Cruising DCL without kids: Would/have you?

[iloverags2]

Of my six cruises on DCL, all but one have been adults only (bad, I know...well, not really!). We did our first cruise in 2000 with DH's daughter. Since then I have also cruised with my mom once, and with one of my closest girlfriends once. So, as you can see, my cruises have been all over the board as to who I have cruised with! Go for it! Every single time I have had a great time!

 

[kalc12345]

We are taking a cruise without the kids in Feb for our anniversary. This will be our first cruise without the kids and we are looking forward to it! We took the kids on a cruise last year and we will be booking a 7 night for the whole family while we are on board. So they have not been left out. We always do some sort of trip each year for our anniversary.

 

[kcashner]

It sounds like you've already resolved the "can I take a vacation without kid(s)" and that the only real issue is can the vacation be a Disney cruise.

If you're going to look at every kid on the ship and feel that your kids should be there, this may not be a good choice. On the other hand, if you are asking whether two adults can have a great time on Disney without kids, the answer is YES.

 

[TDC Nala]

I have done 10 Disney cruises without kids and the 11th will be in 2 weeks (I'm taking my parents). Of course I don't have any kids, so there weren't any to miss. It's a different thing for parents who are planning to leave a kid at home, I'd guess, but if I didn't like the Disney cruises I wouldn't have done 10 of them. If you are going to spend so much time missing your child that you can't enjoy the cruise, then taking it may not be the best idea, but only you can answer that one.

 

[Lisa Lisa]

It sounds like you've already resolved the "can I take a vacation without kid(s)" and that the only real issue is can the vacation be a Disney cruise.

If you're going to look at every kid on the ship and feel that your kids should be there, this may not be a good choice. On the other hand, if you are asking whether two adults can have a great time on Disney without kids, the answer is YES.

That's it in a nutshell. We are definitely taking a trip without DD. We've only gone on one trip without her EVER, and it is high time for another. Knowing that others have left their kids at home and (mostly) not felt guilty about it helps. So does hearing from so many people who have enjoyed their adults only DCL cruise so much that they did it again (and again and again, for some!).

 

[CamColt]

We have done 1, 3 night and 2, 4 night Disney cruises without our kids. They have been wonderful! Go for it!

 

[KTills]

Thanks so much for all of your replies! It doesn't sound as if any of you who have taken an adults-only DCL cruise regret your decision. It's true that we will not be taking DD with us regardless of where we go, but somehow the fact that it would be a DISNEY cruise makes a difference. DD has been on one DCL cruise already and we have another coming up in March, so she has not been Disney deprived. I know that she'll get over any initial disappointment or jealousy she may feel, so that's not really the concern. I'm just not sure how we'll feel being on a ship with a whole bunch of kids having a great time, knowing ours is at home!

We didn't tell our DS that we were going on a Disney cruise...we told him we were going to the Bahamas, just not how we were getting there.

 

[OrcaPotter]

I don't have kids--I'm my parents' adult kid, and we went on DCL for the first time last year and had the best time. Yes, my mother looked around and missed the fact that her grandchildren should have come along, but it only resolved us to decide that a future cruise should have the whole family on board. Now it's just convincing my one brother to spend the upcharge for Disney versus his favorite, Carnival. They would have joined us for our return to the Dream at the end of this month, but his wife vetoed the idea with the argument that she didn't want to travel with a baby. Nevertheless, it's not holding my parents back. We had a superior time on the Dream, and you're going to see kids on most any other cruise ship, anyway.

 

[collectoraholic]

We've done several w/o our kids & loved every one of them! Go & enjoy and don't feel guilty.

 

[Matty Ice]

We are preparing to debark on our first Disney Cruise January 28th with DD7 and DD5. My wife and I will be celebrating 15 years April 2014. We were just talking about this very subject the other day. We decided there is NO WAY we could go on a Disney Cruise without the girls. We could do RC or Carnival, but we would just not feel right leaving them home while we went on a Disney Cruise.

Congratulations!

