What's the "ideal" length of cruise for you?

[CowPrincess]

MadManofBethesda mentioned in another thread that they found their 30-day cruise to be toooooooo long. I dream of a 30-day cruise :) Have only taken 7 and 10 day cruises, and the 7 day ones are FAR too short, with 10 days still too short.

 

DH and I have discussed longer cruises (which will not happen till the real estate market improves and we can sell this house). We've looked at some of the segments of the World cruise, and discussed 30+ days, 60+ days. I wonder if I'd get bored, or tired of the constant movement of the ship.

 

Our next cruise as a couple will be 14 days. I'm hoping we'll find that just about enough time. So, for you, what's the ideal length of cruise?

[sail7seas]

For us, cruises of 10-14 days are perfect. DH is not retired and when we add a pre and post cruise hotel stay, that is as long as he can be out of his office.

 

[hammybee]

I am the same as Sail, 10-14 days, for different reasons

 

I do not handle many btb @ sea days as well as some people do. I love port intensive cruises.

 

On the otherhand, there are some intineraries, like the South Pacific and South America that would get me over the hump, right quick.

[pipedreams62]

But I loved it when the lady at the front desk said to us last summer

 

"You'll Be Spending Half A Month With Us" It just sounds so much better than 14 days

[matondo]

I can't wait to find out how much is too much. What I do know is, 7 is WAY too short. We have talked about trying a 10 day cruise. We did do a 14 day land vacation and it was really the first time that I felt ready to go home BUT on a ship it is so different everything is taken care of new location every day. HMMMMMMMMM:confused::confused:

[Mtierney]

MadManofBethesda mentioned in another thread that they found their 30-day cruise to be toooooooo long. I dream of a 30-day cruise :) Have only taken 7 and 10 day cruises, and the 7 day ones are FAR too short, with 10 days still too short.

 

We just signed up for our longest cruise yet, 20 days in the Baltics! I agree that 7 days is way too short. We have enjoyed 14 days very much. We're excited about this long one!

[geoherb]

We really like 10-night cruises. But our last one was only four and our next one just seven. It beats not going at all.

 

My DH is an instructor at a community college and we have to fit things around his calendar. They get a nice two and a half week break at Christmas, one week for spring break, less than a week between spring and summer sessions, and then two weeks between summer and fall sessions, plus various holidays that are not long enough to take a cruise.

 

His uncle and aunt have been on several long cruises--60 days. We're looking forward to being able to take one like that, or even a two-week long one.

[zentmrs]

We found that our first cruise (17 days) two years ago was not long enough and last year's 10 day cruise was much too short! We've got a 15 day coming up - lots of sea days in a row, which we like - but we expect we won't be ready to come back from that either.

 

We dream of the world voyages..... ahh, one day.

 

My parents, sister and in-laws all prefer the 10 day length however. Can't figure them out! :confused: ;)

[cruz chic]

I always thought that I would like to take a world cruise but I think that would be way to long on a ship. 14 days seems to be ok but I'm not sure if it is quite enough. My 2 longest were 20 and 26 days. I felt at the time both were too long. A couple days back at work usually makes me rethink that however:D:eek:.

[GmaPajama]

We're sort of working our way up. Started with 7 day, moved to 10 day, and are now doing the 14 and 15 day ones. They are still finished too soon, so we're doing a 20 day next year and will maybe try an even longer one after that. Seems like we just can't get enough. :)

[Old Salty Dog]

We like anything from 10 to 20 days. Even 10 is too short so we add days on land before or after. We look for good BtoBs. Seven or fewer days are not worth the hassle of flying, etc. Longest one yet was during WWII for about a year and a half!

[cands]

14 days is about the minimum for us now. We were concerned before our last cruise of 56 days that it might be too long. No way! We could have stayed on board for another 56 days.

Our shortest cruise was for 11 days - boy that went by quickly!

 

Steve.

[kakalina]

We prefer cruises of a month or longer. Between 30 and 60 days is just perfect for us. Love those sea days.

[marle7]

10 days is the minimum for us. We're doing 14 soon, and we'll see if we are ready to come home. We did a 10 day Med cruise a couple of years ago, but with 2 days in Paris before, and 4 days in Barcelona after, we were gone three weeks and were more than ready to come home.

