Why You Need More than 3 Nights on a Disney Cruise

“All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.” -J.R.R. Tolkien

Last year I surprised my husband and booked a 7-night Disney cruise to Alaska, which was absolutely breathtaking! If you never read about our experience on that trip, check out THIS POST. This year we had the honor of being a part of the Disney Social Media Mom Celebration where we got to spend 3 nights at Disney World and then board the Disney Dream for a 3-night cruise. This cruise took 2 stops; one in Nassau and the other at Disney’s private island called Castaway Cay. After experiencing a 9, 7 and 3 night cruise, I am here to tell you why you need more than 3 nights on a Disney Cruise.

By the way: I purchased my ticket for the Mom Celebration, but it was heavily discounted, as always all opinion are my own!

Once on board the Disney Cruise Line there is an endless amount of things to do! In general, each ship has so much to offer without ever leaving. There are the obvious things like the awesome…

• pool areas
• characters
• scheduled activities
• fabulous shows/entertainment
• kids clubs and much more.

Then there are the less obvious like…

• scavenger hunts
• gym/spa
• food/wine tastings
• special adult only restaurants, the list goes on…

When you only have 3 nights, there is simply not enough time to see it all. Here are a few more details about those activities…

• The Disney Dream has the exhilarating AquaDuck that takes you over the edge of the entire ship on a see-through slide. Our son loved this slide and to be honest, I may have loved it even more. It is pretty darn cool (you had to be 42″ to ride). There is also a medium sized slide called Mickey’s Slide for kids ages 4-14 (and for heights of 38″-64″) and another small slide in the Nemo’s Reef section for the really little tikes.

• There is the cutest sweet shop themed to Wreck it Ralph, called Venellope’s Sweets and Treats, which we all fell in love with. You can order special ice-cream sundaes and basically any kind of treat you could ever dream of.

• Another reason you need more than 3 nights on board the Disney Dream is that in addition to all the wonderful family restaurants, it also has TWO adult only restaurants; Palo and Remy. There are additional charges for these restaurants, but it is worth the special evening. We ate at Palo during our Alaskan cruise and it was lovely meal. Our problem this time is that we didn’t want to miss any of the shows, or evening deck parties, so we ended up canceling our Remy dining reservation to go see Beauty and the Beast. You could book a brunch and not have to worry about missing any evening entertainment, but book this early since brunch is in high demand. Make sure to check the dress code; no flip flops or pool clothes. And for Remy, men need a jacket.

Also, don’t forget to bring your dress up gear for the themed nights, it’s super fun to dress the part!;) There is usually a pirate night for all tropical cruises, for our Alaskan cruise there was a Frozen night.

• You can’t miss the Beauty and the Beast show!! This show had me laughing, crying and dancing in my seat. The quality of costumes, sets and talent left me feeling like I had just left a Broadway theater. It is everything I had hoped for and more! I would go back just for this show, it was simply beautiful!!

(Steven Diaz, photographer)

(Steven Diaz, photographer)

• There are so many special spots to stop and have fun. Our kids loved the Goofy’s Sports Deck. There was a mini-golf area, which our son could have played all day. It was on the top deck, so you had a gorgeous view while getting some fresh sea air. They also had a basketball court and a virtual sports area where you could pretend to play a variety of different games.

• Aside from ship life, you also need more time to do Port Adventures! There are so many amazing things to see on board the ship that you won’t want to leave, BUT there are so many cool things to do in port you will feel left out if you don’t get off the ship for a bit. Sometimes if there is a city you research and don’t mind missing it can be a great day to stay on board and things will be less crowded. Otherwise I do suggest getting off at port and doing a little exploring.

We decided to stay on board in Nassau, but after seeing some pictures of friends exploring the town and even going to Atlantis for the day I would say this is a toss up. Which is another reason you need more than 3 nights sailing to the Bahamas.

You HAVE to get off the boat in Castaway Cay, there is so much to do! There are…

• beautiful beaches
• bike riding
• tube floating
• water slides
• snorkling
• splash pads
• amazing island only food
• jet skiing, the list goes on.

• Or you could take the kids to the special kids club on the island and visit the adult only area to just relax in the beach chairs.

• There is a BBQ lunch provided on the island and lots of fun beach bars with fruity tropical drinks. Many characters were on Castaway Cay wearing their special island outfits, so getting pictures with them is a must do.

• I also had to make a pit-stop at the gift shop because there were things sold exclusively on Castaway Cay that I couldn’t get anywhere else.

One last reason why you need more than 3 nights on a Disney Cruise Line when you have kids; as soon as you unpack you are packing again. Let’s face it, the days of traveling light are over once you have little ones. You have all this luggage and paraphernalia, you need time to get settled in your room, but who wants to be unpacking when you could be poolside? When you only have 3 nights, the first day you unpack, you have one free night, then the next night you have to pack it all up again. I promise this will make you cry a little.

So, after all this info, what do you think? Will you put sailing to Castaway Cay on your bucket list? And will you take my advice to spend more than 3 nights?;)

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