need advice on DCL for honeymoon

[Violet]

Hello, I have been checking out this great site for a few days now and
would really appreciate some advice on whether or not using Disney Cruise
Line for my honeymoon would be a wise choice. I have read some wonderful
posts, but didn't find anything on cruise honeymoons.

My main fear is that although the ship looks absolutely beautiful from what I
have seen, it might not be the most romantic choice. I am torn between
Disney and Celebrity. I myself would prefer Disney. I've wanted to try their
cruise since it first set sail, but am worried we will be surrounded by children
a large part of the time.

Please describe for me the atmosphere of a Disney cruise. I know there are
children's programs in place and thought by choosing late dining, we would
have quiet time. Is late dining quiet? Is the adult pool really adults only?
lol I don't hate children I swear!

I would appreciate any imput. Thanks.

 

[Wendy]

I feel DCL is a great choice for a honeymoon! I can totally understand your not wanting to be over run by kids on your honeymoon. I have 2 kids, but it sure is nice to have a romantic, kid free vacation every now and then with just my husband. (Our kids go to WDW several times a year, so don't feel bad for them when we leave them and go on a trip every now and then )

Not only does DCL have an adult only pool, they also have an adult only restaurant (Palo), and adult only beach on Castaway Cay, and an adult only night club area. I have heard a few complaints of kids in the adult pool, but I haven't encountered that and for the most part you will find only adults there. The no kids rule at Palo is pretty strictly enforced. I've never heard any complaints of kids in the restaurant. The beach at Castaway Cay is less crowded than the family beach and you'll likely not see any kids there either. The nightclubs I've never personally seen kids in at night.

If you choose late dining, it will definitely be quieter and will have fewer kids. The kids that are at late dining are usually older kids and teenagers. There will still be some kids at late dining, but far less than early dining. Another tip, if it's your honeymoon, you may want to request a table for 2. Otherwise, you'll probably end up dining with other people at your table. Normally, I'm the type that loves meeting new people and think it's part of the cruise experience, but for a honeymoon the 2 of you probably want to be alone.

When will you be honeymooning? If you go during the shcool year, you'll also find fewer kids overall on the ship.

If you'd like some more information on DCL, be sure to check out the Dreams Unlimited Travel site. You can also fill out a reservation request and get a no obligation quote on your cruise. Good luck!

 

[Limmer]

We just returned from our honeymoon and we spent part of it on the Magic. I would (and have) recommend this to any couple looking for romance. I also love kids but not on my honeymoon. I found that Disney handles the children very well. They were never under foot. I never saw any kids at the adult pool or on the adult beach at Castaway Cay. We had the late seating and sat with another honeymooning couple, a CM with her parents and another CM and her husband with their 9 year old DD. After the 1st night the 9 year old stayed in her club for dinner. She did not want to leave the club. I found that to be true with a lot of families we talked to. Children were visible but never a nuisance. We had friends who went on a Royal Caribbean and they said there was very little programming for children so they were always around, even though there were far less children on their cruise. We had brunch and dinner at Palo's and I enjoyed some time at the spa. We snorkeled at the family beach on CC then headed over to Serenity Bay which looked like a postcard, it was beautiful. Deck 4 was absolutely fabulous for an after dinner stroll. Very romantic. There is also a lot of adult oriented programming. We went to a wine tasting, The Art of Entertaining Series and spent a lot of time lying in the sun by the pool. I have never had such a great time and I have never been so pampered. There were lots of late night activities but we never made it to most of them. All in all we had the best time of our lives and we are trying to swing it again for a Western Caribbean cruise for next year.

 

[Violet]

Thank you both for giving me so much information. I didn't know I could request dining for just the two of us. Lynn, could you tell me if it was difficult to obtain a reservation for Palos. Also, was there any special touches during your cruise to congradulate you on your cruise? I noticed in the brochure that there are romance packages. They seemed nice. Was it nice and relaxed at the spa? Was it adults only? Again thanks.

