Will I be disappointed on the Magic?

[PrincessShmoo]

I'm going on a Magic Cruise in November of next year. I've sailed on the Fantasy twice, this will be my first time on the Magic.
So, the magic does not offer Disney movies on demand in stateroom?
Also, there is no Midship Detective agency?
This will be the first cruise since my divorce. I'm nervous and trying to make it special for my daughter, who is a little upset her dad is not going. Personally, I know it will be a holiday cruise so there will be lots of activities. But my girl is already talking about ordering cookies and milk from room service and watching disney movies at bedtime.
Anyone do the Magic cruise from NY to Bahamas? Did the day in Disney go smooth?

Yes, no "on-demand" movies. There are, however, several different movie channels on the tv that play movies on a loop all day. For example: channel XX has movie A starting at 3:15, 5:15, 7:15, 9:15, etc; and channel YY has movie B starting at 2:00, 3:00, 5:00, 8:00, etc; and channel ZZ has movie C at 1:45; 3:45, 5:45, 7:45, etc. And so on.....

No Midship Detective Agency

Milk and cookies and a movie sounds like fun.

 

[Lilu86]

Thanks everyone! Not going to lie, I'm a little disappointed.
However, I'm sure we'll get swept up in the magic of Disney and have a blast!

 

[Shanti]

I'm going on a Magic Cruise in November of next year. I've sailed on the Fantasy twice, this will be my first time on the Magic.
So, the magic does not offer Disney movies on demand in stateroom?
Also, there is no Midship Detective agency?
This will be the first cruise since my divorce. I'm nervous and trying to make it special for my daughter, who is a little upset her dad is not going. Personally, I know it will be a holiday cruise so there will be lots of activities. But my girl is already talking about ordering cookies and milk from room service and watching disney movies at bedtime.
Anyone do the Magic cruise from NY to Bahamas? Did the day in Disney go smooth?

The Magic and Wonder do not have on-demand programming, no. There are different channels, including one that shows Disney movies, but you can't control which film or what time. They have no Midship Detective Agency. It is still a very nice ship, and I hope you have fun.

 

[jiminyC_fan]

This is something that is up to the individuals. Do you like more glamour? Or is a more intimate, nice, small ship with fewer people more attracting to you? Do you want or need all the adult clubs? All have great entertainment and CM's. You are treated the same on all. We started on the classics and we much prefer the smaller size. I just recently got off a Viking Ocean Cruise with fewer people than the Magic/Wonder. I'm not sure that I can go on another "larger" ship anymore. It really is all about your wants, desires and expectations. We've never been disappointed on a DCL cruise.

 

[dtrain]

I don't like these kinds of threads. Better to wait and experience the unknown without influence, how you perceive the ship will never be the same as someone else. This could be your best cruise ever, or not.....but make sure you decide for yourself. I hope you have an amazing time!

 

[jiminyC_fan]

I don't like these kinds of threads. Better to wait and experience the unknown without influence, how you perceive the ship will never be the same as someone else. This could be your best cruise ever, or not.....but make sure you decide for yourself. I hope you have an amazing time!

THIS

 

[mmouse37]

I may be a bit biased as we sailed on the Magic's Maiden Voyage back on July 30, 1998. We were hooked since then. Been on all the ships since (and I do love the Fantasy) but I still hold a special place in my heart for the Magic. We have been on her the most as well.

We will be doing our 39th DCL cruise this October on the Magic (NYC to Bahamas 10/14). We did the Wonder many times, most recently this past January. We did the Fantasy a few times, most recently last August, but I am still very much looking forward to sailing the Magic again.

The Tangled show literally brought tears to my eyes. I can't wait to see it again.

Go with an open mind!


MJ

 

[Coss]

I am a fan of the classic ships, the lines are much shorter for everything. The line on the Dream were 2x as long for me. If I want to wait in line, I might as well go to the parks and save some money.

 

[Mickey4me!]

Our first sailing on DCL was during the first couple of months during the Magic's inaugural season and she still remains our favorite - hands down. We's sailed Dream and Fantasy and while we enjoyed them both, we prefer the smaller ship with less crowds - which is really noticeable on Castaway. We sail sans small children so that may be a factor as well. Looking forward to sailing on her to Bermuda and/or Canada next year.

