New to cruising

[Carlson7484]

Going to book a 4 night Disney cruise in February 2020. Both Disney Magic and Dream have availabilty for the dates I was looking at. Does anyone have a ship preference?? And why??

 

[MrPTato]

I have read that you should always book the itinerary and not the ship. I would start there. We just got back from the Dream and trying the Magic next year. I don't think you can go wrong with any of the ships. Maybe the only perk on the larger ships that on an inside cabin, you get the magic port hole.

 

[ForMyBoys]

I vote for the Magic first. We tried the smaller ship first and loved it!!

 

[Marc D]

As PP said, it usually depends on the itinerary but, in your case, I believe both ships are doing the same one, going to Nassau and Castaway. I would choose Magic because I prefer Tangled to Beauty & the Beast, the Rapunzel restaurant offers a better show and you’ll be less crowded at CC.

But... we would not miss the Aquaduck, the Midship detective agency, Vanellope’s and mini-golf, having done them often. If it’s not your case, and if like us, you do not get off in Nassau and have kids, those might be important in your decision. We also prefer sailing from PC since we fly in, stay at the Hyatt and like the DCL shuttle.

 

[clten]

I'd say, since the itinerary is equal, that you should choose by what is attracting you to cruise with Disney in the first place. If you're attracted to all the bells and whistles that they put on the newer ships (the animated art, the AquaDuck, sports simulators/mini golf) then Dream is the obvious choice. If it is more classic things -- great Disney service, character interactions, Castaway Cay, then I would go with the Magic. You get all of those things on both ships but on the Magic there are less people. My personal preference is the Magic, I much prefer the classic ships to the newer ones.

 

[FSU Girl]

I started with the Magic and loved the ship, but I prefer the larger ships so would choose the Dream. It has the aquaduck, which is a lot of fun. The Beauty and the Beast show is amazing.

Another thing to look at is where the two ships are leaving from. Are they both leaving out of Port Canaveral? Or is the Magic leaving out of Miami. That is something to consider if one port is easier to get to than the other.

 

[Lisa F]

I did 5 cruises before 2005 so only the classics, and then my most recent cruise was on the dream. I loved the dream - we loved the aquaduck and the beauty adn the beat show was fantastic. I was concerned about CC being more crowded than what I remembered but it did not feel crowded at all. I remember back in the day even on the classics strategies for getting a hammock involving being the first off the ship - I was surprised there were plenty of hammocks. I think there is the space and they added lots more chairs/umbrellas/hammocks - did not feel crowded at all!

Pools will be stupid crowded no matter which ship - there isn't a cruise ship in existence with a big enough pool for the passengers on board.

 

[mevelandry]

Going to book a 4 night Disney cruise in February 2020. Both Disney Magic and Dream have availabilty for the dates I was looking at. Does anyone have a ship preference?? And why??

Disney Dream. Bigger. More activities.

 

[mmmears]

It depends on what you think you'd like more - a smaller, more intimate ship, or a larger one that has a few more activities to offer (mini-golf, aqua duck vs. aqua dunk, and midship detective agency). My family has decided we prefer the smaller ships because they feel less crowded, but others prefer the larger ones. My advice is to either look at the differences online, or let us know more about what you're looking for and how you like to spend your time and we can try to help you. But in the end, I don't think you can really go wrong here.

 

[pixiedustedme]

We've sailed all four ships and they're all great. If you're sailing with kids ages 8-12 or so, I'd definitely sail on the Dream as it provides even more on-ship activities, including:

• Aqua Duck (the Magic has Aqua Dunk, but some find it scary as it's a drop-down box slide)
• Midship Detective Agency
• Miniature golf
• Virtual sports simulator

The Dream also has themed virtual portholes in inside staterooms, it has magical artwork, and it has a nice upcharge sweets shop.

For adults, the Dream has Remy in addition to Palo, and it has a better Rainforest Room than the Magic.

That said, we just disembarked from our 2nd cruise on the Magic this morning, and we loved it. You can't go wrong between the two!

 

[fredandkell]

We did the Dream first and the Magic second. We loved both ships. You can't go wrong either way. I will say there is no way to do all there is to do on any ship on a 4-day cruise, so you might consider starting with the Magic first since it's smaller and a bit more manageable. As a PP said, the decision to sail out of PC or Miami can affect airfare or driving time.