Solo Adult on Disney, Good Idea???

[YummyStickyBuns]

I’ve seen questions asking about taking cruises as a solo person and questions regarding the value of Disney. I don’t post reviews but for some reason I felt the need to share my experience as a young solo adult on my first Disney cruise.

 

I’ve done many land based vacations and cruises as a solo traveler so I’m accustomed to paying the 200% single supplement. I like good beach view rooms and balconies and I get to pay for it. No biggie as it’s a vacation and I’m going to enjoy it but within reason. I’ve wanted to experience Disney for some time but the cost has always been a bit outside of my budget. I can only imagine the cost for a family of 4. So one day I stumbled on a really good price on the Western Caribbean cruise on the Disney Magic, leaving in 2 weeks. Combined with a onboard credit, it was really hard to turn down the opportunity to experience Disney Cruise Line.

 

Jump ahead 2 weeks. After a long day full of flight delays (another plug to always fly in a day early!!!) I arrived at the hotel at 2am. After a quick nap, I went back to the airport and caught the Disney transfer from the airport to Galveston. The bus left shortly after 11am and had less than 15 people including the driver. The bus was a contracted company and not like the fancy painted buses that are seen on the DCL website or in Florida. The floor was sticky, the one window as not securely closed, the kid in front of me who stood on the seat pushing on the window (not to mention the parents that weren’t controlling the said kid) and a driver that straddled the dotted white line taking 2 lanes the entire way. I wasn’t impressed at this point. Then I get to the port….

 

I jumped off the bus and thru the check-in process in 20 minutes. Quick and painless. As I stepped on to the ship, I was in awe of what I saw….and then they announced my name. It’s a small thing but it certainly makes a good (and fun and big) first impression. At this point I developed a big smile on my face.

 

That evening was the welcome aboard show. Speaking as a “big kid”, it was really neat to see all the Disney characters come out on stage. Over the course of the week, all the shows, including the final show, were great. It was neat how the final show had elements of all the others.

 

Dining was great. Food was excellent. I was seated with 6 others – 2 couples and 2 other solo travelers. It provided for great conversation each night. Tip for other solo travelers – choose to dine at a table with 6-8 others as it provides plenty of opportunity to converse and in the cases were you don’t want to converse, the others can talk amongst themselves all without that awkward feeling. Anyway, one day I was eating in the buffet for lunch where my dinner server was working. He recognized me and the second thing he said (after greeting me by name) was "having a big kid’s meal today!". My plate consisted of 2 cookies and a large helping of mac and cheese–-which was very yummy. The next 2 nights my server brought me a side of mac and cheese without me asking. He was awesome and received extra gratuity at the end of the week. Little things in service impress me. I’m a person that can’t remember names of my co-workers yet here is a person that sees many new faces week after week and learns and remembers names. I’m impressed and envious :).

 

Each day there were scheduled character experiences. Donald, Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, all the Princesses as well as many opportunities to see them at random places throughout the day. I was coming down the stairs by the pool and Pluto walked by and he saw I had my camera in hand and was more than happy to stop for a picture. One evening I stood in line to have my photo taken with Donald – and you know what, none of the crew members nor Donald cared. I’m sure there were some adults who wondered who the goofy adult was standing alone in line, but I didn’t care. Another night I was in line waiting for the dining room to open and there was a lull in line for Mickey, so I jumped over and got my picture taken. My point is, have fun, relax and enjoy the experience.

 

Late one afternoon I was meandering back to my cabin and from around the corner out pops Belle. I was the only person in the hall and she graciously put on the same pleasant smile used with the children and greeted me with that pleasant "Hello Sir". I couldn’t but help but smile and reply with a giddy-child-like "Hi!". And the best part…she had no problem posing for a picture. The crew and characters interacted with the adults just as happily as they do with children.

 

Another cool feature is on the TV is a channel that showed the classic Disney cartoons from when I was growing up. Things like Chip and Dale storing nuts for winter and being chased by Pluto, Donald and all his adventures and various Goofy cartoons – it was like reliving Saturday mornings when I was 10 years old all over again! The only awkward moments were at dinner where my tablemates talked about the movies they watched and all I could contribute were the cartoons I saw.

 

What about the adults only pool area? I only visited these areas a few times and didn’t stay long. Why? It was too boring and quiet. Maybe if I had children I’d want to spend more time there to get away but I don’t and I found it too quiet and uneventful. Just my two cents.

 

This is getting long so I better sum up. Is Disney good for solo traveling adults? If you like Disney--yes. If you don’t like the characters or meeting them in random places, then this cruise line is not for you. If you don’t like kids, this isn’t for you. If you can tolerate kids, then you'll enjoy this although there were many times I wanted to share parenting advise. I was quite proud of my tongue biting abilities :). Is a Disney cruise more expensive that other cruise lines? Yes although the service I felt was superior to the other lines I’ve experienced. Oh, and then there is the free fountain pop and ice cream! Would I go again? ABSOLUTLY!!! In fact I just paid the deposit on my next cruise next fall. Do you recall early in this post where I said I developed a big smile on my face? That smile didn’t leave until I got home and realized I had to go to work the next day.

