Is 3 nights enough

[lanejudy]

Ideally would love to do a 7 day cruise. But we are limited to August so costs are sy high on all cruises and doesn't look like Disney do much if any discounts during this time.

Most DCL discounts come in the form of VGT/OGT/IGT rates and don’t usually come out until after the PIF date — generally 120 days prior to embarkation for 7 night cruises. All that to say - it’s a little early for August DCL discounts. Maybe in about a month.

 

[ChipTheRescueRanger]

Most DCL discounts come in the form of VGT/OGT/IGT rates and don’t usually come out until after the PIF date — generally 120 days prior to embarkation for 7 night cruises. All that to say - it’s a little early for August DCL discounts. Maybe in about a month.

Odly there has been some guaranteed rooms on the wish but with basically 0 discount. I dont massively expect to see any on the Wish. But if other August cruises have something it might sway my thinking. As ultimately what ever gets me the best Holiday(vacation) with the best bang for buck will win.

 

[auntlynne]

 

[auntlynne]

 

[Clarkson U]

It really depends. Our first cruise when we lived in NY and did a combo wdw and then cruise was 4 days long. Long enough to get a good feel of it and not too long if we didn’t like it. We loved it and have done many more since that time.

If you can only squeeze in 3 days then do that. Getting to Miami from Orlando is not too bad about 3.5 hours by car. There is also a high speed train coming soon (or May be here already) to travel that.

I would do at least four days to get a good feel of things.

Wish is a good ship, Dream or Magic out of Miami are also good ships. As is the fantasy of you can swing the 7 days.

Depending on when in August will also impact pricing - the later in the month the cheaper it will get.

Don’t fret to much about the decision as you will have a great time regardless of what you choose. You are after all headed on a Disney cruise!!!!

 

[ChipTheRescueRanger]

Good luck on those airfares. I have seen some decent cruise fares over the Pond TO UK and quickly realize I can’t stomach the price increase for flying.

I am hoping that this “revenge travel” will slack off and prices decrease some - but I have a feeling we are in this increased price period for nearly everything for years(?) to come. I am trying to adjust my travel hopes.

If you have a different period of school breaks, maybe you could also try a different time of year. It’s not just the airfare, but this summer’s cruise price are really up (at least for Disney). A January 4-night Wish cruise in a balcony was around $2500. Late May/ early June is showing interiors starting at about $2000 more.

I wouldn’t blow off a 3-night if it works better in your schedule and budget. I started with a 3-night. And I have done some since. And a bunch of different lengths. Each served their purpose. If you know nothing else, the feeling of “didn’t I just get on this ship” gets lost in the discovery of a new adventure.

And definitely go for DCL if that’s your heart’s desire and fits your budget. The other lines are not the same experience. You can always try P&O or other lines from Southampton if you find you like cruising but would like to start closer to home.

Check out Emma cruises on YouTube or the internet if you want to look at recommendations for cruising (mainly in Europe). She is based out of Southern England.

And I cast a vote for a cruise to Castaway Cay. If you have the time and money, check out a 7-night Eastern Caribbean on the Fantasy with stops at St Thomas USVI, Tortola BVI, and Castaway Cay. They have been sailing from Port Canaveral. Will they stay there or move to the new home port in Fort Lauderdale? The Fantasy is the 4th ship in the fleet, introduced in 2012. It has been mainly doing 7-night cruises, alternately Western and Eastern Caribbean itineraries. The price for these cruises can be comparable to the 4-night Wish cruise.

Good luck.

With UK airfare the price allways jumps up around 2 weeks before school holidays. So unless you can travel outside of these dates. you get stung. Partner being a teacher means we are allways stuck in school holidays. booo

With Disney having the Dream in Europe this year I think its pushed up all the prices of Caribbean cruises.

Personally a cruise from the UK does nothing for me. I can be in Southampton in 25 mins. But maybe I just like the idea of white sands. my in-laws do a lot of cruises with most of them going from Southampton. But they enjoy going to European cities.

We have started to look at other DCL over the summer. But the Wish looks like a 5 star hotel on the sea. Some of the other boats cabins look a bit dated. But then I dont plan on staying in the cabin much.

 

[Flossbolna]

Often one can get decent priced flights from MCO to MIA or FLL. That might be an option, too. Both FLL and MIA are airports from where you can get a shuttle to the cruise port in Miami. FLL is a bit further but still easy.

 

[18sprint]

This my personal opinion only. Our first trip was a 3-night, not knowing what to expect. Well, we soon realized that this was wayyyy to short. It seemed really rushed, everything from short port adventures to dining. No time to relax, enjoy the ship. Our next was 5 nights due to work schedules, , which was much better, but when we took our first 7 night,,,,,wow! Loved it.

 

[Smalerie]

Oddly enough, while 3 nights might feel like a good sampler, it also results in fewer available activities. In October, my friend and I did 3 nights on the Wish. This was her first cruise ever and she was shocked by how hard it was to book activities and find the time to do the things that she wanted to do.

