Does it really matter what ship you sail on??

[norwane]

As I am contemplating booking a Disney cruise, I am looking at all of the ships. I was strongly thinking Fantasy (due to Star Wars stuff). My DH is a huge Star Wars and Marvel fan. DS also likes (not loves, he loves sports and sports video games at this moment in time!) both, but he will be 13, and will probably be in the Tween clubs, not the clubs where either Star Wars or Avengers would be in the kids clubs, right? (on the ships that have those attractions). Would either of them even see either Avengers or Star Wars at any point in time on the corresponding ships? Due to budget constraints, we would not be doing the Star Wars day at sea cruise.

DS probably would like the Detective game on the ships.

 

So, given that information, at the end of the day, does it matter which ship we go on?

 

What ship would you recommend?

 

Thanks!!

[moki'smommy]

During "Open House" hours, any person of any age can go into the kid programming area that is having the open house time. So yes, the older kids can do Marvel Academy on the Magic or whatever is in the Star Wars ares on the Fantasy.

 

A teen/tween will probably enjoy all the "bells and whistles" on the Fantasy best....but you can't go wrong with any ship. We prefer the smaller classic ships, but we aren't 13....I saw an awful lot of dads enjoying Marvel Academy!

Edited February 24, 2016 by moki'smommy

[e2011]

My order:

 

1. Fantasy

2. Dream

3. another cruise line. LOL

[moki'smommy]

My order:

 

1. Fantasy

2. Dream

3. another cruise line. LOL

 

My order would have less to do with the ship and more with the cruise...but I wouldn't go on the Dream. Simple--it only does short cruises and I don't do short cruises. I prefer the Magic, but think a kid would prefer the Fantasy.

[gometros]

My order would have less to do with the ship and more with the cruise...but I wouldn't go on the Dream. Simple--it only does short cruises and I don't do short cruises. I prefer the Magic' date=' but think a kid would prefer the Fantasy.[/quote']

 

I'm with Moki, although I am going on the Dream in June. My alibi is that I'm taking the whole family and the budget wouldn't allow a longer cruise. But don't discount the Magic or the Wonder. While they may not have some of the newer features of the bigger ships, they are still beautiful ships and have a lot to offer. And you do get different experiences, from different shows to different itineraries. Only the Wonder cruises Alaska and the Magic does the European cruises and so far is the only one to have sailed out of New York (Fantasy launch none-withstanding).

[cruise2727]

We have taken 3 cruises on the Wonder and 1 on the Fantasy. We really like the Wonder because it is smaller. But, the Fantasy was a lot of fun and being 13 I would probably prefer that ship. We do not have to worry about it because our girls are only 2 and 4 so they like any and everything.

[slightlysilly]

As an adult, I liked the Wonder. When you step out onto Castaway Cay you are instantly aware that there are about 1500 people missing. Beach chairs are plentyful, lines are very short or non-existent. Palo reservations are easier to get on the ship. I really noticed it between the Wonder and the Dream... my son (age 12) missed the presence of the aquaduck and the new ship smell that the Dream had.

 

The Wonder is older and you can totally tell. We are told it's going into dry dock for some refurbishment in September and October. As a raging introvert who hates crowds, I'm a Wonder convert. I hope they do a good job with the refurbishment.

[slightlysilly]

I'm with Moki, although I am going on the Dream in June. My alibi is that I'm taking the whole family and the budget wouldn't allow a longer cruise. But don't discount the Magic or the Wonder. While they may not have some of the newer features of the bigger ships, they are still beautiful ships and have a lot to offer. And you do get different experiences, from different shows to different itineraries. Only the Wonder cruises Alaska and the Magic does the European cruises and so far is the only one to have sailed out of New York (Fantasy launch none-withstanding).

 

I kind of reluctantly booked the Dream for next February because it fit into our vacation plans, but I sniffled a little when I saw the Wonder would be doing a Castaway Cay run throughout next Winter. The sea day means a Palo Brunch which for us is reason enough to consider it. How I wish they would do the brunch for the short Nassau runs...

[DaKa2002]

Fantasy and Dream are full of "bells and whistles" and lots of electronics.

 

I love the class of the Magic and Wonder! Years ago sailed on the Magic; not so sure we'd like the "new" Magic. We have sailed the Wonder in Alaska and last year from Galveston to Castaway Cay with lots of sea days! We have the same cruise scheduled for January 2017!

