Disney Wish 3 night vs 4 night vs Fantasy 7 night . . .

[disneywonderfun]

After much effort to secure reservations, my family decided against finalizing our plans on the Wish. We had a 3 night reservation in August in a Royal Suite and a 4 night reservation in July in a Royal Suite. Beyond the cost issue ($26k and $35k for each cruise respectively for our family of four), we struggled with the entire concept of being on the Wish for only 3 nights and/or 4 nights (non back-to-back).

My wife has always frowned on a 3 night cruise. Her points are well taken. The first day on the ship is mostly frenetic. Rush to port, wait at port, get on ship, run to lunch before too crowded, run around with some carry-on until room ready, get to room, unpack maybe carry-on, look in elevator stairwell area for bags not yet delivered, more unpacking, the entirely useless evacuation drill, back to room, get ready for dinner, wait in longest lines ever which is dinner night #1 as everybody shows up exactly at their time, panic to get to the first show and find seats, etc, etc. So, what you are left with are two full days (the final one including time needed to pack and get everything outside your cabin for port bag delivery). Point being, and I agree with my wife, the 3 night cruise is just too quick.

That left us considering reservation #2, the 4 night version. Certainly more appealing. However, in the end, we just wanted something more extended. I kept thinking 3 full days would just not be that relaxing either. With the new ship, I would WANT to visit each of the new main rotation restaurants. That would only leave one day for either of the premium dining experiences. Again, I would think I am sacrificing my relaxation time by feeling I need to pack so many things into a tight schedule.

We have done several 7 night Disney cruises and tend to prefer them. You get settled. You have time to even go to a rotation restaurant twice if you enjoy one in particular. More easily scheduled spa times, etc, etc. Everything being more calm makes it more pleasant for us.

So, if there is a question, I am curious what other people think? When I see a Platinum with 25+ cruises, I always think about it from my perspective. I presume (probably incorrectly) that they have been on 25+ 7 night cruises. I guess there are a lot of people that prefer quantity of cruises or, at least, more opportunities spread out to enjoy DCL (i.e. 3-4 cruises a year on DCL but shorter ones).

Just curious on other's thoughts.

DWF

 

[Cruising Engineer]

The Platinum 25+: if that is your goal then the 3 and 4-night cruises will get you there twice as fast as one 7-nighter.
It's Quantity vs Quality. Try B2B 3-4 nighters. You really don't lose the half-day on the second half of the B2B because you are already settled in (if you have the same room) and re-embarking is quick and easy. We've done both (Platinum 10) and enjoy 7+ nights sailing, no matter how they add up.

 

[Quellman]

Your thoughts are exactly on point with our line of thinking. We have done 3/4 Night Back to Back and 3/7 Night Back to Back. The overall vibe and vacation objectives are different. 3 Night is literally just a sprint vacation. 4 Night benefits with the sea day. 7 Nights have plenty of time to settle in. For some folks the rush and to some extent vacation time only affords those shorter trips.

I think for your question about the breakout of cruises for Platinum folks is probably split. Plenty of folks with high numbers and long cruises, you'll see this with older cruisers. There is a reason that unique itineraries (Panama Canal, Trans Atlantic, Hawaii) sell out quickly. The other group with 25+ are going to be local to the area who can take advantage of last minute rates, florida resident rates, or Cast Member rates.

For me and my crew 4 nights is the shortest we consider anymore, and that is because it is a function of time. We would have to wait for the wish to change to 7 Nights otherwise a B2B which my wife isn't a big fan of.

 

[Lorana]

I agree that 3-nights are too short, but we still do them, because they do make for an enjoyable long weekend getaway; I'd love once they get more ships if they'd alternate and have one ship do 3-nights F-M/4 nights M-F and another do 4-nights Th-M or F-Tu/3 nights M-Th or Tu-F just so we'd have the option of a 4-night weekend cruise. Our biggest reason for not doing 4-night cruises is the amount of vacation time needed, and sadly my job does not provide a lot of time-off. That said, my ideal is at least 5-nights, and I definitely prefer 7-nights. We haven't done B2B cruises, but my husband and I are considering it going forward just so we can stop in Castaway Cay more than once.

Honestly, if you aren't sitting here going I MUST SAIL ON THE WISH, and what you want is a good long Disney cruise, I'd book the Fantasy, and then wait for one of the Wish's sister ships to come out, as I'm certain one of them has to be doing 7-night sailings (probably the second one, the way they rolled out the Dream and the Fantasy).

 

[Yankee626]

Just Booked back to back cruises on the Wish for next August ! 3and 4 day cruises are not enough.

 

[JMommyof3]

We are in a similar position but 3nt Wish/4nt Dream/5nt Dream. We've done the Dream but again with short cruises, you really never get to do a lot once there. After long discussions with the family, we decided against the Wish for now just because it's such a new ship and we really want to enjoy/explore. Even the 4nt Dream, as you've said is still a bit rushed. I think we are leaning toward the 5nt so for your situation, I'd do the 7. Another thing to consider with the Wish going concierge. With all cabins booked and twice the number of the other ships, those normal perks might not be that easy to come by (adult dining, cabana). If that's important to you, that's something to factor in.

