DCL without the kids...

[Sue (mom of 3 boys!)]

DH and I are planning our 25th Annivarsary trip--in 2013...Early, I know, but we are just hashing over ideas right now.
On our last DCL (in 2007 with our 3 boys) we booked on board but have had to postpone the trip for various reasons. Now one DS is in college and his breaks don't line up with the other boys', and the others are too involved with sports and school activities. Long story short, DH and I will probably be cruising alone. The kids are fine with it (we've promised another trip for all of us in the future), and I'd hate to lose our on board booking discount...

So, we already know we loved our other DCL trips, and with the discount, and our accumulated VISA points that we will need to spend, we are planning (tentatively) DCL. Part of me is so excited, part sad (I'll miss the kids-this will be our first no-kids trip).

Enough babbling...who has cruised without their kids, and how was it? Different things to do, places to see, different approach to the trip. Any advice?? We have a long way to plan, but that's part of the fun, lol!

 

[Jusacuz]

DH & I went on one cruise alone. I've never cruised with younger kids, it's usually my teen daughter (17) that I take, but I can say that I was able to do & see more when it was just DH and me. We both loved it. We were able to schedule our days around what we wanted to do and not have to worry about where the child was going to be. My daughter is a fun girl to travel with but she is a teen and prone to mind changing which drives me crazy.

DH is into seeing a town and walking through it, soaking in history without too much of the touristy stuff, so it was way more interesting with him. I was also able to go to Palo for brunch for the first time when I went with him. The last time I went with DD I suggested I may want to go there alone and she looked at me like I was personally wounding her. lol.


It is different without the kids, but definitely just as wonderful. Enjoy your trip.

 

[cruiseletters]

My husband and I travel with another couple on DCL, we both have college aged children that are to busy with school and work to travel with us. The four of us have the best time doing adult activities We love sailing with DCL.

 

[TnRobin]

DH and I did the DVC member cruise a few years ago without DS. It was a nice change. Don't get me wrong, I love it when we cruise as a family, but it was very relaxing knowing I didn't have to worry about him, where he was at, and what he was doing. We didn't have to schedule time to meet or decide on what shore excursions we wanted to take. It was so nice to be a little selfish for 4 days.

 

[Angie_Ohio]

My DH and I cruised on the Wonder in Aug. using the bounce back deal to celebrate our 25th and my birthday. We had a great time. We experienced a different cruise than we had in the past with the kids. We enjoyed the adult areas on board, dinner with 3 other couples and an excursion to ourselves. Castaway Cay's adult only beach was the cherry on top of a perfect couples getaway. I didn't want to leave.

 

[MinnesotaMouseketeers]

The upcoming Panama Canal cruise will by our first cruise without our DS (our one and only child), and he's not happy about it. He is starting college this fall The UofMN will be on spring break for the start of the cruise but by the time the cruise is over he would be missing several days of classes. He does very well in school and we told him if he continues this THROUGH college we would take him and a guest on a Disney cruise as a gift. Still have to define well, (3.55 GPA or better maybe).

While we will miss him (really we will) after three cruises with him; we are looking forward to having the run of the ship

 

[jkinak]

We booked a Mexican Riviera Cruise in Nov 2011 when we were on board with the 3 kids last November just for the two of us to celebrate our 20th Anniversary. We went back and forth before booking on whether or not to spend the extra $ for Disney since the kids were not going...but decided it was definitely worth it! We are looking forward to time spent away from the Goofy pool and time in the spa or enjoying some of the many adult activities!

 

[TeenaS]

My husband and I (age 61 ane 70) have done the Disney Magic 7 times and will do it many more times. Twice our daughter (age 28) and friend have gone. We love it. They love it. We love the adult pool area and the adult enrichment series. We love the adult only part of Castaway Cay and the adult only BBQ there. The only time we find the massive amount of kids on board bother us is when the parents let them run wild and they totally misbehave but you can find that pretty much anywhere. Just this morning we got off the Disney Magic and before we left at breakfast, a parent allowed their young boy to run crazy around the dining room. Another parent finally spoke up and said something and the father of the child running around threw a napkin at the parent that said something ... again, this could happen anywhere and it's just a case of bad parenting. I highly recommend doing a Disney cruise w/o kids!

 

[pppiglet]

Our DS 26 has been on all our cruises with us except one. We loved having him with us, but he's not as adventourus as us (afraid of heights) so when he stayed home on one cruise, we did more fun things he wouldn't have done. Also it was one less person to worry about if he was having fun or not. He'll be on our next DCL cruise though. He loves Disney.

 

[smeecanada]

We have a cruise booked for the Fall sans kids to celebrate our 20th. Can't wait.

 

[Silly Little Pixie]

DH and I just did a Western by ourselves 2 weeks ago. It was our 40th birthday celebration- a present to ourselves! We had a AMAZING time! After 2 DCL cruises with the kids, it was nice to do whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted. People have told us we were crazy to do a Disney cruise with no kids. What-ev-er!! To those people, I said, "Have you ever been to Disneyland without kids? yeah? Same thing, only better." We spent a small fortune in the spa and it was worth every last dime. We enjoyed having a bottle of wine in the room, Quiet Cove pool, wine tasting, movies we want to see, excursions the kids wouldn't really enjoy. I did miss them- but it was great for DH and I to get away together for an adults-only trip. After this trip DH was SOLD on only cruising DCL, even just the two of us. He absolutely loved it. We also got lucky in booking a cat 12 sale room, and got upgraded to a cat 9. OP, go for it!

 

[Sue (mom of 3 boys!)]

Thanks for all the positive feedback!! I think we'll survive without the boysbut I know I'll miss them terribly--especially my youngest who will be "stuck at home" as he calls it. The other two will be at school, so they won't "feel it" as much as him. I'll probably feel terribly guilty -- until I get on the ship.

 

[pluto1979]

I do not have children but I do have precious cats which are like my kids. When I travel I try to make my room look like my home. The best thing to do is to bring a photo of your kids and put it on the night stand just to keep them close by. It always made me feel a bit closer to them. Kinda silly but it works for me!

 

[Sue (mom of 3 boys!)]

Now we are going in 2012
It will be easier since my two youngest will still be at home. So, now we'll celebrate a bit early!