Is a 4 day cruise better than no cruise??

[ragdoll]

Well, here's one more opinion for you. DH and I just returned from the 3 land/4 sea a few weeks ago and I absolutely loved it! We have done both the 7 day Eastern and Western and two of the 4 land/3 sea and this was my favorite.

Since it was just DH and me it was very easy for us to park hop. We have been to WDW before so it was very easy to hit our favorite attractions and to try some new ones. We finally learned to take it a little slower and relax. Just accept the fact that you will not be able to do it all.

The four night cruise was perfect. You get to experience all of the restaurants and shows. Having cruised before I really enjoyed skipping some shows and sitting on the deck with a drink enjoying the sunset. It was so peaceful and quiet with most everyone else either at dinner or the shows.

Another plus was that Castaway Cay was not on the last day. It is so hard to go and pack after being in paradise all day. That last day at sea gives you some time to mentally prepare yourself for your return to reality.

We really enjoy Nassau as well and always get off the ship.

I know that I am in the minority and most people enjoy the seven day more. That being said, DH is one of those people. I love both the parks and the cruise and feel that I am getting the best of both worlds. (I must prefer the cruise however, because I can go to Florida for just the cruise but cannot even consider going to WDW without getting on that beautiful ship. The seven day is just a bit too long for me.)

We are doing the seven day Eastern in Sept. and have another 3 land/4sea booked for Sept. 2005.

Whatever you decide I'm sure that you will have a great time!

 

[ragdoll]

Oh, one more plus. If you cannot dock at CC for some reason you will get to go the next day if possible. I cannot imagine having to miss CC!

 

[indymom1]

Thanks Ragdoll...I never thought of the two reasons that you listed for liking the 4 day cruise better. 1. Having a second chance to dock at CC if we get bad weather. 2. Getting to really enjoy our day at CC and packing on our sea day. That is why I love these boards you get all kinds of different opinions when you post here.

 

[castlegazer]

I just wanted to pipe in again here. My husband just gave me the green light to look into 7 nights, as a refresher we are looking at booking a 4 day cruise in Sept., as we have a renter in our condo for the remainder of the week after we get off the ship and we want to keep the renter. Therefore we thought, well, why not take a 7 day to make sure we vacation the entire week. We are experienced cruisers, just not on DCL, and always take 7 day cruises. This will be our first cruise with our son who will be 2 3/4.

After spending two days looking into going on the 7 day Magic cruises I am right back at a 4 day cruise. Here is why, and its not cost as the 7 day is actually most cost effective.

1) I don't know how my son is going to do on the ship even though he is dying to go now that he has the DVD.

2) I don't know how we will do having to sit in our room every night as he is going to sleep (we have opted not to have a balcony stateroom for the first time since we started cruising because of cost - that can get a little tiring sitting in those small rooms with the lights out every night. I have done it in many hotels as we travel a lot with our son and its just not fun - my husband usually sits in the bathroom reading while I rub my son's back. Then one of us is stuck in the room after he goes to sleep - which will probably be me as I will be about five months pregnant at the time. Now you can take advantage of the clubs if your son is potty trained by that time or of Flounder's Nursery, but we want to put our son to sleep in the bed he will be staying in as he wakes if you try and move him after falling asleep and then its like he has had a nap and he's wide awake for a while afterwards.

3) Taking a wee one around the islands is a hassle due to car seats and the like so I actually am beginning to look forward to just hanging out on the ship during Nassau or doing a little strolling and then returning to the ship within easy walking distance.

4) I think the evening routine is going to get waaaaay tiring after four days and seven would just be dissaster trying to get my son back on his normal routine after we return. For example, if we are lucky enough to get moved to the early seating as its full right now, we would eat at 6, be in there for a good hour and a half at least, then head off to a show at 8:30 that would last for an hour, and then try and get our son to bed after that. Every night will be a marathon - fun, but a marathon none the less.

5) We get to go home and have some decompress time prior to returning to work.

So, with all this said, and I may be making a bigger deal about it than it is going to be, I am probably going to stick with a 4 day cruise even though I have the ability to book a 7 day. If all goes well this one, our next will be a 7 day, but by then we will be repeating this whole littany of stuff for our second child.

I hope this helps. It helped me to write it all out and think it through. We have a lot of experience traveling with our son and ots great and he is great and will do wonderfully at the meals but I know how complicated and tricky night time and basic logistics are with him in tow.

 

[chrisn]

7 Nights DCL Magic Eastern then 7 Nights RCCL Voyager Western Caribbean. While it met and exceeded everything I had hoped for and I felt it was money well spent, I would not do it again. Just too much cruising.

