Does A Mini Cruise Float Your Boat?

You have probably seen over the past few days through various channels, that Celebrity Cruises have released a new 2-night sailing on the Celebrity Silhouette in April next year.  This cruise has proved to be extremely popular so much so that this morning as a write this there are no inside cabins left, one oceanview and very few balcony cabins.

So, yeah you could call it a win for Celebrity Cruises, selling out most of a sailing in 24 hours.

The success of this got myself and some of my colleagues talking yesterday with regards to mini cruises and are they worth it?  Some of us said they love mini cruises, it’s a quick break away at a relatively low cost, and gives you chance to see a new ship or cruise line and if you will like them before going all the way and committing to a 7 night or longer cruise.  If you don’t like the ship then at least you haven’t wasted X amount of money on a longer cruise, spending the whole time hating it and not enjoying yourself.

On the flip side, a few of my colleagues quite rightly pointed out that a mini cruise isn’t quite like a normal cruise, so you never get a real sense for it, especially if you are a first-time cruiser trying things out and ‘testing the water’ so to speak.  What I mean by this is that on 2 nights I don’t think you can really get to the heart of what cruising is, they are normally classed as ‘party ‘cruises with a lot of people on there for stag or hen weekends, or just groups of people who want a few days away letting their hair down.  With this you miss a lot of the glamour and magic that can be created on a cruise of longer duration.  Yes, you can get groups of people away celebrating etc on longer cruises, but not in the number that the mini cruises see.

Plus, when you only sail to one port of call on your cruise can this still be classed under the heading of a cruise or is this venturing more in to the area of a ferry journey?  Part of the excitement of a cruise is a new destination most on most days, and always exploring new sites.  Where simply having one, maybe two ports, just simply doesn’t give you that full experience.  Would it not leave you wanting more?

What are your thoughts on mini cruises, do they float your boat?