What is a 2-night cruise like?

[Rebecca Pocahontas]

I am not currently interested in going on a 2-night cruise but I just want to know what such a short cruise is like.

I've been on a 4 night and a 7 night Disney cruise and to me the 4 night felt too short. But then I discovered that there is a San Diego 2 night cruise and that seems so short. If anyone has done that short of a cruise I would love to know you opinion of it. It seems like it wouldn't be as enjoyable because you miss out on one of the dining room experiences and I'd be so sad if I didn't get assigned Tiana's. Do you know if most of the people are doing a back to back cruise or if most of the people are just doing a small weekend getaway?

 

[Deb T.]

Never been on a 2-night cruise, but don't think I'd ever want to without making making it a B2B with another cruise. That 1st night doesn't even begin until at least noon with the earliest possible embarkation, can't get into your cabin until 1:30pm at the earliest, and then have to spend valuable time doing the mandatory lifeboat drill. The next day would be your only full day on the ship, and then you'd have to debark by 9am the following day. That's a lot of prep and packing for 45 hours maximum onboard. Personally for me, that would be torture!

 

[luv2cruisedisney]

I have done one. Charity cruise prior to the Maiden voyage of the Dream. Waaaaayyyyyy too short!!!!!
Your luggage tags and disembarkation info is on the bed your first night.

That being said it was a fun cruise because the ship was new

 

[fredandkell]

I am not currently interested in going on a 2-night cruise but I just want to know what such a short cruise is like.

I've been on a 4 night and a 7 night Disney cruise and to me the 4 night felt too short. But then I discovered that there is a San Diego 2 night cruise and that seems so short. If anyone has done that short of a cruise I would love to know you opinion of it. It seems like it wouldn't be as enjoyable because you miss out on one of the dining room experiences and I'd be so sad if I didn't get assigned Tiana's. Do you know if most of the people are doing a back to back cruise or if most of the people are just doing a small weekend getaway?

I'm doing one next year, and we are pairing it with 5 days in California (LA and San Diego) beforehand.

 

[darnheather]

You get a sail away party and a see you real soon. Great to rack up CC cruises to get you to Platinum but like the others said I can't imagine doing them without having it as a B2B.

 

[mousefan73]

I am not currently interested in going on a 2-night cruise but I just want to know what such a short cruise is like.

I've been on a 4 night and a 7 night Disney cruise and to me the 4 night felt too short. But then I discovered that there is a San Diego 2 night cruise and that seems so short. If anyone has done that short of a cruise I would love to know you opinion of it. It seems like it wouldn't be as enjoyable because you miss out on one of the dining room experiences and I'd be so sad if I didn't get assigned Tiana's. Do you know if most of the people are doing a back to back cruise or if most of the people are just doing a small weekend getaway?

I have actually been eyeing those two nights San Diego cruises. It’s too bad the timing it doesn’t fit into our vacation scheduling. We are planning a longer West Coast trip as a family. Vancouver down to LA for about three weeks. Plan is to also hit Disneyland. I would love to be able just to add this at the end as the icing on top.As a welcome change of pace and of course it’s just fun to be in a Disney boat. In my opinion I think a sailing like this only makes sense if you are local or if you do it as part of a longer vacation. we are already in the area. Additional cost of flying into San Diego for two night cruise in my opinion does not make sense. For us 2 nights wouldn’t seem too short but instead be more of an Extra add on goody when looking at the big picture of such a vacation.

Of course the price will also have to be right because I’m not gonna drop 3/4 grand for two nights

 

[peachypie]

I’ve been on 2 of the two nights and they are a nice weekend getaway for someone that lives close enough. If I was from out of town and visiting Disneyland, it would probably be a nice add on to a Disneyland Park vacation. Also, one of the 2 night itineraries I had been on was a Halloween cruise so that made it different for us.
If this is a first time cruise for anyone, I don’t know that I would recommend a 2 night as it is way too fast.

 

[pixiedustedme]

I've often considered taking a 2-night cruise just to get away from it all and be pampered for a weekend. I wouldn't get off the ship at any port, just spend those precious two days being pampered and chilling out. I haven't yet done it but would be open to it if the price were right. I've been watching them and have noticed they're getting a bit too expensive to be reasonable imo. The 2-night cruises often cost about what a midwinter 3-night would have cost a few years ago. But if the pricing goes down enough, I'd do it. I'd fly in morning of the cruise, and fly out fight after the cruise, and do minimal packing, so no big hassle would need to be involved.

 

[cruisehopeful]

I have done several of them. Just got back from one today. They work for me because it's my home port and it's much easier for us to go over a weekend and not have to miss a lot of work, pay for lots of petsitting, etc. I have a couple more booked. The couples we had dinner with are both doing another 2 night next weekend. One lives a 3 hour drive away and the other 7 hours. I think both were trying to get to Platinum.

It goes by really fast. This time, we just ate and slept pretty much. No kids with us anymore. I'll tell you that eating really good food without a lot of effort (shopping, cooking, cleaning up) and being able to nap during the day are huge exciting events for us. We work a lot and hardly see each other during the week. This gives us a chance to chill out and relax.

I have done one in the past with an adult daughter and we stayed busy the whole time (still took a nice nap, though). We do board right away at noon or one so we can have a nice served lunch on the ship the first day. We are off the ship usually by 8 am two days later. It's really fast! It is, however, the only way that cruising works for us at all at this particular time in our lives.

It's also very expensive! My first 2 nighter a few years ago was $900. for 2 people on deck 2. The cruises this year are double that. I did go ahead and pay even more by getting a balcony a couple times, but decided to save $400. for next April by going back to deck 2. I think we sat maybe a total of 15 minutes on the balcony over the cruise. Just not worth $400.

