Anything different on a 4 day?

Every cruise I've been on so far has been 7 days or longer. I just found out that despite the fact I never thought the travel and boarding trouble worth it, maybe a week is a little too long for my kids. So I am taking a 4 day on the Dream next year. What should I expect to be different besides length? Special strategies to make embarkation and disembarkation day less painful?

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Every cruise I've been on so far has been 7 days or longer. I just found out that despite the fact I never thought the travel and boarding trouble worth it, maybe a week is a little too long for my kids. So I am taking a 4 day on the Dream next year. What should I expect to be different besides length? Special strategies to make embarkation and disembarkation day less painful?

Apart from the length, the activities are obviously compressed a bit more, and some will be missing.

Same Characters and photo op's and meet and greets, just not as many opportunities.

Only Nassau and CC as port stops.

No Animation Magic night in Animators Palate.

For embarkation and Debarkation, arrive and leave as late as possible for minimal lines.

ex techie

edit to add:

Expect longer lines for Characters and everything feeling more "rushed" as Guests try to fit everything in such a short amount of time.

You are likely to encounter more "newbies" on board. If you have your act together prior to boarding and all possible on line things done in advance, you can save a lot of lines.

Stay on the ship on Nassau day (unless something in Nassau really speaks to you). About half the guests will get off, but that still leaves only half as many on the ship.

The big difference will be that everything is more compressed. If there is something you want to do on the schedule, do it the first time you see it--it may not show up again.

Embarkation--what level are you? If platinum, be there before 11 and enjoy being on board quickly. Disembarkation really depends on your travel arrangements and what you plan to do when you leave the ship. Are you on a participating airline? If so, do on board check in.

We are only silver, so nothing really special for embarkation for us.

Have actually always managed to avoid Nassau, we'll see if there is an excursion that my daughter would enjoy (this is a three generations trip with my mom) otherwise, yes, probably stay onboard. At 5 she's more fascinated with the pools than probably most things Nassau has to offer.

We have been on two Disney cruises and never went to the character meet and greets or any similar things. We actually saw only one production show between both of those cruises, and that was on the Fantasy earlier this month, mostly because I felt silly to be on my second Disney cruise and never have seen the show.

Too bad about Animation Magic, that was maybe the only real "Disneyfied" feature that we loved last time!

We are not "fit in everything we can" cruisers and anticipate sea days as such (based on recent Fantasy sailing):

1. Room service coffee and snack for the little one

2. Cabanas breakfast

3. Kids club for the girl, reading or playing cards or Yahtzee for my mom and I

4. Lunch- maybe grill, maybe Cabanas

5. Pool

6. "Rest time" for the girl, more cards and Yahtzee for the grownups

7. Dinner in the MDR

8. Bedtime for my daughter.... cards and Yahtzee for us :)

Yeah, pretty exciting I know!

I really want to experience Castaway Cay though. This is my THIRD Disney cruise and I never really got to enjoy it. First Disney cruise with DH, we had our 8 month old baby in tow and I was recovering from illness- I think I got off the ship but not for long enough to even remember. Second Disney cruise, through Hurricane Mathew, we missed Castaway Cay. So I am determined to make it!

Your decision to avoid any activities the ship offers is certainly your own, and if you are happy playing cards and Yahtzee with your mom each and every day, more power to you.

I would encourage you to venture out a little and explore more though. You never know if you would enjoy some of the other activities or shows unless you try them!

Also try the MDR for lunch to mix things up a little ;)

ex techie

Yes, you are certainly right. I felt silly missing a lot of what made DCL, DCL, but sometimes it just seemed like the lines were long and the hoopla wasn't worth it. I haven't even seen many of the Disney movies (although I have seen some!) so I don't know a lot of the characters. Sometimes it was just nice to have a relaxed day with family with no cooking or cleaning! But yes, we should probably try more of the special Disney stuff onboard next time.

