Cruising Disney as a solo

[LandlockedCruiser01]

I (male) recently had a conversation with my landlubber (non-cruise fan) friends.  One of them suggested Disney Cruise Line as a joke.  I immediately dismissed his suggestion.  Another friend chimed in, and said I'd get keelhauled (google it) by a panicked mob of parents for daring to cruise on DCL solo.  I knew he was joking, but still.  Now, I have no plans to do that.  DCL is aimed at kids and their families, which means it'd have little to nothing to offer to a childfree man well into his 30's.

 

But seriously, how do solos get treated on DCL?  Do they have at least a fighting chance of having a good time?  Or are they better off sailing on a mass market line, and forgetting about DCL until they have a kid or two?

 

As for me personally, I soured on Disney very hard in the last several years.  Their acquisition of timeless classics like "Star Wars" and "National Geographic" is bad enough.  But their bastardization of what they acquired was the last straw.

Edited November 11, 2021 by LandlockedCruiser01

[LittleMissMagic]

I've never cruised DCL solo, so I cannot comment on that; but I will very soon be 30, do not have kids, and consistently have a great time sailing Disney. On most sailings, I've found that as an adults-only party we kind of stand out from the families with kids, and the serving team is very nice and probably gives us more attention. There are more adult-only areas on Disney Cruise ships than any other line I've sailed (RCCL, NCL, Princess, Carnival), and by choosing the second seating for dinner, it's actually not that difficult to avoid mobs of kids.

 

If you're interested in an adult's perspective of DCL, I blogged about my cruise on the Disney Wonder back in 2019 which you can read here, and I'm just about to start posting about my more recent DCL cruise that I sailed on this year!

[LandlockedCruiser01]

5 hours ago, LittleMissMagic said:

If you're interested in an adult's perspective of DCL, I blogged about my cruise on the Disney Wonder back in 2019 which you can read here, and I'm just about to start posting about my more recent DCL cruise that I sailed on this year!

I'll take a look.  It's gotta be a good blog.  That said, if you cruise solo on Disney, you'll probably have far less stigma as a single woman than I will as a single man.  (Hence the "keelhauling" joke.)  

Edited November 12, 2021 by LandlockedCruiser01

[nolatravelgirl]

I think you could be the "belle of the ball" as a single male. There will be single parents on the cruise and being a single male you may have plenty of lady suitors looking for your attention. Just don't be a creepy guy and you should have a great time.

[LandlockedCruiser01]

1 hour ago, nolatravelgirl said:

I think you could be the "belle of the ball" as a single male. There will be single parents on the cruise and being a single male you may have plenty of lady suitors looking for your attention. Just don't be a creepy guy and you should have a great time.

I was like that on my Carnival cruises, the first two in particular.  I was 29 back then.  Most young men don't cruise, especially solo.  Come to think of it, the young men I met, who were cruising with their SO's, seemed happy to have fellow male company in me.  Also, since they had a lot of partner dancing and women usually like to dance, that made me a high-value commodity.   I had very little trouble finding dance partners for salsa and such.  Granted, it was just friendly dancing, and I knew that damn well, which made the creep factor a nonissue.

 

That being said, that was The Fun Ships; this is The Mouse.  I can't help but worry that parents on a hyper-family-centric cruise line wouldn't be keen on having a single man around their kids.

Edited November 16, 2021 by LandlockedCruiser01

[Storylady]

On 11/11/2021 at 1:27 PM, LittleMissMagic said:

I've never cruised DCL solo, so I cannot comment on that; but I will very soon be 30, do not have kids, and consistently have a great time sailing Disney. On most sailings, I've found that as an adults-only party we kind of stand out from the families with kids, and the serving team is very nice and probably gives us more attention. There are more adult-only areas on Disney Cruise ships than any other line I've sailed (RCCL, NCL, Princess, Carnival), and by choosing the second seating for dinner, it's actually not that difficult to avoid mobs of kids.

 

If you're interested in an adult's perspective of DCL, I blogged about my cruise on the Disney Wonder back in 2019 which you can read here, and I'm just about to start posting about my more recent DCL cruise that I sailed on this year!

