Switching from 7 Night Fantasy to 4 night Dream

[Carolynleanne]

We've got a $1500 deposit down on a 7 night Fantasy in January 2021. We're starting to find the price tag a big sickening and considering switching to a 4 night instead. It was cost us $3200 LESS to miss those three nights. We've done a 3 night and a 4 night in the past. The 3 night was definitely too short, but we loved our 4 night.

Obviously longer is always better, but the main things for us are Castaway Cay and some relax time, which we'd get both ways, yes? We've never done a 7 night, so maybe it's better to not know what we're missing? Haha. Just looking for some thoughts! If we switch to the 4 night, we'll add on another week of WDW/Universal fun and it would still be cheaper...

 

[pezgirlroy]

We have done a 7 on the Fantasy and a 5 on the Magic. Honestly I would not do less than a 7 again but the price is a very big factor which I completely understand.

 

[Carolynleanne]

We have done a 7 on the Fantasy and a 5 on the Magic. Honestly I would not do less than a 7 again but the price is a very big factor which I completely understand.

SUCH a big factor. And I'm not comfortable booking a different line at my kids current ages, as the kids club is EVERYTHING to them right now.

 

[Mommb]

You are absolutely right that you won't know what you're missing, so you need to do what works for you. A 4-night cruise will indeed give you Castaway Cay and relaxation time. If you're not particularly interested in the port on the 7-night cruise, then the only thing you're missing is additional relaxation and activity time. You'll have the same number of main shows and the same number of main dining rooms.

 

[cvjw]

We find a 7 night too short for our liking! But, if price is a big concern, do what you need to do for your family

 

[LeiaOfAlderaan]

While I am in the longer is better camp, we had a wonderful time on our 4 night Dream sailing. It didn’t go by as fast as I feared it would. (And, the cruise was so full of 1st timers there was plenty of stuff available to book for silver CC members.) Since you’ve never done a 7 night I would say that you indeed won’t know what you’re missing and if it works better for your family, go for it!

 

[RysMomma]

We've done two four night ones and loved them! Due to that, we were anxious to do longer and are doing that this summer! So test it out first and see what you think!

 

[Pixarfans]

Having done both (4 & 7), I can’t imagine going back to 4! So I would say stick with the 4 And enjoy. One time we did 3 nights at wdw (2 before at Saratoga , 1 after at AKL) no parks and that made it a great week. Lots of pool time, Disney Springs and relaxing.

 

[PendingPeril]

I'd say that's fine, especially if it works out better financially. Most people on this board are like '4 nights? I'll do no less than 3 14-day back-to-back-to-back cruises. Anything else is just too short!' lol. I've also read that some people think 7 nights are just too much and get a bit repetitive. Really it's whatever works for you.

 

[Mikamarii]

SUCH a big factor. And I'm not comfortable booking a different line at my kids current ages, as the kids club is EVERYTHING to them right now.

We were originally booked for a 7 night cruise on the fantasy this month (would have been our fourth Disney cruise). We ended up cancelling and booking a 7 night on Royal for the same time frame. We saved almost 5K Canadian for the same stateroom type. Our kids are 5 and 7. They loved the DCL cruises but looks like lots to do on RC. We added 4 days at Universal pre cruise and will still come out ahead. We are nervous about the switch but I know we will have a good time.

 

[Hokie2005]

We've got a $1500 deposit down on a 7 night Fantasy in January 2021. We're starting to find the price tag a big sickening and considering switching to a 4 night instead. It was cost us $3200 LESS to miss those three nights. We've done a 3 night and a 4 night in the past. The 3 night was definitely too short, but we loved our 4 night.

Obviously longer is always better, but the main things for us are Castaway Cay and some relax time, which we'd get both ways, yes? We've never done a 7 night, so maybe it's better to not know what we're missing? Haha. Just looking for some thoughts! If we switch to the 4 night, we'll add on another week of WDW/Universal fun and it would still be cheaper...

The fact that you loved the previous 4 night cruise you took and can have another week of vacation on top of that for less cost if you go with the 4 night cruise, sounds like a great choice to me.

 

[BruinEd03]

We've got a $1500 deposit down on a 7 night Fantasy in January 2021. We're starting to find the price tag a big sickening and considering switching to a 4 night instead. It was cost us $3200 LESS to miss those three nights. We've done a 3 night and a 4 night in the past. The 3 night was definitely too short, but we loved our 4 night.

Obviously longer is always better, but the main things for us are Castaway Cay and some relax time, which we'd get both ways, yes? We've never done a 7 night, so maybe it's better to not know what we're missing? Haha. Just looking for some thoughts! If we switch to the 4 night, we'll add on another week of WDW/Universal fun and it would still be cheaper...

Have you priced a b2b 3 and 4 night and see what the cost difference is? Even if it's the same cost, you'd get 2x the Castaway Cay time.

