The main differences between the DCL fleets?

[HollowxBastion]

Was going through my desk for an old hard drive and found my old DCL card. It was from my first ever Disney Cruise back in March 2009 when i was in grade 8. That week, i sailed on the Disney Wonder with my family and had the time of my life.

I've had many Disney trips since but haven't been on a cruise ever since then. I'm heavily considering doing a Disney Cruise with my girlfriend before we book our next WDW excursion after all the refurbs/new additions. Having only ever been on the Wonder, what are the main differences between the fleets? especially the newer fleets.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Was going through my desk for an old hard drive and found my old DCL card. It was from my first ever Disney Cruise back in March 2009 when i was in grade 8. That week, i sailed on the Disney Wonder with my family and had the time of my life.

I've had many Disney trips since but haven't been on a cruise ever since then. I'm heavily considering doing a Disney Cruise with my girlfriend before we book our next WDW excursion after all the refurbs/new additions. Having only ever been on the Wonder, what are the main differences between the fleets? especially the newer fleets.

Well, there's only one fleet. That's all the Disney ships.

There are 4 different classes within the fleet.
Magic Class - Magic & Wonder
Dream Class - Dream & Fantasy
Wish Class - Wish, Treasure & Destiny
Adventure Class - Adventure

You can read all about them on the DCL website:
https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/ships/

 

[Travel60]

Short answer:
Magic and Wonder, originals, are smaller. They are built to look like classic sailing ships. They were twins when built but refurbs have made a few differences.
The Dream Class is significantly larger - taller, wider, longer, hold more people. Still fairly classic in styling. They have more activities, especially water slides, more shops, one more premium dining venue. More people means the islands can be more crowded.
I have not sailed Wish class - don't like the itineraries. They are slightly larger than the Dream Class. They seem to be themed and significantly different. Some people love them. People who like the classic style usually don't.

Look at the itineraries to help you make a decision about which ship to sail.

 

[imbelle]

The Magic is sister ship to the Wonder so it's very similar. The Fantasy and the Dream are sister ships and they are similar design-wise to the prior ships but are larger. The Wish, Treasure, and Destiny are larger ships, but with individualistic themes (Wish-Princesses/castle, Treasure-Arabian/jungle, Destiny-Heros/Villians/Marvel). The Adventure is it's own class as it was partially built when Disney took it over. Apparently, the Adventure will only be doing short days-at-sea cruises from Singapore for the next 5 years. Each ship has some unique theming for some of the same corresponding areas.

So which ship you choose to sail depends on your priorities and itinerary preferences. If you and your girlfriend plan to spend a lot of time in the adults only areas, know that the Triton/Wish class ships have smaller adult pool areas with not a lot of shade. They also get a lot of flack for a non-continuous jogging track (I supplement with a length of cruise Rainforest Room pass).

 

[Scalemaster34]

Main difference is bigger allows for them to put more people on a ship... Newest ships also tend to offer more Disney.... themed restaurants and bars.

In the end it's really about where you want to go... pick an itinerary and a port to sail from, and then see what ships are offered. If your wanting to sail from the West Coast, little reason to ask about all the ships. If Galveston is near you, then again only one ship sails out of that port at this time. Or if you planning a more traditional 3/4 Bahaman cruise, that narrows it down a lot as well, time or the year and preferred port to sail from could narrow it down to one ship.

Don't pick the ship, let the ship pick you...

 

[o&smom]

I would highly recommend watching some YouTube videos of the ships you are considering. It is so much easier to visually see the differences. Our first cruise was on the Magic, and I still prefer the original two. DS 22 loves the Fantasy. We have yet to sail on the new class, because many of the areas that we really enjoy have been eliminated or drastically changed with that style of ship. We feel they are very beautiful, but missing some of our favorites. We will be sailing on the Wish in summer 2027, so we will know if our opinions are valid. Much of it comes down to the itineraries that would work for you and then check out the ships that sail from that port. Have a great cruise!

 

[Mommb]

The Adventure, the new ship in Singapore, is very different from the other ships in many ways. I haven't investigated it enough to be able to list the differences and similarities.

The other 7 ships all have 3 main dining rooms, 3 main theater shows, an Italian adults-only restaurant, an adults-only pool area with a bar and coffee shop, and Concierge veranda, 1-bedroom, and larger rooms providing access to the Concierge lounge.

The Magic class (Magic and Wonder) is smaller than the other ships. The lower guest count is particularly visible at Disney's private island, Castaway Cay (which you probably visited on the Wonder) and Lookout Cay (which opened less than 2 years ago).

The Dream class (Dream and Fantasy) added more sports activities on the top deck, including mini golf; a couple more adult-only lounges in the adult entertainment area; the Midship Detective Agency game that can be played on screens around the ship using a free playing card; a coffee shop that is open to all guests; and an upscale French adults-only restaurant. The Dream class also added a new room category, Deluxe Family Oceanview stateroom, which sleep up to 5 people and do not have a veranda. All of the Concierge rooms are in a single area on 2 decks near the spa. The layout of the ships is roughly the same as in the Magic class, with a walking path on Deck 4 that goes all around the ship.

The Triton class (Wish, Treasure, and Destiny) has the same passenger count as the Dream class but a different layout. Instead of 3 elevator banks (aft, midship, and fore) there are 2 larger banks at the fore and aft. Instead of a single adult entertainment area with minimal Disney theming, there are heavily themed lounges located around the ship, some of which become adults-only in the evening. There is a walking path but going completely around the ship requires stairs and is sometimes blocked. The Concierge lounge features hot food throughout the day.