7 day v. 10 day cruise

[jtcoolk]

Beyond the obvious - more days on the ship - are 10 day cruises better? I am curious if you think the food and service are different. We are now booked on a 7 day out of San Juan but flights and hotel prices are higher than Fort Lauderdale. There is a 10 day out of Ft. Lauderdale on the Emerald Princess that visits many of the same ports. I would appreciate any comments!

[Colo Cruiser]

Beyond the obvious - more days on the ship - are 10 day cruises better? I am curious if you think the food and service are different. We are now booked on a 7 day out of San Juan but flights and hotel prices are higher than Fort Lauderdale. There is a 10 day out of Ft. Lauderdale on the Emerald Princess that visits many of the same ports. I would appreciate any comments!

 

 

IMHO, the 10 day service, food quality, etc is no different then a 7 day,

3 day, 21 day. There are people that say a 3 day repo type cruise does have differences (less quality) but we take many cruises on Princess of all lenghts and I don't see any differences. :)

[PrincessMelody]

I also don't think there's any real difference in food/service...etc.

 

However, I feel that a 10 day cruise is MUCH better because it seems that with a 7 day cruise, right when you start figuring out where everything is, and really getting into the swing of things...it's time to go home!! :o

[rdsqrl]

Hey, don't discount the obvious! A 10-day cruise is three days more of being on a cruise -- what could possibly not be good about that?!

I'm not sure I understand your question about difference in service and food? It's a cruise, same as any other -- it's not like they have you make your own bed and cook your own meals the last three nights! If it's cheaper to do a 10-day cruise, I can't think of any reason not to go for it.

[flamomo]

Another possible advantage is that there may be fewer kids on the longer cruise. Much of the time, families do 7 day or shorter cruises during the school year. Also if you are cruising during spring break time, the college folks tend to do the shorter cruises.

I'm not saying anything negative about kids / college students, but I do know some cruisers prefer to avoid cruises that are potentially loaded with either of these age groups.

[paul929207]

I keep trying to find one two long. We are going for 35 days next month.

[SeanCU79]

I have not seen any difference between the different length cruises in the quality of service. I think the longer cruises do give you more time to get to know other passengers and the crew which I enjoy. Also, if you are doing the same ports then it will likely be less hetic as you'll have a few more relaxing sea days.

[Ethel5]

Go for the longest cruise you can afford!

 

We have found that it takes the first two full days just to unwind, so a 10 day cruise is really relaxing.:)

[Ethel5]

Go for the longest cruise you can afford!

 

We have found that it takes the first two full days just to unwind, so a 10 day cruise is really relaxing.:)

[Pam in CA]

Go for the longest cruise you can afford!

 

We have found that it takes the first two full days just to unwind, so a 10 day cruise is really relaxing.:)

Absolutely! There's no difference in service or food but you'll find people more laid back and relaxed on a longer cruise because they don't have to scramble to fill every minute of every day. No such thing as too long a cruise and too many sea days. :)

[GlockMan9c]

I also don't think there's any real difference in food/service...etc.

 

However, I feel that a 10 day cruise is MUCH better because it seems that with a 7 day cruise, right when you start figuring out where everything is, and really getting into the swing of things...it's time to go home!! :o

 

Hey, don't discount the obvious! A 10-day cruise is three days more of being on a cruise -- what could possibly not be good about that?!

 

I'm not sure I understand your question about difference in service and food? It's a cruise, same as any other -- it's not like they have you make your own bed and cook your own meals the last three nights! If it's cheaper to do a 10-day cruise, I can't think of any reason not to go for it.

 

Another possible advantage is that there may be fewer kids on the longer cruise. Much of the time, families do 7 day or shorter cruises during the school year. Also if you are cruising during spring break time, the college folks tend to do the shorter cruises.

I'm not saying anything negative about kids / college students, but I do know some cruisers prefer to avoid cruises that are potentially loaded with either of these age groups.

 

I agree with all of the above.

 

In addition, I think that 10 days are much better values because if you do something like the caribbean, as it takes just as long to get there and back so you do not get much time in the middle.

 

ie - 7 day cruises equal 2-4 ports while 10 day cruises equal 5-7.

 

Here in Florida, my next cruise is 6 ports in 10 days instead of 3 ports in 7.

 

More meat, no filler, same bread. lol.

[dennbr9]

Avoid the longer flight to San Juan and take the 10 day. Will be on the Emerald in 1/09 for 10 days. Have done the Sun and the Caribbean Princess 10 days in the last couple years and a 12 Day RCL. Have a 10 day coming up in April.

 

 

Above post are correct about relaxing, nothing like being on the ship for seven days and still having a few days left to chill.

 

Only trouble with a 10 day is you will want to try a 12 or 14 next:-)

[dennbr9]

Avoid the longer flight to San Juan and take the 10 day. Will be on the Emerald in 1/09 for 10 days. Have done the Sun and the Caribbean Princess 10 days in the last couple years and a 12 Day RCL. Have a 10 day coming up in April.

 

 

Above post are correct about relaxing, nothing like being on the ship for seven days and still having a few days left to chill.

 

Only trouble with a 10 day is you will want to try a 12 or 14 next:-)

[Dame Delilah]

We've always found that the longer the cruie, the better the service!

