Adult Cruise Tips: These 5 Cruise Tips ONLY Work If You’re Over 21

With cruise lines these days obsessed with attracting first time cruisers and especially more families, even lines traditionally focused on couples aged 50 plus, like Holland America, Princess, Celebrity, are all now actively advertising and offering incentives to get more families to cruise with them, with more family onboard experiences, excursions, and cabins.

This got me wondering if there are tips and tricks that work just for adult cruisers cruising as a couple or solo these days. In doing so, I found both positive ones unique to adult cruisers, but some disappointing things this shift is causing that threw up some new tips that they need to know about.

Welcome aboard. Let me start with a rapidly increasing trend affecting adult cruisers negatively, and what to do about it.

Adult Cruise Tips: Thrown Out Of Cabin

More adult cruisers sailing as a couple are being kicked out of their cabin through not having enough people in it!

With greater demand, and ships sailing full and over capacity on routes popular with families, I’ve seen couples who booked a specific cabin having it taken away from them and being shunted off to another one.

Why? Their chosen cabin was able to hold three or four people, due to sofa or pull-down beds in the ceiling or wall, so the line moved them to a cabin which can only take double occupancy and sold that original cabin to a family to share. This happened a fair bit in the recent Alaska and Christmas Caribbean cruising periods.

My tip is if you’re an adult couple that likes to choose a specific cabin, like I do, is pick a cabin that can only accommodate two people – and does not have a sofa bed.

However, on the plus side, if you do want to travel with kids or grandkids, bear in mind as an adult cruiser you can also take them for free, or virtually no added cost, above your couple’s fare.

My tip is to focus on lines offering this.

MSC Cruises frequently runs kids sail free promotions where up to two children under the age of 18 sail free, paying only port fees, taxes or gratuity, if they’re sharing a cabin with two full paying adults.

The same is true on their sister luxury line Explora Journeys.

I’m seeing premium lines like Celebrity, Princess, and Holland America frequently running third and fourth person in your cabin at massive discounts of 70% or free.

And, at the time of making this Royal Caribbean were offering fares of just $99 each for third and fourth people sharing a cabin.

Adult Cruise Tips: Adult Fun

A second area that only applies to adults is you can cruise on adult only lines on oceans and rivers – and explore adult cruising with a very large twist as you will hear.

Adult Lines

There’s a slowly growing list of adults only lines and ships, where you have to be 18 or over to cruise with them.

In the luxury category there is Oceania, Viking, and the UK Saga line (which is for over 50s)

In the premium category there is Virgin Voyages, and P&O Cruises UK have two adult-only ships (Aurora and Arcadia).

In the more value category, there are two UK-based lines with Ambassador adult only and Marella offering and adult-only ships (Marella Explorer 2 year-round, and Marella Discovery 2 seasonally).

However, my unusual tip is you can also cruise on household name cruise lines providing a very adult experience catering to your steamier side – if you are looking for that!

Adult Fun Cruises

There are a surprisingly large number of charters offering uninhibited adult fun.

There are several swingers’ cruises, and even a travel agent dedicated to selling swinger cruises, TheSwingerCruise.com

There are two main companies that run swinger cruises. One is called Desire Cruises and the other is Bliss Cruise.

They offer clothing optional areas, uninhibited experiences, and areas for open-minded adults to “enjoy themselves”.

These are run on mainstream lines and ships you will know of. For example, Desire run them on Oceania. And Bliss run them on ships like Royal Caribbean Wonder of the Seas and Celebrity Silhouette.

You can also go on a nudist cruise, which doesn’t have that more swinger side. Bare Essentials is the best-known running that they call the “big nude boat” cruises on Norwegian Cruise Lines.

Then if you’re in the gay and lesbian community, they have a number of charters ranging from wild party and raunchy charters, from companies like Atlantis , which was running a full ship charter on Oceania Riviera on the cruise after my one recent on it, to more sedate cultural LGBT charter companies.

Adult Areas

The other tip to bear in mind, if you are an adult cruising without kids, is you can still go on lines if they appeal to you, like the big resort ships with all the shows, the features and choice – and have adult options.

You can even go on Disney Cruise Line – probably the most family line of all. As they have a dedicated adult-only pool area called the Quiet Cove Pool Area, adult café, and other adult only areas too.

For example, on my on Disney Magic cruise, there was an adult-only area with cabaret lounge/ nightclub, cocktail bar, and Irish style pub. It also had an adult only restaurant, Palo. They also had adult only excursions in many of the ports.

But on all the large resort lines, they have adult areas too.

When I was on Royal Caribbean Symphony of the Seas, they had the solarium area for guests over 18 years.

When on Norwegian Viva, they had the Vibe Beach Club for adults.

Even Princess Cruises has adult only areas.

When I was on Sun Princess, the Sanctuary Club Deck, which is for their Premium Sanctuary Suite and Mini Suite passengers, was only for guests aged over 16, and they had a free to access adult pool deck on Deck 17 in front of the dome.

But even their older ships, like Sky Princess I was on recently, had the paid-for Sanctuary and the free to access Retreat pool for adults.

