3 night cruise - worth it or just too short?

[hanscarlet]

Yes since you're not a first timer. I'd still do them though if I lived in FL. I would never pay for a flight or drive far for one though.

 

[tvguy]

IMHO yes. 7 days are too short also, especially after doing a 10 and 14 day.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

IMHO yes. 7 days are too short also, especially after doing a 10 and 14 day.

We much prefer 10-20 night cruises. But will "settle" for a 7 night.

 

[Catvondita]

Its short but for me I think 4 nights would have been ideal. When I did a 3 night I wish I had gotten one extra day but that's it. I think anything anything more than that it would have been a lot of the same. There's only so much to do and see on the ship so 3 nights is good with me.

 

[MelSpees]

Its short but for me I think 4 nights would have been ideal. When I did a 3 night I wish I had gotten one extra day but that's it. I think anything anything more than that it would have been a lot of the same. There's only so much to do and see on the ship so 3 nights is good with me.

The thing is, on longer cruises they do different things. They do not repeat shows, menus or other things. Well, they do show the same movies sometimes at different times. There is always a lot to do or you can just relax. We love the long cruises and can't imagine doing a short one. We've done 10 and 14 days. Different things appeal to different people.

 

[DCSWO]

A 4 night goes by in a flash, a 3 night would just be worse in my opinion. I think I would only do a 3 night to stay in a Royal for the lowest possible cost.

 

[Sunshine2U]

I agree it depends on the time and money spent getting to the ship, and how work/vacation time is impacted. If those things were negligible, I'd do a 3-day a heartbeat since I already know my way around the ship. Of course I'd prefer a longer cruise.

 

[tlprice]

We just did a 3 night in December. It wasn't my 1st choice, but the 4 day was $1000 more. That was not worth it to me. I wanted to see BATB and go to Castaway Cay so the 3 day was what worked. If we had never been on the Dream before, it would have been way too short. We went in knowing that we were just going to take it as easy as possible and not try to fit in too much. We also boarded the ship much earlier than we usually do to maximize the first day. It actually seemed much longer than 3 days. It probably helped that we knew we had a 7 day cruise coming up less than a month after the 3 day too though.

 

[mouthdoc]

Just off the Dream and a 3 nighter. This is our second 3 night cruise, we have taken a few 7's, 5's, and 4's. As you already know the ships, restaurants, activities, etc, a 3 night cruise is a relaxing weekend getaway. The price is right, and allows us to upgrade a bit. Some people, (like me) can't take time off work and therefore this fits much better into my schedule. Just get on the ship as early as you can, and linger at breakfast on the last day (ha ha) and enjoy any amount of time you have on a Disney Cruise. BTW, BATB was excellent!

 

[cedricandsophie]

The shortest cruise I have taken is a five night. Hated it. Since then we have never been on anything less than 7 days. And we usually try to do st least 9 or 10 days.

 

[Snowwhyt]

It’s going to be difficult but we are going to do a 3 day at the end of March. I’m not participating in FE’s for the first time with limited time and I need to spend every precious moment with my daughter.
I’m saying this is going to be difficult because after three 7 Day trips, less then half the time will go so fast, too fast I’m sure.

 

[Keels]

5-7 nights is my preferred cruise length, but I love the shorties as well!

I'm taking my BFFs on a 3-nighter for my birthday - for a couple of reasons:
1. Cost - I'm footing the bill, and the 3-night cruise with parks days on either side of the cruise just makes sense (we're all AP Holders with a free place to stay in Orlando).
2. Demographic of my group - none of us have been on a Disney cruise before, and two of my BFFs have never been on a cruise in general before! We're planning a 5-night NYE cruise this year, so I'd like their introduction to cruising to be a positive one and leave them coming back for more!
3. Calendar - Because of where the 3-nighters fall on the calendar, one BFF only has to take a day off work ... so that helps out as well.

 

[MinnesotaMouseketeers]

The only way I would do a three night cruise is if it is preceded or proceeded by a four night cruise. We love the longer cruises. Done a 15 night Panama Canal cruise in 2011 and have a 10 night cruise booked this summer.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

I'll be odd man out . We love the 3 night!! Castaway Cay, a few dinners, relax a couple days. Can't go wrong with the mini-break.

 

[ladybugmommy84]

I did a 4 night last year on the Dream and my daughter and I loved it!!! We are doing a 3 night next year in February and the price is awesome too. Go for it!

 

[disneycruise100]

I have a 3 night on the Fantasy booked for July of this year and I did a 3 night on the Wonder a couple years ago.

It just fits in our schedules better. It's a quick little weekend getaway. Plus it allows us to upgrade a little.

 

[Frozen2014]

We're looking at 4 days away in the summer...one option is a cruise (not Disney) and one is a land vacation.

For both options, the 4 days will be busy and go super fast.
For both options, we have to fly to get there.
For both options, we will have a great time.
For both options, it's family quality time together.

I priced it out (with land vacation more of an estimate as it depends on what we end up doing when there), but the cost came out very close to each other (and this is with flying in a day early for the cruise option).

So for those that say it's not worth it...is that saying that if yo have to fly there, then don't bother taking the vacation? Sometimes a 7-10 day trip is not in the cards...financially or time from work, etc. Thus, my vote is its worth it.

 

[rhinodadz]

For us longer is always better but we've also done several 3 night cruises as quick weekend getaways. Helps that we live in Orlando and can book close-in when a FLR discount pops up. No need to get off the ship in Nassau (hello Palo brunch) and even though we're surrounded by nice beaches there's something about Castaway Cay......

 

[bbn1122]

We have been on a 7 night, two 3 night, a 4 night and a 2 night to nowhere.

Of course, the 7 night was great, but the 2 night out of NYC, just DH and me was also great!

On the 3 nights we pair it with Disney’s Animal Kindgom Resort the first time and Disney’s Vero Beach Resort the second time. We are DVC members, so a short cruise with a resort cruise extends the vacation.

Our 2nd 3 night was at the end of August, prices were low, so I booked a Family Verrandah in Concierge. Now, that was a great cruise. Plus, we got a Cabana on CC. We could have never afforded Concierge for a family of 5 on a longer cruise.

We always say any length is a great cruise. We are looking forward to just DH and me on a 5 night to Bermuda this fall.

 

[Jkpark]

We had been on the Fantasy twice for 7 nights (eastern and western) and then joined my sister on a 3 night Dream. As others have stated, it is better to be on a Disney cruise, than not on a Disney cruise, but everything seemed so much more crowded. Our seven night cruises were both fully booked, and I don't think the 3 night was - and yet everything felt more crowded. I think with less opportunities to do each activity, more people were there? I don't know. The sign up for karaoke was full immediately, while on the Fantasy they would sometimes be begging people to sing. The Aquaduck line was long at all times - even during first dinner seating, on Nassau day. We definitely had found more down times on the longer cruises. Seats disappeared much quicker at shows and movies than on our prior longer cruises. The waits playing midship detective agency were longer. The ability to find a table at Cabanas. I also noticed lots of empty tables at main dining rooms. It wasn't just that it was shorter, it felt very different.

That being said - we have a 4 night mexico cruise booked b/c it happens to fall over our fall break and we can drive to San Diego, and a 5 night on the Magic for New Years, which will be followed by WDW. While longer cruises are maybe more relaxing, you can only do so much in terms of vacation time and dollars and I would choose a Disney cruise over most other destinations.