3 night vs. 4 night- What's different about "Day at Sea"?

[Angeliki19]

Hi! We are booking our first cruise and trying to decide between 3 and 4 night. We are huge WDW fans and planning a big trip there in 2019, so for 2018 we were thinking of trying the Disney Cruise and combining it with a "land" portion of Universal Orlando, Legoland and/or Sea World.

As this is our first cruise (and I don't see us doing it again in the near future due to other trips we have planned), I wanted to do the 4 day to really get to experience everything DCL has to offer. However, the 3-day works much better for a "land and sea" due to it being over the weekend. We are talking 4-5 theme park days vs. only 2 if we do a 4-day cruise.

I have heard on the podcast about why you don't want to miss the Day at Sea. However, we don't plan to disembark in Nassau, as we have no interest in going there and are really more interested in the amenities on the boat. Would that give us the same feel as a true "day at sea", or are there different activities/amenities we shouldn't miss on the 4 day cruise?

TIA!

 

[Maggie'sMom]

For me, the main reason to pick a 4 night over a 3 night is so you have more time to relax. With a 3 night, it always seems so rushed. As soon as you get settled it, it's time to pack up again. The 4 night cruises still feel somewhat rushed, but not as much as the 3 night.

 

[GoofyLovingFamily]

The sea day offers more scheduled activities on the ship. Plus you can relax more.

 

[com_op_2000]

For me, the main reason to pick a 4 night over a 3 night is so you have more time to relax. With a 3 night, it always seems so rushed. As soon as you get settled it, it's time to pack up again. The 4 night cruises still feel somewhat rushed, but not as much as the 3 night.

The sea day offers more scheduled activities on the ship. Plus you can relax more.

Relax is the key word in both of these posts.
You cannot have any idea since you have never been, but that "Day at Sea" builds in time for relaxing.

 

[Bethany10]

We are looking at the same thing. The 3 day in late May, followed by 2 days at Universal. I looked at the 4 day and I'd LOVE to do it, but cost becomes a factor at that point. if we weren't doing the 2 days at Universal on the back end (and the price that goes with it) I'd go for the 4 day.

ETA, this will be our first cruise, and first time at either park. For us, it truly comes down to cost. I'm seriously looking at the Star Wars Day at sea for Spring break, if I can con DH into using the booking while on board benefit.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I think it's important to know that even with a day at sea, you will not get to experience "everything" DCL has to offer. You'll still be getting the sampler platter.

 

[Anchors Away 2016]

If the 3-day fits in better with your other plans, go for it! Either way, it will give you a taste of DCL, and you'll get to see if you like it. It will be a fun addition to the rest of your vacation!

 

[hpsalb]

We've done both and prefer the 4 night. The 3 night feels really rushed to us.

We have done several land and sea trips and they are not always WDW. We did LL one time and our kids really enjoyed it. If you are thinking of LL, two days there would be plenty and then you could do the 4 night cruise. We did Seaworld recently as a standalone trip and that same time frame would work there too. You might want 3-4 days for Universal, but if do the other parks either alone or combined, you wouldn't need as much time.

 

[taggie4]

I would for sure do the 4 night. I think you will enjoy your time on the cruise even more than the parks. When it is not a true day at sea they don't have an all day schedule of events. Especially opt for the 4 night since you don't plan to do another cruise anytime soon.

 

[CamColt]

While I do agree 3 nights on the ship is better than no cruise at all, if you can swing the 4 night, that really makes a difference compared to a 3 night. If nothing else, you will get the chance to enjoy Palo Brunch on the sea day. IMO, this is the best food on the cruise.

 

[MinnesotaMouseketeers]

The day at sea gives you time to explore the ship, sign up for more shipboard activities and a great day to relax. If you are planning on spending as much time on Castaway Cay as possible and even if you do not go into Nassau; I believe you will get off the ship and wonder how much more to the ship is there that I have not seen. For my wife and I the more sea days the better!!!

 

[Disneyteachers]

I haven't done a 3 or 4 day, only a 7, but I thought I'd chime in on the parks. Haven't been to legoland so no advice. Universal, you can do in 2 days if you don't want to do everything. We wanted to do everything Harry Potter plus other highlights so we got 2 day tickets with an extra day free (undercover tourist) plus a onsite hotel that offers front of the line access! Sea World can easily be done in 1 day, including shows. We were pleasantly surprised by Sea World.

 

[Angeliki19]

We've done both and prefer the 4 night. The 3 night feels really rushed to us.

We have done several land and sea trips and they are not always WDW. We did LL one time and our kids really enjoyed it. If you are thinking of LL, two days there would be plenty and then you could do the 4 night cruise. We did Seaworld recently as a standalone trip and that same time frame would work there too. You might want 3-4 days for Universal, but if do the other parks either alone or combined, you wouldn't need as much time.