 

We'll be doing a 20 day cruise in the fall as well.

[Druke I]

I love cruises in the 21 to 28 night range.

 

For reasons known only to her, my wife does not want to be gone from home for more than 30 days at any one time.

 

Were it up to me, I'd love one of those 100+ night world cruises.

[agabbymama]

I'm sorry, I just don't see what you do on a cruise for 30 days???? You can only read or play cards, shop or walk around the ship so much.

 

I like port intensive cruises to see new and exotic places that otherwise wouldn't be easily accessible.

 

Time and cost also come into play for me. I still work and only get 2 weeks vacation per year. I don't mind a 5 or 7 day cruise. The 12 day to New England/Canada (with Celebrity making an itinerary change) showed me that 3 days at sea was too much for me.

 

The Med on Grand Princess was also 12 days and I did better because we only had 1 day at sea. The rest were port days.

 

Good thing there are plenty of choices to please everyone:p

[iflyrc5]

With all the issues of flying now days I don't think it is worth the hassle if I don't cruise for at least 14 days. We did a 28 day in Nov/Dec on the Prinsendam and could have gone longer.:D:D We are both retired so it does allow for the longer trips. The only real problem with the longer trips is that our post office will only hold mail for 30 days so if you are gone longer than that you need to arrange for you mailed to be forwarded to a neighbor. Oh yes - one other problem on the longer trips - my clothes seem to shrink alot more on the longer cruises.;)

[earl_m]

I like also 14 days .i think its the perfect length for me.

[Atomica]

I'd love it if I could do a 30 or 60 day voyage - sounds like a great time to me!

 

Until then, anywhere from 7-14 days is a good fit for me. Any more and it becomes tough to get that much time off of work in one stretch...

[rochelle_s]

For me the longer the cruise all the better. I started with a seven day cruise back in the 80's but I have graduated to longer cruises. Next up is 16 days transatlantic followed by five days on land and then 24 days cruising the med....I will probably be tired but it won't be from cruising but from exploring all the ports.

 

I envy those folks who live on a cruise ship 365 days a year....wish it were me.

 

Rochelle

[CBJ]

We did a 20 night a few years back and found it to be a bit too long. By the end, we were just counting down to the next port.

 

Last year we did a 10 day and it was great. I could have stayed longer but wasn't totally upset that it was over. This year, we're trying 14 days - I think it'll be just right!

[Spanky My]

is about right...7 is too short...

[cruisinjudy]

Seven days is too short, but for our upcoming Mexico cruise we are also spending four days in San Diego. Our longest cruise has been 21 days. With three young grandchildren I don't want to spend too long away at this point, but as they get bigger we can do longer cruises again. We do have a TA this fall that will involve almost 3 weeks with precruise stay in Rome. Not sure if I would like over three weeks.

 

Oh and there is also the issue of the dog. She is 15 years old so maybe when she is gone longer cruises could be a possibility.

[MightyQuinn]

We really enjoy longer cruises. For us, itinerary trumps everything so we look for a mix of interesting ports & relaxing sea days. We love HAL Collector Voyages. We leave soon for a 38-nite cruise around South America with continuing service to Seattle. Somehow I think it'll be just right. :):)

[Cruising-along]

MadManofBethesda mentioned in another thread that they found their 30-day cruise to be toooooooo long. I dream of a 30-day cruise :) Have only taken 7 and 10 day cruises, and the 7 day ones are FAR too short, with 10 days still too short.

 

DH and I have discussed longer cruises (which will not happen till the real estate market improves and we can sell this house). We've looked at some of the segments of the World cruise, and discussed 30+ days, 60+ days. I wonder if I'd get bored, or tired of the constant movement of the ship.

 

Our next cruise as a couple will be 14 days. I'm hoping we'll find that just about enough time. So, for you, what's the ideal length of cruise?

 

I don't know yet! :p So far our longest was 15 days, and I could very easily have stayed longer. I do love port intensive cruises, so to me the 15 days went SO fast. I'd love to do 21 days. Right now I'm guessing that around 30-35 would be great (after we're retired) but I'm open to anything longer too!