I love Disney cruises, but my kids don't. I've started going with friends and we have a blast.
My friends have truly bonded through traveling together, and we've all become closer.
We're already planning our next cruise in the group chat, and we're so excited.
My kids are good sports. They've never been huge fans of cruising, but they still go with me sometimes. I, on the other hand, love cruises with all my heart and would choose a cruise over most other kinds of vacations.
And while I've always thought of them as perfect for a family getaway, to let my kids off the hook, I decided to try something new and took a group of girlfriends with me on a Disney cruise last year. It was exactly what I needed, and now, we cruise together all the time. We've sailed on three cruises together in the last year, and have a fourth in the works.
This group of friends and I have a lot in common. We all like Disney quite a bit, love a ship spa day, and have similar evening cruising styles — we like grabbing an early dinner and seeing a post-dinner show, followed by activities like late-night karaoke or trivia.
What's more, even though these friends and I all live within a 30-minute drive from each other, schedules, jobs, and family commitments often keep us from seeing each other as much as we'd like, so cruising together gives us several days to catch up and connect without the interruptions of daily life.
Traveling with friends has been a win-win
Traveling with these friends instead of my teenagers has been a win-win for everyone in my family. While my husband and I have also done Disney cruises kid-free, he can't always take off work to go along with me. My kids, who are deep into the years of teenage social lives and part-time job schedules, get to skip a trip they wouldn't really enjoy, anyway.
Plus, there's something incredibly fun about experiencing a cruise with your girlfriends. What's more, none of us drinks alcohol, so there are no wild nights at the bar or morning hangovers nursed over Bloody Marys. Instead, we prioritize wellness and fun while on board, fitting in everything from spa treatments during the day to dressing up in themed outfits each evening.
Cruising has made our friend group stronger
Whether we're meeting Daisy Duck on the Disney Magic's pirate-themed night or watching the Broadway-quality stage production of Moana aboard the Disney Treasure, traveling with my friends has taught me that sometimes, it's fun to be a kid with your adult pals.
While cruising with these ladies, I've laughed so hard my stomach hurt, cried while sharing about tough times in my life, and made memories that will last forever. Everything about growing our friendships through travel has been magical, and I credit cruising together with deepening our bond.
We've already scheduled our next voyage
In fact, we've enjoyed traveling together so much that we have another trip on the calendar. In November, we'll hop on board Disney's brand-new ship, the Disney Destiny, and add it to our list of ships we've explored together.
Anticipating a trip is almost as fun as the actual cruise, so our group chat has already started pinging with outfit ideas, thoughts on which excursions to book, and plans for how to decorate our stateroom door during the cruise.
I highly recommend taking a cruise with friends
Would my friends and I have just as much fun on other cruise lines together as we do aboard Disney ships? Probably. Still, our shared love of Disney magic and embracing our inner children makes a Disney cruise the perfect adults-only girls' trip for us. I'm well aware of the "Disney adult" jokes and some people's disdain for grown women wearing sparkly Minnie Mouse ears, but the criticism doesn't bother me. Life is too short not to experience things that bring you joy, and being those Disney people with my friends is something that makes me happy.
Through our time together on Disney cruises, our friendships have gotten stronger. This means that when life gets hard for one of us, we're all ready to support each other, and when one of us is celebrating a win in their own lives, it feels like something great happened to each of us. Cruising with friends is about taking a fun trip together, yes, but it's also about building a closer relationship, something that's hard for busy, working moms to do.
If you're considering taking time away from your family to travel with girlfriends, this is your sign to try it. Not only will you have fun and build stronger friendships, but there's a chance your kids (and husband!) will be relieved to stay home, too.
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