3 Night Cruise

[akmac57]

There is a great deal on a three-night cruise for Canadians. Does the three night cruise go by too quickly?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

There is a great deal on a three-night cruise for Canadians. Does the three night cruise go by too quickly?

Disclaimer - I've not done a 3 night. But I've done a couple of 4 night cruises. And those are too short for me. Our comfort zone is "no shorter than 7 nights".

That said, if it's a 3 night or nothing, I'd take the cruise.

Is it worth it to you to travel (how far?) just for a 3 night cruise?

 

[rramsr]

Our first cruise was back in 2014 and was a 3 night. It went by so fast, we didn't get to do everything we wanted, way to fast in my opinion. Our second was a 4 night and still quick but the sea day was amazing and so relaxing

 

[Mommb]

Yes, 3-night cruises go by quickly, with really only 2 1/2 days to enjoy the cruise. However, 2 1/2 days is still something, so if the fare is a great deal, and you can get decent airfare, a 3-night cruise would make a nice quick vacation.

 

[MomOTwins]

We've done the three night twice, the 7-night once, and are planning a 4-night. We thoroughly enjoyed the shorter cruises and decided we actually prefer them to the longer ones. By staying on the ship in Nassau, felt like we got to fully experience everything on the ship that we wanted to. We used the pools, aquaduck, rainforest room, ate dinner in each restaurant, enjoyed pirate night, went to character meet and greets, did some of the scheduled entertainment, and saw all three main shows. And best of all, Castaway Cay was amazing.

I really don't feel like you are migssing out. In contrast, I felt like the 7-night was a lot of repetition (same restaurants, same characters, same bingo/trivia, same pools/slides over and over), the additional shows were not as good as the three main shows, and none of the port stops were as fun as Castaway Cay.

But we're not typical. Most people here will tell you longer is better. I think it is unusual to find people like me for whom longer was not as good. But I do think there are plenty of people who think 3 days is a good vacation.

 

[Spiffy MacSpiff]

Our go-to is four nights and that always seems too short. But if it's your first DCL cruise and you just want a taste, or if the price on the three-night is that good, I'd go for it.

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

Way too fast! I don't think I would ever do a 3 night unless it was attached to a 5 or 7 night.

 

[bcwife76]

We're doing one of the 3 night Dream cruises offered on the CDN residents rate this August. I *know* it will be far too short (as we like 7 night cruises) but the Dream is the only ship we have yet to sail on (yay for Grand Slam) and we are making it a one week vacation, doing Kennedy Space Centre beforehand (something my husband has wanted to do since our first trip to Florida in 2017, but it never worked out) and then staying at OKW and doing a resort stay with our dvc points after the cruise for a couple of nights.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I *know* it will be far too short (as we like 7 night cruises) but the Dream is the only ship we have yet to sail on (yay for Grand Slam) and we are making it a one week vacation, doing Kennedy Space Centre beforehand (something my husband has wanted to do since our first trip to Florida in 2017, but it never worked out) and then staying at OKW and doing a resort stay with our dvc points after the cruise for a couple of nights.

That's exactly why we finished our Grand Slam much the same (with more than just the 4 night Dream). We did the 4 night Dream, followed by B2B 7 night Fantasy cruises. So it felt like a longer cruise.

 

[Pinkgurlshubby]

The 3 night does go by fast but we took 1 and are taking another one this summer. For a first time cruiser it would give you an idea if you like being on a floating city but you really won't get to do much. We are alright with it because it will be our 4th cruise and by now we know what we want to do and where we want to go. For example we just want Kalik beer and rum cakes. I can be back on the ship within an hour. To be honest the best cruise we took, the Dream was new, it was a 5 day. Only 1 CC stop and 2 at sea days. Most relaxing cruise I'd take it again any day.

 

[disneyholic family]

There is a great deal on a three-night cruise for Canadians. Does the three night cruise go by too quickly?

yes, it's much much much too short.
However, sometimes that's all the time we have so we take them and love them.
But i literally cry like a baby as i get off the ship. Seriously. Full on crying. It's just too short!!!

.

 

[WaywardMemphian]

We did a 3 night to see if we liked cruising as part of a spring break two years ago, by the time the cruise ended we had booked a Barcelona to Rome for this past summer. We would have booked an Alaskan cruise for this summer but the prices were too much as they had been released for awhile so we are waiting for the summer 2021 release to get the early prices. But yes, I found the 3 night too short, hated that it ended.

 

[DIS_MIKE]

Did a 3-night for my first DCL cruise on the Dream and it went by way too fast. I finally got my bearings and sea legs and by that time we already had to disembark. It took me over 10 years to try cruising again after a horrible Carnival cruise, but the 3-night had me thinking "I need to book another cruise...." So that 3-night definitely helped me discover my love for cruising and just being at sea in general. The banana also helped, too.

As many have said...any cruise is still better than no cruise. I've done two 4-night cruises and the added sea day really adds to the experience, imo; It just brings you another level of peace and relaxation.

Then I did a 7-night on the Fantasy and I really preferred that length. They are not cheap though, so to keep costs down, I've been looking at doing a 4-night. I found a 3-night double dip at Castaawy Cay WHICH is SUPER tempting but for roughly $50 more per person, we can do a 4-night and get that sea day. It's a tough choice because who doesn't love CC...? I'm thinking the 4-night will be the way to go even though I could experience my first double dip.

 

[GatorMomInNC]

Our first DCL was 14 nights, and we did 2 more of those as well as 7s. It wasn't until our 6th cruise we did just 5 nights and enjoyed it but felt it was short. Didn't do a 3 night until our 9th cruise and since then have done 2 more. Primarily because my oldest is in HS now and it makes taking a Disney cruise more difficult/expensive as we have to travel (with him) in high season. I much prefer longer cruises, but I feel I get my fix okay on the short cruise, and I do still take longer cruises on other cruise lines. We took our friends on a 3 night last year -their first cruise ever - and they had a good time. If I could get a good deal on a 3 night I wouldn't hesitate to take it.

 

[Mainsail Minnie]

There is a great deal on a three-night cruise for Canadians. Does the three night cruise go by too quickly?

We've done three 7-night cruises, one 5-night cruise, and two 3-night cruises, and have enjoyed them all. We really enjoy the 3-night cruises. I agree with a PP that the 7-night ones (except Alaska or other novel itineraries) can start to feel just a bit tedious, with the repeated restaurants, second-tier theater shows for the extra nights, etc. Not that we haven't enjoyed every cruise, but on our most recent Caribbean 7-night particularly, it felt just a bit same-old same-old by the end. By contrast, on our 3-night cruises we've always appreciated each moment & nothing seemed to get old.

One tip for short cruises is to board asap on embarkation day with your bathing suits in your shoulder bag, and no cumbersome carry-ons), so that you can dive right into the cruise and begin enjoying yourself right away.

My other tip is to only do the things YOU really want to do, not things others say are "must dos". Feel free to just relax in your stateroom or on deck if that's what you like. Don't sign up for a port adventure unless you're genuinely dying to do it. Don't feel like you "should" do certain things. It's your cruise, and a big part of really feeling like you experienced it is letting yourself relax.