My son- who is within a couple weeks of being 2- had no idea who any of the Disney characters were when we boarded the first week of October. When we got home, he saw a Mickey and Minnie postcard and held it up to me---- "MICK MOS MICK MOS MICK MOS!" Pretty adorable.

And the reason we made so few shows:

early dining/late show: great for dinner, awfully late for a show for little ones. We travelled with a 1, 5, and 6 year old (the first two of which were my own children).. by the time dinner was over it was time for baths and bed, an 815 or 830 or whatever start time was just too late. And since Cabanas only does sit down dining for dinner (a big dislike on my part), we couldn't take them to the early show and then have an easy dinner before bed.

I took just the 5 and 6 year old to the later showing the one night, mostly out of obligation, it was enjoyable but definitely I was having a hard time staying awake and the girls were getting cranky!

And since Cabanas only does sit down dining for dinner (a big dislike on my part), we couldn't take them to the early show and then have an easy dinner before bed.

!

I don't get it. What difference does it make if you sit down and have food served to you or you go thru a buffet line and grab your own? Eating at Cabanas is always casual, no reservations required. You walk in, order, and hit the salad bar. By the time you've eaten your salad, your food is being served.

You could have taken them to an early show and had either Cabanas or room service afterwards. Or perhaps a mid-afternoon nap would have facilitated things.

Whatever works for each family is the "right" thing though.

What types of differences are you looking for in particular? Being you didn't take advantage of many of the offerings on the 7 day cruise there will be many things for you to experience on the 4 day cruise. There will be 3 main stage shows and either a movie or entertainer of some sort the other night in the theater. Otherwise, kids/family/adult programming will be very similar as to what was offered on your other cruises. The dining rooms will have the rotational menus and the other night will be the Pirate menu.

You can do a google search for 4 day Navigator's to see how the days look in comparison to the cruises you have previously taken.

My daughter was 5 the first time we cruised and we had late dining which worked very well for us. We were able to see the early show, get pictures with characters between the show and dinner and then have dinner. Only once did our daughter fall asleep after she ate, the other nights she went to the kids programming area while we finished our meal. They offer a dine & play option for kids 3-12 - counselors pick the kids up from the dining room about 9:15, the servers bring their meals out quickly. That could be something for you to consider.

I don't get it. What difference does it make if you sit down and have food served to you or you go thru a buffet line and grab your own? Eating at Cabanas is always casual' date=' no reservations required. You walk in, order, and hit the salad bar. By the time you've eaten your salad, your food is being served.

 

You could have taken them to an early show and had either Cabanas or room service afterwards. Or perhaps a mid-afternoon nap would have facilitated things.

 

Whatever works for each family is the "right" thing though.[/quote']

 

I've only eaten dinner in Cabanas once, and I did not realize there was a salad bar option. My one experience there, dinner took nearly just as long as it does in the MDR and so would not have solved much of the "time" problem. Maybe it's usually shorter, but my n of 1 didn't make me optimistic. "Easy" to me would be a buffet- kids can see the food before they choose it, and we are in and out in 25 minutes. Just wish there was that type of dinner option.

What types of differences are you looking for in particular? Being you didn't take advantage of many of the offerings on the 7 day cruise there will be many things for you to experience on the 4 day cruise. There will be 3 main stage shows and either a movie or entertainer of some sort the other night in the theater. Otherwise, kids/family/adult programming will be very similar as to what was offered on your other cruises. The dining rooms will have the rotational menus and the other night will be the Pirate menu.

You can do a google search for 4 day Navigator's to see how the days look in comparison to the cruises you have previously taken.

 

My daughter was 5 the first time we cruised and we had late dining which worked very well for us. We were able to see the early show, get pictures with characters between the show and dinner and then have dinner. Only once did our daughter fall asleep after she ate, the other nights she went to the kids programming area while we finished our meal. They offer a dine & play option for kids 3-12 - counselors pick the kids up from the dining room about 9:15, the servers bring their meals out quickly. That could be something for you to consider.

Hmm, I will give some consideration to your second suggestion. Just don't know if I can keep her up that late. We are a family of early to bed, early to rise!