Is there a "perfect" Royal Caribbean cruise length?

[ryano]

What, in your opinion, is the "perfect" length of cruise as far as nights go?

 

I have only been on two 5 night cruises and one 3 night cruise and even the 5 night cruises were too short, time flew by quickly, and I left sad and wanting much more.

 

My next cruise will definitely be a 7 nighter and will be on the Freedom. Due to work, I really cant take off any longer but is a 7 night cruise a little better?

 

Has anyone ever been on board long enough that you are ready to disembark and get home when the time comes?

 

Just looking for some input and opinions........I would love to do a 10+ nighter but my budget or work just will not allow.

 

TIA for any participation in this thread. I realize answers will vary greatly. I dont think I will ever go on a cruise shorter than 7 nights from now on though.:o

[Goes Cruising]

After a 14 day and a 12 day, my last 9 day cruise seemed short. I'm not sure how long it would take before I was ready to go back to reality!

[judie43]

We like 10 day. 7 is too short and we think 12 is a little too long. 10 days of eating drinking shopping and sightseeing is just right for us

[kleo30]

We are anxiously awaiting our first cruise. We jumped in whole hog; a 10 night in a grand suite. Just 260 more days....I can't wait!

[Clio1610]

We have done 2 x 7 nighters and 1 x 6 nighter...And none were long enough....we were definitely not ready to leave any of these ships......

 

So this Summer we are doing our 1st 14 nighter....Hmmmm we shall see - hoping this wont be too long for us !!!

[negc]

What, in your opinion, is the "perfect" length of cruise as far as nights go?

 

I have only been on two 5 night cruises and one 3 night cruise and even the 5 night cruises were too short, time flew by quickly, and I left sad and wanting much more.

 

My next cruise will definitely be a 7 nighter and will be on the Freedom. Due to work, I really cant take off any longer but is a 7 night cruise a little better?

 

Has anyone ever been on board long enough that you are ready to disembark and get home when the time comes?

 

Just looking for some input and opinions........I would love to do a 10+ nighter but my budget or work just will not allow.

 

TIA for any participation in this thread. I realize answers will vary greatly. I dont think I will ever go on a cruise shorter than 7 nights from now on though.:o

 

We're still trying to find out. ;) I had thought that 20 days ( a back to back 7 night cruise followed by a 13 night repositioning cruise on the same ship) would be the most we could handle, but on Day 20 I was still not ready to get off. Fortunately our kids and grandkids were joining us two days later and we were going on Liberty of the Seas for an additional 7 nights. If we find the ideal cruise length I will post my thoughts here, but so far, the longer seems to be the better.:D I will say that while I prefer longer cruises, there are times when a shorter cruise helps fill the void between longer ones.

[BillB48]

Have not been on any cruise that was too long! Been on a lot of cruises that were too short!! Enjoyed them all. The longest has been a 14 day along with a B2B 7 day, 21 days on the same ship:D:D. No, wasn't ready to get off.

[cupofgin]

I have doned a 12 nighter to Europe, and it was just enough, and will be doing it again later this year. :D

[orville99]

It's all good. Any day on a cruise is better than any day anywhere else:) We've done 3, 4, 5, 7, and 10-day cruises, and all were just the right length for the occasion. Probably the fact that we do 2-7's, 2-5's, and 1-3 a year helps. We have a 21-day transatlantic planned, but that won't happen until 2014

[cb at sea]

I think a 10 nighter is perfect...as long as there are at least 7 port days....hubby gets really antsy with too many sea days...he likes the ports. And, we've found the food gets a bit monotonous after that many days...seems like they start running out of ideas!

[Steamboatin]

Zero works for us on Royal Caribbean.

[JaxieWaxie]

I find that five days are too short for me, and have yet to find myself "ready" to get off after longer cruises.

 

I'd love to do 17+ nights to see if that still holds true, but available funds and time-off vacation days are sometimes at odds with that mission. :o

[Mark_K]

More than seven for sure. We've done 10 & 11 night ones and thought those were about right, haven't yet done a longer one to see if it seems about right too or seems too long.

