Welcome to our first chapter of magical mayhem!

Let me just start with this: we love our kids. A lot. But after years of family vacations (the kind where you're hauling a stroller through the airport while praying your 3-year-old doesn't lick the floor) we needed a break.

This upcoming cruise on the Disney Treasure will be our first long trip away from the kids. Just the two of us. No kids. No chaos. No “but what if Daphne won’t eat anything at this restaurant?”

We’re equal parts nervous and excited. Nervous because we’ve never been away from the kids for this long, and excited because - if you know, you know - family vacations are not always relaxing. You’re still very much in parent mode. Even at Disney.

Sound familiar? 🤣

So yeah, it's technically a vacation, but it's not the recharge-your-marriage kind of vacation. And we haven't really had a chance to experience the more adult-themed activities onboard. Bars. Lounges. Quiet, child-free dinners. We're excited to explore all of that.

Why the Disney Treasure?

We knew we wanted to sail on the Disney Treasure the moment it was announced. It shares the same layout as the Disney Wish, which we sailed on for our very first cruise as a family - and we absolutely fell in love with that ship.

Also? We love sailing during hurricane season because... it’s cheaper! 😂 Yes, there's risk, but we’re rolling the dice and hoping for clear skies. If something changes, we’ll roll with it.

Funny enough, we booked this cruise over a year ago right after we got off our first cruise. Disney offers a 10% discount on a future sailing if you book while onboard. We jumped on it - only to find out later that Concierge staterooms don’t qualify for that discount. Whoops. We had already gone down the rabbit hole at that point, so we went for it anyway. Full concierge! No discount, but our $250 deposit still applied to the balance, and hurricane season pricing helped even things out.

What We Won't Miss

Let me be very honest: I am not going to miss having to check every menu for fries and ketchup. Daphne is a french fry + ketchup monster and that’s basically all she eats. Meal planning is exhausting.

Also, not going to miss the chaos of the pool deck. Our kids love it - but it’s basically a giant splashy blender of screaming children. I’m usually sitting on the sidelines baking in the sun while trying not to get soaked. It’s not exactly peaceful. I’m hoping this time I’ll actually get to read a book by the pool without being used as a towel rack.

Surprise Halloween Magic

One thing we didn’t expect? They turned our sailing into a Halloween on the High Seas cruise. We had no clue that could happen! Turns out if you book early during a holiday window, Disney might sprinkle in some seasonal pixie dust. Krystal lost her entire mind when we found out - Halloween is her favorite holiday. So this became a double win: an adults-only cruise and Halloween with Disney? Come on.

THEN, Disney announced that Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party was going to happen the night before our cruise. Yes. We have tickets to that as well. This is shaping up to be a Halloween trip of Krystal's dreams! 🎃

What Did the Kids Think?

They didn’t believe us at first. We had to pull up the reservation to show them it was just the two of us. They were mad. But let me give you some context: they had not been getting along at the time. Constant bickering. Fighting on the first cruise (yes, the one we booked the 10% discount on). We actually told them during that cruise:

Well… guess what?

When we showed them the booking, jaws dropped. Mom and Dad don’t bluff. Were they devastated? Sure. But they also learned that their behavior has consequences. (Will this win us Parent of the Year? Absolutely not. But it’s honest.)

We’ve since done another cruise with them - on the Disney Dream (Photo below) - and they had a blast. We’ve made it clear that there will be no shortage of Disney trips in this family, especially now that we’ve joined Disney Vacation Club.

Do we feel guilty? A little. But honestly, the more we think about how much we need this time together, the less guilty we feel.

Should You Try an Adults-Only Disney Cruise?

Yes, you’re going to feel guilty at first. You’re going to second guess it. But if you’re a Disney-loving parent who’s always in “go mode,” an adults-only cruise might be exactly what you need.

A vacation from your kids doesn’t make you a bad parent. It makes you a recharged one.

And let’s be real - Disney knows how to do magic for everyone, not just kids. Throw in some Halloween fun, adult-exclusive areas, great dining, and the ability to finish a sentence without being interrupted? That’s the kind of magic we’re after.

Stay tuned - we’re just getting started.