Honest responses please: Would a childless couple enjoy the Disney Cruise...

[duges]

We cruised on DCL 12/15/01. We have no children, and have been on other cruises . . . Disney was awesome!! We are on another DCL cruise 7/02 and can't wait. It was so amazing to me that you can be walking down deck 9 where the pools are and pass by the Mickey Pool - so loud; then keep going and pass the family pool - such lound music and happy noise; then you get to the adult pool and all of a sudden you notice how quiet it is there. I still can't figure out how they do that - it's great. We have commented several times to many people that even though there are so many kids on the ship, it is not a problem at all. Actually, we went to the early showing of Disney Dreams and they had the kids from the clubs there in the front - that made it even that much better. Seeing their reaction makes it so entertaining.

Obviously my opinion is DON'T MISS IT - BOOK IT NOW!!!

 

[inkkognito]

I'm with duges...
Even though we always pick late seating and are in the show with less kids, a couple of cruises ago we ate at Palo early so we saw Disney Dreams at the "kids" (i.e. later) showing. There was so much more energy with all the little ones there. They were a lot more fun than the adults (and more well behaved than lots of adults, too!). While I love having adult areas to escape to, I also like seeing how much fun the kids are having.
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

 

[Dodie]

As usual, you guys are awesome!

 

[Limmer]

We went for our honeymoon and the only time I thought kids were even visible was at the shows. We were very happy. We had friends who did a Royal Caribbean cruise and they said there were kids all over the place, always underfoot. I think Disney has done very well keeping them occupied and giving adults areas to be away from them.

 

[Miss Jasmine]

DH and I went on our honeymoon. We LOVED it and will be going on another cruise in the near future. There are plenty of places to get away from the kids, although we never really noticed the kids except to say awhh looks like they are having a great time. We had the late seating, so there weren't many kids there. As for no casino, that is one of the reasons why I like DCL.

 

[1 Disney Lovin' Mom]

We will be cruising with children in July, but it was actually a good friend of mine, who does not have any children, who first told us of her and her husband's wonderful DCL experience. They had a blast and felt that DCL went above and beyond to accomodate adults cruising without children as well as families.

If you do decide to cruise on DCL, I hope it's a great one!

1 Disney Lovin' Mom
Memphis, TN

 

[fireplug]

We have taken one cruise and are going on second 1/27 (we can't sleep we're too excited) There is so much to do and so much ship to enjoy you wont have too much of a problem avoiding loud kids. A couple quick suggestion, request the second sitting for dinner , go during sept or oct (kids starting school) and
spend time in adult only areas. One other small comment, spend a little time near where the kids are, it is a lot of fun just listening to them laugh and play. It really adds to the magic of Disney.

 

[danicaw]

We went on the 7-day the first week of Dec. Hubby and I had a such wonderful time. We have even booked another cruise for Sept 2002 to fit in the middle of a 2 week WDW/Orlando trip.

We enjoyed the Adult Seminars: Navigators Series, and Behind the Scenes. We missed the Art of Entertainment so maybe next time. But there was so much to do and so many ways to just relax. We met several other couples who were cruising without children.

 

[keenercam]

Hi, Dodie--
My DH and I (late 30s) took our DD12 and DS7 on the 7 day magic this past May and loved it so much we are going again WITHOUT our kids!! We found so much to do with and without our kids and could not wait to explore a lot of the options without the kids. Let me say, though, that I have no doubt at all that a "kidless" couple might have even more fun than those with kids. The nightclub district is a total blast and we had the BEST time at the theme parties, including a 70s party. With 4 ports of call on the new western itinerary, there will be many many opportunities to do excursions that are more geared to adults. We'll be in several of the ports until late evening and I think that provides great opportunities to go to nightclubs, etc.
I also wanted to say that we sailed on Celebrity to 3 of these 4 ports (cancun instead of castaway cay) and I am convinced it will be even more fun on DCL--DCL is much more relaxed and casual, which we LOVE!
Good luck in making a decision. Maybe we will see you on the 6/22 sailing?!

 

[JecHec]

Obviously, we love Disney World (see signature, below), but are a little hesitant about being trapped on a ship with a lot of screaming children (sorry parents).

Has anyone done this? Are the adult areas really off limits to kids? Should we just try a "regular" cruise instead - or go for the Disney magic on the water?

What was your adults-only experience?

Thanks.

Amazing. Hubby and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary..
No kids.. we did Palo..serenity beach...adult lounges....it was wonderful..

