Disney Cruise without kids?

[bsnyder]

I'm trying to sell my DH on the idea of doing the 3 day Disney Cruise in October, for our 10th wedding anniversary.

We can only take the time for a long weekend trip, so a longer cruise on one of the other (more adult?) cruise lines is out. The idea of flying anywhere together doesn't appeal to me right now (still have some 9/11 jitters) and the idea of taking separate flights seems to defeat the purpose of an anniversary trip.

I've been wanting to do the cruise anyway, and the fact that it's Disney and will therefore have lots of kids and kid type activities doesn't bother me at all, but DH is not so sure.

So, I thought I'd come to the experts here on the Cruise board. Can anyone give me some info that would help sell him on the idea. It's not that he doesn't like kids (we've got 3 of our own, LOL) or that he doesn't like Disney (he does) but he just doesn't think this is a great idea for an anniversary trip.

 

[disboo]

Last January my sister and I took an adult only trip. We are both in our 40's. I have three kids, and love the noise of busy children. She is single and likes the noise of my kids, but not really anyone else's. We both loved the cruise.

We found plenty to do. When we chose to be in adult only areas (adult pool, Serenity Cove, later shows), there weren't any kids around, and the environments/entertainment were wonderful for adults. When we went to family areas or family events, we were charmed by the kids and their families, and thoroughly enjoyed the entertainment.

Unsupervised kids seemed rare - when the club kids went by, they were well supervised by the CMs.

On the flip side, there is no gambling on board (although there is a VERY nice casino at Atlantis).

I am going back in Nov withmy husband, my sister, my 80 year old Dad and his girlfriend, and three 17 year olds. I have no doubts that every one of us will LOVE the cruise.

I hope you talk DH into the cruise - it's fun!!

 

[jds]

I'd do it in a minute--and so would DH, after our 1st Disney cruise (with 11 other family members!) this summer. We both think it would be tons of fun to go back on our own. Our experience was that it was VERY easy to get away from kids if you wanted to, and I've heard that the Disney cruises are better than many others in this regard, because there are so many special activities for kids and because the "adults only" rules seem to be well enforced. Hope you can convince him to go for it!

 

[hazmat1212]

give us 3 weeks and we'll let u know!

have found a nice 8/31 crowd on this board - - - some with and without small people ...

cin in NJ

 

[tstobb]

Our 1st cruise was a 3 day Wonder for our 10th anniversary and was without the kids (that was the hard part - telling them they couldn't go!) and we had a GREAT time.
We spent most of our time in the "adults only" areas and found that dis did a good job of keeping it that way. Not to say that we didn't see a lot of children but it wasn't the running all over the place free for all that MY father uses as his reason for not going!
We took advantage of Palos and the adults section of beach on Castaway Cay as well as the nightclubs on board.
We're now taking the kids for a 7 day on 9-7 but would consider taking a 3 or 4 day by ourselves again in less than a heartbeat!

 

[bsnyder]

Thanks for all the info!

tstobb, I gasped when I read your post....I didn't even THINK about how I would break the news to our 8 year old DD that we'd be going on a Disney cruise, but WITHOUT her. The other two kids are older teens, and they won't care, but DD will have a fit!

I wonder if I could just say I'm going on a cruise, and not mention the cruise line? Would an 8 year old even think to ask "Mom, are you going on Royal Caribbean or Carnival or what?" Hmmmmm... I gotta think about that hurdle now too!

We are tentatively planning a big extended family cruise on DCL, for 12/04, for my parent's 50th wedding anniversary. I'm the vacation planner of the family, and this would give me a chance to really check things out so that I could plan a great cruise for that celebration.

 

[inkkognito]

Hubby and I have taken 23 Disney cruises, with lots more already booked through the end of 2003 (including three in a row, starting next week). It is the BEST for adults! I think that most childless people would love it unless they absolutely can't stand to be around kids at all. We have done four cruises on Royal Caribbean, which does not have any adults only areas (there was supposed to be some on Radiance and Voyager, but there was NO enforcement). Disney DOES enforce the rules (at least in most cases...the only place we've found the enforcement lacking was the adult programming on the Magic). Also, the kids are kept very busy so they are not really underfoot. Even on the rare occasions when we've had kids at our dinner table (not a common occurence), we have had a blast with them. The fact that we are kids at heart might have something to do with that! We are usually on deck 5, either in a secret porthole room or in my favorite, 5650, and even though the kids clubs are on that deck, you would never know it because Disney does such a fantastic job of keeping them separate from the staterooms. I know it may sounds strange, but I think Disney is the best cruise line for adults.
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

 

[Jhalkias]

I agree with Barb! We have been on 3 DCL cruises - two with the kids and one without (for our 15th Anniversary). We had a WONDERFUL time.
It is hard telling the kids that you are going though . . . The hardest thing for us was on the last night of the cruise, seeing the kid's slide show that they put together, and all the little ones marching in - it brought a tear to my wife's eye and a sniffle to me.

