Adults only - when have you gone?

[danijake]

My husband and I usually like to travel off-season when kids are in school, but he is going to back to school himself, and our only option will be next summer. We were thinking that late August might not be so bad, but the inside staterooms have already booked up for that cruise!

Those who have gone on an adults only trip, when did you go? Has anyone been in late August? Was it completely packed with kids?

I'm wondering if it's worth going in late August, or if I should just put it off and do something else instead.

 

[PrincessMer]

My husband and I always cruise just the two of us, and I've gone with my mom before. We've gone throughout the year (at Christmas, first week in January, early September, July, and May, I think, lol). Even when there had been a lot of kids we've had a great time. There are plenty of places to go and relax. You will have a great time!

 

[Lisa Lisa]

DH and I went on the Dream to celebrate our anniversary last September. It was Labor Day weekend, so very early in the month, and there were definitely more adults and fewer kids compared to our other DCL cruises. Is early Sept an option, or will school have already started? There are some great adults-only spaces on the ships and at CC, so even if there are tons of kids onboard there will be places you can go for some adult time.

 

[cris0809]

It gets progressively better through August. The last week is much MUCH better than the first two. If you stick to the adult areas you'll be great.

We always travel as adults only and much prefer the off-season. My list below reflects that.

 

[firsttimemom]

DH and I did a 3 night on June 5. It may have been overrun with kids but we really didn't see them. We pretty much stayed at the adult pool, ate at the adult restaurants, and hung out on the adult beach on CC.

So go with what fits your schedule the best!

 

[eroller]

We also tend to cruise during the times when school is in session. Even then there are a lot of kids but this is to be expected as it's Disney after all! I don't think I would cruise on DCL during the summer months. I think the ship would be just too overrun with kids and just too crowded feeling with every 3rd/4th/5th berth filled. I would also worry that we would not get our table for two because the dining rooms would be packed. I might be wrong about all that, but frankly there are enough kids for me during the off season. During the Summer months Celebrity, Cunard, and even Princess are better bets for me.

 

[holula]

We also tend to cruise off season. We accidentally booked Spring Break last year and it was a mistake. Teenagers everywhere.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Our cruises have been in May, September, October (3X), and December. The most overrun with kids one was one of the ones in October - DCL did a Kids Sail Free on that one. It was a madhouse.

 

[eroller]

We also tend to cruise off season. We accidentally booked Spring Break last year and it was a mistake. Teenagers everywhere.

This is what I would be afraid of. I don't mind the little kids. They are actually fun and so cute to watch interacting with all the Disney characters … but the teenagers are another story.

 

[jlemieu1]

For DCL we are adult only cruisers, we go in late Oct, Nov or early Dec for the discount rates. Honestly we can afford concierge at the price of porthole cabin during the peak season. Check Cruisefish website for a rough idea on published cruise rates.

 

[Raenstoirm]

We cruise a lot (this sept will be our first time on DCL though). We have been on "empty" cruises and we have been on sold out cruises. Our cruise spring 2013 was filled to 100% capacity, which was a first for us. Cruise ships swallow a lot of people with so many different venues and things to do, so we honestly don't notice that much difference. The pools on seas days will be really tough, but they are even on less filled ships, so just don't plan on doing the pool thing and you should be fine.

 

[fnrsgrl]

We have gone twice in late May as all adults(DH and I once, us and his parents and adult sister the other time), and are going in late May again next year. We have never felt overrun with kids. Obviously, there are plenty of children there, but not so many that it felt overcrowded or you couldn't get any peace and quiet.

 

[icesk8abc]

We went in January of this year. While there were definitely kids on the ship, it wasn't over run unless you want to be in the Mickey pool with them. There wasn't an over abundance of teens that we saw. A few on the basketball court, some in the pools, but never a ton.

 

[Dug720]

We went in January of this year. While there were definitely kids on the ship, it wasn't over run unless you want to be in the Mickey pool with them. There wasn't an over abundance of teens that we saw. A few on the basketball court, some in the pools, but never a ton.

This was very similar to my experience Presidents' Week this year on the Dream. The teens I encountered were together yes, but they were with their youth counselors so not running rampant (my school shares space with a Middle School and WOWZA they are rough - but it was NOTHING like that on DCL). When I saw little ones, by and large they were fine, and the only ones who I encountered who were out of control were actually with their parents who seemed charmed by their offspring - up to and including the fact that they were swinging their golf clubs around nearly hitting other guests.

I'm going on the Fantasy for the same week in 2015 and cannot wait!!

 

[Shoobie124]

People think I'm crazy when I say we do DCL as adults on DCL, but disneyndoessuch a great job having age appropriate a tires for kids and teens rheydont bother us. It's especially noticeable in the hot tubs.... On other ships hot tubs are taken over by teens, but on DCL they have their own... So it's great! I took my mom, a huge skeptic, on a DCL spring break cruise - and she was shocked about how great it was! Adult areas, restaurants, etc... You didn't notice the kids

 

[com_op_2000]

DW and I have been on six adult only DCLs. Eight total DCLs.
We have gone in Feb, May, Sept, & Oct.
The first time on the Magic we were told that over 1,000 under-15 kids were on-board. We never even supected that many kids as the adult things to do keep us away from them. You will find that 2nd seating in the MDRs have less kids.

 

[wendyoconnor]

We've sailed in September twice with no kids (Magic), late April once with no kids(Fantasy) and October with a baby (Fantasy).

On our second cruise there were over a 1000 kids and we didn't notice. Our October cruise was unexpectedly sold out because of the cancellation of Magic's first cruise out of dry dock so passengers were given the option of sailing on the Fantasy instead. Otherwise the other cruises were pretty full but not crowded.

 

[Mousesmom]

We've done 3 cruises so far adults only, one DCL; 2 in September and 1 in May. We've never been bothered by too many kids.

Go when your schedule allows and have a great time.

 

[jetskigrl]

DH and I did one of the Pacific Coast Cruises in late Sept (2012) and it was very light on kids. We had second seating for dinner and we saw very few kids.

We also spent a lot of time enjoyed all the adult areas so that may be why we didn't notice many kids. We just weren't in the places where the kids hang out.

 

[schmass]

Our past two cruises have both been in September. One was early September and the other left on the 22nd I think. Both had very few kids compared to what we were expecting. The kids we did see were mainly babies.