Would you avoid doing a 3 or 4 day cruise because of no "Sea Days"?

[VIKINGCRUISER]

 

Hello all,

 

My dilemma is I was looking for a cruise that would be more towards my age and lifestyle (59 and pretty active). I came up with NCL and issue is on 3 and 4 day cruises they have no "Sea Days", which is what I love.

 

 

How does the cruise change on "no days at sea"?   

 

Are there any people in the pool area or activites going on?

 

Does the ship basically get quiet and no one is around?

 

I really would like to try NCL but if it doesn't make sense, RC has several 4 days with "days at sea". Again, 't been a long while since my last cruise, so sorry if the questions sound basic to seasoned cruises.

 

Any thoughts appreciated.

 

[Aquahound]

On the 3/4 day cruises that include ports like Nassau, I have found that a fair amount of people do remain on board while the ship is in port, so the ship does remain somewhat active.  Many S. Florida locals like to take those cruises as short getaways and just want to relax on board.  I know.....I used to do it.  😉

 

Regarding your cruise choice, if you do go with NCL, I highly recommend one of the newer ships. I think Viva might be doing some short cruises.  Avoid the Sky.  

[LHT28]

I would avoid  the  4 day cruises for other reasons 😃

 Do not think the ship will be that quiet

[Joebucks]

I don't think I've actually ever seen such an itinerary. I would be more likely to want to do it. I love days at port, even if it's the ultra-inconvenient ports I've already done or others have visited before. Nothing ruins a cruise vibe more than a sea day with bad weather.

[kelkel2]

I wouldn’t necessarily avoid it, but it wouldn’t be my first choice. Port days are great but they’re exhausting. So, I’d really like to have at least one sea day, especially towards the end of the cruise. 

[VIKINGCRUISER]

Thank you all. Perspectives I never really thought about.

 

I am actually looking to do the JADE.

Edited April 22, 2023 by VIKINGCRUISER

[Aquahound]

55 minutes ago, VIKINGCRUISER said:

Thank you all. Perspectives I never really thought about.

 

I am actually looking to do the JADE.

 

I recommend taking one of those 4-day RCI cruises with a sea day over the Jade.  

[evandbob]

No, but I totally avoid  3 or 4 day, {even 5 or 6 day} cruises because they are too short to begin with.

 

I'm fortunate that I have the time and resources to book 10 day to 2 week cruises, or 2-3 week land/sea combos.

[1025cruise]

I have to fly to cruise. Not worth flying for a 3-4 day, unless it's tacked on to another cruise.

[navybankerteacher]

On 4/21/2023 at 5:32 PM, VIKINGCRUISER said:

 

Hello all,

 

My dilemma is I was looking for a cruise that would be more towards my age and lifestyle (59 and pretty active). I came up with NCL and issue is on 3 and 4 day cruises they have no "Sea Days", which is what I love.

 

 

How does the cruise change on "no days at sea"?   

 

Are there any people in the pool area or activites going on?

 

Does the ship basically get quiet and no one is around?

 

I really would like to try NCL but if it doesn't make sense, RC has several 4 days with "days at sea". Again, 't been a long while since my last cruise, so sorry if the questions sound basic to seasoned cruises.

 

Any thoughts appreciated.

 

Are you aware that on the first day of a three day cruise - after waiting a few hours - you will get on board at about noon (if you are lucky), your bag will be delivered by 4:00 or so, and you will sail at about 5:00.  The next two days are actually “cruising” - likely stopping at some awful port like Nassau, and the next day you will be back in port. - with the crew trying to hustle you off at about 9:00 AM so they can welcome the next batch of suckers. You will have been on the ship for significantly less than three full days.

 

Sea days or not - a three day cruise is just a good way to have a bad time —- yes, it may have been an inexpensive cruise - but still lousy value for your money.

