Magic or Dream?

[gottadoit]

Just to say we did it, we are looking to take a 3 or 4 day Disney cruise out of Port Canaveral since we only live a half hour away. Historically fans of Royal or Princess but want to try Disney, balcony cabin, to compare. Can anyone recommend Magic over Dream or vice versa?

 

Thanks!

[Shmoo here]

Just to say we did it, we are looking to take a 3 or 4 day Disney cruise out of Port Canaveral since we only live a half hour away. Historically fans of Royal or Princess but want to try Disney, balcony cabin, to compare. Can anyone recommend Magic over Dream or vice versa?

 

Thanks!

 

Either one. For me it depends on the actual itinerary (and length of time in port), costs and dates.

 

I prefer the Magic (like the smaller ships), but the Dream has a nice adult only area (Satellite Falls) as well as the Mid Ship Detective game (if you have kids, they really enjoy it). Dream has a larger adult bar area, but the Magic has a piano bar (important to us).

 

Dream has AquaDuck (water slide) while the Magic has AquaDunk (basically a water drop chute). Magic has a new show on it, I didn't particularly care for the shows on the Dream.

[gottadoit]

No kids. Itinerary is the same for both (Nassau, Coco Kay), and in fact, 3 or 4 night cruise is the same except 4 night includes a sea day. Looking at later January up to mid February so we do it before any spring breaks.

[moki'smommy]

The Magic is our favorite. She is smaller and more intimate than the newer ships. In addition, families with kids sometimes want all the electronic "bells and whistles" of the newer ships. In addition, the Dream attracts the clientele who are "just trying out" cruising.

 

We prefer the guest mix on the Magic as well as the ship itself.

 

Note--the newer ships are "drop dead gorgeous," with many amazing features. I'm not sorry that we've seen them. But we prefer the classics.

[GatorMomInNC]

No kids. Itinerary is the same for both (Nassau, Coco Kay), and in fact, 3 or 4 night cruise is the same except 4 night includes a sea day. Looking at later January up to mid February so we do it before any spring breaks.

 

Magic. Smaller, more intimate, less hectic.

[moki'smommy]

Castaway Cay if you are on DCL. Not sure who has Coco Cay.

[PopFla]

Castaway Cay if you are on DCL. Not sure who has Coco Cay.

 

That's Royal Caribbean's private island.

[axelskater]

I was on the "Reimagined Magic" last year - and it was okay. Loved the theming, characters and Disney touches. I was on the Dream a few weeks ago and I was blown away. I had the same room category on both - T001 I believe. The Dream for me was the better ship. I was amazed by it - the animated wall pictures, the decorations (the Enchanted Garden restaurant was beautiful though I didn't eat there - framed Hermes scarves even decorate the entry!)

In my opinion...The satellite falls adult area was just wonderful, it gave us so much more room! I know some are liking the smaller ships, but since we stuck to mostly the adult areas & restaurants, the only time I saw a slight crowd was at the shows and the character greetings. I was also just amazed by the classic liner & art deco touches which they seemed to flawlessly combine with Disney details. I also like the adult bars on Dream much better - as we had more choices and not one was ever crowded.

The separate restaurants on the Dream were better also - the Palo décor, Remy itself, and the Meridian bar in between were better than anything which the Magic offered. I found Palo on the Magic to be too much like "Citrico's" - not enough of a change though Citrico's is nice. I ended up loving Vanellope's though I have seen people on here complain about it (extra cost). I loved the gelato. I have already booked to go back on the Dream in one year - Jan 2017.

The Magic however, has the edge on the night time shows. "Dreams" is better than "Believe".

[davidmbfonz]

We've done both ships in the last 13 months, and it was really hard to tell the difference, in my opinion. If I was forced to pick, I'd say the Dream edges out the Magic a bit, for the same reasons as the above poster.

 

The Magic would win based on itinerary though - really liked having those sea days and going to Cozumel was a nice change from Nassau. I've got a full review and pics of both ships/experiences in my signature.

[meatloafsfan]

Normally I prefer the smaller ships (and recently did a 5 night on the Magic out of Miami). However, if you're looking for a Disney Wow and want to get the most "Disney magic" for your buck, I'd pick the Dream.

 

It has all of the newer bells and whistles, good adult areas, and was very recently refurbished.

 

If you're looking for a 3-4 day cruise to try out everything that makes Disney cruises "Disney", then I'd say go for the big guns. If you like cruising on Disney, then you can try the other ships.

[davidmbfonz]

Normally I prefer the smaller ships (and recently did a 5 night on the Magic out of Miami). However, if you're looking for a Disney Wow and want to get the most "Disney magic" for your buck, I'd pick the Dream.

 

It has all of the newer bells and whistles, good adult areas, and was very recently refurbished.

 

If you're looking for a 3-4 day cruise to try out everything that makes Disney cruises "Disney", then I'd say go for the big guns. If you like cruising on Disney, then you can try the other ships.

 

Well-said!