3 day dream

[melaniejh1016]

We just got home from a 7 night Fantasy which was awesome but a little long for my 4 year old. There is a Great deal on a 3 night Dream Bahamas cruise my friend and I are considering taking the girls and leaving husbands home. But is 3 nights worth it?? I'm trying to remember how much we did on the first 3 nights and I can't remember.

[lanejudy]

We did a 4-night cruise last winter, and personally I wouldn't do anything shorter. That said, it was our first cruise and you have cruised before, so it isn't all as new to you. I like to think of it as the # of days, rather than # of nights. Because you board the ship and take time that first day to get unpacked and assimilated. Then with a 3-night cruise you have 2 days, both are port days though you can stay onboard if you desire; there isn't much happening onboard during Castaway Cay day. The next day you are up early and off the ship. So I see a 3-night cruise as essentially a 2-day vacation. I'd rather have longer, plus many of the sea-day activities won't take place on a 3-night cruise. However, if you are looking for a quick getaway, certainly a 3-night cruise fits the bill.

Enjoy your cruise!

[bumbershoot]

My cousins did the 3 night last February and LOVED it.

Loved it so much they have convinced us to do it with them this Feb.

[kcashner]

I do not like 3 night cruises. There is a tremendous difference between 3 and 4 night cruises. But then, that's personal opinion.

Do consider that many costs are "fixed." If you live in Florida, getting to the terminal for a 3 night might not be a big deal; if you need to hop on a plane, it isn't worth MY time and effort for a short cruise.

[lodge]

3 night has been perfect for my toddlers, as we keep in mind to go with the flow... don't try to plan too much. They love it more than WDW (not as much running around), if that's at all possible!

[bumbershoot]

Originally Posted by kcashner

Do consider that many costs are "fixed." If you live in Florida, getting to the terminal for a 3 night might not be a big deal; if you need to hop on a plane, it isn't worth MY time and effort for a short cruise.

Good point. And why we have a much longer WDW/Universal trip planned around the cruise. If we're getting on that plane from Seattle, we're getting our money's worth.

[melaniejh1016]

Originally Posted by kcashner

I do not like 3 night cruises. There is a tremendous difference between 3 and 4 night cruises. But then, that's personal opinion.

Do consider that many costs are "fixed." If you live in Florida, getting to the terminal for a 3 night might not be a big deal; if you need to hop on a plane, it isn't worth MY time and effort for a short cruise.

I should have added we live in Florida and its only a 2.5 hour drive to the port!

[bumbershoot]

Originally Posted by melaniejh1016

I should have added we live in Florida and its only a 2.5 hour drive to the port!

You are like my family, then, though I think their drive is shorter (they are in Daytona). They found it to be well worth it. On the other hand, it was their very first cruise, so that might factor into their enjoyment of it? Guess we'll see what they think as second-time cruisers in February.

(I personally would prefer a 7+ night cruise on another line because of the cost...but I have a feeling we'll have a perfectly fine time on this short cruise)

[lbgraves]

We thought that for a great price [KSF] we could do a 3 night and avoid the stress since we had done 4 7-nights and a 15-night on the Magic. We were wrong!!! A 3-night cruise is nothing like the first three nights of a 7-night cruise. You don't have the sea day so there isn't as much going on onboard during the day. We enjoy the shows and that made our evenings hectic. On the 7-night pirate night is a movie night in the theater, but on the 3-night you have a regular show because there are 3 shows and only 3 nights. We will NEVER do anything less than a 5-night cruise at a minimum, preferably a 7-night. The kids were 3 & 5 on our first and the sea days really helped them get into a routine with naps and allowed us to relax.

[StarsForAlice]

Me and my husband just got back from our 3 day cruise on the Dream. It was our first time cruising and we wanted to do a short one in case we couldn't handle being on a ship. My husband gets very motion sick. The cruise was great and we both fared well on the sea. We will definitely be doing another cruise someday - but longer! The 3 day was nice but very short. We had a lot of fun though and I'm happy we did a 3 day over nothing!

[Otimon]

If a 3-night is what you have available to you then go for it!

Have fun.

[melaniejh1016]

Thanks everyone. I think if we get there early enough the first day we will have almost 3 full days and it'll be worth it. Plus we just met all the characters on our 7 night so I doubt she will want to stand in line again every day and waste time doing that. It's gonna be $689 for the 2 of us, I don't think we can beat that!