Thoughts on Sea Days?

[ldubs]

Go with the 5 day itinerary.  The 3 day will feel like it is over before it has even started.  

 

We like more port intensive cruises, but a sprinkling of sea day has become more important.  I'm sure it is only coincidence that as I grow older I welcome a sea day to break things up. 

[tidecat]

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? 

Princess offers a one-way cruise between Vancouver to Los Angeles that has no other ports of call. Carnival offers some cruises from Australia that are round trip with no ports of call. In both cases these are shorter cruises (3-4 days). Cunard's regular transatlantic voyages between New York and Southampton are typically seven sea days with no other ports. 

 

There will be more options outside of the US.

[kwokpot]

This is an odd question to ask for opinions because it goes to the root of how someone enjoys their leisure time. It's really not a question someone else can answer for you. What one person deems as boing,restless, and trapped another sees it as a wonderful way to relax and do nothing. It's very easy to know whether one likes or dislikes seadays on a cruise from just knowing how one spends their leisure time and vacation time. 

[Daruma]

39 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

This is an odd question to ask for opinions because it goes to the root of how someone enjoys their leisure time. It's really not a question someone else can answer for you. What one person deems as boing,restless, and trapped another sees it as a wonderful way to relax and do nothing. It's very easy to know whether one likes or dislikes seadays on a cruise from just knowing how one spends their leisure time and vacation time. 

 

Thank you, but as I said in my OP, I'm just looking for thoughts and opinions to help GUIDE me... not make my decision for me. 

[Bubbeh]

10 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? 

Not that I'm aware of.

[ChuckF]

We love sea days.  I do like to gamble, but also enjoy the various forms of fun activities that Carnival provides.  My wife is happy to sit on the balcony or on the deck with a good book.  But, like a previous poster said, it's up to how you like to spend your time.  

All that being said, we really appreciate having a sea day the day before debark.  Going on an excursion the last day of a cruise kind of gets us rushing to get back on the ship, get ready for dinner, and then have to pack.  It just feels like that's cutting into our vacation time, as opposed to casually packing on a sea day. 

 

IMHO

[roguebandit1441]

We are on a completely different mindset, we like port days best but because there are less people on board. No crowds, can fit in any pool you want, no lines anywhere, and less competition at trivia. Found this out when had mobility issues and if we want beach or exploration vacation we just book a week at all inclusive resort.

 

 

[VentureMan_2000]

5-day.  Sea days are great for relaxing.

[mfs2k]

Personally I love the relaxation of sea days for warm, sunny weather cruises in the Caribbean.  I've been to the islands so many times, it's not an adventure for me there.  I spend those days at ports going to nice beaches and resort day passes. 

 

For cruises at interesting destinations, I like more ports.  We're doing a 10 night European cruise in September with only 2 sea days.  I expect to be exhausted but hope to love each day and night of this trip.

[vscruiser]

For me the cruise ship is the destination. I love the sea days sitting on my balcony enjoying the feel, sight, and smell of the sea breeze.

[kwokpot]

18 hours ago, Daruma said:

 

Thank you, but as I said in my OP, I'm just looking for thoughts and opinions to help GUIDE me... not make my decision for me. 

To answer your question then in your specific case most definitely take the 5 day vs the 3 day, if looking solely on the number of days as you asked. As others of said the key is the overall length of the two cruises. A three day is really very short, but if that's the only time you can devote then it's certainly a worthwhile vacation choice. A five day cruise, even with two of the days as sea days, gives you more vacation time. The two extra days is worth the added cost if you just look at food and room, which would certainly cost more if you were to spend those two days on a land based vacation. I think if your decision was between a 7 and 9 day cruise, with two extra seadays, the answer could be different depending on how you enjoy your leisure time. 