 

[Limmer]

BEcause we stayed at PO Riverside and had transfers we did not arrive at the ship until around 2:00 pm. We thought we would be out of luck. My DH went straight to Palo's and I went straight to the spa (passed on the spa tour) and we were lucky enough to get exactly (almost, we had to have dinner 1 hour later than I wanted but that was no big deal) what we wanted at both. I do not know if the cruise was not full or what but we had no problems. We also got a cake at Palo's and some buttons from our stateroom hostess. They did welcome us on board with a congratulations. When we gave our name CM Mike said "The Belliveaus from Ontario? Have a happy honeymoon." I was so impressed and it made me feel so special. I don't know how he knew but it was fabulous. The spa is adults only. I had the Absolute Face and Body. I am a spa junkie at home and get treatments pretty regularly. Next time I would skip the facial (I did not care for it) and just stick with the massage, it was GREAT, very relaxing and nice after all the walking at WDW and all the stairs on the ship.. We also did the suriel bath and we did not care for it but I think we are in the minority for that. See www.disneycruiser.com for great spa information. If you have anymore questions I would love to answer them if I can.

 

[Lorana]

We spent the last 3 days of our honeymoon in August on the Disney Wonder. I truly recommend a Disney Cruise for honeymooners!!

We made sure our reservation was noted that it was our hobneymoon, and we also booked the Romance Package ($169), which included a Moonlight, Water, Romance & You package delivered to our stateroom (included champagne, souveneir toasting flutes, chocolates, grapes, cheese, and a silk rose), a Spa treatment, and priority reservations at Palo's.

Because we were honeymooners and had the romance package, Disney pre-booked our Spa and Palo's reservations, to ensure that we had them and so we didn't necessarily have to race to get in line to make them. For our spa treatment, they pre-booked us a couples spa at the open-air cabanas on Castaway Cay... talk about heaven!! These reservations go quickly, so they held them for us. It was great!!

We also received a cake our last night on the cruise.

Children were not an issue at all during the cruise. The children have their own deck - even teens have their own bar. The adult pool was always only adults, and the night clubs and other adult areas were wonderful. At Castaway Cay, the adults have their own beach and area as well. It was truly romantic.

We loved the cruise so much, that we've booked another cruise for 7-days in January 2003.

 

[Grumpy92]

My fiance & I did a pre honemoon 7 day cruise on the Magic. We loved it. Both of us have cruised on other lines and felt Disney was the best. We went in Oct thinking there would be less children due to school. wrong. But they were not a problem. Like the others we stuck to Adult only areas. Palos is the best, food & service. We had dinner, brunch & tea there. This is the best restaurant on the ship. On the other night we had early seatings in the regular dining, but our table was with 3 retiree couples. We really enjoyed them. Many had cruised disney before and gave us some great suggestions. The spa had a wonderful mud massage. THe host escorts you to a private room and you message each other. The adult beach was so quiet we both fell asleep. We also loved deck 4 we would make several laps around the deck in the morning and late at night. It is one of our favorite memories. We did have some trouble getting resv for Palos many of the times had already filled by the time we arrived. So the romance pkg sounds like a good idea. Have fun!!

 

[Violet]

Again, thank you for sharing your experiences with me. It does sound wonderful. Lorana, did you use Dreams unlimited to get that package? I had seen something advertised about a honeymoon package with Disney Cruise Line but know little about it.

 

[Lorana]

The Romance Package is an add-on package to your cruise. It costs $169 + tax above and beyond the cost of the cruise. There is also an add-on package for the 7-Day Land and Sea cruise, that includes some more amenities for a higher cost. The Romance Packages can be added on at any point prior to your trip. Dreams Unlimited Travel added the package on for me, at my request.

 

[danicaw]

Hubby and I returned from the Magic Dec. 8.
Its just the two of us and we had a wonderful time.
Lots to do and lots of ways to do nothing.
We really didn't notice alot of kids around. Although I know they were there...somewhere.

Palo is wonderful! We did Dinner and Brunch and loved the food, service and atmosphere.
And on the last night we skipped the Variety show and went to the Rainforest Room. We were the only ones there.
In general we felt worlds away from reality. Total taken care of.

We Honeymooned at WDW in 97 and have returned every year...even joined DVC to make it easier. I highly recomend Disney for a Honeymoon. Have a great time.

