Single mom of 2 first time cruising.

chasingmocha

Earning My Ears
Joined
Aug 16, 2012
I'm taking my kids, 9 and 8, on their first cruise in March. Being a single mom and not taking another adult makes me a little nervous. What suggestions do you have for excursions that would be good for them? I was thinking of just snorkeling at CC, they are decent swimmers. Also, I'm planning on signing them up for the kids club, what kinds of things will be good for me to do by myself, besides sleep of course?
 
I'm taking my kids, 9 and 8, on their first cruise in March. Being a single mom and not taking another adult makes me a little nervous. What suggestions do you have for excursions that would be good for them? I was thinking of just snorkeling at CC, they are decent swimmers. Also, I'm planning on signing them up for the kids club, what kinds of things will be good for me to do by myself, besides sleep of course?
Brunch at Palo is nice. Do that while the kids are at the club, if you can get a reservation. I'm a single mom & loved it.
 
If the beverage tastings appeal to you, I think that's a great option. You'll sit with others and conversation will happen far more easily than sitting at a bar normally would. There are a lot of adults-only shows in the later portion of the evening, if your kids are in the club then. You won't have to wander solo and bored! :)

You might want to add your itinerary/ports so you can get more help with port excursion suggestions. Be forewarned that the distance to the "good" stuff when snorkeling at CC is a rather lengthy swim. I might hesitate to do that as a solo adult with 2 kids, unless they swim competitively and you know for sure they have good endurance. My 9yo is good in terms of technique and knowledge of what to do if he gets in trouble out in the water, but I don't trust his swimming endurance yet simply b/c he's never been on a swim team and had to do more than a few lengths of the pool at a time.
 
I am also a single mom and I tend to use Disney excursions as I feel safer doing so. I understand these are the same providers some book independently but I feel more secure.

I just hang out on Castaway Cay. No excursions.

When alone, I usually find other single parents to hang with. Disney will pair you with other single parents for dinner. One cruise, they even played matchmaker
 


You should consider a spa day for yourself or even a rainforest pass. As far as port excursions they can vary depending on your activity level and interest. Hopefully you find something you can enjoy by yourself and with your kids.
 
I think I'll definitely take advantage of the spa for sure. It looks amazing in the pics. The thought of snorkeling makes me nervous with them so I'll probably find something else. Thanks guys!
 
I’m a single mom and I’ve never been bored on a Disney Cruise. Just FYI on my last cruise, my son and I were seated with a family of 4. There was supposed to be another mom and kid but they never showed up. They were delightful though and we were happy even though I was afraid it might be awkward.

I too book excursions through Disney as I’m more comfortable that way.

I like to explore the ship and sit and read. I’ve done some trivia and have always found someone who has asked me to join their team.

I find that even though there are a couple thousand people on board you seem to run into the same ones over and over so get to know people.
 


I am taking my 2 children alone for the first time on the 27th. I'm a little nervous, too, but I know we'll have a great time.
 
We'll be at Nassau also. Haven't looked at excursions there yet, we don't go until March 23rd. Haven't gotten that far in the planning yet.

I'd recommend going to Blue Lagoon either for a dolphin encounter/swim or just to hang out at the beach. You get to see a little bit of the Nassau on the ferry to Blue Lagoon.
 
So defintely make use of the kids clubs and look on the navigator to see what appeals to you.
As for snorkeling at CC, its fine, but nothing great. Personally I think renting bikes at CC is a must and cruising around the island up to the lookout tower. Another option is renting pedal boats, but they may only hold 2 not sure. They do have a package that includes snorkel gear and bike rental, if they really want to snorkel. We also like to just hang out and go on the waterslides. That age they also may like the Dino Dig "show", just make sure to check thetime when you arrive if thats something that intersts them.

I've never been to Nassau, but if they have one of those amphibious duck boats those are always a fun no-stress way to see parts of the town and the water.
 
SIngle Mom here and planning our 6th DCL cruise in a few months. Prepare to get hooked!

I echo the comment so about Palo- I would recommend brunch over dinner myself. Especially on your first cruise the dining rooms are part of the experience.

I really like spa time too (check out the alone time treatments) and the rainforest room is awesome.

