Short Cruises, do you like them?

[FloridaPalms]

The mixed reviews had me very nervous the first time I used Red Coach and nearly in a state of panic when the bus for my very first pickup was almost an hour late. :eek: Then I discovered they had sent me an email earlier advising of the delay. Too bad I hadn't checked before I left home. :o Since the scheduled arrival time at FLL was 9:10am, there was plenty of a safety net built in. I've only booked First Class coaches for the round trips as they are definitely worth the few extra bucks for the comfort.

 

 

I'm a little over an hour north of Tampa airport and just under two hours northwest of Orlando airport. To fly anywhere nowadays is a real pain, and oftimes cost prohibitive. So, like you said, for anyone who has to fly to do shorter cruises, it doesn't pay unless they can combine it with a land vacation.

 

To the OP, sorry for sidetracking your thread. As to your question "Do you do anything differently on short cruises vs longer ones?", my answer is "Yes". I sleep less to make the most of the few days I'm on the ship. :D

 

~ Judy

[sellwingri]

I did a 5 day cruise earlier this year with 2 friends who had never cruised before and wanted to check it out. (They both absolutely loved it!). I'm doing a 5 day cruise on Grandeur to Bermuda with my daughter in 2 days as our last hurrah before she gets married in September. I did the same cruise with DH last year and loved it.

 

That being said, my perfect cruise is 10 or 11 days.

[BobbyD]

Combining our first short (4 night) cruise in July with a visit to the west coast to see our son. I fully expect that it will be different than a typical 7+ day cruise and I'm perfectly fine with that. Looking forward to the new experience. First time cruising from the west coast!

[iWillSailAway]

In my opinion, a 1 night repo is different than a 3 night or a 4/5 nighter. We did a one night repo Vancouver to Seattle and it was one of our worst cruises - maybe the worst (not RCI, by the way). It all seemed very rushed, we thought the buffet offerings were quite slim, the staff seemed disinterested... I don't know... :(

 

I'll say we have been on Princess before and knew what to expect. Sadly, this little cruise-let did not live up to our hopes, for several reasons which I won't go into. We much prefer longer cruises (12 nights), or our preferred back-to-back of any length.

 

Many people love the short cruises, and all power to them. Enjoy every cruise, I say... life is short and precious. :)

.

 

I do agree!

 

We call it one day, it is actually a one night cruise. You do not get to spend a day on the ship, 20 hours at best and there is no time to relax. On a 2-nighter, at least the first night and second morning people can relax a little bit.

 

It is a good way to check out a ship's facilities but it is not a good way to experience an average cruise on a new cruise line because it is a very different from normal experience.

 

The mixed reviews had me very nervous the first time I used Red Coach and nearly in a state of panic when the bus for my very first pickup was almost an hour late. :eek: Then I discovered they had sent me an email earlier advising of the delay. Too bad I hadn't checked before I left home. :o Since the scheduled arrival time at FLL was 9:10am, there was plenty of a safety net built in. I've only booked First Class coaches for the round trips as they are definitely worth the few extra bucks for the comfort.

 

 

I'm a little over an hour north of Tampa airport and just under two hours northwest of Orlando airport. To fly anywhere nowadays is a real pain, and oftimes cost prohibitive. So, like you said, for anyone who has to fly to do shorter cruises, it doesn't pay unless they can combine it with a land vacation.

 

To the OP, sorry for sidetracking your thread. As to your question "Do you do anything differently on short cruises vs longer ones?", my answer is "Yes". I sleep less to make the most of the few days I'm on the ship. :D

 

~ Judy

 

Not worries! Yours is great information for others!

 

 

I also think buses and trains before and after a cruise would be great.

Edited May 25, 2017 by cidercruiser

[iWillSailAway]

Totally agree with those who have to fly to port that short cruises are not worth it unless you can tag another few days of land vacation before or after.

 

 

If the price is right, sure. But I live in south Florida and 3 day cruise is great because I basically use no time off at all; maybe 4 hours off on a Friday

 

4 day cruises though I tend to take the whole week off; and if I do that I'd rather do a 6-8 day cruise.

 

 

I also live close to a couple of ports and have done a 5-nighter from Saturday to Thursday and went back to work after disembarkation. I actually liked it much better than a 4-nighter where I got off on a Monday morning and faced a long work week. :eek:

 

 

Love 8 to 10 days cruises! If it's timed right it only needs one week off.

 

I've read mixed reviews on Red Coach, good to hear your good experiences with them... certainly seems convenient. There is a lot of travel in FL that is either a long car ride or an flight that is oddly expensive and involves more time at the airport that you'd spend on the road. So, a comfortable/reliable coach service is a good option.

 

So true! For travels under 500 miles I always prefer trains.

