5 or 7 day cruise

We are wanting to do either a 5 or 7 day cruise with 2 adults and 4 children. Can you help with which one is best—5 or 7 day??

By 5 days we;re just totally comfortable with the ins and outs of the ship and totally enjoy the final 2 days. :D

In 2016 We did a 7 day and a separate 5 day on the Sunshine. Five days was over too early

7>5

I'm no expert cruiser, but the two Carnival cruises I have been on were 4 day and 3 day, and both were far, far, too short - 5 days wouldn't be long enough, for me. Which is why we booked an 8 day cruise for late 2018.

But, in both cases I was traveling with another adult, no kids. You may find that after 5 days the kids are bored silly and you will wish you had bought the Cheers package. So it probably depends more on how well your kids travel/cruise. Age ranges obviously are an impact.

We've always done 7 days. Our two kids are 8 and 7 right now, and we've been taking them on cruises since the oldest was only 7 months old. Camp Carnival (Camp Ocean) is great, and the kids love it. Neither of them has ever been bored.

5 day is sea day, port, port, sea day and over. What happened? But 7 day seems pretty short to me too. I know that the 7 days I have been on is a much less of a party atmosphere and you can get to nicer ports in the 7 day time frame.

Never been on a cruise shorter than 7 days. Weekend embarkations mean you only need to take 5 days off work. Your travel expenses to the embarkation port are the same no matter how many days the cruise is, so why not spread that travel cost over more cruise days?

Another thing to keep in mind if you like the lobster in the MDR- there is no longer lobster served in the MDR on 5 day cruises. 7 is short enough for me, I’d just be getting unpacked on a 5 day. Lol

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I find the shorter cruises exhausting because there's not enough downtime after the ports. It's just go, go, go and d then you're home!

Spring break, bachelor/bachelorette party... 5 days

Family .... 7 days.

As others have said, 5 is just so short. The only alternative is if you bundled the 5 day cruise with a few beach days or a Disney/universal experience. Doing that drives the cost up tho.

I did a 11 day two years ago. And a 5 day last year (after spending a weekend in Orlando for wresltelmania... don't judge).

We are ding an 8 day this month, and going to New Orleans in April for a long weekend for... (don't judge) wrestlemania.

The cost could go up if you do the 5 day/other 2-3 day activities, but I could see a scenario where that is actually more enjoyable for the kiddos

I would like to ask a few questions first.....

where do you live? Will you be driving or flying to port?

what types of activities do you like to do?

what are the kids ages?

I think these questions will help make a realistic recommendation.

robin

I have never yet been really ready and willing to get off the ship after seven days. I can't even imagine getting off after only five.

Definitely the 7 day. 5 day cruises are just way too short.

Carnival also offers 6 days cruises (some of the ships do 6 day then 8 day cruises).

Longer is generally better; however, for us the ship also matters. If your choice was a 7 day on a Fantasy class ship or a 5 day on say the Vista, with kids I would be included to do the 5 night on the ship with more for them to do.

We have done the 5 and the 7 day. We enjoy the 7 day more as the 5 day you feel like you are just getting in and then go home again. However alot depends on how much time you have and what kind of deal you can find.

We are wanting to do either a 5 or 7 day cruise with 2 adults and 4 children. Can you help with which one is best—5 or 7 day??

If time and money are no object, go with the 7 day.

I don't have a recommendation, but I feel the need to present an opposing viewpoint.

I like short cruises. They are usually cheaper than 7 days. I can usually go on two 4 or 5 day cruises for the price of one 7 day cruise. I cruise solo or with my mom.

My first cruise was on the Jubilee. I was 13. It was my mom, dad, and me. We were on a group cruise with some of my dad's Knights of Columbus friends. I had fun, and that ship didn't have all the bells and whistles of the current classes. I loved that the slide went into the main pool(there were three) because it meant a big splash at the end. I have been on the Holiday class, Fantasy class, Triumph class, and Spirit class(hated it).

I have never been on a 4 or 5 day cruise that felt like a booze cruise. I wouldn't be bothered if it was. It would give me interesting stories to tell. I have cruised in February(4 day Bahamas and 4 day Cozumel), May(8 day Alaska), June(5 day Grand Cayman and Cozumel), August(4 day Baja Mexico), and December(5 day Progreso and Cozumel).

I don't need 5 days to get comfortable. I feel at home immediately after boarding.

I have never thought short cruises were exhausting. I have always found that I have plenty of time and energy between getting back on the ship and early assigned dining, even after an all day excursion.

If you haven’t cruised before you may want to start out with 5 days and work your way up to 7 days.

OP

I noted this was your first post, welcome to CC.

Have you ever taken the kids before on a cruise?

Have you ever been on a cruise before?

You might want to look at the itineraries. Sometimes you can pack a lot into a shorter cruise. If you can find a 5 night with great ports then, as a first cruise it would be a good idea. You do not know how anyone will be on a cruise.

If you have cruised before, then I would go with the longer one...if you can make the flight and time off work all work for you and your family.

I love the longer cruises and even the back-to-back (B2B) but I take my family alot and most of the younger children cannot take much more than a week.

YOU know your family the best. Have fun.

I've done 4 that were 7 days and 2 that were 5 days with another 7 day planed next month. Every time I do a 5 day I always tell me self not again. The only way I would do one again is if I did a B2B or B2B2B. That said I have always wanted to do a 14+.

The problem with anything longer than a 7 days is I would have to take two sets of pants for the extra weight I would gain!!

I see no problem with a 5 day, especially if its your first cruise. Make sure you and the kids like it and it will give you a chance to figure out what your likes/dislikes are for future cruises.

We've done 2 7-days and 1 4-day. We enjoyed the 4-day just as much as the 7-days. We learned on our first cruise that we really don't like sea days. Lots of people love them--we don't. So a 5-day would give you time to figure out things like that.

That being said, for us itinerary is most important (and also the number of days off we can take). I'll take any length cruise as long as I have the time and money and it's taking me where I want to go!

My husband and I have been on 1 cruise prior to this. Our kids have never been and their ages are 18, 15, 14, and 6. I just didn’t know if we book the 5 day if we will wished we booked the 7 day instead.

We did our first cruise last March and it was 5 days. We weren’t sure if we would like it or not. Didn’t want to find out we hated it and still have 2 days to go!

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My husband and I have been on 1 cruise prior to this. Our kids have never been and their ages are 18, 15, 14, and 6. I just didn’t know if we book the 5 day if we will wished we booked the 7 day instead.

I would say that if you don’t need the extra days for traveling- I’d go for 7. Your kids will have plenty of options to stay busy.

One word of caution... starting with 7 days really spoils you. We did that- now less than that seems to go by too fast for me. I’ll take any cruise- I just prefer 7 days. It allows for a good number of port and sea days. My least favorite itinerary is the one that doesn’t have a sea day on the way back.

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I've done 7 day cruises and one 4 day cruise. I will never go on a cruise less than 7 days again. It's hard enough getting off of the ship after a 7 day cruise, anything less than that is cruel and unusual punishment. I like port days, sea days, and all days of a cruise. Even 7 days isn't long enough. My next cruise is 8 days and I am happy.

If I lived close to a port, I can see going on shorter cruises. However, I have to fly in and always get a hotel the night before the cruise, so it's more of an ordeal to get to and from the port.