Differences in cruise based on ship

[Sleepyluke]

Not sure if title explains but we have been on 6 cruises, 5 on Magic and 1 on Fantasy. Have 1 booked on Wonder, and honestly no urge to go on the Dream right now. My question is as much an observation. The Fantasy was a great cruise but everything was more hectic in almost every aspect. Our reason to not really want the Dream is from reports it seems to be even more hectic than the Fantasy.

In your experience does the ship help dictate the mood as much as the cruise? Or is it "seasoned" cruisers on the older ships not having to experience everything right now? And we did and do everything on all trips. We have done the same cruise on both Magic and Fantasy and think the Magic crew, guests, and us were way more relaxed. No right or wrong here just wanted to know what you think makes the difference?

 

[Happy100]

Your observations can definitely impact one's experience. However I haven't found more "seasoned" cruisers on the Magic then Fantasy so I suspect other variables come into play for us. We felt like the ship did dictate our moods and not as much as the other cruisers. We by far prefer the Fantasy due to all the "new ship" advantages.

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

I think it's luck of the draw. We experienced our best service in the MDR on the Dream, worst was on the Wonder. Our best stateroom attendant was on the Wonder though, love me some Noreen! She's amazing!!!!

Our most relaxing cruise was the Eastern on the Fantasy and the Western on the Fantasy was our overall favorite because it was more adventurous because the excursions we chose.

Our least favorite was the Wonder from Vancouver to San Diego, weather was cold and rainy so didn't get any outside time on the ship. I also thought it was the least friendly crew we've ever experienced, had that been my first DCL cruise I wouldn't go on another.

We are looking forward to the Magic next year, but at this point our favorite ship is the Fantasy.

 

[snoopy5386]

Can you give an example of what you mean by hectic vs relaxed? We are just off the dream and I wouldn't describe it as hectic. Pools were filled and the line for the aqua duck got long during the day, but we also walked on it several times at the right time. We cruised the dream for the aqua duck, the midship detective agency and for a chance to go on one of the new ships. We cruised the magic quite a while ago and the only thing that seemed different on the magic was the pools being less crowded.

 

[donkthemagicllama]

We’ve gone on the Dream and the Wonder, and I’d definitely agree with you regarding the feel. The Wonder seemed much more relaxed than the Dream.

Not sure what the cause is, size? Maybe people that are less concerned with missing out on the aqua duck are a more relaxed bunch? Maybe the staff has been around longer? Our Wonder cruise was out of Galveston, maybe it was full of easy going Texans? The first day was at sea on the Wonder, maybe that sets up a more laid back tone? Maybe the longer cruise is just more laid back? Maybe the Wonder cruise wasn’t at capacity? Maybe the mix of children vs adults was different?

Hard to say. It’s probably a mix of these and perhaps something I'm not thinking of. For what it’s worth, we preferred the Wonder, but I wouldn’t hesitate to go on the Dream again.

Edited to add: the more I think about it, I'm probably overthinking it. It's probably luck of the draw as Club Disney Chandler suggests.

 

[Dug720]

I think the Dream naturally feels "more hectic" because it is always 3 and 4 nights (OK, the occasional 5-night double dip, but generally speaking) and so a lot of people will use it as a "tester" cruise and feel like they have to do EVERYTHING!!!

I'll have a 4-night on the Magic coming up, and it will be my first time on one of the Classics. Having done a 3 night Dream and a 4 night Dream, I'll be interested to see if being a shorter cruise it too feels "hectic" around us. We are chill and take things as they come, but I definitely could pick up on the "gotta do it all" vibe of others when walking around.

I didn't feel like the Fantasy was "hectic" - but possibly that's because we started with 2 sea days so people felt like they could kind of take their time learning the ship?

 

[DISNEYFAN3260]

Agree with PP - I think length of cruise has more to do with the feel of the trip than anything. I prefer the larger ships, but the shorter cruises do have a more hurried feel as everyone seems to be trying to fit it all in in 3 or 4 nights, regardless of which ship they're on.

 

[Sleepyluke]

Snoopy 5386 - Can you give an example of what you mean by hectic vs relaxed?

From dinners to Shutters to just the whole feel of the ship. All of our cruises have been 7 night, but servers on the Fantasy seemed to be rushed and did not talk much, lines longer and really felt like cast members had more to deal with. Don't get me wrong, it was still incredible, and there are incredible cast members who go out of their way for you, but we found more chair hogging, more people who just seemed to be rushing to everything. Maybe it is what society has become, but did not see much strolling through the halls at night, it was more hurry here hurry there. It was our most recent cruise too if that matters. It may be the same feeling of the commando WDW people, have to do everything that is new and exciting. Nothing wrong with it, just different feeling.

 

[nearlyfallinstar]

I imagine the time of year would make a difference as well. We were on the Dream in September and it felt very laid back. Less children on board probably contributed to that atmosphere though.

 

[apathetic]

I've been on all 4 ships and none felt hectic. Some areas (pools) are busy and some ports do seem to be hectic (especially CC). But that is all the ships and only a small part of the experience. Our very first cruise felt hectic, but I realized that was us trying to do everything like at WDW. Now we realize we have to pick and choose if you want a relaxing vacation. Trying to do too much will make it hectic, especially when battling the crowded pool areas.

