Tell me why I should change from 3 to 4 nights on the dream!

[lilpooh108]

Originally Posted by ruadisneyfan2

I couldn't agree more!!
Even ds12, then 11, complained about the kids on our 3 nt leg of our b2b on the Dream in Nov 2011.
"They have no idea how to behave on a ship."

Lol. My daughter is only 3 but I can totally see her saying that.

Cabanas at lunch and the pool deck is always such a zoo. Ugh. And the dinners feel so impersonal.

[luv2sleep]

Originally Posted by lilpooh108

3 night cruises feel like an overcrowded mall during Black Friday. Ick. Rush rush rush. People are not nice on 3 night cruises, in general. The whole vibe is very crowded and stressed out. Hard to relax, etc.

But wouldI I feel rushed just because others seem to? I've done 2 Disney cruises and never feel like I have to see/do everything. If I did a 3 night it would be to hang at the pool and on my verandah. I'd get off the ship only at CC. I may go to the spa once. We don't do character meets or anything else. I skip shows if we just need to relax. I'd also prefer a 7+ night but if I was on a 3 night I'd do my best to just relax and enjoy it. If I could better afford a 3 night or only had time for that I'd definitely go. A 4 night would be better though.

[lilpooh108]

Originally Posted by luv2sleep

But wouldI I feel rushed just because others seem to? I've done 2 Disney cruises and never feel like I have to see/do everything. If I did a 3 night it would be to hang at the pool and on my verandah. I'd get off the ship only at CC. I may go to the spa once. We don't do character meets or anything else. I skip shows if we just need to relax. I'd also prefer a 7+ night but if I was on a 3 night I'd do my best to just relax and enjoy it. If I could better afford a 3 night or only had time for that I'd definitely go. A 4 night would be better though.

Actually this was us, almost exactly. The last 3 nighter we ever did was our 3rd cruise in Oct 2011. Didn't get off at Nassau, only CC. Apparently 80% of the ship had the same idea. So still very crowded, especially by the pool it was wet everywhere, people running into you, etc. Dirty chairs/tables by Flo's and near Cabanas. Just chaotic.

The "rush" feeling was just from the fact that there's so many people around. The mood of the crowd felt so, well, WDW park like. Not like a cruise at all.

I was pregnant so I "hung out" alot and we had a verandah. I tend to order room service when I hang out on the verandah. Delivery always took more than 20 minutes, we were frequently on hold for 10+ minutes. We skipped the Sail Away party on deck (way too crowded) and just watched the ocean from our verandah. That was fun.

Dinners were just OK since there are so many diners, service was impersonal and generally slow.

I enjoyed the cruise, but I enjoy the vibe of a 7 day cruise more.

Our favorite night was when we skipped the Villains show and just sat on the deck, enjoying the sunset and waiting for family members to ride Aquaduck. Lion King was on so we watched that for a bit (standing, mind you, since the crew cleaned up all and locked all the lounge chairs )

We also caught the matinee showing of Dreams on the 3rd night to avoid the crowd. That was nice.

Obviously a 3 nighter is better than nothing, but if I were you I'd really go for the 4 night. IMO the cruisers are very different, having now been on the longer cruises.

[DebbieOBX]

Honestly why stop at 4. NEVER would i do a 3-4 day cruise.

change to 14 nights out of Miami. Panama C.

debbie

[MinnesotaMouseketeers]

For DW and me a seven night is the shortest we like to cruise. We are however booked on a four night cruise on the Dream just so we can see it. If we could swing it we would do a BB but it just won't happen this year. Plus we have been to Nassau several times so we don't plan on leaving the ship while in port.

The cruise goes by very quick for us, even the 15 night Wonder PC cruise. And we both love cruises with more days at sea. On the four night that day at sea will give you more time to explore the ship, experience more Disney Magic. Sign up for fun activities, an extra show.

[savannahcat]

We did a 5 night double dip on the Dream last June and it seemed way too short. Even though we spent 8 nights at WDW after, we still wished the cruise had been longer.

[ruadisneyfan2]

Originally Posted by DebbieOBX

Honestly why stop at 4. NEVER would i do a 3-4 day cruise.

change to 14 nights out of Miami. Panama C.

debbie

Never say never. I once swore I'd never do a 3-nt.
Do you pull your kids out of school for a 14 nt cruise?

We did 3 nt cruises when:
1. Our kids were much younger & could miss a little school, Thurs/Fri. Also offered KSF which really tempted me. 3/2010.
2. Sometimes Jewish holdiays fall in such a way that our kids get a 4 day weekend & Mommy needs a DCL fix. 9/2011
3. We were just itching to see the Dream so instead of cruising a 7 nt, we booked a b2b. 11/2011.

Thankfully, we cruise often enough that our 3-nt isn't our one & only cruise for the year.

[disneyholic family]

we did both 3 nights and 4 nights on the Wonder and 4 nights on the Dream.

On the Wonder, i really had just as much fun on the 3 as the 4.
However, on the Dream, i cannot imagine possibly having enough time on a 3 night cruise....
Even the 4 night wasn't nearly enough and i was really very sorry i hadn't booked a 7 nighter on the fantasy instead...

the Dream is a gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous amazing wonderful ship.
a 4 night cruise isn't at all enough time on her - so you can imagine how much worse you're going to feel with only 3 nights on board her.

