Tell me about taking a 3-4 day cruise after being used to a 7 day!

[savannah2117]

We've been on 5 different cruises that were each 7 days. (Princess, Carnival, NCL, Holland) We'll be on the Majesty for a 4 day cruise to Nassau. I've seen lots of negative reviews. Is the food and ship really inferior to the 7 day cruises? I know time will go fast, and to expect an older ship. Still, I'm hoping the service and quality of food would be similar to the 7 day cruises.

 

Any advice/tips? BTW, we are going cheap, inside for 4 days was $360--that includes all the taxes and port charges, I figured that was a very cheap get away to relax and enjoy a week away from work. We have a good attitude so I think it will be a great getaway, but those darn negative reviews always get to me. :o

[Friend100]

I doubt you will see significant difference in terms of quality of service or food. I'd expect it should be on par with Royal Caribbean standard. Having said that, depends on when exactly you will be going (spring break?), and whether it is a 3-day cruise over the Friday to Monday weekend, or a 4-day cruise from Monday to Friday, the passenger mix could be quite different from what you are used to on a typical 7-day itinerary. I think most 3-4 day Bahamas are similar regardless of cruise line ... with the exception of Disney probably.

[molly361]

We love 4 day cruises and also love the MJ and that's a great price. When are you cruising?

[Clarea]

We've been on 5 different cruises that were each 7 days. (Princess, Carnival, NCL, Holland) We'll be on the Majesty for a 4 day cruise to Nassau. I've seen lots of negative reviews. Is the food and ship really inferior to the 7 day cruises? I know time will go fast, and to expect an older ship. Still, I'm hoping the service and quality of food would be similar to the 7 day cruises.

 

Any advice/tips? BTW, we are going cheap, inside for 4 days was $360--that includes all the taxes and port charges, I figured that was a very cheap get away to relax and enjoy a week away from work. We have a good attitude so I think it will be a great getaway, but those darn negative reviews always get to me. :o

The biggest thing you will notice on Majesty is the small size of the staterooms. With regard to service, we've had excellent service on all our majesty cruises.

[island lady]

Agree, while little MJ may not have all the bells and whistles...and for me also a 7 day is preferred... I love the service on the little ship. It's like they go out of their way to make an impression to make up for the lack of wow.

 

She has a great crew! :D

[kalliekae]

A friend took a 4 day cruise on Vision recently and loved it. She had only been on the Oasis for a 7 day cruise so she was a little concerned about a smaller ship. She had a great time and would book Vision again. Any cruise is fun!

[Ourusualbeach]

Just did a 3 day after a lot of 7 day cruises....never again, say to short.

 

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[BillOh]

We've been on 5 different cruises that were each 7 days. (Princess, Carnival, NCL, Holland) We'll be on the Majesty for a 4 day cruise to Nassau. I've seen lots of negative reviews. Is the food and ship really inferior to the 7 day cruises? I know time will go fast, and to expect an older ship. Still, I'm hoping the service and quality of food would be similar to the 7 day cruises.

 

 

I've done Majesty 5 times each time right after a 7 day cruise on a bigger ship. I haven't read your replies yet, but IMO its about managing expectations and planning on having a good time. Its always good to get away somewhere warm and away from work! I've enjoyed the dining and food on Majesty each time. The shops get old and we just go with the flow.

[silentbob007]

It's hard when you get the "Preparing to Depart" flyer so soon after you board.

[Little Buddy's Mom]

It's hard when you get the "Preparing to Depart" flyer so soon after you board.

 

I agree. It seemed like we had just got on, when we were preparing to get off. We dec'd never again would we take less than 7 days. Really prefer 10 days or longer.:p

[cruiseguy1016]

Don't take the 3 day trip, take the 4 day. There is a noticeable difference between the two. The 3 day cruise is over the weekend. The weekend cruise has a party atmosphere, people are trying to get away for the weekend and the party tends to be a little rowdy. The 4 day cruise is during the week and is a much more subdued crowd. The crew on Majesty, some will argue, is the best in RCI's fleet. The ship doesn't have as much to offer as the bigger ships but the personality of the crew makes up for it.

