Benefits of adult-only DCL

[brentm77]

We booked what will be our fourth DLC cruise for next March in the Caribbean (Fantasy). We weren't planning on another DCL cruise so soon after our Med cruise in June, but after pricing out all-inclusive resorts in the Caribbean for our family, plus my daughter's friend, it was less expensive for us to book the two DCL staterooms and enjoy all the extra things we love about cruising. We actually tried to branch out from DCL (a goal of mine, despite DCL being my all-time favorite vacations), but the dates didn't match up to spring break for other lines/destinations we were interested in.

Anyway - the reason for my post:

It will be our first cruise with only adults in our party as my youngest will be 18 at the time of travel. For those who have traveled DCL with adults only, what are your favorite parts? Any tips for maximizing the experience? How does Serenity Bay stack up? We haven't been to that section of the island before. How are the lounges at night with young adults - will they find them entertaining? We have never made it to the lounges at night due to spending time with the kids.

I am mainly just looking for experiences to be excited for from other adult-only travelers.

 

[TikiThunderPirates]

We love traveling as Adults-Only. In fact we joined DCL as Adults-only because we wanted the Disney service. We don't think of ourselves as cruisers, more people who enjoy travel and Disney and DCL provides both. I'd say as adults we enjoy many of the same things families do, included soft serve ice cream on the top decks, dinner in the main dinning rooms, the nightly shows, we just do it without any kids with us!

We do enjoy going to some of the later "adults-only" acts like a magician and or Match your Mate. We also find that the trivia's held in the adults only lounges during the day tend not to have many children in attendance (even when they are allowed to be there). On the Magic and the Wonder having a stateroom on the forward part of the ship means all the adult-only areas are either up or down the stairs. You don't tend to need to move around the ship forward or aft expect for food.
In the past we have made regular use of the gym and the Rain Forest room as adults and enjoyed those spaces. The Adults only pool tends to be clogged on many cruises with people sitting in the chairs reading books alllllllllllll day. We don't hang out here often, so we've never cared, but you'll have better luck finding a seat elsewhere in our experience.

Characters have always been happy to interact with us as adults during the traditional "line up" for pictures type of meet and greet. We've noticed we had less success with characters at meals like the Character breakfasts or when a Princess moves to the tables throughout dinner. We aren't aggressive about meeting characters, or really care much, but often a princess will just wave as they pass our adults only table. If we wanted to meet them, this could be a disappointment. Things like the Thugs from Tangled however have been hilarious as adults. They seem to feel they can goof off a bit more, and have a little clean fun.

If the young adults like hanging out with "older adults" I think they will enjoy the adult experience. In our experience there is not a huge group of 20 somethings on any cruise. You will have some adults in their 20s, some in their 30s, and more in their 40s-70s. The shows at night are geared toward this age range, but are general enough I think everyone will have fun. No mosh pits and crazy parties though. DCL is just not the cruise line for that type of fun.

My advise, go to whatever looks fun, and just remember you won't have to leave to pick up someone from the kids club this time!

 

[Cruising Engineer]

We have been DCL adults only since our first sailing in 2009. You are free to move about the ship wherever and whenever you desire. Serenity Bay is very nice and enjoyable with a great bar and lunch service.
Think of your new adults-only status as things you no longer have to do. You're not tethered to what the kids want.

 

[stkgator]

Have your daughter and friend attend the "1820" events while onboard. As the name implies, this is for 18-20 year olds and meet for ice cream, coffee, games, movies, and some events on CC. One recent (sad) change is that the 1820 club does not provide ice cream from Vanellope/Sweet on You - now it's the soft-server that is offered near the swimming pool:-(

On cruises during school breaks, there are usually more 18-20 year olds on the ship - but other times there are very few. On our recent cruise, my DD said there were only two other kids that showed up to the 1820 events, where as last December, there were around 30.

 

[Lillebelle]

We've done cruises with our kids and cruises just as a couple - adults only is great because you can book Palo meals and spa experiences with impunity. Don't expect to find any real club-like nightlife on Disney though - the closest we've had is the Silent Disco parties which are super fun *if* you go in ready to just make the most of how gloriously awkward they are.

 

[hilarys]

If your now young adults are Disney-lovers especially those that "grew up" going on the cruises you now have a whole new world of fun opening up. After cancelled cruises in 2020, our son had missed his last chance at Vibe and was 18 on our recent NYE cruise on the Fantasy. Our daughter is 17 and she was happily off with her VIBE friends. It was so much fun to be able to do new things with our son on the ship. The NYE cruise had a ton of 18-20's (at times the adult pool looked like the young adult pool) so he split his time between 18-20 activities (they had more activities than the VIBE group did) and hanging out with us. He went to Palo Brunch with us, went to the rainforest room, had a spa treatment (we had a lot of credit to use from that cancelled 2020 cruise), hung out at Satellite Falls, went to adults only trivia and crafts. He did miss the VIBE a bit, but over all I think he loved this new style of cruising.

