Short Cruise—Worth it?

[cb at sea]

If you live within easy driving distance to your port...sure, it's worth it. If you have to fly, then NO...save that trip for a longer cruise!

[Bizmark'sMom]

The only 3 night cruise I've done was a floating punk rock music festival. It was totally worth it. But, i wasn't there to relax - it was all about seeing the bands and dancing my brains out.

[mom says]

We did one 4 day cruise about 10 years ago. I doubt we'll ever do another one shorter than a week. Now this was in the Disney Wonder, so we didn't see a lot of drunks. But it was just too short to have a really relaxing cruise. And the weather SUUUCKED!!! which didn't help. It was cold- barely warm enough to lie in the full sun while docked in Nassau. Didn't break a sweat the whole time. The only reason we took the cruise was because we could tack it on to our week at WDW.

[MicCanberra]

We have a variety of 3 night cruises here during our winter, some are

Comedy cruises with lots of comedians, with workshops and such as well the performances.

Food and Wine cruises with demonstrations, interactive sessions and tastings etc.

Music cruises - themed so Jazz, 80s bands etc.

Main Event cruises, such as Australia Day, NYE or Melbourne cup.

and just plain samplers which are just short cruises for people to sample cruising.

 

Some are cheaper than others but all are great fun.

[simplelife]

If you live within easy driving distance to your port...sure, it's worth it. If you have to fly, then NO...save that trip for a longer cruise!

I agree - if the price is right the cruise can cost little more than a weekend on the town with hotel stay.

[CruiseGal999]

We like longer cruises. 30+. Can’t wait to do 100+ world cruise.

 

However have done two nights it was a great weekend away.

 

I always envied those that talked about their world cruises. A friend and I looked at the itineraries of several world cruises and learned .... it is NOT for us. Too many places/ports that we would NEVER set foot in, so it just doesn't work for us.

[MicCanberra]

I always envied those that talked about their world cruises. A friend and I looked at the itineraries of several world cruises and learned .... it is NOT for us. Too many places/ports that we would NEVER set foot in, so it just doesn't work for us.

It is not for everyone and I suppose only you can make the decision of whether it is worth it or not. Personally, if I were retired I think I could easily do it, managed a 30 night cruise (B2B) and felt like I could stay on for many more.:D

[Flatbush Flyer]

I always envied those that talked about their world cruises. A friend and I looked at the itineraries of several world cruises and learned .... it is NOT for us. Too many places/ports that we would NEVER set foot in, so it just doesn't work for us.

 

 

 

Alright, I'll bite:

Would you please give us some examples of where you'd NEVER go?

 

 

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[Markanddonna]

As far as short cruises, many people start there to get a taste of cruising. Unfortunately, it can give you the wrong impression and are usually on the oldest ships, tend to have large groups who live near port and look at it as a booze cruise, and the least exciting itineraries.

 

We only go on them when we are in Florida anyway. They tend to be cheaper than staying on land and take you to WARMER destinations in the winter.

 

A five day cruise hooked us on cruising and since then we have been to Alaska, Australia, Panama Canal, Europe, etc. on cruises. I would not fly to FL for a cruise shorter than 7 days.

 

My least favorite destinations: Bahamas, Jamaica, and many Mexican ports. After a while, the Caribbean islands start to look like one another. I don't go there to soak up history or culture.

[DirtyDawg]

A couple of years ago we did a short Pacific Coast cruise from Vancouver to L.A. We flew from Toronto (3,400 Km) for it so you don't have to live close to the port to enjoy a short cruise. The cruise was dirt cheap and was the first leg of a California Coast driving vacation.

 

It wasn't a party cruise but it was a shopping cruise. Turns out a lot of Vancouver and area residents take this cruise to shop in Astoria Oregon. :o And some people bought a lot of stuff!

 

We started with short 3 day cruises out of Florida when airline prices were cheaper. In those days you could do a nice long weekend winter cruise break for less than what a ski weekend would cost a short drive away. We also introduced our boys to cruising with 4 and 5 day cruises as part longer vacations just to test the waters with them.

[geoherb]

Our shortest cruise was a three-day one--but we took it back to back with a four-day one. Having to go back to Fort Lauderdale wasn't great. And it was a different clientele from a longer cruise. But it was a Princess ship and not as rowdy as a short cruise on Carnival. (Our only Carnival cruise was a five-day one out of Charleston.)

 

Our shortest standalone cruise was a four-day one. We spent two nights in Miami before that one, so we ended up with a six-day vacation. I thought it was worth it. It was on a Celebrity ship, and once again, wasn't too full of rowdy people. We took it back when DH taught at a community college during one of his spring breaks.

[Velvetwater]

Our shortest cruise was 7 days and that was only just long enough so I probably wouldn't book anything shorter unless we were doing 2 cruises back to back.

 

Saying that though...a cruise is a cruise and I wouldn't even turn down a 2 night thats floats out of Southampton and round our isle. Almost did that to try out the Escape in her Inaugural season.

[Velvetwater]

Too many places/ports that we would NEVER set foot in, so it just doesn't work for us.

 

Surely each port is an adventure. You never know until you explore it. There is pretty much no country on this earth I wouldn't go to..the odd exceptions being obious(North Korea etc).

 

If its safety you are concerned about then I am sure lines are well up to date on those issues when planning all voyages. Especially when most world cruise voyages are full of older vulnerable folk.

[martincath]

We've done a couple of 1-nighters, but zero travel on one end and a cheap bus ride on the other (Vancouver-Seattle 1 day repo cruises) meant that it was basically a cheap & fun night out with friends, since we usually spend more on a nice dinner than we did for the cruise and bus combined!

