First time on four night sailing - not a fan

[chiguypaul]

This week I was on my 20th royal Caribbean sailing. Over the years most of my sailings have been on five, six, seven, or eight night sailings. I just completed a four night sailing. And I have to say I was not a fan of the four night experience. There’s barely enough time to make a connection with any of the staff. I feel like the sense of community with other passengers is limited because of the short duration. The type of passenger felt very different to me. And the passengers on board were very inexperienced. The staff told me there were 60% new cruisers.
 

I’m sure this experience and these comments could be had on any cruise line. No complaints about the Royal Caribbean experience. Just sharing my thoughts. 
 

That being said, I have a three night and a four night on the utopia coming up in September so interested to see how that compares to the ship I just had. Those were already booked prior to the four night  I talked about above. So be interesting comparing.  

[leaveitallbehind]

The shortest we ever did was a five night and it was a last minute getaway to Bermuda a number of years ago.  While a very nice cruise it was too short for our liking, but it served its' purpose at the time.  Our cruising style has evolved considerably over the years and we cruise for our own experience and often with friends, so interaction with other passengers is not normally a factor, in particular with their level of cruising experience. The staff interaction was no different either in our experience. JMO.

Edited August 23 by leaveitallbehind

[PhillyFan33579]

8 minutes ago, chiguypaul said:

This week I was on my 20th royal Caribbean sailing. Over the years most of my sailings have been on five, six, seven, or eight night sailings. I just completed a four night sailing. And I have to say I was not a fan of the four night experience. There’s barely enough time to make a connection with any of the staff. I feel like the sense of community with other passengers is limited because of the short duration. The type of passenger felt very different to me. And the passengers on board were very inexperienced. The staff told me there were 60% new cruisers.
 

I’m sure this experience and these comments could be had on any cruise line. No complaints about the Royal Caribbean experience. Just sharing my thoughts. 
 

That being said, I have a three night and a four night on the utopia coming up in September so interested to see how that compares to the ship I just had. Those were already booked prior to the four night  I talked about above. So be interesting comparing.  

I hope you realize the reason RCI is using Utopia for short cruises is to attract new cruisers. Based on your post I don’t think you are going to enjoy being on Utopia too much. I  have five cruises booked on Utopia, but my first cruise on her is in one week. However, from talking to several friends who have already cruised on Utopia, there has been a lot of new cruisers on Utopia, with the exception of the inaugural cruise. 

[chiguypaul]

1 minute ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

I hope you realize the reason RCI is using Utopia for short cruises is to attract new cruisers. Based on your post I don’t think you are going to enjoy being on Utopia too much. I  have five cruises booked on Utopia, but my first cruise on her is in one week. However, from talking to several friends who have already cruised on Utopia, there has been a lot of new cruisers on Utopia, with the exception of the inaugural cruise. 

I agree with you with you in that I may not like it. We’ll see. I’m excited about being on a new ship and I’m excited to experience the Royal Caribbean party vibe. 

[bajathree]

I was on the 2nd 3 night revenue sailing on Utopia. I liked the ship and being a FL resident it served the purpose for a quick 3 night getaway. With that being said I did notice that it had a lot of first time cruisers and had a bit different feel compared to the usual 7 night sailings we are used to. There were also LOTS of casino comps on the sailing that made the casino not such a fun experience as it was constantly jammed packed full. We had a 3/4 night back to back booked on her for Dec and decided to change that to a full 7 night sailing on one of her sister Oasis class ships.

[PhillyFan33579]

32 minutes ago, bajathree said:

I was on the 2nd 3 night revenue sailing on Utopia. I liked the ship and being a FL resident it served the purpose for a quick 3 night getaway. With that being said I did notice that it had a lot of first time cruisers and had a bit different feel compared to the usual 7 night sailings we are used to. There were also LOTS of casino comps on the sailing that made the casino not such a fun experience as it was constantly jammed packed full. We had a 3/4 night back to back booked on her for Dec and decided to change that to a full 7 night sailing on one of her sister Oasis class ships.