[Eli_6]

I would go with the second.  Sea days on either side of two ports will be fun. I like itineraries that mix up both - a port then a sea day then a port day, or a couple of ports and then a sea day, etc. I have done Europe cruises where we had very few sea days and they were both amazing and exhausting.  About to do one in 2-3 weeks with only 1 sea day on an 8-day cruise. Rest are in port. In July/August, I will have about 5-6 straight sea days on a SYD-SING cruise...most I have ever had. We shall sea how I like it. 😉

[Eli_6]

@kwokpot I will be on your favorite ship for 16 days in July/August.  I will be seeing pepto pink donuts for years now, LOL. 

[kwokpot]

4 minutes ago, Eli_6 said:

@kwokpot I will be on your favorite ship for 16 days in July/August.  I will be seeing pepto pink donuts for years now, LOL. 

LOL, I'm surprised you remember how I feel about the Spendor, you must have been doing your Cruise Critic research! We really love those Carnival Repo cruises. I'm sorry we didn't jump on the chance for the Panorama repo from Singapore to LA, THAT itinerary has so wonderful Ports! 

 

I think you'll do just fine with the seadays. But people do have to 'know' themselves and too many seadays can drive people crazy. That happen last year on the Luminosa repo from Seattle to Brisbane. Due to missing our Alaska ports the first Port of call after leaving Seattle was 12 days later in Japan! People were going crazy. In fact there were people who left the cruise early at the last Port in Japan, in which we still had 9 more seadays until the cruise ended in Brisbane. The seadays were too much for many people. The thing is this cruise was ALWAYS a 30 day cruise with only 9 ports of call, so it was always a cruise with over 20 seadays. Carnival was literally giving this cruise away to many casino players, and I think for many the thought of get a $5,000 cruise for free overrode the thought of whether they could handle that many seadays. Having the itinerary adjusted due to weather issues ultimately reduced the Ports of call from 9 to only 7 out of 30 days, so by the end of the cruise in Brisbane many people were so glad to get off the ship and actually didn't have a good time on the cruise. 

[Eli_6]

@kwokpot Lol, I just remembered your feelings on The Splendor because I also thought the decor was awful.  So much pink. So many circles. Why?  Why??? 

However, I really liked the layout of the ship so I can get over the pink circles. The Serenity area (at the back of the ship) is nice and I like the extra hot tubs on the second level of the Lido and the covered pool.  They also had good water slides on this ship...one where the floor drops out from you. My kids loved that one. We have one of the bigger scenic ocean view rooms so I think that will be a plus and we will probably just spend most of our time on the Lido and not even go into Pepto-world much. 

I also was amused by some of the very strange artwork.  My kids still talk about the artwork of the man sitting on the toilet backwards that was in one of the elevators.  Why was he doing that?  And why did someone turn it into artwork? No one knows... 

[mikayla73]

On 5/11/2024 at 6:15 PM, Daruma said:

 

This has been a dilemma for me. 

 

I don't drink and I'm not a partier, though I've asked on these forums and the overwhelming response has been that it's pretty easy to avoid those crowds, and not allow it to ruin my time. 

 

Also, for a hair more money I can take two shorter, (3, 4, 5 day), cruises for relatively the same cost as one 7/8 day cruise 🤷

I'd want to have at least 1 sea day on any cruise, including a 3 day. For longer cruises it's even better if there are two sea days right before debarkation. Port days are fun, but not as relaxing for me. Even if I spend the entire time just lounging at the beach. I'm up early, hurrying to get to the beach, then thinking about the time to make sure we're not even remotely close to getting back to the ship late. It's fun and I love it, but that's not as relaxing as just being on the ship, wondering around, participating in what I want, or maybe doing nothing at all. Though maybe I'll change my mind after my first cruise with a toddler - I see less relaxation there...lol. 

 

As someone else mentioned, I'd only want a port intensive cruise if it's some where like Europe, South America, Alaska, etc. where I'm going expecting to be on the go the whole time because of the location or there could be cooler weather.

