Help Me Decide: Dream or Fantasy?

[pixiedustedme]

We're going to Disney World next summer, and I'd like to add a cruise to our trip. However, right now I haven't decided whether or not we should sail the Dream for four nights, or the Fantasy for seven nights. Thoughts?

 

[allashore]

7 nights on any Disney ship is better then 4
been on the Fantasy 4 times, never the Dream b/c the sailings are all too short
not worth it to fly 6 people imho

 

[88golf88]

Longer is better if the budget can withstand it.

 

[Cruising Engineer]

7 nights.

 

[lilsonicfan]

ITA on length of cruise, I just find it so much more relaxing to be on a 7 night vs a 4 night. There's more time to settle in. And if you schedule the cruise after the park days, it just makes for a great way to relax after the go-go-go nature of the parks.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

We're going to Disney World next summer, and I'd like to add a cruise to our trip. However, right now I haven't decided whether or not we should sail the Dream for four nights, or the Fantasy for seven nights. Thoughts?

7 nights on any Disney ship is better then 4

^^^^^This

 

[KashasMom]

We did a 4 night cruise and it was too short. Just as you were settling in, it was time to pack and go.

 

[jeepnjudy]

The Dream was the last ship we decided to go on so we could claim we had been on all 4. After we disembarked, DH, DS15 and DS6 all told me never again as it was toooooo short! But I can still say I've been on all 4 Disney ships!

 

[ahain]

For me, it would be the Fantasy, hands down! Longer cruise, more relaxing...yes, please!

 

[ladyofthetramp]

Time and budget! If you have enough time off and the budget-7 is always nice. We just completed our grand Slam this May and I have to say the crew on the Fantasy is awesome! They are all awesome, but this trip they were the best!

 

[hardis5]

My vote if time and budget allow is always longer over shorter but imo if you've never cruised before, a 4-day maybe a good first cruise to see if all in the party like sailing.

 

[2XPCV]

For reasons I can't well articulate, my wife and I both like the Dream better as a ship. It might just be the 'atmosphere' on the ship, but we find it more relaxing, and find that it just comes off as cleaner and more put together. We don't have children so we spend most of our time in the adult areas. We also like that it goes to Nassau - we never get off and always just stay at the pool, and even though many people don't get off there it feels like we have less pressure to do things and less crowds to not do them in! On the Fantasy we like to visit the ports, so that takes up some of the relaxing time and adds some stress for us (but, on the flip side, we get to visit the ports!).

That being said, the itineraries are really too short on the Dream, and that's always a big downer, and one reason we don't do the Dream for our summer trip; the Fantasy has better itineraries and longer cruises, so we always choose that for the summer when we have the time, and we really do enjoy the ship. The cast members, like on all the ships in our experience, are great. We'd like to do one of the 5-night cruises on the Dream, but haven't been able to yet; that said, you can't beat 7-11 nights on the Fantasy!

My wife is also very sensitive to the vibrations of the ship (any ship), and she feels it much more on the Fantasy than the Dream (which is probably another reason we like the Dream better).

 

[VTNuke]

For us, we'd probably do the 4 night on the Dream if we were combining it with something else, which we probably will never do again. Some of us, not me, but some in my traveling party that may be related to me by marriage, get restless if the vacation is too long. I don't get it, but they do.

We've done a 6 night WDW vacation combined with a 3 night Dream cruise. It was apparently "too long" and the cruise part was too short. Barely enjoyed it. I think I took a bunch of naps on the cruise to recover from the WDW portion and didn't enjoy the ship enough.

We've done a 4 night Universal trip combined with a 4 night Dream cruise. The cruise was the best part of the trip and we enjoyed it, but we'd never combine it with Universal again. Guess we're just Disney people. We didn't even go to Universal the last day because we felt we'd seen it all. Plus, this combo was by far the most expensive trip we've taken because we stayed at the Hard Rock and didn't use DVC points.

We've done a 7 night Fantasy cruise and loved it. We've done a 5 night Wonder cruise and loved it. I liked the 7 night cruise the best out of all of this, but I think my wife liked the 5 night better. Both of us enjoyed the stand alone cruises more than combining them with something else.

So, it all depends on how long you're wanting to go on vacation and what type of vacation you want. A WDW trip is awesome. A DCL cruise is awesome. But they are different. Combining them changes your mentality considerably in the middle of your trip. Even our "no kids" WDW trips, which are far more relaxing with mid-day breaks we usually don't take with the kids, are very different than a cruise. We are very goal oriented WDW vacationers. We understand we aren't going to do everything there, but we go into it saying we want to make sure we do XYZ. Cruises are way more mellow for us.

Even with all of that, I'd take the 7 night cruise and my wife would take the 4 night, so we're no help to you at all!

 

[pixiedustedme]

We've done a 6 night WDW vacation combined with a 3 night Dream cruise. It was apparently "too long" and the cruise part was too short. Barely enjoyed it. I think I took a bunch of naps on the cruise to recover from the WDW portion and didn't enjoy the ship enough...

We've done a 4 night Universal trip combined with a 4 night Dream cruise. The cruise was the best part of the trip and we enjoyed it, but we'd never combine it with Universal again. Guess we're just Disney people. We didn't even go to Universal the last day because we felt we'd seen it all. Plus, this combo was by far the most expensive trip we've taken because we stayed at the Hard Rock and didn't use DVC points.

Yes, I belong to the minority here who would rather cruise first, then go to the parks. One reason is that I don't want to be worn out and tired when on the cruise. As a teacher I'll be on summer vacation, so I can rest at home after the whole trip is over.

We do get homesick if a trip is very long, but very long to us is more like over two weeks, so I figure a Port Canaveral cruise & Disney World trip should be fine, and since those things are so familiar to us, I doubt they'll make us as homesick as a less-familiar itinerary would.

This would be an expensive trip, particularly if we were to sail the Fantasy. That is an issue I have with it and one reason I'm considering the Dream, although the Fantasy is a better value per night. I don't want to cut corners with the Disney World side of the trip at all, but I can't price it out exactly now, as I'm sure some discounts will be offered closer to next summer, but I have no way of knowing what they'll be right now.

 

[FSU Girl]

I like both ships. I liked the Beauty and the Beast show better on the Dream than any of the shows on the Fantasy. When I did the Dream I did a few days at Disney World before hand so it didn't feel like a quick vacation. The Dream can be considerably cheaper than the Fantasy even though its only a few days shorter.

 

[VTNuke]

This would be an expensive trip, particularly if we were to sail the Fantasy. That is an issue I have with it and one reason I'm considering the Dream, although the Fantasy is a better value per night. I don't want to cut corners with the Disney World side of the trip at all, but I can't price it out exactly now, as I'm sure some discounts will be offered closer to next summer, but I have no way of knowing what they'll be right now.

Well, you probably have heard it already, but one quick tip would be to buy your park tickets ASAP. That could save you $$ by avoiding the price increase that's most likely going to happen in the future. The tickets are good until you use them the first time, then they expire after 2 weeks from the first use.

Also, don't be afraid to split your trip with a cruise in the middle. We kicked that idea around before as well. You lose a little on traveling to and from PC, but it's also a good way to check out more than 1 of the resorts. No idea where you're staying, but those DVC/Deluxe resorts are very different than the mid-level or Pop resorts.