 

[OKW Lover]

Amused by the resurrection of this thread after more than 20 plus years. Even more so that I knew the original poster.

The answers still ring true. Adults can easily find happiness on a DCL cruise.

 

[happycamper47]

21 DCL cruises and the only time we had kids with us, they had their kids with them....

 

[bakerworld]

We've only cruised DCL as adult couple. The family areas on the ships are easy to avoid by using different elevators/steps and levels. The adult areas of the ships are well policed so kids aren't allowed. The one family area we always enjoyed was the Castaway family beach. It was fun to sit at the waters edge in a beach chair and watch the kids play in the water. I find Serenity Bay boring but I'm not a beach person.

 

[vakamalua]

Before investing your vacation time & money, I would ask yourself some Qs:

How into Disney are you both?
Willing to participate in the Disney-related activities?
Are you OK with the Adults Only section being a minimal part of the ship? (Very small pools, adult lounges open to kids until 9 pm)
Do you mind being around a very large number of children?
Do you like nice quiet dinners as a couple? (DCL restaurants are very crowded & some will have Disney shows while you eat; the alternative is to pay for specialty dining)
Are you OK paying at least 1/3-1/2 more for a Disney cruise?

If it is your first cruise, perhaps try a line that is more will give you a sense of a cruise vacation rather than a Disney-cruise vacation.

 

[CamColt]

Definitely! We went on the cruise with my whole family...including our 2 kids. There was so much we couldnt do, that Dh & I are going back alone in July. Cant wait!

Well that was some time traveling I just did. When I wrote this post my kids were almost 2, and just turned 5. Throughout their childhood years we took 3 cruises without them. Now we still cruise DCL as an adult only group (most recently in February), and have added a DDIL to our DCL family. Their wedding was even on CC! So, I still stand by my statement, adults can have a wonderful time on DCL without kids (although I might avoid certain ships now).

 

[lois00525]

My husband and I have sailed with Disney Cruise Line since 2000, and love it. We sailed the Caribbean and Bahamas until 2005 when Disney first sailed the Panama Canal. Needless to say, we are hooked on Disney Cruise Line and have sailed to Alaska, Hawaii, Transatlantic, Mediteranean, Northern Europe with them.
We love the Disney themed shows and enjoy the seminars offered at the spa, the piano lounge and the activities offered for adults. We have thought of trying other cruise lines, but we know what we have and can't wait to board again to Europe this summer.

 

[RedHead0186]

Though I'm not in a couple, I am an adult and have done several Disney cruises-by myself, with friends, and with my parents. I've never sailed with kids. I enjoy it very much. There are ways to keep interactions with kids to a minimum (I won't say you can avoid kids at all costs, but there are adult only areas and other things you can do to not be near tons of screaming kids).

The service on DCL is wonderful, which is why I sail DCL even as an adult (well that, and I am a Disney fan).

 

[KKKKCS]

20 Disney cruises, 2/3 of them with no kids. The adult areas are pretty well policed by the staff. The occasional under 18 comes in, but are fairly quickly asked to leave. On the newest ships (Wish and Treasure, and soon Destiny) the adult area is REALY isolated from the rest of the ship and I've never seen a child in there. We always do late dining partially because we are on the west coast and early dining is like having dinner at 3pm for us, and partially because there are far fewer young kids. We've also been on 2 Royal Caribbean and 1 Celebrity cruise and there are nearly as many kids on those as on Disney. Bottom line is you can do as much, or as little Disney as you want, and you can avoid the "screaming kids" as well as any other cruise line that allows kids.

 

[ditchdiggert200]

Interesting story...
My wife and I took a 7-night Western Caribbean cruise on Royal Caribbean for our honeymoon in 2007. We thoroughly enjoyed the week and considered it one of the best trips we took together. Life hit us and weren't able to get back on a cruise ship until 01/2020 when some family friends talked us into taking a couples cruise on the Dream.

WE HAD A BLAST!!! I never would have expected to enjoy a 3-night Bahamian cruise sailing with the Mouse as much as I did. We booked a placeholder that got cancelled due to COVID, but have been back 2 more times and have a 3rd booked for this fall on the Magic.

I would gladly take another cruise with the Mouse without the kiddos, but they love to travel and since we only have so many vacations with them while they're young we will take them with us. Our family lives just far enough away that we can't take nice weekend trips and drive to and from the port.

All that to say, as a couple who tried Disney Cruise Line for the first time without kids, we loved it and have turned it into a vacation experience we seek out as often as we can, kids or not.