 

For the shorter cruises, it is easy to to avoid the partiers, especially if that's already not your scene anyway. Though the 7/8 day cruise would appeal more to me than two 3/4 days cruises simply for the relaxation factor. Those 3/4 days go by quick! It's hardly worth unpacking your suitcase for. And when we have done a 3 day, I didn't unpack. I just lived out of my suitcase. A 5 day feels a little more like vacation to me.

[Mike45LC]

It was implied but not explicitly mentioned: On Sea Days, the casino and the ship’s stores are open for business.   On port days, the shops and casino are all closed while the ship is in port.  They open up about an hour after the ship sails.  

 

Generally, all of the bars and dining venues are open when the ship is in port, although there are some strange rules – I think it is in Texas that only Texas booze can be sold while the ship is in a port in that state?  And Carnival has to charge sales tax on beverages in some other ports?   

 

Spa, fitness center, pools, hot tubs are all open on port days.  I don't know about water slides and trampolines and such.    

 

I like a mix of sea days and port days.  Too many port days in a row (such as on a Mediterranian cruise) tend to exhaust me.  

 

I have not carried out on my threat to stay on board on a port day, to enjoy the ship, but I sometimes do very little in a port I know well.  Maybe I'll just go to a local restaurant for lunch and get back on the ship.  

 

Whatever you decide, have a great cruise!

 

[kwokpot]

58 minutes ago, Mike45LC said:

have not carried out on my threat to stay on board on a port day, to enjoy the ship, but I sometimes do very little in a port I know well.  Maybe I'll just go to a local restaurant for lunch and get back on the ship.  

 

TBH an hour stroll and then a nice meal and then another hour stroll, so 3-4 hours off the ship, is a great way to enjoy a Port where the City Center is within walking distance. There's no law saying you have to stay off the ship for all 8-10 hours in Port or tick-off some imaginary must-see attractions to say you've enjoyed a cruise port. 

Edited May 15 by kwokpot

[Bubbeh]

On 5/12/2024 at 7:46 AM, edspec said:

I always tell people to do a 7 day over 3-5…better ship, ports, activities and a much better idea of what cruising is really like

Couldn't even be bothered getting the suitcase down for anything less than 10 days.  And, there better be a few sea days in those 10 days too.

[simplelife]

I like a mix of seas days and port days. In this case, I would say that a 3 day cruise is barely worth it,  You just get on an acclimated and it's time to get off already.

[VentureMan_2000]

1 hour ago, simplelife said:

I like a mix of seas days and port days. In this case, I would say that a 3 day cruise is barely worth it,  You just get on an acclimated and it's time to get off already.

Agreed.  After doing a number of 7-day cruises, they hardly seem worth the trouble too now that I've done some 9-day or longer cruises.  And even those do not seem long enough.  We are now doing back-to-back cruises that last 2 to 4 weeks in total. 

[TN Roz]

I really enjoy sea days, but no more than two at a time. I'm not a gambler, so I spend most of the day relaxing at Serenity. Reading, napping, having a few drinks and enjoying the company of my cruise companion. I often stay on the ship when at a port that I've been to several times just to have another sea day. But, as others have said, base your decision on what you enjoy doing.

[Knights on the Beach]

On 5/13/2024 at 11:13 AM, vscruiser said:

For me the cruise ship is the destination. I love the sea days sitting on my balcony enjoying the feel, sight, and smell of the sea breeze.

 

This sums it up for me as well, I truly love sea days. However, on recent cruises we have really been enjoying port days as well - by staying on the ship and enjoying the quieter atmosphere.

[nc762shooter]

I cruise because I enjoy the sensations of being at sea, I'm one of those that wouldn't care if we pulled into port for days or not. That said, I don't mind having an even mix of port and sea days. Almost all the cruises I've been on had an equal number of port and sea days which I think is ideal, whether it was a 5 day, 7 day, or an 8 day. I look at the ports as something that has the potential to add to my vacation but not detract from it. I rank departure port/dates/price/ship above destinations when looking at cruises, if a cruise happens to have favorite ports or new ones that's just a bonus. I'm not going to let making it to a particular port or not make or break my vacation.