If you think of it this way- we're talking about a huge ship with only 3 days of available spa slots, character meetings, and specialty dining reservations. At Silver Castaway level, I was only able to book one beer tasting and everything else was filled when I tried to make my midnight bookings.

So yes, if you're not planning on booking a lot of extras, 3 nights can be a nice taste. If you want to try everything and still have time to relax and do nothing, a longer cruise might be more enjoyable. I personally don't plan on doing the 3-night again until I am Gold level or higher.

 

[Louise97]

Our first cruise was a 3 night UK Staycation, and even with two sea days it was too short! We just wanted to give cruising a try and thought 3 nights would be a good taster, plus it was all we could make work with dates (similarly tied to school holidays). If 3 nights is all you can fit into the trip, go for it! But if you can make 4 work, that extra day onboard will give you more time to enjoy the ship once you've found your bearings.

 

[RysMomma]

If it's your first cruise, it's definitely good for a taste. If you were to ask my 12 year old daughter, she would say absolutely not! She first went on two four days at ages 6 and 8 and she loved it, until my mom took us all on her first 7 day one at age 12. Now all her and my mom talk about are going on 7 day Disney cruises and nothing shorter! If only she understood the value of a dollar!

 

[jdb in AZ]

Before my in-laws passed several years ago, DMIL was such a cruise enthusiast that her DH teased that all he had to do was wave a travel brochure under her nose and she'd go pack her bags.

DMIL used to say that if a cruise wasn't at least 7 days long, it wasn't worth packing her bags.

I wouldn't say that everyone feels the same way about cruising, or even going on vacations. To each their own. FWIW, DH and I have cruised more than two dozen times, and the shortest one was seven days.

 

[auntlynne]

 

[Lilsia]

I think that a lot of people do a 3 night for their first cruise and then instantly regret it. Adding that extra night makes a difference. If you can afford the 4 night, I would do so.

 

[Chipmunkmaniac]

I combined Dream, WDW and Fantasy in January/ I first did a b2b dream of two times 5n, the morning of disembark took a rental car and drove down to WDW. We took a car with GPS but getting out of Miami was a bit stressful, once that was done the drive was easy and smooth but I wouldnt want to do it the morning of a cruise embark. It was about 4h all together. Got the afternoon and next day at WDW and then on Saturday took Disney transport to the Fantasy. The rental car through Almo was about 120 dollars with a different pick up and drop off point and we were charged 110 usd on the cc for toll and gas afterwards.

 

[asgur5]

Need to account for the fact a 3 nighter gives you more weekdays at WDW while a 4 nighter means extra weekend days at WDW.

posters on this board seem to just ignore the impacts of 4 vs 3 night choice on the rest of your trip.

 

[ChipTheRescueRanger]

Thanks for all the comments so far. Defiantly lots to think about.

It does feel like 3 nights might be a bit short and 4 day should be a minimum.

We are tempted with a longer cruise. It does appear it's weighing up all the logistics of everything from flying in getting to the port. Plus deciding how long to stay at WDW.

UK park tickets tend to be 7 or 14 night both priced the same. Also all depend on what DVC is available around the time of the cruise.

I need to look more in to the other boats. As its a lot of money to be sold in to a Wish room just because they look fancy.

Basically If I could win the Lotto it might make things a bit easier !

 

[holula]

Need to account for the fact a 3 nighter gives you more weekdays at WDW while a 4 nighter means extra weekend days at WDW.

posters on this board seem to just ignore the impacts of 4 vs 3 night choice on the rest of your trip.

This was my recent choice - I still went for the 4 night cruise as 3 is just too short for me. (So is 4, but that sea day makes a huge difference.)

 

[kiford]

Our first cruise was four days (Wonder) so that we could test out whether or not we'd like cruising, if we would get bored, if we would get seasick. Four days is nice because you get one full day at sea which is when we thought we might be bored (we weren't). Three days gets you only a partial day at sea IIRC so it's hard to judge the whole nature of cruising if you don't experience that IMO.

 

[Disney_David]

Another opinion! We did the 3 night sailing on the Wish earlier this month. We chose the 3 night cruise because it was our first cruise ever, we wanted to see if we liked it, see if we got sea sick, etc.

It was great for a weekend break, but we were left wanting more (good!). We didn’t try and squeeze too much into our schedule. We stayed on the ship at Nassau and got off at Castaway Cay. Did Palo twice, ate, drank, watched a show, spent time in the rainforest spa and walked the ship a lot taking it all in. I think we got a lot in, but still left a lot out.

But, I would also take 3 days over no days! So if that fits with your schedule don’t pass it up. If you can do a 4 day or more I think you’ll find that better. I think we got quite a lot in, but on disembarkation day - I didn’t want to get off. We already booked 7 nights for May on the Fantasy if that tells you something!