Cruising Wonder or Magic after Dream and Fantasy

I have no issues switching from one ship to another, I love them all.

I actually found Cabanas on the small ships to be so crowded, they truly do not flow as well as they do on the Dream and Fantasy. That was my biggest complaint on the small ships. I am a lover of the new ships but have sailed all of them to experience the new shows. Didn't change my mind, still love the Fantasy the most but enjoyed the others. Tangled is really great show. Will likely go on the Wonder after dry dock to see the new Frozen. My kids though hands down like the clubs on the new ships better.

scootch said:

I actually found Cabanas on the small ships to be so crowded, they truly do not flow as well as they do on the Dream and Fantasy. That was my biggest complaint on the small ships. I am a lover of the new ships but have sailed all of them to experience the new shows. Didn't change my mind, still love the Fantasy the most but enjoyed the others. Tangled is really great show. Will likely go on the Wonder after dry dock to see the new Frozen. My kids though hands down like the clubs on the new ships better.

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I agree with you about Beach Blanket Buffet on the Wonder. Cabanas on the Magic seemed about the same as Cabanas on the Dream. Hopefully after the Wonder goes through it's reimagining and Beach Blanket becomes Cabanas it will be better.

Have done a grandslam of the DCL fleet, and my family and I definitely prefer the classic ships. They just don't feel as crowded, have much better itineraries, the Cruise Staffs seem to get to know you better, and they usually have many fewer first time cruisers (especially compared to Disney Dream). Pecking order for us is Disney Magic, Disney Wonder, Disney Fantasy, and as a very last resort, Disney Dream.

The Magic was a huge disappointment after cruising on the Dream and Fantasy. I won't go in to the reasons because I'll be told I'm wrong but the Magic didn't live up to the hype for me.

DCLDVC1 said:

The Magic was a huge disappointment after cruising on the Dream and Fantasy. I won't go in to the reasons because I'll be told I'm wrong but the Magic didn't live up to the hype for me.

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As someone who has only done the Dream and Fantasy but has a Magic cruise booked (I'll be on it regardless), I'm interested in what you saw as the drawbacks. If you'd rather PM me, that's fine. Thanks!

Our first experience was on the Fantasy and then we did the Wonder. I have to say that while any DCL cruise is better than none, I did prefer the Fantasy. The Buffet area on the Fantasy was much better (and the food was better too). The adult pool area on the Fantasy was amazing while the Wonders was good but the biggest difference for us was the Rainforest Room. I won't do it again on a classic but on a newer ship, I'll be in like Flynn!

After sailing the Fantasy and Dream I really missed seeing the Aquaduck on that first walk around the pool deck, but I quickly got over it. And I found the dining rooms to be less noisy than on the larger ships.

DCLDVC1 said:

The Magic was a huge disappointment after cruising on the Dream and Fantasy. I won't go in to the reasons because I'll be told I'm wrong but the Magic didn't live up to the hype for me.

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Don't be hesitant to share your opinion. That's the point of a discussion board.Not everyone will agree, but that's to be expected.

We've sailed on all four ships. While the Dream and Fantasy have a lot more bells and whistles and more technological advancements, and more lounges and bars, we still find the smaller ships more intimate. They are our first cruise homes and hold a special place in our hearts. We're going back on the Magic next year and I have no fear that I will be let down after sailing more recently on the Dream and Fantasy. I think I will be glad for the smaller number of passengers and cozier feel.

Shanti said:

Don't be hesitant to share your opinion. That's the point of a discussion board.Not everyone will agree, but that's to be expected.

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;
Besides, we need a new argument as passports/no passports has grown very old.

I remember going on my first cruise ever and walking into the Royal Court restaurant and being like almost blown away at the size and # of people. I was like "woah this is huge" - I think this was the moment it hit me as to how many people were actually on the ship. I didn't really notice the crowds after that until the pool. I didn't like the pool on at sea days because just way too many people. Then the adult section was kind of sad - the pool is so small for the amount of people and also I don't think at the time it had Satellite falls so I didn't get to experience that. But there was such a beautiful magic to the Dream, I just love her and miss her. Other than the pools we didn't feel crowded.

On our next cruise with the Wonder I was really worried about going from Dream Class to Wonder but I was pleasantly surprised .... - I'll be back to update but I have to jump on a work call, so sorry!

DCLDVC1 said:

The Magic was a huge disappointment after cruising on the Dream and Fantasy. I won't go in to the reasons because I'll be told I'm wrong but the Magic didn't live up to the hype for me.