Thanks for sharing your blog. I found it very helpful as we have never been on a Disney Cruise. We love the parks and have visited 3 of them (Anaheim, Orlando and Hong Kong). We have always wanted to go on Disney Cruise, but we’re worried that as adults we wouldn’t fit in. I suspected that late dining might be a better option for dining and your blog convinced me that it is. I am now looking forward to our cruise on the Disney Wonder.

[fla gang]

The kids on Disney are mostly in two places: The kids pool area or the supervised kids programs. On my first Disney Cruise I was expecting to see kids running wild all over the ship, but that is not the case at all.

[hexdragon]

Being a solo traveler for many years, and twice (soon to be third time) on Disney, I understand your concerns. I first have a question. Are you traveling with other people, or totally alone? I always travel with my best friends (DINKs)  so I have someone to eat dinner and hang with...

First off, no matter which cruise line you sail on, you are going to pay almost the same price as if two people were in the cabin. I think Disney is 150% the P/P rate. My upcoming cruise I paid $900 something, where for two people in the same cabin would have been $1200

No one ever looked at us funny for not having kids hanging with us. (They probably assumed they were at the kids club or something). The first time Disney sat us for dinner with another group who were also kid-less..  

Edited December 8, 2021 by hexdragon

[LandlockedCruiser01]

18 hours ago, hexdragon said:

Being a solo traveler for many years, and twice (soon to be third time) on Disney, I understand your concerns. I first have a question. Are you traveling with other people, or totally alone?

 

Totally alone, hence "solo".  My idea of cruising solo on Disney was 99% hypothetical, especially considering my friend's joke that parents on the ship would keelhaul me for doing that, as many parents simply don't trust single men, it seems.  (It'd be a totally different ballgame if I were cruising with my wife or girlfriend.)  Plus, it has little to offer to an adult like me, whose idea of a fun night on a cruise is to tear up the dance floor with a friendly new lady or sing along off-key in a piano bar.  Its adult venues are geared to long-time parents looking to rekindle their romance.

Edited December 9, 2021 by LandlockedCruiser01

[Oceansaway17]

I have travelled solo twice on Disney and loved it.  Ship is clean and all evening dining is in main rooms that rotate around 3 themed restaurants.  No buffets.  

The shows in main theatre are fantastic and the adult areas are nice as well.

Disney has a great private island and while they do have a quiet beach, I enjoyed the family areas and enjoyed watching the kids.  Food good and they have tram too.

On Disney ships the beds are comfortable. The crew is great too.  

Buffet breakfasts and lunch are really good. 

 

I am doing my 3rd cruise next year on the new Wish and I am a lady and I stick to myself and my books. Folks are easy to talk to and the kids behave pretty well on Disney ships.  A lot of the folks who go on Disney are multi generational and grandma and grandpas help out and parents can do speciality restaurants.  Kids are cute to watch.

 

Officers are available in atrium every night to chat with too.  Characters roam around too.

Best part of Disney ships is on arrival day you eat in the main dining rooms and when finished, you walk off the ship.  No waiting for luggage tags to be called and no trying to find seats at the am buffet.

They do not do breakfast buffets on arrival day.  It is all easy peasy.   

 

If you are a solo, just go once and try.  Ships overall experience are worth it.

[SkaterJasp]

Honestly I don’t think anyone really notice or care that you are cruising solo. Most families are so focus on what’s going on in their own little circle that they rarely noticed who is travel with who… if they’re traveling with anyone at all. 
 

With that said, I’ve sailed solo several times on Disney and there’s plenty of stuff to do for adults from the adults only specialty dining, the clubs and lounges, and the pool area. I’ve never been bored on a Disney cruise. If you want the Disney level of service but a more adult experience, there’s always Virgin Voyages. In fact, a lot of the staff I’ve interacted with on Virgin actually came from Disney Cruise Lines. From experience, Disney and Virgin have more in common than the obvious differences. 

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

I cruise solo almost all the time - most of the time on Disney. One cruise I was initially put at a table with two guys who were also traveling solo. They hit it off and I had nothing in common with them, so I got my table changed.

 

I absolutely love it - but then I love Disney (other than Star Wars - I never liked it). It sounds like you probably wouldn't enjoy it, though, given your attitude about Disney.