Is a three night cruise worth it??

[jennyjinx3]

So I just have to ask this question again. I know it has been asked before, perhaps even by me!

Is a three night cruise worth it? I am really hoping that we as a family would be able to tell from this cruise if the experience is something we want to repeat.

I would love to hear again about your experiences with the three night cruise. Anyone care to share??

 

["Cinder" Ella's Mom]

Is it better than no cruise? Definitely! But you will leave wanting more!!

 

[GrassMaster]

So I just have to ask this question again. I know it has been asked before, perhaps even by me!

Is a three night cruise worth it? I am really hoping that we as a family would be able to tell from this cruise if the experience is something we want to repeat.

I would love to hear again about your experiences with the three night cruise. Anyone care to share??

We have only done one 3 night and it was without the kids. It was wonderful, in fact we are doing it again next month. It goes by so fast but it will at least give you a taste.

 

[kcashner]

For us, a 3 night cruise involves the same flights, transportation to the port, etc. as a 7 night in terms of expense and hassle. We essentially lose one day either side from transportation (ok, can fly home day we get off cruise.)

The only way I'd even consider a 3 night would be on a fantastic bargain and combined with a WDW trip. Otherwise, it isn't worth the "getting there."

Better than no cruise--definitely. But a 4 night is not 1/3 better than a 3 night. It's a WHOLE LOT better.

 

[NCConch]

We chose a 3 night cruise due to the fact my wife and kids have not cruised before. In Navy parlance, this is a shakedown cruise. If one of us (wife) doesn't like it there is less misery.

 

[jennyjinx3]

We chose a 3 night cruise due to the fact my wife and kids have not cruised before. In Navy parlance, this is a shakedown cruise. If one of us (wife) doesn't like it there is less misery.

My DH just read this response and said "true that!!"

 

[Mandersons04]

I had asked that same questions when we taking our very first cruise ever. In 2011 It was between a 3 night and a 4 night. We were a little apprehensive about going for a longer cruise so we figured the 3 or 4 night would get our feet wet. While everyone said we'd want a longer cruise, they recommended at least the 4 night and that's what we did along with a Disney World visit. We LOVED it! And now we're getting ready for our 3rd cruise in March which is a 7 night!

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[over50visits]

So I just have to ask this question again. I know it has been asked before, perhaps even by me!

Is a three night cruise worth it? I am really hoping that we as a family would be able to tell from this cruise if the experience is something we want to repeat.

I would love to hear again about your experiences with the three night cruise. Anyone care to share??

Count me in the camp of believing a 4 night is much, much better than the 3 night. Part of my cruise enjoyment is being at sea, and that just doesn't happen on the 3 night (first day you are busy eating etc. as soon as you depart and it is dark soon, 2nd day you're in the dock in Nassau, 3rd day you're in the dock at Castaway. I relish the day at sea...it is comfortable, the ocean is calming and serene, there are activities on the sea day not on the shorter cruise, you can have brunch at Palo or Remy, there is one more great show, more time to explore the ship, etc.

Since a 3 night is really only a 2 day cruise, the 4 night is 50% more days away and aboard ship (it is a 3 day cruise).

Also, on the 3 night cruise, first night is "welcome" and the second night they're already telling you how to pack your bags and fill out the customs form for debarking.

I know and agree that 3 nights are great, and of course much better than nothing, but I would see if I could find the time and extra money for the 4 night, I believe the increased value and enjoyment is well worth it.

 

[GusGus77]

The DisBoards convinced us to do a 4-night instead of a 3-night and I am very glad we did! We were first time cruisers (with a 2 and 4 yr old) and LOVED it. For us, the 3 night would have been way too short. The 4-night was a good first time experience.

That being said, the 3-nights must be popular and people enjoy them or they wouldn't offer them!

 

[Namsupak]

A 3 night cruise is a fine cruise. We have done 3 nights, 4nights, 7 nights and 7+ nights. We enjoy them all. Longer cruises give us more value and we would always pick longer of course, but sometimes we can fit a 3 night cruise into a long weekend and then we can take a cruise without really using up any vacation days or days where we would otherwise be making money more for cruises. For us the flight is only about 2.5 hours to MCO so sometimes we just take a long weekend in orlando or catch a quick cruise then back to work the next day.