Our next cruise is 4 nights on the Wonder after 9 nights at WDW and I'm every bit as excited for it. I will do a 7 night again, next time Southern Caribbean but not back to back anymore. I think you'll be just fine.

 

[Carol36]

Hey ragdoll! (I was on the same cruise as her and her husband...May 23rd 4-day Wonder) I loved the last day being a sea day also. This did give me time to pack. Going into the cruise, I knew that if we couldn't go to CC, we would still have another day.

This was our first Disney cruise and we loved it so much that we have booked a 7-day for Dec. 2005. After our cruise, we went to WDW for 8 days. It would be hard for us to go on a cruise without going to WDW, especially Magic Kingdom.

If you are up for one more opinion, I would do the 4-day(worth every minute) and book WDW portion separately for August. We can't bring ourselves to take our kids out of school for vacation. They are a bit older, though.

I hope this helps....Carol

 

[Chattyaholic]

DH and I have taken both Easter and Western 7-night Magic cruises, then this past January we took my parents with us on the 4-night Wonder and I certainly do believe that a 4-night cruise is better, much better, than none at all.

In fact, I think I actually enjoyed the 4-night a wee bit more than the 7-night ones. By the 5th or 6th night I'm getting tired of having to go to dinner at a specified time and having to change clothes. With the 4-night I didn't experience that feeling. So, I felt the 4-night was just about right.

 

[crisi]

castlegazer,

Your thought process matches what I thought pretty well. My kids were a little older (4 and 5) and we had a lot of the same concerns.

When you start traveling with children, you can do it three ways: You can travel like you always have and drag your kids along, you can start traveling only for the kids, or you can try and compromise. We are believers in the third method, and a four day cruise was a great way to compromise between the kids needs and ours. Seven may have worked out great, but if they (or us) hadn't been enjoying ourselves, it isn't easy to just get off the boat and go home.

 

[BABYJOSIE98]

LOVED BOTH OUR CRUISES ON THE WONDER!!! I REALLY DID LOVE THE FACT THAT WE ARE IN CASTAWAY CAY AND THEN HAVE A DAY AT SEA.....PERFECT.....

WE SPENT TWO DAYS IN DISNEY AFTERWARDS AND THAT WAS TOUGH AFTER RELAXING ON THE SHIP....DO DISNEY FIRST!!! LESS STRESSFUL........

3 DAYS WILL BE OK...JUST DON'T TRY AND RUN YOURSELF RAGED..KNOW WHAT YOU WANT TO SEE AND PLAN IT OUT...YOU WILL LOVE IT!

HAVE FUN!! WE HAVE OUR FIRST 7 DAY BOOKED FOR OCTOBER 2005...PLANNED AROUND TEACHER WORK DAYS...DD SHOULD ONLY MISS 3 DAYS OF SCHOOL. SHE IS A GOOD STUDENT OR I WOULD NOT PULL HER OUT....

 

[westjones]

Originally posted by BABYJOSIE98
LOVED BOTH OUR CRUISES ON THE WONDER!!! I REALLY DID LOVE THE FACT THAT WE ARE IN CASTAWAY CAY AND THEN HAVE A DAY AT SEA.....PERFECT.....

This is my favorite part of the 4 day cruise! I love having the day at sea the last day of the cruise. We always feel 'rushed' packing after getting back from CC, going to the children's program/show, and then getting ready for the main show and dinner (and getting in the disembarkment talk). By having the last day as a day at sea, it is SO peaceful!

We are doing a 7 night this year, but we already have a 4 day booked for next year. We have been on the Western 7 night, and I wanted to try the Eastern 7 night....but bottom line, I think the 4 night is my favorite cruise. That with a couple of days at WDW make for a very nice week!

DJ

 

[goingbacksoon]

A 4-day IS better than none at all...

Considering all the amentities cruises have to offer, I know I'd take cruising over home more days than not. 4 days is a nice refreshing cruise, and whether you do WDW before, after, or not at all, it works well. My only complaint (not valid anymore) is that we had no sea days, as we were the last cruise to stop in Freeport (12/14/03).

You CAN save a lot booking separately, if you are brave enough. For the price of the land/sea package in December, we were able to do 4 sea/ 5 land. The only problem is that 5 days STILL might not be enough. We wanted to check out some of the holiday decorations in the hotels, but no time.

All that said, it's tough to leave after 4 nights what seems like such a brief respite. We had so much fun wining, dining, and enjoying the shows, it was almost a torture to go back to "only" WDW. We decided almost immediately after arriving home that 7 nights on a cruise would be perfect for us. Then again, we have no kids and from the west coast, anything less than a week isn't worth the $500 or so plane ticket.

Something to chew on...

goingbacksoon

 

[KyCruisinSusan]

Better to experience a short DCL cruise than no cruise at all.