If you’ve been curious about cruising but aren’t ready to commit to a week (or more) at sea, a short cruise is a fantastic way to test the waters.
For South Australian families, it’s also the perfect excuse to swap grey winter skies for tropical Queensland sunshine. We recently hopped aboard Carnival Encounter for a 4-night cruise from Brisbane to Airlie Beach and discovered that you don’t need a long itinerary to decide whether cruising is your family’s kind of holiday.
Why a short cruise works
Four nights is long enough to experience everything cruising has to offer and work out if it suits your family. Here’s why it might…
- A low-risk way to try cruising, especially if you’re unsure about seasickness or whether younger kids will enjoy being onboard.
- It’s a great way to go on holiday with a group of other families and friends and be able to enjoy time together, but also do things separately if you want to.
- Great value for money, with accommodation, meals, entertainment and transport all included in one price. If you’re strict with not spending extra on board you’ll know exactly what your holiday is going to cost from start to finish.
- Easy to plan, with far fewer logistics than a traditional family holiday where you need to book hotels, restaurants and activities separately.
- Endless food options (a dream if your kids are constantly hungry and probably my favourite part)
- Pools, epic waterslides and family entertainment all day long
- An endless list of activities throughout the day and nights. Live shows, trivia, movies, live music, competitions and so much more.
- Kids Clubs for all ages that they’ll actually BEG to go to. From babies right up to teens
- Day spa, adults only pools, restaurants and shows you can enjoy while they’re in kids club!
- A chance for parents to actually relax now you don’t have to make the snacks and provide the entertainment.
- Gives you a taste of a destination, like Airlie Beach or the Whitsundays, which can help you decide if it’s somewhere you’d like to return for a longer land-based holiday.
If everyone loves it, you’ll probably be planning a longer cruise before you’ve even arrived home. If cruising isn’t your thing, you’ve only invested a few days and you can cross it off your list.
While there aren’t currently any regular short cruises departing Adelaide right now, a flight to Brisbane opens up a huge range of 3–6 night options from Carnival, Royal Caribbean and even Disney. Carnival Adventure will also start departures from Adelaide in Feb/March 2028 including two- to four-night short getaways as well as a five-night South Australia coastal itinerary visiting Kangaroo Island and Port Lincoln, for a total of five departures, ending with a three-night one-way voyage from Adelaide to Sydney departing 14 March 2028.
Info here
If you want our tip, give the 4 night Airlie Beach cruise from Carnival a try. Particularly if you’re keen to get some Winter sun.
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