 

[sager1969]

We did the new cruises out of Galveston after school started. It was awesome. We were able to do what we wanted. That included some adult excursions like sailing a regatta, sleeping all afternoon on a rainy day with no interruptions, having late dinner, and the best part of all brunch and dinner at Palo.

We are going to do it again next year. It might become an annual thing. It was fun to watch families with their kids and not have to deal with any child related drama. We really needed the break and were much better parent to our son when we got home.

 

[JoiseyMom]

We have done 2. We did a 7 night Eastern on The Magic back in 2007 and we just did a 5 night out of NY to Canada. On the last one we upgraded to The Roy...talk about jealous kids! LOL...the were ok with it. We have also been to WDW without them. All these trips were great. Yes, we miss the kids, but being alone is awesome .

I have also gone away without DH and the kids .

 

[dolphingirl47]

We don't have kids. My husband does not even get Disney, but he loves his Disney cruises. We have done 9 so far, have 2 more booked and two more planned on top of that.

Corinna

 

[robandkelly13]

We feel like we're childless each cruise, because DD won't leave the kids' center

 

[4mousefans]

I have to chime in and say, do it! Take a trip to Disney without the kids...whether you choose a cruise or to explore the "World", we really enjoyed the freedom and being without the kids opened up so many new experiences for us. I have to admit to feeling a bit guilty about not having the kids with us, but the time that we had as a couple was so worth it. Like a pp mentioned, we came home much better parents to our children because we had that time to connect as a couple.

In four days, we leave on our first kids-free cruise. It was initially to be a family vacation, but a few months ago we made the decision to leave the kids at home. Our girls are 16 and 20, and while they have had the Disney experience multiple times, they were still disappointed to not be going---but, we have a family trip planned for January 2014 on the Fantasy.

The best thing parents can give their children is to be good to one another...take this time and enjoy!

 

[travelgirl06]

We left Dd (1) with grandma and did this last fall - it was awesome! There are so many adults-only areas and plenty to do. We only had a few days, so DCL was an easy choice (wanted good service and a nice ship, not a party atmosphere). CC adults only areas were awesome (so relaxing).

We are taking Dd to WdW this fall and tacked on another 3-night cruise just to recharge before heading back to work. (I'm already scheming how to best utilize our allotted nursery hours for adults-only time)

 

[GrassMaster]

DH and I will be celebrating our 15th anniversary in September and are planning to take a 4-5 night trip to celebrate. We've talked about lots of different destinations, but all of them involve warm weather and lots of time in lounge chairs. Taking a Disney cruise hadn’t even crossed my mind until I read the post about the special rates for late August through September. With the promotion, we could take a 4-night cruise on the Dream for substantially less than any of the land-based trips we’ve discussed. I know that there are plenty of adults-only places and activities on the ship and on CC, but I’m just not sure how it would feel to be on a Disney cruise without DD (not to mention how she would take the news!). I’d love some input from those of you who have done this or considered it and decided against it.

We went for he first time without the kids last Feb. LOVED IT! Now it's an annual trip...going next month with 2 other couples. We took the kids over Christmas and they will be on 2 more DCL cruises this year so they have no room to complain!

 

[Glitzytraveller]

DH and I have been on DCL 4 times. Only two of those times we brought the kids. The first was our honeymoon and the other time was a few months ago with another couple. We will be sailing on Wonder this week without kids. We have sailed on a bunch of other cruise lines without the kids. But we love DCL's service the best.

 

[poohbear luvs grumpy]

We did last year for our fifteenth. We left five kids behind who had already cruised the year before. I had a thirty minute breakdown after seeing a little girl dressed up and it remined me of my youngest. Our kids were great. I asked them if they were okay with it and they said yes you and dad deserve it. Go have fun. It's worth it.

 

[just drea]

We have never had kids with us for 3 DCL cruises. A lady at our dining table asked if she could have her 9 year old niece join us for the adult dinner time. All agreed, but she only dined with us once...the rest of the time she was with the Kids!..Her aunt tagged along with my and hubby, because she was by herself. They both enjoyed land excursions, but when on the ship Jenna disappeared! To me...each cruise, we hardly ever saw kids! they have their own deck, activities, areas.