Thread: First Time Cruisers -- Are 3-Night Cruises Enough to Make a Decision?

I sure don't think 3 days is enough. One day you are boarding and un packing, then one day to see and experience the whole ship, then you are packing and getting off early in the am! I just can't imagine a 3 day cruise.

My first was 7 days and that didn't seem to be enough. On our 15 day Panama Canal we had a first timer with us and she loved it.

Originally Posted by houch

I sure don't think 3 days is enough. One day you are boarding and un packing, then one day to see and experience the whole ship, then you are packing and getting off early in the am! I just can't imagine a 3 day cruise.

My first was 7 days and that didn't seem to be enough. On our 15 day Panama Canal we had a first timer with us and she loved it.

My hubby basically said this the other day: that three days is not enough. But then he's been on three day cruises, and now that he's done a 15-day one, he admits to being spoiled.

For a first timer, I still would recommend a shorter one, just in case they find they really don't like this kind of vacation.

How can you NOT like it?

Originally Posted by packercruising

That was for Seawench but it's great to see inelligent OLD members too!

Is that old as in age or that I've been here for 3 years?

Either way I fit the bill.

I voted maybe/maybe not...

Our first cruise was 3 days, I was not sure I would like it, but always wanted to try it.. The G/F's sister booked it all.

Anyway we loved it, but really did not know what we loved about it, so we booked a 5 day within a month of returning from our 3 day and sailed 7 months later. That was good, but not long enough, I think Min should be 7 days... but to determine if you like it 3 days might be enough it might not... Like I said it was enough that we knew we wanted to try again and see why we loved it, so we did the 5..

We still are not 100% sure why we love it, and I do not think we ever will know why we love it, but we are just going to keep on booking

I tell people cruising is like having kids - you just do not know what it is like until you do it... Pardon the pun LOL

I voted "NO" and here's why:

1) 3 days not long enough to ever get in the spirit of the cruise. Day 1 you are arriving, Day 2 you try to cram in everything you might want to do, and Day 3 you're preoccupied with having to pack up and go home. That hurry-up stressed-out feeling is not typical of what most cruises are like...on such a short cruise you will barely get to relax or soak up the atmosphere.

2) You're going to get a different crowd of people on a cruise that short.

Families who can't get away because of the kids will take the kids with them on a short cruise, because of the short time away from school or activities. So you'll have more children onboard. People who just want to party hearty will take a short cruise...so you'll have more rowdy people onboard. People who are on extremely tight budgets can only afford short cruises...and that might also effect the atmosphere onboard.

Not that there's anything wrong with any of those things...the children, the party crowd, or people on super-tight budgets...but when you put all those factors together on one short 3 day cruise I don't think you could call that a typical cruise. And if you base whether or not you might like cruising on that 3-day cruise experience you could be way off base.






So no, I don't think a 3 day cruise would not be a good way to decide whether you like cruising or not...because you won't be getting the true feeling of what it's like.

I agree with Julie. 7 day minimum to really get the "cruise" experience. 10 days is better, but you'll come to that decision on your own.