 

[PlanoNana]

In talking to CMs who have worked on the ships, every cruise is slightly different even on the same ship. Some of what you experienced may have been how the guests interacted with each other and/or chemistry between you and the specific servers you had. Some folks just bring hectic with them and it rubs off on those around them. I've never been on either the Dream or the Fantasy but CC is the same size no matter which ship is docked there so I can see it feeling more hectic with the larger ships and more people.

 

[Birdie dog]

I'd say that the Dream is more hectic due to the fact that many first time cruisers do 3 and 4 nights to get their feet wet. Then they want to do everything before they get off again. With a longer cruise, you can be more relaxed because you aren't under the same time rush.

I happen to love the Dream. I know there are some DCL staff that work it as their last choice.

 

[jrabbit]

I prefer the classic ships. Love the Fantasy, just like the Dream at best. The Fantasy "fixed" or maybe improved upon a lot of issues that were discovered after the launch of the Dream. The new Tech stuff is really cool!!

The Classic Ships - Smaller, and to me most of the common spaces are better sized for the size of the ship vs. Dream Class. And the staterooms and bathrooms are slightly (yet noticeably) larger and better laid out on the Dream Class as well. The staterooms we typically sail in are much nicer on the classic ships. However, I do like being able to in the morning stumble out of my deck 2 room on the Dream / Fantasy and right into Enchanted Garden for breakfast.

But for me the most important / best reason for me Loving the Classic ships are the crew and service. I feel like I get better service and attention on the smaller ships. After 15 cruises on DCL I "been there done that" and I don't have to do everything. For me, I'm relaxing and visiting with people. I've had more / better opportunity to interact with crew and entertainers on the small ships because there's less "completion" from other guests because there's 1500 fewer guests on the classic ships vs dream class. I have spent lots of time visiting with Cruise Directors, Club Hosts, other Cruise Staff, Entertainers (DCL Mainstage and Guest performers), officers and other guests. These have been really interesting interactions that I don't get on the Larger Ships.

 

[kiford]

I can't say that I felt any difference due to the ship although I had thought that might be the case before we did a 3-4 day B2B on the Dream. It was actually the most relaxing of all of our cruises and the size of the ship and shortness of the two legs didn't seem to impact that. That said, it was probably because we didn't intend to spend much time on shore because we've been to Nassau before and we don't spend a lot of time on the beach so even at CC we spent much of the time relaxing by the pool, in the theatre, in the Meridian lounge or in our room. I think how we intended to approach the vacation was much more relevant to how we felt than the ship itself. I still prefer the Magic, possibly because we've sailed on her far more often, but there's things I like about all of the ships.

We didn't find the lines on the Dream to be any longer or service to be any more chaotic or rushed than on the Magic in general (there's always slight differences between cruises even on the same ship). In fact our server on the Dream used to come over and do magic tricks at the table (adults only table - no children). I really believe that it's your own attitude and how you want you vacation to go (i.e., rushing about or taking it slow or a mix of both) that will be reflected in how you feel about the ship.

 

[dragynally]

I've only been on the Dream and Fantasy but neither one felt hectic to me. But it's just me and my husband and we hang out in adult only areas. Which are really quiet most of the day. I also found that going to the restaurants for breakfast and lunch helped the pace as well. We also took the occasional room break.

 

[Flossbolna]

My four cruises so far were all very different in atmosphere:

cruise 1: 5-night out of Miami on Wonder: a lot of families who were speaking Spanish on this cruise, very few repeat cruisers. It was a wonderfully relaxed atmosphere, surprisingly a lot of people were dressing very nicely for the dining rooms.

cruise 2: 15-night Panama Canal cruise on Wonder: 3/4 of the ship were repeat cruisers, very few kids on board. This was the most crowded cruise I have experienced even though the ship was not at all at capacity (all staterooms were filled, but with fewer than average passengers). A lot of loud and large groups of adults.

cruise 3: 7-night Very Merrytime Eastern Caribbean on Fantasy: back to a family vibe. We never felt that the ship was crowded, we had our best dining room servers ever as well as an amazing room host. We spent so much more time chatting with our servers than on the previous two cruises.

cruise 4: 7-night inaugural Norway cruise on Magic: once again a cruise with a lot of adults and a lot of repeat cruisers. Also a lot of people who had done the previous two cruises as well and already gave out the flair of already owning the ship and not wanting to share with us lowly new-comers. This was again a very crowded cruise as the cold weather made everyone stay inside and take up the public spaces there. However, we had a fantastic server again who was equally attentive as the one on the Fantasy. Our stateroom host was wonderful again.

So, for me it is more the itinerary and time of year that makes the atmosphere of a cruise, not the ship. On the Fantasy I talked to a CM in the shop about how much I enjoyed the Fantasy because she had such a relaxed vibe and he said that this was just this cruise. Like a PP mentioned, he said that all cruises have a different dynamic depending on the guests and there are different seasons as to who usually travels during those times.