Is this normal....

[cheermom2four]

I had just booked a cruise for Sept 2016 on the Fantasy with my husband and two kids last week. Even posted here about it. I read up on everything and now I want to book one just for my husband and I BEFORE then. Is that normal to now want to book another one with just he and I before we go just to experience the ins and outs and also be able to register for things earlier than it would've been if the family cruise was our first and without a club status. Also, is it normal for just adults to go? I am honestly asking because my husband thinks I'm absolutely nuts to go on a disney cruise without kids. I, personally, cant wait but I also know if we get a cruise under our belts before we take the kids, we will enjoy it more and will be less stressed around the kids because we will have already experienced it. This cruise I'm thinking about will be on the Magic in Feb 2016 for just 3 days or the Dream for 4 days. We havent decided but really just want one to experience without the kids. My awesome travel gal said that was a great idea to go on a shorter one first as our family one is 7 days. Ideas? suggestions?

 

[mevelandry]

DH and I have no kids. We went on a 3 nights cruise very recently.

We've had an amazing time especially with the Quiet Cove, mixology class, the spa, Serenity Bay (18+) at Castaway Cay. Remy and Palo...

Trust me, you don't need kids to enjoy a Disney Cruise.

 

[com_op_2000]

DW and I have been on 8 DCLs. 6 of them just us.
There are plenty of things to do on the ships, you can be as busy as you choose to be or as relaxed as you want. If you do go, since you already have another reservation, do not try and do it all, save some of the fun for the first time with your kids.

 

[phinz]

We don't have kids. We cruise Disney. There are a lot of us childfree couples who cruise Disney.

 

[SaraSpringsIsHome]

I will be going on my 6th cruise next year, and I have never cruised with children!

 

[jskacoc]

We went on the Dream for our 15th anniversary without our kids. It was great! I think it's a great idea to go alone if you can. Our 1st cruise was very stressful at first. If I had known about disboards then it might have been a different story.
Embarkation lunch in the buffet was so chaotic and a bad first impression, security line, waiting for cabins, etc. All negative things for a newbie family with no research. Of course everything was awesome after that and is why we are going on our 3rd this year.

 

[artnerds]

We don't have kids. We cruise Disney. There are a lot of us childfree couples who cruise Disney.

They allow children on Disney cruises? We never even noticed.

 

[mylittlebuttercup]

Our first Disney cruise was before we had a child. Our next one this summer is with our toddler son. We greatly enjoyed our adults-only cruise and didn't feel at all out of place, but of course, we are looking forward to cruising with our son too. If it were me, I would personally pick the Dream, as that cruise is a day longer and there is slightly more to do on that ship.

Edited to add: I am definitely glad we have been on the Dream before now that we have a family vacation planned as we already have a good idea of the ship and activities. If you are doing your seven day cruise on the Fantasy, I would definitely do the Dream because they are mostly identical.

 

[mom4fun]

We are getting ready to go on the Panama Canal cruise and there are very few children, mostly adults. As far as wanting to take a pre cruise, I felt the same way and I'm glad we did. It made the 2nd cruise so much better and they were only 3 months apart. We took a 3 day with a gt rate and it felt like an introduction so on the 2nd cruise I was so much more relaxed and comfortable and was able to pick and choose activities better.

 

[cheermom2four]

Thanks so much for making me feel like its just fine to go on a Disney without kids also. I'm a highly stressed person and my husband is opposite and why I want to see/experience it first hand before we do with DD and DS. We also are going to a different location (with kids on a 7-day to Caribbean, just us will be to Bahamas and it looks like I am leaning towards the 4 day on the Dream since that will be closer to what Fantasy will feel like). So appreciate the comments!

 

[Maggie'sMom]

Is that normal to now want to book another one with just he and I before we go just to experience the ins and outs and also be able to register for things earlier than it would've been if the family cruise was our first and without a club status. Also, is it normal for just adults to go? I am honestly asking because my husband thinks I'm absolutely nuts to go on a disney cruise without kids. I, personally, cant wait but I also know if we get a cruise under our belts before we take the kids, we will enjoy it more and will be less stressed around the kids because we will have already experienced it.

