sampler cruises - are they worth doing?

[aussielozzie18]

Loved our first cruise which was for 9 nights.

 

Thinking of trying out a different cruise line and doing a 3-day sampler out of Sydney.

 

Are these worth doing? Is there anything not available during these cruises apart from ports (obviously) and duty free liquor.

[Very Frequent Flyer]

They certainly are. They let you try out the ship to see if you like them without committing to a longer cruise. Also gives first time cruisers a chance to see if cruising is for them or not.

 

Almost all features are available on sampler cruises. I was on a 1 night Voyager Of The Seas cruise when she first arrived in Australia. That was my first ever cruise and I loved every minute of it. Admittably I had no sleep during the cruise as I wanted to fit everything into a 17 hour stay. But at least I could decide whether cruising was suitable for me or not. Glad to say it was and I'm going on my 3rd cruise in 15 months on 1st February.

[Aussieflyer]

There is quite a different atmosphere on shorter cruises although it will depend a lot on the actual ship and where the cruise goes. For example the Cunard short cruises as part of the their world voyage (for example Adelaide - Sydney 4 days) seem to still be fairly refined and not a party mob mentality. Cruises to nowhere -those that leave and return to the same port after 2 or 3 nights can be full of hens parties and other groups out for a booze up time. Price is a bit of a leveller here and the more expensive lines (like Celebrity) do not seem to have the same degree of problems.

That said, I quite like the short cruise to get a look at the facilities and cabins on a ship I would like to see. The feeling is not the same as a longer cruise but most of the ship's facilities are working. Things like, quality of balcony, height of ceiling, feeling of openness, the way the lifts work etc. are things I look at. The worst cruise I had was the 2 day Radiance Sydney - Sydney one in 2012. The ship was packed with many many groups and I heard that there were lots of drunks on board - not pleasant.

[3littlepigs]

We did a Sun Princess Brisbane to Sydney a couple of years back.

It was a Booze Cruise.

 

The demographic on a short cruise was very different to a longer cruise, lots of bucks and hens nights a real Boozathon!

 

Good part was we got to have a good look at the ship and decide it really wasn't our sort of thing. And we were a group of 10 so it was nice to spend time together.

 

Also got me hooked on balcony cabins!

[aussielozzie18]

I'm glad I asked, I forgot about the booze cruise aspect. Would be taking two teens so not keen on a booze cruise but I thought it would be a good opportunity to try out a balcony room.

Edited January 7, 2014 by aussielozzie18

[Aussieflyer]

aussielozzie was there a particular short cruise you were looking at? Maybe posters have been on the same itinerary in the past and can give you some ideas.

Like 3little pigs we tried a short Princess cruise (Sydney - Brisbane) but we did not find it was a booze cruise. That said, we also decided that we did not like the balcony cabins on Dawn Princess as they were much smaller than the ones on other ships we had been on. Also the ship did not seem very bright or open so we have sort of crossed Princess off our list for the present.

I also did a one-nighter on Solstice. In that case the ship had heaps of travel agents as it was a new ship in Australian waters. One night was very short!

[AussieVisi2r]

I've done a 2 night to nowhere.

Yes it did give you a feel for cruising but only until about 10pm. Then it was just a drunk tour.

My 21yo (at the time) was hoe in bed by midnight saying that "it as getting ugly out there". And she is normally out until the wee hours.

It will probably be full of bucks parties, hens night and work parties.

 

R

[aussielozzie18]

aussielozzie was there a particular short cruise you were looking at? Maybe posters have been on the same itinerary in the past and can give you some ideas.

Like 3little pigs we tried a short Princess cruise (Sydney - Brisbane) but we did not find it was a booze cruise. That said, we also decided that we did not like the balcony cabins on Dawn Princess as they were much smaller than the ones on other ships we had been on. Also the ship did not seem very bright or open so we have sort of crossed Princess off our list for the present.

I also did a one-nighter on Solstice. In that case the ship had heaps of travel agents as it was a new ship in Australian waters. One night was very short!

 

Having loved the Rhapsody, my original plan was to do a sampler on the Voyager but that is not available until 2015. So, I was thinking of doing a 3-day sampler in Sept (school hols) on the Carnival Spirit. I know the Carnival Spirit gets mixed reviews but I think it would appeal to the teens and I would like to compare the daytime & evening entertainment to the ROS.

