With no space left in the pools and kids doing everything from knocking on cabin doors at 1am to taking over the elevators, some cruisers have had enough of cruising with kids and are starting to look for adult only cruises. Unfortunately, for cruisers on a budget, finding one of these cruises is a bit of a challenge. There are some special themed cruises at reasonable prices but I’ll leave the swinger cruise discussion to someone else for now.
P&O Cruise Lines
P&O offers two ships that sail adult only cruises year round and they are adding a third later in the year. Those ships are the Adonia, the Arcadia and the Oriana. P&O cruise lines is part of the Carnival family of cruise lines but they are priced a bit higher than Carnival and even a bit higher than Carnival’s other line Princess so you will pay a bit more for the trip.
The ships are based in Europe so if you want to take one of these trips you will need to add airfare as well. They do offer a Caribbean trip but its a 20+ day trip round trip from England. Maybe Carnival will see how successful this is with P&O and implement this on one of the main line ships.
Sweet Serenity
Carnival has begun creating the “Serenity” area on many of their ships. They may not have a ship that is all adults only but they did create a space where adults can go to find a little peace and quiet. Serenity stands out with its soft blue cushioned chaise lounges and over sized umbrellas. Full bar service and whirlpools help create a bit of an outdoor spa like area. Get there early though cause the area is quite popular and the chaise lounges fill up fast.
The Solarium
The Royal Caribbean Solarium is a beautiful spot to spend a lazy day at sea. They are marked adults only but this typically means over 16 in the eyes of RCL. Another thing to be weary of is the bone headed decision to put the pizza station in this area. Like Serenity chairs get taken fast on sea days so get there early.
Try the Luxury Cruise Lines
They may not officially be adults only, but with the all inclusive cruise lines like Regent Seven Seas or Crystal the chances are good that there will be very few children on board. With all the pampering you will experience I doubt you would even notice them if they were there.