Would you do a Disney Cruise with no Kids?

[Jillian757]

Love these responses! We just did our 1st DCL cruise with the kids and had the BEST time! I really want to go back and enjoy more alone time with my hubby at Senses!Quiet cove pool/ hot tub. I saw someone here say they do the family trip every other year , and couples only alternating years. So, I’m doing that too! Just my hubby and me in 2020. Can’t wait!

 

[MelissaE1]

We are Disney World vacationers and have never done a Disney Cruise. I have only done one cruise in my life and that was many moons ago on Carnival.

The first thing that comes to mind is did you enjoy cruising as a vacation? We've spent a fair amount of time at WDW and love it, but find the cruises to be much more calm and relaxing. Plus the enjoyment of seeing different locations during the vacation. If your answer is yes, then I highly recommend it. We have cruised Disney both with and without kids, have a transatlantic for 2 coming up, and plan on continuing as nearly empty nesters to cruise Disney when feasible. I love the classic feel of the ships and the Disney touches, and we find plenty to do as adults. I like kids, but in general I think I've often noticed fewer kids "underfoot" on DCL than some other ships.

With booking DW they have discounted rooms at certain times does DCL do that as well? I have no clue where, best time, ship anything.

The ships work differently than the parks and historically DCL tends not to run "sales" but they do occasionally have discounts for residents of FL and certain other geographic areas, and also military discounts. For a start on general pricing, find a website that will let you search a date range and a cruise line (not sure I'm allowed to mention them) and sort by price. That will give you an idea of what times of the year (and geographical areas) are currently less expensive.

Best ship is subjective, we actually favor the classic ships but honestly I don't think you can go wrong here. IMHO I would not do less than 4 days, and at least 7 gives you a more truly relaxing experience, at least for us. It always takes us a day or two to fully mellow into cruising mode.

For you Cruisers out there where should I start? Use a travel Agent? Best time to go? If anyone could point me in the right direction I would appreciate it. I'm not even sure this is something we will do, so I would love any feed back.

These boards are a great source of info. Best time to go depends on if you want best price, warmer or cooler weather, what works with your schedule, etc.

As far as a travel agent, a good one can be a great help if you feel overwhelmed and they also often provide onboard credits or little gifts, or both. An agent that fits your personality is helpful. I personally don't use one these days because I like to be in immediate control of my reservation and to be able to communicate with Disney directly without the extra middleman in time-sensitive situations (or when I think of something at 2am and want to make changes on the website, lol).

Good luck deciding!

 

[louey]

You all have been so helpful
I think we will book a Disney Cruise in the not too distant future!!! I don't mind kids at all, and with the Adult only pool and areas I think it sounds the best of both worlds. I definitely would do at least a 7 day. Someone mentioned going in the fall but I would be worried about hurricanes . I was doing a mock trip on the Disney Cruise website and April seemed cheaper. I will continue to look and read up and hope to take the plunge sooner than later.

 

[mevelandry]

You all have been so helpful
I think we will book a Disney Cruise in the not too distant future!!! I don't mind kids at all, and with the Adult only pool and areas I think it sounds the best of both worlds. I definitely would do at least a 7 day. Someone mentioned going in the fall but I would be worried about hurricanes . I was doing a mock trip on the Disney Cruise website and April seemed cheaper. I will continue to look and read up and hope to take the plunge sooner than later.

How do you deal with risk? How would you deal with a change of itinerary? Only you know. Most of the time, cruises in the fall happen without any problems.

And the water at CC is warmer so it's very nice.

 

[MelissaE1]

Someone mentioned going in the fall but I would be worried about hurricanes . I was doing a mock trip on the Disney Cruise website and April seemed cheaper.

Nothing wrong with April for sure, but don't let the "hurricane" fear deter you unless, as mevelandry said, the slight chance of a change of itinerary would ruin your trip. First of all because the chances of running into anything are slim, and second because if a storm IS out there, there's plenty of advance notice and the ships already out there sail around them or elsewhere.

Our second DCL was supposed to be a Western Caribbean, but we sailed in October of the banner hurricane year of 2005 with Hurricane Wilma churning around and two other tropical systems following. Ship after ship had to deal with storms. We ended up on a modified Eastern itinerary instead, but had a great time and beautiful weather. We actually had to plan a little by the seat of our pants, but that ended up adding to the adventure instead of ruining it. I cruised another line at the beginning of April years ago and the weather was so rough we couldn't dock in one port and nearly missed another. Weather is pretty random no matter when you go.

 

[WanderingAlice]

Hello! 26 here, and my very first cruise was actually on the Disney Wonder in 98’. I never outgrew my love for Disney and my best friend and I are currently planning a cruise this year! It’s been 20 years since my last Disney Cruise so you can say I’m pretty excited! Oh..and surprisingly not a huge fan of children either and not planning on having any of my own, but children have never really bothered me on any kind of ships. There’s usually so much to do and see for everyone on board, so I tend to ignore the misbehaving ones.

 

[Agent 86]

We've done three Disney Cruises and we don't have children.

To be fair, we haven't cruised with any other lines, but Disney is awesome for us. We don't really notice the children - Disney seems to keep them occupied in their kids clubs and pool. And we choose the late dining rotation which also seems to limit the number of children at dining.

We're not fans of gambling or drinking to excess, so the absence of a casino and unlimited alcoholic drinks packages doesn't phase us.

 

[OATS09]

I've done three Disney cruises without kids. Two with just my wife and I (honeymoon and babymoon) and one with my wife and two of our friends. People often get the misconception that Disney is a kid's cruise. It's not, per se. It's a family cruise. Disney does people and entertainment well and we've enjoyed every cruise we've been on (though I won't do anything less than 7 nights again).