 

Our 3 day Van-SF was also worthwhile because we added on some time in SF, always worthwhile, and then headed to our 'cottage' in Portland (very cheap and short flight) before Amtraking home, to pad out the whole vacation into a 10 day break.

 

The 3-day cruise itself was a BIG improvement over the 1-nighters as we actually felt there was time to relax - whereas with the latter it feels like you get on, do Muster, get drinks, get dinner, see a show, more drinks then sleep and *boom* you're being kicked off as soon as you wake up! The vibe was also less booze-cruise-y, and the ship felt quite sparsely populated (we got upgraded to a balcony from an Inside for free, so I figured there were a lot of empty cabins). I would imagine that a 3-day RT out of Florida in Spring Break would have been a very, very different animal than our quiet little repo!

 

Like most other posters above, there's no way we'd invest a lot of travel time into a short cruise - but if we were traveling somewhere anyway and there happened to be an available cruise during our stay we'd consider trying a new ship/line with a 'taster' cruise.

[cruiserking]

Short cruises are Always worth it. They give you something to look forward to, they are more affordable, you get your cruise jollies.

 

All cruises go way to quickly. We've done 5 night cruises, one 4-night, 3-night and a 2-night cruise to nowhere on the Quantum of the Seas when it first came out.

 

Happy Cruising

 

Jonathan

[Holmie]

Thanks for the feedback, everyone. My husband and I already have a spring break trip to Arizona, a summer anniversary trip to Hawaii, and a September trip to Florida for a family wedding planned this year. I originally asked because I am going through cruise withdrawal and wanted to see if it’d be worth it to sneak in a short cruise too. I’m not sure it’s feasible still, but I might want to try to sneak one in now.

[CruiseGal999]

Alright, I'll bite:

Would you please give us some examples of where you'd NEVER go?

 

 

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Well ... the several itineraries we looked at were very heavy in Asian ports. Asia is not a destination that interests us. So for the money and so many ports we would not really want to explore ... well, a world cruise isn't for us. I would LOVE to visit Dubai. Israel ... not so much.

[CruiseGal999]

Surely each port is an adventure. You never know until you explore it. There is pretty much no country on this earth I wouldn't go to..the odd exceptions being obious(North Korea etc).

 

If its safety you are concerned about then I am sure lines are well up to date on those issues when planning all voyages. Especially when most world cruise voyages are full of older vulnerable folk.

 

It isn't safety issues. We (me & my friend) don't have any interest in Asia. And the itineraries were heavy with Asian ports. Now Dubai and Abu Dhabi I'll go to. I am really into architecture.

[twincheryl]

Yes, or as we would say the hooligan or bogan element luckily though they tend to congregate in differing areas of the ship to what we do so no real interaction apart from the occasional sighting or more likely hearing them.

 

 

 

Agreed... we have done several short cruises... but would likely not consider flying cross country for a 3-4 night cruise. Mostly we drive less than 2 hrs to Los Angeles/Long Beach and find that it’s a nice getaway at much the same cost (sometimes cheaper) as a long weekend at a resort.

 

 

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[TheBeatnik]

I’m going on a 3-day cruise this Wednesday. I paid for the flights with credit card points, and we have a Concierge class balcony room on the Celebrity Equinox. We paid $550 for the two of us together, everything included. It just depends on what you can find. I just took a weeklong MSC cruise in September, and I have a 4-day Carnival cruise booked for October. I just love a good deal.

 

That said, I live in the Washington D.C. area, and there are three airports within striking distance. I can find a flight to Florida really cheap. It just depends on your situation. I usually go on either a weeklong cruise or two short cruises per year.

 

Also, you could do a land vacation in tandem with a cruise. Why visit New Orleans, Los Angeles, or Miami without doing some sightseeing there?

 

 

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[MicCanberra]

It isn't safety issues. We (me & my friend) don't have any interest in Asia. And the itineraries were heavy with Asian ports. Now Dubai and Abu Dhabi I'll go to. I am really into architecture.

Both Asian ports.:D

[MicCanberra]

Short cruises are Always worth it. They give you something to look forward to, they are more affordable, you get your cruise jollies.

 

All cruises go way to quickly. We've done 5 night cruises, one 4-night, 3-night and a 2-night cruise to nowhere on the Quantum of the Seas when it first came out.

 

Happy Cruising

 

Jonathan

Agreed.

[CruiseGal999]

Both Asian ports.:D

 

I NEVER said they weren't part of Asia. I NEVER said ALL Asian ports were off limits. I just said the world cruises we looked at had a lot of Asian ports we did NOT want to visit. SO what's your point?

[Flatbush Flyer]

I NEVER said they weren't part of Asia. I NEVER said ALL Asian ports were off limits. I just said the world cruises we looked at had a lot of Asian ports we did NOT want to visit. SO what's your point?

 

 

 

Okay. I'll bite again: Why not Asian ports (generally or specifically)?

Unless you've already traveled there often, how could/would you pass up places like Hong Kong, Dalian, Busan, Shanghai, Okinawa (the list goes on.....)

 

 

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[MicCanberra]

It isn't safety issues. We (me & my friend) don't have any interest in Asia. And the itineraries were heavy with Asian ports. Now Dubai and Abu Dhabi I'll go to. I am really into architecture.

 

I NEVER said they weren't part of Asia. I NEVER said ALL Asian ports were off limits. I just said the world cruises we looked at had a lot of Asian ports we did NOT want to visit. SO what's your point?

Settle petal, no need to yell.

I just thought it was funny you stated you have no interest in Asia but then highlight two Asian ports you want to go to.