Do many us citizens do 14 night cruises or are they all 6 or 8 nights?

[ellyg1824]

For us Brits to come over its not really worth anything less than 10 - 14 nights but it seems most itineries are 6 to 8 from the states ! Do you have to change cabins on a b2b ?? We always do 11 or 14 nights in Europe and just get chilled before the end of the cruise .

[DrD]

We don't get that much vacation. US average is like 3-4 weeks a year.

[pollux]

There are 15 days here also check Hawaii from San Diego round trip.

Also Panama Canal 15 days from San Diego to Florida or Florida back to San Diego.

Then there are Trans Atlantic 15 days in the spring from US to Europe and back in the fall.

Yes, you can request the same cabin on a b2b if booked early.

But its easy if you have to change the room stewart will help you.

[CVU]

We love long cruises and will do B2Bs as much as we can. We also fly some distance to cruise. If you book the same cabin for both cruises you do not have to change cabins on B2B. They are each individual cruises and booked as such.

You do have to leave the ship on the end of the cruise day and then you are lead back on again once the ship has cleared Customs etc. We love B2Bs!!

[Agutaya]

For us Brits to come over its not really worth anything less than 10 - 14 nights but it seems most itineries are 6 to 8 from the states ! Do you have to change cabins on a b2b ?? We always do 11 or 14 nights in Europe and just get chilled before the end of the cruise .

 

DrD is right. We don't get as much vacation as some other areas of the world so we do tend to take more 7 day cruises than other lengths. Changing cabins depends on if you can get the same cabin on both cruises. Booking early usually helps or asking your travel agent to find a cabin in your category that is open for both weeks could help. If it turns out you have to change cabins the cabin attendents will help you move. You won't have to take items off hangers but will need to pack other items and unpack again. IMHO that's a small price to pay for a second week of cruising and you get to relax the rest of the day when everyone else is busy embarking and settling in. I agree that it often takes more than a week to really unwind.

[LAngle]

I've seen an increase in b2b cruises, especially on the Oasis and Allure, I think because there is so much to see and do on the big ships.

 

I like longer crusies when possible to get the most bang from our airfare buck.

[kymbakitty]

For us Brits to come over its not really worth anything less than 10 - 14 nights but it seems most itineries are 6 to 8 from the states ! Do you have to change cabins on a b2b ?? We always do 11 or 14 nights in Europe and just get chilled before the end of the cruise .

 

We've felt that way too--ever since we did our first 7 day cruise.

 

We typically do a TA or Panama Canal cruise....last one we did was 17 days. B2B's don't appeal to us....mostly because they are typically Caribbean cruises....if we never do another one of those, that would be fine.

 

I think if you both are retired, 7 days are fine. But if one or both still works, it is a lot to do for just a quick 7 day get away.

 

My husband and I both get 4 weeks of vacation a year....not to mention Holidays/personal days. Most of our friends get that and a lot more.

 

The longer the vacation, the more $$ you need to save. If you have children, it seems like a lot of your disposable income is spent on college savings plan (our colleges are ridiculously expensive), and all the other $$ that goes with raising children. So for those with kids, I think 7 day cruises are much more doable w/out forfeiting savings for the college(s)!

 

At least this is what my friends w/children tell us!

[cb at sea]

The downside of a B2B on the same ship is the menus and most entertainment will repeat. On a true 10-14 nighter, the menus and entertainment do NOT repeat!

[CVU]

We typically do a TA or Panama Canal cruise....last one we did was 17 days. B2B's don't appeal to us....mostly because they are typically Caribbean cruises....if we never do another one of those, that would be fine.

We have done B2B+, Baltic, Transatlantic cruises + Australia and just look to see where is comes from or is going next and then book them if it is right for us. Doesn't have to be Caribbean. Depends on how much time you have....

[Cigar King]

There are plenty (at least for me) 10+ night cruises from the US. We just got off the Explorer (10) and we're heading to Vision (11). I do think that the typical US allotment of vacation time is less than those seen in Europe, so, unless you are retired, this is a real limiting factor.

[Guest maddycat]

For us Brits to come over its not really worth anything less than 10 - 14 nights but it seems most itineries are 6 to 8 from the states ! Do you have to change cabins on a b2b ?? We always do 11 or 14 nights in Europe and just get chilled before the end of the cruise .

 

We have two cruises booked on the Explorer sailing out of Bayonne, NJ. One is a 9 night Bermuda and Caribbean cruise in April. The other is an 11 night Southern Caribbean cruise in November. We've taken these two cruises before. There are usually many Brits onboard who spend time in New York City either before or after their cruise.

[hshowalter]

My wife & I have been on 90 cruises & 91 & 92 will be on the Enchantment 1-14-13 to 1-26-13 & then 1-26 to- 2-4-13. We have gone on very few 7 day cruises. Our last 2 were 16 nights.

[PCWalton1]

We did a 10 day to Hawaii back in September and was amazed at how quickly it went by. Next cruise is a 5 day with no layover in the port so that is going to really fly by. :eek:

November 2013 we are moving up to a 15 day Panama cruise and someday would love to tackle the 18 day Hawaii to Sydney cruise through the south Pacific.

[reney313]

I get 4 weeks of vacation a year (+holidays and personal time) and I actually have more than any of my friends. I feel very fortunate.

 

Even then, I don't think we'll doing a 10+ day cruise anytime soon. Maybe a 8 day at most. When we went to Alaska the first time we added 4 days on to go to Denali prior and that was a LONG vacation!