 

[buzzrelly]

We've got a $1500 deposit down on a 7 night Fantasy in January 2021. We're starting to find the price tag a big sickening and considering switching to a 4 night instead. It was cost us $3200 LESS to miss those three nights. We've done a 3 night and a 4 night in the past. The 3 night was definitely too short, but we loved our 4 night.

Obviously longer is always better, but the main things for us are Castaway Cay and some relax time, which we'd get both ways, yes? We've never done a 7 night, so maybe it's better to not know what we're missing? Haha. Just looking for some thoughts! If we switch to the 4 night, we'll add on another week of WDW/Universal fun and it would still be cheaper...

We've done a 3-night, 4-night, 7-night, ad 8-night. Leaving the 8-night out of it (it was a wedding cruise from NYC to the Bahamas), the 7-night was by far our favorite, and if money were no object I would always choose a 7-night over a 4-night. However, I've had cruises booked in the past and had to cancel for financial reasons so I get it. If what you can comfortably afford is a 4-night cruise, just stop overthinking it and you'll have an amazing time.

I just wanted to add that we ended up changing from Universal to a 3-night on the Wonder in 2017 because UO was so flipping expensive. Of course, this was over Spring Break and I was adamant about wanting to stay at one of the three hotels for the UEP, and there were absolutely zero discounts to be found. I just want to make sure you've priced out your UO vacation before you discount a 7-night cruise. It may not be that much more. Plus, personally, I'd much rather spend another 3 nights on the ship than at UO.

 

[Carolynleanne]

I’m a travel agent so I get some pretty decent Universal discounts (thankfully.)

ps -we went in a whole new direction. We booked a 7 night SUITE on a Royal Caribbean sailing for less than the 4 night Disney Guess we’re trying something new! Still out of Port Canaveral.

 

[Lisa F]

I switched from a 7 night to a 4 night in February 2018. The price was worrying to me and I am DVC so it was also less to do 4 days land/4 days sea than 7 days at sea (but a significant chunk, like over $1500 less including the park vacation) Also my parents wanted to take a cruise with their grandson but thought the 7 day was too long, so I switched.

I've been saving for 2 years to pay for the 7 night in February 2020 but I would take a 4 night again. It was a great vacation. I have been on 7 night cruises but prior to 2005 - 2018 was my first cruise in 13 years. There are lots of great ways to have a vacation and I've never regretted any of them.

 

[MomOTwins]

Obviously longer is always better, but the main things for us are Castaway Cay and some relax time, which we'd get both ways, yes?

SUCH a big factor. And I'm not comfortable booking a different line at my kids current ages, as the kids club is EVERYTHING to them right now.

ps -we went in a whole new direction. We booked a 7 night SUITE on a Royal Caribbean sailing for less than the 4 night Disney Guess we’re trying something new! Still out of Port Canaveral.

Wow, just curious what changed your mind? Royal Caribbean is more room for the money, sure, but it sounded like Castaway Cay and the kids club were important factors and that is a pretty big difference between the lines.

Anyway, on the original question, in case your plans are still up in the air, We've done the 3-night dream followed by the 7-night fantasy. We're now booked on the 4-night now for our next cruise. We considered another 7-night Caribbean, but it really wasn't the case that "more is better" for us. I love the shows, and on the 7-night it seemed like we got three quality shows and then a bunch of filler, consisting of a weird welcome show, so-so comedy acts and one movie that had been in theaters over a month and our kids ran out of because it was too scary (Maleficent 2). Castaway Cay was still a highlight for us, but you can get that on the shorter cruise too. And the kids clubs were a huge hit with my kids, but I felt a little sad on the longer cruise that the kids clubs meant less family-together time than we would get with the longer park stay combined with a shorter cruise. I loved the spa and enjoyed the aquaduck, but once was enough for both. While it was nice to see new ports, we found all the excursions a bit exhausting with small kids. So my two cents is the 4-night is just about perfect for us, and we'll be doing that from now on, except maybe if we do a European or Alaska cruise when the kids are older, since those are only available as 7-nighters.

 

[Brett Wyman]

I’m a travel agent so I get some pretty decent Universal discounts (thankfully.)

ps -we went in a whole new direction. We booked a 7 night SUITE on a Royal Caribbean sailing for less than the 4 night Disney Guess we’re trying something new! Still out of Port Canaveral.

We saw similar prices. We could do a 7 night RC concierge level 1-bedroom cruise for LESS than our 4 night Dream Bahama cruise in a Deluxe Ocean View Room. We are sticking with Disney as 7 days is too long for our young kids, but the price difference is off the charts.

 

[Carolynleanne]

Wow, just curious what changed your mind? Royal Caribbean is more room for the money, sure, but it sounded like Castaway Cay and the kids club were important factors and that is a pretty big difference between the lines.

