Let down on Wonder after Dream?!

[Abatts]

We are going on our first trip on the Wonder (also in March) after two Dream cruises. We absolutely love the Dream, but look forward to being on a "less crowded" ship. Also, look forward to new MDR and shows we haven't seen yet. I think it will be different, but not disappointing. DCL is like a magical city on the Sea. I just view it as visiting a new city this time.

Yes - I'm curious how much "less crowded" it feels - although I didn't feel the crowds at Castaway Cay like others have mentioned.

 

[bobbiwoz]

The beautiful displays at Epcot's F&G show is why we had booked WDW in the first place, then this itinerary came to our attention. We have lots to look forward to!

 

[anricat]

This thread comes up a lot - if people will feel like the classics are a let down after the Dream class ships or if there will be enough to do. I find that I see on these threads that there are a variety of opinions, but largely the majority of people love all of Disney's ships and that a non-zero number of them PREFER the Classics. I'm one of those people. Sure, they are missing a couple of bells and whistles like Midship Detective Agency or the AquaDuck, but you'll find there's a lot to love.

We like the smaller, more intimate feel, and the less crowded feeling just around the decks and in the pools. I like being able to run back to my room from the dining room to get my sweater and not have it be a 20 minute round trip. I love that I repeatedly see the same crew members and fellow passengers again and again. It's just fun seeing familiar faces (I never felt like that happened on the Dream). It just feels more relaxed and low-key with fewer people. Sure, the atrium may not be as awe inspiring and feels smaller, but all in all, the smaller ships are for us. My DD (age 8) and DH both agree and prefer the Magic/Wonder. If the right itinerary came up on the Fantasy or Dream for the right price, sure, we'd go, but if we have a choice and the price is the same, we would choose the small ship over the bigger.

 

[mlayton14]

We definitely prefer the Fantasy over the magic , as those are the 2 ships we have sailed. Just about everything is bigger and nicer on the larger ships. With that being said, nothing wrong with switching it up to see different shows, different itineraries, etc. just goto cruise critic and see how the newer ships get significantly better scores over the old ships from a much larger sample size than you get from individual posts. Just set your expectations going in, the food, service, and entertainment are comparable so you will still have a great time

 

[ALCooper3]

We like the smaller, more intimate feel, and the less crowded feeling just around the decks and in the pools. I like being able to run back to my room from the dining room to get my sweater and not have it be a 20 minute round trip. I love that I repeatedly see the same crew members and fellow passengers again and again. It's just fun seeing familiar faces (I never felt like that happened on the Dream). It just feels more relaxed and low-key with fewer people. Sure, the atrium may not be as awe inspiring and feels smaller, but all in all, the smaller ships are for us. My DD (age 8) and DH both agree and prefer the Magic/Wonder. If the right itinerary came up on the Fantasy or Dream for the right price, sure, we'd go, but if we have a choice and the price is the same, we would choose the small ship over the bigger.

If it truly is a little more intimate feel, I may even enjoy the Wonder more. On our last cruise, the ship was completely sold out. I could tell a big difference in the number of people onboard just between the first and second time we sailed on the same ship. It was a bit overwhelming at times. Didn't notice as much on CC, but definitely did at the pools and shows.

 

[Rabb it]

A lot of people swear by the smaller ships, still a Disney Cruise I'm sure there will be plenty of things to keep you guys busy

 

[Shanti]

Yes - I'm curious how much "less crowded" it feels - although I didn't feel the crowds at Castaway Cay like others have mentioned.

I just cruised the Fantasy last week after cruising the Magic last year. Both were packed school holiday sailings. The family pool was kid-soup on both the Magic and the Fantasy- no difference there. Both cruises stopped at Castaway Cay, and I have to say that I didn't notice any difference in the number of people on the island, or on the ship, for that matter (the Dream class ships are bigger, so the greater number of people is absorbed by the size of the ship). Both trips featured warm, sunny days on CC, so the weather wasn't an issue. So you might want to take all of that "less crowded" talk with a grain of salt. Maybe I wasn't busy analyzing crowd patterns during my vacation (I wonder why...), but any difference certainly wasn't obvious.

We had our first Disney sailing on the Dream 4 night in September. We are looking at going on the 3 night sailing in March on the Wonder. Questions -

Will we be let down??? The dream has midship detectives, miniature golf, etc that Wonder doesn't.

Any insight between the 2 ships pros vs cons would be much appreciated!!

