3 Day Disney Cruise Review (Is it worth it?)

Mickey ears on cruise ship

Are you considering booking a Disney Cruise vacation with a 3-day itinerary? Maybe you’re afraid 3-night cruises are too short.

Is a 3-day Disney cruise even worth it? Some experienced Disney cruisers will tell you that they would never cruise for less than 7 days and that a longer cruise is always the way to go. That may be true for some, but not everyone has the budget for an extensive Disney cruise vacation.

Maybe you aren’t able to take off work for a long enough period of time to enjoy a week-long cruise. Or perhaps you are worried a cruise isn’t the right type of vacation for your family, and you don’t want to commit to a long itinerary. Regardless of your reasoning for choosing a 3 day Disney cruise, it’s important to note that you will still receive the same amazing service, experience, and activities as those families sailing on Disney Cruise Line’s longer itineraries.

The post below will review my family’s time on a 3 day Disney cruise so that you can see all the reasons why we think a 3-night cruise is totally worth it! We’ll compare prices for short cruises vs long itineraries, and we will discuss the family-friendly entertainment that you’ll enjoy while cruising with Disney.

Disney 3 Day Cruise Price

Let’s be honest, a trip with Disney Cruise Line isn’t the cheapest way to travel. But like many things in travel, you get what you pay for. And the quality Disney provides makes up for the cost. If you are looking for a budget friendly way to sail on Disney cruise ships, the three-day cruises are typically cheaper than those with longer itineraries.

You can really trim down the extra costs by traveling on one of these shorter itineraries, especially if your sail dates aren’t during peak season. For example, my family’s 3-night Disney cruise on the Disney Fantasy was much more budget friendly than the longer cruises we have taken with Disney and other cruise lines.

Disney cruise ship, water slide, and toddler on beach with text overlay "Is a 3 Night Disney Cruise worth it?"

When you calculate excursions, tips, and items you buy onboard, this statement becomes even more accurate. There are several factors that go into the total price of a Disney cruise. Once you are aware of all the costs, you can possibly tweak your budget to save in some areas while maybe even splurging in others!

So, how much does a 3 day Disney cruise cost? In addition to the price you pay for booking your Disney Cruise stateroom, you will want to budget for some additional costs. We will cover these in more detail below, so you can better determine how much a 3 day Disney cruise vacation will cost you.

Port Adventures

Port Adventures (also known as shore excursions) are those activities that you experience while you’re off the ship and while visiting ports of call. Many of Disney Cruise Line’s 3 day cruises are Bahamian cruises that visit Nassau and Castaway Cay. So, your port adventures would include the experiences you booked for those port stops.

For example, if you chose to book tickets to the Atlantis resort in the Bahamas, you would include this activity in your budget for port adventures. The total cost of a Disney cruise can largely depend on the shore excursions you book. If you’re looking to save money, Castaway Cay is a great place to stop on your Disney cruise.

Castaway Cay beach
Castaway Cay in the Bahamas

Since Castaway Cay is Disney’s private island in the Bahamas, you can enjoy the beaches and many activities at no additional charge to your cruise fare. In fact, this is how my family and I saved on one of our 3-night Disney cruises. We booked a 3 day cruise that was classified as a double dip to Castaway Cay. This means we visited the private island twice on our cruise!

Since we chose to spend our two days on Castaway Cay just hanging out at the beach, this port didn’t cost us any additional money. Even if you aren’t able to find a double dip cruise, a 3 day Disney cruise only has time to visit a couple of ports. Therefore, you shouldn’t need to budget a ton of more money to pay for excursions on the islands you are visiting.

Gratuities

Another additional cost you will want to consider when budgeting for your 3 night Disney cruise is gratuities. Guests vacationing with DCL are charged $14.50 a day per person for gratuities. So, if you are traveling as a family of four, you would spend $58 per day on gratuities alone. This means that the total amount of gratuities at the end of a 3 night cruise would be $174 for a family of four.

Disney Fantasy cruise ship

When you compare this to the gratuity amount after a 7-night cruise, you can really see how much money you save on shorter itineraries. The gratuities for a family of four on a seven-night cruise totals $406, which is quite a bit more than the Disney 3-day cruise tip amount. As you can see, if you extend your cruise length, that tip money can add up quickly!

Additional Purchases

The more days and nights you spend on the Disney ship, the more you may feel enticed to make additional purchases. For example, when my family and I travel with Disney Cruise Line, we often spend extra money on things like popcorn for the live shows, adult beverages, and keepsakes from the gift shops.

Port Canaveral Disney Cruise Line terminal
Port Canaveral Disney Cruise Terminal

These little items can add up, but the final bill for them typically isn’t that extravagant after only 3 days. On the contrary, if you make these little purchases each day for seven days, your final bill may end up coming with a bit of sticker shock.

Planner

If you’re someone who likes to plan and stay organized with your vacations, you’ll love this printable Disney cruise planner I created. While planning my family’s last cruise, I designed graphic organizers and spreadsheets for each step of the planning process.

↓↓ Visit My Etsy Shop ↓↓

Disney Cruise Planner

Originally, I created this printable cruise planner for my own personal use. However, I ended up making it “pretty” and deciding to share it with my readers. The 30+ page cruise planner includes organized sheets for the following:

  • hotel, flight, and transportation price comparisons
  • list of essentials for packing plus blank packing list
  • trip budget including many of the items discussed above
  • fish extender planner
  • planning timeline so you know what to do when

This planner also includes my daily itinerary complete with outfit planners. This REALLY helps in the packing process!

