Is the 3 day cruise worth it?

[my4girls]

I am a first time cruiser just starting to gather information. I would like to do the 4 day cruise but because of times we might only be able to do the 3 day.
We will be spending a week in the parks before the cruise. Is there a better time to cruise? We are looking at april-may 2007. thanks

 

[Otimon]

My personal opinion is however long you have available for a cruise, IT IS WORTH IT!

Mind you, the 3 night will go by very quickly but 'tis better to have cruised a little than never to have cruised at all!

Best wishes.

 

[alexandrew]

The 3 day cruise is a great value - yes, short on days, but all the good stuff....we liked the fact that on the 3-day, we still had the opportunity to see the 3 best stage shows....Dreams, Herc, and Golden....I would imagine that the new show replacing Herc will be on the 3 day......

 

[mommasita]

I have to agree that any cruise is worth it.. Obviously longer is always better, but this way, you could judge how your family does on a cruise...

Then, you can re-book with a discount, and an onboard credit, by rebooking on the ship..

 

[KelNottAt]

I'd have to agree with everyone else. The 3-day was our first taste of DCL and we loved it. Now we're booked on a 7 day.

I say: go for it!

Kelley

 

[inkkognito]

Most of our 40-some Disney Cruises have been three days. We do that to maximize our vacation days, and yes, it goes by VERY quickly. But I still love the three night cruise, and we extend it somewhat by pretending that Nassau is a day at sea and remaining on the ship.
Barb

 

[Bethipooh4]

We did a 3 night cruise last year, wanted to make sure our DS(7) liked it.
We all loved it. Are booked for a 4 night this summer, and a 7 night in 2006.
If you have never cruised before I highly recommend the 3 night to see if you like it or not.
Like everyone said, a 3 night is better then nothing.

 

[Sue (mom of 3 boys!)]

I had the exact worry before our 3 night. $$ and time prohibited anything longer. It was great! It showed us that our kids enjoy cruising, and want to do it more. If we booked a 7 night and they didn't enjoy it, that would have been awful.
That being said-it FLEW by! We are now booked on a 7 night, but I wouldn't hesitate to do a 3 night again.
You will have a great time no matter how long your cruise is!!!

 

[leewrobe]

We just returned from our 4 day land(actually 5 days because we arrived a day early)3 day sea cruise.It was great.We spent the first nightstopping at DTD and had dinner buffet at Fort Wildereness. Great way to get into Disney magic.My DS's ages 9 and 14 had a great time at the cruise clubs.We had much family time ,but the DW and I had some quality time at Palos and Serenity beach.The 14 yo enjoyed the Thriller boat ride and "wild side" the 9 year old enjoyed making flubber.We then all met up at CC and enjoyed parasailing.Sheer enjoyment 8 dayas of 75-80 degrees without seeing a drop of liquid sunshine(rain)

 

[spotdog]

My first cruise was the 3 day and I loved every minute of it.

I did the 3 day because I wasn't sure if I would get sea sick or claustrophobic. A couple years later I did the 7 day Western and later the 4 day.

I spent most of the Nassau day on the ship after doing a short walking tour.
Castaway Cay was terrific.

 

[mommyz]

Our 1st cruise was a 3nt and it was great b/c we weren't sure if we'd like it and our son was about 3 1/2 yrs old...trip was for him but not sure if he'd be all into the Oceaneer's club....


well....he loved it we loved it wish we would have gone longer b/c it was so quick! But for the 1st time i don't regret it...we went in march for a 7nt and it was awesome going again in 2006!

Have fun!!!!!!!!

 

[mommyz]

Our 1st cruise was a 3nt and it was great b/c we weren't sure if we'd like it and our son was about 3 1/2 yrs old...trip was for him but not sure if he'd be all into the Oceaneer's club....


well....he loved it we loved it wish we would have gone longer b/c it was so quick! But for the 1st time i don't regret it...we went in march for a 7nt and it was awesome going again in 2006! We flew into Orlando so price wise it would have been more cost effective to go on the 7nt b/c flights will cost about the same for a 3nt or 7nt!

