Fantasy vs Magic

[atoz786]

Hello All - to those that have sailed both which would you pick given the facts below. (2 Adults and 2 Kids will be ages 3, 1 next Dec)

We are looking at a Dec 2022 cruise and are considering either the Fantasy 7 Day or Magic 7 Day. Fantasy sails from Port Canaveral and Magic from Galveston.

We live in the DFW area so Galveston is about a 6 hour drive, and would be flying to Orlando. We have a summer 2022 cruise booked on the Fantasy already, our concern with the Magic is that it will be a 22+ year old ship. That is the only concern we have, itineraries are similar except Magic will not have the private island stop, and magic seems about $900-1k cheaper.

Any other differences between the two that would help sway one over the other? Thanks.

 

[nick262]

Personally I love the legacy ships more than the newer ones. They are more intimate and still in excellent condition. I find that the larger ships feel more crowded. Now please note, I have not been on the Fantasy, only the Dream and others have said that a 7 day on the Fantasy is better than the shorter ones on the Dream. That said, I have been on 14+ cruises and prefer the smaller ships.

 

[OpieDoodle]

I wouldn't worry about the age of the ship honestly. Disney keeps them up very well and takes care of them. Does the Magic have an extra day at sea or a different port (you mention no private island).

Personally the private disney island is my absolute favorite part of the whole cruise. If you're saving $1,000 on the cruise plus flights I mean it may be worth doing the Magic, that means more money for excursions

 

[Disneypeach]

I have been on both and both are great.
I love the smaller size of the Magic (and she is VERY well tended - looks great inside and out).
The Fantasy has some really cool features (animated artwork, interactive detective games) and a bigger adult area (love satellite falls).
Normally I would choose the Magic but Castaway Cay is awesome so I’d really hate to miss out on that.
good luck!

 

[jenmiller114]

The Magic and Wonder are my two favorite ships. Not only do I love the smaller size but they both have better themed restaurants (Tiana's Place and Rapunzel's Royal Table). The Magic also has Tangled the Musical. I agree that missing out on Castaway Cay would be disappointing but not having to fly is a huge plus. We live in Houston so we try to sail out of Galveston any chance we get. It's easy to get there, plenty of parking and when you get back you don't have to worry about delays with the ship or the flight. Plus that is a big cost savings.

The Magic may not have some of the bells & whistles of the newer ships but she is well kept and definitely does not look her age. And the Aquadunk is super fun! If you are already planning to sail on the Fantasy, this is a good chance to try out a different ship (and port) and see what you think.

 

[JaimeInParker]

I think, IMHO, people concern themselves on which ship they are going on versus what the itinerary is - look at the destinations and decide from there

 

[atoz786]

I think, IMHO, people concern themselves on which ship they are going on versus what the itinerary is - look at the destinations and decide from there

Destinations are the same except Fantasy goes to Castaway Cay and Magic does not.

 

[atoz786]

Thanks All for the responses will keep it in mind as we decide.

 

[Stitch'sCousin]

One more thing to consider is the water/air temperature in December. We were on the Magic in December 2019 and our cruise included a stop at Castaway Cay. Unlike our usual summer cruises, we were only able to go into the water for a very short period of time as the combination of strong winds and cooler water made it uncomfortable after only a couple of minutes.

 

[o&smom]

The Magic is my favorite ship! Would do that one, especially since you are already planning on sailing on the Fantasy in the future. You will love less people at Castaway Cay!

 

[Cheburashka]

Hello All - to those that have sailed both which would you pick given the facts below. (2 Adults and 2 Kids will be ages 3, 1 next Dec)

We are looking at a Dec 2022 cruise and are considering either the Fantasy 7 Day or Magic 7 Day. Fantasy sails from Port Canaveral and Magic from Galveston.

We live in the DFW area so Galveston is about a 6 hour drive, and would be flying to Orlando. We have a summer 2022 cruise booked on the Fantasy already, our concern with the Magic is that it will be a 22+ year old ship. That is the only concern we have, itineraries are similar except Magic will not have the private island stop, and magic seems about $900-1k cheaper.

Any other differences between the two that would help sway one over the other? Thanks.

Castaway Cay is important, but since you're going there & sailing the Fantasy next summer, anyway, I don't see why not sail the Magic for a different change of pace at Christmas. I personally wouldn't just because no Castaway Cay is a deal-breaker for me on a warm-weather cruise, but I've also already sailed the Magic twice & you haven't, so the chance to have a new experience could make it worthwhile for you.

All of the Disney ships are well-maintained and attractive. The Magic is the oldest and it shows in some minor ways, but sailing on her is still a good experience. I wouldn't hesitate to sail on her just due to her age.

 

[auntlynne]

I read the thread title and thought, you can’t get a consensus on this old question. It’s like asking which is the best Kingdom at WDW.

Since you 1) asked and 2) are booked on the Fantasy already, I’d initially say Magic.

Since little children are involved, I’d consider
1) how will they do flying? You can also bring more baby stuff in a car trip.
2) is onboard childcare or toddler play areas similar?
3) bathtubs on Magic ok? Fantasy has those round ones.
4) Fantasy has longer walks to get everywhere - and more people everywhere

I’d still vote for the Magic under most circumstances. And I have - it’s my next booked cruise.