Carnival Cruise Line has their Serenity Adult-only area.

And when I was on MSC Cruises Virtuosa they had an adult only pool deck area and a large adult only lounge.

Many also offer adult only experiences on land on their private islands, resorts, and beach clubs.

Carnival’s Celebration Key, their private resort on Grand Bahama Island, has Calypso Lagoon, the destination’s area for travellers aged 18+ with pool, beach, Sports Court, bars and restaurants. They also have extra-cost space called the Pearl Cove Beach Club, with its own beach, pool, and dining options.

Royal Caribbean’s Perfect Day at Cococay has the adult-only Hideaway Beach with pool, bars, DJ and cabanas.

Norwegian’s Great Stirrup cay Bahamas has taken the Vibe Beach Club idea onto land with the adult-only Vibe Shore Club.

Disney has Serenity Bay as their adults-only area on Castaway Cay and at Disney Lookout Cay they have Lighthouse Point area for guests 18+.

Fitness and Spa

The other thing that adults can do is use the gym and spa without restrictions.

Most cruise lines limit the use of the gym to under 16s and then they have to be supervised, although not many follow the rule.

But most have spa areas only open for adults.

Adult Cruise Tips: High Seas

Another important thing to understand as an adult cruiser, and an important tip, is that while in some countries recreational drugs are legal, they are not on any line or ship.

For example, in the United States cannabis and related products are legal in several states for medical and recreational use for adults over 21 years old.

But it is prohibited to bring cannabis, or even CBD and related products like gummies or digestibles on board even if the ship is leaving from a state where it is legal.

And if you’re caught, you could be refused embarkation and completely banned, and if found on board during the cruise you can be disembarked by the cruise line at your own expense.

For example, this is something a Texas woman Melinda Van Veldhuizen discovered when CBD Gummies were found in her bags at Port Miami boarding Carnival Horizon. She was banned for life by the line.

You’ll increasingly see more signage as you go to check in at the major cruise terminals and in various ports of call. And increasingly, you may spot sniffer dogs at some embarkation ports.

So even though it’s legal as an adult on land, it’s not legal on cruise ships.

Next as you are likely paying more for your cruises than you need to, I have some adult only tips on stopping that.

Adult Cruise Tips: Taking A Gamble

Another advantage adults have is not only can we gamble but my tips is to explore if you can get free or heavily discounted cruises through that gambling.

On cruise lines you need to be over 18 to gamble, and if you put your cruise card into the slot machines when playing, most lines will track play and allocate points for every amount put through the machines. Based on those points they then offer free cruises and heavily discounted cruises if you hit certain levels.

You don’t have to gamble that much. A follower of the channel has received many cruise offers and is heading off on two 7-night Caribbean cruises on Holland America at time of making this. All from a gambling budget of $500 on his last cruise.

The good news is some lines are becoming more transparent on how to unlock these offers.

For example, on my recent Princess cruises, they had signs in the casino which showed how many points you’d have to accumulate playing the slot machines, or playing the tables, to unlock various free and heavily discounted cruises.

But if you talk to the casino host, they will tell you more.

I also have a blog post I developed with someone who travels multiple times a year on casino offer cruises on how this works for you to review.

Adult Cruise Tips: Lower Fares

Another thing which many adult cruises miss is the added discounts either because of their age or job. I have some key tips about this.

First, several lines offer senior rates for cruisers.

MSC Cruises gives you 10% on many sailings if you’re over 65, but also Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Carnival, and Norwegian offer discounts for seniors for different age groups.

So, when you are looking to book a cruise, check with your agent or if booking online you might find when you get towards the end they ask your age to see if you qualify for any saving.

Also, some organisations like in the US the AARP, which used to be known as the American Association of Retired Persons, has discounts on cruises for members.

But my second tip is you don’t have to wait until you reach a certain age to get discounts. Your job may unlock them.

Probably the biggest discounts available are if you have a job related to travel in some way.

If you work for an airline, hotel, airport or air traffic control, cargo carrier, ferry service, tourist board, tour operator, and so on, you probably qualify for what’s known as Interline fares.

These are heavily discounted fares of up to 70% on selected cruises across most lines.

There are specialized travel agencies that collect the deals and offer them to anyone that qualifies.

For example in the United States, there’s agencies like InterLineRates.com and KVI Travel .

In the UK a friend of mine runs a leading one here called Touchdown ( https://www.touchdown.co.uk ).

The list of jobs that qualifies is large, so if you have a job even slightly connected to travel see if you can access Interline rates in your country by checking the Interline Travel Agency lists of jobs that they can sell the discounted cruises to.

While many lines also offer discounts for past and present Veterans, in some countries, if you are a member of one of the first responder services, or “blue light” services based on the siren lights on their vehicles, like medical, fire service or police service, you can often tap into very discounts as well.

For example, in the UK you can join and get a “Blue Light Card” to unlock discounts.

But if you are an adult looking to cruise in the most popular region of the world, the Caribbean, there’s new tips you also need to know as things have changed there. Join me over in this Caribbean Cruise Tips article to find out what they are.