 

Palo brunch on a sea day, Palo dinner on another. What a way to go!

 

Only missing part is Remy (our all time favorite).

[moki'smommy]

Fantasy and Dream are full of "bells and whistles" and lots of electronics.

 

I love the class of the Magic and Wonder! Years ago sailed on the Magic; not so sure we'd like the "new" Magic. We have sailed the Wonder in Alaska and last year from Galveston to Castaway Cay with lots of sea days! We have the same cruise scheduled for January 2017!

 

Palo brunch on a sea day, Palo dinner on another. What a way to go!

 

Only missing part is Remy (our all time favorite).

 

There are good and bad parts of the "re-imagined" Magic. Fathoms is neat, the atrium is just blah (they took out the magnificent chandelier and replaced it with something that is a bigger version of what you'll find at every lighting store). They basically turned the atrium into a mini version of the Fantasy...removed the double staircase, etc. Carioca's is blah, but Parrot Cay was really getting old. And they could have chosen a better name. Carrioca's and Cabana's gets confusing to some. I think the duck tail is peculiar looking, but that doesn't affect my enjoyment of the ship. They closed "secret deck 7" and turned it into a space with large amount of heavy equipment, but they were having trouble with some guest activities in that area.

 

But having cruised the smaller ships many times and the big ones rarely....well, seeing the electronic bells and whistles was nice, but we return to the smaller. Now if only they'd quit moving our favorite CMs to the newer ships......

[e2011]

My order would have less to do with the ship and more with the cruise...but I wouldn't go on the Dream. Simple--it only does short cruises and I don't do short cruises. I prefer the Magic' date=' but think a kid would prefer the Fantasy.[/quote']

 

Very true on the cruise length. Many times for us a short 3 or 4 day is all I can take away from work and since we can drive from our house to the port its a nice weekend getaway. I have never done Wonder but we had a bad experience on the Magic. Not with the staff but with the design. The concierge one bedroom suites are right under the fun deck. So at 5am we listened to deck chairs being moved around by the staff to clean the deck and furniture. It was horrible. For that reason alone I would never do Magic or Wonder. Also no concierge lounge when we went. I understand there is one now which was a good upgrade. But to answer the OP question it doesn't matter what ship as long as you have fun!

Edited February 26, 2016 by e2011

[gometros]

I kind of reluctantly booked the Dream for next February because it fit into our vacation plans, but I sniffled a little when I saw the Wonder would be doing a Castaway Cay run throughout next Winter. The sea day means a Palo Brunch which for us is reason enough to consider it. How I wish they would do the brunch for the short Nassau runs...

 

I know how you feel. We booked the Dream 4-night for this June, because we're taking the whole family and my budget could not handle a 7-night. Plus my son and his wife have to be back in time for a friend's wedding. We also had to work around my daughter-in-law's school schedule. But I always look at the bright side. I get to complete my grand slam of sailing on all four ships, we get to eat in Remy and we got one of the aft staterooms with the huge deck. And did I mention I'm only 101 days away? (But who's counting.)

[ilovecruising232]

yes! all 4 ships are very different when it comes to people. I have been on 20 DCL cruises. My favorite by far, is the Magic. They have the very best crew ever. I love how small the ship is too. The Dream is my least favorite. 3 or 4 nights is not long enough. IMHO, the dream tends to have way more people on it that seem to be unable to relax. I think because it's only a few days and there is so much stuff to do on the ship and certainly not enough time to do it in. It just feels a bit manic to me. 7 nights or longer are wonderful. :)

[cde48]

We have sailed on DCL 5 times (Fantasy 2x, Magic 2x, and Dream). We loved the Fantasy, but I think our favorite is the Magic. Like others have said, when you are on the larger ships Castaway can feel crowded, and we love the smaller feel of the Magic class. We are going back on the Magic in a few weeks, doing the 5 Day Caribbean (GC, and CC) sailing. The Dream would be better, if they could somehow move it to a 7 Night Itinerary. 3 & 4 Nt's are too short, imo.

