I just took my 2nd cruise with a multigenerational group of women. We've become so close and learned a lot from each other.
14.01.2025 - 11:13
/ insider.com
While my 14-year-old daughter was with her first boyfriend, I became close friends with his mom. My teens aren't fans of cruise vacations, so when Disney Cruise Line opened its new private island, Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point, and my family didn't want to go, I asked my newest mom friend to come along with me to check it out. We decided to go on a multigenerational cruise — a stateroom made up of myself, my friend, her mother, and her 18-year-old daughter — and it was the most fun cruise I've been on in my entire life, thanks to the company.
My daughter's foray into dating ended with a breakup, like most first relationships do. Thankfully, she and her ex have remained friends, and a few months after their relationship ended, when I wanted to sail on Disney's newest cruise ship, the Disney Treasure, and needed a few good travel buddies, I reached back out to my travel buddies. Again, we traveled as a multi-generational foursome and again, it was incredibly fun and relaxing.
Here's what I love so much about multigenerational travel with girlfriends, and why I'm hoping we cruise many, many more times together in the future.
On our first cruise together, I'd never traveled with my friend, her daughter, or her mom and had no idea how the trip would go. Thankfully, we got along great, and I fit right into their family dynamic . We instantly bonded and spent the entirety of the cruise talking, laughing, and getting to know each other better. We left our first cruise with so many great memories that I felt instantly bonded to each of them.
Not only did we travel well together, we had shared interests. I'm someone who's fine with being labeled a "Disney adult," and I appreciate other grown-ups who share my love of Disney magic . As with anything you're passionate about, traveling with a group of people who also value a specific type of experience is pure joy.
From sipping lattes with Disney art aboard the ship to dancing to a Junkanoo show on Lookout Cay with Mickey and his pals, there's something extra enjoyable about experiencing time on a vacation with people who appreciate it instead of teenagers who complain. Disney cruises can be pricey, and enjoying one with a group of people who were genuinely thrilled to be there made everything feel worth it.
I haven't had a relationship with my own mom for many years, and long ago a therapist told me the best way to deal with the sadness an estrangement sometimes brings is to spend time with other moms you look up to. My friend's mom is one-in-a-million, and getting to take a vacation with her felt really special since I rarely spend time with adult women who are the age of someone who could be my mom. I've learned it's OK to borrow other people's moms