By the way, we also didn't get off the ship in Nassau - so we essentially had two sea days: the real day at sea, plus the nassau day.
And we still felt we'd only just scratched the surface of what's available on the Dream.

Bottom line? Do the 4 day cruise, not 3.

[Mike2023]

So a few of you say the 3 night just seems crowded.

My question is why would a 3 night seem more crowded then a 4? Same ship, same amount of people and with the sea day everyone is stuck on the boat.

We did a 5 night double dip last june as well. It was the podcast cruise. While we enjoyed it we felt it took away from our time at WDW so we felt "ripped off". We said we would not do another cruise.

So we have 17 nights booked at disney for May and decide we kinda want to try another cruise. Both wife and I think we are nuts for changing our mind but we figure this will be different then doing the Podcast cruise and we want to give our DD a chance at the kids clubs as this will be her first cruise.

If we did a 7 night we would end up feeling the same as last time with less time spent at our favourite place on earth and thats WDW.

[disneyholic family]

Originally Posted by Mike2023

So a few of you say the 3 night just seems crowded.

My question is why would a 3 night seem more crowded then a 4? Same ship, same amount of people and with the sea day everyone is stuck on the boat.

We did a 5 night double dip last june as well. It was the podcast cruise. While we enjoyed it we felt it took away from our time at WDW so we felt "ripped off". We said we would not do another cruise.

So we have 17 nights booked at disney for May and decide we kinda want to try another cruise. Both wife and I think we are nuts for changing our mind but we figure this will be different then doing the Podcast cruise and we want to give our DD a chance at the kids clubs as this will be her first cruise.

If we did a 7 night we would end up feeling the same as last time with less time spent at our favourite place on earth and thats WDW.

ok, that's a tough question.
I used to feel this way, but now i don't as much.
But still, i can't tell you how you're going to feel.
I can say that i very much enjoyed my Dream cruise in October.
Perhaps my ship felt less crowded because we cruised in October, not June?
perhaps i enjoyed it more because i'm at a different point in my life than you (much older, kids married).

i don't know what to tell you.

I can tell you that while i enjoyed the Wonder when we sailed her 8 years ago, i was not in any rush to get back on board.
I would much rather be at WDW. Much much rather.

But then i went on the Dream in October and just loved her. But you were also on the Dream so i don't know. Again, maybe it's because i'm at a different stage in life? i don't know.

maybe it was because i was in concierge, so i was able to avoid the crowds on the ship? (other than at the shows).

i guess i just don't know the answer to your question!

[luv2sleep]

Originally Posted by Mike2023

So a few of you say the 3 night just seems crowded.

My question is why would a 3 night seem more crowded then a 4? Same ship, same amount of people and with the sea day everyone is stuck on the boat.

We did a 5 night double dip last june as well. It was the podcast cruise. While we enjoyed it we felt it took away from our time at WDW so we felt "ripped off". We said we would not do another cruise.

So we have 17 nights booked at disney for May and decide we kinda want to try another cruise. Both wife and I think we are nuts for changing our mind but we figure this will be different then doing the Podcast cruise and we want to give our DD a chance at the kids clubs as this will be her first cruise.

If we did a 7 night we would end up feeling the same as last time with less time spent at our favourite place on earth and thats WDW.

If you felt ripped off by the 5 night maybe you guys are just not cruise people? Most people who cruise often get off of a 3-4-5 night get off the ship dying for more. They either love cruising as much as the parks or love cruising more. So why even bother with the cruise? Why not just stuck to the parks? Did your DD go on the podcast cruise? Did she enjoy it?

[Kimmielee]

Originally Posted by Meghatron

If you're already at the parks I would not hesitate to do an extra day on the ship and sacrifice a day in the parks.

Totally agree!!!!

[Mike2023]

Originally Posted by disneyholic family

ok, that's a tough question.
I used to feel this way, but now i don't as much.
But still, i can't tell you how you're going to feel.
I can say that i very much enjoyed my Dream cruise in October.
Perhaps my ship felt less crowded because we cruised in October, not June?
perhaps i enjoyed it more because i'm at a different point in my life than you (much older, kids married).

i don't know what to tell you.

I can tell you that while i enjoyed the Wonder when we sailed her 8 years ago, i was not in any rush to get back on board.
I would much rather be at WDW. Much much rather.

But then i went on the Dream in October and just loved her. But you were also on the Dream so i don't know. Again, maybe it's because i'm at a different stage in life? i don't know.

maybe it was because i was in concierge, so i was able to avoid the crowds on the ship? (other than at the shows).

i guess i just don't know the answer to your question!

I know eh, its weird. Don't get me wrong, we loved the ship and everything on it. It did not feel overly crowded to us so I'm not sure that will be a problem. Our theory is because we spent lots of our time last year running around and doing podcast stuff we did not get to take advantage of everything the ship had to offer. There was also a hurricane in the gulf so the seas were choppy. I ended up feeling "off" for most of the cruise and I'm hoping that took away from it as well.

