Good luck and have fun

No problem disagreeing LOL Can you please elaborate of now bring a baby or really young child makes sense to you? I would be interested to know how they add to the experience.

did any information help you decide on what cruise to take.. how was your weekend thought i would say hi. JIM

I see nothing wrong with taking a baby on board

You are after all a family and the care offered on the ship also gives you plenty of me time

I did it as a single dad with mine

Sent from my iPhone using Forums