is a 3 or 4 day cruise really long enough

[orlandothebeagle]

go go go go go go on whatever you can afford, go for the cheapest stateroom, you are never in it!! we done 4 nights last year, it was perfect, said next time we would do a 7, and we are, 4 nights are great!! you will find you do not want to leave the ship probably, we didnt, enjoy

 

[lillygator]

for us, no three days isn't long enough - but if it is all we could afford I would do it.

 

[dursin]

We can't budget to do 1 full week on DCL, but might be able to manage 4 days. Just wondering if it is long enough to really enjoy. Otherwise our options are to go for a week on a lowerer(cheaper) cruise ship. Any suggestions?

Our first cruise was a 4 day in 2005. We've since done two 7-day cruises (one Eastern and one Western) and the next one I have booked is another 4 day. No matter which one you choose it's likely to seems to short and you really aren't going to be ready to go home on that last day. For me there are a few benefits to the 4 day as well....

1) No formal/semi-formal nights. Don't particularly care for getting all dressed up when we're on vacation. But...if you really want to there is a less formal 'dress up night' on the 4 day cruises.

2) Two shots at Castaway Cay! Since the 4 day cruise stops at Castaway Cay on day 3 and has day 4 for it's day at sea, you have a second chance to stop there should something go wrong the first day (ie, ship can't dock, bad weather, etc...). On the 7 day cruises Castaway Cay is the last day which means if you miss it...you miss it.

3) The shows. They are almost the same on both ships, but...we have 3 boys who didn't care for Twice Charmed and to be honest, my wife and I also felt it was the worst of the 3 major stage shows that DCL does on the Magic. On the Wonder you will now have Toy Story which should be equally entertaining to both boys and girls in the audience.

4) Extra time on land. Doesn't apply to us since we live in Orlando, but if you're down here and only have a weeks vacation a 4 day cruise will allow you to spend a day or two at WDW (or Universal or Seaworld) which can probably be done for less than the cost difference between a 4 day and 7 day cruise.

 

[m4travel]

We would agree with those posters who said go with what works for you!

We generally do the 4-day Wonder cruises as we have limited vacation time and we can add on a few DVC days at WDW at the end of the cruise to cover all the bases. (I have to see IllumiNations or I haven't been to WDW.) I suppose at some point in time we'll be able to skip WDW - but not yet.

On the other hand, we're booked for the 5-day Magic in September beginning with two days at WDW. And we have a family extravag -- er, vacation in January which also includes both WDW and DCL, but we kept the cruise to 3 days to avoid paying higher points for the DVC resort accommodations (we're providing the rooms for the whole gang) and to keep the cost of the cruise down (the family is covering the cruise themselves). We also turned down the Roy suite in favor of 2 midship, sideways, connecting Cat 3s so there will be plenty of room for the family to gather in a central location. (Okay; we're spoiled. The ship is the destination for us, and space is our luxury.)

So whatever works for you - and it can change from cruise to cruise.

 

[Mom loves Disney]

We are trying the land/sea pkg. We chose the 3 night land and 4 day sea. We also added a pre-night on the WDW part. I thought the 4 night would be perfect for getting our feet wet. We have never been on a cruise before.