Edited May 25, 2017 by cidercruiser

[pstone1]

Any cruise is a good cruise! We work so driving 10 minutes to jump on a 3 night cruise for the weekend makes us happy! We can flex the Friday time and be at work by 8:30 on Monday morning! For vacation cruises we prefer long TA, TP, Repositioning, or B2B from somewhere other than Florida. We did like the 9 night EX from Port Canaveral and also the 11 night SR from FLL. Both had nice Southern Caribbean itineraries that we could enjoy without flying to San Juan.

[grest]

We live in Florida, and it has been easy to do shorter cruises, but at this point I wouldn't go for shorter than 6 days....I hate getting off the ship after only a couple or three days:(

[setsail]

Sure, when they are attached to a longer cruise on the front or back end

[NurseDave]

We have the flying issue as well. If I lived in FL, then I'd hope cruising would be a several times a year thing and maybe the shorter ones would be worth it, but I'm not sure. Since at the most cruising is an annual thing, I find it takes me a few days to get into "ship mode". Getting used to the flow of the ship, being able to relax without worrying I'm missing something. And I like being able to have variety. Staying up late one night, another getting to bed earlier and walking the ship during sunrise. One day picking lots of activities and another finding the perfect quiet spot. We haven't done shorter than 7 nights and would love longer. My wife just booked a 5 night for next year and we don't get to board until late afternoon. So we'll see.

[Beachammo]

All our friends are still working so we plan our cruises based on them. We have been doing a lot of 7 night B2Bs lately and have invited one group of friends for the 1st week (partiers) then a different group for the 2nd week (relaxers). I don't believe we would ever do anything less than 7 nights.

 

There is no better feeling than seeing bags in the hallway on the 7th night and knowing your empty bags are still under the bed.

 

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[Langley Cruisers]

I do agree!

 

We call it one day, it is actually a one night cruise. You do not get to spend a day on the ship, 20 hours at best and there is no time to relax. On a 2-nighter, at least the first night and second morning people can relax a little bit.... It is a good way to check out a ship's facilities but it is not a good way to experience an average cruise on a new cruise line because it is a very different from normal experience.

 

Yes! I agree with your agreement! :D

[Big_G]

I like almost any cruise but I'd like the 3 & 4s a whole lot more if I didn't have to fly.

 

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[John&LaLa]

3/4 B2B means two musters. 😱

 

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[sfaaa]

To me, minimum is 4 days. Anything less and I'd rather save the money and use it on a future cruise.

[vacationlover_mn]

If I lived close to a port, I think I'd love them. However since we live in the middle of the country, I want a longer cruise so that I can feel like I got my "money's worth" out of the flight :)

 

 

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[SG65CB]

Takes me a day or two to get into vacation mode. I relax best once I am in a daily routine, so a short cruise wouldn't be good.

[grapau27]

Takes me a day or two to get into vacation mode. I relax best once I am in a daily routine, so a short cruise wouldn't be good.

Mini cruises are great for Xmas or New Year holidays.

We had a JS on Independence for 3 nights in April to get us to Diamond+ and we had a great time.

[Desert Cruizers]

We prefer 2 week cruises, since we have to fly to most of our cruises, the expense of a flight for a 7 day cruise isn't worth it and prefer to make the most of our trip.

[forevercamiamom]

Done 4 and 5 night. Have 2 different 7 night booked. Currently trying to find a 3/4 night to add before or after our Disney trip in Dec!

 

Loyal2Royal

MOTS 11/04, NOTS 4/18,

Allure 9/17, Anthem 4/18

[FLSteve11]

3/4 B2B means two musters. [emoji33]

 

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And usually 2 days in Nassau out of Florida (ehhh)

 

 

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[cleophus12]

I do not love the shorter cruises. Seems like you don't really have time to get comfortable with your surroundings before it's time to get off the ship. Having said that, I just booked the 4 night Havana/Key West trip because that seems to be the best way to see those two ports with RCI. It's been years since we went to Key West, and I've been trying to get back ever since. We travel from North Carolina (usually by car) so the short cruise will be an excuse for us to go to Disney in order to make the drive worthwhile.

[molole]

If time off work is not a factor I would like at least 4 day for a cruise. I can never truly relax on the last day. With a four day cruise, I unpack on day one and repack on day 4 but I still have two days in between to relax and have fun.

 

However if time off work is a factor, I will take a 3 day cruise.

 

One or two days cruises are usually repo and they can be fun but only if you treat them more like a ship tour. I hear a lot of them sail half empty on purpose so the crew can clean up the ship so at least getting on and off ship won't take long.

[crosby99]

Longer the better....

Want to do 14 nighter again :D

[grapau27]

Longer the better....

Want to do 14 nighter again :D

That would be great but some of us are restricted to shorter cruises because of looking after elderly parents because other familiy members wash their hands of any responsibility in helping.

[sergeant655]

If there is a short cruise that goes to the right places I like to tack them on to a trans Atlantic cruise or a 7 day cruise to extend them. I did a 4 day Normandy cruise right before a transatlantic as I found it was cheaper then having those 4 days on the economy I also used one to introduce my niece to cruises