Disney Cruise - Without the Kids!

Disney Cruise - Without the Kids!

We are seasoned Disney Cruisers, but last fall we cruised a little differently.  We went without our kids!  I got a ton of questions from people before, and after our cruise, on why we'd choose a Disney Cruise if we weren't taking our kids with us.  The answer is simply that no one does it like Disney.  On our very first cruise, we chatted with a couple in their 70's as we waited to get off the ship on our final day.  They had sailed without any kids or grand kids and the woman said to me, "We've sailed every cruise line, and Disney is by far our favorite."  As if loving everything about our week on the Disney Magic wasn't enough, this woman's statement definitely sealed the deal for us.  We knew that we wanted nothing but Disney Cruise Line from here on out.

My husband and I were looking to take a little trip with just the two of us, and having fallen in love with cruises, decided to look at itineraries to see if anything caught our eye.  The service on Disney Cruise Line is absolutely top notch, so it is really hard to pass that up as an option just because we weren't traveling with our kids. It just so happened, that Disney had a brand new itinerary going from New York City (which had been on my travel bucket list for a long time) to Bermuda (which we'd never been to).  It was really appealing because the ship docked in Bermuda for two days, so we'd get some extra time to explore the island.  I immediately emailed my travel agent (find info on that here in Step #5) and booked our trip.

So, what is there for adults to do on a Disney ship?  So much!! We knew about some of these things when we went on prior cruises, but didn't get around to them.  We had so much fun checking out new things on the ship. 

1. Quiet Cove Pool

We've always loved hanging out on the pool decks on the ship, but hadn't ever ventured into the 18+ pool area.  We spent all our time there on our trip and it was amazing.  Pool, hot tubs, bar, Cove Cafe, comfortable chairs overlooking the water, and no children running around or splashing you.  An absolutely great way to soak up some sun and relax.  Take advantage of the Drink of the Day, which is a tropical themed drink, and is lower in price than others. Also, if you are a beer drinker, consider doing the mug program.  You pay around $20 for a 20oz glass mug (they'll give you a plastic mug while at the pool) and then each time you get it refilled, you only pay for a 16oz.  You don't have to carry it around with you everywhere, you turn it in with your poolside waiter or bartender and they'll exchange it for a chip that you'll just keep with you until you want another. At the end of the trip you can take the mug home. We have a nice collection of mugs at our house now. 

2. Nightclubs/Lounges

Each of the Disney ships is themed a little differently, but they all have a nightclub and lounges on board.  On each ship, you may register for wine/beer/liquor tastings, or take a Mixology class and learn how to make a variety of drinks.  They have cooking classes you can attend as well.

We went to several Trivia events in the lounges and had a lot of fun with that.  They give away little prizes and it is an entertaining way to spend some time during the day.  You can check your Navigator each day for a list of available events.

Later at night, you can find Variety Shows, Comedians, Piano Tunes, or DJ's in the nightclubs or lounges.  We enjoyed comedians, costume contests, and variety shows while we were onboard.

We enjoyed just hanging out in the lounges.  Most of the time we'd just grab a drink and sit and visit with each other.  We were able to catch a Denver Broncos game on the ship one day too!

We also love to catch some Bingo while onboard.  This is an additional cost, but it is fun to play!  My husband's name got selected on our trip and he had to go up on stage to help out for a bit.  He got some fun prizes for being a good sport!

 3. Adult Dining Options

On the Disney Wonder and Disney Magic, you can book a reservation at Palo (find more info in #9 of my post here), and on the Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy, you can book reservations at Palo and Remy.  We have always enjoyed getting dressed up and going to Palo. These restaurants are for adults only, require a reservation, are an additional cost, and have a dress code.  

4. Art of the Theme Tour

This was actually one of our favorite parts of the trip.  I'd never noticed it on previous cruises, but will definitely do the tour on each ship we go on in the future.  It is only for 18+ adults and it was such a cool experience.  We started the tour in Palo, which is one of the Adult Dining Restaurants on the ships. Our tour guide took us all over the ship while explaining the thought and planning behind all of the decorations, themes, and all of the little details on the ships.  Disney goes all out when it comes to planning and it was pretty incredible to have the ship details pointed out to us and have them explain the design process.  We've been on three of the ships, and never knew about this until our second trip on the Disney Magic.  The tour lasted about an hour and I'd highly recommend it.

5. Animation Classes

These aren't adults only classes, but we had never done them before.  We went to a couple of the animation classes onboard and had the best time.  We learned how to draw Pluto, Stitch, Jack Skellington, and Sally.  It was fun to have a little friendly competition between the two of us and see who could draw each character the best.  Next time we sail, I'll definitely have the kids join us for one of these classes!

6. Relax and Enjoy!

It definitely was a different experience with just the two of us than it is when we've taken the kids.  Both are amazing, but there is a lot to be said for being able to enjoy a vacation "kid free".  We didn't really have a plan going in to each day, we could just wing it.  We lounged around by the pool, grabbed a snack or a drink when we needed to, went to whatever activity we wanted to do that day, and just had an incredible vacation.