 

[Violet]

It sounds wonderful. Does anyone know if any of the 7 day excursions are more romantic or adult oriented than others? I was looking for a snorkeling excursion with a wonderful underwater view. Thank you again.

 

[lillykat]

I'm sorry to tell you I haven't been on a DCL cruise but I have been on 7 or 8 Celebrity cruises and would be happy to answer any ?s you might have if you want to compare them.

AKL in 5 days

 

[kbauer]

My wife and I went on DCL for our honeymoon and it was pure magic!!!

The travel agent made a note in our package that it was our honeymoon, and despite the fact that we didn't buy a honeymoon package to save on the $$$ we got a lot of the perks.

I wouldn't hesitate to do it again, but I think this one's a keeper so maybe a second or third honeymoon...

 

[TinkerMunk]

Hello... the ship was wonderful...Just be careful about dining. We stared off with the late dining an ende up with partners who were also on there honeymoon and they were very rude to us. My huband and I are you and they were talking bad about us sayng young people shouldn't get aried. So we switchthe the earl dining and it was better that late diing.

 

[LisaFB]

It's good to hear (or should I say read) that so many people thoroughly enjoyed their DCL honeymoon. My fiance and I are going on the 7 day cruise for the second part of our honeymoon (we will be spending the first week at the resorts). We are both in love with anything Disney (we will be incorporating some Disney into our wedding Our Wedding Plans) and can't wait to go this November!!!

Lisa & Scott

 

[RRBB]

We spent a wonderful week on the Magic for our honeymoon. We had late dinner seating and great tablemates. All of us were on our honeymoons. And we were usually the last table to clear out at the end of the evening. Make sure they have it noted in your reservation that you're on your honeymoon. But I wouldn't necessarily request a private table. A lot of the fun was meeting other people. And there's plenty of other time to be alone.

 

[SoleilLoca]

I'm glad to see someone else asked this ? before I got to..It answered a lot of my ?s (well, some of them. ) my soon-to-be hubby and I are taking a honeymoon cruise next oct. (2003) and I'm a little concerned about the amount of kids on the ship, since it will be halloween week. I was also wondering about the add-on romance package, i was kind of against it, even though it was priority seating at Palo's and the spas, but i didn't want to be a part of the ressie scramble (it is, after all, a relaxing vacation). but if disney does it for you then maybe I'll pay the extra $$ to go for it. Hope you enjoy your honeymoon!

 

[Lorana]

If you book the Romance Package, Disney does make tentative reservations for you, though you do need to go to both the Spa and Palos reservations to confirm them - or change them if you don't like the times. It was great for us, because we didn't have to scramble for reservations. And if you book the Romance Package, Disney will automatically hold a spot on the couples massage at the Open-Air Cabanas on Castaway Cay!

However, the Romance Package is now MUCH more expensive than it was. When we honeymooned in 2001, it was $179 for the Romance Package (champagne, flutes, chocolates, cheese, crackers, & fruit gift delivered to your stateroom, massage for two, Palo reservations). Now, the Romantic Indulgence package is $564 (champagne, flutes, cheese & crackers gift delivered to your stateroom, massage for two, Palo reservations, romance totebags, Commemorative Disney's Fairy Tale Honeymoon Lanyard with Pin). That's quite an increase, even adding the totebag, lanyard, and pin!!

Another important thing to note: the package gives you PS reservations at Palo. It does NOT cover the $5 per person charge to eat there.

 

[RRBB]

We were on the Halloween (2001) cruise. Making the reservations wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Using all the information I'd gathered on this website and from talking to other, we decided when we wanted to go to Palo's and to the spa. Then right after we boarded the ship we went to make our reservations. The lines weren't that long and we got everything we wanted. DH went to the Palo's line, I went to the spa line. That taken care of, we had a wonderful, relaxing rest of the week.

We weren't interested in the cabana massages so the romance package wouldn't have done us much good there. Besides, we never made it to Castaway Cay. October is still hurricane season and we had one following us. Don't get me wrong, I loved the cruise and even wanted to stay on the ship longer. But it did get kind of rough, so just be prepared.

As for Halloween, they have a costume contest if you're interested. We went as Mr. & Mrs. Potatohead and won for funniest.