The best adults-only cruise lines
What are the best adults-only cruises – ones that not only prohibit children but also cater to adult tastes and preferences?
You might ask because you just spent time on a megaship where the kids took over the pools and hot tubs (not to mention the elevators), leaving you feeling frustrated. Or, you might be looking for a vacation with more lectures and less limbo — or maybe a cruise that’s more R-rated than G.
Alas, the list of adults-only excursions is short. Only a handful of cruise lines ban children from boarding and promise excursions to adults – perhaps most notably those new to travel. Virgin trip and growing fast Viking.
In fact, the trend in cruises in recent years has been toward more family-focused trips, with more children appearing on ships of all types. Indeed, some of the biggest, most famous travel brands have bored after the family marketto the point that their ship’s sun-drenched top deck sometimes feels more like a scene from “Daddy Day Care” than a blissful vacation.
However, don’t despair. Even as many lines double down on the family market, a small group of cruise operators remain devoted to the idea of adults-only cruises.
Here are our picks for the best adults-only cruise lines, with a grown-up feel to boot.
Related: A beginner’s guide to choosing a cruise ship
Virgin trip
The much-lauded new cruise line from Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group has banned children under 18 from boarding its ships. It’s part of an effort to create a trendier, more sophisticated, adult-focused feel that company leaders say is sorely lacking in the cruise world.
“We did a lot of research to try to create a sophisticated experience,” Virgin Voyages CEO Tom McAlpin said a few days before the line’s 2021 launch. “I did some personal research. We found out that when you drop the kids in the pool, they scream, and we don’t want that.”
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Related: I have been on over 150 cruise ships. Here’s what I think about Scarlet Lady
Virgin Voyages’ first three adults-only cruise ships can accommodate 2,770 passengers scarlet lady and sister ships brave lady And Resilient ladycaters to adults looking for some adult entertainment with offerings such as interactive dance parties. Each ship also has a karaoke room with pink and purple karaoke rooms and a tattoo parlor (read about how one of our staff members did it). among the first to be listed on board).
What you won’t find on the three ships (the fourth, Brilliant Lady, is scheduled to launch later this year) are water slides, splash zones, teen lounges, and all the other family-friendly features that are becoming so common on larger ships.
Viking
To create an adults-only cruise experience, Virgin Voyages took a page from the Vikings’ rapidly evolving playbook. Viking’s 12-ship cruise division has banned children under 18 since launching in 2015. Additionally, its 80-ship river cruise division has had a minimum age limit for more than two years. decade. (Originally, the limit was 12 years old; as of 2019, this number has also increased to 18 years old.)
It’s not like Virgin and Viking have anything in common. Virgin is designed to appeal to Millennials and older travelers who want to party like they are Millennials. In contrast, the Vikings were anti-millennium.
Viking’s target market is in the over 55 years old group. It zeroes in on that demographic with a premium, destination-focused experience that focuses on what the industry likes to call “enrichment” — onboard lectures and other learning opportunities. It also emphasizes tours that focus on history and culture (with at least one free tour in each port) and entertainment offerings that favor string quartets rather than string-bikini-clad dancers .
“What we’re looking to do is try not to be all things to all people,” Viking executive vice president of marketing Richard Marnell told TPG. “We don’t have a children’s program. What we do have is… [an] immersive experience best suited to the intellectually curious.”
P&O Cruises
This famous British cruise line clearly recognizes the need for adults-only cruise ships, but it is not giving up on the family market either. The line that divides the difference between two segments. Five of the line’s seven ships (Arvia, Iona, Britannia, Ventura and Azura) are marketed as “family friendly” and open to passengers of all ages. The remaining two areas (Arcadia and Aurora) are exclusively for adults.
Given that more than 95% of the Southampton, England-based cruise line’s passengers are British, you’ll probably want to be British or a big Anglophile yourself to consider booking one of the latter two ships. Sailing with P&O Cruises is a very British experience, that becomes clear as soon as you see its ships – even before you board. They have hulls painted with giant Union Jacks.
Plus, you’ll find quintessentially British dishes like elaborate afternoon teas, wine quoits on the top deck and restaurant menus designed by great UK chefs, such as Marco Pierre White , on board P&O Cruises.
That said, if you are one Princess yacht fans, you can feel right at home on a P&O Cruises ship. Nestled under the same company, the two brands are long-time sisters who have traded ships back and forth (although Holland America fans may want to know that the Arcadia shares a ship design with that line’s Vista Class).
For booking purposes, P&O Cruises considers anyone 18 years of age or over when sailing as an adult.
Related: Cruises are best for seniors who like to travel by sea
Saga Cruise
Like P&O Cruises, Saga Cruises is a British cruise line that specializes in adults-only sailings, but it goes beyond what P&O Cruises or any other line does in attracting younger travelers. The minimum age at Saga Cruises is not 18 or even 21 but 50.
That’s right – you won’t find a single Millennial or even that many Gen Xers on board Saga Cruises (at age 58, even the oldest members of Gen year old). What you’ll see instead is a lot of baby boomers, many of whom are retired.
Saga Cruises operates just two ocean liners, operating exclusively out of the UK, along with a number of river ships. Like P&O Cruises, this is probably best for British travelers or Anglophiles.
Other adult-focused tours
In addition to routes that completely ban passengers under 18 years old, some cruise lines allow young children to travel, but relatively few.
Examples include high-end lines such as Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Silversea Cruise And sea portCaters very much to the older crowd. Small ship specialist Windstar Cruise allows tweens and teens on its six ships, but does not allow any children under the age of 8.
Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours, which sells both cruises and river cruises, traditionally discourages customers from bringing passengers under 12 years old on board except on Christmas trips.
Additionally, the longer the journey, the fewer children you will find. Book a trip lasting more than two weeks to a more exotic location, like Asia or South America, during the school year on a route like Dutch America or Princess, and you’ll mostly be sharing the ship with adults.
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