Back to Back ?

[msmama]

Eyeing cruises and hoping for discounts (unlikely) but wondering - if you were going to do a back to back on the Dream - would you do the four day or three day first? Why?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Eyeing cruises and hoping for discounts (unlikely) but wondering - if you were going to do a back to back on the Dream - would you do the four day or three day first? Why?

Personally, I wouldn't do a 3/4 B2B, but go for a 7 night single cruise. Biggest reason - repeated menus/shows in a short time. On a 7 night cruise, there's a new menu every night and different shows every night. And the turnaround day is (again, IMO) a waste - you still have to get up at 0-dark thirty, and get off the ship to reboard later.

The "vibe" on the short cruises is different, also. 3 & 4 night cruises everyone is rushing/pushy to "do everything". On a 7 night, things are a little more laid back.

 

[Justacruiser]

concur with PrincessShmoo, instead maybe do a 7-Night or combine and 4-Night and 7-Night with a day or two break in-between. What I call a non-traditional B2B!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

concur with PrincessShmoo, instead maybe do a 7-Night or combine and 4-Night and 7-Night with a day or two break in-between. What I call a non-traditional B2B!

We did a 4 night Dream cruise (I know, I know, I said I don't like short cruises, but I wanted to do the Grand Slam) followed by a B2B East/West combo on the Fantasy. Had 2 days in WDW between the Dream & Fantasy. Made the whole thing feel like a longer cruise.

 

[CamColt]

We have done this twice, once on the Wonder and once on the Dream. Both times we did the 4 night first, mainly because it started on a Sunday. This summer we are doing a 3 night then 4 night on the Dream, with the main reason being it starts/ends on a Friday and that works better with our schedule.

 

[shoes99]

We did two five night back to back out of Miami last year. It was fun. I didn't mind
the duplicate menus and shows. We stayed in Miami 2 nights pre-cruise so we were
away from home 13 days.

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

Eyeing cruises and hoping for discounts (unlikely) but wondering - if you were going to do a back to back on the Dream - would you do the four day or three day first? Why?

We did an 8 night and 6 night B2B on the Carnival Vista this past summer and they felt totally different. The 6 night was definitely a more hurried, have a good time crowd and the 8 night was more of a relaxed and unwind crowd. With that in mind, I'd do the 3 night first. However, I do have to agree with @PrincessShmoo, that I'd do a 7 night if that's an option.

 

[tigerchic89]

We did a 4/3 last year. I don't think it mattered which one was 1st, they both felt very similar. I much prefer the 7 night, the only reason I'd book another 4/3 (or 3/4) would be if the price was super cheap compared to the 7night

 

[kiford]

We actually quite enjoyed our 3/4 day B2B. We liked that there were repeat menus and shows so that we didn't feel like we had to go to a show every night. There was an opportunity to both order the same thing I previously enjoyed at dinner (pasta pursiettes!) or try something different so I didn't have to choose between two things.

We also only got off at Nassau once (for a 3-course gourmet lunch at Greycliffs) and once at CC to do activities (the second stop we just got lunch at Serenity Bay and then spent the afternoon on the AquaDuck). It was intended to be a very relaxing cruise so the ports were pretty irrelevant for us.

We did 3 days first but that was strictly due to schedule convenience, not any particular preference of 3/4 or 4/3 day order.

 

[Meriweather]

I really want to do a back to back......but 7 day ones. We'll see when/if that happens

 

[Shanti]

Eyeing cruises and hoping for discounts (unlikely) but wondering - if you were going to do a back to back on the Dream - would you do the four day or three day first? Why?

I would do the 3-night first, get most of our must-dos out of the way, and then kick back and relax on the 4-night. I would much prefer a 3/4 night B2B that stops twice at Castaway Cay over a 7-night cruise that only stops there once. We've sailed a 7-night and weren't impressed with what the Caribbean islands had to offer. But Castaway Cay is a gem. We also have sailed a 3-night and didn't find it to be any more "rushed" feeling that the 7-night. It was just shorter than the 7-night, that's all.

 

[n2mm]

I would do the 3-night first, get most of our must-dos out of the way, and then kick back and relax on the 4-night. I would much prefer a 3/4 night B2B that stops twice at Castaway Cay over a 7-night cruise that only stops there once. We've sailed a 7-night and weren't impressed with what the Caribbean islands had to offer. But Castaway Cay is a gem. We also have sailed a 3-night and didn't find it to be any more "rushed" feeling that the 7-night. It was just shorter than the 7-night, that's all.

We’ve done this a few times too. I find it relaxing. Though I like the 7 nights too. But choosing 2 days at castaway cay it high on my list. This feb we are doing the 3/7 on the Wonder, so that will be the best of both worlds. Seems the Wonder is coming in from San Juan, doing a 3 night before it starts a few 7 nights. Same cabin on both and 2 castaway cay days, but different itineraries.

 

[Stitch'sCousin]

We have done two B2B's on the Dream - the first one in 2011 was 4N/3N, and the one this summer was 3N/4N. We really enjoyed both of the B2B's. We actually found them to be more relaxing than our Eastern and Westerns as we did a lot of excursions on the 7N cruises, while we enjoyed the ship more on the B2B's. One thing we liked better about the 3N/4N this summer was that the last day on the Dream was a sea day so it didn't feel as rushed as we packed up our stuff. If you do the 3N last, you will spend your last full day at Castaway Cay and once you re-board this ship you have to pack up to get ready to leave the next morning. If possible, try to get the same cabin for both cruises so you don't have to pack and switch after the first leg.