 

In fact, DH really does not like cruises of less than 10 days. He says -- It takes a day to get on, a day to get off, and 3 days to figure out where you're going. SO---On A 10 day cruise, you really only have 5 days to Enjoy!

 

We really like 15 - 30 day cruises best. BUT, don't get me wrong--we'll take them ALL!

[NAS-KARR]

10 days MINIMUM ! :D

[Times Prince]

Beyond the obvious - more days on the ship - are 10 day cruises better? I am curious if you think the food and service are different. We are now booked on a 7 day out of San Juan but flights and hotel prices are higher than Fort Lauderdale. There is a 10 day out of Ft. Lauderdale on the Emerald Princess that visits many of the same ports. I would appreciate any comments!

We just took the 10 day out of FLL and it was MARVELOUS ! At day 7 my wife and I looked at each other and said "If this had been a 7 day cruise it would be over :eek: " Then we went and really enjoyed the next three days - it seemed like Christmas! ... well it WAS Christmas, but that's not the point.

 

We, too, considered the San Juan departure, but the flights were exhorbitant - they charged twice as much for cruise days than if you were just going to/from PR and not from a cruise. FLL flights were more economical for us. That also saved us money we could then use on the cruise, not just flying to and fro.

 

Before you cancel that cruise, make sure there is a cabin you want on the Emerald. We had a hard time finding one in prime season for the dates we were available.

[JLC@SD]

Beyond the obvious - more days on the ship - are 10 day cruises better? I am curious if you think the food and service are different. We are now booked on a 7 day out of San Juan but flights and hotel prices are higher than Fort Lauderdale. There is a 10 day out of Ft. Lauderdale on the Emerald Princess that visits many of the same ports. I would appreciate any comments!

 

....no brainer.......I would trade the flight time and flight cost to San Juan for the three extra cruise days.....;)

[chasetf]

Beyond the obvious - more days on the ship - are 10 day cruises better? I am curious if you think the food and service are different. We are now booked on a 7 day out of San Juan but flights and hotel prices are higher than Fort Lauderdale. There is a 10 day out of Ft. Lauderdale on the Emerald Princess that visits many of the same ports. I would appreciate any comments!

Slam dunk....

 

We have sailed from both ports. I would pick:

• 10 days over 7 days
  
• Fort Lauderdale over San Juan ports
  
• More flight options / less cost to fly to Ft Laud than San Juan
  
• Food service is the same (extra menus for 10 day that will probably add King Crab legs)
  
• I assume probably more sea days - which we like

[BigGuy25]

I agree ... the more days the better. Our longest so far has been 14 days, but I would love to take a much longer trip sometime in the future. Princess has a nice 9-day itinerary that begins and ends with 2 sea days. It's nice to realize that when a 7-day cruise would be ending you still have two wonderful relaxing days at sea ahead of you. It's a great way to end your vacation.

[rebeccac]

I was very excited to see that AirTran is going to start service to San Juan in March, so maybe prices will start to come down from some markets (such as the hub here in Atlanta).

 

However, I will agree that a long cruise is glorious. Our very first was a B2B 14 day. I was so happy on day 7 that we got to stay onboard.

[Tak8]

I am also debating 7 vs. 10 days, but hadn't thought about service and food quality. We did a Christmas cruise last year and really enjoyed the Crown out of San Juan. In looking at options this year, Princess has a 7 day out of San Juan that does 5 islands and a 10 day out of Ft. Lauderdale that does 6 (Princess Cays is added on). My concern is are we losing a day going out of Florida and back in December due to temperatures? When we leave San Juan, I know I can enjoy the pool and outdoor stuff as soon as I get on board. Can the same be said for Ft. Lauderdale in December?

[palolake]

Tak8,

If you live somewhere warm, Florida weather in December may feel cool to you. But for us from the midwest, it's nice and warm. Your first morning on the ship will be plenty hot!

 

Since going on our first 10 day cruise, we don't even consider a 7 day cruise.

[choochella]

We started doing 10 day's about 4 years ago, and were hooked!! Just like was said before, my DH always states on the 7th day "we'd be getting off by now". What a great feeling to know you still have 3 more days. :)

[Sanibel*Gal]

We did our first 10 days to the Panama Canal & absolutely loved it, there was so much more time to relax & really enjoy your vacation. We will still do the 7 days if a 10 day is out of the budget, but next on our wish list is a B2B - now that's a real get-a-way!!:D

[CRUISEVIEW]

I agree ... the more days the better. Our longest so far has been 14 days, but I would love to take a much longer trip sometime in the future. Princess has a nice 9-day itinerary that begins and ends with 2 sea days. It's nice to realize that when a 7-day cruise would be ending you still have two wonderful relaxing days at sea ahead of you. It's a great way to end your vacation.

 

Wow, BG25, your response to that question really struck me! We're getting ready for the 9-day Carribbean Princess cruise out of NYC in a few months....Now I really can't wait.....it's only our second cruise; the first was a 6-day 'test' cruise (my DH didn't think they'd be fun...little did he know:cool:)...Thanks for pointing out the benefits of 2 consecutive days at sea going and coming...I didn't think of that!! Loved those sea days from the balcony.....