What I Learned on a Cruise With My Sister

It was a tiny cabin!

By

Stacey Lastoe

 
Published September 17, 2026
An empty wooden lounge chair faces the ocean on a cruise ship deck during golden-hour sunlight
Getty Images

Last fall, I asked my sister Stephanie if she wanted to go on a cruise with me. We were in a honeymoon phase of our renewed relationship, only somewhat recently having grown close after years of failing to fully connect and reach one another.

We would sail the Danube River in Europe on Uniworld’s brand new ship, the S.S. Emilie. Both AmaWaterways and Viking, also have ships sailing throughout the great ports of Europe.

The itinerary included a couple of cities I’d been to before — Vienna and Budapest — and many more I had not — Slovakia, Novi Sad, and Belgrade with a stop in Croatia.

Stephanie said yes immediately. I made sure to explain that we’d be sharing a small cabin with two single beds merely inches apart and that sailing on a river, and not an ocean. That meant fewer distractions on board the ship and instead of a choice of restaurants, as is the norm on ocean liners, and nightly entertainment in a big theater, we could expect to eat in one dining room and attend an educational lecture or history lesson if we wanted something to do on board the ship.

Laying everything out openly was, I figured, the best way to set us up for success.

Finally, we were in what felt like a truly good place, and we were both eager to not only linger in it but make it even better by strengthening our bond on a European adventure with our husbands caring for our dogs back home.

You can follow all the best advice about best practices before traveling with a friend or anyone who is not your spouse, but when it comes down to it, it’s all about navigating the situation as you go. And so it is that I walked away from the eight-day cruise with not only a deeper bond with my sister but many lessons learned.

Two adults wearing sunglasses stand on a riverside promenade with water and a historic parliament building in the background on a sunny day
Author Stacey Lastoe, left, with her sister in Budapest, Hungary, with the Danube River and Hungarian Parliament Building in background.
Courtesy Stacey Lastoe

Happy Together — and Apart

“Oh,” I said, surprised, but trying to keep my voice light and relaxed, upon entering the small stateroom with one king-sized bed taking up the bulk of the space. “Are you okay sharing a bed?” I asked. “I think they can separate it and make it two singles,” I explained, even though, by the looks of it, there hardly seemed to be room to make the change.

“Of course,” Stephanie said.

We agreed to unpack immediately and to stay as organized as possible, something we felt was crucial in sharing such a small space for seven whole nights. Since we both work from our respective homes while our husbands toil away at offices, Stephanie and I were used to our own, glorious space. If she was even a little bit apprehensive about the total lack of privacy, she didn’t say.

River cruises are all about city immersion, and we were largely on the same page in terms of selecting — or skipping — daily excursions. As active people, we were happy to have the option to come and go as we pleased on days the ship was docked at a given city’s port.

In Budapest, about halfway through the cruise, we decided to forgo the arranged city tours and explore independently. Stephanie mapped out our morning and I chose a museum for early afternoon. I suggested we visit a bathhouse before dinner because it was the quintessential thing to do in Hungary’s capital. But when it came time to grab our suits and flip-flops, Stephanie declared that she was going to skip it. “I’d be going just to go, to say I went,” she said. “I’m not really feeling it.”

Huh, I thought, choosing my response carefully since, historically, my quick, judgmental reactions had done nothing to advance our relationship. Years earlier I would have tried to convince her she was making the wrong choice—or silently judged her for wasting a day in Budapest.

Yet, she was right: It didn’t make sense for her to go and spend upwards of 20 euros just because it was on my (and many visitors’) Budapest bucket lists.

No Room for Judgment

When we reunited on the ship later, Stephanie presented me with her market purchase: She had chosen two gorgeous pashminas and wanted me to select one to keep. While I soaked in thermal baths, she'd wandered the market, bought two beautiful pashminas, and picked one out for me. It was a reminder that the “right” way to spend an afternoon in a new city isn't universal.

A few days later, we were scheduled to join a group of other passengers on a “I Love Belgrade,” bike tour, something which we had excitedly discussed as one of the few active excursions the Danube itinerary offered. It was cold and drizzly the morning of the tour though, and Stephanie bailed.

At first, I was slightly miffed, and as I left the room to join the others and our guide. I reminded her to please turn off the room’s do-not-disturb light so that our room could get serviced.

“I know, Stace. I’m not staying here all day,” she replied, no doubt summoning up plenty of patience to deal with her older, bossy sister.

After the bike tour, which was a fun way to see more of Belgrade than I could have done on foot, I returned to the ship to change into dry clothes, happy to see the room had been serviced by housekeeping and surprised not to find my sister there.

“Where are you?” I texted. It was lunchtime and I figured we’d dine on the ship together.

Stephanie returned a few minutes later, declaring she had just had the best dumplings of her life. Coming from someone who had lived on mainland China for a few years, this was really saying something big. Instead of feeling slighted that she'd gone without me, I immediately asked for the address so I could stuff myself with the juicy pork and scallion dumplings dipped in the soy vinegar sauce she said was a perfect compliment. And it was.

Fully Compatible

Sharing such a small space with my sister, getting ready together each evening, sitting down for dinner every night — all of the togetherness (in spite of several windows of time doing our own thing) made me really realize how comfortable we are with each other.

I never felt like there were silences that needed to be filled or pointed questions to ask to keep conversations going. Many afternoons, after hours of exploring a city on foot, we returned to our shared king-sized bed and napped peacefully next to one another. Each morning, I retrieved coffees for two in the lobby and we took turns getting ready. Stephanie never kept me waiting, nor I her — we’re both punctual people who appreciate schedules.

Some evenings we chose to dine at one of the few two-tops alone, neither of us in the mood to socialize with other passengers, Other nights, we enthusiastically became the life of the party together as we shared stories with new friends. Later, back in the privacy of our room, we rehashed those chatty dinners and confirmed the next day’s agenda.

Recently, on two separate occasions, friends have remarked how rare and lucky I am to have a close relationship with my sister. While I have no way of knowing whether or not what we have is rare, I do know I cherish it more than I could possibly say. The lesson wasn’t that my sister and I are the same travelers. It’s that we finally trust each other enough not to be.

Have any of you ever traveled with a sibling? Let us know in the comments below.

Prior to becoming a full-time freelancer, Stacey Lastoe won an Emmy for her work on Anthony Bourdain's Little Los Angeles while working as a senior editor at CNN. In addition to freelance editing gigs at Red Ventures, Fodor’s Travel, and Condé Nast Traveler, Stacey writes for a variety of publications, including The Washington Post, The New York Post, Travel + Leisure, Food & Wine, and Robb Report. She splits her time between Brooklyn and Vermont with her husband and hound dog.