I live in Florida and have done a lot of short cruises over the years, most of them when I was still working. What you experienced on Utopia is very similar to what I have experienced on short cruises on Allure, Freedom, Independence, Liberty, Navigator and Mariner. While I don’t agree that every short cruise is a booze cruise, I do agree that short cruises definitely have a different feel to them. Also like you mentioned, the casino tends to be very crowded on short cruises, especially the 3 day weekend cruises. I realize it is personal preference, but I would never do a 3/4 day B2B cruise instead of a 7 day cruise. I think you made a good move changing to a 7 day cruise. 

[ajtaylor29]

I don't love the short cruises either, but we do them as "filler" between our longer cruises so we don't get cruise withdrawal?!?! For us, we can drive to Galveston and hop on for a nice long weekend.....

 

[Another_Critic]

I've been on 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, and 16 night cruises.  The longer the better.  🙂

[leaveitallbehind]

1 minute ago, Another_Critic said:

I've been on 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, and 16 night cruises.  The longer the better.  🙂

So what happened to the 6 and 13 nighters?  LOL

[brillohead]

Even a 7-night seems too short for me... once I get on board, I don't ever want to get off the ship!

[Tree_skier]

I like the four day cruises.  Due to the nature of my work, I frequently will work seven consecutive days ending on Sunday night and then take time off and be off again until the following Friday, Saturday or Sunday.  The four day cruise slides perfectly into that.  Of course I like longer cruises than that, longer is always better.  However, if I can slide a four day in without messing up my work schedule a few times a year.  More cruises is just like longer cruises.  More is always better.

Edited August 23 by Tree_skier

[molly361]

I'm a big fan of the 4 day cruises.  It's long enough to let me get away, I live an hour from PC and after 4 days I'm ready to go back home and rest for a bit.  Then go again and again.  Just off the Utopia this morning and have several more booked.  I did form connections with the crew, most of them bartenders😇

[RFerrington]

I have no real objection to the shorty cruises as far as demographics (ages, partiers etc.) go.  My objection to the short cruises is that it seems like a lot of logistical mania (driving, parking, lugging luggage, boarding, unpacking, etc.) for such a short period of respite.  By the time you are unpacked it's time to repack and get off.  We moved to FL in 2020 so that we could take advantage of more frequent cruises, even if it meant taking shorties.  I am already spoiled and try to minimize the short cruises whenever I can but since so many of our cruises are casino comps and we are not high rollers, we end up on a lot of short and semi-short cruises.  I have learned to weave them together to form B2B and S2S and it is better with more of the shorties linked together than the stand-alone shorties.  We have a B2B 3+4 on Utopia coming up in Sept. and I'm looking forward to seeing the new ship.  I cannot imagine that Utopia will be a recurring thing with us but I will withhold judgement until after we try it.

[ONECRUISER]

2 hours ago, Another_Critic said:

I've been on 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, and 16 night cruises.  The longer the better.  🙂

Done all inc 6 and 13niter. Except for few 5niters as part of B6B on tail end of Panama Canal Cruise last yr haven't done anything shorter then 10-16n in 23yrs. Few Families, 10-25kids at most and has only about 80% Capacity compared to 120% on short 4-7n Cruises on newer Ships

[neverbeenhere]

I know we've got the 1, 2 and 13 night cruises covered.

[ARandomTraveler]

I started cruising in 2004, and never did a short cruise (shorter than 7 days) until this July. I never considered short cruises before because I assumed the vibe would be too rowdy and obnoxious, and I also thought it would feel too short, and not be worth the long and expensive flight to Florida. 
 

I was traveling close to Florida in July and had some extra time before I needed to go home, so I decided to book a last minute 3-night. I really enjoyed it. It felt more like a weekend getaway type of trip, much more relaxed because I didn't care about excursions or booking shows and didn't have to pack much. I just wanted to go to the beach and relax and go with the flow.
 

The ship (allure) had a lot of large groups on it (family reunions, church groups and corporate company groups), but none of them were rowdy or obnoxious. In fact, it left most of the usually-crowded areas of the ship pretty empty because those big groups were always having to get together for something or another somewhere else.
 

I had no trouble getting into shows with no reservation, and I had no trouble finding a lounger on deck 16 (above the pool deck), never had an issue finding a window seat in the windjammer, and there weren't that many kids (no more than usual, and definitely less than typical 7-day summer sailings). I thought it was fun and I enjoyed it.