My son has been dying to go to LL and we keep putting it off because it doesn't seem that cool, but everyone I know who has gone really liked it! I am pushing Universal because I am dying to do Harry Potter, DS is a huge Jurassic Park fan, and we were also thinking about spending a day at Volcano Bay. But yeah, maybe the 4 day cruise and just a day at LL. Ugh so hard to decide!! Did you do land first or sea first? Did you stay near LL or back in Orlando area?

 

[Angeliki19]

While I do agree 3 nights on the ship is better than no cruise at all, if you can swing the 4 night, that really makes a difference compared to a 3 night. If nothing else, you will get the chance to enjoy Palo Brunch on the sea day. IMO, this is the best food on the cruise.

I have heard SO much about the Palo brunch, haha! I really may have to experience it myself! We were planning to do Palo dinner... is brunch better?

 

[Angeliki19]

The day at sea gives you time to explore the ship, sign up for more shipboard activities and a great day to relax. If you are planning on spending as much time on Castaway Cay as possible and even if you do not go into Nassau; I believe you will get off the ship and wonder how much more to the ship is there that I have not seen. For my wife and I the more sea days the better!!!

We can swing a longer vacation if we go in February... 4 night cruise plus 5 night "land"... but we are worried about the weather potentially being too cold. If we go in April, we have less time, so that means either the 3 night cruise or only 3 nights "land", but I know the weather would be better for water activities!

Which would you choose for a newbie.. a 3 night cruise in April or a 4 night cruise in Feb?

 

[MaleficentUK]

We were very happy with our 3 day after our WDW vacation. Never felt rushed or that we missed anything. Excellent way to cap off the trip. I loved it and we are going on the Northern Europe next month, but I don't think I would sacrifice 2-3 park days for one more cruise day.

 

[MinnesotaMouseketeers]

We can swing a longer vacation if we go in February... 4 night cruise plus 5 night "land"... but we are worried about the weather potentially being too cold. If we go in April, we have less time, so that means either the 3 night cruise or only 3 nights "land", but I know the weather would be better for water activities!

Which would you choose for a newbie.. a 3 night cruise in April or a 4 night cruise in Feb?

I can only tell you what we prefer and would never assume that this will work for everybody.

Back when we first started cruising my wife was always for as many days cruising as possible; while I wanted to spend more time at the front of our vacation in the parks at WDW. I couldn't see going all the way down to Florida and not go to the parks. And our son was seven years old for his first Disney vacation and we thought it better to split it into a land and sea trip because of that.

We also spent a lot of time in the pools, the water at CC and snorkeling excursions back then. It looks like you family is big time into water activities and I have to agree that February could be too cold. It was almost too cold to get into the water at CC in December.

Our son's 24 now and with the exception of a 2015 Christmas cruise he hasn't cruised with us for a while. And I must admit that I now enjoy DCL more and the more days cruising; the better. And I love the details that Disney puts into their ships.

A three day cruise is better than none. And if you do skip going into Nassau you will get a chance to explore the ship on that day.

 

[loril13]

We can swing a longer vacation if we go in February... 4 night cruise plus 5 night "land"... but we are worried about the weather potentially being too cold. If we go in April, we have less time, so that means either the 3 night cruise or only 3 nights "land", but I know the weather would be better for water activities!

Which would you choose for a newbie.. a 3 night cruise in April or a 4 night cruise in Feb?

We did out first cruise this past Feb/Mar. We opted for four nights. We really wanted that day at sea to do some exploring on the ship.
Being docked for the day and staying on the ship is nothing like cruising through the crystal blue ocean, strolling on the deck with the sea breeze blowing. For us, it was amazing. I don't think we'd ever do a 3 night and miss the day at sea. (We booked out next cruise while on board. We're doing a 7 night with two days at sea!)
We thought the weather in Nassau and Castaway Cay was amazing. We played in the water all day. We're Bostonians, so ocean water in the 60's is a treat. The 73º water at Castaway Cay was like the bath!

 

[Rabb it]

Not having to worry about getting off the ship at a certain time to get a good spot/go on your excursion, and then having to worry about reboarding time during your time off the ship. On a sea day you just get to do whatever you want at whatever time you want to do it Definitely love the sea days!

 

[bumbershoot]

My son has been dying to go to LL and we keep putting it off because it doesn't seem that cool...

Go. We did the same thing and now he's nearly 13 and almost 5'8" and doesn't really want to go. And he's still disappointed that we didn't go when he was younger. So go.

But the 4 night is yummier than the 3 night. The feeling of the docked ship in Nassau vs the ship sailing (slowly, in big circles, lol) on a sea day is different.