Is 3 nights enough

[ChipTheRescueRanger]

Ok we have decided on a 4 Night cruise. We are going to have a veranda. but no idea what room we should pick any help would be great.

Been offered 7554 but no idea if there are better rooms left

 

[kiford]

Ok we have decided on a 4 Night cruise on August 21st. We are going to have a veranda. but no idea what room we should pick any help would be great.

Been offered 7554 but no idea if there are better rooms left

Hard to say. We decided to just do a VGT and let DCL pick our stateroom since we'd never sailed on her before and didn't know what was good. We used to sail midship, mid-level but got moved a couple of times for unknown reasons or couldn't get what we wanted and found out that we liked other areas too so my only hope was not to have to walk up or down too many flights of stairs to do what we wanted.

If you get on/off the ship and take the stairs, you might not want to be too high deck-wise because it's a long way up after a day off the ship, but OTOH it's closer to the pool deck, but then it's farther from the restaurants. Which is why we usually still pick mid-level even if we don't care so much about forward, aft or mid-ship.

We ended up on deck 7, fairly far aft. It was a long way to get to the elevators though not too bad, and everywhere we wanted to go was typically 4-5 flights up or 3-4 flights down so we never had to go up too many flights of stairs. So we liked it.

 

[Disney_David]

If you go for a family deluxe verandah I see some rooms left on the bump out which gives you a slightly larger balcony - 8624, and 8576. We just sailed in 8574 (next door). 8574 was a great room. I’d stay in that room again in a heartbeat

 

[darnheather]

3 nights is perfect if you've never cruises before. 4 night would be max as there is a chance you may not enjoy it and you will feel stuck

Totally disagree. Three nights is not enough to get the feel of a cruise. I started with a seven night and would highly recommend a minimum of 5 with seven being truly the sweet spot.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

If you can make it work financially, I would get a one way tickets from the UK to Orlando. Then go to Disney for however many days you had planned.

Then rent a car and drive down to Miami the night before your cruise. It's about 3.5 hours, so you could wake up early the day of and do it but you are risking it. You could also get on a short flight from MCO but with it not being that far away, it's almost easier to drive.

The next morning, return the car rental and head to the cruise. Then afterwards, get a one way ticket to the UK.

That's what I would do in your shoes. Definitely a lot of moving parts but if you can swing it, I'd go for it!

I think it depends what day of the week you sail. We drove from BC to Miami the morning of our cruise and it was easy. We even did a very relaxed character breakfast at Cape May Cafe before the drive. This was on a Sunday and traffic wasn't bad at all. Well, by NJ/Philly standards it was a breeze. We dropped the car off at MIA's offsite rental car center and as long as we saved our receipt that we had rented a car, they offered a free shuttle to the port. Very easy but maybe post covid this is no longer possible.

Also, consider OP is from the UK and may not feel comfortable driving here. Maybe it's just me but we were feeling adventurous when we drove all over Ireland on our honeymoon. Now, almost 28 years later, I'm not so adventurous in other countries.

OP, I would definitely choose at least 4 nights and I would choose the cruise after all your park visits. Cruising provides a higher level of service and it's more relaxing than parks, so it's harder to go in reverse. JMHO.

ETA: Oh I see that you chose a date. Is this on the Wish? Have fun planning!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Totally disagree. Three nights is not enough to get the feel of a cruise. I started with a seven night and would highly recommend a minimum of 5 with seven being truly the sweet spot.

5 nights was our first. On Carnival. Once we tried DCL, there was no going back. 5 nights was a good length to get a real feel for it.
Our first 4 Disney cruises were all 7-nights and we swore we'd never do a 3 night. That is, until I started feeling like I really needed it more often. Our kids would get a 4 day weekend off school in late Sept for Jewish holidays and when flight times and decent pricing all work out, well sometimes the stars align and it's meant to be. It's better than 0 nights and at least we can book another placeholder.
With kids grown, we could finally try a 14 night WBPC last March and that was the best. We booked it again for Oct.

 

[randumb0]

Totally disagree. Three nights is not enough to get the feel of a cruise. I started with a seven night and would highly recommend a minimum of 5 with seven being truly the sweet spot.

You enjoy cruising so you're basing your opinion on that. I'm basing my opinion on the handful of people I know that went on a cruise and hated it. If you're not a fan of the motion of a ship 5 or 7 would be miserable

 

[Disney_David]

Looking back I think 3 nights was perfect for our first cruise…but probably for reasons specific to us, 1. I could do a taster over the weekend and not be out of work for the entire week, 2. I am <2 years from 50 and not cruised before - I had a boat for many years funnily, but was always put off by cruising, 3. No kids, and didn’t want to be surrounded by hoards of people or children.

Now, if I was coming from the UK, I wouldn’t do just 3 nights, nor would I do 7 in case I hated it. I think the OP picked the right balance.

 

[ChipTheRescueRanger]

Looking back I think 3 nights was perfect for our first cruise…but probably for reasons specific to us, 1. I could do a taster over the weekend and not be out of work for the entire week, 2. I am <2 years from 50 and not cruised before - I had a boat for many years funnily, but was always put off by cruising, 3. No kids, and didn’t want to be surrounded by hoards of people or children.

Now, if I was coming from the UK, I wouldn’t do just 3 nights, nor would I do 7 in case I hated it. I think the OP picked the right balance.

What isn't happy is my Bank balance haha.

We have booked flights so after the cruise we can spend 1 more night at WDW then head home. So hopefully we have got the balance just right.

Also the UK tickets are 14 days. with an 18 usage span. So should work perfectly.

 

[JM_97]

5 nights was our first. On Carnival. Once we tried DCL, there was no going back. 5 nights was a good length to get a real feel for it.
Our first 4 Disney cruises were all 7-nights and we swore we'd never do a 3 night. That is, until I started feeling like I really needed it more often. Our kids would get a 4 day weekend off school in late Sept for Jewish holidays and when flight times and decent pricing all work out, well sometimes the stars align and it's meant to be. It's better than 0 nights and at least we can book another placeholder.
With kids grown, we could finally try a 14 night WBPC last March and that was the best. We booked it again for Oct.

Panama Canal is on my cruise bucket list! Right now I'm working on an Eastern Caribbean cruise for either this August, or next spring. Trying to figure out which one is best for our schedules and wallets...

 

[Disney_David]

Hahaha. I hear you!! But you only live once!! And coming that far, I’d definitely add on!

We weren’t back but back two weeks and booked another 7 night Disney cruise in less than two months. If you’re in for a penny, in for a pound is what I say!