Considering a 5 night on Magic after 2 cruises on Dream....

[Clojel]

Hey all, looking for some feedback. We cruised on the Dream last November and have another cruise coming up on the dream this fall as well...but I'm looking ahead to my 2019 cruise and thinking about switching it up! My parents want to come with us and they have a limited window of availability so I was looking at the 5 night Merrytime Cruise on the Magic. Would we be disappointed with a classic ship after sailing on the newer one? Also, we sail concierge...is that different on the Magic? Do they offer less perks? More perks? Any feedback you have would be great!

Thanks!!

 

[GoofyLovingFamily]

I prefer Magic over Dream. I love the Tangled show. I look forward to trying Rapunzel restaurant next year when I return to Magic. I have had better cast members on Magic. I have not cruised concierge to help with that.

 

[JayhawkCruiser]

We started on the Fantasy for our first cruise, then the Dream (didn’t like as much), and finally the Magic for a Mediterranean cruise last year. The Magic was wonderful and we loved it just as much in its own right as the Fantasy. Our only complaint was the rainforest room wasn’t as nice as the Fantasy or Dream, but the ship is truly first class and you won’t regret or feel like anything’s missing on the classic ships.

 

[Marc D]

Having sailed all ships except Dream in Concierge, our favourite ships are the classics. Less people, the best dining rooms (Rapunzel, Tiana’s and the black&white Animator’s), the best Concierge lounges, less crowded kid pools. We do not use the Acquaduck enough to miss it and we have done the detective agency a few times already. We find that any DCL cruise is wonderful and never regret the missing amenities.

 

[FSU Girl]

I think I prefer the newer ships (so far only been on Magic and Dream, but has an upcoming Fantasy and Magic sailing) I've only done concierge on the Dream so can't comment on that. But I really enjoyed my Magic cruise and when you sail that you'll get all new shows and restaurants so I say go for it!

 

[Clojel]

Having sailed all ships except Dream in Concierge, our favourite ships are the classics. Less people, the best dining rooms (Rapunzel, Tiana’s and the black&white Animator’s), the best Concierge lounges, less crowded kid pools. We do not use the Acquaduck enough to miss it and we have done the detective agency a few times already. We find that any DCL cruise is wonderful and never regret the missing amenities.

Good points! Thanks. Do you recommend a particular room/deck on the Magic for concierge? We're only a family of 3 so we typically just do the family room, not the 1 or 2 bedrooms...but would love to hear thoughts!

 

[Clojel]

I prefer Magic over Dream. I love the Tangled show. I look forward to trying Rapunzel restaurant next year when I return to Magic. I have had better cast members on Magic. I have not cruised concierge to help with that.

Rapunzel is one of my favorites...I'm sure I'd love the Tangled show!!

 

[Carrie in AZ]

Are you sailing with a child? If they spend time in the clubs then I think they will notice a difference between the types of ships.

 

[Marc D]

Good points! Thanks. Do you recommend a particular room/deck on the Magic for concierge? We're only a family of 3 so we typically just do the family room, not the 1 or 2 bedrooms...but would love to hear thoughts!

Can’t help you since we’ve only done 1BR. I’m pretty sure all the Concierge rooms are located on deck 8. All the 1BR are. The ship is so much smaller that you are never too far from where you need to be, unlike on the newer ships.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

We've sailed on the Dream, Fantasy and the Magic and the Magic is my absolute favorite. I really preferred it to the bigger ships. It feels so much more comfortable and not crowded at all. We sailed concierge, but not in a family suite. The perks are the same and they've added a dedicated lounge since we sailed. The concierge CM's were excellent. I, personally, would try to book a room under the spa and away from the pool decks as much as possible. Part of our suite was under Cove Cafe and we could hear them dragging stuff around up there late into the night.

 

[Clojel]

Are you sailing with a child? If they spend time in the clubs then I think they will notice a difference between the types of ships.

Yes, she will be 10.....she loves the club in the Dream. How different is the kids club on the magic?!

 

[Carrie in AZ]

Yes, she will be 10.....she loves the club in the Dream. How different is the kids club on the magic?!

