A What???

I know you’ve heard of it! Taking a short cruise scheduled Friday to Monday that only visits one port. The ship then does a slightly longer Monday to Friday cruise the rest of the week. Repeat.

So, for example, the Carnival Radiance spends its week doing two shorter cruises—one three- and one four-nighter. It does this route year-round, so in 52 weeks it takes 104 cruises from the Port at Long Beach, CA. Cruise lines usually use their smaller, older ships for these quick cruises. These older ships might not have all of the amenities available on longer voyages, but they will have multiple restaurants, bars, a water park and other activities for you. Another benefit of these ships is that they are smaller than the current trend on building “mega ships” so you won’t have trouble getting around.

These cruises are perfect for a long weekend trip, and are very popular with people who live closer to the cruise embarkation point. They also aren’t centered on “Booze”. They are, very simply, a lovely weekend trip for people to take to get out of their state and enjoy some rest and relaxation.

From Where?

Every so often, you can get a “quickie” type of cruise from an unexpected port. I once took a two-night cruise to nowhere from San Diego that was awesome. Year-round, however, these short cruises are primarily going out of Los Angeles and ports in Florida. When you’re taking a short cruise (or any, really) Florida is generally considered “cruise central” and has more than four major cruise hubs that are serviced by a large number of cruise brands. 

To Where?

Year-round, these cruises are only three nights, so they can’t go very far. 

From Los Angeles, the port everyone visits is Ensenada, Mexico. A nice beachside town with a really fantastic malecon—pier shopping area—right off the ship, it is a great stop. There isn’t really much outside of the pier area, in my opinion, but you can easily spend a few hours shopping and having some amazing authentic Mexican food right off the ship. Last February, we did whale watching from Ensenada that was spectacular (and much cheaper than Alaska!!)

From Florida, most of these short cruises stop in Nassau, in the Bahamas. A great beach day can be had not far from the port area, plus you can do a little shopping. It’s a wonderful way to have a mini-beach vacation slipped into your weekend cruise. 

Who Should I Bring?

I’ve done a bunch of these short cruises, and highly recommend them. 

But…it’s all about your cruisemates!

While Sweet Husband and I love a cruise of any length, and our first cruise was one of these, we much prefer longer cruises at this point. We haven’t done shorter than five nights in years, but I certainly wouldn’t say no if this was our only option! 

Soooo….girlfriends….that’s the way to go! We’re scheduled for yet another girl’s weekend in February and I can’t wait! It’s short enough that everyone can take the time away from their families, and exotic enough to make it super fun and exciting. With Monday off school, we just need to take off Friday and we are set! 

If you are anxious about this type of vacation, just stick to you and your spouse or Bestie Boo. Don’t add to the stress of having to be social the entire time—get on board and just read your book on deck watching the sea go by!

What Cruise Lines Do This?

Carnival—The Fun Ship—doesn’t have the monopoly on this type of cruise, but is the leader in the US for this shorter type of vacation. My first cruise (2000) was on Royal Caribbean out of Los Angeles and I fell in love with cruising based on that “Booze Cruise”. 

Generally the low-cost leader, Carnival does an amazing job when taking a short cruise, and the moniker—”Booze Cruise”—is truly not warranted. While many people choose to drink on the ship, I have never encountered a difficult, drunk person. The horror stories you may hear about people misbehaving on these short cruises are really urban legend—I’ve never seen any untoward behavior at all. Last year, close friend Suzy Q and I closed down the bar, and we walked back to our cabins in a very straight line!!!

Benefits

It was really difficult for me to minimize this section so it would fit into this week’s blog! I’m an avid cruise (three coming up!) and love to recommend this type of vacation for anyone. Here are just a few things I thought you might find important.

Cheaper

Your cruise ticket entitles you to “hotel”, all food and entertainment. Do the math. No, I mean it—do the actual math! Sweet Husband and I are heading to his hometown in a few weeks. Hotel (2 nights): $500, Food: $150 or so, Professional entertainment: There isn’t any. Carnival cruise that same weekend from the same town: $269 per person for three nights.

People tend to think cruises are more expensive, because the cash outlay is all at once. Yes, when I say $600 for a cruise it sounds like a lot, but when you break it down based on what you are getting, it’s the cheapest thing out there!!!  

Uses less days off

Vacation time is at a premium for most people, and nobody wants to “waste” it. These shorter cruises capitalize on weekends, so you can minimize how many days off you need to take. When taking a short cruise, it’s a huge thing to consider!

If you tack the cruise onto an existing long weekend it might be a bit more expensive than a regular weekend, but you will only need to take off one day from work and get an amazing, relaxing vacation. We are doing President’s Weekend again, and the total for two people in a cabin is still below $700, so even on a holiday weekend you won’t be priced out of the market. 

So Much To Do

I’m from Vegas, so the nightly stage shows on cruise lines aren’t that important to me. I’ll always sit and watch one, but it isn’t my first choice. My choices at night? Hit the comedy show (Live comedy FREE every night on Carnival) then do some dancing. Both of those activities would cost me on land—and I hardly ever do them! 

During the day you’ll find me lounging on deck staring at the beautiful ocean, but you can do a number of things. My friends all do spa treatments (additional money), and I love a good game of Bingo. While I don’t care for trivia, it is always busy on cruise ships, as are the educational talks.

You won’t be bored. 

Great way to “test”

If you are considering a shorter cruise and have concerns, I’m betting you’ve never cruised. These short, weekend cruises are the very best way for you to find out if cruising is for you! They are minimal cost, minimal time off work, and minimal effort to get to the dock. My first cruise was one of these, and I was hooked. Maybe you won’t like it, but at least it didn’t cost you a fortune or your entire week’s vacation for the year. 

Potential Downsides

This is going to be a short section—it’s all good in my world!!!

Is everybody drunk?

Not at all.

Some people are going to over-indulge, just like on land, but they are absolutely not the norm. I’m out on deck late every night, and in all my cruises I have never seen anything that made me uncomfortable or that I thought was unsafe. 

I don’t like cruising

Good thing you found out by taking a short cruise with friends or loved ones! Maybe it won’t be for you and it will be “one and done”, but I’m sure you will find some things to positively discuss at work Tuesday morning!

It doesn’t go anywhere “good”

Ensenada and Nassau are my two least favorite ports in the world. I get it. BUT—they are both awesome ports for people to get a taste for what cruising is, and what it can offer you. Concentrate on your days and nights at sea—that is the greatest view I’ve ever had! 

My Recommendation

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you know I love to cruise. Heck, I love to take any vacation anywhere at any time. Except camping…Patti don’t do tents!!! 

As my blogs tend to crossover, this is yet another thing I inherited from my parents, this love of cruising. Thanks to them, I’ve cruised with just Sweet Husband, with all (and sometimes some) of my kids, all of my siblings and all of their kids, plus some great friends. I’ve done the majority of the Caribbean, Mexico and Alaska. Next year…Europe.

And it all started with a “Booze Cruise” for our tenth wedding anniversary. 

Maybe you just need to start…

I hear there is a cruise leaving this Friday…

THANK YOU FOR READING THIS FAR

Thank you for reading all about taking a short cruise!!

Hey, since you’re here! You may as well check out some other tips, like Labor Day travel, here, or traveling for Halloween, here! Or, check out our other topics here! Either way, I appreciate you!

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