[ZoeyVictoria]

Zero works for us on Royal Caribbean.

 

Maybe you should count the days spent reading about Royal Caribbean the same as being on Royal Caribbean. Then today would count as one day... how many others are there?

[bionicman97]

So far, on the seven nighters we have been on, I have thought that they were the perfect length. We've had plenty of time to unwind and by day seven I was usually was ready to return home. In April, we are taking a 10 night southern Caribbean, so I may change my mind (or confirm my original thoughts) :)

[webnut]

We have found the 9 nighters to be just right for our family. 7 nights are too short and although we've never been on a 12 nighter, we feel it would be just too long. Granted, we always travel with our two boys who are now 9 and 11, so we're pretty much ready after 9 nights...especially if we're sharing a cabin.

 

Now ask me again after we've cruised without the kids.......

 

Dorothy

[davewcur]

We are anxiously awaiting our first cruise. We jumped in whole hog; a 10 night in a grand suite. Just 260 more days....I can't wait!

 

And you pick a good ship for the first cruise, relax and enjoy. 10 nights about right for a cruise.

[kc320]

Right now for me...5-7 nights is just right...I have cat's & finding someone to take care of them for more than 8 nights is just hard to do...maybe when I retire & the "pack" has thinned down I can try a longer cruise...:p

[Creeks]

It not only varies person to person, it varies time to time;

sometimes 7 nights is not at all long enough, other times

I'm ready to leave. Most 14 nights were great, sometimes

I'm still not ready to leave, other times leaving was ok.

I've only been on one five nighter, and it was just a

quick getaway, fun for that, and ok to leave. I've

never been on a cruise shorter than five nights,

and don't think it would be very satisfying.

[awboater]

I like the longer cruises, 10 days + because you can get to ports not normally accessible from the shorter cruises, and there are usually a day or two at sea mixed in during the middle of the cruise.

 

This allows you some rest from the grind of the daily port visits.

 

A couple of days cruising at the beginning...

Two or three days of visiting ports...

A day or two cruising again...

Two or three days of visiting ports...

A couple of days cruising to return.

 

Seems like a more relaxed itinerary to me than 5 or 6 days of ports in a row.

[EastCoastAussie]

The lovely thing about most cruises out of Australia is 9 day is basically average. My family really enjoy cruising and the shortest they have been on is 7 night in the Med. From Sydney all have been 10+. My introduction cruise was 14 nights around NZ. In 49 days doing the first leg of the repositioning cruise for Rhapsody Syd- Hawaii (17nights) with only 5 port days. Am about to find out how many sea days I can handle. But I cannot imagin anything less than a week.

[kruzerci]

I don't feel comfortable leaving my business for more than 5 weekdays at a time, so 7-8 nights is really our max for the time being. You will feel a big difference in the 7 night from the 5 night, just as you did from the 3 to 5 night.

 

As far as general Caribbean cruises, I think the 7 nights are so much more relaxing because in a 4-5 night cruise, they try to pack a week of activities into a shorter amount of time. I doubt we will do another 4 night because just as I am starting to relax, it is time to get off. The 7 night is about right for us because it gives me a few days to unwind and then totally relax for a few days at the end. If time wasn't an issue, I think a 10 night would be perfect for me.

 

Having said that, the feeling of not wanting to get off the ship never goes away, if anything it just gets worse the longer the cruise because you are in a routine and have been in vacation-mode longer. PCD is definitely gets worse the longer the cruise ;)!

[ERTHDOG]

we feel 7 nights is a little too short , our 10 night to alaska seemed a bit too long , but that was on an older ,smaller ship with 5 sea days;)

 

with that said,we are doing 14 nights on allure , but with such a big ship,diverse eating options , varied entertainment ,etc. i guess we shall see:D:cool:

 

dave

[will773]

All of my cruises have been 7 nights, and I NEVER want to get of the ship! :(

[didicruiser]

I have done 7-8 night cruises and was not ready to go home. Have a 10 night cruise planned for April and can't wait!!