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I am actually curious, because while we like all 4 ships, the ranking is the classics pulling up the top 2 spots followed by the Fantasy with the Dream a ways back. Our reasons are similar to others in that on the classics the staff seems friendlier, guests seem friendlier too, the layout of the ship, less technology than the bigger ships and so on. But for me those answers apply to us, everyone likes different things there really isn't a right or wrong, just different opinions

To the OP, it really depends on what you are looking for, the classics seem to be a more relaxed trip for us vs the Dream class. While the quiet cove pool is great on the classics, I do miss the satellite falls on the Fantasy and now the Dream. The kids club areas are nice on the classics, but I do have to admit I was a bit jealous of that kids club on the front of the Fantasy, that was pretty cool. They need an adults area that is that sequestered on all of their ships

OK I'm back... so I researched this topic before going on the Wonder because I had the same concerns... so a few random thoughts:
- I found the biggest difference was the atrium, definitely a smaller version, a smaller feel right away when stepping onto the Wonder so for this reason I googled the videos and images of the atrium so I was prepared for the difference, instead of it hitting me without expecting it... once I did that I felt I still could have the magic of entering the ship with the grand atrium
- I had a previously booked 2016 EC cruise on the Fantasy heading into the Wonder 2015 cruise, after snagging a cabana as a silver member on the Wonder (just got lucky from stalking the port activities DCL website) and seeing how no magic or experience was lost - I went to on board reservations and changed my booking to 2016 EC cruise sailing to the Magic instead of the Fantasy for my 2016 cruise - this was confirmation in my opinion of how both experiences are awesome but I wasn't sure until I saw it for myself (happy I did because I was able to snag a cabana again!)
- I was comforted by the size of the restaurants, they were much smaller than the bigger ships and I noticed their size but it just served as a reminder of the lower headcount on the smaller ship, more of an tight knit feeling
- the dance party is much smaller and crowded and better on the bigger ships imo
- the pools! the pools are way better on the smaller ships, especially love the new set up on the magic... I was blown away by the adult section compared to the Dream - I haven't experience S Falls yet so I may change this after my cruise next year but I was really impressed by the pools and the pool crowds, it didn't even bother me to be at sea with the crowd sizes
- the pirate show - so much better imo on the Dream... I don't like the rock and roll party on the older ships and love the longer time devoted to the characters and songs on the Dream
- we didn't experience mid ship detective because my kids were too small so I didn't feel like I was missing anything for that reason but looking forward to it for next year
- service - I feel like Wonder was the best, Dream was the second best, and Magic was not as great but OK
- night club - hands down better experience on the Dream but the adult clubs on the smaller ships are still great - we aren't night out people anyways, we usually drop the kids at the club after dinner and have an after dinner drink and thats it
- Rapunzel! Best show ever (on the Magic)

After I go on the Dream next year will be happy to update but I really enjoy the smaller ships - different experience but still enjoyable. Have fun!

We have sailed on the Fantasy, Dream and the Magic and I much prefer the Magic. We just got off the Fantasy on Saturday and, while I enjoyed the trip, the ship was simply too large and crowded IMHO. We sailed on the Magic on a B2B in Europe last year and it felt so cozy. We got to know a lot of the staff and really felt at home on the ship. We got lost on the Fantasy a few times on our first few days (Deck 5 forward trying to get to the kids club) and it was SO crowded. I also was not fond of the W. Carib. itinerary. Those are definitely ports I have no need to re-visit. If we do DCL again, it will be on a smaller ship with a more interesting itinerary.

Thanks for all the replies and advice.
We generally don't take advantage of the adults only area or the kids clubs too much. Our DS does not really like going to the kids club by himself, so we never really use the kids clubs too much. DS likes to talk about the aqua duck, but I find he really doesn't ride it that much once we are on the ship. We do like to spend time in the pools and watching the movies from the pool deck. I think more than anything I will miss the mid ship detective agency! We had a blast last trip finding all the clues.
I'm kind of curious now to see what the feel of the smaller ship would be like.
The cruise we are looking at would be after the Wonder has been through its dry dock at would have some of the new upgrades it is supposed to get.

anricat said:

I agree with you about Beach Blanket Buffet on the Wonder. Cabanas on the Magic seemed about the same as Cabanas on the Dream. Hopefully after the Wonder goes through it's reimagining and Beach Blanket becomes Cabanas it will be better.

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My most recent experience with it was on a 3 night Magic in March. I think part of the problem is the Fantasy and Dream have 3 breakfast option and the Magic only has 2. I also wonder too if there were alot of new cruisers as I know alot of people like to get their feet wet with a shorter cruise, so maybe they didn't understand how the line is suppose to work.

scootch said:

My most recent experience with it was on a 3 night Magic in March. I think part of the problem is the Fantasy and Dream have 3 breakfast option and the Magic only has 2. I also wonder too if there were alot of new cruisers as I know alot of people like to get their feet wet with a shorter cruise, so maybe they didn't understand how the line is suppose to work.

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Even with crew members standing there telling them "there is no line, just go directly to the station you want" people still get snarky and stink eye if you aren't in "line." I do prefer the island style, but it only really works if everyone is on board. (Har har.)