I need some DCL fans help please!

[luckyprincess]

Hello all! I have cruised RCCL before and like it. There are some things they could improve imo, like more to do at night (they seem to have activities that end at 11ish pm for the most part). But for the most part I really like them. I enjoy the adult karaoke, the casino, Love and Marriage show, the midnight adult comedians and the Quest game (adult scavenger hunt). My boyfriend and I don't have or want children and don't typically love the noise/chaos that comes with kids, respectfully :D So, here is where I need your help!

 

I just got back from a family cruise with my sister, her husband and my little 3 year old nephew, our best friend and her husband who are also happily child free, and my mom and dad. The cruise went really well and my sister and her husband want to book one in two years for all of us plus his sister and her husband, and his niece and great niece and possible another couple with kids. They want to do a Disney cruise specifically. I'm terrified, lol! I had to yell at a little kid in the elevator that was trying to push all the floor buttons while I was riding and that happened a few times. Besides that I wasn't really bothered by any kids although I know there were a few hundred on board. We did have adult only activities though and that really helped us be able to relax. Disney seems to have adult only areas but are they open all the time? Meaning can I have adult dining most of the time? Casino? Adult only shows at night? Adult only activities or an adult pool? I tried to search but my search function isn't working at the moment :( I really want to have this vacation with my extended family but our other adult couple and we are a little concerned that we will be over run with children.

 

We did go to Disney and stayed at the AKL which was wonderful! It was a very quiet time of year and we still were only able to tolerate the free Disney transportation for one trip before we rented a car. The kids on the bus were absolutely screaming, or wailing or running around on the bus or swinging like monkeys on the bars while their parents just sat their looking tired. We are kind of afraid of having that experience on our cruise. We were great once we rented a car so that we could avoid the more family crowded areas but will we have anywhere to escape on a ship? The ships seem so gorgeous and I'd love to try them but I need some solid advice from those that have done it. Thank you so much!!

[Ex techie]

You will have Adult only spaces on all of the ships.

Spa, At least 1 adult only bar, and some venues after 9pm?, Adult pool and bar.

They do an Adult version of shows later in the evening, but think more 10pm than midnight, and most ships are quiet after 11:30.

 

No Casino on any of the ships thou.

 

Go to the DCL webpage to look up what each ship offers (the Dream and the Fantasy have differing policies as to Adults Only in the Pub AFAIK, however the Magic and Wonder are pretty much the same)

http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/

 

Over 18's only dining is only offered in Palo (all 4 ships) and Remy on the Dream class. These reservation only restaurants "can" fill up quickly, and you may or may not be able to secure Adult only dining depending on the ship, sailing etc. Also there is an upcharge $20 for Palo, and $75 for Remy per person per reservation.

 

HTH's!

 

Ex techie

[luckyprincess]

Thank you so much! No casino will be tough for my blackjack loving honey lol! Sounds like it's kind of a quiet ship. We sailed on Radiance when we were the youngest there and it was like that. Maybe we'll just look for something port intensive. Good to know that they offer adult only shows though! And the $75 dining option sounds interesting - like a fine dining restaurant on the ship! He is a chef so that interests us for sure! I'll go check out the link. Thanks again! Please anyone else feel free to chime in!

[Gumbey]

Whenever we went to Remy, we always did the wine pairing. Simply put, it cannot be missed. It is a bit more expensive (add another $99 to the cover) but you will easily get 6 or 7 high end glasses of wine with your meal.

[Ex techie]

No worries!

 

Bingo is as good as it will get I'm afraid!

 

As your looking at cruising in 2 years, AFAIK there are no schedules out for that far ahead yet, but see if the itineraries that are offered at the moment interest you.

They do specific cruises that offer different ports only occasionally.

St Maarten, St Thomas, Cozumel, Costa Maya, Grand Cayman and Disney's island Castaway Cay are the usual ones. The Magic is off to Europe for the summer season this and next year, and the Wonder to Alaska this and next year.

But occasionally they venture to Antigua, Falmouth Jamaica, San Juan, Grenada, Barbados etc, but tend to only be for a few cruises.

That said they may mix it up a bit hopefully as past cruisers are getting restless at the same old ports!

 

Ex techie

[luckyprincess]

Whenever we went to Remy, we always did the wine pairing. Simply put, it cannot be missed. It is a bit more expensive (add another $99 to the cover) but you will easily get 6 or 7 high end glasses of wine with your meal.

 

That is right up my alley! How exciting! I don't know of any other really fine dining on RCCL.

[luckyprincess]

No worries!

 

Bingo is as good as it will get I'm afraid!

 

As your looking at cruising in 2 years, AFAIK there are no schedules out for that far ahead yet, but see if the itineraries that are offered at the moment interest you.

They do specific cruises that offer different ports only occasionally.

