Dream vs Magic

[crusin'mom]

I am looking at booking a Western Caribbean cruise on Carnival but trying to decide between ports/ships. I am looking at either the Dream out of New Orleans or the Magic out of Port Canaveral. Does anyone have any pros or cons for either the ships or the ports. The both are about the same distant from me so I'm just wondering if there is one I should choose over the other. Thanks!

[brepri_h]

Cruising from Port Canaveral is going to make the crowd more of a melting pot whereas cruising from Louisiana everyone will mostly be from the Texas and Louisiana area. Neither one a bad thing just something to consider.

 

 

 

If you go out of Texas or Louisiana look up local school holidays. We went in February and didn’t realize kids had school off for Mardi Gras. The ship was loaded with kids!

 

 

These ships are the same class so the layout is almost identical. The Magic was literally just updated so it’s the freshest of the 2 ships. I had a great cruise on both ships so you really can’t go wrong.

 

 

 

If you are flying there will probably be a lot more availability in flights because Orlando is so heavily traveled. Personally I’d rather cruise from Port Canaveral.

Edited May 9, 2016 by brepri_h

[RuthlessBoss]

Are the times in each port longer on Dream? I would think there would be time lost on Magic due to the distance to and from Canaveral.

[crusin'mom]

Dream actually only stops at 3 ports, while Magic stops at 4. I haven't paid much attention to the actual times in port though. I will have to check on that!

[vamartha]

Sailed the Dream, NOLA just isn't my thing. While I like Bourbon Street, I am not fond of sailing the Mississippi. What I miss the most is that sailing from Florida means palm trees and a tropical feeling from the start of the cruise. Sailing down the Muddy Mississippi just doesn't give me the warm, fuzzy tropical feeling I like at the start of a cruise. (And I've done NOLA twice, so it wasn't just a one time feeling.)

[jamesr3939]

Sailed both, but not out of those ports. The ships are pretty much identical so I would go with port stops.

 

We did Magic out of Galveston and are not big fans of the gulf embarkation. Both times we had bad weather first day and last day so no deck time for two days. I don't think I will do another from TX and go more toward FL departures.

Edited May 10, 2016 by jamesr3939

[cruiser fanatic]

I love the Magic. I wasn't a big fan of the Dream. For me, it comes down to ports. What are the ports for both? I prefer NOLA over Port Canaveral as far as embarkation experience.

[k2excursion]

I loved both ships, but the Dream is by far my favorite ship of any that I've been on. I've had 3 sailings on Dream, and they are 3 of my 4 best cruises out of 15 that I've taken. Having said that, Magic does have several things that Dream does not have: Guys burgers, Blue Iguana cantina (although Dream still has unbranded burgers & a lunch burrito bar), an extra-pay Italian restaurant for dinner (but both ships have the same free pasta bar for lunch), the Red Frog Pub, and a ropes course. Of all those, the ropes course is the only thing I would find myself missing on the Dream.

 

Dream does have better entertainment overall, but the Magic's entertainment is still quite good. Magic has an incredible magic (illusion) show, and Dream has the amazing "Dancing in the Streets" show. Both are their respective specialty shows. After the Magic was built, Carnival moved away from this type of entertainment. Both ships still have live music for the shows. Dream has the incredible Blackjack Band playing in the oceans plaza, my favorite of all the cover bands, and very friendly people. I've cruised with them 6 times, and they remember me every time. I had some great talks with them during breaks or after their sets on my last cruise.

 

So either ship would be great. For the ship, I lean towards the Dream. For the itinerary, Magic's is better, with the extra port. It does seem odd that ships coming from Port Canaveral can get to the ports & back quicker than ships coming from NOLA or Galveston, but that's how it is, allowing for the 4th port. I've cruised out of NOLA once, and it was nice & interesting, but I do prefer the more tropical feel of sailing out of PC.

[crusin'mom]

I loved both ships, but the Dream is by far my favorite ship of any that I've been on. I've had 3 sailings on Dream, and they are 3 of my 4 best cruises out of 15 that I've taken. Having said that, Magic does have several things that Dream does not have: Guys burgers, Blue Iguana cantina (although Dream still has unbranded burgers & a lunch burrito bar), an extra-pay Italian restaurant for dinner (but both ships have the same free pasta bar for lunch), the Red Frog Pub, and a ropes course. Of all those, the ropes course is the only thing I would find myself missing on the Dream.

 

Dream does have better entertainment overall, but the Magic's entertainment is still quite good. Magic has an incredible magic (illusion) show, and Dream has the amazing "Dancing in the Streets" show. Both are their respective specialty shows. After the Magic was built, Carnival moved away from this type of entertainment. Both ships still have live music for the shows. Dream has the incredible Blackjack Band playing in the oceans plaza, my favorite of all the cover bands, and very friendly people. I've cruised with them 6 times, and they remember me every time. I had some great talks with them during breaks or after their sets on my last cruise.

 

So either ship would be great. For the ship, I lean towards the Dream. For the itinerary, Magic's is better, with the extra port. It does seem odd that ships coming from Port Canaveral can get to the ports & back quicker than ships coming from NOLA or Galveston, but that's how it is, allowing for the 4th port. I've cruised out of NOLA once, and it was nice & interesting, but I do prefer the more tropical feel of sailing out of PC.

 

Thanks so much for the info!

[smyliecruising]

Better food on the Magic as they have had the upgrades including guys burgers and the guys smoked food. Also the blue iguana Mexican food.

Edited May 10, 2016 by smyliecruising

[luvsviola]

Sailing up the Mississippi takes a really long time, so you pay tax on drinks for much longer. Coming home, we were back in US waters by the end of dinner.

 

I also preferred the mix of people from PC. The NOLA cruise we took definitely had a rougher crowd than I prefer around my elementary school age kids...there was a huge group that was the Coonass cruise who were ridiculously loud and crude, and just a lot more cursing and drunk people than we experienced out of PC.

[luvsviola]

Sailing up the Mississippi takes a really long time, so you pay tax on drinks for much longer. Coming home, we were back in US waters by the end of dinner.

 

I also preferred the mix of people from PC. The NOLA cruise we took definitely had a rougher crowd than I prefer around my elementary school age kids...there was a huge group that was the Coonass cruise who were ridiculously loud and crude, and just a lot more cursing and drunk people than we experienced out of PC.