3 Day Cruises

[stquentin]

How much interest is there for 3 day cruises? I know that unless I'm living in or near the embarking port I would pass. Hard to justify airfare for such short cruise.

[Woody14]

3 day cruises are often the booze cruises.  That said cruise lines do offer them a lot so there must be a big market for them.  I live in Vancouver so flying to Florida for one would not be worth it to me.

[ColeThornton]

35 minutes ago, stquentin said:

How much interest is there for 3 day cruises? I know that unless I'm living in or near the embarking port I would pass. Hard to justify airfare for such short cruise.

 

 

Obviously enough interest to schedule them.  

[TheOldBear]

Cunard even does the occasional 2 night sailing - between Southampton and Hamburg,  Zeebruge, or LeHavre. And apparently these 'taster' sayings are as close as the QM2 comes to a 'booze cruise'.

[Mike981]

Yep they are out there, but just not for DW and me. Even if we didn't have to fly, there is still a lot of work to get ready and then you have to unpack and do your laundry when you get home. For me, it's more of a 2 1/2 day cruise. By the time you get on board and get settled in, half the day is gone.

[sydney dog]

My retired Dad and Step Mom live in Florida and go on 3 or 4 day cruises all the time on RCCL.

[leaveitallbehind]

As others have mentioned, if you live within a reasonable driving distance from the departure port and just want a quick long weekend getaway, they would be fine.  But they do tend to be more of a party cruise by that nature and would IMO certainly not justify air or hotel as part of the mix to do one.

 

Buy they certainly are popular as most cruise lines with FL departure ports have ships scheduled with alternating 3 - 4 night itineraries each week due in large part to their proximity to the Bahamas and Key West.  These lines also have their private island destinations in the Bahamas which is a big draw with these itineraries.

Edited October 4, 2023 by leaveitallbehind

[CanobieFan]

I've done a 3 on RC but I'm in Orlando so it not a big deal. If the price is good, why not? My only visit to Freeport was on the 3 day, and while most seasoned Cruisers might not care at least it wasn't Nassau for once, it was a nice change. I also always look for the short cruises if I'm close to leveling up in the loyalty program. If I can move up on the shorter sailing and have those benefits for the next, potentially longer Cruise...again, why not.

[Szt]

We thought about doing one as part of a 10 day vacation to FL. I know a few people who have done a Disney parks and cruise package where the cruise was part of the total longer package. For us, it’s a 3 + hr drive just to get to the airport. Then a 3 hr flight to any cruise port - if we can get direct, which is rare.  So anything less than 6 days is not worth it. 

[lenquixote66]

Many people go on one day cruises.

[leaveitallbehind]

1 hour ago, CanobieFan said:

I've done a 3 on RC but I'm in Orlando so it not a big deal. If the price is good, why not? My only visit to Freeport was on the 3 day, and while most seasoned Cruisers might not care at least it wasn't Nassau for once, it was a nice change. I also always look for the short cruises if I'm close to leveling up in the loyalty program. If I can move up on the shorter sailing and have those benefits for the next, potentially longer Cruise...again, why not.

Not sure how long you've been sailing with RCCL but back in the day when they recalibrated their Crown & Anchor program from numbers of cruises to points per days at sea, the "leveling up" as you refer took a lot of mid-level cruisers to Diamond Plus and Pinnacle as the short cruises were converted as longer ones (i.e.: rounded up) to assure errors on the side of the customer and no concerns for short selling those loyal cruisers.  Many people with a number of 3 and 4 night cruises benefited nicely based on this generous conversion.  I know two people personally who jumped from Diamond to Pinnacle as a result.  Having never done a short cruise I, unfortunately, was not one of them - I earned my D+ the old fashioned way LOL.

Edited October 4, 2023 by leaveitallbehind

[Flatbush Flyer]

5 hours ago, stquentin said:

How much interest is there for 3 day cruises? I know that unless I'm living in or near the embarking port I would pass. Hard to justify airfare for such short cruise.

3 days!? That’s not a “cruise.” That’s a “boat ride.” Add a “0” to that “3” and then you’ll have a cruise!

[George C]

I haven’t done a 3 day in 40 years , I really enjoyed them when single and living in New York City. I think 3 or 4 days would be fine if you wanted to do a back to back .

[stquentin]

I have been at Diamond level for over 20 years.

[Kristelle]

3 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

Many people go on one day cruises.

 

or less.