Edited December 27, 2016 by cde48

[moki'smommy]

We have sailed on DCL 5 times (Fantasy 2x, Magic 2x, and Dream). We loved the Fantasy, but I think our favorite is the Magic. Like others have said, when you are on the larger ships Castaway can feel crowded, and we love the smaller feel of the Magic class. We are going back on the Magic in a few weeks, doing the 5 Day Caribbean (GC, and CC) sailing. The Dream would be better, if they could somehow move it to a 7 Night Itinerary. 3 & 4 Nt's are too short, imo.

 

The Dream will continue to do 3/4 nights for now. First, DCL makes more money per passenger day on shorter cruises. Secondly, they have a contract with Port Canaveral specifying a number of "dockings" per year based on the bigger ships. Thirdly (and hard to believe), these shorter cruises are the most popular with newbies, and DCL needs to keep adding new cruisers all the time as those of us with lots of cruises decide to explore new territory.

 

I totally agree--the Magic is our favorite ship. But DCL makes more profit on the Dream.

[Ex techie]

There is also the fact that Castaway Cay is only leased from the Bahamian Government, and part of that lease agreement means that they must provide Guests to Nassau on a certain amount of docking per year.

 

If DCL could stop docking at Nassau, they would! They know it is a dump! The Senior Steering Committee aboard the Dream even approved a spoof Nassau tourism video. (until it went viral online and the Bahamians saw it)

They would rather just visit CC and have sea days with a captive audience for drinks and merchandise purchases while in international waters. Remember the merchandise shops are closed when in port.

 

The flag state of the ships, and the CC lease dictate where one ship will go after its committed docking counts at Port Canaveral.

 

ex techie

Edited December 27, 2016 by Ex techie

[Ex techie]

Ok, this was supposed to be just for crew to see and a joke at the crew show, but it does sum up Nassau.

 

It will probably get taken down pretty quickly, so watch it while you can.

 

[YOUTUBE]K0EaOciz3RY[/YOUTUBE]

 

ex techie

[moki'smommy]

 

If DCL could stop docking at Nassau, they would! They know it is a dump!

 

 

ex techie

 

When the Magic first docked in Nassau, there was a big celebration on deck 9 with Bahamian officials, etc. There was much made of the "clean up" that had occurred in exchange for DCL being flagged there. Having been there with other cruise lines, things were MUCH better for a short time--the hair braiders were not permitted to get in your face, the trash was cleaned up, and the whole straw market area felt a lot safer. The security people around might have been a part of that. This was the old straw market, not the building they have now. Over time, all those improvements have slowly declined, and it is once again a port many of us would choose to avoid.

 

Also for a time there were some shops on Castaway that were operated by Bahamians and didn't take the KTTW card. They were in an out of the way location that made me wonder how many people even knew they were there. While I know nothing official, this also made me wonder if it was something mandated by the government.

[Ex techie]

When the Magic first docked in Nassau' date=' there was a big celebration on deck 9 with Bahamian officials, etc. There was much made of the "clean up" that had occurred in exchange for DCL being flagged there. Having been there with other cruise lines, things were MUCH better for a short time--the hair braiders were not permitted to get in your face, the trash was cleaned up, and the whole straw market area felt a lot safer. The security people around might have been a part of that. This was the old straw market, not the building they have now. Over time, all those improvements have slowly declined, and it is once again a port many of us would choose to avoid.

 

Also for a time there were some shops on Castaway that were operated by Bahamians and didn't take the KTTW card. They were in an out of the way location that made me wonder how many people even knew they were there. While I know nothing official, this also made me wonder if it was something mandated by the government.[/quote']

 

Yep.

The problem with the islands is there is so much corruption with officials being paid off.

 

ex techie

[Steelers0854]

There is also the fact that Castaway Cay is only leased from the Bahamian Government, and part of that lease agreement means that they must provide Guests to Nassau on a certain amount of docking per year.

 

If DCL could stop docking at Nassau, they would! They know it is a dump! The Senior Steering Committee aboard the Dream even approved a spoof Nassau tourism video. (until it went viral online and the Bahamians saw it)

They would rather just visit CC and have sea days with a captive audience for drinks and merchandise purchases while in international waters. Remember the merchandise shops are closed when in port.

 

The flag state of the ships, and the CC lease dictate where one ship will go after its committed docking counts at Port Canaveral.

 

ex techie

 

 

 

Explains a lot. Also gives Nassau no incentive to clean up the place. Why spend the money when Disney is required to go there?