Fantasy vs. Magic

[torian]

Hi all,

I've only cruised on the Fantasy (3 times) and I'm considering a voyage on the Magic because there's so many times you can do either an eastern/western caribbean cruise.

Will I find the Magic small in comparison? Was the dry dock a few years back successful at updating her? Are the staterooms comparable? I assume the service and the food would be....

Any opinions greatly appreciated!

Tori

 

[Dug720]

I had only cruised Dream Class prior to Feb when I was on the Magic. I loved the her so much I booked on the Wonder for next Feb.

Is she smaller? Yes, but the only time it was noticeable to me was Sail Away which was indoors - and I can imagine it would be crowded on the Dream class too.

No, she doesn't have things like on-demand movies or Midship Detective (really the only thing I missed), but she has her own charm - and I don't really cruise for bells and whistles (or to sit in my cabin and watch movies), so it was not a big deal to me.

I did not see the age issues many on here say they have seen. My parents and I were in 2584 and 2582 and had zero issues with smells or plumbing. I am not saying those don't happen to other cabins because as I have said to someone else on here, I did not go cabin to cabin asking to sniff the toilets. I also had no issues with any public toilets.

I still love the Dream class and will cruise those again when the timing and itinerary (and lack of Star Wars theming for the week) is right. But I had zero qualms about booking the Wonder for 2018 after only a few hours on the Magic.

 

[cruiser21]

You should not be disappointed in the Magic if your sailing for the destination and not the ship. The Magic has always had plumbing issues. The maintenance dept keeps up with it for the most part. The staterooms are comparable just older. The service will be the same. Service varies from cruise to cruise and ship to ship anyway. I think you will like the ease of getting around the ship. I don't know if you have kids. The teen clubs are much better on the new ships. The lab is probably better on the new ships. but I believe they've updated the facilities.

 

[Cackyschmackers]

We've been on the Magic twice and Fantasy once, and I will tell you we prefer the Magic. We prefer the smaller feel, and the food seemed much better to us on the Magic. I'm sure you will have an awesome time! Have fun!

 

[KashasMom]

Our experience (twice on the Magic - before and after dry dock and the Fantasy twice with another on in August) is that it is so much more crowded than the Fantasy! If you have kids you'll be spending a lot of time in the atrium - dance parties, shows, character photos, etc. Our last cruise in November the atrium was wall-to-wall people and kids were literally getting stepped on. There was little crowd control. The pool is people-soup (although it's like that on all the Disney ships). The lounges were packed with people sitting on the floor to participate in activities. Before dry dock the room was a bit worn and bed covering was literally threadbare. Before AND after we had nasty grout/mold in the bathroom. A lot of people like the Magic but it's definitely not my favorite...it's just convenient out of NYC. Waiting for them to move one of the new ships to NYC or have 7 night cruises on the Dream!

 

[cheermom2four]

Ive been only on the Magic (last Feb) and the Fantasy (this past Sept) and cannot wait to go back on the Magic this Sept. On the Fantasy the kids club was so packed my daughter hated it, absolutely hated it. But then again, it was a western caribbean cruise and a lot of kids were on that cruise. We didnt really noticed it being extremely crowded on the magic when it was just my dh and I during the things held in the atrium, then again, we dont mind being a deck above the atrium and not right IN the action. Both ships had soup pools so basically no difference there. If you go to Castaway Cay you will definitely see a difference in the amount of people on the beach there as there were tons of places to sit when we went on the Magic but on the Fantasy we struggled to find spots on the family beaches later in the morning. Like a pp stated, I didnt smell anything weird (sewer problems etc that I've read about) but we were on deck 6 both times with a verandah. Only problem we had was people smoking on their verandah on both ships

 

[cruiser21]

I meant to say the teens clubs are better on the Dream Class. My son hates the new
Edge. It's way too small. I'm not sure why they moved it from deck 2 and took out the arcade.

 

[bbel]

I meant to say the teens clubs are better on the Dream Class. My son hates the new
Edge. It's way too small. I'm not sure why they moved it from deck 2 and took out the arcade.

Because the arcade wasn't making as much money as the new staterooms replacing the old edge...

 

[cruiser21]

Because the arcade wasn't making as much money as the new staterooms replacing the old edge...

I wondered what they did with that space.

 

[Dug720]

Because the arcade wasn't making as much money as the new staterooms replacing the old edge...

Also I would imagine - based on reading old reviews - they were getting a lot of complaints about the tweens running amoc on Deck 2 going to and from and just hanging out outside.

So I imagine it is a double win for DCL - fewer complaints about tween noise AND extra revenue.

 

[bbel]

I wondered what they did with that space.

But seriously, they did have to make some staterooms into crew rooms, so they're just making up for it in a way.
When you add things like bbb, concierge lounges, slides, they require more crew, and crew berthing was already at capacity pre-dry dock...

 

[bbel]

I wondered what they did with that space.

I always thought it would have been a good place for Bibbity Bobbity Boutique...but apparently the top of the stairs was better, lol.

 

[drsmileswife]

i know this is not what you are looking for, but it really is personal preference. We have been on the Wonder, Fantasy, and Magic. So, I can share my experiences, but what matters to me might not matter to you
1. Dining: I'm not sure if we just got a bad serving team on the Fantasy, but our dining experiences on the wonder and magic were amazing! Super personal and attentive waiters who made us feel like we were their only table.
2. Crowds: We never had trouble finding deck chairs by the pool on either ship- I didn't notice much difference in the crowds at deck parties and in the atriums. They are always crowded- I was surprised that a lot of the activities in the D lounge were never crowded (on any ship) my kids got to be part of almost every game- vs just being part of the audience.
3. Clubs: every club on every ship has been amazing! my kids weren't old enough for the tween/teen clubs when we went on the wonder or fantasy, but they LOVED them on the magic. My kids did miss mid ship detective agency when we went on the magic, but that was really the only thing.
4. Staterooms: i'm not aware of any plumbing problems on the older ships- we stayed on deck 2 on the magic and I think our rooms were wonderful (so was our stateroom host). Thats the other thing- we got to know our staterooms hosts on the older ships and never saw ours on the Fantasy (my kids called him our stateroom ninja) might have just been a coincidence. We have 5 kids, so we have to get connecting rooms. And since we really don't use our rooms except to sleep and change we always get inside rooms. I thought the kids would miss the magic porthole on the magic, but they didn't even mention it's absence.
5. Castaway: just get off the ship first thing. People sleep in- we noticed more people when we sailed the fantasy, but not until around 10:30 or 11

We are planning another cruise- I finally convinced my family to try one! And it's on the Wonder, mostly because the itinerary and we want to see the new changes since we last sailed the Wonder. You may notice some difference in the ships, but No matter which ship you choose- disney knows how to do it! There's a reason we are now planning our 4th cruise, when we swore it would be a once in a lifetime thing!

 

[mlayton14]

Have sailed both ships and from our perspective the Fantasy is for us, just newer , a lot bigger, and just better themed and an extra touch of elegance not found on the older ships. That being said , just set your expectations ahead of time and you will be fine - the shows, the food, and service are pretty much equal on any of the ships