 

[pixiedustedme]

I have done several of them. Just got back from one today. They work for me because it's my home port and it's much easier for us to go over a weekend and not have to miss a lot of work, pay for lots of petsitting, etc. I have a couple more booked. The couples we had dinner with are both doing another 2 night next weekend. One lives a 3 hour drive away and the other 7 hours. I think both were trying to get to Platinum.

It goes by really fast. This time, we just ate and slept pretty much. No kids with us anymore. I'll tell you that eating really good food without a lot of effort (shopping, cooking, cleaning up) and being able to nap during the day are huge exciting events for us. We work a lot and hardly see each other during the week. This gives us a chance to chill out and relax.

I have done one in the past with an adult daughter and we stayed busy the whole time (still took a nice nap, though). We do board right away at noon or one so we can have a nice served lunch on the ship the first day. We are off the ship usually by 8 am two days later. It's really fast! It is, however, the only way that cruising works for us at all at this particular time in our lives.

It's also very expensive! My first 2 nighter a few years ago was $900. for 2 people on deck 2. The cruises this year are double that. I did go ahead and pay even more by getting a balcony a couple times, but decided to save $400. for next April by going back to deck 2. I think we sat maybe a total of 15 minutes on the balcony over the cruise. Just not worth $400.

Agree about the crazy price, but you are so making me want to cruise a 2-nighter soon. The desire to miss less work, yet still to have a luxurious break from working and cooking...I am right there with you.

 

[DCLPrincess]

My first cruise was a 2 night cruise to no where out of NYC. It was very short and I didn't get to do any activities or see movies. But I enjoyed the pool, saw characters, saw the 2 night time shows and ate a lot. It was a very good cruise and I'm close so it was convenient. When you live far from Disney it's a nice taste of the Disney magic.

 

[juliann1977]

We did a two night on the Magic several years back—it was the year the Magic did its big dry dock (adding Aqua Dunk) and the like, whenever that was. We booked a VGT room like 4-6 weeks out on a whim. It was supposed to be the second cruise after the dry dock (I think there was supposed to be a 5 night prior), but the ship wasn’t ready, so it became the first cruise. There were a ton of travel agents and media types on board, which was the purpose of the two night, so it wasn’t typical.

It was fun, but very different than most cruises, as so many people were on board for business. We were like the only people on the Aqua Dunk at one point with a lot of people standing around watching and asking how we liked it. It was a little strange, lol.

We live in NJ and flew in for the cruise, which we basically treated like any long weekend trip. We didn’t bring the gear we’d bring along for a typical cruise, packing in carry-ons.

I wouldn’t really recommend a two night for anyone as a first cruise, but if you’ve done DCL a few times and don’t need to see and do everything? It’s a fun weekend. I’d say the same for three night cruises. At this point, I’ve done various cruises of two, three, four, five, and seven nights (and one back to back with a seven and a four), and longer is always better. But any cruise is a good cruise, IMO.

 

[ludari]

I did a two night cruise on the Wonder which was called "The Cruise to Nowhere" and we just stayed at sea for those two days. In my opinion it seemed more crowded than any other cruise especially the pool area and the lines for character meets we extremely long. I got the feeling that everyone was trying to do everything in those two days. Luckily I had also booked the seven night cruise immediately following this two night cruise and that cruise felt less crowded. I don't think I would ever do another two night cruise unless I was doing a back to back.

 

[DisneYE]

I did a two night cruise on the Wonder which was called "The Cruise to Nowhere" and we just stayed at sea for those two days. In my opinion it seemed more crowded than any other cruise especially the pool area and the lines for character meets we extremely long. I got the feeling that everyone was trying to do everything in those two days. Luckily I had also booked the seven night cruise immediately following this two night cruise and that cruise felt less crowded. I don't think I would ever do another two night cruise unless I was doing a back to back.

That's me. I'd never do a 2 nighter. Its just too short. Our first ever DCL was 8 years ago, a 4 night, it was so short.
Would rather stay stay home than do even a 4 night.
But I guess it works if you don't have kids & live very close to the port, as someone else said on this thread. It's a nice weekend getaway with your SO

 

[i18mulan]

We did a couple of 2 night cruise on the Wonder for a weekend getaway. I think the price is reasonable. We spent about $2k for a family of four. It worked for us because we live in SoCal so it was just less than 2 hour drive to San Diego. Kids didn't have to miss school. We would have spent the same if went to Vegas---add hotel, food and shows. And my kids love being on the ship!

 

[angie7911922]

That sounds terrible. I'd just start relaxing and have to get off the ship.

 

[fredandkell]

That sounds terrible. I'd just start relaxing and have to get off the ship.

I actually think you have to look at the 2-nighter not as a “relaxing” trip but more an “event” if that makes sense. On our upcoming 2-nighter we have zero plans to “relax” but are more looking to have 2 days of Disney fun after a land-based California vacay.

 

[lilsonicfan]

I'd totally be on board (hehe) for these if I lived close to a port that offered them. What a great weekend getaway, and also, an excellent way to make it up to Platinum (compared to the 13 night cruise which only gets me one cruise closer...lol)

 

[starry_solo]

Did the one they had out of San Diego a few years ago. It was in October, so it was Halloween themed. Dressed up in our non-Disney costumes, trick-or-treated (got milk chocolate due to nut allergy), ordered rice krispy treats from room service, it was awesome!

 

[xoxoallieann]

Our first cruise was a 2 night Halloween on the High Seas out of San Diego and it was fast and furious! I was desperately trying to do everything, to no avail. I was exhausted after those two day and I had terrible cruise blues when it was over, so we ended up booking a four night over Thanksgiving. Two nighters are fun, but a total tease, I think if you are a seasoned cruiser you'd appreciate it more.