4-night vs 7-night?

[ScorpioPants]

We took our first Disney cruise in March on the Dream and did 4 nights. Considering another and are debating between 4 (Dream) and 7 (Fantasy) nights. For those who have done both, what are the pros/cons (besides cost)? We would be leaving out of Port Canaveral. Kids will be 11 and 7 at the time.

 

[lahobbs4]

We've done a 3 night years ago (no kids) and last month a 7 night Fantasy with our 3 children (11,9, and 6). I can only tell you this; we all wished we had done 10 nights instead!

 

[hcox31]

We did 3 four nights before we did our first 7 night. We are forever ruined. We will never go back to 4 night again. Not having to pack up on the 4th night was a DREAM. We feel like we got to know our servers that much better, and enjoy the ship that much more.

 

[Frozen2014]

Longer is always better if its in your budget, vacation days and/or school days.
Guess the only other advantage of a 4 nigher is if you are unsure if cruising is for you and you want to give it a try (in case you don't like it).

We've done both....and I do love the 4 nighter too. You just need to go in with the mentality knowing that it is only 4 days (or more like 3.5 days)

 

[Budzooka]

We did 7 nights on our first cruise and then did a 3 night cruise.....what a mistake! It was over so fast. Next 7 night cruise is 20 days away!

 

[VTNuke]

We've done 3, 4, 5, and 7 night cruises. I enjoyed the 7 the most, the DW enjoyed the 5 the most as far as the length. I'd recommend the 7 night cruise. It's usually cheaper per night than the 3 or 4 night cruises, even if the total cost is higher. We also typically combine the 3 or 4 night cruises with something else, like a few days at WDW or Universal, which always ends up getting extended longer than we first considered and we end up with a 10 day total vacation.

I like the Fantasy (typically your 7 night cruises), but I kind of liked the Dream a little more and I really don't have a reason for it. I actually enjoyed the Wonder too.

 

[PrincessPinball]

We went on our first DCL Cruise last month. It was a 4 night on the Dream. We got home and immediately booked an 8 night on the Fantasy. I can see my husband and I booking 3-4 nighters as “date” trips without kids.... but we are SO looking forward to our 8 night next November!

Edited to add: We added WDW time to the 4 night which was amazing. We ended our vacation riding the carousel at the Magic Kingdom at midnight. It was so great. We will have a couple “extra days” that the kids aren’t in school before our 8 night and will probably end up at the parks then also.

 

[rere101399]

We also did our first cruise in March, a 4 night on the Dream. We loved it but wanted more so we squeezed in a 3 night on the Fantasy in August. The 3 night was much too short, it was crazy how different it felt. We left feeling like we were tired of getting off the ship with so many things we wished we had done so we’re booked for a 7 night SWDAS in January.

 

[dvcgirl1]

The biggest difference between 4 and 7 nights is just the feeling that we get when we embark, unpack out things and know that we are there for the next 7 days. It just feels so nice (still flies by though!!) Also, there are more sea days, which we enjoy, as it gives us more time to just hang around. Plus, my family likes lobster night.

 

[Cruising Engineer]

We've done 7, 10, and 14-night cruises in the past. Love the long cruises.
Trying a B2B in January, 3 night then 4 night. We'll see.
Actually these will be #9 and #10 so we disembark as Platinum. That is the plan.
The more times I get a menu handed to me (versus "What's for dinner") the happier I am. Longer the better.

 

[DisneYE]

We took our first Disney cruise in March on the Dream and did 4 nights. Considering another and are debating between 4 (Dream) and 7 (Fantasy) nights. For those who have done both, what are the pros/cons (besides cost)? We would be leaving out of Port Canaveral. Kids will be 11 and 7 at the time.

I don't think you'll find a single cruiser that prefers a 4 night over 7 or more.
Time (as in, sometimes work, school, other commitments come into consideration) and money constraints for sure come to play in preference between the two.
But as for desired time on the ship, I'll be surprised if you find a single person that says: "7 is too much, I like 4 or less"

 

[Mainsail Minnie]

The main advantages of a 3 or 4-night on the Dream rather than a 7-night on the Fantasy are:
1. it fitting into a tighter schedule,
2. being able to more easily pair it with a WDW stay,
3. less overall cost,
4. being able to watch Beauty and the Beast, and
5. not having to deal with the aft vibration issues on the Fantasy.

