Help Us Choose Our First Cruise!

[auntlynne]

I read the thread title and was going to throw in my two cents that I am in the 4-night camp.

Then I read the rest and thought that the 3-night sounded like such a good idea.

My first cruise was a 3-night. I was seasick during dinner, having to leave in the middle (two of the dining rooms were in the front of the ship, including the one I was in).

Five months later, we were sailing on a 4-night. And have done all different lengths of cruises in the following 15 years.

If you loved WDW and then DCL, and can find the time and money, you can go for a longer cruise.

I have land sickness. And I did have seasickness, which seems to have worn off. Dramamine knocks me out, as does Bonnie. The wrist bands helped, but the prescription Scopalomine patch was the most effective. It left me dry and thirsty, but water onboard is very good.

And if you have seasickness, you could have a kid with it. Those extra 24 hours might be bearable for you - but for a 3 yo?

The only drawback I see is a 3 yo and a balcony, if you have a climber.

Have a great cruise.

 

[HeatherLassell]

I get motion sickness. I take my first Dramamine once we board the ship as it doesn't set sail for many hours after that. And then every morning I take one before I get out of bed if its a day at sea. If it's a port day I save it since the ship isn't moving. Unless I'm going on some transportation that day. It does make me drowsy but so far I've found its the only thing that prevents me from feeling sick to my stomach. So I deal with it.

 

[disneypanda11]

Thanks to all of you for your wisdom and insight. We decided to go with the 3 day cruise and can’t wait to discover whether DCL is our new happy place! 🛳

 

[Kwami]

I see that you've already made your decision. However...

I sailed a 3-night cruise for the first time in February. It's a very different crowd than you get with the 4-night cruises. I guess that's because the 3-night cruises are over the weekend instead of during the work week. Anyway, the ship was more crowded, the people were much louder, and everything was... well, worse. The Wish might be different, and some of this might be a result of health and safety protocols that are slowly going away, but on the Dream, there was no pirate night for the 3-night cruise and they only did one stage show instead of two.

Just a few things to keep in mind.

 

[holula]

I see that you've already made your decision. However...

I sailed a 3-night cruise for the first time in February. It's a very different crowd than you get with the 4-night cruises. I guess that's because the 3-night cruises are over the weekend instead of during the work week. Anyway, the ship was more crowded, the people were much louder, and everything was... well, worse. The Wish might be different, and some of this might be a result of health and safety protocols that are slowly going away, but on the Dream, there was no pirate night for the 3-night cruise and they only did one stage show instead of two.

Just a few things to keep in mind.

This is why I like the 4 night. The 3 night just makes it feel so rushed.

 

[disneypanda11]

I expect that those saying the 3-night cruise will feel short are likely right! I'm actually hoping you are because that would mean we'd be having a great time and want to stay longer!

What ultimately led us to our decision was budget for this year, having a guarantee of early dining (even knowing we could add on to the waitlist, I'm just too concerned about this with our 3 y/o to leave it up to chance), and a better stateroom on the 3-night versus 4-night trip. Additionally, until we know how we all do with seasickness, I'm more comfortable not chancing it on a longer sail. Sounds like if we love it, we can book again with a discount onboard which is great to know!

This itinerary only stops at CC (no Nassau), so I'd love to hear your absolute MUST-DO's aboard the ship since we won't have time to do it all. We're not planning for any excursions at CC and plan to just have some beach time unless there is more we should definitely do there!

 

[Cruising Engineer]

You absolutely must: relax and enjoy your cruise. It's not WDW.
There are things to do, but just wandering around the ship, relaxing at the pool, enjoying the food, and being with your family is plenty for a 3-night cruise.

 

[TeamRiley]

If you aren't getting off in Nassau, the 3 night will be fine. If you are interested in things like the Spa, those are always less expensive on port days because everyone is gone.

 

[Cruising Engineer]

Do you enjoy wine with your dinner?

 

[disneypanda11]

You absolutely must: relax and enjoy your cruise. It's not WDW.
There are things to do, but just wandering around the ship, relaxing at the pool, enjoying the food, and being with your family is plenty for a 3-night cruise.

Love the sound of this! It's honestly the main reason we're skipping WDW this year. I just can't take the stress of all the planning!

 

[greensombrero]

So I was someone who said I would never cruise for multiple reasons. My wife really wanted to try something other than the parks and I read enough good things to decide to try a cruise. Originally we planned to just try 3 nights because I was concerned about sea sickness and would I really like cruising. I get quite motion sick on many rides. For various reasons we ended up switching to a 5 night cruise and I was so glad I did. I brought a bunch of seasick options but only ended up wearing sea bands and almost could have gone with out. It was sitting in the theater which is at the front of the ship and watching the curtain that set me off a bit but I wore the bands and then was just fine. We had some rough seas my first cruise and ended up thinking it was fun to walk more than getting sick. I ended up being so glad we had more time on board to really experience it. Totally got the cruise bug. So I’ll second be prepared but don’t be surprised that sea sickness won’t be a big issue if at all. While I don’t believe it is entirely a mental thing I do believe many like me worry more than is needed.

