Thoughts on the 3-Night Bahamian Cruise on the Dream in early May....

[Clojel]

Hello all, we've cruised twice, both times were a 4 night on the Dream in November. We just found out that my daughter will be dancing at Disney in April 2020. She'd be dancing monday or tuesday and we have to commit to stay from sunday to wednesday as part of the package. We noticed that there is a 3 night cruise that leaves that Friday (May 1st) so we were thinking about extending our park stay a bit and then wrapping up with the 3 night cruise. Would love to hear thoughts on the 3-night. Is it TOO short? Not worth it? Also, what about weather in the start of May? I've heard that's the beginning of the rainy season....what are the odds of a complete wash out? Or is it typically more of a "shower"? Any input would be great! Thanks!!

 

[MomOTwins]

We cruised the end of April last year (so pretty close to May 1) on the 3-night. The weather was nice all around--we did dock a little late at Castaway Cay (I think around 8:30 instead of the planned 8am) because of weather but it was dry the rest of the day. It is certainly not too short: we packed a lot of memories and fun into 3 nights. I recommend staying on the ship at Nassau to enjoy the activities onboard, making it a "sea day." You still get all three shows and pirate night.

I do think it does not work if you want to "do it all." For example, we did not watch any movies on board because that eats up a lot of time and we can see movies at home. And we played midship detective, but only did a few of the "clues" rather than finishing the entire game. And we only rode the aquaduck a couple of times. For me personally, must dos were all the shows, palo brunch, spa, bingo, and family activities (e.g., trivia). So if you go into it with the mentality of picking what activities you really want to do and not trying to do it all, you will have an amazing time.

 

[JecHec]

Hello. Actually, its the only month of the year that we go. Its not too hot but hot enough. Everytime we've gone, its beautiful. 3 days is our usual. It is expensive, but since youve been before, you can relax and enjoy it leisure.

 

[3 Hobbits 2 Disney]

3 days are lovely - particularly if you can score an early PAT. It is a lovely time.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I agree, I think it sounds like a great plan.

 

[dad of 3 addicted to DCL]

We had to adjust our expectations. A 3 night is, in our opinion, a great long weekend break. Not the full deal of a 7+ day cruise, but a lot better than staying at home and doing chores!

 

[Calkinska]

We did this year on May 6th. The weather was perfect during the cruise. The only downfalls were it was love bug season so we weren't able to use our balcony or really be outside at all until mid day 2, the last night coming back to Florida was pretty rough and then it rained frequently while at WDW. With that being said, I have sailed in November and the last night coming back was rough then too. The cast members also cleared away the love bugs as quickly as they could, but it was a losing battle until we were far from Florida. Overall though it was fabulous!

 

[pixiedustedme]

Hello all, we've cruised twice, both times were a 4 night on the Dream in November. We just found out that my daughter will be dancing at Disney in April 2020. She'd be dancing monday or tuesday and we have to commit to stay from sunday to wednesday as part of the package. We noticed that there is a 3 night cruise that leaves that Friday (May 1st) so we were thinking about extending our park stay a bit and then wrapping up with the 3 night cruise. Would love to hear thoughts on the 3-night. Is it TOO short? Not worth it? Also, what about weather in the start of May? I've heard that's the beginning of the rainy season....what are the odds of a complete wash out? Or is it typically more of a "shower"? Any input would be great! Thanks!!

We've taken two 3-night cruises, one 5-night cruise, and two 7-night cruises, and not in that order. Our next scheduled cruise is a 3-night. The Caribbean holds little charm for us, and our primary interest in tropical cruises is to visit Castaway Cay to get away from it all. 3-night cruises are good vehicles for this.

The key to really enjoying a 3-night cruise is to accept it for what it is, a brief getaway. To really getaway, let go of vacation goals & lists of must-do's, and just do what you feel like doing in the moment on the cruise. If that's going to a show or an MDR, then go. If that's skipping shows & MDRs in order to spend evenings reclining on the pool deck or even just watching Disney programming on your stateroom TV, then do it. Don't worry about "wasting time": if you're allowing yourself to really relax and indulge yourself, then you are making the most of it and not wasting anything.

People who dislike 3-night cruises are often people who can't unwind themselves easily, and/or who feel the need to justify the price paid by racking up a list of activities participated in. That leads to the "there's not enough time" type of feelings you'll read about in some posts.

Another tip is to board early on embarkation day (without lugging around cumbersome bags that will keep you from enjoying the ship- leave that to DCL), and leave time for a leisurely breakfast on disembarkation morning (Cabanas is often ideal for this).

 

[dclpluto]

You said you have done two short 4 night cruises. So you should know the best for you on a 3 night cruise. A short cruise is better than no cruise.

 

[CamColt]

Is 3 nights too short? Yes! Is it worth doing? Yes! If you are there anyway and can make it work, why not enjoy 3 days on the ship. Sure more nights would be better but 3 are better than none.

I sailed in May once (4 night Bahamian) and we had perfect weather...sunny, warm, and not a drop of rain.

 

[WDWLODGE]

We did a 3-night on the Fantasy mid-May a couple years ago. We were a little hesitant as we had only done 7-night cruises before that. We had a blast and were so glad we did it. While 3 nights did go fast we had no regrets at all. It was a double dip cruise and we had perfect weather both days at Castaway.

 

[Clojel]

Thanks everybody.....I think I want to go for it...just need to convince the hubby I agree with what everyone has said about adjusting expectations. I'm trying to look at it as a nice, relaxing way to wrap up what will surely be a hectic week at the parks. Glad to hear that the weather is usually pleasant!

 

[ladyofthetramp]

Do it!