Tips for enjoying 3 day cruises

[TiggerBouncy]

We booked TWO (2!!!) cruises for next year... YAY!!! After skipping 2018, we think we need it. Sadly we hit our Gold, then due to my changing jobs I haven't been able to take time off. I am still not able to take much time off and our bigger cruise won't be until Oct 2019, so to hold us over we booked a 3 day in Jan.

We did a 3 day once and said we would never do it again because it was just too short and doesn't have a day at sea. You leave Canaveral, you spend a day in Nassau, a day in CC and back home.

So I need tips. Some of you expert cruisers - have you found any way to make a 3 day cruise enjoyable? If so, give me your tips! I don't want to be disappointed (again) on our 3 day so I am looking for any advice to have a good time - besides looking forward to our 8 day later in the year.

 

[DCLPrincess]

If we do a 3 day we don't get off in Nassau. We make that our sea day so we have time do things on the ship. Also if you get on the ship early the first day that gives you extra time.

 

[Barbydoll8]

I have time off restrictions too so I get it. We do short cruises all the time. I would say the biggest thing is pick your battles. What do you really want to do and what are you ok not doing.
I've come to terms with not being able to do everything but the nice thing about short cruises is the affordability of them (not that they are affordable but I think you know what I mean) so I get to go at least once per year. I plan what I missed to be on the next one.

 

[apathetic]

Definitely skip Nassau, especially since it sounds like you were there before. This gives you almost a day at sea since the ship is still busy. Also, think about only the morning at CC and then back to the ship. They seem to have more activities starting early-to-mid afternoon on CC days.

 

[Dug720]

1 - Go in knowing you cannot do everything.

2 - Know you can't do everything.

3 - Remind yourself you can't do everything.

 

[dclpluto]

I don’t like to go on the short cruises. But anything is better than nothing.
Don’t go see a movie. Your cruise is way to short to make time for a movie that you can see at home in probably for most people a better theatre than the ships have.

 

[Quellman]

Get on the boat early.
Pack very lightly so you aren't wasting time un/packing.
Skip Nassau (if you have been before, have no interest in excursions there). DONT skip Nassau if you need a beach and there looks like bad weather for Castaway Cay.
Consider skipping main dining for Palo on night 1, Cabanas Night 2, Main dining Night 3. (This gives you a less chaotic first night, a dine on your time second night, and a chance to meet your servers before breakfast the last morning.
Pre-book things for Castaway Cay (if you would normally use a float, snorkel, bike). The stand by lines are generally a bit longer.
Do not participate in Fish Extender groups unless you just really enjoy them.
Know what events are must do for your group.

You'll have fun no doubt.

 

[luv2cruisedisney]

And....in case you missed Dug 720

You can't do everything!!!!
Pick what you really want to do and enjoy the time you do have instead of stressing over what you're not going to be doing

On a side note; we did a 2 day preview of the Dream. That was torture. First night back we had luggage tags waiting for us.
Spent 1/2 the time taking pictures since no one had really seen the ships yet

 

[Shanti]

We booked TWO (2!!!) cruises for next year... YAY!!! After skipping 2018, we think we need it. Sadly we hit our Gold, then due to my changing jobs I haven't been able to take time off. I am still not able to take much time off and our bigger cruise won't be until Oct 2019, so to hold us over we booked a 3 day in Jan.

We did a 3 day once and said we would never do it again because it was just too short and doesn't have a day at sea. You leave Canaveral, you spend a day in Nassau, a day in CC and back home.

So I need tips. Some of you expert cruisers - have you found any way to make a 3 day cruise enjoyable? If so, give me your tips! I don't want to be disappointed (again) on our 3 day so I am looking for any advice to have a good time - besides looking forward to our 8 day later in the year.

We've loved our 3-night cruises. Here are our tips for short trips. You'll notice that several of them relate to embarkation day, which should not be treated as a throwaway day on a 3-night cruise:

