disneyandme
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 26, 2001
I am thinking of taking a Disney cruise when my kids are with their Dad. I've never cruised before so I'd like to try a Disney cruise. What can you tell me about solo cruising?
I did my first cruise this January, and it was a solo Disney cruise. I loved it and I'm planning another one for 2020!
I'm sure I'm missing some points--but if you want more info on anything, feel free to ask! Also, you may get more replies if you ask about this in the cruise forum; there are a couple users there who regularly go on solo cruises.
- It's an very relaxing vacation, especially compared to visiting the Disney parks. Particularly as a solo cruiser there's no pressure to be anywhere at any particular time apart from where your mood takes you.
- I never felt lonely even though I abstained from data packages and had no connection with the outside world. I'm an introvert, but I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the company of all the people I met, from my tablemate at dinner to another solo cruiser who became my bingo buddy after we'd run into each other once or twice and ate together at the solo cruisin' lunch. The CMs who lead activities are very friendly, too, and seem to make a point of learning your name.
- People in general were friendly. That partly depends on the attitude you bring into it; I made a point of being courteous to others and simply not engaging if anyone was behaving poorly, and my memories of interactions with other guests are overwhelmingly positive.
- There are a ton of things to do if you want to keep busy. The two sea days of my cruise were packed (one of them was MDAS, though, so I expected that). There tend to be fewer activities scheduled on port days, though, so keep that in mind if you want to stay on the ship instead of going into port.
- There are also a ton of opportunities to just relax and not do much of anything. One day I spent four hours just lounging on the top deck, drinking cocktails, reading my book, and occasionally getting up to ride the AquaDunk.
- Food. Food everywhere. It may sound silly, but I think the constant availability of food was one of the things that made my lizard brain go "oh, I can completely relax here." No worrying about cooking or bills, just eat what you want when you want (packaged foods, popcorn, and alcohol are extra, though; rule of thumb is that if they ask for your room key
- you're getting charged).
- At dinner, you may or may not be assigned to a table with other solos or other adult travelers (you can request a private table if you'd rather eat alone). Disney does not seem to seat solos with families with children. I was seated with one other solo traveler; while we were from very different demographics I found him to be a highly engaging conversational partner. My bingo buddy, who ate during the other dining period, had a table to herself--she hadn't requested privacy, but apparently they didn't have a match for her.
- Dinner is a big affair; expect to spend an hour or more at it every evening. The dishes are generally fairly small, so you can eat multiple courses without making yourself sick and try a bunch of different things each night.
- The shows are pretty dang good. Some are a little lighter on plot than others, but they all have great production values and the performers on my cruise were phenomenal.
Just a note on dinner, it is a fine dining experience, so 2-3 hours is common. More kids will be at the early seating so if you prefer to avoid children at dinner, go for late dining and take the extra time for a light snack or before dinner drink(if available on the ship). Also, formal nights will not be on the first night or the night before disembarkation.
That estimate seems a little long to me; the first seating is less than 3 hours before the second and they have to get everyone out and flip the tables within that time frame. At the 8:15 seating, I want to say the earliest I finished dinner and left the MDR was 9:35. Closer to 10:00 was the norm, but I felt like my tablemate and I were middle of the pack to late in terms of how long we lingered--not dead last to leave by any means, but by the time we'd be done a fair number of families would already have finished and left.