 

[tink1970]

I went on my 14th cruise with DCL, first on the Magic this summer (also in Europe). I realized quickly she is my favorite. Love the size, and the absence of Midship, mini golf, etc. I only left the ship in one port and enjoyed an almost empty adult pool area, never had company in the Rainforest Room, and the service was wonderful. At the end of the day, however, I'd say a day on DCL is always better than a day at work, so perhaps I'm easily pleased

 

[Shanti]

I am a fan of the classic ships, the lines are much shorter for everything. The line on the Dream were 2x as long for me. If I want to wait in line, I might as well go to the parks and save some money.

I've sailed on the Magic and Fantasy and didn't see any difference in lines or crowds on the ship. The latter is a bigger ship with more activities, so it absorbs the larger number of people.

The Pelican Plunge slide on CC had a longer line on the Fantasy, but it wasn't terrible, and that was the only difference I ever saw in terms of lines.

 

[Dug720]

I've sailed on the Magic and Fantasy and didn't see any difference in lines or crowds on the ship. The latter is a bigger ship with more activities, so it absorbs the larger number of people.

The Pelican Plunge slide on CC had a longer line on the Fantasy, but it wasn't terrible, and that was the only difference I ever saw in terms of lines.

Agreed. The only time I have really felt a crowd on a ship was the indoor sail away on the Magic when everyone crammed into the atrium. Beyond that, there were still lines for characters, some of which (Captain Jack I'm 99% sure at least) actually filled before the character even got there on the Magic.

I can't speak to slide lines as I'm not into pools/slides period and on Castaway I go to SB exclusively.

 

[GatorMomInNC]

I haven't sailed on the Dream yet, but I have sailed on the Fantasy. The Fantasy is beautiful, I loved the Skyline lounge, but I've spent 40 nights on the Magic and she is my favorite ship. Tangled is the best. They turn O'Gills into the Snuggly Ducking before the show, which is a lot of fun. You will have a great time, you probably will just wish you had more time to spend on the ship given how port intensive the Med cruise is. Tons of movies on the TV - you just may not catch what you want right at the start but there is no lack of options. Aquadunk is awesome, but scary and probably more for kids 9 and up.

 

[darnheather]

I felt wonderfully spoiled on the Magic. I never felt crowded and always managed to get a lounge chair whenever I wanted. The only time I didn't get a seat right away in Cabanas was embarkation day. If you go in looking for things to nitpick and find fault with then you will be disappointed. If you go in looking for all the wonderful things the Magic offers that the larger ships don't then you will leave happy.

 

[keaster]

We did the Med on the Magic in 2010 (before the most recent dry dock where they added the Aqua Dunk and some other amenities). Honestly, it's such a port intensive cruise you probably won't have time to notice the difference between the Magic or the other DCL ships.

 

[n2mm]

We've done all 4. We don't hesitate to book any of them. They each have great things about them. We find the larger ships to be crowed, while smaller ships are more intimate. We find ourselves running into the same people all the time. We enjoy the modern features of the larger ships and the aqua duck and satellite falls. We are on the fantasy in a couple of weeks, but on the wonder in February for a B2B (3/7). We don't have anything negative to say about them.

 

[lds0191]

We have been on all but the Fantasy and have enjoyed all three ships. We love the Magic and do feel like it is 'home' as she was our first Disney cruise but all of the ships have their own distinct personalities. We were on the Magic for Christmas 2015 and it was the best cruise ever. The decorations, activities, characters, service and food were amazing. You will have a great time!

 

[mevelandry]

We have done the Dream twice before we tried the Wonder. We definitely felt a bit "cramped" in it... Especially in the tiny tiny elevators. You might notice a little rust here and there (can't say we saw much rust on the Dream). There are less guests but when an activity (like the shows) is very popular, it can feel very crowded. I felt that the area near the main pool did not "breathe" much.

Although it looked much older and in need of TLC, we enjoyed the adult section more. There is much more space around the adult pool on the Wonder than the Dream.

Also, I liked the MDR a bit more on the Wonder.

I prefered the look of Palo on the Dream and definitely missed Remy.

We also missed the mini-golf and DH missed the Aquaduck.

The bathroom in the cabin looked older but the rest of the cabin looked just as good as a Dream cabin.

 

[jrabbit]

...
The Tangled show literally brought tears to my eyes. I can't wait to see it again. ...

So you have seen Frozen on the Wonder (you were on the cruise right before ours in January) and now you have seen Tangled.

Frozen is pretty cool - but Tangled is better?!!

Mini Review / comparison Please

 

[Jen B.]

Great info! We are on the Magic in December.