My main reason for me thinking about the 4 is it would give me the opportunity to do the remy or palo brunch.

Originally Posted by luv2sleep

If you felt ripped off by the 5 night maybe you guys are just not cruise people? Most people who cruise often get off of a 3-4-5 night get off the ship dying for more. They either love cruising as much as the parks or love cruising more. So why even bother with the cruise? Why not just stuck to the parks? Did your DD go on the podcast cruise? Did she enjoy it?

No, our DD did not go on the podcast cruise. She is already talking about how she is going to ditch us for most of the cruise as the kids clubs excite her. "daddy, after lunch I will go to the kid club, then come out for dinner with you, then I will go back to the kids club". And she wants to do the gameshow.

And with the 3 or 4 nights we will still have 13 or 14 nights at disney so we should be ok. lol Last year we had 2 pre and 7 post cruise. For us, 9 nights just does not fill our disney addiction. lol

[disneyholic family]

Originally Posted by Mike2023

I know eh, its weird. Don't get me wrong, we loved the ship and everything on it. It did not feel overly crowded to us so I'm not sure that will be a problem. Our theory is because we spent lots of our time last year running around and doing podcast stuff we did not get to take advantage of everything the ship had to offer. There was also a hurricane in the gulf so the seas were choppy. I ended up feeling "off" for most of the cruise and I'm hoping that took away from it as well.

My main reason for me thinking about the 4 is it would give me the opportunity to do the remy or palo brunch.



No, our DD did not go on the podcast cruise. She is already talking about how she is going to ditch us for most of the cruise as the kids clubs excite her. "daddy, after lunch I will go to the kid club, then come out for dinner with you, then I will go back to the kids club". And she wants to do the gameshow.

And with the 3 or 4 nights we will still have 13 or 14 nights at disney so we should be ok. lol Last year we had 2 pre and 7 post cruise. For us, 9 nights just does not fill our disney addiction. lol

i was supposed to be on the podcast cruise with you, but as always, someone in my family does something to make me have to change the reservation (same thing just happened to me and the oasis cruise - yet another wedding....it's a conspiracy in my family to keep me away from the podcasters!! )

regarding feeling ill - sea bands....if you go on another cruise, get sea bands and wear them from the moment you set foot on the ship....
they saved my life (and we had hurricane Sandy waves - so we were rocking and rolling big time)...
the moment i set foot on the dream i started feeling ill...i was so surprised, since i'd heard she doesn't move because she's so big...but the second i set foot on her i was ill (that didn't happen to me on the Wonder)...
so i pulled out the sea bands DD had given me (she bought them on her alaska cruise) and put them on....within 5 minutes i was a new person...
i didn't feel a thing (and i'm very prone to all kinds of motion sickness)..
even when we had the very very rough seas on the last night (i seriously thought we were going to tip right over), i didn't get sick...
not even the slightest....i certainly felt the rocking, but not even a twinge of illness (and the same was true for my mom and sister, who also wore bands)..

i don't know how they work, but they do....it's downright magical!!!!

as for enjoying the cruise - i don't know if you will or not..
i bet your daughter will though!! years back, when we cruised the wonder - my son adored the teen club....on both of our cruises on the wonder..
he was 15 on the first and 17 on the second...to say he had a spectacular time would be the understatement of the century!! he still talks about it today (he's 25 and married now)..

anyway, try it again and see...maybe without all the podcast stuff you'll enjoy it more....maybe not...

my next cruise is going to be on the Allure of the Seas (we'll come in early for that wedding that's blocking me from the dis oasis cruise)...
i'm really looking forward to it, though i'm a bit worried about not doing concierge this time....but i'm trying to do this cruise on the cheap...i hope i don't regret the decision!!!

[ruadisneyfan2]

Originally Posted by Mike2023

I know eh, its weird. Don't get me wrong, we loved the ship and everything on it. It did not feel overly crowded to us so I'm not sure that will be a problem. Our theory is because we spent lots of our time last year running around and doing podcast stuff we did not get to take advantage of everything the ship had to offer. There was also a hurricane in the gulf so the seas were choppy. I ended up feeling "off" for most of the cruise and I'm hoping that took away from it as well.

My main reason for me thinking about the 4 is it would give me the opportunity to do the remy or palo brunch.



No, our DD did not go on the podcast cruise. She is already talking about how she is going to ditch us for most of the cruise as the kids clubs excite her. "daddy, after lunch I will go to the kid club, then come out for dinner with you, then I will go back to the kids club". And she wants to do the gameshow.

And with the 3 or 4 nights we will still have 13 or 14 nights at disney so we should be ok. lol Last year we had 2 pre and 7 post cruise. For us, 9 nights just does not fill our disney addiction. lol

Cruising really is no fun if you have other "obligations" to attend to. This is why we don't bother with the cruise meets. Also if you've never cruised with your children, your missing out too. There's magic in watching your child's joy, same as when visiting WDW.

I agree with pp that it depends on your stage in life. There's a big difference in what you feel like doing & what's appealing between ages 35 & 50.