[FOXTROT]

You will do just fine. The biggest difference, you will just be getting the hang of things & it's time to get off.

[Scotty G]

Agree, while little MJ may not have all the bells and whistles...and for me also a 7 day is preferred... I love the service on the little ship. It's like they go out of their way to make an impression to make up for the lack of wow.

 

She has a great crew! :D

Our solution to the 3/4 problem is to do a B2B in the same cabin. Looking forward to our first cruise after her drydock in a few days :) MJ's crew is fantastic!

[island lady]

Our solution to the 3/4 problem is to do a B2B in the same cabin. Looking forward to our first cruise after her drydock in a few days :) MJ's crew is fantastic!

 

Hi Ian!! :D

 

Yes, love the crew on MJ! :D

 

Will also be nice to see EN coming back, though only for a short stint (miss her bunches) and looking forward to seeing Mariner again. Mariner was our very first RCI cruise. :)

 

Booked on both already. :D

[savannah2117]

Thanks so much for that positive feedback. We are doing the Monday through Friday am cruise. I certainly don't need to have more bells and whistles, sometimes that almost get exhausting to try and experience it all. I feel so much better about looking forward to this cruise. I'm looking forward to giving a review when we get back. (going 4/23-4/27)

[island lady]

Thanks so much for that positive feedback. We are doing the Monday through Friday am cruise. I certainly don't need to have more bells and whistles, sometimes that almost get exhausting to try and experience it all. I feel so much better about looking forward to this cruise. I'm looking forward to giving a review when we get back. (going 4/23-4/27)

 

I know you will have a good time, and an enjoyable cruise. :D

[JTBCruiser]

I know to say never say never but at this moment, never again. For us we have to fly to the port so if I'm going to spend that kind of money then it is a 7 day minimum or longer. Just got off a 9 day it it felt so good at day 7 knowing we didn't have to disembark, we had 2 more days of fun in the sun. If we lived closer to a port to drive and got a great deal then I'd probably say yes.

[Rogueperson]

I will have to mirror people saying 3 - 4 days is too short if you're used to 7. Cruising is a mindset. Its hard to change into your cruise mindset and then back out in a short period. You don't have time to build a rapport with your cabin steward, wait staff and even other passengers. You're in and you're out literally.

 

If you live in FL where there are plenty of options of 3 and 4 night cruises great, but for people who live elsewhere, its not really a good option. 5 night cruises are available from Baltimore, but they are generally fairly expensive and require taking 4 days off to enjoy 5, which defeats the 5 days when you can do 7 or even 9 by taking a day or more off.

[sdear]

I say any cruise is better than " no cruise". We live in Florida so it's easy for us to get away, although we have slacked the last several years in the cruise department.

 

I am so looking forward to 3 days on a ship :D

[LeeW]

Four days is too short so our solution was to book a 10 day on another line when the 4 day returns to port. If we lived near the port we would likely take more short cruises.

[PCWalton1]

I would love the opportunity to take the shorter cruises but we just live too far away.

[bobmacliberty]

Minor thing...recently sailed a 5 day on Serenade. No lobster on formal night. :( The said that they don't serve lobster on shorter than 7 day cruises.

[pasodancer]

For me - any cruise is better than no cruise. Would rather be on a cruise ship on a long weekend than sitting at home wishing I was on a cruise ship. Yes, it may be short, but with your attitude it sounds like it will be memorable!

[Cincy2]

Minor thing...recently sailed a 5 day on Serenade. No lobster on formal night. :( The said that they don't serve lobster on shorter than 7 day cruises.

 

 

We had lobster on 5 night Independence in February. I guess we were lucky!

[LuCruise]

For us, we wanted to take a mini vacation end of summer before our kids return to school. We have 4 days and have choice between visiting a city for a land vacation or 4 days on a cruise ship. Either way we have to fly. So we are (most likely) selecting the cruise. There's so much to do with room , meals and entertainment. We know it will go super fast compared with a 7 day (which also goes super fast). But 4 (or 3.5 in reality) fun filled days. Can see the extra day of a 4 vs 3 making a difference, and I prefer we are going Mon-Fri to hopefully avoid the 'party' cruise.