Anyway, on the original question, in case your plans are still up in the air, We've done the 3-night dream followed by the 7-night fantasy. We're now booked on the 4-night now for our next cruise. We considered another 7-night Caribbean, but it really wasn't the case that "more is better" for us. I love the shows, and on the 7-night it seemed like we got three quality shows and then a bunch of filler, consisting of a weird welcome show, so-so comedy acts and one movie that had been in theaters over a month and our kids ran out of because it was too scary (Maleficent 2). Castaway Cay was still a highlight for us, but you can get that on the shorter cruise too. And the kids clubs were a huge hit with my kids, but I felt a little sad on the longer cruise that the kids clubs meant less family-together time than we would get with the longer park stay combined with a shorter cruise. I loved the spa and enjoyed the aquaduck, but once was enough for both. While it was nice to see new ports, we found all the excursions a bit exhausting with small kids. So my two cents is the 4-night is just about perfect for us, and we'll be doing that from now on, except maybe if we do a European or Alaska cruise when the kids are older, since those are only available as 7-nighters.

Hi! Happy to answer why.

1. For starters, it was $3000 less to get a Junior Suite room on Royal. That is the biggest factor. $3000 is a significant amount of money for the same length of cruise. Now, if it was Carnival, there's no way I'd switch, but the Harmony of the Seas consistently has fantastic reviews on CruiseCritic and a general rating of 4.5 out of 5.

2. My boys are over Disney characters. Heartbreaking, I know, but that's a huge draw with a Disney Cruise. They don't care about the shows or the meet n greets. We do WDW frequently so they CAN get that stuff there when we visit. They're more into sports and other activities, so the idea of climbing walls, ice skating rinks, and the MASSIVE splash pad were a draw. I also like that their kids club is more organized and not a free for all. My boys tend to just stare at screens the entire time on DCL which I'm not a huge fan of.

3. We specifically picked a sailing that goes out of or Port Canaveral and stops at Perfect Day at Coco Cay. Very similar island to Castaway Cay except it's got more activities again (larger splashpad, huge swimming pool, waterslides, etc.)

Maybe we'll hate it. Or maybe we'll love it. But at $3000 less I'm willing to take that risk

 

[bakerworld]

We were looking at RCL and noticed all the veranda cabins we can afford seem to be on the ship sides. We like a larger veranda - is there a way to tell if the cabins have extended verandas?

As for the shorter versus the longer cruise - I like shorter vacations and by day 5 I am really missing my own bed. We've experienced 3, 4 and 5 days cruises - the 5 day was long for me. When we cruise it is a long vacation for us because the better half likes to regain his land legs before flying. I loved the 4D but in November we're trying a 3D with time on the front and back end of the vacation. We'll see if 3D's is too short or just right with the 'end caps' of land.

 

[tinkerone]

Hi! Happy to answer why.

1. For starters, it was $3000 less to get a Junior Suite room on Royal. That is the biggest factor. $3000 is a significant amount of money for the same length of cruise. Now, if it was Carnival, there's no way I'd switch, but the Harmony of the Seas consistently has fantastic reviews on CruiseCritic and a general rating of 4.5 out of 5.

2. My boys are over Disney characters. Heartbreaking, I know, but that's a huge draw with a Disney Cruise. They don't care about the shows or the meet n greets. We do WDW frequently so they CAN get that stuff there when we visit. They're more into sports and other activities, so the idea of climbing walls, ice skating rinks, and the MASSIVE splash pad were a draw. I also like that their kids club is more organized and not a free for all. My boys tend to just stare at screens the entire time on DCL which I'm not a huge fan of.

3. We specifically picked a sailing that goes out of or Port Canaveral and stops at Perfect Day at Coco Cay. Very similar island to Castaway Cay except it's got more activities again (larger splashpad, huge swimming pool, waterslides, etc.)

Maybe we'll hate it. Or maybe we'll love it. But at $3000 less I'm willing to take that risk

We made a switch to RCCL a few years ago and don't regret it for a minute. Don't know how old your boys are but there is so much to do on the Oasis class ships. Rock climbing, I sat out and watched the kids doing this one day and was as entertained as the kids who where doing the climbing. Then there is the zip line, it looks like a lot of fun even though we have never done it, way to old, lol. The buffet being open for dinners was a huge plus for us, it has great variety. I like that we can just zip in and grab something, sometimes I don't feel like dressing for dinner. Make sure if you do go to the buffet for dinner you take a walk all around. It was almost a week before I discovered there was stations around the bend which included a noodle station. Themed different each night as well.
We haven't been to Perfect Day at Coco Cay yet but can't wait to! We have booked a B2b on Symphony for October and will have two stops. I like Castaway Cay however other than sit on the beach there's not a lot going on and I'm not fond of swimming in the ocean. Having a pool is just what we like. The food looks amazing, lots of variety. I find the food on CC just a bit boring. Also, having a drink package for RCCL that you can use on their island is pretty nice.
And I know you said you were a TA so you probably know this already, keep your eye on the price of the cruise. If it goes down you can reprice. On our B2B, which we booked opening day, we have already saved over a $1000 by repricing. You sure don't get that on DCL.
Have a great time, I doubt very much you will regret it.