[Honolulu Blue]

On 4/21/2023 at 5:32 PM, VIKINGCRUISER said:

 

Hello all,

 

My dilemma is I was looking for a cruise that would be more towards my age and lifestyle (59 and pretty active). I came up with NCL and issue is on 3 and 4 day cruises they have no "Sea Days", which is what I love.

 

 

How does the cruise change on "no days at sea"?   

 

Are there any people in the pool area or activites going on?

 

Does the ship basically get quiet and no one is around?

 

I really would like to try NCL but if it doesn't make sense, RC has several 4 days with "days at sea". Again, 't been a long while since my last cruise, so sorry if the questions sound basic to seasoned cruises.

 

Any thoughts appreciated.

I'm going to go in two directions on this.

 

First, I've done some one 6-day cruise with no sea days and several 7-day cruises with just one sea day.  Those were relatively port-intensive and the cruise did change some.  Whenever we're in port - not just on these cruises - the ship is quieter and relatively few people are around.  But the ship will have activities all around (not as many as on sea days) and there will be some people in the pool area.

 

Second, I just did something I said I would never do.  My previous shortest cruise was 5 days - which made sense because I have to fly from Michigan for every one, and that makes for some very long embarkation and disembarkation days.  But I saw and booked a 3-day charter cruise out of Miami that is highlighted by two performers of interest to me.  I think it's overnighting in Nassau, but truly it wouldn't make any difference if we did a dozen loops around the Bahamas and returned home.  This seems to be an experiment all around - the charter company doesn't normally do such short cruises with such a focus on few performers.  And as mentioned above, I don't do 3-day cruises and I don't normally cruise for just two people.  I hope it goes well.  I THINK it will, but there's always a chance it won't.  I'm willing to take the risk here.

 

It's hard for me to imagine doing another 3 or 4 day cruise, but then again, I didn't imagine a month ago I would book this one.  

[K32682]

I regard "sea days" as dead time so the fewer the better but I would not take a 3-4 day cruise unless it were going to a place I was keen to visit. The only one I've actually considered was a short cruise to Havana leaving from Tampa but never got the chance as cruises to Cuba were shut down in 2019 due to U.S. government regulations. 

 

 

Edited April 23, 2023 by K32682

[NantahalaCruiser]

18 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

Are you aware that on the first day of a three day cruise - after waiting a few hours - you will get on board at about noon (if you are lucky), your bag will be delivered by 4:00 or so, and you will sail at about 5:00.  The next two days are actually “cruising” - likely stopping at some awful port like Nassau, and the next day you will be back in port. - with the crew trying to hustle you off at about 9:00 AM so they can welcome the next batch of suckers. You will have been on the ship for significantly less than three full days.

 

Sea days or not - a three day cruise is just a good way to have a bad time —- yes, it may have been an inexpensive cruise - but still lousy value for your money.

Perhaps the OP means a 3 or 4 night cruise, rather than a 3 or 4 day cruise with 2 or 3 nights

[mom says]

I'd avoid doing a 3 or 4 day/night cruise simply because it's a 3 or 4 day/night cruise. 

[ExpatBride]

I usually cruise the Norwegian Fjords and the ship is my destination, so I generally get on in Copenhagen and don't get off again until we dock in Copenhagen. Even in Norway, the ship is usually a ghost town during the day without much in the way of activities, but I like it that way.

If you're looking for sea-day-level activities in port, I think you'll be disappointed. It just doesn't make sense for the cruiseline to have a packed activity schedule when the ship is basically empty. 7 days is my bare minimum. On a 3-4 day cruise, the hassle of embarkation day and disembarking leaves 1-2 days onboard and it's just not worth my effort.

Edited April 24, 2023 by ExpatBride

[Z'Loth]

From my United States perspective....I have not done any cruise shorter than 7 days. One of the reasons is that the shorter United States cruises have the reputation of being booze cruises filled with younger adults who are partying. I can't imagine taking a cruise without a sea day to relax, unwind, and mentally switch over from work mode to tourist mode.