out of curiosity...

[bcwife76]

I absolutely travel without my children, but not to a Disney destination. I'm with you OP....I would be sad knowing how much they love it. And frankly, i love Disney, but half the joy in Disney for me is watching my children's joy.

This. We would choose destinations/experiences that WE would like and probably wouldn't be super exciting for a 7 or 5 year old lol but I wouldn't go on a Disney cruise or to the parks without my kids for the same reasons.

 

[2prettygirl]

I have read often about adults going on DCL and leaving their kids behind. I am just curious about this because I personally would feel a bit sad being on the ship and knowing my kids are back home. DOn't get me wrong DH and I do take vacations on our own. But we travel to places that our kids wouldn't be interested in at the moment. I hope no one gets offended by this,it was just a questions that kept coming to mind. Would I got to WDW resort or a DCL cruise with out my boys? My answer was always the same, not as long as they are young and still dream about it every day. Any one else feel the same or am I an odd ball.

I, personally, would feel terrible leaving my kids behind, but that's just me. We have always thought about going on a cruise by ourselves but honestly, I want those memories for our kids, I want them to be able to enjoy all the sights of the world along with us. They just grow up way too fast and before we know it, they will be grown up and that is when we can enjoy those vacations to ourselves. I want to cherish as many memories as I can with my kids while they are young. As for a Disney cruise without them, (and this once again is just my opinion) I would feel guilty knowing that we are experiencing something that they too would love!

I think each family is different and some can do things that others can't. To each their own.

 

[princessmommyx3]

We do both. We take our kids (ages 11, 9 and 6) on a 7 night cruise every fall, and the hubby and I take a 3 night cruise by ourselves every summer for our anniversary. Since our kids still cruise with us at least once every year (sometimes more), I don't feel guilty. They have never been disappointed when we leave them for the 3 nighters either, so it works well for our family.

 

[dyson0715]

Other than maybe a over night or a long weekend, I wouldn't feel right leaving my boys home. They also need a break from real life. But to each their own.

 

[JW9DVC]

We travel without our kids many times. We also travel many times with. We have done DCL and WDW without them with no question.

Kids also need a break from parents just like parents from kids. Grandparents are always wanting to take them and enjoy the time with them.

Your choices may differ.

JW

 

[mareed]

Yes, absolutely - I've been on many, many WDW, DL and Disney cruises without my kids, but I always also had at least one Disney parks or cruise trip with them too. And when they were younger, they were getting some spoiling by staying 1 state away with Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, & Cousins while DH and I were on an Anniversary trip at Disney parks. We honeymooned at WDW so it was natural for us to take many trips with our kids, and then to continue to take trips on our own without our kids. All but 4 of my Disney cruises have been without kids and DCL without kids is wonderful! Unfortunately, I haven't been able yet to do DCL with DH (they've been with my Mom or Dad) because he doesn't have as much vacation, but I look forward to someday cruising DCL with him!

 

[iambrink]

I just recently did my fifth Disney cruise in December, but without DH or kids. It was a mixed experience. I took two of my best friends with me and we did all the adult relaxing things. There were many things i missed and many things i didn't like the "people soup!" Was I sad? No. Did i miss them? Absolutely! would i do it again on Disney? Probably not, but it was fun to get to enjoy all the adult areas without waiting to hear "mom?" or get a call on the wave phone!

 

[antlawn]

Guess it all depends on style. I live with my daughter, son-in-law and 2 granddaughters. We go EVERYWHERE together. Always have, always will. I babysit for a friend, they have a son almost 5 and they NEVER take him on vacation with them. They think he's too young to travel!! My youngest GD is 8 and will be Platinum this coming June cruise. To each their own, I guess.

 

[Frwinkley]

How about this one: my DH and I are going on the Dream this summer. This will be our first Disney cruise, although we've been to WDW many, many times with our DD. She's now 23 and got married 6 months ago. When she found out that we were going on DCL, she asked if she and her husband could come with us! Never could I imagine leaving any young children behind while on a Disney vacation, and I certainly never dreamed that my married daughter and her new husband would want to do a Disney trip with us either! Needless to say, they are going to join us and we're thrilled. They also live about 600 miles from us, which makes it even more special. It's all about what Disney means to us.....loads and loads of fond memories. I guarantee that if we told her we were going anywhere else (and we've traveled to lots of other great places with her), she never would have suggested they join us. Disney is just our "place."

We cruised for the first time this past summer for a week on RCCL. A week was a bit too long for us. This year it's a few days at Universal and than onto the Dream for some relaxation.

 

[closetmickey]

Actually, I am MUCH more excited about our upcoming trip than my DS8 and my teens, who have been on DCL three times, did not even want to go. Mine all prefer WDW to cruising, but this one is for R&R for Dh and I.

Well if they don't enjoy it, or don't have an interest in going, then that is a different story!! Enjoy.

 

[TandLMommy28]

I am currently booked on DCL without my kids. I am pretty much going against my will. I think it's dumb to go on a Disney cruise without my kids... I have never gone away without them before to do anything, this is the first time (and my oldest will be 11). Hubby thinks it's a fabulous idea. I don't. I've debated switching to royal carribbean....