Go and have fun!

 

[MarkRG]

I would first say that there's nothing that can top what Barb said!

We don't have kids either, been on 3, 2 more already booked or planned, at least.

Don't look at the cruise as say, what you saw on the movie Titanic as far as the dining/entertainment experience. This is definitely not a cruise as in older times. Yes, there is a bit of formality, but there is a great deal more fun for adults on a Disney cruise.

 

[DCL-Fan]

DW and I took a 4-day cruise last year for our 10th anniversary last year and we are taking 3-day cruise next week without kids again next week. We had a great time and there is plenty to do! This will be #6 on Disney for us and 4th time on the Wonder!
Go for it, you'll love it!

 

[tstobb]

We just told the kids that we had to test it out to make sure that they would like it!

 

[MrsG]

We went on the 7/6 western for our 25th Anniversary without the kids (at 22 and 18 they're hardly kids). My DH was a little apprehensive about Disney even though we love to vacation at WDW. He was worried that there wouldn't be enough for just adults or that we would be surrounded by other people's kids when we left ours at home. My daughter's co-worker who is a newlywed and has gone on 2 Disney cruises with no kids and this helped to convince DH (I was already convinced).

Needless to say, we had an incredible time! DH had to admit that it was much better than he could have ever hoped. While on board, we joined DVC and when we got home, we booked the 4 day Wonder with the kids in July 2003.

Tell your DH if my DH could be converted, there's hope for anyone. As far as leaving the kids home, we felt a little guilty (but not too guilty). But today life is so busy that we shouldn't feel guity about taking time out to just be a couple.

Enjoy!

 

[minniegidget]

I will be home next week at this time and I will let you know. DM(71) and myself will be going on the Wonder on Thursday. Wow I cant believe it here already. I have been counting down the weeks for week 20. Just a day and a half or work left.

 

[PiperG]

Originally posted by tstobb
We just told the kids that we had to test it out to make sure that they would like it!

LOL!!! What a great idea!!!

 

[disneyholic family]

if i lived in florida i'd be on that ship every weekend, whether or not the kids were interested in coming along (and assuming the bank account held out)...

the disney cruise is wonderful for adults....
and for the most part, you can be on that ship and barely notice kids around.....

definitely take that honeymoon cruise.....you'll love it...

 

[shmoogrrrl]

Another vote for the cruise being great for adults only. We've been on three and had a blast every time. There is enough "adult" stuff to do to keep you busy. (although some of the kid activities looked like fun too!)

Have a great time!

Kathy

 

[4cruisin]

bsnyder,

We took our first DCL cruise last December. I'm 41, DH-38, my sister-48 and brother-in-law turned 50 on the cruise. We loved every minute of it. DH and I do not have kids, so we are not used to having kids around but we did not have any problems being on a Disney ship. DCL does a great job of having adults only areas. We spent the day at Castaway Cay on the family beach and enjoyed it. The children all were well behaved and it was fun to see so many people enjoying themselves. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against children, but when you are not used to being around little ones, sometimes you are not as patient as a parent would be with noise or running etc.

The absolute best part...standing on our verandah late at night gazing at the sky and the gorgeous blue-green ocean. We had such a wonderful time that we immediately booked a 7 day when we returned home!!

I say go for it and just explain to your 8 year old that mom and dad are going on a test run to make sure everything is planned just right for the big family cruise in 2004.

 

[bsnyder]

Originally posted by 4cruisin

The absolute best part...standing on our verandah late at night gazing at the sky and the gorgeous blue-green ocean.

*SIGH*

I am totally sold, now to work on DH!

 

[leanne2255]

Go for it! My DH and I spent our 25th Anniversary on the 4 day cruise, without our DD's, and had a wonderful time. There are a lot of adult activities as well as the adult only areas. Plus with everything taken care of on the cruise, it truly was a wonderful and relaxing vacation. Of course, I knew how much our DD's would have enjoyed it, so we're taking them on the 3-day in November!

 

[Skybaby]

MY DH and I just got back without the kids! We had a great time. We took the kids in June. Even though we did the exact same cruise just 2 months later it was totally different. We got to do Palos and the adult entertainment that we didn't get to do the first time. I highly recommend it!