1. Arrive in the area the day before and get a good night's sleep, so that you'll be rested & peaceful enough to enjoy embarkation day.
2. Get the earliest PAT you can, and board ASAP. (Don't stay at a Disney resort and wait for them to bus you over- that will put you on the boat on the late side.)
3. Don't bring big carry-on bags with you when you board. Let the porters handle those. Just carry one shoulder bag with necessities. That will allow you to enjoy your time on the ship before your stateroom opens.
4. I recommend carrying/wearing swimsuits, so that immediately upon boarding (before eating), you can swim in uncrowded pools, and ride the Aqua Duck without long lines. The pool deck is at its very least crowded of the entire cruise at this time. Leaving a shoulder bag on a pool deck lounger while you swim has never been problematic in my experience. Guests on DCL cruises tend to be respectful of others' belongings.
5. Do unpack completely & make the stateroom a home away from home. Living out of suitcases is no less time-consuming than unpacking, and it makes the cabin experience less relaxing.
6. Only do the activities you actually want to do. If you aren't enthused about any potential activities on Nassau, then stay onboard that day. If you're not excited about a particular show, then skip it. Fill your time with what you actually want to do.
7. Do not manically rush around the ship trying to cram experiences in (unless that's actually fun for you).
8. Relax & know that nothing you want to do during your cruise is a "waste" of time. If you want to spend a few hours watching TV in the stateroom, for example, or watching a movie in the theatre or on Funnelvision, or just sitting on your verandah drinking coffee, that is part of the overall experience you're paying for. It is not a waste.
9. Have a nice breakfast on debarkation day. Be leisurely about it.

Most important tip: The "don't waste time relaxing" mentality is what makes 3-night cruises unpleasant for some people. If you can ditch that, you'll be set for a great getaway.

 

[TiggerBouncy]

These are great tips!!! Keep em coming.

Yeah, we have been to Nassau a few times. My favorite tour there was the Junkanoo, but we talked about skipping it. The problem DW has is that she enjoys shopping onboard and the onboard shops are closed when we are in port which is pretty much all the time. So for her, Nassau day is not the same as a sea day.

Is MDA running when in port @ Nassau?

 

[Shanti]

These are great tips!!! Keep em coming.

Yeah, we have been to Nassau a few times. My favorite tour there was the Junkanoo, but we talked about skipping it. The problem DW has is that she enjoys shopping onboard and the onboard shops are closed when we are in port which is pretty much all the time. So for her, Nassau day is not the same as a sea day.

Is MDA running when in port @ Nassau?

Midship Detective Agency is always active during port days, yes. They only turn it off at night.

 

[MomOTwins]

These are great tips!!! Keep em coming.

Yeah, we have been to Nassau a few times. My favorite tour there was the Junkanoo, but we talked about skipping it. The problem DW has is that she enjoys shopping onboard and the onboard shops are closed when we are in port which is pretty much all the time. So for her, Nassau day is not the same as a sea day.

Is MDA running when in port @ Nassau?

I lnow the shops were open in the evening but I don’t know abouy daytime. My tip is to preorder the one day rainforest room pass. You can come and go at your leisure to use the hot tub and sauna and themed showers,and it is not as much as a time suck as a full spa treatments.

Also, don’t try to do Aquaduck the first day. We waited 45 minutes on embarkation day, and 5 minutes in Nassau morning.

 

[Shanti]

I lnow the shops were open in the evening but I don’t know abouy daytime. My tip is to preorder the one day rainforest room pass. You can come and go at your leisure to use the hot tub and sauna and themed showers,and it is not as much as a time suck as a full spa treatments.

Also, don’t try to do Aquaduck the first day. We waited 45 minutes on embarkation day, and 5 minutes in Nassau morning.

I agree about Rainforest room, but not the Aquaduck. If you board early and use it asap, without having lunch first, the waits are very short and you/your kids can ride it repeatedly. We've done this on multiple cruises. The waits will get longer after lunch and especially after the cabins open up on debarkation day, yes. But not if you have an early PAT & ride the Aquaduck before you eat lunch.

 

[Wdw1015]

We've loved our 3-night cruises. Here are our tips for short trips. You'll notice that several of them relate to embarkation day, which should not be treated as a throwaway day on a 3-night cruise:

1. Arrive in the area the day before and get a good night's sleep, so that you'll be rested & peaceful enough to enjoy embarkation day.
2. Get the earliest PAT you can, and board ASAP. (Don't stay at a Disney resort and wait for them to bus you over- that will put you on the boat on the late side.)
3. Don't bring big carry-on bags with you when you board. Let the porters handle those. Just carry one shoulder bag with necessities. That will allow you to enjoy your time on the ship before your stateroom opens.
4. I recommend carrying/wearing swimsuits, so that immediately upon boarding (before eating), you can swim in uncrowded pools, and ride the Aqua Duck without long lines. The pool deck is at its very least crowded of the entire cruise at this time. Leaving a shoulder bag on a pool deck lounger while you swim has never been problematic in my experience. Guests on DCL cruises tend to be respectful of others' belongings.
5. Do unpack completely & make the stateroom a home away from home. Living out of suitcases is no less time-consuming than unpacking, and it makes the cabin experience less relaxing.
6. Only do the activities you actually want to do. If you aren't enthused about any potential activities on Nassau, then stay onboard that day. If you're not excited about a particular show, then skip it. Fill your time with what you actually want to do.
7. Do not manically rush around the ship trying to cram experiences in (unless that's actually fun for you).
8. Relax & know that nothing you want to do during your cruise is a "waste" of time. If you want to spend a few hours watching TV in the stateroom, for example, or watching a movie in the theatre or on Funnelvision, or just sitting on your verandah drinking coffee, that is part of the overall experience you're paying for. It is not a waste.
9. Have a nice breakfast on debarkation day. Be leisurely about it.