Have fun!!!!!!!!

 

[UGAFan0829]

I agree with everyone else's posts. By all means, if your schedule and budget allow, then go for as long as you can, but if you can only manage the 3 day, then go for it. We went on our last cruise back in January, and that was the 3-day. The reason that we chose it was because neither myself nor my husband had ever cruised before, so we wanted to get our feel of it before doing anything too long. Of course, if I had it to over again knowing that we would like cruising as much as we do, then I would have done the 4-day first.
But to answer your question--yes the 3 day is worth it!

 

[daipp]

Use the 3 day cruise as a "taster" or an appetiser !

Thereafter, you will have enjoyed it so much you will want to book for as long as you can afford!

David

 

[jlowejd5]

We've done the 3-day on the back end of a Land/Sea and the 4-day as a quick honeymoon, and we loved them both. We've got another Land/Sea scheduled for March, and we'll eventually do a 7-day, I'm sure.

But we really did feel like the 3 was worth it. It's a great introduction to the ship, and to cruising in general (which we'd never done).

 

[fcrouch]

from a slightly different perspective, we had always done 7 day cruises - so when we could only fit in a 3 day wonder cruise over Easter week I was unsure if I'd think it worth our time or would go by so fast that we'd hardly feel we'd been on the ship at all. I was very pleased with what we were able to enjoy in the less than 72 hours we were on the ship. I would suggest getting on as early as you can on embarkation day - gives you some time to explore the ship and find your way around. Plan accordingly if you want Palo (highly recommended) or spa treatments. We too stayed on the boat in Nassau (other than I got off to do some souvenir shopping). There are I am sure some fine excursions in Nassau - but we also do a beach trip almost every summer - so the beach/water excursions there were not something we had a great interest in. Get copies of prior 3 day cruise navigaors - so you can see what has been offered - again, though I'm not suggesting you plan every minute - it helps to have a good idea of what you want to do. Our daughter loves the kids clubs - so we know what she will be doing for the most part and that we don't have to worry much about entertaining her. She loves the shows (as do I). All in all, I wouldn't even mind doing a 3 day again - though 4 or 7 would always be better in my mind - and I wouldn't worry about cabin category on a 3 day - we had an inside cabin for the first time and didn't mind it at all and truly weren't there except to sleep or shower. A longer cruise I'd have time to enjoy a veranda...but there's so much to do on the cruise that on a 3 day you're not relaxing as much but you are entertained. Especially for those coming from several days at the parks, I think the pace is nonetheless slower than at the parks that the cruise will feel relaxing.

 

[westjones]

We like to combine time at WDW and on the Disney Cruise. We own DVC points, so the 3 night works out well for doing this. The points are lower on Sun-Thurs nights, so we can stay at WDW from Sun to Wed and then cruise Thur-Sun.

However, I have to confess, we do like the 4 night better than the 3 night. We like having a day at sea AFTER visiting Castaway Cay. We can relax while we pack on the last day (it feels rushed to get cleaned up and packed on Castaway Cay day). I also like knowing that we have 2 chances to make it to Castaway Cay. If the weather is bad on Tuesday, they try again on Wednesday.

We can then go to WDW for 3 days after the cruise (but it takes more points to stay on Fri and Sat nights--if you are paying cash, then it doesn't matter which days you are at WDW).

One advantage I can think of for the 3 night is that you are less likely to experience sea sickness. The ship would only be moving at night and each day you are actually 'docked'. It is on the days at sea when the waves are high that you can get motion sickness.

But as to the question, is it worth it, I would say YES! You get the best of the best on the 3 night. You see all three of the Disney themed shows, eat in all three restaurants, and you visit Castaway Cay! Those are the BEST parts of the cruise! So just for those activities it would be worth it!

DJ