Single Parent Cruising to Alaska ??

[wendlle]

It's a long story that I won't bore anyone with but I will possibly now be going on my Alaska Cruise as a single parent of two kids (7,4) in September.

Please give me all the advice you have about cruising as a solo parent. Also what will the ports be like as a single parent?
We had a helicopter and glacier tour planned which I would still love to do with my kids, would this be extra hard as a solo parent?

What about if I want to book Palo ? Does it seem strange to book as a single guest for this?
I am not afraid to travel alone as I did so many times before I was married / partnered up and am a little bit of an introvert, so don't mind my own company.

I'll also be spending 5 days in Anaheim before the cruise and 5 days after in Vancouver.

 

[msmama]

No advice specifically for Alaska, but I've cruised plenty as a single mom (my son is now 14, started when he was 7). Before Covid they usually sat us with other single parents (or grandparents). On our 2 cruises since covid we've been by ourselves. I'm not bothered either way.

I've never been interested in Palo but on many cruises I've gone on there's been someone planning a single person group to Palo if your a member of your cruise group on the face social media I don't think is allowed to be mentioned here.

You know your kids best. I wouldn't have done a helicopter with my 4 year old no matter how many other adults I was traveling with, but heights aren't his thing. I will say I've only done Disney excursions and what I like about them is that you often see people on the ship so you get to know them. I would never ask a stranger for help with my kid unless absolutely necessary, but knowing there are familiar faces lessens any anxiety I have. I've stepped in to talk to cranky kids on excursions, other parents have returned the favor. If I can help a parent by talking to their kid about meeting Mickey, I'm happy to help.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

Learn as you go the kids can be watched while you enhance adult dining.

Shoot sometimes it feels like I’m a single parent on a crusie so I get it. Life’s short enjoy these kiddos in Alaska!

 

[MinnieInVA]

Single parent here! I can’t speak to the helicopter excursion, but I’ve done Palo brunch solo twice now and I recommend it! The wait staff will take your cue to be as attentive/chatty as you want. I just brought my iPad with me to read a book while I ate and enjoyed the experience immensely.

 

[Marthasor]

Hopefully more people will chime in on the helicopter excursion. My experience - we traveled as a family of 4 (me, DH, DS (then 5 years old) and DMIL). Because of weight distribution issues, they separated us - me and DMIL in one helicopter and DH and DS5 in another. I don't know if this is common practice, but just wanted to relay my experience. I think it's very possible, even if you are in one helicopter, you may not all be sitting together if they need to distribute the weight in a certain way. I, personally, would consider something other than a helicopter flight, unfortunately.

 

[wendlle]

Hopefully more people will chime in on the helicopter excursion. My experience - we traveled as a family of 4 (me, DH, DS (then 5 years old) and DMIL). Because of weight distribution issues, they separated us - me and DMIL in one helicopter and DH and DS5 in another. I don't know if this is common practice, but just wanted to relay my experience. I think it's very possible, even if you are in one helicopter, you may not all be sitting together if they need to distribute the weight in a certain way. I, personally, would consider something other than a helicopter flight, unfortunately.

I highly doubt they would put one of my kids in another helicopter without an adult, so that isn't a concern of mine. I don't really mind if the eldest can't sit right next to me, she will be fine and well used to conversing with Adults. My kids are pretty well traveled.
It was more ON the actual Glacier I'm asking about. We aren't doing a sled dog one, just a visit with a short walk etc but I understand they are rocky etc so will have to hold both kids hands.

 

[dcassetta]

Check the descriptions for the excursions carefully, because I’m not sure that all of them allow children as young as yours. If you can figure out the companies that Disney is using, you might wish to call them and ask about your particular scenario. I agree I don’t think the helicopter company would want to put your child in a different helicopter from you, but the weight situation is important, and if they can’t move people where they need to I guess the possibility exists that they could cancel your tour.

 

[wendlle]

Check the descriptions for the excursions carefully, because I’m not sure that all of them allow children as young as yours. If you can figure out the companies that Disney is using, you might wish to call them and ask about your particular scenario. I agree I don’t think the helicopter company would want to put your child in a different helicopter from you, but the weight situation is important, and if they can’t move people where they need to I guess the possibility exists that they could cancel your tour.

The ones we have already booked allow my aged kids - all the tours we booked including the Glacier are aged 2 and up.
They have already got our weights from when I booked. I did it all thru Alaska Shore Excursions - not thru Disney.

If they cancel that's fine, we will just either hang out near the port in the shops etc or go back to the ship and explore

 

[holula]

I’ve done Palo (and Remy) as a solo, personally I prefer dinner as a solo although I’m not entirely sure why other than the meal is more structured.

 

[gotomu212]

I just did a girls trip with my 5 year old and here were the big things I noticed with one this age solo parenting. (I’ll add we travel a lot, and I’m laid back but also organized if that helps). Some of these is in the weeds.

Getting to ship- just have a plan. Everything was a little harder without another set of adult hands. My hands were full dragging the two suitcases so no hands to grab the 5 year as we traversed airports, hotels, buses, etc. or keep track of the iPad and stuffy she insisted on carrying. I just made sure not to over pack and think through easier ways to handle things (we did DCL transfers, stayed at the airport hotel, etc).