We've taken 3, 5 and 7 night cruises, and have sailed on every ship. We've loved the 3-night cruises as much as the 7-night cruises. We've got a 7-night on the Fantasy coming up in December, and a 3-night on the Dream in June, and are looking forward to both.

 

[dad of 3 addicted to DCL]

We prefer the 7+ night cruises, but the 3 or 4 nighters are great to 'get our fix' as a long weekend for the 3 night or (when the kids were in elementary school) an easy in-between cruise. Now, with the kids in high school, its long cruises on break and a 3 nighter here and there on a long weekend.

Ours keep getting longer. 4, 7, 11, 12... looking for an around the world cruise! It'll be our retirement gift to each other

 

[Rob1872]

Disregarding the number of nights, the biggest reason to do the 7 night Fantasy is that it is a different set of port visits. If you do another 4 night Dream you do the identical cruise that you've already done. You'll have different experiences on either the Eastern or Western Caribbean.

 

[ScorpioPants]

Thanks so much for the feedback! We booked the 7-night Western Caribbean for spring break 2021 (I'm a planner...) about 30 minutes ago! I booked 4 nights for the first one because everyone said 3 was too short. I was hesitant to go longer because it was our first-ever cruise and I wasn't sure what to expect. Now I'm afraid I'll like the 7-nights and have to get a part-time job to support my habit..

 

[lklgoodman]

Thanks so much for the feedback! We booked the 7-night Western Caribbean for spring break 2021 (I'm a planner...) about 30 minutes ago! I booked 4 nights for the first one because everyone said 3 was too short. I was hesitant to go longer because it was our first-ever cruise and I wasn't sure what to expect. Now I'm afraid I'll like the 7-nights and have to get a part-time job to support my habit..

Just remember when you're on the 2021 cruise, you can then book your next cruise and you will get a discount by booking it on board. I've only done it once, I believe it was either 10% or 20% off for 7 nights, not sure if it's the same for shorter cruises. Make sure you check out some of the onboard activities that may not have been on your 4 day cruise like the character breakfast, the Anyone Can Cook demos on the sea days and Pluto's pj party in the Oceaneer's club for kids. We've only done 7night cruises, so I don't know if any of those are on 4 night cruises or not.

 

[Intr3pid]

Thanks so much for the feedback! We booked the 7-night Western Caribbean for spring break 2021 (I'm a planner...) about 30 minutes ago! I booked 4 nights for the first one because everyone said 3 was too short. I was hesitant to go longer because it was our first-ever cruise and I wasn't sure what to expect. Now I'm afraid I'll like the 7-nights and have to get a part-time job to support my habit..

This last summer, we spent 31 days cruising different parts of Europe, incl. 10 nights on the Magic in the Baltic Sea and 7 nights again in Norway.

And it all started after we decided to 'try' a 7-nighter as our second cruise after a 3-nighter on Dream.

Commiserations.

 

[dad of 3 addicted to DCL]

It's like the potato chips...can't have just one

 

[Mainsail Minnie]

Just remember when you're on the 2021 cruise, you can then book your next cruise and you will get a discount by booking it on board. I've only done it once, I believe it was either 10% or 20% off for 7 nights, not sure if it's the same for shorter cruises.

If you book onboard, you'll get 10% off the base price of any non-blackout date cruise.

If you book a 7 night or longer cruise, you will also only have to pay a reduced minimum deposit of 10%, but that won't change the cost of the cruise.

 

[lklgoodman]

If you book onboard, you'll get 10% off the base price of any non-blackout date cruise.

If you book a 7 night or longer cruise, you will also only have to pay a reduced minimum deposit of 10%, but that won't change the cost of the cruise.

Thanks. I wasn't sure how much the discount was. I should have known DCL wouldn't give a discount as much as 20%!! Especially since they did away with the $200 onboard credit. Just glad I was able to get that at least once.