[cruisine21]

Quite a few people do short cruises to celebrate milestone birthdays eg 21st.

[Raison]

I like the shorter cruises, it gives us a chance to try out different cabins. Next week we are on a 3 night sampler on Celebrity Solstice and we are trialling an aft cabin.

We did see some drunks on a short 2 nighter on Rhapsody of the Seas a couple of years ago . They didn't annoy us much but you certainly knew they were there.And there is always lots of groups , hens nights etc.

[Cruise_me_Crazy]

Hmmmmmm. I don't think I could be bothered with a short cruise :)

[karmac]

I used to say I would never do a 3 night cruise to nowhere. Mainly because I couldn't imagine getting off a ship after such a short time. However, in Feb 2012, we did a 3 night cruise on Rhapsody (the only non P&O cruise we've done so far). We did it with a group of friends from soccer and as I thought of it as a weekend away rather than a holiday. it really wasn't that bad getting off so soon (don't get me wrong, would still have preferred to stay on). We loved it and ended up doing 3 more that year. One was 2 nights Newcastle to Brisbane which was the first leg of a QLD coastal cruise. Yes, there were lots of hen's parties etc on all of them but they were really just people having a good time, no-one causing any trouble or even being annoying. On one of them, a guy got picked up by water police in Jervis Bay for hitting a crew member with a glass bottle but we didn't see any of it and we've been on longer cruises where people have been kicked off for being idiots. More often than not, you don't see these incidents, you just hear about them. we are doing 3 nights on Voyager Of The Seas this weekend and 3 nights on Celebrity Solstice the following weekend. Looking forward to trying out different ships.

[goodycruising]

We did a 5 night cruise recently on Radiance, which is not the same as the 2 or 3 nighters, but it was definitely a different atmosphere. We find generally the shorter the cruise the younger the demographic. It can depend on location also.

 

The thing we found on the 5 nighter was that there was more groups and extended family configurations. Also things like the shops were a lot more crowded as people only have a short time to see them, whereas on longer cruises you can go another day. On the other hand the theatre shows in the evening seemed to be less full. Also Izumi restaurant was nearly empty the night we went, as I think there is less of a feeling that you want a change of scenery on the short cruise.

 

It was still way to short! But we enjoyed the trip of course :D

[MicCanberra]

I haven't done one but I have been tempted a few times, just working out costs and times seems to get in the way, am currently looking at one in Jan and also in October this year but the first seems way to pricey and the second on e the dates are not quite good for me.:D

[goodycruising]

They certainly are not cheap per night. We found when keeping an eye on the pricing of our recent 5 day one that it kept going up as it got closer to the sail date, and the suites seemed to sell out very quickly.

 

I have recommended to some people that have asked me recently that it could be worth doing a regular length cruise, but one that is along the Aussie coast so that if you are unhappy/ill you can get off and go home. People in general, and I was too, are very nervous about the possibility of being seasick. I now know that the technology on the post 2000 ships is fantastic, and they are very stable. I enjoy a little bit of rock and roll, but some don't, and particularly handy would be the QLD trips that stop at Newcastle next day after leaving Sydney. I don't know about the insurance technicalities, but I would just feel better knowing I could choose to get off if I felt I needed to at a reasonable price to get home. I would think most people would love it and be glad they gave it a try. :)

[Cruise_me_Crazy]

They certainly are not cheap per night. We found when keeping an eye on the pricing of our recent 5 day one that it kept going up as it got closer to the sail date, and the suites seemed to sell out very quickly.

 

I have recommended to some people that have asked me recently that it could be worth doing a regular length cruise, but one that is along the Aussie coast so that if you are unhappy/ill you can get off and go home. People in general, and I was too, are very nervous about the possibility of being seasick. I now know that the technology on the post 2000 ships is fantastic, and they are very stable. I enjoy a little bit of rock and roll, but some don't, and particularly handy would be the QLD trips that stop at Newcastle next day after leaving Sydney. I don't know about the insurance technicalities, but I would just feel better knowing I could choose to get off if I felt I needed to at a reasonable price to get home. I would think most people would love it and be glad they gave it a try. :)

 

I had a travel agent tell me that the Aussie short cruises can still be rough as the nav & captn cannot detour too far out of the way of storms etc. with longer cruises they can often avoid the rough weather, but short domestic cruises also means they cannot venture into international waters so are restricted with where they can sail.