The key for us is going offseason which is going to be harder going forward with two kids now but we'll make it work. We have a philosophy of just getting our ticket onto the boat and getting the cheapest room possible. We got a Navigator's Verandah for our honeymoon and it was great but not necessary for us. Our room is a place to sleep and store our stuff securely. I don't care about an oceanview or a verandah - don't flame me for that; it frees up more space and is less competition for those of you who do want verandahs!

We did just splurge though. I'm PCS to Australia with the Air Force and we leave the EXACT same time as the Honolulu to Vancouver itinerary!! (ok, I lied; I'm cutting my three-year tour short by 5 days to accommodate but whatever). We can't wait! It'll be our kids' first Disney cruise and 2nd and 3rd cruise respectively overall.

 

[piccolopat]

We love Disney but have never cruised before. I'm surprised how many of you here have commented how well Disney does keeping the adults only sections kid free. In other threads I've read many complaints about kids in adults only sections. Frankly that is one reason we aren't considering DCL. So my question is, which is right?

 

[mevelandry]

We love Disney but have never cruised before. I'm surprised how many of you here have commented how well Disney does keeping the adults only sections kid free. In other threads I've read many complaints about kids in adults only sections. Frankly that is one reason we aren't considering DCL. So my question is, which is right?

Somewhere in between. Kids have to pass by the adult section to access other kid friendly sections. Once in a while, some of them don't realize it's an adult section only and have cast members asking them to move.

 

[Geomom]

From my limited experience--2 cruises--Wonder in Alaska and Magic in Europe, they do a very good job of keeping the adults area kid free. It's not as kid free as it should be. We haven't spent tons of time in the Adult only areas as we are travelling as a family. First cruise, no issues--we spent a little time in the Cove Cafe and Outlook area (before it became a concierge lounge), as well as an evening in Keys with no kids around. Second cruise we did more 'adult only' things as my oldest was 18 and she could come with us while my 14 yr old spent time in Vibe. No issues in the evenings--the adult only clubs stayed adult only, in fact DD14 said her Vibe friend was kicked out of the window seats in the After Hours area after 9PM. No issues in the adult only pool area. A couple of the daytime adult only activities in D Lounge (which is normally a family lounge) were so-so on the kid part. The cast members did a good job of keeping the 10 yr old boys out of the 'anyone can cook' class, but there did seem to be a 16 yr old girl with her mom in there--I'm thinking the free samples of wine is what had the cast members keeping younger kids out. The next thing was supposed to be adult only napkin folding, and they let in a family with a 3-4 yr old girl and they sat right up front. She behaved fine, but it annoyed me as it was supposed to be an adult only activity. For the pool deck stuff--yes, you will have kids walking through at times if they came from the forward elevators/stairs--I have no issue if they are just walking through.

 

[daisyx3]

We started going to WDW in 2000 when our kids were 2,5,8. We took a cruise with them in 03 and 04. Then no more cruises until 2016 for the youngest child's graduation, and one in 2018 (and one coming in June) without kids at all. We LOVED serenity bay last year and spent hours there. We spent plenty of time in the adult pool too. We only noticed the amount of kids walking by the pool areas. Just like the fact that we still go to WDW if it's just the two of us, we are fine with DCL. DH doesn't drink and I don't drink much, and we don't gamble, so...my vice this last cruise was trivia.

 

[sunmoon620]

We love Disney both with our kids and without. If you get a forward stateroom you can go straight up to the adult only areas and not have to deal with the crowds by the family pools at all! I personally love to watch the kids interact with characters in the main atrium! My children are all adults now...but we still sail Disney together as a family and hang out at the quiet cove pool most of our sea days!

 

[ironz]

20.

My parents were on there and they said Natalie said 20.

I've seen this posted on another thread, too, and there were more than 20 kids. Natalie may have been joking. Or there were 220 kids, and they heard '20.' Definitely not a lot of kids, but not 20. There were at least 50 or 60 just on one of the excursions we did. We were on the most recent WBPC cruise.

 

[ludari]

I'm a single adult with no kids and I've done 10+ cruises. I personally like using a TA to book my cruises and as far as the best time to go well that depends on your schedule, destination and other preferences.

 

[OKW Lover]

We've done 15 DCL cruises and only 4 of them were with young children. Disney isn't just for kids.

 

[louey]

We've done 15 DCL cruises and only 4 of them were with young children. Disney isn't just for kids.

Wow 15!!!! Any advice on room, ship choice? Which was your favorite?

 

[OKW Lover]

Wow 15!!!! Any advice on room, ship choice? Which was your favorite?

My favorite is the one I'm on. Seriously, I just enjoy cruising. I've covered the typical itineraries so the ports aren't a big thing for me. About the only thing that I insist on is a veranda. I love sitting out there with a nice glass of wine and watching the waves.

 

[emmabelle]

We’ve done 2 and have a 3rd booked for the last week of Oct this year. I just like everything about it. The food, the fellow cruisers, the dining room rotations etc

 

[cgolf]

We have used Dreams as a TA for all but our first cruise and have been pretty happy with the service and the extra onboard credit. We have done two DCL cruises without our daughter and both were great. We are pretty good though about being able to tune out kids so they never really bothered us. We spent a lot of time in the quiet cove pool area on deck. Other than our Celebrity and the DCL Hawaii cruise, there have been quite a few kids onboard when we cruised and I don’t ever recall thinking those kids are annoying I wish there were less kids onboard, perhaps we were lucky lol.