Personally, I don’t know as we have only sailed on the classics. But our friends’ kids said they never wanted the Wonder again after experiencing the clubs on the Fantasy, so I thought I should bring it up! I have seen the pics, I am pretty sure the clubs on the Dream and Fantasy are much nicer, but hopefully others will chime in with their experience. Good luck and have fun!

 

[bigAWL]

Magic

• Smaller ship (some same more intimate and easier to navigate)
• Longer and more varied itineraries
• Less crowded Castaway Cay days
• Better (IMO) stage shows: Tangled, Twice Charmed, and Dreams (on our 5-night last month, they did not show Twice Charmed, though)
• Different restaurants: Rapunzel's, AP (with B/W-to-color Sorcerer Mickey show), Lumiere's
• Kid's clubs are a little older (yet kept up to date), including a Marvel area
• Aqua-Dunk drop tube water slide (for braver kids and adults)
• Family pool area that is split (kid and family pools separated by the rear funnel area)
• Only one adult dining option (but Palo anywhere is going to be great)

Dream

• Larger ship (potentially spreads crowds and maybe harder to find your way)
• Really only has one itinerary of 3 or 4 days
• Beauty and the Beast stage show (I haven't seen it) and Believe (which isn't my favorite)
• AP restaurant has different style and Crush interactive show
• Kid's clubs are newer (and more high tech), including a Star Wars area
• Aqua-Duck water coaster
• More cohesive family pool area
• Two adult dining options (we Remy)

As for Concierge, I haven't been to either one, but I've heard the new lounge on the Magic doesn't compare well with the facilities on the Dream. I suggest searching for YouTube videos to show you what all the various areas of the Magic look like. But find ones that are no older than a few months - the latest dry dock was earlier this year and added some great updates. And don't look at anything older than 2014 since they did a major "reimagining" in 2013.

 

[fredandkell]

We just did a five night Magic a couple of weeks ago after previously doing two cruises on the Dream. We really enjoyed it and felt that it was quite different from the Dream. We didn’t get to do half the things the ship offered even though it is much smaller. My husband liked the Magic better than the Dream and I like them both equally. I second a previous poster who said if you stay on deck eight, then make sure you are under the spa and nowhere else.

 

[DCLDVC1]

I've cruised in Concierge on all 4 ships and the Magic was my least favorite due to the size and location of the lounge and sundeck. Both are very small and were often crowded. The Concierge staterooms on the Magic are also scattered throughout deck 8 while the lounge is located midship Deck 10. We greatly prefer the convenience of the Concierge layout on the Dream.

From a ship standpoint, I found the Magic to feel a lot more crowded than the Dream even though there aren't as many passengers. My kids prefer the clubs on the Dream and didn't care for the AquaDunk at all. I didn't notice much difference in the food or service.

 

[matthew517]

Magic has the best crew. And the gyro station is the best

 

[disneylove69]

I have been on the Dream but prefer the smaller ships.

 

[cadien]

The kids club on the Magic did get upgraded as part of this year's drydock. It has a SHIELD headquarters instead of the Dream's Millennium Falcon, with Avengers activities instead of Jedi. It does have Andy's Room and Pixie Hollow, but doesn't have the Infinity game room.

 

[Clojel]

The kids club on the Magic did get upgraded as part of this year's drydock. It has a SHIELD headquarters instead of the Dream's Millennium Falcon, with Avengers activities instead of Jedi. It does have Andy's Room and Pixie Hollow, but doesn't have the Infinity game room.

Good to know! Thanks!

 

[DIS_MIKE]

I’ve been on the Dream twice with a third cruise coming up next month. I plan on booking a placeholder this time around and I’ve already started looking at future cruises.

I could easily leave from NYC, but I have family in Miami so it would be great to visit them and depart from Miami this time around. I’m totally in the same boat as the OP and have been looking at 5-night options on the Magic. It would be great to go to Grand Cayman, but I’ll have to prepare myself because a lot of times you cannot tender to the island and the ship turns around.

The Magic has a lot of appeal right now after the refurb along with the Rapunzel-themed restaurant and Tangled show. It all sounds great... including the Shawarma station. I’m also looking forward to CC not having a lot of people on it.

I appreciate the feedback from everyone and wanted to thank Clojel for creating the thread in the first place.

All things considered, I’m pretty positive that I’ll be doing the Magic for cruise #4 and it being a Very Merrytime cruise is just icing on the cake.