We love to cruise…we are fiercely loyal to Disney mostly because we have had nothing but amazing experiences. Many people are surprised to learn that with a 6 and 3 year old we don’t usually sail with our kids. Our oldest has gone on one sailing and our youngest has yet to cruise. Since they are so close we have been waiting for our youngest to be able to join her big sister in the Kids Clubs (instead of the nursery) We’ll definitely be bringing them along once they are older, but for now our cruises are saved for Grown Up vacations only!
It’s pretty obvious that Disney Cruise Line is family friendly…in fact the friendliest! The list below are OUR reasons we love to cruise as adults only.
Food
This is a big one for us! One of our favorite things to do at Walt Disney World is to eat…this goes the same for Disney Cruise Line! The dining experiences, just in the main dining room, can be long. My kids like to eat and get back to something fun asap. Cruising without kids means we can take our time over dinner, enjoy our food and a glass of wine and not scarf a handful of chicken nuggets and fries.
One of our favorite dining experiences is at Palo (aboard all 4 ships). This restaurant is 18+ only and a small surchage will be applied to your stateroom. This experience is even longer than in the main Dning room. I love being able to visit this and no worry that my kids might need me any second (because they are probably with the Grandparents eating ice cream for dinner).
Swimming
Up until recently, my youngest was in diapers. That means no swimming pools for her! All children must be potty trained and out of diapers (no swim diapers allowed) in order to go in the pools. It would be tricky right now to let one of my kids swim but not the other. There are some great baby splash pads on all the ships if you decide to bring them.
Also by leaving the kids at home, it means we can enjoy Serenity Bay, the adult only beach at Castaway Cay. On our most recent Bahamian vacation we arrived on the beach very early (around 9 a.m.) and we were the ONLY ones. It was the quietest and most peaceful place I had ever visited!
Activities
While there are tons of activities for the whole family, there are so many catered just to adults! Over the past few years we have enjoyed things like martini tastings, adult trivia, piano players, adult only comedy and magic shows…and so much more! Being that it’s a Disney ship, everything is done very tastefully but it’s nice to enjoy some time in a kid-free environment.
Sleep
My kids are pretty good sleepers (NOW) but it’s pretty relaxing to know that I don’t have to get up early…and when I do, because let’s face it…Mom Clock, it’s not to crying children or someone yelling MOMMY! Plus it allows us to stay in a slightly smaller stateroom and not feel cramped, so we save a bit of money. When I do wake up early, and my husband is sleeping in, I can sneak out to watch the ship wake up. I have so many great memories of watching the sunrise over the ocean, watching the clouds clear the mountains in Alaska or watching the ship pull into Castaway Cay, all while enjoying a hot coffee…and peace and quiet.
Relaxation
I know I’ve mentioned it a few times in this post, but the best thing about cruising without the kids is just relaxing. I love not having a schedule (as opposed to our Walt Disney World trips where EVERYTHING is scheduled). We can spend some time in the Rainforest Room and read while lounging on the stone loungers, we can grab a late breakfast, wander the ship, catch a movie….or just do NOTHING without the kids asking what’s next?
Overall a Disney Cruise is for everyone! We can’t wait to take the kids someday again and share with them all that a Disney Cruise has to offer for them. For now we’ll just enjoy our adult time onboard some of the most amazing ships in the World!
