Disney w/out kids

[cruisezone14]

Considering a Disney cruise without kids. What do you think?

[inkkognito]

No kids here, and we have cruised Disney 38 times, with many more already booked. For more details, check out the trip reports on my website.
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

[Fireplug]

We have done 4 Disney cruises without kids and love it. They are very relaxing.

Squid

[Druke I]

We did a Disney Magic cruise way back in Dec 98, without kids (a preview for when grandkids are a little older), and loved it.

We were very impressed with the separation between adult and children, and their varied activities.

I think Disney has a winning product - would love to see them add ships and more varied itineraries.

Michael

[cruisezone14]

Thanks for the info, especially to castawayclub.com. An excellent web site. We've sailed Royal Caribbean and Carnival and are looking for a new experience. Thanks again.

[wdwlvr]

No kids here and we've done 5 with our 6th booked for December. I've sailed other lines as well and Disney is my favorite!

[danblinn]

I love DCL when it is the whole family. But, unless you are a real Disneyphile (and there are many), I think that you would enjoy yourself much more on a different line. When we go with the kids, we take DCL. When we go without, we prefer Celebrity.

First, expect lots and lots of kids on DCL. Although there are a few areas that are designated adult-only, why limit yourself when you want a little more quiet.

Second, expect to pay a premium price. The cabins are larger and there are higher crew to passenger and public space to passenger ratios than on a typical cruise ship - - even though there is no casino. This is great for family cruising - you want larger cabins with kids along, and there are plenty of youth counselors and additional "play areas" for the kids. But that costs, and you really aren't benefitting from it when you travel without kids.

Third and finally, and this harkens back to my original point, this is very much a theme cruise line, and that theme is Disney. Unless you are really into that (and I don't criticize those who are), do you really want that for a whole week? Maybe a 3 or 4 day trip wouldn't be so bad.

[Miramar]

I went on DCL a few years ago-- was around 25 at the time and went with family (no kids). We really liked it-- I didn't think the Disney theme was overwhelming-- it wasn't like there was Mickey Mouse everywhere you turned. We cruise in November when most kids don't sail, so there were not tons of kids on board. However, the kids that were there seemd to be very well occupied by the kids program and did not have time to be loud or out of control. Also, there are adults only areas, and on DCL they are enforced.

[mrsfuzzmo]

We went without kids in march and it was CRAMMED with kids. Unless you were in the adult pool area, they were everywhere. We will definitely not cruise DCL again unless we go with a big group and they insist on it. We didn't meet people on DCL like we did on the many others that we have sailed on. Most people do have kids and they pretty much spend their time within their own family issues to meet others. Fine for them, for us, a kidless couple out to meet and hang with new friends, BAD News. We are not Disney lovers (not haters either, just don't really care either way). Had read from so many people what a great cruise this was..........welll........this being our 12th, that's not the case. Most of those people touting the wonders of the Disney Line either have kids (in case fine) or haven't tried many other lines lately. There are so many fantastic ships out there now, with so much to do, I don't think I would do any ship twice. DCL is a kid haven and is nice for families, but for adults that aren't into the Disney Theme......a bit boring, compared to other lines. Evening entertainment was 100%sugar. Even in the "adult" sports bar......kids everywhere. For those that ONLY cruise Disney, their advice is OF COURSE Disney advice. From someone who has expanded their horizons a bit, go elsewhere, unless your into screaming kids, pushy parents yelling at thier kids, Kiddo themed evening entertainment, kids in the bingo games, and hearing photographers trying to get crying kids to smile during a wrestling match with a character....because it's what the parents want, try something more adult. AND for 1/2 the cost of an inside stateroom on DCL, you can get a beautiful veranda suite on many other lines.
Not worth it to us.

[pvangordon]

My husband and I did our first DCL cruise last year at age 32 with no kids and had a nice time. In fact, we're planning to return this September for another one. I'm a longtime Disney fan, he's not.

I don't remember being too bothered by lots of kids, so either I did a pretty good job of staying out of their way or the cruise just didn't have as many families on it (I said in late October). The only time the place seemed overrun was the last night when everyone was out getting their pictures taken and we had to venture into the crowd to book our 2004 cruise. We like to stay away from crowds in general, so I wasn't necessarily bothered by the kids per se, but rather the whole atmosphere.

The first cruise was also a 7 day land/sea package, so the cruise itself was pretty short. This time we're doing the 7 day western itinerary, with plenty of shore excursions planned.

I will add that while I do love Disney and would go on their line again, I agree with the above poster than you can probably get a better deal on another line, especially if you may be looking for more adult oriented activities. I've already booked a cruise for 2005 on Celebrity, primarily because I want to go to Alaska, but also because I'm ready to try something different. We got a Royal Suite for much much less than DCL was asking for a one bedroom suite.

[kmflowrs]

I went with 2 other adults and kids. We had a great time but found that the night clubs close very early so there's not much to do after midnight. I also found myself sick of "happy" families by the end of the cruise. I would sail Disney again though with out children. Daytime activities were great and the shows were wonderful. We were lucky enough to be on the Wonder when they were debuting The Golden Mickey's. The night clubs put on great programs after 2nd seating dinner.

[ruvidu]

We have been on two 3 day cruises, an Eastern and a Western cruise on the Magic and have loved every minute of it. We would have cruised with DCL again this year but opted for Alaska where the mouse does not go. We hope to be back for another Western cruise next year on the Magic if all goes well.
We have found that by dinning late you will see very few children. All of our dinning companions over the years have been around our age (mid 50a) and childless as well.
The adults only pool area onboard and the adults only beach at Castaway are well guarded and just a little bit of what I hope heaven is like.

We love the service we received everywhere we went on board. During our Alaska trip we cruised with Princess and they could not touch the level of service DCL provides.

Take advantage of the lower prices in Sept. and Oct. or even March and you will really have no problem with kids.

Go for it.

Russ

[rthiebes]

The only other negative thing I could think of (from someone who cruised on the Magic), was all the kids' safety features...to the point of plexiglass really hampering views and such...I even read in one of the cruise books where the reviewer said you could build a small city with all the plexiglass on the Disney ships...something else to think about I guess.

[JanetMarie]

To the above post - good point re: the plexiglass hampering the views. I never thought of that...but I would still take a Disney cruise with DH. Afterall, we stay on Disney property and have a fantastic time every November! ;) Kids at heart.