Most important tip: The "don't waste time relaxing" mentality is what makes 3-night cruises unpleasant for some people. If you can ditch that, you'll be set for a great getaway.

We are going on our first cruise August of 2019 so just starting to figure out how the whole cruise thing works! This is great info to know, appreciate it!

 

[hpsalb]

I agree with the others. 3n is short for us, but we sometimes do it to fit our schedule. Our next cruise is a 3n on the Dream. We'll stay onboard at Nassau and try to snag an early PAT. Also, we don't schedule a ton of extras, if any. No excursions and probably no special dining. I don't want to rush around trying to do everything.

Also, we probably won't do all the shows, but that's a personal preference. We've seen some of them several times, so I'll try to be flexible if the kids want to do something else.

 

[tlprice]

Our 3 day cruise seemed longer than some of our 7 day cruises. That was because we got an early PAT and boarded much earlier than we usually do, we made a list of the things we HAD to do ahead of time, we did a short excursion in Nassau. Like others said, we went in knowing we couldn't do everything. We also had a 7 day cruise one month after our 3 day, so that helped knowing that. Our 3 day was one of our favorite cruises.

 

[bumbershoot]

Read the Navigator!!! No matter what. Know what’s going on. And nowadays (vs when we did a 3 night) you have the app so you can see all the happenings every day all on the first day. Take the time to read it and plan. It’s well worth it. Even if the plan is “eh, nothing going on, I’ll take a nap.”

Arrive in the area the day before and get a good night's sleep, so that you'll be rested & peaceful enough to enjoy embarkation day.

Yes.

Get the earliest PAT you can, and board ASAP. (Don't stay at a Disney resort and wait for them to bus you over- that will put you on the boat on the late side.)

Yep.

ride the Aqua Duck without long lines.

If you want to, that’s a good time to do it.

I don’t swim on Disney cruises, but have done the duck.

Do unpack completely & make the stateroom a home away from home. Living out of suitcases is no less time-consuming than unpacking, and it makes the cabin experience less relaxing.

YES.

Well worth the 15-30 minutes.

Only do the activities you actually want to do.

Yep.

nothing you want to do during your cruise is a "waste" of time.

True.

Except for movies. Always a waste of time.

Haha. For me. Totally for me.

The shows, too. For me.

I lnow the shops were open in the evening but I don’t know abouy daytime.

Closed while in port. Do your shopping while at sea.

 

[NCConch]

1 - Go in knowing you cannot do everything.

2 - Know you can't do everything.

3 - Remind yourself you can't do everything.

Next month we will be on our 5th cruise - three 3-nighters and a 4-nighter. We love them! We do not get on the ship with a list of things to do other than dinner each night. I usually have a fishing trip booked for CC and once lucked into a cabana. This year my daughter and I will go parasailing. My wife and daughter may have been to one or two shows over all the years and they were spur of the moment deals. My wife and I do a lot of lounging in the shade and book reading - oh and fruity drink sipping. If something fun pops up, we might do it.

 

[sward003]

Hi everyone! It's only my second post ever on a forum, so excuse my naivtiy. I am happy I came across this thread as my family and I are taking our first cruise ever on 1/18/2019, which happens to be a 3 night cruise. All this information is great to know! I didn't realize a 3 night would feel so short, with that being said, if none of us have ever been to Nassua before, should we skip it and hang out on the ship or is it worth going to? I was thinking of doing Atlantis, but maybe we need to save this for a separate trip? Thanks!

 

[Anchors Away 2016]

Leave your troubles and your expectations at the dock.

Look, you've already won half the battle. You've been on DCL before so there isn't anything you HAVE to do. Plus you know your way around the ship and the policies so no time lost getting used to everything. Plus you said already this is a bonus trip, so you have nothing to lose.

Think about it this way, if I told you that you had a whole weekend with no responsibilities, no errands, not chores, and no unpleasantness, you'd be pretty happy right? Now add to it worry-free meals, all in walking distance, beautiful views, fresh air, bars, activities, etc.

My wife and I took a four day cruise recently and I felt like it lasted FOREVER. So many good meals. So much free time. See a show if you want. Hang at a bar. Read a book. Walk the decks. Get off the boat for an hour or two if you like. Sure, when it was over we wished we had longer, but that is always true, no matter how long the trip is, and during the trip we had a great time relaxing and enjoying.