Joanne and Gerald “John” Gerrity, the fifth-generation owners of a kielbasa shop in Nanticoke, Pa., booked their 100th Disney cruise in September. And no—they’re not sailing with young children. For that matter, they’re not sailing with children at all.

Their obsession started in 2000, when a customer told them about the cruise line. They had already taken the kids to Walt Disney World and thought it would be a fun family vacation—their kids were 13 and 14 at the time. But John wasn’t so sure. As Joanne recalls, “He took his pointer finger and shook it at me and went, ‘If I don’t have a good time, this is all your fault.’ ” Much to John’s surprise, they got hooked, sometimes taking their kids along for the ride, but sometimes not.

Now they often leave their kids in charge of the kielbasa shop and book back-to-back sailings, staying on a Disney ship for 20 days or more. “We don’t even care where we go with them anymore. We just open the brochure, book, and go,” said John, 54. “We’d do more if we could get the time off.”

The Gerritys are not alone. According to the industry website CruiseCritic.com—which is like TripAdvisor for seafarers—Disney Cruise Line gets higher average ratings from passengers without children than from those with them. (The company is immensely popular with both demographics.)

On the cusp of its 20th year of sailing, Disney Cruise Line has been around long enough to have megafans—even if kids who grew up sailing with the company have yet to get their first job out of college. So why do grown-ups have such a soft spot for Disney Cruise Line? “Quality. The quality is there, the food, the cleanliness,” said John. “The crew,” added Joanne, 53. “They are so friendly.”

All Ages Welcome
Disney currently runs four cruise ships, and three more vessels are on the way between 2021 and 2023. With an eventual total capacity of more than 21,000 passengers among the seven vessels—each carries between 2,700 and 4,000 tourists—the company is thinking beyond any one demographic. Industry insiders estimate about a fifth of adult passengers come onboard the ships without children, and they are a growing presence, especially on sailings in mid-September when children are recently back in school.

The first ship, the German-built, 2,700-passenger Disney Magic, debuted in 1998 with a unique family focus: It promised everything from extensive kids’ programming to a dining scheme that allows you to eat in a different restaurant every night (so that youngsters don’t get bored), but with the same waitstaff for familiarity.

Disney’s strength, however, is catering to all members of the family—and therefore all ages, according to Ozer Balli, the line’s vice president of hotel operations. Several ship features are designed to give parents time off, such as an adults-only pool, upscale spas, nightclubs, romantic restaurants, and after-hours lounges such as the popular Champagne bar Pink on the 4,000-passenger Disney Dream. But they play well with other grown-ups, too.

Select “Port Adventures” are reserved for adults, such as a Bacardi rum tour in San Juan, Puerto Rico. On Castaway Cay, Disney’s pristine private Bahamas island, a patch of beach is reserved for those aged 18 and up, and a 5-kilometer run is popular with adults. Others are attracted by the tug-at-your-heartstrings, Disney-centric musicals or the first-run movie showings in digital 3-D. Some even say they’re in it for appearances by characters such as Disney princesses, superheroes, and, of course, Mickey and Minnie Mouse.

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