Thoughts for a 3 day cruise for a first timer?

[TiggerBouncy]

I am CC Gold. However, I have a friend who has never been on a cruise (any cruise). I really wanted to take them this spring, but I have always been dead set on a 4 day for a first timer so you have that day at sea. However, pretty much all 4 day cruises from Canaveral require you to take the entire week off of work. My work is being a little snobbish on my vacation time (I only get 2 weeks...). So I can't get a week off. I fought with my management about it for almost a month.

So I am down to being able to only do a 3 day maybe in the early fall (September? October?) which I could do with just Friday / Monday off. Not my favorite cruise since it's just Nassau and CC. But then I have been ruined by DCL over the years. I started with a 7 day honeymoon cruise, and the 3 days just never lived up to it for me. I do enjoy them for a quick getaway, but I always want someone new when I show off my Disney love to see all the things I fell in love with and I always feel the 3 days are too short and fall flat. Like I am afraid they will be underwhelmed and not fall in love.

If I put my preconceptions aside, how would a newcomer like a 3 day Nassau/CC? Who started out with that cruise and were you disappointed or not? Or did you try to hook your friends with it? Did you / they fall in love with DCL and want to come back? Or "not get the hype?".

 

[Mommb]

My family's first DCL cruise was 3 nights because I was 4 months pregnant and wasn't sure how the motion of the boat would affect me. My husband, 4 year old son, and I loved it. Our next cruise was 3 1/2 years later, and we chose another 3 night because we weren't sure how our 3 year old would do on the boat. All 4 of us loved it. Our next cruises, 1 and 2 years later, were for 7 nights. We have done a few subsequent 3- and 4-night cruises when we didn't have time for longer cruises, but prefer longer cruises now that we know what the ship offers and what we like and don't like. However, if we'd started with a 7-night, it might have been too much, with so many options on the sea days.

We didn't get off the boat in Nassau for our first 2 cruises, which allowed us to explore the ship. If the kids were older (or if we had no kids) we might have looked around for a little while, but would still have spent most of the day onboard.

I think a short cruise would be fine as an introduction to cruising. My recommendation is to treat Nassau as a sea day, unless your friends really want to do something there. You will know that the onboard activities while the ship is docked in Nassau are not as numerous as on a sea day, but new cruisers won't know what they're missing. There will still be a lot happening in the evenings all 3 nights.

 

[DCLCruiseFan09]

If your travelling companion has never been on a cruise, a 3 night is a great place to start! They will never be long enough for me or really for most people but its a good way to figure out if you like it.

I always enjoy Nassau whether getting off the ship or not.

At the end of the day, you have to weigh the positives, negatives, and cost to make sure a 3 night is worthwhile but I always say go for it!

 

[Quellman]

Do be aware that the Fantasy is taking over some of the itineraries of the Dream when the Dream goes into dry dock this fall. So the traidtional 3/4 schedule might be displaced some. I think there are even a couple of 5 nights lurking.

 

[lklgoodman]

I'd be more worried about cruising during hurricane season. Sorry your work was giving you a hard time about taking time off. If your friends are the type who always want to see and do everything than a 3 night might feel rushed. But if they just like relax and don't feel the need to do it all, then a 3 night should be just fine.

 

[Tasmen]

A 3 night is enough just give a taste but not so long as to make someone miserable if they don't like cruising. Personally, I wouldn't want to do a 3 night because I like being on the ship as long as possible. However, if that is the best way to intro your friend to the joy of DCL, I say go for it! A 3 night cruise is better than no cruise at all.

 

[Missus_Aitch]

As an alternate, we did NYC to Bermuda this October and loved it. If you get Columbus Day off, it would only require three vacation days (cruise returns to NYC Thursday morning) for a five-night cruise. The sea days aren’t super tropical, but Bermuda itself was perfect.

EDITED to add the missing closing parenthesis.

 

[randumb0]

3 days is perfect for a 1st timer

 

[xQuizx]

We took my sister's family on a 7 night for their first cruise and they loved it.

We vacation annually together for a week so we knew everyone's limits.

I'm a big planner so I had activities planned through out the trip.

Over Christmas I told them we should go on another cruise and they were up for it.

Cheers!

 

[deliela999]

We did a 3 night for our first cruise and loved it. We stayed on the ship at Nassau to enjoy the ship. Normally my husband gives me crap for planning our next vacation as soon as we get home, this time he asked where and when we're going on our next cruise. The Dream dry dock messed up our plan for a 7 night over fall break so we're doing the 4 night on Christmas! We wanted longer, but my husband got really excited about being on for Christmas and to keep the cost down we had to go shorter.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I guess it depends on how much travel is involved - do you have to fly in? are you local and you can just drive to PC? We live in the NE USA and there is no way I would fly down to PC for a 3-night cruise. If I were local or a fairly short drive away, sure, why not?!

 

[ladyofthetramp]

3 days is perfect for a first timer. Not so long if they are miserable and a great introduction if they love it. Our first cruise was 3 nights on the Wonder. While I love longer cruises, a 3 night, long weekend style is perfect for us at times. We are on the east coast, with only about a 3 hour flight to MCO, so it works perfectly for us. Good luck with your decision!

 

[Drfate102]

Our first cruise was a 15 day round trip to Hawaii on Princess, talk about breaking it in. Our second cruise (first on DCL) was a three day to Nassau. That cruise makes a great extended weekend trip, only need to take the Friday and Monday off. It is a great taste for a cruise. And even though you have been plenty of times, your friend might actually like Nassau. We did a tour and had a generally good time.

 

[Missus_Aitch]

Drfate, ho w did you like your Hawaii trip? We’re considering it, but my husband prefers port days to days at sea, and I’m afraid he’d be bored.

 

[Donna M]

Our first cruise was a 3 day to Nassau, and we loved it. We just got off our 9th cruise last week and it was a 3 day also, just as good. I think it is a great way to start cruising because you go into it knowing that it will soon end if it's miserable for you, but it gives you a taste of cruising.

 

[MomOTwins]

Our first cruise was a 3 day. We also stayed on ship in Nassau as a "sea" day. It did not at all feel too short for me, but we also added a day at WDW, so maybe that is something to think about if you want a little extra vacay without taking off the whole week.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I would have definitely been happy with a three night DCL cruise as my first cruise ever! A 3 nighter was our first DCL Cruise, and we’ve been back!

 

[FutureMrs.Incredible]

Do be aware that the Fantasy is taking over some of the itineraries of the Dream when the Dream goes into dry dock this fall. So the traidtional 3/4 schedule might be displaced some. I think there are even a couple of 5 nights lurking.

Yeah we booked a 4-night in October on the Fantasy. When we started tentatively planning, I was sure that we would be on the Dream. But I also was sure we would be on a 3-night. But sorry OP it's Monday-Friday.

 

[DisLiss]

I think a 3 day is a great start for someone new. Just a taste to see how they like cruising.

 

[cruisehopeful]

My first cruise was 3 days and it went by so fast. We never saw the entire ship, actually. Now, that we've been on the Wonder so many times, we have no problem with 2 night cruises, because we know exactly what we want to do and when we want to do it.

If you are familiar with the ship, I'm sure you'll be fine. Get the earliest boarding time to make the adventure a little longer, but if you are Gold, I'm sure you already know about that. We like to board around noon and have a sit down served meal as soon as we board. It's nice a slow and really sets the pace that we are "away" for a couple days.