All that being said we ended up on a 4 night cruise next and we leave on a 3 night here shortly. Any cruise can be fun and sometimes circumstances mean you do a shorter one. I’d look at the other factors. You likely can resolve the dining time. Dates and budget are more of a factor. I’ve sailed ocean view and verandah and both were great. You really can’t go wrong. One consideration is if your little one will nap some say having a verandah is nice you can maybe sneak out and sit on it while they nap vs being stuck in your room.

Ultimately I can’t recommend enough giving cruising a try! You could also consider a different ship. Yes the Wish is new and cool but we loved the Magic and the Wonder (oldest ships). So if something else works better you could consider it.

 

[disneypanda11]

If you aren't getting off in Nassau, the 3 night will be fine. If you are interested in things like the Spa, those are always less expensive on port days because everyone is gone.

The itinerary for 11/4 - 11/7 actually doesn't list Nassau as a stop, so I think it's 1 day at sea and 1 day at CC. Do you think it would be hard to reserve something like the spa on the day at sea since it will be the only one of the trip? We plan to get off the ship at CC.

 

[disneypanda11]

Do you enjoy wine with your dinner?

Indeed!

 

[Cruising Engineer]

Indeed!

If you want to save money:
go to your DCL page, ->Already Booked, ->Before You Go, ->Onboard Gifts:
->Shop by Category, ->Beer and Wine

Your cruise is a 3-night so the 3-bottle Classic/Premium will come up. Click on whichever category you want and it will have a list of the wines in the package. I always pre-order the dinner wine early, get the set price, and it's paid. One less thing that will not be on the final bill when you disembark. Ordering anything on the "GIFTS" page needs to be done way before the cruise. Enjoy.

 

[Dug720]

port days because everyone is gone.

There may be port-day discounts, but on Nassau day, the ship is still pretty full. MANY people stay on board.

 

[dad of 3 addicted to DCL]

Or, just carry on the wine of your choice at 1/2 the price...

 

[auntlynne]

This should be a great trip!

I’ll take a Sea Day + Castaway Cay 3-nighter. Iit’s a great intro cruise.

The first day on most cruises, the Spa has an open house, which makes me think spa treatments may usually be available. I would imagine there are some that routinely sell out; Rainforest room time is one that comes to mind.

 

[shananigans]

We're deciding between a 3 and 4 night cruise this November on the Wish. This will be our first cruise ever (2 adults + 3 yo) and I’d love some thoughts on choosing which of the two options we have on hold may be best suited for us.

Here are some of the main thoughts I have but I’m sure there are things we don’t know about what we’d miss/gain with a 3 versus 4 day cruise.

For the Nov 4-7 trip (3 nights):

- We like the idea of a shorter first cruise, as I am prone to motion sickness and in the event that’s an issue, it would be a shorter sail (though we did get a midship stateroom which I read helps)
- Main dining seating is available
- We have no interest in Nassau, so CC only is a good fit for us
- A verandah room fits into the budget better with a shorter cruise
- I’m worried it may feel too short, though we plan to spend most of the time together as a family and don’t intend to take advantage of the spa/ adult only restaurants, etc.

For the Nov 7-11 trip (4 nights):
- No midship staterooms available, forward section instead (does this really matter for motion?)
- Stateroom is an ocean view (no verandah)
- We could skip Nassau and get a bonus day aboard the ship (is this worth it?)
- Only late dining is available which will absolutely be a huge challenge for our little one who does not nap and goes to bed quite early (what are the chances of this changing on what appears to be a very full ship?)

TIA

We did a four day for our first and it was good. Our next was a seven day and that was even better. Surprising them with a Memorial Day cruise which is only three days but we have a four day planned in October and another full week planned next March. I think with what you are saying the three day would be more than enough. But I am telling you that cruising is so addictive. Especially with Disney!

 

[auntlynne]

Update: my sister went to spa open house and booked a 75 minute massage + aromatherapy for $129 or $149. It was for that day.

 

[CamillaF]

I expect that those saying the 3-night cruise will feel short are likely right! I'm actually hoping you are because that would mean we'd be having a great time and want to stay longer!

What ultimately led us to our decision was budget for this year, having a guarantee of early dining (even knowing we could add on to the waitlist, I'm just too concerned about this with our 3 y/o to leave it up to chance), and a better stateroom on the 3-night versus 4-night trip. Additionally, until we know how we all do with seasickness, I'm more comfortable not chancing it on a longer sail. Sounds like if we love it, we can book again with a discount onboard which is great to know!

This itinerary only stops at CC (no Nassau), so I'd love to hear your absolute MUST-DO's aboard the ship since we won't have time to do it all. We're not planning for any excursions at CC and plan to just have some beach time unless there is more we should definitely do there!

Yaaa. We will be on that cruise with you... we are also first timers and my Twins girls will be turning 9!