Help a first timer decide between a 5 and 7 night cruise

[duffybear32830]

Should I do a 5 or 7 night cruise out of Port Canaveral for the first Disney cruise? Party will be me (mom), DD8 (will be 9 for the cruise almost 10), and DH. I've cruised once before - a 3 or 4? night Carnival out of Galveston many many years ago. No problems with seasickness or anything but it was definitely a party cruise! DD8 and I are doing a 5 night Carnival Dream cruise out of Galveston this summer ... I think she'll love cruising for the kids club as she's as only child. DH has never cruised (or even used his passport to leave the country). Budget is a concern, but a minor one, see this as more of a bucket list item to do a Disney cruise once at least while my kid is young. Been to the parks many times so ready to try something else.

So 5 night or 7 nights? Anything more that is offered on a 7 vs 5. I read somewhere that the 7 has a character meal while the 5 night doesn't?? The double dip in Castaway Cay is appealing though and it seems the most "Disney" immersive. I have no idea what I would care to do for excursions at any of the ports, just go to the beach mainly and swim. I don't think anyone will be up for snorkeling, tried that once and really didn't care for it. I'm kind of leaning towards 7 to get the full immersive relaxing experience but nervous as we're normally go-go people on vacation (which I think DD is getting tired of actually!!)

 

[dbenlee]

In our opinion, the 7 day would be the way to go. The longer cruise gives you more time to experience more of what DCL has to offer. Double Dip at Castaway Cay is a lot of fun. You can spend one visit doing an excursion and the next enjoying a relaxing day on the beach and exploring Castaway Cay. Sailing on DCL will spoil you when cruising other lines. DCL has much better service and atmosphere.

 

[blabadie]

We just did our first cruise in December. It was a 7 nighter and I was glad to have that many nights to experience each restaurant at least twice and enjoy the different shows. That being said, I definitely preferred port days to sea days and think I might have been a bit stir crazy after more than one sea day if we weren't traveling with another family to make the at sea activities (triva, etc.) seem more fun.

 

[ForMyBoys]

Our first was a 4 nighter and it was great. I really like the Wonder and Magic so if the 5 nighter is on those I'd do it. You can book a placeholder for another cruise on board to save 10% on the 7 night cruise you'll want to take next year

 

[lindsay0526]

My sister did a 7 night cruise and this summer we are doing the 5 night double dip. She said the day at CC was by far their favorite and that that itinerary was the way to go, so that’s what we are doing!

 

[soniam]

We have only ever done 7+ nights. It usually takes me at least 3 days to really get into cruise mode. The cruise would be more than half over by then. However, if you start out at 7, you will never want to do less.

 

[wallawallakids]

Our first cruise was 5 nights and we LOVED it. I was nervous to do 7 the first time but I had never been on a ship before in my whole life and neither had our 4 kids. I was so concerned about hating it, being stuck on a boat and not being able to leave. Lol. Honestly, my husband had to talk me into it! I wasn't prepared to love it as much as we did. I think it was a good way to go for us because it was long enough to unpack and experience what it was like but not so long that I chickened out before I experienced it. Being that you have cruised before, you probably already know most of what to expect and what it is like on a cruise, so you have the argument to go ahead and do a whole week, especially since you would know if your DD likes it by then with having done Carnival. The 7 nights are more relaxing than the 5, however, if your DH is concerned at all or isn't sure don't worry about not liking the 5 nights. It is still enough time to have a great vacation and is a nice trial size.

 

[sukhakuli]

Our first was a 7 night, and it felt like it was just the right length. We were very interested in seeing as many ports as possible, which was why we chose the 7 night. At the end the kids told me that they felt like they were ready to be home, but were glad it wasn't shorter. We recently booked our second DCL cruise, a 7 night western Caribbean cruise.

 

[dclpluto]

You are asking on the dcl board so dcl will most likely win. If you asked on the aulani board aulani will probably win. I’m guessing you are leaning towards a cruise since you put it on the dcl board.

 

[Geomom]

Is there a reason you're limiting it to cruises out of Port Canaveral? For us, we pick an itinerary we like--so we are 'go, go, go' when we're in ports and then enjoy the ship on the sea days. Our first cruise was the 7 nt Alaska on the Wonder, 2nd was 7 nt. Northern European (Baltic) on the Magic. Although I will admit, due to the timing of the Europe ones we want for 2020, we may just be picking a shorter one out of Port Canaveral to do a Disney World and DCL trip...but it would still hold new experiences for us... bigger ship, a Pirate Night, new shows, different activities, and Castaway Cay. But this time the 'ship' would be the destination.

 

[duffybear32830]

Is there a reason you're limiting it to cruises out of Port Canaveral? For us, we pick an itinerary we like--so we are 'go, go, go' when we're in ports and then enjoy the ship on the sea days. Our first cruise was the 7 nt Alaska on the Wonder, 2nd was 7 nt. Northern European (Baltic) on the Magic. Although I will admit, due to the timing of the Europe ones we want for 2020, we may just be picking a shorter one out of Port Canaveral to do a Disney World and DCL trip...but it would still hold new experiences for us... bigger ship, a Pirate Night, new shows, different activities, and Castaway Cay. But this time the 'ship' would be the destination.

Thanks for the reply. Port Canaveral is just cheaper and closer from TX vs. flying to Europe plus they have the newer, bigger ships which appeals to me. Plus we want to do summer due to school scheduling, makes it easier to take off and an extra day or two. The Greek Isles do sound amazing but that's not for this trip, someday maybe though. And I've already done a land trip to Alaska ... have already done whale watching tours, seen glaciers, been to Denali, did the dog sledding in Seward, etc. and while lovely/beautiful ..... I'd just as soon head to Colorado for mountains for that kind of trip.

 

[o&smom]

Go for the 7 night! There is just soooo much to do, and you won’t be able to do it all even on the 7 night. This is why we are taking our ninth cruise this summer with our tenth scheduled for next year.! We have still not done everything that we want to do, let alone all that there is to do. Realize that you will NOT be able to do it all and focus on a few experiences that you want to have. Your cruise is what you make it so narrow it down to a few must do and let all of the other stuff go. It is really easy to get overwhelmed with all of your options. It is funny to think that you have to work at being able to relax on a vacation. Enjoy your cruise!

 

[darwinsrule]

Price and itinerary matter. I would take a 5 night with a good itinerary over a 7 night with a poopy itinerary. Same way a 5 night double dip of castaway is likey to be priced higher than a lot of the 7 night trips. It becomes easier to make that decision the more you cruise. Our last cruise on the Wonder was a 5 night with a stop at Castaway on my wife's birthday (hard to beat that). Next DCL is on the Wonder again with the San Juan to NOLA repositioning cruise (only stop being Castaway). That was simply a price that was to good to pass up. Genrally the longer the cruise, the more time you get once you unwind from the real world.