 

Not sure how true it is, but I pretty much heard "short domestic cruises blah blah blah, storms, blah blah blah....... longer overseas cruises are much better"! Once I heard that bit I chose to remember it!!! ;)

[MicCanberra]

I really don't think they are value for money when compared to the longer cruises, however they still have value for having a cruise without having to block out a lot of holidays. They generally go over a weekend which makes them more attractive as well.:D

[rugbypopsie]

I used to say who'd bother with a two or three days but as you can see I am off to check out Voyager today for 3 days. Its a great way to check out a new ship, value you for money? Probably not! But I just consider it a weekend away with friends and we all have a good time. If you are not into the party atmosphere be warned sometimes these shorties are booze cruises with all that entails. The ones between Sydney and Melbourne or Brisbane are much quieter but you do have the added cost of flying home.

 

Sue

[aussielozzie18]

I used to say who'd bother with a two or three days but as you can see I am off to check out Voyager today for 3 days. Its a great way to check out a new ship, value you for money? Probably not! But I just consider it a weekend away with friends and we all have a good time. If you are not into the party atmosphere be warned sometimes these shorties are booze cruises with all that entails. The ones between Sydney and Melbourne or Brisbane are much quieter but you do have the added cost of flying home.

 

Sue

 

Any chance when you return you could do a review for us? Would love to hear your thoughts after the cruise. Bon Voyage & Enjoy your cruise

[aussielozzie18]

I had a travel agent tell me that the Aussie short cruises can still be rough as the nav & captn cannot detour too far out of the way of storms etc. with longer cruises they can often avoid the rough weather, but short domestic cruises also means they cannot venture into international waters so are restricted with where they can sail.

 

Not sure how true it is, but I pretty much heard "short domestic cruises blah blah blah, storms, blah blah blah....... longer overseas cruises are much better"! Once I heard that bit I chose to remember it!!! ;)

 

My friend went on the 5 day QLD cruise recently and they hit a bit of rough weather and she said quite an few people were sick. We, on the other hand, were fortunate to have calm seas for our entire 9 night South Pacific cruise last month.

[MicCanberra]

I used to say who'd bother with a two or three days but as you can see I am off to check out Voyager today for 3 days. Its a great way to check out a new ship, value you for money? Probably not! But I just consider it a weekend away with friends and we all have a good time. If you are not into the party atmosphere be warned sometimes these shorties are booze cruises with all that entails. The ones between Sydney and Melbourne or Brisbane are much quieter but you do have the added cost of flying home.

 

Sue

They are great to check out a new ship but as you say, the booze cruise and apparently with lots Hens and Bucks parties etc does seem to occur (reviews that I have read). :D

[Aussieflyer]

My friend went on the 5 day QLD cruise recently and they hit a bit of rough weather and she said quite an few people were sick. We, on the other hand, were fortunate to have calm seas for our entire 9 night South Pacific cruise last month.

 

A bit of the luck of the draw. Our 5 day Radiance cruise to Brisbane and back was not rough at all.

[MicCanberra]

A bit of the luck of the draw. Our 5 day Radiance cruise to Brisbane and back was not rough at all.

Weather can play a big part in any cruise, but in realit, there is nothing you can do about predicting what the weather will be like at a particular cruise. Yes, you can avoid certain times of the year when the weather is rougher/wilder/wetter etc, but in th eend it is all down to luck.:D

[3littlepigs]

I used to say who'd bother with a two or three days but as you can see I am off to check out Voyager today for 3 days. Its a great way to check out a new ship, value you for money? Probably not! But I just consider it a weekend away with friends and we all have a good time. If you are not into the party atmosphere be warned sometimes these shorties are booze cruises with all that entails. The ones between Sydney and Melbourne or Brisbane are much quieter but you do have the added cost of flying home.

 

Sue

 

That explains all the pax with just overnight bags at Circular Quays this morning, I thought it was odd to see cruisers with so little luggage!

 

Love to know what you think of the ship, it desperately needs a paint job on the outside! I'm sure it's fine inside though!

 

Have a great trip!

[joejoe 59]

We did a 2 nighter on Dawn Princess & would never again. There was nothing wrong with the ship, its just to crazy flying from Brisbane, taxi, sailaway at 6pm, nearly one day gone. Then the next day your getting disembarkation info depressing :mad: then off the ship by 7.30am the next day:mad: Give me a longer cruise any day:D