Favorite ship and why?

[TestingH2O]

The Wonder. I love the French Quarter Lounge and I prefer the color scheme in Azure compared to Fathoms on the Magic. I also like that those spaces (which is where adult game shows are done,) are wide and short so it’s easy to see what’s happening. On the newer ships, then area is so long and narrow (it is called the Tube after all,) that it’s much harder to feel like you’re part of the experience. We prefer the classic ships and the more exciting itineraries they travel. We also think the deck food is better on the Classics. The first night’s show in Animator’s is also better.

The thing we do miss is the AquaDuck. Love that slide!

 

[mjkpreno]

Reading this is refreshing to hear! We are taking our first DCL cruise on the Wonder in October, 7 days out of San Diego. Our experience has been on other lines like Carnival and Royal Caribbean (and even American Hawaii cruise on the Independence back in the early 90s!) from small to big and generally find the newer ships offer the most fun/excitement/enjoyment. However, there seems to be a real fan-base of the older/original Magic/Wonder. I was a bit worried the experience would be "less" on the Wonder, but I am thinking it might be a great way to start on DCL!

 

[brentm77]

I think I would lean toward the Magic over the Fantasy (only two we have sailed so far). Here is how I break down the differences:

Fantasy Wins

Size - I know some like the smaller ships, but I prefer the bigger size of the Fantasy, particularly the atrium.

Non-Show dinners - I like that the Fantasy has two non-show restaurants, which I greatly prefer, because I am old school and like to be able to hear my family and the servers during dinner.

Ship upkeep - the Magic was showing her age a bit when we sailed, the Fantasy was not (but that was pre-pandemic).

Adult pools- prefer the Fantasy setup, which seems to have much more room to find a lounge chair.

TV - the navigation system on the Magic was so slow as to being close to unusable. You had to click on the remote and wait close to a minute sometimes for the TV to respond. It wasn't just ours, as our Facebook group reported the same thing. I don't remember this being an issue on the Fantasy.

Magic Wins

Food - Food was better on the Magic. I don't know if DCL has just improved overall, since the Magic was our most recent sailing, but I was impressed with the quality. The quick service was even better and they have shawarma, which was really good. Its pizza seemed to be good enough, while I remember the Fantasy's pizza being terrible.

Aquadunk - my family disagrees, but I find it more fun than the Aduaduck, which is a bit mild for my taste.

Entertainment - I think Tangled is better than Aladdin, but the biggest improvement is the two non-main shows on the Magic. So much better than the really bad ones on the Fantasy.

Adult clubs - I liked the setup on the Magic a little more. Feels very removed from the kids.

All things considered, I could interchange the two and be just as happy, but if itineraries were equal, I would probably pick the Magic.

 

[holula]

The thing we do miss is the AquaDuck. Love that slide!

Same! Other than the Aquaduck and mini golf the classics are my favourite.

 

[mama&me]

I have always said that the Dream is my favorite. She was our very first cruise and only time on her. Since then we have sailed on Fantasy, Wonder, and Magic. We have sailed the Magic the most.
We love the Tangled musical. We love Animator's Palate on the classics, and we love the Magic itineraries. She feels like home now. This November we are booked on the Wish and we have 2 Dream cruises booked for next year. I'm so excited to be getting back on the Dream as I have always said she was my favorite, but now I am wondering will I be homesick for the Magic and realize she has actually been my favorite all along.

 

[Douglas Dubh]

I’m wondering if the Magic and the Wonder have better cast members on average. I was just thinking that if I were to agree to spend a year on a ship, I’d want to be on one that went to a lot of places, like the Magic and the Wonder do.

 

[mousefan73]

I love the adult section on the magic and wonder. So I’m leaving in the direction of the classics

 

[shananigans]

I have sailed on the Magic once, Dream twice and Fantasy once. We sail again on the Dream in Oct, and the Wonder in Nov, Dec, and Jan. Back to Fantasy for SB 2023, and the Dream for the British Isles in Sept 2023. We have no plans on the Wish yet.

I’m so excited to read the rave reviews of the Wonder on this thread!!!! We are sailing her thrice and I really hope it’s everything everyone says!

With all of that being said … my rank is as follows:

1. Fantasy
2. Magic
3. Dream

I ranked Fantasy the highest based solely on our experience with waitstaff and other cast members on board. Magic was the same experience. Excellent time, excellent service.

The Dream … oh the Dream … we had not so great experiences both times. So that tainted our opinion on that ship.

 

[nancipants]

I am biased, but the Fantasy. I sailed on the Dream in 2013 and the Magic and Wonder in 2014. Finally sailed on the Fantasy in 2016… and again in 2017… and twice in 2018. We are sailing on her again this summer. I love the adult area, especially La Piazza. Love sitting at the bar and people watching. I also like the larger atrium.

I really did enjoy the Magic and Wonder though, especially their equivalent of O’Gills being much larger. And I liked the adult pool being larger. But I know the next time I sail on them, the atrium will feel so tiny. We booked Panama Canal on the Magic next year and I’m super excited to explore that ship more and see the new restaurant/shows. We also want to do Alaska on the Wonder again.

I never liked the Dream, because I didn’t like the itineraries. Now that she’s going to Europe, I’m sure I’ll sail on it again as we want to do a Med cruise in the next few years.

 

[racingfandj]

Magic and Wonder by far. I wish they had the mini-golf, but still our favorites.

I wish they had Mid Ship Detective Agency. We had several cold and rainy days in AK and a good, moving activity would have been fun.

 

[maui2k5]

We have been on both the Magic and Wonder and between the two would go back on the Magic next. We prefer Rapunzel over Tiana and want to go on the Aqua Dunk.

We cruise on the Dream out of Miami this Oct for the first time so will be interesting to see how we like the bigger ship compared to 4x cruising on the Magic class.

 

[Ready4NextCruise]

The Magic.

• The AquaDunk is amazing.
• I prefer Keys over Cadillac Lounge, even though the layout is the same.
• I prefer the smaller ships. My times on the Magic and Wonder have felt less crowded.

For my tween/teen, I admit they prefer the Fantasy. They felt Vibe/Edge was much better on the larger ships.

 

[Drfate102]

For me:
1: Wonder
2: Magic
3: Dream
4: Fantasy

We have the Wish in January and the only other cruise ship I have been on was the Grand Princess. I definitely like the classic ships more but they are starting to show their age. But I would be on any of them if given opportunity.