 

[Cruise-n-2015]

We cruised in December as a family, and now I am looking forward to my husband and I taking a cruise on our own. I would absolutely do Disney, the ship, food and service are amazing and with the kids we didn't even see the spa or rainforest room. Let alone the restaurants. My kids do not lack in vacation locations, they would be happy for us and would also be planning where they want to go next time as well.

 

[persimmondeb]

My husband and I took exactly one vacation without DS. To Las Vegas, when he was four, and while I'm sure it was much more peaceful in his absence, we missed him the whole time and kept seeing things we thought he would like.

He's now 20, and still wants to come with us. So this is an adult trip, but not a kid-free one! We wouldn't pick another line if he wasn't with us, though, since it's very much for all of us.

But every family is different...

 

[kiford]

I have never read about people taking a DCL cruise and leaving non-adult children behind. I doubt this happens very often; however, it would be cheaper to leave the kids at home.

I think it happens more frequently than you think. Our first DCL cruise we sat with three other young couples all of whom were cruising without their children. We've run into other people on our subsequent cruises who are also cruising without them, especially on the Med and Northern European cruises.

 

[Iamaplanner]

We sail on DCL every year for our family vacation. It is truly the best week of the year for all of us.

My hubby and I also go away, just the two of us, every year for our anniversary. We would never choose DCL for this vacation and it is definitely not because we don't enjoy ourselves on the cruise. There are just so many different things to do around the world and we want to try it all. So, for us, we take advantage of being kid-less to explore, indulge and relax.

 

[JMHDisney]

If I was going to cruise without my son, I'd go on celebrity. But generally, if I had a vacation without my son, it would probably be to some kind of adults only resort, or at least a place not likely to have a lot of kids. I love my son but if I get a rare break, I don't want to spend it with other people's kids!

I have a work trip to Orlando in a couple months and I had the option of leaving at 7am to fly home or 7pm. I briefly considered 7pm and going to WDW, but decided I didn't really want to go without my son. As a previous poster said, the magic of Disney for me is really in seeing how my son lights up.

 

[mareed]

If I was going to cruise without my son, I'd go on celebrity. But generally, if I had a vacation without my son, it would probably be to some kind of adults only resort, or at least a place not likely to have a lot of kids. I love my son but if I get a rare break, I don't want to spend it with other people's kids!

I love my DCL adults-only cruises, and I also don't want to spend it with other people's kids! Disney really does a good job in my opinion of having separate adult only areas and activities. I can walk by the long lines waiting for characters and take a brief peek and think "Oh, how cute", and then be on my merry way! I do stop for character photos and love doing it as long as the wait is short. Of course, I'm absolutely a big kid at heart and a Disney nut!

The other aspect of vacationing with DH alone without the kids is to nurture our relationship and making sure that we still have a connection after the kids are grown and gone. We dearly love our kids, but are also eagerly looking forward to our empty nest and the ability to vacation on our own without consideration of school schedules.

 

[lolainkent]

My DH and I did the Norway/Iceland cruise last June/July without our kids. For one, no way could we afford that cruise as a family of 5. And second, my kids were still in school and we can be fined if they miss (£60 per kid per parent per week!). My mom was desperate for alone time with the kids it worked great.

The itinerary was the selling point, but we also went with DCL because we knew the product would be good (food, shows, adult areas) and we aren't into gambling so lack of casinos made no difference. I like being around kids, we actually spent a big chunk of our time with another couple and their son and had a blast, so the ship being kid-friendly didn't bother me in the slightest. (I know that sailing was slightly different from your 3-4 day Dream type cruises, but I remember hearing that there were only a few hundred kids on board, lots of couples only/adult friends sharing rooms and based on my own impressions the under 18's on board seemed to be largely in the 10+ crowd.)

All that said, we travel A LOT (the upside of being an international family: my being Canadian and DH being Australian and us living in the UK!) so they're never really missing out. To each their own really

 

[daisyx3]

We never did WDW or our two DCL cruises without the kids when they were little. Now our last trip with our oldest was when she was a senior in HS. Last trip with the younger DD was 2014 fall when she hung out with us during our 4 day trip when she was a CP. We took my youngest when he was 16 and he said he was "disney'd out." Did we change vacations? No, last spring we went by ourselves.
Now we are taking a 4 day Dream with DS at end of March for his HS graduation. We have also booked a week at a lake in MI in June and any of the kids can come when they can. Next March DH and I are doing a solo 7 night on the Fantasy--the younger two will be in college without the same week off.
My oldest is now irritated we aren't doing any more "family" vacations (mind you she is married and having a baby in August). I'm glad we did as many as we did when they were growing up, but it's "me time" now!
Daisyx3

 

[Thumper's Mom 06]

I'll be honest, it can be difficult to vacation at Disney without your kids. A few years ago, we did an anniversary trip to WDW to run the Expedition Everest Challenge. We had lots of moments of looking at each & saying that we missed having the kids with us. We're planning a cruise for our anniversary this year & are hoping to add on a couple of days at WDW if they do the 24 hour day. There is absolutely NO way we could do the 24 hour day with a one year old & a child with special needs. We just took the kids to the Magic Kingdom & a Fantasy cruise this summer, so I definitely don't feel guilty that they're missing out. We're the kind of family that does almost everything together. My husband & I rarely even do date nights & it's been 2 years since we had a night away. Also, the kids know what we're planning.