 

[HeatherLassell]

the closest we've had is the Silent Disco parties which are super fun *if* you go in ready to just make the most of how gloriously awkward they are.

Silent DJ was one of the highlights of my Galentines cruise! (5 adult women)

 

[LeiaOfAlderaan]

If things are back to “normal” (whatever that means) by the time you cruise, or you aren’t looking for a lot of 18+ specific activities, I think you’ll have a great time. Unfortunately most of the 18+ activities haven’t been happening since the restart…ship tour, silent DJ, cooking demos, towel folding classes, adult variety shows (at least on the cruise I was on). I had fun but I was sad to miss all of that stuff since I’m not big on trivia or crafts.

They did still have Match Your Mate, which is usually a lot of fun (although YMMV depending on host/participants).

 

[Cruising Engineer]

Silent DJ was one of the highlights of my Galentines cruise! (5 adult women)

It was just as much fun watching everyone from the doorway with dead silence, moving and grooving.

 

[HeatherLassell]

It was just as much fun watching everyone from the doorway with dead silence, moving and grooving.

haha My group was dancing and some of us on #1, #2 and others on #3. So we're all dancing to different songs. lol And singing along! I kept my headset on and recorded a video. I LMAO when I watched it back and heard everyone. I can't wait to do it again!

 

[Cruising Engineer]

haha My group was dancing and some of us on #1, #2 and others on #3. So we're all dancing to different songs. lol And singing along! I kept my headset on and recorded a video. I LMAO when I watched it back and heard everyone. I can't wait to do it again!

That's why it looked so awkward. Didn't know there were multiple channels.

 

[HeatherLassell]

That's why it looked so awkward. Didn't know there were multiple channels.

Haha yes you have 3 different choices of music to listen to. If you look at the headset the colour reflects which channel they're listening to.

 

[Cruising Engineer]

Haha yes you have 3 different choices of music to listen to. If you look at the headset the colour reflects which channel they're listening to.

Ahhhh, another "something new" I just learned!!!

 

[mevelandry]

We booked what will be our fourth DLC cruise for next March in the Caribbean (Fantasy). We weren't planning on another DCL cruise so soon after our Med cruise in June, but after pricing out all-inclusive resorts in the Caribbean for our family, plus my daughter's friend, it was less expensive for us to book the two DCL staterooms and enjoy all the extra things we love about cruising. We actually tried to branch out from DCL (a goal of mine, despite DCL being my all-time favorite vacations), but the dates didn't match up to spring break for other lines/destinations we were interested in.

Anyway - the reason for my post:

It will be our first cruise with only adults in our party as my youngest will be 18 at the time of travel. For those who have traveled DCL with adults only, what are your favorite parts? Any tips for maximizing the experience? How does Serenity Bay stack up? We haven't been to that section of the island before. How are the lounges at night with young adults - will they find them entertaining? We have never made it to the lounges at night due to spending time with the kids.

I am mainly just looking for experiences to be excited for from other adult-only travelers.

Lounges can be very quiet (a little too quiet?) It's hit or miss. Serenity Bay is amazing... If you can find a way to book a cabana, I recommend it. We just love Palo Brunch/dinner and Remy. I know they are expensive (especially Remy) but we absolutely loved our experience. Other than that, I would recommend the mixology class or wine tasting. The Quiet Cove is the best place to hang out and Cove Café is pretty nice too.

Edit: I forgot to mention the pass at the Rainforest (At the Spa). Fantastic.

 

[Cheburashka]

We booked what will be our fourth DLC cruise for next March in the Caribbean (Fantasy). We weren't planning on another DCL cruise so soon after our Med cruise in June, but after pricing out all-inclusive resorts in the Caribbean for our family, plus my daughter's friend, it was less expensive for us to book the two DCL staterooms and enjoy all the extra things we love about cruising. We actually tried to branch out from DCL (a goal of mine, despite DCL being my all-time favorite vacations), but the dates didn't match up to spring break for other lines/destinations we were interested in.

Anyway - the reason for my post:

It will be our first cruise with only adults in our party as my youngest will be 18 at the time of travel. For those who have traveled DCL with adults only, what are your favorite parts? Any tips for maximizing the experience? How does Serenity Bay stack up? We haven't been to that section of the island before. How are the lounges at night with young adults - will they find them entertaining? We have never made it to the lounges at night due to spending time with the kids.

I am mainly just looking for experiences to be excited for from other adult-only travelers.

I took a solo cruise for the first time in October and had a Serenity Bay cabana. It was the highlight of my cruise.