My wife and I enjoyed cruising way before we fell in love with DCL. It was our preferred way to vacation. Once we had kids, the all night cruise parties came to a stop. It was not as if we did not want to go, we just did not feel comfortable taking our kids into the middle of the ocean. You think of everything that can go wrong like what if my kid gets sick, what if they get us sick... Did they just drink a random strangers water (well I hope that was water).  We heard Disney Cruises were great but a little pricey. After lots of research, talking with friends, Hell, even talking to strangers like we were besties, my wife and I decided to pull the trigger and go for it. We could relive our party nights after hearing about how great the kids’ club was!

Now with other cruise lines it can literally be a nonstop over 21 party through out the night. So that is what we became accustomed to and enjoyed doing. So when we booked our first DCL and dropped the kids off at the kids club and made our way to the after hours area with our party gear on……this is where you insert screeching breaks and rapid random thoughts in my head….Where is the thumping music? Where is the on board dance crew? Why is the bar empty? Where are the drunk wooohooo girls? Hold on is that my mom and dad in the corner, no that is another older couple. Hold on…are we old now? Now I am not bashing DCL’s clubs and lounges but when your weekends consist of kids’ birthday parties, piano practice, and sports and now you have an on board baby sitter with a designated driver you are ready to party. So that night we went back to our room and scratched our heads with confusion.

I wondered if we just went on a bad night or if the lounges were all wrong. Well it is quite the opposite, the lounges are all right. It is like Disney knew what we needed when we did not.  I did not need to make fun of the drunk woohooo girls. I needed to make new friends that live the same hustle and bustle we did. Other parents that are just like us-happy to have some alone time. We were not old; we were parents, no matter what age. After giving it a full chance, I understood that Disney provided the perfect balance of family and adult activities. This is a family ship and not a frat party.

Now we look forward to the casual music and being on the dance floor with another handful of parents making a fool of ourselves.