Fantasy vs Magic

[Cheburashka]

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.

Midship is more stable than forward (which is the rockiest section of the ship), and higher decks are rockier than lower. Smaller ships are rockier than larger ships. The open ocean is probably rockier than the Gulf of Mexico, but I can't say for sure as I've never sailed the Gulf. All of Disney's ships are big and very well stabilized, to where on a normal cruise anywhere, you'll rarely feel or notice the ship moving underneath you.

We've sailed 6 cruises and been on every ship, and have only had issues with queasiness twice (once for me on the Wonder in the Pacific Ocean, and once for my son on the Fantasy on an unusually rocky Eastern Caribbean cruise). Each time, though, we each only felt queasy for a few hours of a single day, then felt better quickly with no medication and no recurrence during the cruise. I personally wouldn't make the decision based on potential seasickness as a criteria, but I do recommend midship as opposed to forward to avoid excessive movement during the odd cruise that's dealing with high winds and rocky seas. I want to emphasize that the rocky Eastern we sailed on the Fantasy was an anomaly: we sailed her again on that exact same route & time of year a few years later, and it wasn't rocky at all. We'd just had bad luck with extreme winds the first time.

 

[Pooh93]

Have not sailed the Magic - yet - Fingers crossed for November 2021. Having said that, we have sailed her sister ship the Disney Wonder and we love her. I would have no concerns about the age of the Magic.

 

[MickeyD]

One thing I would add is that the Magic has different dining venues than the Fantasy, and different shows. For a nice change of pace you would be able to experience different dining rooms and different shows. I have been on both and while I appreciate the less people on the Magic, we prefer the Fantasy because of the adult only spaces are superior, but then that wouldn't matter to you as much. If I had small children, like yours, I would definitely choose the Magic over the Fantasy because I think the interactions with the characters, the servers, etc. will be more engaging on a smaller ship with less people. To answer your other question about the seas; we have sailed both and quite honestly, have had rough seas on both. Now the one caveat is that sailing from Texas, we were on another line and maybe their stabilizers didn't work as well, and we were outrunning a hurricane, but...I have been on the Fantasy in the Eastern Caribbean and watched it look like a rocking horse with an overactive toddler going up and down in the waves! Good thing is, it usually only lasts a little bit, and Bonine works wonders if someone in your party gets queasy. Being midship is more stable and forward will give you more of a "bucking" motion if the seas are rough. Neither is better if the motion is side to side rolling. Just being real.

 

[RedHead0186]

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.

That also could, I believe, lead to rougher waters on departure day. Not sure it's a deal-breaker, but something else to consider.

 

[meliscan]

I have done both ships. I love them both. They are great and special in their own ways. Yes the Magic is smaller but she is still beautiful. We have cruised out of Galveston in the fall and the only thing a bit concerning is that the sea was a little rougher in the bay during the fall than leaving out of Port Canaveral. I would probably save the money and cruise out of Galveston.

 

[tlprice]

I have done all of the ships twice except the Wonder (only once because our Alaska cruises keep getting cancelled). I prefer the smaller ships. It is less walking to everything, less crowded, and I prefer the shows and restaurant themes. The Fantasy is fine and I like it too, but I HATE the aft vibration especially in Animator's Palate. We have been to Castaway Cay twice in December. One time, the water was perfect, the other time, it was quite chilly. I almost always choose my cruises based on itinerary though. I don't REALLY care which ship I'm on, as long as I'm ON one because they are all great.

 

[atoz786]

Thanks everyone after speaking with the TA, we decided to go with fantasy just due to the cabin situation. On the magic cat 4B is on the top most deck under the pool, our cabin would have been all the way to the very front and with toddlers he recommended not doing that. On the fantasy we are on deck 8 midship so cabins above and below.

 

[pascalspal]

n/a

 

[putitonthecard@roadrunner]

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.

The beauty of the Fantasy cannot be surpassed. It has always been my favorite. I have cruised 29 times, 1998 on the Magic maiden voyage and I just keep going. I live in California so lots of cruises on the Wonder. The trip to Port Canaveral is well worth it to sail on the Fantasy. The dining rooms on the Fantasy are gorgeous!

 

[dancebum]

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.

I remember the Gulf of Mexico being extremely choppy and getting really sick that first night. I just take Bonine now everyday and it works great. But I'm prone to sea sickness. Not sure it that's what you meant. My kids get car sick but not sea sick

 

[katmigordon]

Except that a lot of us sail with the boat AS the destination. I know with a seven day trip, we're only getting off the boat for cc day and 1 excursion.

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

 

[DIS_MIKE]

I've never done the classic ships. Really would like to try the Magic at least once for the shows, restaurants and unlimited shawarma.

 

[Keyser]

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.

Thank you for posting this - that's something we'll definitely look forward to, if we get to sail this winter!

 

[atoz786]

I've never done the classic ships. Really would like to try the Magic at least once for the shows, restaurants and unlimited shawarma.

Can you elaborate on the unlimited shawarma?Is it authentic? Is it only on the magic? Is this a Disney thing or something

 

[Geomom]

Can you elaborate on the unlimited shawarma?Is it authentic? Is it only on the magic? Is this a Disney thing or something

I believe it's on both the Wonder and Magic. We had the schwarma on the Magic in August 2018.. There was chicken and beef on spits that they would slice pieces off for you. There were tons of sauces and toppings that you could ask them to put on it. It's located on the pool deck next to the burger/hot dog/fries place.

 

[katmigordon]

I really wish they had something like this on the Fantasy, I don't see anything like Daisy's Delights there either.

I believe it's on both the Wonder and Magic. We had the schwarma on the Magic in August 2018.. There was chicken and beef on spits that they would slice pieces off for you. There were tons of sauces and toppings that you could ask them to put on it. It's located on the pool deck next to the burger/hot dog/fries place.

 

[DIS_MIKE]

I really wish they had something like this on the Fantasy, I don't see anything like Daisy's Delights there either.

I agree that it should be brought over to the other Dream class ships.

Can you elaborate on the unlimited shawarma?Is it authentic? Is it only on the magic? Is this a Disney thing or something

Geomom took care of that! It is only offered on the Magic/Wonder and they also have lamb which is more traditional but likely switch out different meats throughout the cruise.