I am a single mom with a 6 year old daughter. I see posts for singles, but nothing for single parents. For a first time cruise what would be the best ship for my daughter and I to BOTH enjoy ourselves? All responses would be greatly appreciated.
Vicki

Vicki, one possibility might be Disney Cruise Line. Your daughter is the perfect age, and they do have activities for adults too! Carnival, especially on the newer ships, might also be a good bet, as they have a good kids' program called Camp Carnival - I'd recommend the 7-day cruises there. (Disney offers 3-, 4-, and 7-day cruises; the shorter ones can be booked in conjunction with a stay at Disney World the rest of the week.) Do you have a travel agent you work with? You might ask him/her for suggestions as well! If you have worked with the same agent for a while, they might be familiar with your preferences.
Karen

Thanks for the suggestion. I know that Disney would be great for my daughter, but are there other single parents onboard? From people I spoke to everyone seems to imply that the activities for adults appeal to couples and I may feel like a third wheel. True/not true?
Vicki

Possibly true. If you are looking for a cruise that's family friendly with more single adults onboard, you may prefer Carnival or Royal Caribbean. The former especially seems to get good reviews for their kids' program (Camp Carnival), though it varies ship to ship. I'd recommend going for one of the newer, bigger ships in any case - more variety of activities and sometimes more space for the kids' clubs.
Karen

Vicki, I wholeheartedly agree with Karen's last post. Royal Caribbean and Carnival would probably be your best choices, if you are looking for other singles/single parents. The children's programs on both Carnival and Royal Caribbean get consistently good reviews.
Nancy

Thanks Nancy and Karen for the suggestions. I plan to go next year over spring break and will probably go with Carnival or Royal Caribbean. Is one better than the other? Any specific ships in the large category you would recommend?
Vicki

You're welcome, Vicki! Nearly any of the newer ships would be great for you - but the best way to choose is to check out brochures or the cruise lines' websites to see which appeals to you the most, and (to honk our horn again) talk with a travel agent. They can help you sift through all the choices, depending on your own interests. (If you don't have an agent you like to work with, feel free to email me direct; I'm in the Chicago area. travel@knowlton.org for further info -)
Karen

The only things I might add to Karen's suggestions (which are great by the way) are: The first thing you should do is decide WHERE you want to go - that will narrow your options. You really can't go wrong with Carnival's Spirit or Destiny class ships/ and Royal Caribbean's Voyager and Radiance class. Your personal preferences and interests will dictate which is a better fit - contacting a travel agent should be your next step.
Hope we have helped -
Nancy

Before you make a decision, you might want to read a review by Gary Miller on March 27th Carnival Spirit cruise. This was the cruise right before we left on our Panama Canal Cruise. There were over 700 uncontrolled children on board, making life pretty miserable for most. We kept hearing about the problems on our cruise, and certainly wasn't a very pretty picture. Also read about on other cruise sites. We had 4-5 kids that did the elevator thing on our cruise, and very annoying, so can't imagine what they did with all these kids playing with the elevators, amongst other things.

Bear in mind that March 27 is spring break for a lot of the Midwest, which might account for the larger than usual number of children. Unfortunately, there's still no accounting for lack of parental supervision...
Karen

I have been on numerous Spring Break cruises and although there are MANY children onboard at that time (over 600 children last Easter on the Radiance) I did not find the children to be disruptive or unruly for the most part (Of course I am a former elementary school teacher - so I may be more tolerant than many). Spring Breaks for college students/and many East coast schools starts around March 9 this year and then continues through to Easter. The highest public school traffic is the week before and the week after Easter (April 20). You will have numerous children aboard most of those sailings. I found, at least on Royal Caribbean, the staff worked very hard to keep the children in tow and held parents accountable. As a single mom the date of your cruise is probably dictated by your child's school calendar anyway, so I would suggest you continue with your plans.
Nancy

Thanks everyone! My cruise IS ruled by the school calendar since not only am I parent, but also a teacher. After reading all the suggestions - I decided to book a cruise on Royal Caribbean Navigator for Easter break - I hope I made the right decision.
Vicki

Sounds good to me! Have a great time!!
Karen

Think you made the right decision. Have fun, and let us know how things work out when you get back. We had 80 children on the Constellation 2 week cruise we just got back from, and with the exception of 2 10 or 11 year old boys that acted up one day, you hardly ever saw or heard the children. Have a great time.