 

To do a 14 day cruise, I would burn 1/2 my vacation for the year. While I did complete 3 cruises this year, that is atypical and I don't see us repeating that anytime soon. I didn't take off as much time as I normally like during the summer for long lake weekends, or to add a sleep night in KC for Chiefs games :)

 

We also have dogs and paying someone to watch them while we are gone adds quite an expense, not to mention being away for that long. We don't have kids which is good, considering how much we miss the dogs while we were gone. I'd like to think we would miss the kids even more! LOL.

 

That being said, there are many cruises available longer than 7 days. I'm not one to sail out of cold weather ports (like NY--although I would like to sometime) so those 10-11 day cruises likely would not be for me. RCI has some out of Florida (Vision) and Panama Canal. My recommendation if you want more than 7 days and don't want to repeat on a B2B is to look at some other lines like Princess and Celebrity. It seems they typically have more options that are longer cruises. I could be wrong, but that is my impression.

 

Or...combine your cruise with another week in the states. One of my favorite reviews was a family from Scotland who spent a couple days in Disney, took a 7 day cruise on Freedom, and then went to the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee before flying back home. I think if I went on a European itinerary I would do something similar combining land and cruise.

[Bookish Angel]

But typically we do 10 - 21 nightsor more as we both have liberal vacation.

[ticktoneer]

Idea for a good trip for the UK . . . Do a Transatlantic from Southampton or Barcelona stay on for another 7 or 8 night cruise. We did it this year and it was really really good.

[fleckle]

For us Brits to come over its not really worth anything less than 10 - 14 nights but it seems most itineries are 6 to 8 from the states ! Do you have to change cabins on a b2b ?? We always do 11 or 14 nights in Europe and just get chilled before the end of the cruise.

Even as Americans we don't think it is worth all the trouble of planning, packing, preparing the house for our absence, and traveling to a port for anything less than 10-14 nights minimum.

 

We love b2b cruises, but they don't have to be in the same cabin, or even on the same ship or with the same cruise line. Changing ships is really not that big a deal.

 

We enjoy the variety of being able to mix and match, getting to experience a different ship with a different itinerary, different decor, different menus, different entertainment.

In fact, right now we are looking at combining a transatlantic crossing on one ship b2b with a European cruise on another.

 

We like to do the same in Alaska, taking one ship northbound and another southbound.

 

[tispwisp]

7 days is too short for us. We typically cruise two weeks at a time. Either we book a 14 day or two 7 day B2Bs. We do use all of our vacation time for cruises! :o

[billscruiser]

Even though I get generous vacation time, we try to save some for timeshares with our children and grandchildren. I like to cruise for the unwinding, 7 days is really too short. Came off the Oasis totally exhausted from so much activity. We like 10 or 11 days leaving on Thursday or Friday, coming back the following Monday. Appear at work on the starting day, then leave the ship and go directly to work on the return day. If it's over Thanksgiving, I only use 4 days of vacation. Love the Panama Canal cruises with time in San Diego or San Francisco. Also love the Transatlantic with 4 to 5 land days before returning home.

 

We have made some great friends from the UK on these longer cruises.

 

Kathryn

[eldolko]

I don't really care if I'm traveling for 5 hours or 18 hours. The traveling day is a ruined day anyway. I have traveled from Sweden to San Francisco for a five night mini vacation. I don't feel the experience got ruined because of the long flight.

 

For our first cruise we stayed three nights in Miami and then went on a 7 night Western Caribbean on the Freedom.

 

Our last cruise was a 7 night Western Caribbean on the Allure. With more spare time and money we stayed 7 nights in Ft. Lauderdale and made a 14 night vacation of it.

 

Of course I prefer the last option. But since money and time is an issue to many of us I'll take whatever I can get.

I rather go for a 7 night cruise without any pre cruise nights at all if the only option is to not cruise at all.

 

Luckily we're able to put some good money in to our traveling account and are currently planning our next cruise on the Oasis in January 2014. :D

We're not done with Florida yet and are planning for another 6-7 pre cruise nights.

[spookwife]

for us, DH just plain cannot take more than a week at a time for vacation, even though he earns 30 days a year. if you factor in flying if applicable you are typically gone for about ten days regardless.

[philip_g]

I concur on the vacation time. I get a day less than 4 weeks a year and would cruise a lot more if I had more time...

[debshomespun]

Fortunately, DH is now retired, and only 56. With the price of airfare, we like to cruise for about 3 weeks in middle of the winter to get out of snowy NE Ohio. This year we are doing Celebrity Eclipse 14 night that circles the Caribbean. We will then stay overnight in FLL, and board Independence for a 6 night Western.

 

Next year, we are (hopefully) planning a trip to the Downunder. With the price of airfare and the length of time to get there, we are looking to make it an extended trip, and see the Great Barrier Reef by cruise, the South Pacific Islands by cruise, and then over to New Zealand by cruise. We will have several days in Sydney to explore there too.

 

We do like to combine our cruises now with either longer cruises, or doing B2B on the same ship, or different ships. It depends on the itinerary, and the pricing. We are always looking for a good deal too!

[DrD]

Another thing for me personally is I'm not sure my liver and waistline could take more than 7 days.

[VillaHappy]

What a luxury to have off of work for two weeks at a time! My employer used to frown upon anyone scheduled for more than one week off, esp. in high season (end of May to beg of Sept) and around Christmas. I've been traveling with my husband for 20 years, and we have taken many, many vacations. But only two were over 8 nights. The longest was two weeks, when we flew to Hawaii. Even when we flew to Germany, we only stayed a week.