Thoughts on Sea Days?

[Daruma]

Hello, folks. 

 

Being a Neophyte cruiser I'm torn between 2 cruises. 

 

Ship not really withstanding, what are your thoughts on Sea Days? 

 

I know that there will be differing opinions, but I'm hoping to gather information in order to decide. 

 

I can book a 3 day to the Bahamas on NCL Getaway for $856, ($285/day):

Depart

Port

Port 

Disembark 

 

Or a 5 day on Carnival Paradise for $1138, ($281 more, but 2 more days, so $228/day... $57 less per day) :

Depart 

Sea Day

Port 

Port

Sea Day

Disembark 

 

Same number of ports, just that the Carnival one has 2x Sea Days... so I'm hoping to get thoughts and opinions on Sea Days. 

 

Thank you. 

[david_sobe]

I vote for the longer cruise. I love having a sea day the day after embarkation to explore the ship. I also love a sea day as the last day before disembarkation too.  Is Carnival also going to the Bahamas and their private island?

[Daruma]

Just now, david_sobe said:

I vote for the longer cruise. I love having a sea day the day after embarkation to explore the ship. I also love a sea day as the last day before disembarkation too.  Is Carnival also going to the Bahamas and their private island?

 

Not this itinerary. 

 

5-Day Western Caribbean from Tampa, FL

Ship: Carnival Paradise

Sat Apr 04, 2026 - Thu Apr 9, 2026

 

Your Itinerary

Day 1:

Tampa | Departs at 4:00 PM

Day 2:

Fun Day At Sea

Day 3:

Mahogany Bay | 11:00 AM - 7:00 PM

Day 4:

Cozumel | 11:00 AM - 7:00 PM

Day 5:

Fun Day At Sea

Day 6:

Tampa | Arrives at 8:00 AM

[zqvol]

Two booze cruises. I vote for neither. 

[DorothyB]

I love sea days, but also will sail NCL instead of Carnival.  So, I would be finding a different itinerary w/ NCL - I am on a 7 day cruise from New Orleans on the Getaway at the end of October.

[9tee2Sea]

its nice to have sea days after port intensive cruises.  Gives time to unwind after going non-stop in port.  Also sea days gives you time to explore/enjoy the ship.  And sea days gives you time to organize for disembarkation.

[AKR2011]

I love sea days and longer cruises, but both these are too short for my liking. Both will likely be filled with lots of kids and younger people partying. I would suggest looking at at least a 7-day. The price per day is often better when cruises are longer, and then you can do a better comparison of ports and cruiselines. 

[RocketMan275]

2 hours ago, Daruma said:

Hello, folks. 

 

Being a Neophyte cruiser I'm torn between 2 cruises. 

 

Ship not really withstanding, what are your thoughts on Sea Days? 

 

I know that there will be differing opinions, but I'm hoping to gather information in order to decide. 

...

 

Thank you. 

All our days on a cruise are 'sea days'.  We almost never leave the ship while in port.  We cruise for the ship.  We really don't care where it goes.  

[Daruma]

8 minutes ago, AKR2011 said:

I love sea days and longer cruises, but both these are too short for my liking. Both will likely be filled with lots of kids and younger people partying. I would suggest looking at at least a 7-day. The price per day is often better when cruises are longer, and then you can do a better comparison of ports and cruiselines. 

 

The problem with that is that for a little bit more I can take two shorter, (3, 4, 5 day), cruises for the cost of one 7/8 day cruise 🤷

[debenson0723]

3 hours ago, zqvol said:

Two booze cruises. I vote for neither. 

I was thinking the same thing. 

[The Traveling Man]

4 hours ago, Daruma said:

Hello, folks. 

 

Being a Neophyte cruiser I'm torn between 2 cruises. 

 

Ship not really withstanding, what are your thoughts on Sea Days? 

 

I know that there will be differing opinions, but I'm hoping to gather information in order to decide. 

 

I can book a 3 day to the Bahamas on NCL Getaway for $856, ($285/day):

Depart

Port

Port 

Disembark 

 

Or a 5 day on Carnival Paradise for $1138, ($281 more, but 2 more days, so $228/day... $57 less per day) :

Depart 

Sea Day

Port 

Port

Sea Day

Disembark 

 

Same number of ports, just that the Carnival one has 2x Sea Days... so I'm hoping to get thoughts and opinions on Sea Days. 

 

Thank you. 