I did exactly this and for basically the same reasons you mention. DD and I are booked on a 7 night on the Fantasy in June. I booked that a year ago. In August, I was looking to take a short vacation by myself and ultimately decided to book a 3 night cruise on the Dream. A big reason was so that I would have some experience under my belt before taking DD along. A bonus was the fact that I was able to rebook our June cruise when I was onboard and saved over $500. And I didn't even think about it until after I'd returned from my cruise, but taking the cruise in the fall gave me the Silver Castaway Club status and the ability to book excursions and adult dining at the 90 day mark for our June cruise.

DD is on the autism spectrum and vacations go smoother when I know what to expect. I looked for what pitfalls there might be that would cause frustration for DD. For example, at both the Sail Away party and Pirate Night, I stood on Deck 12 looking down at Deck 11 and realized that Deck 12 would be a much better location for DD for these two parties because people weren't packed as tightly together.

Definitely go for it. Book the cruise for just you and your husband and enjoy it!

 

[proud_canadian]

Absolutely you can cruise on Disney without kids, lots of people do it. However, how old are your kids? My kids are older now 11 and 8, and they would be devastated if we went to Disney World or a Disney cruise without them. But they are old enough to understand and know. I would also feel terribly guilty. Disney cruise also do not require a ton of planning that you wouldn't be able to do it in a year and half without actually going on a ship. And pre-booking isn't really necessary in September. We went last year in September and booked just over a month or so before we went, and we had no trouble booking what we wanted (early dinner, earliest PAT, etc.). So I wouldn't spends thousands on a cruise, just to be able to book things before others. If DH and I wanted to do a cruise or vacation without kids, I don't know if we would pick Disney or not. There are so many cruise lines out there to explore, and I am a huge Disney lover! But the price is so much more than other lines.

Also, it is pretty special exploring the ship with your family for the first time all together.

If you do go on a cruise without them though, I'd definitely recommend a different ship than the one you are going on with them. That way the shows etc will all be a first time for you guys as well.

Anyways, it comes down to, if you want to go on a cruise without your kids... Go ahead! Enjoy!

But please don't feel you need to go alone first, in order to have a better vacation with your kids a year later, because that really isn't necessary! Good luck.

 

[Dug720]

Solo adult who LOVES cruising Disney here! Never felt weird about it at all.

 

[AndreAggie]

We cruised Disney for our honeymoon. I still remember one time we were walking around on the ship near the adult pool. Two girls who were probably 10 or 11 saw the pool was empty and took the liberty to jump in. No sooner than they came up for air was an employee notifying them they were in the wrong pool.

There are plenty of areas to enjoy as a couple. We did late dining, took pictures with characters and enjoyed our time together. I'd do it again in a heartbeat, but I also want my son to enjoy a Disney cruise too!

 

[Footnotegirl]

While I don't think it's necessary to go ahead of time to know what to reserve for the 'real' cruise later?
Our first three Disney cruises were pre-kiddo. Disney Cruise is great for just adults!
Honestly though, I probably wouldn't leave the kids at home if I were going on DCL, because there's so much for them to do you get both a family vacation AND couple time.

 

[Mousesmom]

We've always cruised without kids.....unless you count ME as a big kid LOL.....

 

[turtle27]

Our first cruise, all adult and adult kids (you know, the ones not out of college yet) for a 12 night in the Med. Great cruise. Why go short, when you can go longer?

 

[ironwill1979]

Thanks so much for making me feel like its just fine to go on a Disney without kids also. I'm a highly stressed person and my husband is opposite and why I want to see/experience it first hand before we do with DD and DS. We also are going to a different location (with kids on a 7-day to Caribbean, just us will be to Bahamas and it looks like I am leaning towards the 4 day on the Dream since that will be closer to what Fantasy will feel like). So appreciate the comments!

I think this will be a great idea, especially if you are a highly stressed person as you say. We've been on 9 DCL cruises, number 10 coming up in a couple weeks, and have yet to travel with children, though someday I'd love to take my nieces and nephew, or my own if we ever have them.

 

[BestVacaEver]

They allow children on Disney cruises? We never even noticed.

Oh my gosh, I laughed so hard when I read this! DH and I have no kids, have cruised 25 times on other lines, just booked our first DCL and all our friends think we are crazy! We can't wait to experience DCL!

 

[lbgraves]

I would LOVE for DH and I to go on DCL without the kids. It hasn't happened yet, but I'm looking forward to that after they are both in college.