The main difference between the weeklong and weekend cruise is that the seven-day cruise will stop, depending upon your itinerary, at either three or four new ports of call. (For details, check out the column titled "The Disney Seven-Night Cruise: Two Itineraries.") The chance to see Grand Cayman or St. Thomas is obviously a new treat but I suspect what you're really asking about are the days at sea.

I don't think you'll be bored. Disney is hoping that people will do exactly what your family is doing--try the shorter trip first, then come back the next time for the longer cruise. Ergo, they have devised lots of new offerings to make the seven-day cruise special.

The activities programming on the seven-day cruise is more complex than on the shorter cruise. The children's program has a different theme for each day at sea. For kids 3-4, the theme might be Never Land one day, Disney Friends the next, and of course finally Under the Sea. Older kids can expect themed days as well; for kids 8-9 the themes are Creation, Try This, and Investigate. The counselors are well aware that on the longer cruises children will be spending more time in the kids program and have an arsenal of tricks to keep things fresh.

Adults have three programs of their own to choose from, each offered twice a day during the days at sea. Disney's Navigator Series focuses on the legends and traditions of ocean travel and offers tours of the bridge and demonstrations of navigational techniques. In Disney's Art of Entertaining, you'll work alongside the ship chefs to learn how to create fanciful desserts, flower arrangements, and elegant tablescapes. Film buffs and animator wannabes will love Disney Behind the Scenes, which takes them behind the curtain of the spectacular Walt Disney Theater and introduces them to guest presenters from film, television, Broadway, and Disney's own Imagineering department.

As for evening entertainment, you'll have an encore of the "Hercules -- A Muse-ical Comedy" and "Disney Dreams," two popular productions that also play on the shorter cruises. But in addition you'll see two variety shows, a magic show, and get the chance to play in a Disney-themed trivia game show.

Your dining venues are Animator's Palate, Parrot Cay, and either Lumiere's or Triton's depending on whether you are onboard Disney Wonder or Disney Magic. Again, you'll get a chance to try all three of the major restaurants on different nights, thanks to Disney's popular rotation dining program. But the longer cruise offers some specialty evenings as well, such as the captain's gala dinner at which you'll enjoy fine wines and French cuisine, The Master Chef Dinner, featuring scrumptious dishes from various Walt Disney Resorts and the newest edition The Pirates in the Caribbean Specialy Dinner featuring exotice Carribbean meals and culminating in a pirate deck party.

The longer cruises also offer character breakfasts. (The characters are in general more in evidence on the longer cruise, due to the fact you spend more time on the ship.) Adults have champagne brunches and dessert buffets to keep them full and busy. Parents should also take an evening to check out the romantic adults-only restaurant, Palo, which I think has the best food on the ship. (You can always stash the kids in the children's program for a couple of hours.) Be sure to spend an afternoon in the gorgeously decadent spa, where you can relax on heated lounges, then rinse off in tropical rain showers. Palo and the spa are available on the shorter cruises, but with limited time on the ship, parents are often dashing around with the kids and don't take the time to use them. On the longer cruise, make sure you take advantage of your three long lazy days at sea and schedule some private time. (One note: Both Palo and the spa are popular with savvy cruisers, so make reservations soon after you come on board.)

Updated March 2006.