 

[cflmom]

So I just have to ask this question again. I know it has been asked before, perhaps even by me!

Is a three night cruise worth it? I am really hoping that we as a family would be able to tell from this cruise if the experience is something we want to repeat.

I would love to hear again about your experiences with the three night cruise. Anyone care to share??

We did two 7-night cruises and then did a 3-night. Never again! If you are going to go, then at least do a 4-night. The 3-night one just goes by too quick. You're never on the ship! You're always in port. So if you are on the new ships, you have limited time to explore, ride the aqua-duct, and shop! We are going again in 2014, and it will be a 7-night cruise. The 3-night ones are good if you only have a long weekend or you want to test out your sea legs!

Janet

 

[OrcaPotter]

Not worth the money, IMHO. My family had only ever done 7 night cruises before we took a chance with the 4-night Dream last January. We had an absolute blast but it was too short. We're going again at the end of this month with more family and friends who have never cruised before, and I imagine they'll feel the same way. For us, we love Disney and being less than an hour away from Port Canaveral, so for budget reasons the Dream is the best deal right now over the Fantasy. Plus, I'm a teacher, so taking a full week off from school is not good. While the 3-night would've been better, schedule-wise, if you're going to spend a good chunk of change, no less than 4 nights will do.

 

[My 2 princesses]

I don't know but I will find out soon This is our first trip and with 2 young kids, we are not sure how they or even us for that matter, will handle it, hence we booked a 3 night cruise but a GTY rate, so we feel like we are getting a deal. We also included 2 days at WDW before our cruise and 1 night after, so to justify the cost of the flight/transfers etc, as PP said. If we do like it, we will perhaps go again!

 

[lundve]

I have done a five cruises of varying lengths- a 10, 5, two 4s and a 3. We thought the three was awful because you couldn't possibly choose between things you want to do. I swear they still try to cram in the same number of activities as four. We swore never again! That being said a FOUR is way better but a 5 was actually our favorite. Two stops at Castaway was amazing - it's just too bad they are not doing those anymore.....

 

[vacationsitis]

We fly all the way from CA & anything less than 7 nights is not worth the trouble. We save up & just do the longer cruises. If we were living in Florida or somewhere close-by then shorter cruises would make sense.

 

[lbgraves]

Simply put -- NO! We did a 3-night because it was a late KSF offer and since we had done 4 7-nights and a 15-night figured that we could handle it because we knew our way around the ship and what would be happening. We were SOOOO wrong! The kids wanted to do their favorite activities but they were only done on sea days. Pirate night was a disaster compared to a longer cruise. You have to cram pictures, dinner, on the Dream the early pirate deck party, an actual show instead of a movie that we always skip on the longer cruises to give us a more relaxed time, then the big deck party. We were all cranky because there was NO downtime over those three days. Never again! Also, if you get sick onboard -- as our friends did -- you miss the entire cruise. On a longer cruise you still have the rest of the cruise to enjoy after you recouperate.

 

[EeyoreIsMyName]

Our first cruise was a four night cruise to see if we would like it. We've done only 7 nights cruises since-guess we LOVED it!

 

[jjje]

I think it partly depends on where you're coming from. My family has to travel from MN to cruise and getting anywhere isn't cheap. There's no way a short cruise would be worth it for us. If we lived right by a port we would try a short cruise.

 

[yaddakal]

I think if your family ....especially kids ...have not cruised before a three night is a good start. That is what we are doing. We are starting at WDW 4 days prior. However as I read these boards I am realizing our fun will be packed in. We are trying to decide between staying on ship Nassau day or getting off and doing dolphin encounter. I want to enjoy and we will be paid in full in a week so it will be exciting to look at activities etc.

 

[STLEdge]

Our first cruise was a 3-night (our two kids were 4 and 6 at the time). We were apprehensive about whether our family would enjoy the cruise and nervous about getting seasick. We loved it, booked a 7-night while we were onboard and never looked back. Knowing the cruise was so short was part of the motivation for us - we didn't want to get stuck for longer if we hated it or were sick the whole time.

If 3-night cruises were so awful, Disney wouldn't sell them and people wouldn't buy them. You'll have a great time. But if you don't, you'll be back on shore before you know it. Don't stress about your choice.