DCL w/out kids

[D. R. N.]

My husband and I will be sailing on the Disney Magic 11/9 to 11/16(western). We are very excited about our first Disney Cruise. We will be celebrating our 4th wedding anniversary. I must say we are a little concerned since we do not have children. We are, however, HUGE Disney fans and visit WDW 2 to 3 times per year. We have cruised before but on other lines. I think we will have a great time since we really are kids at heart and appreciate "Disney Magic". However, I have gotten mixed reviews from people who have traveled on DCL without kids. Any advice?

 

[alisbarc]

I got 4 kids and would be happy to rent you a couple real cheap if you feel uneasy.

Seriously, My wife and I have visited Disney alone BK (before kids). Its not your age or pants size that makes you a kid. Its the ability to use your imagination, laugh (including at yourself), and look on the positive sides of things. Do that and you'll have a great time.

We are going on oir first one Nov 2003. All 6 of us!

 

[pal2pluto]

Welcome!! When are you cruising? Which itinerary?

If you are Disney Fans....you're in good company. There is a "magic" on the ship when Mickey, Goofy, Pluto, etc. are in the halls, atrium, decks..........you get this on no other ship!

Keep an eye out on these board for Barb and Tony (incognito and atigeg are their usernames). They are currently on 3 back-to-back wonder cruises! They have no children and are on about their 23rd or so cruise with Disney! They are definitely DCL's #1 fans.

 

[Señor Ferrari]

My wife and I are a childless couple (at least we are until March!), and have sailed on Disney several times. We're really just big kids. I think that if you enjoy the parks and enjoy cruising in general, you'll love the cruise. We are annual passholders at Disneyland, so cruising with Disney just seemed like a natural for us. We have never been disappointed. There are plenty of things to do for adults, and the kids have plenty of their own things to do, so they're rarely a problem for adults without children.

 

[Denine]

We don't have any children. We will be doing #'s 4 & 5 in October. We are also DVC members and like to go to Disney 2-3 times per year. You will have a great time!

 

[hazmat1212]

we're doing 8/31 Western!
no kids in our house (DH 42, me 41)

promise to file a trip report when we return!
we did WDW in april, 5 days, 4 parks! also kidless!

 

[ruvidu]

We are getting ready to go on our 4th Magic cruise without children. Our little boy is 33 and has scheduled his own childless second cruise.

We hang out at the adult only pool during the day and visit a club or two in the evenings. We do late dinning and see very few kids there. On Castaway we spend the day on the adults only beach. We have our photos made with the characters and go to the character breakfast. We both have the Peter Pan complex real bad.

We are hoping to get some friends of ours to go with us next year. They have daughters 16 and 7 (second marraige for both) and we want to see the cruise through the children's eyes.

If you like the parks, you will love the ship.

Russ and Miss Vivian

 

[disny4ever]

DRN...my DW and I along with another couple took a 7 day cruise in January. Both couples were celebrating 25th anniversaries this year and we had a great time. You can be around the kids or stay in the adult area and have the quiet time.
DCL does a fantastic job for both families and for those w/o children. Hope you have a great trip.

 

[luv2tvl]

My DH and I don't have any children (we are 30 and 37) and we are scheduled for our 4th cruise this coming December. We love Disney and are huge fans, but the cruise itself is better than any other line, IMHO.

I am a travel agent, so I have had the opportunity to travel on quite a few other crusie lines with and without my husband. What I think Disney does best (besides just being typical Disney) is that their Adult only locations are just that! On Castaway Cay -what we call our "happy place" - Serenity Bay is amazing and you can't find a private island like that anywhere else in the Caribbean. Everything from beginning to the end of the cruise is always perfect, we haven't had one complaint thus far, and I doubt we ever will!!

Disney doesn't do anything half way, and their crusieline is one more affirmation of that!

 

[Timon]

DH (32) and I (30) cruised on the Magic in January...our first ever cruise and it was fabulous!!!!!!!!!!!

I have a lengthy trip report with tons of pics on my website if you want to read about our adventures. Just click on link below and then click trip reports then Disney Magic!

 

[taswira]

As Barb notes on all her posts, "<I>Growing old is mandatory, growing up is optional</I>." To get the absolute most as an adult sans kids on a DCL cruise, I think it helps to not only love all things Disney, but to be able to view everything through a child's eyes from the moment you step aboard. Believe in the magic. Absorb the experience. View the characters as <I>real</I> (Aren't they?) instead of people in costumes. Forget whatever you left back on land and imagine that the fantasyland you entered is not a "show," but a wonderful place where the storybook characters of your childhood now live - and <I>finally</I> you get to <I>meet them</I>! When Mickey kisses my hand and Chip hugs me, they are REAL and I'm loving it! And Castaway Cay IS paradise! Sitting on my verandah eating a Mickey Bar and watching the world go by is <I>heaven</I>. My total in Wonder cruises this year will be four. I have a western Magic next year and am considering adding an eastern to make it back-to-back . . All with no kids (Have never had any) and with some of those cruises totally solo. I love watching the kids onboard enjoy the cruise, but do I need kids for me to love it? Not at all.

 

[gometros]

Ah, my favorite topic. My wife and I have sailed twice w/o the kids and once with. Even when we were with our kids, they were off on their own so much, it was almost like sailing w/o them.

I have a trip report at my home page (the link is in my sig), but I can tell you between the adult pool, the adult beach on Castaway Cay and dinner rotations set up mostly for adults, we had a great time. We sat at a table with 3 other couples travelling w/o kids and I will tell you that at least a third of our cruise were couples or older adults without children.

I always laugh when people assume (just talking in general terms) about DIsney only being for kids. Maybe it is, but those kids come in all ages and sizes.

 

[D. R. N.]

Thank you all so much for all of your advice! I am sure we are going to enjoy ourselves. I wasn't really aware of how many kid-less Disney fans there are out there! (People at work think I am a little weird since I visit WDW so often. They always reply - AGAIN?!)

A lot of people have stayed away from DCL because of the higher ratio of children in comparison w/other lines, however, the kids don't really bother me when I visit WDW and in fact I enjoy watching them react to everything around them. For me it's a joy to watch and they aren't even my kids! I can't tell you that a misbehaved child won't bother me but I think that is the minority.

Again, thanks for your responses. My doubts have fizzled away!

Denise

 

[CamColt]

We had sailed with our kids and my whole family. We then went back again to do it alone. DH & I(34 & 30) had the best time by ourselves. It was fun with everyone too, but being alone made it a lot more relaxing.
I posted a detailed trip report about our July 4th cruise. It may be down a few pages on the cruise trip report boards by now, but check it out to see how much fun we had.
IMO, if you have a chance to do it, go for it!!!!

 

[eye R.N.]

With and without kids. Mom and Dad had to "check it out" first before bringing the whole crew

There is lots to do without kids, the show are great, there are even adult versions of the comedy shows.

Have a great time

 

[disny4ever]

You are not alone, there is a large adult population that likes WDW and DCL. They are kids forever themselves and live to have fun. We all just choose to do it with Mickey Mouse and Co.