 

[JWG]

We're only doing a 3 night because it is being added on to an already planning on WDW trip (assuming we can get the rooms via DVC). Otherwise, I can't stand 3 nights for the reasons you mentioned. It's essentially two days and you have to pack in there. We prefer 7+. I'd consider a B2B if it timed right, I've never thought about doing a 7+3 since you have to change ships and they're off on their embarkation and disembarkation days.

 

[RamblingMad]

I’d do the Fantasy. Getting on and off these ships is like going through the airport. It’s not fun.

 

[Ralph&Pam]

For us, a 7-night is the shortest experience we have done. Three of those have actually been 4-5 or 5-5 B2Bs. We’ve done three transatlantic and two Panama Canal cruises. We have the 2022 Hawaii cruises booked B2B. Given all that, we are thinking of doing a 3-4 or 4-3 B2B on the Wish, just so we can experience it.

 

[lovedisneycruise]

I’ll begin this by saying I’m not able to afford the Royal suite as a single parent, but I did put a wish 4 night verandah in August on hold. I’m struggling with the same dilemma – I prefer at minimum a six night cruise and because I still work, my time off is limited and spread throughout the year. I’ve been debating whether I would prefer to actually do a back to back dream cruise in May before it heads to Miami – kind of a farewell to that ship cruise ( i’m not heading to Miami for a four night cruise). And then possibly a seven night fantasy in the fall/winter. I love the Fantasy and if I do both of those, there’s no way I can do August on the Wish too.

And I agree with the prior comments about rushing around esp getting on and off. I don’t enjoy that aspect for a four night w a Standard verandah room. If I could stay in a Royal suite I would really want to be able to relax and soak that in and I definitely couldn’t do that on a three night, and I’m not sure even on a four.

For me I am close to decided that I’m gonna wait to see the winter releases for the new ship and then decide what to do. I cruise solo or with my adult daughter, so a lot of the previewed amenities and design aren’t super appealing to us so far.

Good luck with your decision and I anxiously await seeing everyone’s photos and videos from those Royal suites!

ETA: I’ll become platinum with my next cruise which should’ve been early in 2020. So I’m not near 25 cruises yet, but I have to fly to get there..

 

[Cheburashka]

We've found that unless the itinerary is really special (like Alaska), then 7-night cruises get a little boring for us towards the end. A 5-night cruise (if just cruising the Caribbean or Bahamas) is ideal for us because there's plenty of time to settle in and enjoy everything, but it doesn't start to feel repetitive or boring. 3-night cruises are fun getaways that we do enjoy, but they also aren't ideal because we tend to wish we could stay a couple of days longer. Like the PP, I also wouldn't dream of spending 5 figures on a 3 or 4 night cruise. To each his own.

 

[ahain]

We have done 3, 4 & 5 night cruises, but really like 7night and longer. We still work full time jobs, and it seems like it takes until day 3 or 4 before we really are able to settle into vacation mode. So we will be doing our first ever B2B on the Wish - 3n + 4n - in Sept 2022

 

[Robbydj13]

For me, DCL cruises are perfect FOR 3/4-night itineraries. But I have never loved them for longer cruises because I never felt the ships had enough to offer. But everyone is different

 

[kaseyC]

I’m a big fan of 7+ night cruises. I love sea days, the more sea days the better. Transatlantic crossings are my favorite. because I want to sail the Wish and see how their concirhe experience compares to the other 4 ships and other cruise lines, I booked 3 night /4night B2B. I will probably do a few days pre-cruise at WDW for the Epcot F&W Festivale.

 

[Marthasor]

I've only done one, 3-night cruise - it was years ago on the Magic when DS was 6 and I wanted to see if he liked it before I booked a longer, more expensive cruise. It was a hit, so we've only booked 7+ night cruises since then. We booked a 4-night on the Wish, really out of curiousity plus we have some friends who will be on the same cruise. We will bookend it with a WDW trip and maybe (fingers crossed) the new Star Wars hotel if we are lucky enough to get reservations. I considered a B2B, but I am not a fan of the Bahamas/CC itinerary so really didn't want to invest any more time or money on that experience. I hope to book one of the special dining experiences and, if we really like the ship, we know it will be around for many years and will book for another time. I am totally with you - I would not want to do a 3-night and then do a 4-night a month later. The 3-night, especially, is too hectic for me. I would either do a B2B or just do a 4-night to experience the ship. Those prices, too, wowzers. We spent less than what you were quoted for the 4-night when we sailed in the Walt Disney suite on the Magic on a 9-night Norway sailing a few years ago. I realize that was a few years ago, but I just couldn't see myself spending the same amount on a 4-night sailing to Nassau, new ship or not . . .

 

[FastPasser.]

I don't do 3 night cruises, but I'm settling for a 4 nighter on the Wish just to experience the ship. It'll be a one and done unless they add 7 night cruises.