Last fall break, I discovered that cruises are the ideal vacation for parents who are traveling solo with their kids. Yes, taking a cruise is so very basic — and not something any of my LA or NY friends would ever do — but sometimes it’s worth sacrificing cool points for ease. Most importantly, the kids had the time of their short lives.
When cruising with my three young children (ages 6, 8, and 10) from Miami to the Bahamas, I welcomed the convenience of not dealing with rental cars and hotels. Being outnumbered, there’s also safety in knowing that my kids couldn’t get too lost on a boat. My two eldest loved having the independence to go off on their own — to the arcade or wherever — and I felt comfortable with this so long as they stayed together.
The first thing to do onboard is to acquaint yourself with your room, which takes four seconds. Each cabin is tiny, unless you have baller status. But, on the bright side, the small confines provide the ultimate bonding experience for your family. It’s the closest I’ll come to camping. In any event, it is definitely worth springing for the balcony. Every morning, I enjoyed my coffee while overlooking the sea, letting the heavy glass door seal off the sounds of Mr. Beast and Minecraft.
The ultimate highlight for me, though, was giving my kids the opportunity to meet and interact with a huge swath of people at one time. Being on a cruise is like watching your Facebook feed come to life. Or the vacation equivalent of taking the Manhattan 6 train from 86th to 14th. From stem to stern, you’ll meet people from all walks of life: biker dudes, sunny retirees, honeymooners, Canadians, you name it.
And everyone is happy to be there, living the cruising lifestyle. Though I had boasted my ability to pack our family of four into one carry-on — hold your applause — devoted cruisers showed up in droves donning extensive “cruise wear” wardrobes. Color coordinated sets, cultural garb, seemingly infinite outfit changes on tap for every event, portable fans, and, of course, Hawaiian shirts in every shade of the rainbow. These cruisers are eager to share their inside knowledge on how to make the most of the trip; for example, where to get the best french fries or virgin piña coladas.
“Every morning, I enjoyed my coffee while overlooking the sea, letting the heavy glass door seal off the sounds of Mr. Beast and Minecraft. ”
While there are many different dining options aboard, you’ll definitely want to opt for the formal dinner. We were assigned to a table with some cruisers from Australia, which was a thrill to us because they sounded like Bluey’s family. Every night provided a chance for me to coach my children on table manners, pushing their attention spans to the brink, while slowly confiscating the 32 utensils that accompany each place setting. This level of Olympic parenting paid off after a few nights when they were able to engage in conversation with our tablemates long enough to learn about dingos and Vegemite.
Otherwise, here is a road map of conversation you can expect to have every 15 minutes during the first two days of your trip: Where are you from? How many cruises have you been on? What excursions are you doing today? By day three, the close quarters and jam-packed days make for more interesting dialogue. This diverse group of fun-loving, adventurous people with zero modesty when it comes to bathing suits provided the foundation for easygoing friendships that come with communal living. If you have a curious nature, you can learn a lot about life in other parts of the world.
Or you can just post up with your family by the soft-serve machine and watch the belly-flop contest by yourselves. They didn’t call our ship Freedom of the Seas for nothing. As with any vacation, you can determine how social you want to be and what works best for your family. Traveling solo with kids does not have to be as stressful as it sounds because, unlike life at home, it requires little scheduling. There’s no need to plan activities on a cruise or worry about what to make for dinner, since it’s all taken care of for you. Plus, you don’t have to do laundry. It’s never felt so good to be uncool.
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