I just took my 2nd cruise with a multigenerational group of women. We've become so close and learned a lot from each other.

• While my daughter was dating her first boyfriend, I made friends with his mother.
• I wanted to go on a cruise and invited her, her mother, and her daughter. We had so much fun.
• We recently took another cruise together even though my daughter and her ex have broken up.

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.

The best way to get to know others is through travel — and shared interests

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 don't have a relationship with my own mother, so borrowing my friend's mom was special

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 as people who I look up to, and traveling twice with this special woman has been a delight.

I laughed so much my stomach hurt

One of my favorite parts of traveling with this group of women was meal time, when we'd sit at a restaurant and talk, sharing stories, giving each other advice, and discussing where we each were at this time in our lives.

In addition to some amazing conversations, we had so many things to laugh about, from silly photos captured by the ship's photographers to inside jokes we'd come up with during our days on the ship. Laughter really is the best medicine, and I left both trips feeling so much joy after cracking up with my friends for several days on end.

We both acted like kids and enjoyed the adults-only areas

While we definitely took advantage of spaces like adults-only pools or restaurants where no kids were allowed while on our Disney cruises, we also made sure to experience the more childlike aspects as well. From watching Disney's Broadway-quality shows each night to seeing fireworks on the ship's upper decks to standing in line to meet characters like Captain Minnie Mouse, my travel party wasn't afraid to embrace their inner children, which made the trip all the more fun. Something I tell my teenage daughter often is that she should find friends who aren't afraid to be silly and who don't take themselves too seriously, so being able to model that for her with my own friendships is important to me.

These women remain some of my closest friends

With two cruises under our belts, I feel more connected than ever to these amazing women, something that's a dream come true for someone like me, who set out recently to make friends who would add more meaning to my life and challenge me to become the best version of myself.

Sailing the seas with three generations of women has taught me a lot about myself, showed me how far I've come in life, and given me things to strive for as I continue to age. In my friend's 18-year-old daughter, I see so much drive and determination, qualities that remind me to keep setting goals for myself and dreaming big, even at age 44.

My friend's mom teaches me bits of wisdom about everything from her secrets to a nearly 50-year marriage to stories about what she learned during her career years. And my friend who's my age? Traveling together has made us even closer and bonded us in a pretty unique way.

What's more, all breakups aside, our families remain close, and the three of them remain some of my dearest friends, so much so that we spend holidays together and are planning more trips as a quartet.