3 night cruise + Disney parks?

[heehee611]

So we have gone to Disney World every year for the past 6 years. My kids and husband are perfectly happy coming back year after year, but I feel like I want to do something different. We had planned on our trip 2 weeks ago being the last one for a while, but here's my husband talking about wanting to go back next Thanksgiving again, LOL.

So we are thinking about doing a 3 night cruise and then 5 days at Disney, as sort of a compromise. Problem is the 3 days cruises are SO expensive for such a short period of time.

Is it worth it? Any other suggestions?

I'd love to scrap going to Disney World and just do a 7 day cruise, but my 6 year old gets motion sickness sometimes, so I thought a 3 day would be a good way to test it out and see how he does, plus my boys just love the rides at Disney so much!

 

[asamklove]

Do a 4 night minimum! You will NOT regret it!

 

[Anchors Away 2016]

A couple of things.

Most of the time these big cruise ships are pretty stable. My one son and I get pretty motion sick in cars, rides, planes, fishing boats, ferries, etc., but had no trouble on a cruise ship of this size.

As to whether it is "worth" it, only you can know for sure, but my guess is, if you are asking the question, it probably isn't. Cruising usually costs more than regular Disney Vacations, and the "cheap" options aren't that cheap. You didn't say how a 3 day cruise price compares to the vacations you normally take, but if it is a lot more, and you are asking, "will we have, A LOT MORE fun" than a regular Disney vacation that you already like, the answer is therefore, probably not.

What a DCL vacation IS, is different, relaxing, fun, exciting and imaginative. You and your family would probably have a lot of fun if you choose to go, but if you compare it dollar to dollar you might not be as happy. If you view it altogether as a 3-day part of your 8 day vacation, you might find it was your favorite trip of all.

 

[mlp1933]

We have done a land and sea before and loved it. We started with a 3 night cruise on the Dream and then spend 4 nights in WDW. We thought it was so great that we are now planning a longer land and sea for 2019. The cruises are a nice change of pace from WDW. If you're a Disney fan it's something you should at least try once.

In terms of value of the 3 night cruise it's completely subjective to the family size/vacation style. We are a childless couple who tries to make the most of every single trip (thanks to my obsessive planning) and we still find the 3 night cruise worth it for us. Of course we could cruise another line for half the price but we won't.

 

[mmmears]

We've done this a couple of times and really loved those trips. It felt like the best of both worlds to us. Yes the cruise is short (I preferred the 4 night to the 3) and the park days are fewer, but overall they were wonderful trips. The cruise was relaxing after the parks and a short cruise is a good way to test if you like the idea of a Disney cruise. Happy planning!

 

[darnheather]

Just do a 7 night cruise. You're family will be very happy.

 

[disneypoor]

We do both DCL and WDW often. Sometimes we combine both and sometimes we do one or the other. I'd say that if you haven't ever done a Disney Cruise, trying it out with the three night will be just fine. It will go by fast, but you'll still get to experience it and may even rebook while you're onboard. We swore our first DCL would probably be a once in a lifetime trip, and we're getting ready for our 13th. I usually prefer to do the cruise after WDW just for relaxation, but we are also doing the cruise first this next time. We've done 3, 4, 5, and 7 night cruises and although I love the longer ones the most, I think any time you can do a Disney Cruise, it's a good thing. We started out with the 3 night just to make sure we would like it and because we were in sticker shock. Haha! Good luck with your decision and be warned--Disney Cruises are addictive. My kids are almost 23 and 20, and other than Hawaii, they prefer Disney Cruises over anything else!

 

[Shanti]

So we have gone to Disney World every year for the past 6 years. My kids and husband are perfectly happy coming back year after year, but I feel like I want to do something different. We had planned on our trip 2 weeks ago being the last one for a while, but here's my husband talking about wanting to go back next Thanksgiving again, LOL.

So we are thinking about doing a 3 night cruise and then 5 days at Disney, as sort of a compromise. Problem is the 3 days cruises are SO expensive for such a short period of time.

Is it worth it? Any other suggestions?

I'd love to scrap going to Disney World and just do a 7 day cruise, but my 6 year old gets motion sickness sometimes, so I thought a 3 day would be a good way to test it out and see how he does, plus my boys just love the rides at Disney so much!

A 3-night is a great, safe way to get introduced to cruising. I get motion sickness on land, but not on the cruise ships, so don't worry too much about that- just have OTC medication ready to use in case someone feels queasy. We've taken a 3-night, a 7-night, and have both another 3-night and another 7-night coming up within the next year. A 3-night combined with WDW is ideal and what we're going to do over Christmas break. We're going to do WDW after the cruise. The cruise will get us relaxed and into vacation mode, and the parks will give us something to look forward to after the cruise (debarkation day is always a bit sad).

Since your family is really into the parks, I think a partial cruise/partial WDW vacation is the best way to go, rather than to deprive the family of WDW outright. Knowing that they will still get their park fix, they'll be more likely to be open-minded about cruising.

The key to 3-night cruising is to just do what really appeals to you. Don't feel like you need to try to do everything that's available. Allow yourselves to relax.

 

[anricat]

Our first cruise was a 3 night on the Dream followed by the parks and it was a great compromise. It's funny because at the time we totally thought we were parks people. Since then we've been on three more cruises with two more booked. We did go back to the parks this year, but that only reaffirmed our love of cruising. You'll get a great taste of cruising on 3 nights. 4 nights is also great and I sort of wish we had done 4 the first time, but really you can't go wrong.

 

[ladyofthetramp]

We do both DCL and WDW often. Sometimes we combine both and sometimes we do one or the other. I'd say that if you haven't ever done a Disney Cruise, trying it out with the three night will be just fine. It will go by fast, but you'll still get to experience it and may even rebook while you're onboard. We swore our first DCL would probably be a once in a lifetime trip, and we're getting ready for our 13th. I usually prefer to do the cruise after WDW just for relaxation, but we are also doing the cruise first this next time. We've done 3, 4, 5, and 7 night cruises and although I love the longer ones the most, I think any time you can do a Disney Cruise, it's a good thing. We started out with the 3 night just to make sure we would like it and because we were in sticker shock. Haha! Good luck with your decision and be warned--Disney Cruises are addictive. My kids are almost 23 and 20, and other than Hawaii, they prefer Disney Cruises over anything else!

You could have been writing about our family! Our kids only slightly younger and we are on our 10th cruise, but be warned-highly addictive!