 

I've been on many dinner cruises - that last for about 3 hours while you sight see and have dinner.

 

But like one day ones you obviously do so as part of a trip, not fly from Australia to France just to do a dinner cruise on the Seine.

 

or people do things like 2 nights on Halong Bay as part of a trip to Vietnam

[Kristelle]

1 hour ago, George C said:

I haven’t done a 3 day in 40 years , I really enjoyed them when single and living in New York City. I think 3 or 4 days would be fine if you wanted to do a back to back .

 

 

or they would be fine if you did them as part of a land/cruise combination trip

 

or, as mentioned above, live really close to the location of the cruise.

[wdw1972]

I wouldn't bother even if I lived right next door to the port.  It's not worth packing/unpacking, it's not a real cruise experience, and the overall passengers likely to book that are not people I want to vacation with.  It's a whole different vibe, and not to my liking.  Also, usually the short cruises are on a line's oldest/crappiest ships.

 

Sue/WDW1972

[lenquixote66]

1 hour ago, Kristelle said:

 

or less.

 

I've been on many dinner cruises - that last for about 3 hours while you sight see and have dinner.

 

But like one day ones you obviously do so as part of a trip, not fly from Australia to France just to do a dinner cruise on the Seine.

 

or people do things like 2 nights on Halong Bay as part of a trip to Vietnam

I was on a ship going from Washington State to BC.There were sleeping accommodations and a dining room.It was referred to as a cruise .It left late in the afternoon and arrived in mid morning.This was many years ago.

[leaveitallbehind]

35 minutes ago, wdw1972 said:

I wouldn't bother even if I lived right next door to the port.  It's not worth packing/unpacking, it's not a real cruise experience, and the overall passengers likely to book that are not people I want to vacation with.  It's a whole different vibe, and not to my liking.  Also, usually the short cruises are on a line's oldest/crappiest ships.

 

Sue/WDW1972

Can't challenge your opinions on these short cruises, but I will say that using RCCL as example, while the ships they use on these itineraries are not their newest launches, none of them are "crappy" ships, all of which have been very much upgraded and modernized over the years.  We've been on all of them - most several times - and although they may be midway (and with a couple maybe more) in their service life they have all been nice ships.

 

As I mentioned before, we have never been on a short cruise, but if we lived in FL we would likely be tempted just as a long weekend getaway from time to time.  If so, I think we would do so eyes wide open knowing exactly what to expect.

Edited October 4, 2023 by leaveitallbehind

[Joebucks]

I've done plenty of 3 day land trips (and have one coming up soon), so why not 3 days on a boat? Obviously, if I have the choice, I'd pick more than that. However, not everyone has more time. Sometimes, it can be a nice weekend getaway. Especially if you are near a port or travel isn't a huge barrier. 

[evandbob]

We live in SW Florida, so FLL and Tampa are just 2 hr drives.  But we would never consider a 3 day cruise.  1st day boarding and unpacking, full day at sea or at a nearby port, then after that a day to disembark.  UGH!  Not for us.

 

There really isn't time to unwind and relax and it seems so rushed with just one full day on the ship.

 

I understand if others are okay with a short cruise like this, but we wouldn't enjoy it al all. 

[navybankerteacher]

If I lived within walking distance of the pier, I might consider one.  The fact is the first day really starts in early afternoon - after you get through the boarding process - and part of the third day is taken up by repacking.  Then- you are hustled off fairly early on debarkation - so there is no arithmetic which gives you 72 hours (three full days) on board.

 

I can see a first-time cruiser trying one to see if he/she liked being in a ship in the first place, but the hassle and uninspiring ports (Nassau, for example) makes a three day cruise a dismal exercise.

 

 

 

[lenquixote66]

3 hours ago, Joebucks said:

I've done plenty of 3 day land trips (and have one coming up soon), so why not 3 days on a boat? Obviously, if I have the choice, I'd pick more than that. However, not everyone has more time. Sometimes, it can be a nice weekend getaway. Especially if you are near a port or travel isn't a huge barrier. 

My best 3 day land trip was to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ,the Cleveland Indians stadium and other things in Cleveland.

[SbbquilterUT]

Not for me - any more I do not want the air travel for less than a 14 day trip.  

[sydney dog]

We always do a 10 day vacation.  For instance in about that a week we are on the glory but we are doing New Orleans for 3 days before.  Just a habit we got into.  Usually a Friday to a Sunday due to work schedule.