Disney Cruising without Kids - Date Night Every Night Part I

From my Disney Southern Caribbean Cruise - 
4 Oct through 11 Oct 2014

I am a huge fan of cruising on Disney Cruise Line and I had cruised Disney twice before with kids but this was my first time kid free, cruising with only my husband, Mike.  I knew Disney had a lot of adult only spaces and adult only activities so I was confident our cruise would be enjoyable and not overrun with kiddos everywhere. Early on during our magical 7 night Southern Caribbean cruise, I commented how great it was that it was date night every night when cruising without kids. And it was! And we had some of the best dates of our decade together!

The magical Disney Magic

Our first date onboard the magical Disney Magic was a Broadway caliber show followed by a luxurious four course dinner and ending with a gorgeous San Juan sail away. The show took place in the beautiful Walt Disney Theater and was called "All Aboard: Let the Magic Begin!"  The singing and dancing Disney characters, Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Donald, were boarding the Disney Magic for their vacation when they met a young man who dreamed of being the ship's captain. Mickey Mouse inspired the boy, as only Disney can, to follow his dream and believe. The show ended with a full live rendition of "Be Our Guest" from Beauty and the Beast. We left the theater excited for our vacation to unfold and went to dinner at our assigned restaurant, Carioca's.

The romance and beauty of night time at sea

After the traditional "dinner and show" part of the evening, the real romance began for there is nothing more romantic than night time on the tranquil and captivating Caribbean sea.  We walked leisurely along the promenade deck which is on deck 4 and wraps around the entire ship.  The moon was bright and the air was warm, a perfect combination that we enjoyed almost all to ourselves while others were distracted with the ships inside activities.  

We ended our date with another show as we watched our ship depart from San Juan from the balcony of our stateroom. The lights of San Juan looked beautiful at night and we saw the light of the lighthouse at Fort Morro, which we had visited earlier in the day.  It was an awesome end to a perfect day.

The beautiful and delicious Palo

Date night number two boasted the best dinner of the cruise at the specialty, adults-only, Italian restaurant called Palo.  Palo is themed after Venice and means Pole in Italian.  It is a classy and elegant restaurant with authentic Italian food and an amazing wait staff. Mike and I thoroughly enjoyed our indulgent dinner sandwiched between the best aged parmesan cheese I've ever had and the first chocolate souffle of my life. Palo not only lived up to my expectations, but flew past them with a wonderful combination of romantic ambiance, tantalizing delicacies and accommodating waiters.

Many of the ship's activities take place in the atrium

After dinner, we made an appearance at the Captain's Reception  in the grand atrium before heading to our chosen evening entertainment, the movie "Saving Mr. Banks." Although we did not get to see the Captain, we did score a free Bahama Mama at the reception. The awesome "Saving Mr. Banks" was showing in the smaller of the two theaters, the Buena Vista Theater and was even better this second time seeing it, since I was watching it on a lavish cruise ship and drinking a yummy Bahama Mama.  The seas were so calm, I didn't feel a single movement during the entire movie. We capped off the night by going up to deck 9 to enjoy another beautiful night on the Caribbean. There was a warm wind, a bright moon, and lovely light clouds glowing in the moonlight. It was a perfect ending to a magical date at sea.

The AquaDunk

Day number three of our cruise was an exciting day spent ashore in Antigua. That evening we decided to forgo the show and dinner for some pool deck fun and relaxing room service.  We enjoyed a gorgeous sunset at sea as we sailed away from that day's beautiful Caribbean island.  

Although I was afraid to try the Disney Magic's signature waterslide, the AquaDunk, the rum punch I'd had in Antigua gave me liquid courage and I worked up the nerve to do it. Boy was I glad I did! The AquaDunk, a 3 story drop that hurls you over the side of the ship, was over in a flash yet it was long enough to get my adrenaline pumping and put a huge smile on my face. It was what I like to call good old fashion FUN! After our fill of fun up on the pool deck, we retired to our stateroom and took advantage of room service for a relaxing dinner in our pjs.

    

The Pitons of St Lucia in the background

Cruising and romance go hand in hand for there is beauty in love and beauty in being at sea.  Our fourth date night showcased this perfectly as we had our most beautiful sail away of the trip while leaving St Lucia.  Under an almost full moon, we saw the sun set among colors of orange and yellow on the starboard side and lovely views of St Lucia's famous Pitons on the port side. To me, this was better than any show on board.  And that was only the beginning of another fun-filled evening.

Night time on the ship is a magical time

Instead of eating in our assigned dining room for the second seating (which wasn't until 8:30 pm), we ate earlier at Cabana's.  This was nice because we got a table to ourselves and we were still served a delicious four course dinner by an attentive wait staff. I believe that the flexible Cabana's option is a hidden gem not many people are aware of, for it was not very crowded and as a bonus to us, there very few kiddos.  

After dinner, we went to the evening show, The Atlantic City Boys, a tribute band to Frankie Valli. They were talented and funny and we enjoyed a fun show with lots of laughs and great music.  We capped off a great night by watching fabulous fireworks from the Pirates in the Caribbean show from the privacy of our balcony.  We found that much more relaxing than being up on deck with the masses.

It's date night every night on a Disney Cruise!

The first four nights of our cruise were special date nights filled with variety, luxury and fun that would be hard to replicate on land. Best of all, we didn't carry a wallet or purse or worry about how we were going to pay for such decadence because it was all included! (With the exception of Palo which was an extra $25 per person.) Stay tuned next week for part II and find out if our next three dates were as magical as our first four!

Click here for more pictures of the Disney Magic.

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