For Castaway I would recommend the stingray excursion. You have some time to snorkel in a more shallow and controlled environment.

My biggest tip would be to join your cruise meets thread. There may be other single parents you can chat with prior to your trip. Twice I’ve connected with other families and we chose to sit together for dinner. It worked well and the kids hit it off too!

Have fun!
 
We didn't think the stingray excursion was good. We did it the end of August. The water was not clear and you're not really snorkeling to see anything but the stingrays so I wouldn't really consider it "snorkeling". It was actually one of our least favorite excursions on any cruise. We've had more stingray time at local aquariums. I've heard that Grand Cayman is the place to do a stingray excursion so we're looking forward to that if we ever get back to GC!

OP - we also enjoy snorkeling and plan to do this excursion in the Bahamas - 3 Island Snorkel and Beach Adventure (N97). I believe you can snorkel on Blue Lagoon as well.

Piggybacking on the comment above about dinner - Disney does a pretty good job of putting families together if you don't connect with anyone prior to the cruise.
 
I'm taking my kids, 9 and 8, on their first cruise in March. Being a single mom and not taking another adult makes me a little nervous. What suggestions do you have for excursions that would be good for them? I was thinking of just snorkeling at CC, they are decent swimmers. Also, I'm planning on signing them up for the kids club, what kinds of things will be good for me to do by myself, besides sleep of course?
There should be a few single dads on the ship. Perhaps you can make a new friend.
 
Hi everyone - I am a single mum also (traveling from Australia) and had our first DCL cruise experience last year (3nts Bahamian from PC) when we went to WDW - we are now hooked on DCL and have a B2B from San Diego booked for May next year (3nt Baja and 5nt California Coast). Don't feel nervous - you will all have a brilliant time. We did the stingray adventure at CC and really enjoyed it, just spent the rest of the time swimming - it is a real slice of heaven, so maybe don't plan too much. My daughter spent most of her time in the pool and only utilised the kids club when I did a wine tasting (she didn't really enjoy the kids club - I think it was because there were lots of younger kids there at the time she was) - I would recommend this or any of the other tastings on offer. We didn't get off the ship when docked in Nassau. I considered the Palo Brunch for our cruises next year - but kind of felt like I would feel uncomfortable doing it on my own - but considering so many of you have suggested it in this thread, I will see if I can book it when my online booking window/s open in Feb.
 
It has been very comforting to see the many responses on here and positive comments regarding doing this trip with just me and the kids. It'll be my first extended vacation with just them and this has definitely helped calm the nerves. I welcome any and all the tips I can get!
 
Be forewarned that the distance to the "good" stuff when snorkeling at CC is a rather lengthy swim. I might hesitate to do that as a solo adult with 2 kids, unless they swim competitively and you know for sure they have good endurance.

I agree. Also make sure they have snorkeled before. We ended up wearing out our sunscreen time because my son flipped out at his rental mask leaking. Took ages for us to finally realize that his head is big and my head is smallish to normal, so he and I swapped masks and I wore his “kid” mask. Then it was all fine. But we were out there so long and the lagoon is so big that even my never-burned-before part-Asian son got burned (as did my more-part-Asian husband).

So...sunscreen, practice, and your own masks. :):).

And it’s not like you’re alone out there. There are life guards stationed out there. It just FEELS alone.
 
We didn't think the stingray excursion was good. We did it the end of August. The water was not clear and you're not really snorkeling to see anything but the stingrays so I wouldn't really consider it "snorkeling". It was actually one of our least favorite excursions on any cruise. We've had more stingray time at local aquariums. I've heard that Grand Cayman is the place to do a stingray excursion so we're looking forward to that if we ever get back to GC!

OP - we also enjoy snorkeling and plan to do this excursion in the Bahamas - 3 Island Snorkel and Beach Adventure (N97). I believe you can snorkel on Blue Lagoon as well.

Piggybacking on the comment above about dinner - Disney does a pretty good job of putting families together if you don't connect with anyone prior to the cruise.
Hi was wondering if you did the 3 Island Snorkel and Beach Adventure (N97) yet? Was considering for our cruise in February.
 

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