Dinner- this is the biggest thing that stuck out to me. We were seated at our own table and everyone around us at other tables were older couples. I wouldn’t say my daughter was the best dining companion. She slept through 2 of them, went to the kids club for another (by that point I was like yes, please just go), and ate too much really fast with the disastrous result another time. Everyone around me was incredibly nice, and three separate couples invited me to join their tables when she was asleep of gone. I travel for work a lot and eat alone often, but on the ship it did seem to make people think ohhhh noooo must invite over. I brought a book the night she went to the club and even that was a little awkward. So it was a very different dining experience than I was used to on DCL.

Pools- Normally my husband handles the pools as I’m just not a fan of the kids’ pools, and at this age you have to be right there. Instead it was all me.

Excursions- so ours was Caribbean so obviously different but I think the safety issue was similar. For us, the beaches had serious undertows and drop offs and all the parents were super concerned at how unsafe it was. I’m a pretty laid back parent, but had to be super vigilant and with just me it felt a little overwhelming trying to manage. Luckily in both excursions there were lots of other kids and all the parents sort of banded together looking after kids (I’m not kidding when I say I grabbed two kids going out to sea and someone grabbed mine when a wave swept her out and knocked me down). I know you wont have beaches but when we were in Alaska I remember a lot of rocky terrain and cliffs and other don’t touch that/run there stuff that could be a little dicey with a 4 year old. I felt like the excursions were a blur and there was no time to enjoy it while also making sure my daughter wasn’t a news story. It was very different than any trip where I had 2 adults.

Palo- great, there were two other solo diners I saw. No one batted an eye at being alone.

Kids Club/Adult time- Mine loved the kids club so thank God. Mine also needed more sleep than me. So there was more time in the room than usual. I wasn’t interested in the evening adult activities solo (I’m sure it would have been fine). I’m normally a late owl and love to sleep in. I laughed that on this cruise we were at breakfast by 8 every morning and in bed by 10 pm. With other cruises we’ve pushed the kids to stay up later and sleep in later, but it just didn’t matter to me this time.

It was a great trip, and we’re going to do another girls trip next year. However, even though I’m used to solo travel and even though I’m used to a lot of one on one time with my kids IRL, a vacation with my daughter solo was different than I expected, less relaxing, and more geared to her having fun.My biggest recommendation is just think through how things might be different so you can adjust.

 

[crazylady]

We did the helicopter glacier experience a few years ago. I believe they gave us special boots and walking sticks. The glacier was pretty flat and not had to walk around the rock pieces. The boots helped in the slippery parts. We really didn't walk very far. The glaciers are constantly changing so your experience is.might he totally different.

There were a couple of spots where we had to walk over a little creek, but you could help one kid and then the other if necessary. My kids were older but we had some kids in the 6-7 range with us and they didn't appear to have any issues.

There were some areas where there was some glacier erosion that were fun to look at and take photographs but they were much deeper cracks and drop offs.

The only concern I'd have as a solo parent with kids that age would be if I thought my kids would misbehave. I can imagine my older kid would want to sword fight with the walking sticks or get to close to the erosion areas at those ages. If your kids are good listeners, I think you'll be fine.

 

[BrokeMack]

By coincidence, I just watched this video today. Several parts might be helpful to you, although much of the video is dedicated to the question "should you cruise DCL if you aren't a big Disney fan?"

 

[kiford]

What about if I want to book Palo ? Does it seem strange to book as a single guest for this?

We've seen plenty of single diners in Palo as well as people on their own at various tastings and at other events and activities on board ship. It's not in the least bit strange. Even if you're travelling with other adults, not everyone wants to do the same things so no one thinks it's out of the ordinary.

By coincidence, I just watched this video today. Several parts might be helpful to you, although much of the video is dedicated to the question "should you cruise DCL if you aren't a big Disney fan?"

We follow him - he's not single but since his partner doesn't go on a lot of the cruises, a lot of his videos are about cruising solo on a whole variety of different types of ships and to lots of different locations. He may have some good insights just on solo cruising in general.

 

[BrokeMack]

We've seen plenty of single diners in Palo as well as people on their own at various tastings and at other events and activities on board ship. It's not in the least bit strange. Even if you're travelling with other adults, not everyone wants to do the same things so no one thinks it's out of the ordinary.


We follow him - he's not single but since his partner doesn't go on a lot of the cruises, a lot of his videos are about cruising solo on a whole variety of different types of ships and to lots of different locations. He may have some good insights just on solo cruising in general.

Yeah, he cruised Disney solo, so he included relevant content in the video I linked.

 

[Marthasor]

I highly doubt they would put one of my kids in another helicopter without an adult, so that isn't a concern of mine. I don't really mind if the eldest can't sit right next to me, she will be fine and well used to conversing with Adults. My kids are pretty well traveled.
It was more ON the actual Glacier I'm asking about. We aren't doing a sled dog one, just a visit with a short walk etc but I understand they are rocky etc so will have to hold both kids hands.

So, perhaps be more specific in your post as to what advice you are seeking. You specifically asked if doing a helicopter and glacier tour would be extra hard as a solo parent. Yes, unfortunately, it will be. I've done countless trips solo with my DS, including a cruise. Shore excursions, in general, are harder with children that age without an extra pair of hands.

 

[auntlynne]

 

[Cheburashka]

I sailed to Alaska as a single mother with my son a few years ago, and we had an unforgettable trip.

I like to have dinner at Palo (and Remy, when I sail on the Dream class) on my own. I always have a book on Kindle that I can read from my phone. I don't usually see other singles there, but who cares? I've never had anyone look at me like I'm weird, and I have as much right to dine there as anyone else. The servers at Palo and Remy are great and treat you very nicely. It's good to be pampered once in a while, especially when you're single parenting.