Fantasy VS smaller Wonder / Magic

[CALYMO]

So I am a new cruiser only having done one on the beautiful Fantasy, I am planning my next cruise already as I enjoyed the first one so much.

 

I am now facing the big decision of which cruise to pick. There is a 7 night cruise on the Fantasy I am looking at and a 5 night on the Wonder. While the Wonder cruise is quite a bit cheaper, which is great...I am worried I will be disappointed in a smaller ship?

 

I have no experience to draw from...Would you stick with the larger newer ship (assuming you can financially) cruising the same area...or try the other ship to new destinations even though its smaller.

 

I just don't want to compare the two and regret going with an older ship, but have no idea if that's even possible with Disney. Maybe the age and size are not really an huge issue on your overall experience....

 

Those who have done both? Any suggestions

 

Thanks and BTW this is a great webboard...I wish I had looked into it before my last cruise :)

[wdwlvr]

I haven't been on the Fantasy, but have sailed on the Dream which is the same size. Personally I prefer the smaller classic ships of Magic/Wonder. I would book one of them over the larger ships if going to the same area. Having said that only you know your own tastes and if you would be disappointed in a smaller/older ship.

[MizDaisy]

Usually, the first thing I base a cruise on are the ports. To me, cruising is an easy way to get to see a lot of different places.

 

That said, I actually prefer the "older" ships (classic!) to the newer ones. Part of it might be my age....I'm not all that excited over the AquaDuck...do it once or twice and that's about all you need. Plus, the larger ships just seem a little more "stiff" to me, for some reason. I get staterooms in the aft of the ship, always, and the longer walk after a long hot day is a killer sometimes.

Plus, I still prefer Beat Street/Route 66 to the newer club area on the new ships. And I really wasn't enthralled with the "new" Animator's.

 

I think the biggest disappointment you might have would be with a shorter cruise, after having taken a longer one. But....if the price is right, and the ports are good, it would definitely be worth it. A 5 night cruise wouldn't be as hard to do (after a 7 night) as a 3 night would be.

 

It's kind of like comparing Disneyland to Disney World. Some people really love Disneyland because Walt put his heart and soul into it, and just knowing that he walked the same paths is pretty awesome, but some people prefer Disney World because there are more options, but both are guaranteed to be a good time, regardless.

 

Try it....it's the only way to experience all that Disney Cruise Line has to offer!

[poohtaz]

I have the opposite problem as you do. We cruised on Magic and LOVED her. For being the "older" ship you would never have guessed, she is extremely well cared for. Our cruise was before Magic went into drydock so I can only imagine how beautiful she is now.

My daughter wants Aqua Duck in the worse way, and we want to be able to compare the 2 ships ourselves to see which we end up preferring.

I would say try a new ship, why not!?, It's still a Disney cruise with Disney service, you should be very well pleased.

[tokyotea]

I would love to know about this as well!! I have never been on Disney but on a recent cruise on Celebrity, we were parked next to both the Magic (Same size as Wonder) and the Dream. They were side by side and it was interesting noticing the differences between the two.

 

Now if I can just figure out how to upload photos...:confused:

[moki'smommy]

After our Fantasy cruise, we went back to our "first love," the Magic. We like the size and friendliness of the Magic better than the newer ships. Yes, the new ships are high tech marvels with lots of fun features...and we never missed any of them on the pre-dry dock Magic. Our upcoming trip is on the post dry dock Magic. Don't know if that tells you anything.

 

I'd take the Magic over the new ones any day.

[DISNEY FANTASY]

I have done three of four ships and the answer is, as there all nice, it's the ports of call there going to is the decider.

 

 

Sent from my iPad.

[BullDawg91]

We have done the Dream in 2012 and the Wonder in April 2014. I LOVED the Wonder. It was in excellent repair. No wear and tear problems. It's not quite as over the top grand, but we found the ship was much better sized for the number of people on board. The kids clubs are much bigger than on the Dream (I assume same as Fantasy) despite the ship being smaller. The dining rooms weren't anywhere as noisy. There was never the same crush of people that we had on the Dream.

 

Think of it ~2500 people on Castaway Cay as opposed to ~4000.

 

It seemed to me that the waitstaff prefers the Wonder/Magic. Our servers had been with Disney 18 years and 6 years. Another server I talked to had 12 years with Disney. They had worked other ships and chose to work on the Wonder.

 

We chose the Wonder for the same reason you mentioned- significant savings for only 2 less days. The problem now is we have to go to Alaska or Europe to do longer cruises on the smaller ships. Or do back-to-backs! 😉

[LaserSB3Family]

I am reassured to read this thread! We switched from the Fantasy to the Magic for our cruise next year. DS8 is disappointed that there will be no Aquaduck and thinks Aquadunk looks too scary. I told him that there is much more to the ship than the water slide. Looks like there are other advantages I didn't even consider.

[Perez1992]

The disney wonder is my second home I have cruised on it six times if you have any questions I'm here

 

 

All I know is I was Born To Cruise..

Love,

Miranda

[Perez1992]

I love love love this disney wonder

 

 

All I know is I was Born To Cruise..

Love,

Miranda

[Irene7]

I am reassured to read this thread! We switched from the Fantasy to the Magic for our cruise next year. DS8 is disappointed that there will be no Aquaduck and thinks Aquadunk looks too scary. I told him that there is much more to the ship than the water slide. Looks like there are other advantages I didn't even consider.

 

Don't forget that the magic also has the twist and spout which I'm sure your DS will love. I understand that it is more popular then the Aqua dunk.