In regards to the Aqua Duck, I will say that my son and I were both excited to get to ride it this cruise, and did ride it several times. I liked it a lot, but only rode it several times because my water-slide adoring son asked me to. I would have been fine with 2 or 3 rides on it during our entire 7-night cruise, so although it looks great and is fun, it definitely didn't make or break the cruise for me. Even my son (who practically lived on the Magic's Aqua Dunk) commented that this trip there were other things he liked doing on the ship as much as the Aqua Duck, so I wouldn't call it a necessity. However, my son's other favorite ship activity was the Midship Detective Agency, which the Wonder doesn't have, and his next favorite was probably the on-demand Disney cartoons/movies in the stateroom, which the Wonder also doesn't have. After that, he loved eating in the MDRs, so the Wonder can compete in that area, but the fact is that the Wonder is lacking a lot of perks that the Dream class ships have. I think DCL's decision not to put an Aqua Dunk on the Wonder was a mistake. Even though the Aqua Dunk is too scary for some, many more adventurous types (especially many tweens and teens) love it.

So personally, I would only sail the Wonder with my son on one of its cruises to Alaska, or without my son on one of its Caribbean cruises that has a more varied itinerary than the Dream, Fantasy or Magic (like the awesome-looking Jan 2018 Wonder sailing to the Southern Caribbean). But for a standard 3 or 4 night cruise to Castaway Cay with active boys, I'd stick with the Dream or Magic. Just giving my personal opinion here. But there are other activites, so you'll likely all still have fun onboard, no matter the ship. And Castaway Cay is awesome no matter which ship takes you there.

 

[mmfox316]

I also think the 3 days will be the issue but after several trips on the Dream\Fantasy we did the Magic. I felt it was too small. That feeling was mostly just the Atrium because they tried to have the same number of activities at dinner time as the Dream and the atrium is just too small for that on the Magic\Wonder in my opinion. After our trip on the Magic we went on the Dream. We really noticed the size difference. This certainly could have been just my issue and others won't feel that way. I encourage you to go through with your trip and make your own judgement.

 

[wombat_5606]

Both cruises stopped at Castaway Cay, and I have to say that I didn't notice any difference in the number of people on the island, or on the ship, for that matter (the Dream class ships are bigger, so the greater number of people is absorbed by the size of the ship). Both trips featured warm, sunny days on CC, so the weather wasn't an issue. So you might want to take all of that "less crowded" talk with a grain of salt. Maybe I wasn't busy analyzing crowd patterns during my vacation (I wonder why...), but any difference certainly wasn't obvious.

The only thing I would like to point out, is that last week was still school holidays. If you were to go on the Fantasy next week, you would probably see the difference.

I am never bored or disappointed on any cruise I'm on.

 

[Shanti]

The only thing I would like to point out, is that last week was still school holidays. If you were to go on the Fantasy next week, you would probably see the difference.

Both the Fantasy and Magic cruises I took to Castaway Cay were during the winter school holidays, so I was comparing apples to apples.

 

[wombat_5606]

Both the Fantasy and Magic cruises I took to Castaway Cay were during the winter school holidays, so I was comparing apples to apples.

If you did either cruise when it's not during the holidays, I think you would find Castaway Cay less busy on the Magic/Wonder cruise.

 

[Judyat]

Although we have never been on the Dream or the Fantasy we have been on the Wonder and the Magic each a few times. And we love them. We spent 14 days on the Wonder in May and loved every minute of it.

 

[wombat_5606]

Although we have never been on the Dream or the Fantasy we have been on the Wonder and the Magic each a few times. And we love them. We spent 14 days on the Wonder in May and loved every minute of it.

I love the Wonder, too!

 

[hanscarlet]

We went on the Wonder after going on the Dream and I was worried too and we weren't let down at all... and this was pre dry dock... I'm dying to get it on it now with the frozen show and Tiana's place

 

[hanscarlet]

the biggest thing is the size of the atrium, much smaller, look at videos of it so you get used to it.. other than that, it was a WONDERful experience!

 

[bobbiwoz]

Perhaps you are on the cruise with us? Here's the thread:
http://www.disboards.com/threads/march-23-2017-3-night-wonder-ful-cruise.3563942/#post-56900553

Abbatts, In case you are interested, we do have a local candy/snack exchange on the cruise. We use Fish Extenders to give out local treats. It's fun to come back to your cabin and be surprised! The link is above. Join the discussion!

 

[jendeli]

To me, the smaller ships felt more crowded, especially the smaller elevators. I like the grandeur of the bigger ships but still enjoy the smaller ones too.