 

And finally, would I recommend Disney to others? Regardless if you are going alone or as a family, the answer is YES. Its an experience everyone should experience. It brings the kid out in all :D

[judyrabbit]

Thank you YummyStickyBuns

We are considering Disney Magic next June with my daughter and her kids. I was wondering if my husband would enjoy the cruise as much as he would a regular one. Looks like no worries :)

[racingfandj]

Glad you had a great cruise!

[Momdez]

;)Great to hear your post. We've been on 5 Disney cruises, only one with our DD and DGD. The other 4 have been with a Sister and BIL. And we are in our 60's and late 50's. My sis has been on other lines and is saying DCL is the best. All others are now dcompared to DCL. Glad to hear from cruisers that cruise for the experience not just the kids..:D The 4 of us leave again in Feb. on the Fantasy, can't wait....:cool:

[KidAtHart]

GOOD for you!!! Your post is AWESOME on so many levels!!! Thanks for sharing!!! Thrilled to know there are men in the world who have the capacity to embrace their inner child and be present. I know my inner child is alive and well. Glad yours is too!!! LOL!!!

 

Just booked our second cruise for 9/21-9/28/13 on the Disney Fantasy. My girls are so excited. Needless to say, so am I!!! Been reading these posts for hours now ... I'm grateful that dreams really do come true!!!

[Scrapnana]

Your review made me smile! Disney service is like no other. How they remember the names and your preferences is beyond me - I have trouble with names like you do!

 

Thanks for taking the time to write your review. Hope you have an amazing time on your next cruise!

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

Thank you YummyStickyBuns

We are considering Disney Magic next June with my daughter and her kids. I was wondering if my husband would enjoy the cruise as much as he would a regular one. Looks like no worries :)

 

We booked the Magic for May! (When you say 'regular one' do you mean like Carnival or something? Because comparing Carnival to Disney is like comparing your local community water park to Walt Disney World. It's fun for a weekend sure, but its NOTHING compared to going to Disney World! If he likes cruising, like we did, he will probably have his mind blown! Some differences with DCL are that you can stock your own room with any beverages you like that you carry on with your person, you get soda machines included, and THERE IS NO CASINO ON BOARD. For us, that is a big plus. There is still bingo available if you want it. There are fireworks shows each cruise with a pirate themed night. Other differences include 3 different Main Dining Rooms instead of one.)

 

We don't have any kids...well unless you count my 36 year old husband! Him and our 41 yr old BIL went all over the ship riding Aquaduck, playing detective games, etc. My honey isn't in to Disney music (as much as I am, he likes it, I LOVE it.) and he also has a difficult attention span and loves to stay on the go. He got there early at every show and stay to the end every night! That is definitely a cruise first. He tells everyone 'how great the entertainment is.'

 

We also love Turtle Talk with Crush (its a must at EP) so we were surprised and delighted to have it aboard the Dream (we didn't have time at EP the night before WAAHHH!! :( ) and so he was thrilled with that too.

 

He loved our entire 3 day. He let us get the Disney chase card so we could get points to our next one, and let me put a deposit for one in May even though we are slightly behind in bills (we had a 10% off coupon that was expiring.) Even though he can be hard to please with dining (some things he liked, some he didn't) and tends not to enjoy spending money, he never once complained that we 'paid too much' or anything like that. In the end, we spent as much for our DCL 3 day (and next yr's interior 4 day) as we did for a 7 Day CCL, but we both agreed that it was a great value for what we got (compared to non stop bingo, trivia and over crowded bean bag toss...)

 

Bottom line: If you honey enjoys WDW (mine does thankfully! He took me twice on different trips this year and says if we go again next year, it's going to be slow down and enjoy it and take our time) then there is no way he won't love disney cruising. Certain aspects of the cruise are better than the parks (as in they bring the magic to you and you can relax, a lot less people so character photos etc. and nice dining every night that can strain a budget in the parks, it's less hot and a WHOLE lot less walking). If on the other hand, you honey doesn't like anything about Disney (not even the adult catering areas like Down Town Disney) it may not be for him.

 

We booked a 4 day for several reasons. Its out BIL's first cruise since the oldest CCL ship in the fleet 7 day which was his first cruise. He said there was nothing to do but eat. But he does really like going to EP and WDW so we are going several days there and then booked him on a 4 day. If he doesn't like it, 3 out of the 4 days have ports he can explore and if he doesn't like it...its only 4 days so not the end of the world. On the other hand, we hope he loves it as much as we do and will be open perhaps to more or longer in the future.