Experience with 3-night/4-night back-to-back?

[ChuckElias]

@ScoutN made this comment in another thread and I wanted to ask about it, but I didn't want to derail that thread, so I'm moving the comment here.

It's all good. Having done the Dream 3-4 B2B I get how it can be confusing.

My wife and I are doing our first 3-4 B2B on the Dream in April. I would just like feedback from those of you who have done it about what you liked or disliked about it compared with a typical 7-night Caribbean itinerary.

Thanks for any thoughts.

 

[ScoutN]

We did a 4-night followed by a three-night last year. It was a good experience and actually ended up cheaper than a 4-night CC double dip would have been. The process is extremely simple, you are off the ship for no more than an hour to hour and a half. When you get back on, Cove Lounge is open, as well as Vista Cafe. We changed staterooms and they handled the moving of all the luggage we had. We were in our staterooms much earlier than the rest of the guests, also. The one thing that really struck us was the difference in the crowd. The 3-night cruise was SLAM PACKED with guests whereas the 4-night was a good balance. The 3-night crowd, right after a 4-night, was also more high strung and GOGOGO (WDW Style).

 

[ChuckElias]

We changed staterooms and they handled the moving of all the luggage we had. We were in our staterooms much earlier than the rest of the guests, also.

We have the same stateroom, so I don't think we'll have to pack up. I was really happy about that.

The one thing that really struck us was the difference in the crowd. The 3-night cruise was SLAM PACKED with guests whereas the 4-night was a good balance. The 3-night crowd, right after a 4-night, was also more high strung and GOGOGO (WDW Style).

Ok, that's really interesting! We also are doing the 4 night first. I wonder if we'll notice the same difference. If you were to do it again, would you do the 3-night first?

 

[ChuckElias]

Also, was it a drawback that you had the same menus for both parts of the cruise?

 

[ScoutN]

Ok, that's really interesting! We also are doing the 4 night first. I wonder if we'll notice the same difference. If you were to do it again, would you do the 3-night first?

In a heartbeat. My recommendation would be to do stuff like Aquaduck, Mid-ship (if you like that), alcohol classes, etc on the 4-night. Use the 3-night to purely relax or utilize the spa. We skipped the shows since we had just seen them days earlier and enjoyed everyone being tied up with dinner or the shows. Funnily enough, Serenity Bay was not anymore populated on the second one than the first.

Also, was it a drawback that you had the same menus for both parts of the cruise?

For us it wasn't due to how many dishes we like on the menus. I would just get something different than the first time around. Oddly, it helped with the "it all looks so good I want to try it all" feeling and overeating.

 

[NelleBelle]

Funnily enough, Serenity Bay was not anymore populated on the second one than the first.

Maybe because there are so many families that family beach I and II are inundated!
I think this would be the only way I would ever be able to do a cruise on the Dream (unless DCL starts doing longer itineraries...hoping with the newer ships coming). But I'm just not very jazzed about going to the Bahamas. I guess this would be a cruise to be "on the ship"--would definitely help us get to the next level!!

Did you find the ship as crowded as you did on the Fantasy?

 

[Love Mickey 18B]

We did this last March. We enjoyed it. Had a lot of pool time. We also did 2 Palos. Saw the shows we wanted, skipped the ones we did not want to see or see again.

One note, you are suppose to receive an orange card from your room steward to "let you back onto the ship" We did not receive one but got it when we checked back in. We were off the ship for about 1 hour.

 

[CJR]

I know a few people who have done this. It was actually quite fun for them as some of the crew noticed them on the second sailing. It also allows you to see all the different shows at a slower pace, without feeling rushed each night.

It's also kind of funny because if you book at the right time, you can sometimes get two back to back cruises for a lower price than the single cruises with two stops at Castaway Cay (which is probably the real point to any Dream cruise).