Another thing to consider is that short NCL cruises (less than five days) do not qualify for many of the benefits available on longer cruises.  Check to see what Free at Sea offers are available.  I’m not sure what perks Carnival offers on their five day cruises, but the two sea days may be a relaxing experience for you, anyway.

[AKR2011]

2 hours ago, Daruma said:

 

The problem with that is that for a little bit more I can take two shorter, (3, 4, 5 day), cruises for the cost of one 7/8 day cruise 🤷

You're still better off with a longer cruise for the reasons I said and others are saying. Better ports on longer cruises too.

[Candy Apple 12]

2 hours ago, Daruma said:

 

The problem with that is that for a little bit more I can take two shorter, (3, 4, 5 day), cruises for the cost of one 7/8 day cruise 🤷

A 3 day cruise is closer to a 2 1/2 day cruise, the way I look at it even if you embark by noon. Plus you have the additional hassle of packing and unpacking each time, getting to the port, going through security and other lines at the port, and traveling home. Living in Florida does simplify the travel piece of the equation, but if I want to maximize my fun time to overall vacation time spent ratio, I vote for the longer cruises. Now, some people prefer shorter mini-vacations, so now that you have more information, only you can decide how to spend your vacation time.
 

As for me, I love sea days. I love the motion of the ocean (even if we’re rocking and rolling). I enjoy spending walking around and exploring the ship. Sea days are relaxing with no specific times to do anything unless you schedule a specialty dinner, a show, or a spa treatment.

[wncretired]

2 hours ago, Candy Apple 12 said:

 

As for me, I love sea days. I love the motion of the ocean (even if we’re rocking and rolling). I enjoy spending walking around and exploring the ship. Sea days are relaxing with no specific times to do anything unless you schedule a specialty dinner, a show, or a spa treatment.

You NAILED it. I agree with the above statement 100%. Last Dec. 2023, we took a 16 day transatlantic from Rome to Florida. Had 8 sea days. Loved it! I think I could do a 16 day cruise with 16 sea days, for all the reasons you stated above!! 😍

[N-8]

It really depends on what you like. I've taken multiple cruises to the Bahamas/Caribbean/Mexico on Carnival and RCL but all in that 3 - 5 range. I'm not really a fan of sea days on those cruises but I'm not one to sit by the pool or drink overpriced drinks plus the cruise is so short, I feel like I'm missing out of seeing something new. However, on longer 7 - 14 days cruises, I like having one sea day because it is nice to have chill day with so many port intensive days. 

[Daruma]

Thank you all for replying... so this begs the question... is there such a thing as an all Sea Day cruise? 

Edited May 12 by Daruma

[RocketMan275]

All sea day cruises, if there are any, would be very rare and have significant limitations.  Current law requires foreign flagged ships to make one port call in a distant port.   

[schmoopie17]

On our upcoming September 10 day cruise we have ZERO sea days. Bummer.

 

A sea day every now and then breaks up the hectic schedule of getting off the ship, doing excursions, etc.

Nice to have a relaxing day where you have no deadlines and no place to be.

[9tee2Sea]

1 hour ago, Daruma said:

Thank you all for replying... so this begs the question... is there such a thing as an all Sea Day cruise? 

Cunard cruisline has Trans Atlantic cruises ( New York- Southampton) which are all sea days.  6 or 7 days straight across the Pond.  But then you have to figure the airfare getting back.  Look into reposition cruises from your home port.  They are 1 way cruises, some have lots of sea days, some dont.  you can search for repositioning cruises, 7days or less.  Something will pop up.

[Vagabond Knight]

We do not take cruises that are less than a week long because it takes the same amount of time to pack, travel to the port, get unpacked and settled in, repack to go home, and travel home from the port regardless of the length of the cruise.  With a short cruise it seems like you've just gotten settled in and it's time to get ready to head home again.  The short cruises are notorious for getaways with the girls, bachelor parties, bachelorette parties, and people who can't afford a longer cruise but are determined to fit a week's worth of drinking and partying into a few days... bottom line, lots of rowdy drunks. However, if that's what you're looking for, then go for it.

 

We LOVE days at sea. That's what cruising's all about for us, especially now that so many of the Caribbean port areas have been turned into generic fake Caribbean vibe shopping malls. Some people take cruises to party, others take cruises to relax, and we're usually in the latter group if it's a Caribbean cruise. Many passengers do leave the ship, so it's less crowded and busy, and that appeals to us. 

