Disney Magic vs Disney Fantasy- Is the Fantasy Worth It?

[Rubeng724]

We've always wanted to try the Disney Fantasy, but when we compared the prices with the Disney Magic (since both offer 7 night Caribbean itineraries), I'm not sure if it's really worth it. It was a about $1,000 more for a family of 4 in an inside stateroom. Why such a huge price difference? I understand the Fantasy should be more expensive, because it's the newest ship, but not THAT much more expensive! Plus, the Magic got re-imagined. Am I missing on something? Would YOU pay the extra for the newer ship?

Also, the Fantasy departs on Saturday and visits Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Falmouth, and Castaway Cay (Western Caribbean). The Magic departs on Sunday and visits St. Thomas, Tortola, and Castaway Cay. The itinerary is important, but definately not as important as the ship.

P.S. Our party consists of 2 adults and 2 teens. (We are BIG Disney fans and this will be our 1st Disney cruise!)

 

[taishartrueblood]

IMO yes. The newer ships are nicer in every way

 

[DrTeri]

We've always wanted to try the Disney Fantasy, but when we compared the prices with the Disney Magic (since both offer 7 night Caribbean itineraries), I'm not sure if it's really worth it. It was a about $1,000 more for a family of 4 in an inside stateroom. Why such a huge price difference? I understand the Fantasy should be more expensive, because it's the newest ship, but not THAT much more expensive! Plus, the Magic got re-imagined. Am I missing on something? Would YOU pay the extra for the newer ship?

Also, the Fantasy departs on Saturday and visits Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Falmouth, and Castaway Cay (Western Caribbean). The Magic departs on Sunday and visits St. Thomas, Tortola, and Castaway Cay. The itinerary is important, but definately not as important as the ship.

P.S. Our party consists of 2 adults and 2 teens. (We are BIG Disney fans and this will be our 1st Disney cruise!)

It's completely a matter of preference. I've been on both and I personally prefer the Magic but that may be because she was my first love. The service seems more personal, it's less crowded at Castaway Cay, and the new musical Tangled is fabulous ( it's only on the Magic). There are things that I loved on the Fantasy like the animated art work and the Aquaduck but not $1000 worth. The Magic has the Aquadunk which your teens should love ( it was a little scary for me but still fun). You will have a great time on either ship though. We were just on the Magic in November and had such a wonderful time that we booked again while on board!

 

[bradisgoofy]

We have sailed on all four ships and prefer the larger ships because of the deck entertainment. The shows are more elaborate and there is more stage for a bigger cast which we think is more fun. The itinerary and time of year sometime dictates what ship you get. We did a five day to Key West and only the smaller ships go there because of the dock. We did the the western Caribbean not too long ago and really enjoyed it. We took all the full island guided tours (the inexpensive ones) and found them well worth the cost. If you do this one be sure to do the tour in Grand Cayman that takes you to the turtle farm, it was fun even for oldsters like us.

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

We've always wanted to try the Disney Fantasy, but when we compared the prices with the Disney Magic (since both offer 7 night Caribbean itineraries), I'm not sure if it's really worth it. It was a about $1,000 more for a family of 4 in an inside stateroom. Why such a huge price difference? I understand the Fantasy should be more expensive, because it's the newest ship, but not THAT much more expensive! Plus, the Magic got re-imagined. Am I missing on something? Would YOU pay the extra for the newer ship?

Also, the Fantasy departs on Saturday and visits Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Falmouth, and Castaway Cay (Western Caribbean). The Magic departs on Sunday and visits St. Thomas, Tortola, and Castaway Cay. The itinerary is important, but definately not as important as the ship.

P.S. Our party consists of 2 adults and 2 teens. (We are BIG Disney fans and this will be our 1st Disney cruise!)

My teens much prefer the big ships to the classics but are happy to be on either. However, we've only been on the Wonder not the Magic.

You didn't mention the type of stateroom you're looking at. If it's an inside, it's higher because the magic portholes on the Fantasy.

The Magic may be les expensive also because you have 1 less set of port fees to pay.

I don't think you can go wrong either way.

 

[DrTeri]

We've always wanted to try the Disney Fantasy, but when we compared the prices with the Disney Magic (since both offer 7 night Caribbean itineraries), I'm not sure if it's really worth it. It was a about $1,000 more for a family of 4 in an inside stateroom. Why such a huge price difference? I understand the Fantasy should be more expensive, because it's the newest ship, but not THAT much more expensive! Plus, the Magic got re-imagined. Am I missing on something? Would YOU pay the extra for the newer ship?

Also, the Fantasy departs on Saturday and visits Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Falmouth, and Castaway Cay (Western Caribbean). The Magic departs on Sunday and visits St. Thomas, Tortola, and Castaway Cay. The itinerary is important, but definately not as important as the ship.

P.S. Our party consists of 2 adults and 2 teens. (We are BIG Disney fans and this will be our 1st Disney cruise!)

Another thing you might consider is that for less than $1000 you could probably upgrade to a room on the Magic with a navigator's verandah or a partially obstructed verandah (we had room 6634 which we absolutely loved!). That would give your family more room and I think it is a better bang for the buck so to speak.

 

[HookedOnDCL1]

My understanding is that if there are more ports, the cruise is more expensive because of the port fees. That said, the Fantasy is usually also a little more expensive than the classics due to larger, newer ship and more ammenities. So those 2 things combined would be what is adding up to the $1000 difference.

Personally, I would have a slight preference for the Fantasy because I prefer the Aquaduck over the Aquadunk and I enjoyed the Mid-ship Detective Agency and the Animation dinner show where you create your own characters.

I know you said itinerary wasn't that important to you but you may want to consider whether you want 4 port days or 3 port days in a week - number of sea days does makes a difference.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[Partyof4LA]

We were comparing those two ships as well, but the Magic was going from Miami and the Fantasy from Port Canaveral. For our family, it was going to cost around $700 more to fly into Miami so that pretty much negated the fare difference and we booked the Fantasy.

 

[mom4fun]

One thing I've noticed that if you compare inside staterooms, there is a huge difference but not as much for verandas.

 

[melni]

I prefer the Magic to the Fantasy, but would be more than happy to be on either ship. I just like the feel of the smaller ships--my teenagers liked both ships equally well.

 

[Bear3412]

Many tweens and teens prefer the larger vessels for their enhanced and larger clubs, at least before the re-imagined Magic, which I know little. So .... consider the kid's clubs too.

Ages of your teens?