 

[AquaDame]

Age doesn't really matter (no, really!) but there are a few less bells and whistles (and people) on the Magic. No AquaDuck (you do have the AquaDunk instead) and no midship detective agency. No Remy. Small things tbh. Since you will be sailing on the Fantasy already six months earlier my vote would be for the Magic. You'll get to experience some different venues and get to skip a flight which is always a big plus! Castaway Cay is nice but you will have JUST been there, and it will be colder in December. Put the 1K savings towards another vacation!

 

[Cheburashka]

I'll add that one argument for sailing the Fantasy in December is that Castaway Cay will be a different experience in December. It will be warm, but not overwhelmingly hot. Less concern about sunburn, heat exhaustion, etc. For some people, this lets them enjoy the day on the island a bit more. It's ideal weather for bike riding (they have a wonderful, extensive bike path on the island). That's actually our favorite thing to do on the island, but I can't really imagine doing it in July. The water will be chillier in December, but we've been there four times in December and have always enjoyed the Pelican Plunge water slide regardless. If you need warm water to enjoy swimming (like many Floridians do), you won't like it, but if you like to swim in cold water springs, etc. (we have a lot of these in central Texas), where you just have to immerse yourself for a minute for your body to acclimate to it, then you'll be fine with it. Winter is also the dry season in the Caribbean and Bahamas, so rain will likely be less common than in summer.

Also, keep in mind that Galveston and most of the Gulf of Mexico are not tropical or even subtropical areas. It can get colder there in winter than it tends to at Port Canaveral. So embarkation day and your day of sailing through the Gulf might not be particularly warm, if that matters to you. The Gulf & Galveston are also prone to morning fog, and there have been several instances of Galveston cruises' disembarkation / embarkation schedule being disrupted due to fog.

 

[diablodancer]

Not seen it mentioned in any of the previous comments but while the Magic and Wonder don’t have the Midship Detective Agency (which is great), they have daily scavenger hunts on days at sea where you get a sheet with photos of chairs on the ship and have to explore the ship to identify them all. It’s surprisingly hard and makes you explore parts of the ship you might not otherwise.

 

[Geomom]

Since you already have plans to go on the Fantasy, I'd do the Magic for this cruise. That way you'll have different shows and restaurants on your 2 cruises. We have only been on the Wonder and Magic so far. Both old ships were in great shape. They are constantly painting/cleaning/repairing the ships.

 

[WarEagle!]

We haven’t been on the Magic, but we have sailed several times on the Wonder and the Fantasy. The Wonder is hands down a better cruise experience than the Fantasy. The CM to passenger ratio on the classic ships is so much better, and it feels like you receive more attention. This is especially true at dinner time. On the Fantasy, our meals were always cold and the servers did not seem to care about us at all. We never felt this way on the Wonder, and the quality of the food was much better on the Wonder. That being said, Castaway Cay is awesome, but I don’t think that would sway me over to the Fantasy considering Galveston is within driving distance for you, and the cruise is cheaper.

 

[OpieDoodle]

Castaway Cay is important, but since you're going there & sailing the Fantasy next summer, anyway, I don't see why not sail the Magic for a different change of pace at Christmas. I personally wouldn't just because no Castaway Cay is a deal-breaker for me on a warm-weather cruise, but I've also already sailed the Magic twice & you haven't, so the chance to have a new experience could make it worthwhile for you.

All of the Disney ships are well-maintained and attractive. The Magic is the oldest and it shows in some minor ways, but sailing on her is still a good experience. I wouldn't hesitate to sail on her just due to her age.

Something else to also consider if you're wanting to try out all the different ships is since the magic is the oldest at some point it will be retired. For me I want to cruise on all the ships to see the different feel and amenities so that'd be a reason for me to push for the magic too

 

[Cheburashka]

The Wonder is hands down a better cruise experience than the Fantasy. The CM to passenger ratio on the classic ships is so much better, and it feels like you receive more attention. This is especially true at dinner time. On the Fantasy, our meals were always cold and the servers did not seem to care about us at all. We never felt this way on the Wonder, and the quality of the food was much better on the Wonder.

We've sailed twice on the Magic and twice on the Fantasy (and once on both the Dream & Wonder), all within the past several years, and we've never found this to be the case. The quality of servers varies within a single ship: sometimes you get lucky & sometimes you don't.

For us, the best service and food we've ever had on DCL has been on the Dream & Fantasy. The Wonder was fine (except that our servers somehow failed to get my son's artwork into the Animation Magic show), but Magic was the weakest link in the chain in terms of food & service, both times we sailed her, to the point where the last time, we decided we weren't going to sail her again unless there was a very special itinerary.

That's my experience, and others will have a different experience, because as I said it's luck of the draw and there are better and worse servers on every ship. It's false to claim that one DCL ship is objectively better than another, because there are different perspectives and tastes, and different amounts of luck each cruise in terms of who your specific servers will be.

 

[atoz786]

Thank you all extremely helpful advice. I had requested a price quote through the other thread and it seems like although the beginning prices are $900 off the category we are interested in yield a difference of $340 between the 2 ships. We usually travel on points so airline and hotel would be covered. Is there a difference in seas between Florida and Texas? Meaning is one a smoother sailing than the other, given we will have little ones the smoother the ride the better. In the Fantasy our cabin would be more midship deck 8, in the Magic Deck 8 is the highest deck and our cabin would be all the way forward under the Spa. if this makes a difference? Thanks so much.