3 Day Cruise (but 4 Night Vacation)

As we discuss whether or not a 3 day Disney cruise is worth it, it’s important to point out that your vacation will (more than likely) be longer than three nights. If you are flying into the port for your cruise, I HIGHLY recommend getting there at least the day before embarkation day. Even if your travel party ends up making it to the ship, you will want to know your luggage has plenty of time to get there as well.

Flying into your departure port (at least) a day early allows for delayed flights, lost luggage, etc. This extra time allowance also extends your three-night cruise into a 4-night vacation! Similarly, you can extend your cruise vacation by adding an extra day to the end of your cruise.

Sometimes flight times and prices don’t work out to fly home immediately after you leave the ship. Instead, you may consider booking a hotel room for the day you disembark the cruise ship. This way you have more flexibility with flight times on the following day. This is an especially appealing idea if your Disney cruise sails out of Port Canaveral, Florida.

Since Port Canaveral is less than an hour’s drive to Walt Disney World, you could get off the cruise ship and arrive at a Disney resort by late morning. It is much easier to say goodbye to your Disney cruise vacation when you know you have Disney World to look forward to!

3 Day Disney Cruise Activities

One of the reasons many families are nervous to book a 3 day cruise is that they are afraid they won’t have time to enjoy the Disney ship. From personal experience, I have to share that even though a 3-night Disney cruise is a shorter itinerary, you will still have plenty of time to experience the activities available on board. Now, don’t get me wrong. You definitely won’t get to see and do all the things that are offered on your cruise.

BUT cruisers say that very same thing about 7-night cruises! No matter how long you choose to sail, you will always feel like you missed some sort of activity or entertainment option. However, you spend so much time enjoying the activities you do get to experience that those options you missed really don’t matter in the end.

Oceaneer Club on the Disney Magic
Oceaneer Club on the Disney Magic

Our advice when planning a 3 day cruise is to go in super prepared. I like to look at personal navigators from prior cruises to see which activities are offered on a 3 day itinerary. From there, you can decide which activities are the most important to your family. More than likely, you won’t have a problem making time for each one.

As an example of what your schedule may look like and how much time you need for activities, I’m going to share my family’s first few hours onboard the ship for our 3-night cruise to the Bahamas. Once we embarked on the first day at around 11:30, we had time to complete all of the following activities before we even set sail:

  • meet Disney characters
  • buffet lunch at Cabanas
  • swim in ship pools
  • unpack and organize stateroom
  • visit guest services to request a stroller
  • order snacks from room service

Additionally, I want to include that Disney 3 day cruises feature the same magical experiences as longer cruises, including Pirate Night, Broadway style shows, character meet and greets, fireworks, swimming pools, and more!

Ways to Save Money

As mentioned above, many of the 3 day cruise itineraries visit the Bahamas. This means that you more than likely would be making a stop at Castaway Cay during your cruise. Being able to experience this beautiful private island in the Bahamas is reason enough to book a Disney cruise.

Castaway Cay Beach
Castaway Cay

Since guests do not have to pay an additional fee to use the beaches and many of the activities on Castaway Cay, this island is the perfect port of call for budget conscious travelers. The buffet lunch on Castaway Cay is even included in your cruise fare!

If you’re looking for an additional way to save money on a Disney Cruise Line vacation, you can book a future cruise onboard for a discount. This way your next Disney cruise vacation can be a longer, pricier one with possibly a less expensive price tag. Disney Cruise Line offers 10% off the price of your next cruise if booked onboard, which can add up to a significant discount.

Concierge Stateroom Disney Magic

I like to scope out the upcoming cruise itineraries before sailing so I have an idea of what I would like to book once onboard. If you decide not to take the cruise you booked onboard, you can cancel it and get a refund on your deposit as long as you are inside the cancellation window. So, it’s really a win-win situation!

There are a few restrictions on this deal, including that you must sail within 24 months of the onboard booking. If you aren’t sure which cruise to book on board, you can purchase a “placeholder” for $250. This holds the onboard booking deal until you choose the cruise to apply it to.

Also, you may receive a discount on TWO staterooms as long as you put down a deposit on each. (These two staterooms must be booked on the same future cruise.) So, you can entice your family or friends to join you the next time around, and everyone can save money!

Final Review of 3 Day Disney Cruise

We hope you can tell just how much we love sailing with Disney Cruise Line. The cost and time commitments associated with longer cruises aren’t always feasible for every family. So, if you have been holding back booking a Disney 3 day cruise because you weren’t sure if it was worth it, we totally think it is!

Although we prefer a 5 night cruise or longer, my family and I would never hesitate to take a 3-night cruise with DCL. No matter which of the Disney ships you choose to book (Disney Wish, Disney Magic, Disney Wonder, Disney Magic, or Disney Fantasy), you will truly have the time of your lives!

After your trip, come back and give us your feedback! Do you think a 3 day Disney cruise is worth it or not? Comment below to share with us!

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2 Comments

  1. Hey, great read. I’m looking at the 2 or 3 night cruise from Sydney or Melbourne. On the 2 night cruise would it be worth it?

    Thanks

    1. Hi Chris,

      I’m so glad you enjoyed the article. A Disney cruise out of Australia sounds like an amazing experience! Personally, I think a 2 night cruise would be worth it for the same reasons mentioned above. Even though it’s not a long trip, you still get to enjoy the pools, shows, dining, and activities. Once onboard, you can book a second cruise for a discount and try a longer one then!

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