I went on a Disney cruise as an adult without kids. Here's what it was like.

02.10.2023 - 12:27 / insider.com / Royal Caribbean / Disney Cruise

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Nicole Cruz, a 25-year-old cruise-goer who went on the Disney Cruise for the first time. It has been edited for length and clarity.

I've been on a total of three cruises. Previously, I had only ever been on Royal Caribbean cruises, but recently I went on a Disney cruise line with a close friend. We've taken other cruises together in the past, and since we both enjoy Disney, he convinced me to go, too. 

We decided on Disney Magic, which is Disney Cruise Line's original and oldest ship. Before boarding I was prepared to see a lot of kids — I've always thought that Disney Cruises are more of a family thing or something you would only do with children. 

But once I got on, I was surprised to see that there weren't as many kids as I thought. Instead there were a lot of adults and the cruise ship provided a lot of adult activities. 

As an adult, I felt like I never ran out of things to do. There were adult lounges, bars, trivia nights, disco nights and game shows, too. All of these activities were made for those over the age of 18. 

For me, I think the most memorable activity was the dating show. During the show, they picked three couples from the crowd and asked the women a handful of questions while the men stood in another room. 

They then brought them back together in the room and asked them the same questions to see if their answers matched. They asked things like: If you could leave a member of your spouse's family on a deserted island, who would you pick? It was all fun, silly, adult questions and I really enjoyed it. 

I also participated in a nightclub activity they had on board. The event had a bar, a little dance floor, a bunch of seating and it had a DJ, too. The downside was it started at 12 a.m. and ended at 1 a.m., so the whole thing only went for an hour.

With that said, I didn't think the Disney cruise provided too much of a night life experience if that's what you're looking for. They also didn't have a show for the second night, which would have been great as the shows were very impressive.  

The food was decent, and it was better than the Royal Caribbean's food, in my opinion. You can taste the difference in quality. 

One thing I also noticed with Disney Cruise is they don't offer a drink package in the way most cruise ships do. I was a little worried about how much I'd be spending on drinks. 

But the drinks were reasonably priced. Instead of paying $20 for a drink like you usually do at the Disney parks, I only paid around $9 a drink. At the end of the trip, I only spent an extra $127 and that included other things I purchased on the cruise too.

Disney cruises are known for being a bit expensive. I spent just over $1,000 for our