First Cruise on Magic and unsure of ship!!!!!

[scargal]

Love ALL the ships. They all have their own personality.

 

[bats]

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the Magic......to us the best ship in the fleet and we have cruised all.....Mate......

^^^^^ this^^^^^^^ We've also done all 4 and the Magic is easily our favourite. The Fantasy would be second with Wonder then Dream. Just got off the Magic on Saturday and boarding again 89 days .. Can't wait!!!

 

[Ofinn]

I would love to try the magic, but I have some of the same concerns as OP. I find a lot of reviews on cruise critic with complaints about plumbing problems, rattling ac's, and sewage smells. I get the impression from the reviews that the ship is great, but the staterooms are pretty hit or miss when it comes to the condition of the room.

 

[deebits]

We have been on the Dream, Wonder, Magic and will be on the Fantasy in July. All of them have their charm, but our heart is the Magic. We just booked next July on the Magic to Northern Europe. I am sure like any cruise ship, you can get a hit or miss with a cabin. Disney however will try their best though to make it the best cruise possible for you. There is a reason why the Disney ships are in the top cruise ships in the world.

 

[SplashMom]

I'm so happy to hear all of the wonderful reviews for the Magic! We have done two cruises on the Dream and will be on the Magic in March. I was worried that it wouldn't be as nice...I am no longer worried! Can't wait until March!!!

 

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

Hi OP! Wow you guys are such a fortunate Disney family! We just got back from a Land & Sea in May, and I have to say, I absolutely THOROUGHLY enjoyed my time on the Magic! I was completely entertained! However, we were less over the moon for the state of the rooms. On the other hand, the updates to the public areas and restaurants were nothing short of stellar. I think the best thing to do is read through our Trip Reports. Mine is just a 4 day, but I saw that there were some including Transatlantics, which might be similar to the longer cruise you are looking at.

Here's mine:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3276365

The question becomes what is more important to you. Having spectacular dining and service, laughing til you hurt, and going back to a comfortable bed and room but maybe the shower is showing its age, or the faucet is leaking? I've stayed on nicer ships on other lines and had a horrible time because we couldn't even get waters or coffee filled, or there were lines for everything (even self serve ice cream!), so I can attest that a beautiful new ship isn't everything for your cruising experience.

Unfortunately, there is only one choice if you want to cruise on Disney's standard level of cruising and cruise Europe, and that's Magic. The same goes for Alaska. In these cases, you get the smaller/older (but often times just as beloved) ships vs incredible itineraries.

On the other hand, if you are cruising for the stellar ships, there is no doubt that Dream and Fantasy are it! But as you mention, they become more of the destination instead of their sometimes 'been there, done that' itineraries.

We actually loved our Bahamian Dream so much that we specifically picked the same exact itinerary to come back on the Magic, plus a sea day. Our experience in Nassau was that good. Plus if you cruise Europe, you will not get to go to Castaway Cay (I think? Some of the TAs do, I think...) so that is something to consider as well. When it came down to it, our Dream experience was just a little better than our Magic, with the condition of the rooms showing more than perhaps anything else. Guest Services worked hard to resolve our concerns. I also ate better on this trip than I have on any other single trip of my entire life, as everything was set in advance for Gluten Free and I have never indulged so much and not even been so sick on a trip in my life. It was totally freeing!

For our family trips, we have decided that we just enjoyed the newer ships too much to spend that kind of expense to go on the Magic for a European destination. My next goal is to get on the Fantasy, the most beautiful ship I have had to tail back and forth on our last Carnival. We enjoyed the technology upgrades in the new ships (although the animation dinner show at Animators Palate on Magic makes a very, very strong effort to match the Dream and is the same as the Fantasy), but we liked the interactive 'alive' feel of the Dream vs the Magic.

I guess if it was me, I would dip my toes into a Disney cruise before I jumped into a major destination, IF the ship equals a big part of your enjoyment. If on the other hand, you are dying to give Norway a try and don't trust other cruise lines (which can be a warranted concern if you know you like Disney's standards of service), then you might be happy taking the Norway cruise on the Magic. If it was me, I'd try a week on the Fantasy first if I could afford it, and if not, I'd take a 4 day on the Dream and go back to Blue Lagoon which was already perfect for us anyway!

I hope that helps?

 

[Volunteer]

I'm a first time cruiser but WDW, DL, and DLP vet. Next year we thought we'd do something a bit different and take a Disney cruise as we've had so many other Disney things to do and see (Hong Kong and Tokyo Disneyland this year).

I've booked a b2b on the Magic for the Norway/Iceland cruises for 2015 but I feel slightly uncomfortable about the ship itself. I first looked at the option of a Disney cruise 2 years ago and saw a 'walkthrough' video on Youtube of the Magic and I had to say I really wasn't impressed with the look of the ship and public areas. Last year I went youtubing and saw the walkthroughs of the Fantasy and had to say I was much much more impressed. In fact we actually had a reservation on the Fantasy for this year but cancelled as we decided to venture to Japan. The new ships just seem to have a higher spec than the classics. More detailed and appealing - maybe more 'Disney'.

The only problem with the new ships is I have absolutely no desire to go to the Caribbean or Bahamas. I live in Australia and the untouched pristine beach is literally across the road so sun and sand is my usual life. I've seen many threads say select the cruise for the itinerary and not the ship and the Magic's Europe itinerary is fantastic.

Someone allay my fears?

I went on the re-imagined Magic after cruising on the Dream and Fantasy and had the same concerns, but they were all for naught. My family loved the Magic, so I don't think you'll feel like you're missing something or on a "second-class" ship.

Also, you will love Tokyo Disneyland Resort! Make sure to get there early for rope drop Feel free to ask me any questions about either the Magic or Tokyo and I'll do my best to answer!

 

[gigi1313]

I would love to try the magic, but I have some of the same concerns as OP. I find a lot of reviews on cruise critic with complaints about plumbing problems, rattling ac's, and sewage smells. I get the impression from the reviews that the ship is great, but the staterooms are pretty hit or miss when it comes to the condition of the room.

We have sailed three cruises on the reimagined Magic and had two rooms on each of those cruises for a total of six rooms... we had no problems with the exception of one room had a leak in the ceiling on the last night due to an inconsiderate guest above us flooding the bathroom (yeah, we went up and checked it out for ourselves) and at the first report of water dripping, DCL immediately moved us to another, higher category, stateroom (we went from an inside to a verandah). My kids wished it had happened earlier in the trip! LOL!

 

[Beermam42]

Magic is the Farrie of the fleet. It is a great ship and after remodeling just as much a DCL Top of the line ship. We like Magic over Fantasy mainly because of number of guest.

 

[Royal Consort]

I went on the re-imagined Magic after cruising on the Dream and Fantasy and had the same concerns, but they were all for naught. My family loved the Magic, so I don't think you'll feel like you're missing something or on a "second-class" ship.

Thank you everyone for your responses. It certainly has allayed my fears and concerns. Part of me did think I was placing a great deal of money down on a ship that may not be to the Dream fleet standard. However, considering that itineraries should be the deciding factor in a cruise there's a lot on offer here. I would still really like to experience the Dream/Fantasy at some point but it would only be for the experience of being on the ship because I think their itineraries are boring. I honestly feel more confident in this decision now as it's certainly an expensive trip and we all try to get the best bang for our buck don't we?

 

[cruisecrasher]

Exactly. Plus sometimes our schedule works better for one itinerary or another.