St Maarten, St Thomas, Cozumel, Costa Maya, Grand Cayman and Disney's island Castaway Cay are the usual ones. The Magic is off to Europe for the summer season this and next year, and the Wonder to Alaska this and next year.

But occasionally they venture to Antigua, Falmouth Jamaica, San Juan, Grenada, Barbados etc, but tend to only be for a few cruises.

That said they may mix it up a bit hopefully as past cruisers are getting restless at the same old ports!

 

Ex techie

 

The port information is really good to know, thank you! I think we assumed that they go anywhere and wanted to do something Southern but it doesn't seem that they typically go. I'll let the group know that - good thing we're planning early!

[Seatbelt_Bag_LOVE]

My husband and I cruised the Disney Fantasy without any children. We enjoyed it very much. Since so many people travel with kids, we found the adult only pool areas to not be crowded at all. They do have adult only shows (usually start at 11pm) at night and other entertainment in the clubs that usually starts at 1030. There is scheduled adult only programming throughout the day as well which include trivia, mixology & tastings and other things. There is an adult district called Europa which consists of 4 different bars. We really loved spending time in the clubs at night & especially loved the tasty 2 for 1 cocktails :) There is no casino, but there is bingo.

[hackif]

Remy's is only available on board the Dream and Fantasy and is a multi-course tasting menu. Well worth the upcharge in my opinion. If you've ever been to Victoria and Albert's at the Grand Floridian it's very similar. In fact, part of the menu was created by the chef at V&A's. We loved it (also love V&A's).

 

We have no children and are about to go on our 8th DCL cruise. While there are a lot of children on board (or so I'm told), we never feel overrun by them. Many of them are in the family areas when we are in the adult areas, are in the children only areas or are not doing the activities that we like to do (there are some adult only activities too).

 

We eat at the later seating when there are fewer children and have always been seated with other adults who either have no children or are cruising with no children. We spend time at the adult only pool or in the cafe there which is also adults only. All ships have a number of lounges and bars, some of which are adults only after 9 pm but you don't often see children in them even before then unless there's an event held there. There's a piano lounge on the Magic which we really like. There's a lounge on the Dream class with an outside verandah which we also like a lot.

 

Some excursions are adults only and some geared very specifically for families with younger children. Even at Castaway Cay, there is an adult only beach. It is fun to watch some of the children meet Cinderella or Mickey or be the one to officially light up the Christmas tree, but there are so many different areas geared to different types of families that you can choose where to be and what to do. And even if you're a table full of adults, it's still fun to have Alice run up to you and ask where the white rabbit went or watch Beauty and the Beast do a little dance through the dining room.

 

It is a quiet ship in that there isn't a lot of late nightlife or casino gambling but we're usually dead by evening especially if we go to the gym early in the morning.

 

DCL isn't necessarily for everyone, but if you're worried about being surrounded by screaming, whining children I can say that we've never had that experience.

[Gumbey]

The Dream and Fantasy are doing the bread and butter type routes which are the Eastern and Western Carribean (the Fantasy does that) and the Dream does the shorter quick hops (5 dayers) to Nassau and Castaway Cay.

 

The Wonder and Magic do Alaska, TA and Europe depending on time of Year. There used to a be a West Coast Disney cruise (I think like Cabo etc) but they killed it off.

 

I don't think there are anymore new ships on Disney's horizons right now.

[luckyprincess]

Thank you all for the great info! I was nervous of being chased away as a child hater or something.... a lot of people equate those that don't want children to those that hate children and it's not the case. I just like to spend my vacation dollars on more of an adult experience. I love Disney and would LOVE to have Alice come to my dinner table! I'm kind of a Peter Pan kind of girl so that all sounds wonderful. And did someone say an adults only BEACH? That's awesome...does DCL have something like a Cruise Compass on RCCL? Hopefully my search function is working and I can check some out if any posters have posted them.

[Ex techie]

It's called the Navigator delivered to your Stateroom every evening.

 

I haven't found many posted on here, but there are some recent ones on this website:

http://disneycruiselineblog.com/category/trip-report/personal-navigators/

 

 

Ex techie

[robhawk]

Just got off the Fantasy. Just two adults no kids.

 

The adult only beach is awesome too! Jack Sparrow makes a visit! BBQ lunch includes ribeye steaks. Very good!

 

Have not been to Remy but Palo is also a very nice dining experience. Italian theme. Nice wines! Meridien bar is between Palo & Remy. Absolutely beautiful place to have a pre-dinner drink watching the sunset!

 

We loved Europa bar district. Fun Irish pub with tv's to watch some games. Skyline is gorgeous! Europian cities as a back drop. Fun bartenders! They do a mixology class there. What a blast!

 

The Tube has nightly cabaret shows. They have a DJ around 11ish. We dance a little but then are wiped.