Having taken several Carnival cruises and so speaking from experience, we would not recommend Carnival to anyone unless it's an Alaskan cruise and you can get one of their aft corner huge wraparound balcony rooms (much less expensive than anything even close to that size on any other line, and you can stay out there most of the trip and see amazing views and wildlife).  Personally, would absolutely not recommend a short Carnival cruise to the Caribbean, but to each their own.  We know people who do this all the time and love it.

Edited May 12 by Vagabond Knight

[Daruma]

11 minutes ago, Vagabond Knight said:

... but are determined to fit a week's worth of drinking and partying into a few days... bottom line, lots of rowdy drunks. However, if that's what you're looking for, then go for it... 

 

 

 

I don't drink alcohol at all, and I'm mostly a quiet, homebody type. 

 

However, when I asked about this very issue in another thread the resounding consensus in replies was that, while true, it's not hard to avoid the "drunk tank" and enjoy my way of vacationing 🤷

 

I guess we'll see... if I find that shorter cruises are not enjoyable due to the partying drunks, I'll simply take the advice to go on one longer cruise per year rather than two shorter cruises per year 🤷

[schmoopie17]

3 hours ago, Daruma said:

Thank you all for replying... so this begs the question... is there such a thing as an all Sea Day cruise? 

https://cs.cruise.com/cs/forms/CruiseDetails.aspx?skin=1&phone=888-407-6861&pin=&token=&did=30&mon=3%2F1%2F2025&vid=624&nr=y&iid=3940856&sno=1

[Travelling2Some]

My take is that you might be overthinking it.  Just be yourself and walk away from anything you encounter that you don't care for.  Longer is always better because a very short cruise is hardly worth the packing and unpacking.  Time to leave before you even feel settled and relaxed.

[KKB]

On 5/11/2024 at 3:23 PM, Daruma said:

Hello, folks. 

 

Being a Neophyte cruiser I'm torn between 2 cruises. 

 

Ship not really withstanding, what are your thoughts on Sea Days? 

 

I know that there will be differing opinions, but I'm hoping to gather information in order to decide. 

 

I can book a 3 day to the Bahamas on NCL Getaway for $856, ($285/day):

Depart

Port

Port 

Disembark 

 

Or a 5 day on Carnival Paradise for $1138, ($281 more, but 2 more days, so $228/day... $57 less per day) :

Depart 

Sea Day

Port 

Port

Sea Day

Disembark 

 

Same number of ports, just that the Carnival one has 2x Sea Days... so I'm hoping to get thoughts and opinions on Sea Days. 

 

Thank you. 

Well this isn't just about sea days...this is about SHORT CRUISES.

I LOVE sea days.

And I love a good deal.

 

BUT we cruised Carnival for the 1st time last January--14 days to Hawaii. 

Everyone said we would hate it after sailing most other mainstream lines.

They were wrong--we LOVED it.

Mentioned this to bartender & he said the key to Carnival is to avoid the booze cruises (re: SHORT cruises, basically anything under 7 days has potential, and even 7 days do as well).

 

NOW I have never sailed a 3 day cruise on any line...so I cannot comment if NCL is the same.

 

I will say, those prices seem VERY high. We like to stay under $200/day pp WITH drinks/tips/wifi.

Have you looked at other lines? 7 day cruises? (perhaps that doesn't work with your schedule)

[Daruma]

6 minutes ago, KKB said:

Have you looked at other lines? 7 day cruises? (perhaps that doesn't work with your schedule)

 

Thank you. 

 

I have looked at VV, NCL, Carnival, and Royal. 

 

I'm now considering going from two shorter cruises per year to an annual 6/7/8 day cruise. 

 

I have 2x VV cruises, (a 6 day on 11/15/24 and a 5 day on 4/10/26)... I really like the idea of a cruise sans kids, lol. 

 

I also have a 7 day NCL on the Encore on 11/8/25.

 

Carnival and Royal have a HUGE advantage for me in that I can sail out of Tampa rather than Miami. 

 

Royal's offerings seem to be very much the same, (itinerary, ship size, time of year), as Carnival's, but for a chunk more money... so I probably won't go Royal 🤷

 

So, I'll likely try a 6/7/8 day Carnival out of Tampa in 2027.

 

The more I read about shorter cruises, (the Booze Cruise aspect not withstanding... because most people say that the partiers/drunks can be mostly avoided) ... the more I think I just might enjoy one longer cruise per year than two shorter ones... plus I may than splurge more on amenities 🤷