3 night cruise - worth it or just too short?

[swooshbear]

We've done a 2 night, but went back-to-back on a 3 night so it didn't feel as rushed. 3 nights is too short, but 2 nights is waaaaaay too short. That being said, we are on the 2 night Wonder cruise in May but that will be our 10th DCL cruise!

 

[arcticdisneylovers]

We've

Hi y'all. Have been on 2 Disney cruises. Both were for 7 nights (Caribbean) and were amazing. Debating on booking a 3 night Bahamas but man it seems so short. Like by the time you get your sea legs and are relaxing you are getting kicked off the boat at 7am. Anyone have experience with 3 night sailings that can offer any advice? Thanks!!!

We've done the 3 night, 5 night and multiple 7 night. For us the 3 night was way too short. We would never do less than 7 night again! Can't wait to do another 7 night January 2019!!!

 

[tierney corbett]

i’ve been on a 5-night and a 7-night. the five night in my opinion was fine. i think that a three night might not give you the time to explore the ship and great features of disney.

 

[suedon70]

IMO any Disney cruise is too short but still totally worth it! We’re really fortunate to live 2 hours away from PC so we mostly do the 3 night cruises and I’m doing three 3 nighters this year alone!

 

[disneyholic family]

a 3 night cruise is WAY TOO SHORT!!!! however, that said, we did one in august...

the entire family was at WDW for 3 weeks in august, so after half the group left, the rest of us decided to do a 3 night on the disney dream..

it was all that would fit into the schedule...

i probably wouldn't have gone for it, but DD and DSIL really wanted to try out the Dream - they'd only been on the magic and the wonder..

so we did the 3 night...

and?

it was actually a lot of fun despite the excruciatingly short length..

on the downside, i cried like a baby when we had to get off.....that was painful!!

but it was definitely fun, even for such a short time!!

.

 

[DISNEYFAN3260]

...When we saw an opportunity to get away for our first "alone" trip in years, we decided on a 3-night Disney cruise. We went thinking it would be ridiculously short, and that we would feel like it was over in a blink. Turned out, we stayed on the boat during Nassau day, went to Serenity Bay on CC, relaxed, actually talked to each other, saw movies, ordered room service, even skipped the shows that we had previously seen. Dressed up for dinner each night, and acted like adults. We were shocked at how leisurely it was, and how long it felt, considering it was only 3 days....

Yes, THIS exactly! While I certainly prefer a longer trip, time and money have more often than not forced my husband and I to take 3 and 4 night trips. We've done a couple 7 night trips before with our teens/young adults. Of course 3 nts. feels short, but when you've done the same itinerary several times and been on all the ships, you don't have a "learning curve" (how to get around, what to do, what to see) and you don't feel like you have to fit everything in - just stay on the boat and enjoy the time to relax. We always go to Palo and/or Remy, do a few tastings, and skip shows we've seen below if we feel like going to a movie or heading to a lounge instead. Makes for a great long weekend and keeps you longing for more so you look forward to the next trip.

 

[Pens Fan]

It would be too short for me, but we live in PA. I think for a lot of people, it all boils down to how much time, effort and money it takes to get to the ship. If we lived within a few hours drive, then sure. People take long weekend trips to places close by all the time. I don't see a 3 night cruise being any different if you live near a port.

I envy folks that live so close to a cruise port. If we did, I imagine we would take short cruises quite often. As it is now, we limit ourselves to one every year or two and make it count. The two we have scheduled are a 12 nighter and 14 nighter.

 

[arlopop]

We have primarily done 7 or longer. On a whim we did a 5 night and it seemed just too short for us. Any cruise is desirable, but it seems to take us a couple of days to finally relax. With the short one it felt like as soon as we boarded we were counting down the days we had left. Maybe we are just weird

 

[OKW Lover]

Hi y'all. Have been on 2 Disney cruises. Both were for 7 nights (Caribbean) and were amazing. Debating on booking a 3 night Bahamas but man it seems so short. Like by the time you get your sea legs and are relaxing you are getting kicked off the boat at 7am. Anyone have experience with 3 night sailings that can offer any advice? Thanks!!!

Well, a 3 night cruise is better than no nights. But yes, I'd say that a 4-night is the minimum I'd consider right now. When you think of a 3-night its actually only two cruising days. You don't get on until afternoon on your embarkation day and you're off the ship by 9 on the last day.

However, I have occasionally considered doing a 3-night DCL cruise on the Dream just so I could do Palo, Remy & Palo for evening dining. Sigh.

 

[mom+3girls]

I have done 7, 4 and 3 nights. The 3 night is short but if you are just trying out the cruise it's a great way to see if you will like cruising. Or its great for a weekend getaway.

 

[Deb T.]

Is it possible for you to add the cruise before or after your 3-night cruise? Going on back-to-back cruises is great, and if you have the same cabin on both cruises, you don't have to pack up in between!

If a longer cruise isn't possible, definitely do the 3-night. Yes, as everyone else has said, it's short, but you already know that going in. Pack light so that you aren't spending valuable time unpacking and packing. Arrive at the port by 10:30am so that you're one of the first onboard. Skip the shows you've already seen. Skip the main dining room 2-hour meals. Enjoy your time onboard!

 

[mrswillson]

Way, waaaay too short. I've sailed on six cruises overall, five of which were seven days, and the one three day felt so rushed that it was impossible to truly relax. One day you're embarking, you have one day to play, then the last day you're packing, and before you know it you've disembarked.

I also believe DCL's higher pricing is not justified on the shorter cruises and personally would never do one again.

 

[jrez]

Shorter cruises are useful for the following:

1. Combine with 4 days or so at WDW
2. Increasing your Castaway Club standings
3. Booking a discount on a future longer cruise. The one time we went on a 3 night Dream cruise that had a base price of around $2,000ish we were able to save almost $800 by booking a week cruise we were already planning for a future date on the Fantasy. So the way I looked at it we got the Dream cruise for a base price of about $1,200.

 

[su_A_ve]

3n is short. We've done 3, 5 and 7 nights. We are doing a 3n in April as a getaway but also to book on board for a 2019 Alaska sailing.

 

[DCLCrazy64622]

Is your primary goal to get to platinum ASAP? If so, and you live in Florida, than it’s a cheaper way to reach your goal. It’s also good for a quick getaway with your spouse.

 

[Trera]

Is your primary goal to get to platinum ASAP? If so, and you live in Florida, than it’s a cheaper way to reach your goal. It’s also good for a quick getaway with your spouse.

Agreed. A three day cruise only costs me one day of work vacation. A 7 day costs me 5..............so we can take a larger number of 3 night cruises and use less days than one long cruise.

 

[Cheerio]

We are planning a 3 night in 2020, solely to get us to gold status, so we can book early on the new ship coming out in 2021. We are driving far, but will spend a few days in Florida at the beach so it's still a vacation

 

[dad of 3 addicted to DCL]

We did one...and it'll be the only one we do until DW & I retire (maybe we'll do one then). We live 14 hours from PC and it's just not worth it to pack up, drive, for a cruise that's over just as it seems to be beginning. After 2 Westerns, an Eastern and our upcoming Alaskan, I'm beginning to feel that 7 days is too short!

Joking aside, 4 days is about as short as I want to go. This is just my experience, but I encountered more 'booze cruise' situations on the 3 night than I have on any of other cruises. Yeah...not cool on a Disney Cruise.

To sum up: Nope, not doing it again