 

In fact I'm taking another 4-night on the allure in September (I got it on super-sale), so I guess we'll see how it compares. I definitely prefer 7+ night cruises. I think my sweet spot is 12 nights. I'm taking a 7-night in December and a 13-night next October, and looking to fill in the gap with another 7-day and a couple 4-nighters that I haven't picked out yet.

[Cruise5life]

3-4 day cruises have always been pegged as booze cruises to me.     
never again would I do one.     7+ for me.  

[FamilyCruiserUK]

For me.it depends what kind of cruiser people are.

I for one couldnt do the same 3/4 night itineraries over and over. 

I couldnt visit the same hotel over and over. 

Hence why i prefer different itineraries or different ships. 

So for me and my family got to be 7 nights. 

However and this i feel is a huge BUT,  if the price and weather was better for UK short cruises i could possible go on lots of 3/4 nights so in hindsight if you are close to a port a 3/4 night (cheap) cruise might be worth it. 

 

[cruisegirl1]

OP – the only thing worse than a four night cruise is a three night cruise. I fear  you will be  disappointed on a four 4 night/3 night Utopia cruise. Three night is billed as the ultimate weekend party. 
m

[pcur]

I'm open to any cruise options, and the short ones depend on the situation. Next month is an example.

 

My sister and I are taking a 7 night cruise in September. After Celebrity so nicely offered to recognize reciprocal loyalty levels between them and RCCL, I found a Celebrity 4 night cruise for sis and I, THAT GOES TO KEY WEST!!!!!  My favorite place I can almost not cruise to to anymore. So, that 4 nighter is a true bonus cruise for us.

[crewsweeper]

If you book a 3 and and 4 day on the Utopia as B2B same cabin, you'll get a 7 day, abeit same ports.  Only so much of CocoCay and Nassau a person can take all at once.

[la_croisiere_s'amuse]

On 8/23/2024 at 9:46 AM, RFerrington said:

My objection to the short cruises is that it seems like a lot of logistical mania (driving, parking, lugging luggage, boarding, unpacking, etc.) for such a short period of respite.  By the time you are unpacked it's time to repack and get off.  

 

This is why I no longer do them. Well, that and I've never lived within driving distance of a port, so there's a flight thrown into the mix! 

I started cruising as a stay-at-home parent to teenage kids, so I had time to handle all the travel arrangements, laundry and packing, etc.  But now, with my 50-hour work weeks ... no thank you. 😉 

 

I won't be able to do cruises longer than seven or eight nights until I retire, but anything less than six is just not worth it to me. For others who have more time, energy and patience ... more power to you! 🙂 

[nelblu]

I’m on Utopia now with a back to back 3/4 nights.  First time doing a short sail. Maybe it’s because I’ve been sailing from Bayonne, but IMO it’s a different crowd of passengers. 
By the way, the layout is much micer snd sleek from the other Oasis classes (ex Wonder and Icon.) 

One  of the aspects that I reslly liked is the layout of the WJ.  Also, doors from the Casino only open when 

an individual enters/exits. 
 

By the way, on embarkation day, the WJ had all sorts of seafood available with lots of lobsters tails, clams and mussels.  The half split lobster tail was way bigger than the normal one served in the MDR. 🤣🤣

 

[dappledumpling]

I really enjoy the 4 nighters have been twice this year on allure and have 4 booked on Utopia for the fall.. I live 2 hours from canaveral and work fri, sat and sun.  So I walk off ship at 7am and am usually done and ready for work by 10am.. Its like running to the beach for a coupe of days..  I also have back to back 5 nighters since it works well with schedule.

 

Love the options and I will sail any length cruise... A day on the water always beats a day at work

[jk04]

1 hour ago, nelblu said:

By the way, on embarkation day, the WJ had all sorts of seafood available with lots of lobsters tails, clams and mussels.  The half split lobster tail was way bigger than the normal one served in the MDR. 🤣🤣

I wonder how long that will last.  We cruise mid-September on Utopia and DH saw some of the spreads from the inaugural cruises.  I cautioned him that type of food offerings would probably be over pretty quick and back to the usual fare.  He would be thrilled if he could get the nice seafood. 😁