3 night Wish vs. 4 night Fantasy?

[Disney102015]

Hi all! We are doing a big family trip (3 rooms) aiming for January 2026. My immediate family (me, husband, kids 6, 4, and 2) did a 4 night cruise on the Wish last year and LOVED it. No one else in our party has cruised before.


Looking to our next trip. We can do a Wish 3 night or Fantasy 4 night, with a difference of about $250/room for the extra night. I’m really torn - we loved the Wish so much, especially the kids club, and we are traveling with huge Star Wars fans. But, I did think 3 nights might be short and kind of like the idea of trying a new ship. We will collectively have 5 little girls who love princesses, if that matters. We loved all the themed lounges on the Wish and weren’t quite as excited about the lounges or rotational dining on the Fantasy. The biggest thing we disliked about the Wish was the small pools.


Pros/cons to each? Thanks!

 

[JulieBeeRN]

I would go on the Fantasy for 4 nights. We loved the Wish too, but 3 nights seems like you barely have time to unpack before you leave again.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I would go with the 4 night cruise, because of the extra night.

 

[OKW Lover]

Longer is always better

 

[Calantha]

4 night Fantasy all the way (and not just because the Fantasy is my fav).

 

[CaptainMarvel]

I would absolutely pick the 4-night. Having done both 3 and 4 night cruises, the extra day really makes a difference. (The Fantasy is also a fantastic ship even without the level of dinner entertainment seen on the Wish).

 

[ShaneDJ]

Fantasy 100%.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Longer is always better

 

[lilmc]

It’s not even a debate in my mind. Longer and far superior ship. Go with the Fantasy.

 

[dcl_firefly]

I agree with everyone else - the four night on the Fantasy! I love both the Wish and the Fantasy but that extra night is definitely worth the increase in cost. More time to relax and make memories with your family. The princess fans in your group will enjoy the theaming of Royal Table, and there are still plenty of opportunities to meet multiple princesses on the ship.

 

[imbelle]

If your priorities are Star Wars and princesses, then the Fantasy may not measure up to what you experienced on the Wish. I recently cruised the Fantasy with my sister and niece whose favorite ship is the Wish, and that cruise did not change their opinions. That said, the tradeoff of an extra day and deeper pools, plus being able to experience a new-to-you ship are all solid reasons to give the Fantasy a try.

 

[Joanna71985]

I would definitely do the 4-night cruise

 

[mmouse37]

Fantasy all the way.....really like the Wish but 4 nights on the Fantasy is a no brainer. For your people who have never cruised they are not going to miss the Stars Wars theming of the Wish lounge/kids club. You get to experience a new to you ship.

MJ

 

[Meem93]

Hi all! We are doing a big family trip (3 rooms) aiming for January 2026. My immediate family (me, husband, kids 6, 4, and 2) did a 4 night cruise on the Wish last year and LOVED it. No one else in our party has cruised before.


Looking to our next trip. We can do a Wish 3 night or Fantasy 4 night, with a difference of about $250/room for the extra night. I’m really torn - we loved the Wish so much, especially the kids club, and we are traveling with huge Star Wars fans. But, I did think 3 nights might be short and kind of like the idea of trying a new ship. We will collectively have 5 little girls who love princesses, if that matters. We loved all the themed lounges on the Wish and weren’t quite as excited about the lounges or rotational dining on the Fantasy. The biggest thing we disliked about the Wish was the small pools.


Pros/cons to each? Thanks!

I sailed the wish in Nov 2022 with my husband on a 3 night and just did fantasy on a 4 night with my husband and 13 month old.

4 night fantasy hands down!! We both said we wouldn’t do any more 3 night cruises, especially with a child. I loved both ships but overall we both loved the fantasy more

 

[insureman]

Fantasy for sure. We did a b2b on the Wish and are not fans.

 

[sadiecatie]

Agree with everyone above - 4-night. We just did our first 3-night on the Wish a couple weeks ago, and though we think the ship is beautiful (we didn't have the same complaints I've heard voiced here - I think it's a great ship and look forward to sailing on the Treasure and Destiny in the future), 3 nights is just too short.

Also, if you have kids who love to swim (not just wade), bigger/deeper pool is a win. My daughter would only go in the two pools on the Wish that were deep enough for her to actually swim, and they were often crowded (we had at least one situation with tears because some kid kicked her in the face while she was swimming underwater).

 

[dreamer17555]

3 night cruises have a different energy to them. We have done a few so no shade but they often have a lot of new cruisers and people seem more stressed out trying to figure out the lay of the land and cram in as much as they can. The longer the sailing the more guests relax into vacation and don't stress over small things not being perfect.

 

[JM_97]

With three nights keep in mind that your embarkation day is half a day really since you aren't sailing until around 4 pm. And then for debarkation day, you are usually off the ship by 9 am. So you would only have two true days on the ship.

 

[JoeFromSeoul]

I like all the DCL ships, my favorite is truly the one I am on!

However, the Fantasy was our first and I will always see her as my home ship. Plus, I will almost always choose the longer cruise. We travel across 14 time zones, I want as much vacation as I can afford.