Which cruise to take?

[emilymad]

We are current booked on the Wonder for the Southern Caribbean in January. We are leaning towards canceling this cruise due to cost when factoring in airfare and it being so port intensive.

Here are the alternatives so far including airfare, hotel, OBC, specialty dining, and drink packages. All cruises are about the same sail date, balcony cabins, and all Western itineraries.

Allure of the Seas - 7 nights $3800

Fantasy - 7 nights $4100

Magic - 5 nights $2900

We have sailed on the Oasis and the Fantasy before but never the Magic.

I am leaning towards the Magic. DH is leaning towards the Allure.

Any thoughts? Would we be disappointed in the Magic compared to the bigger ships?

 

[thumpie's mom]

Having never been on RCCL, I can't really compare, BUT we absolutely love both the Magic and the Wonder . I don't see how you would be disappointed. We typically do not even bother to get off of the ship and there is always plenty to do. When we did Panama last year, we stayed on the ship the entire 14 days and were never bored. Having said that, everyone is different...the classic ships don't have all the bells and whistles of the bigger ones, but then, they don't really need them. Have fun on whichever cruise you go on!

 

[Peggytc]

I haven't been on bigger ships but Magic is beautiful! The difference from what I understand is size, and personally I like that it's easy to get from one end to the other in a reasonable amount of time so I am not late for activities

That said, I am also partial to longer voyages that offer more sea days. Usually for the same price or sometimes less, if you can spare the days off, you can get a longer cruise. The combo of lots of sea days to enjoy the ship, and a few really interesting ports, is just perfect.

In contradiction to that fact, I have to say I'm looking at NYC cruise for my next one which will be only 8 days - simply because it starts and stops in the same port (cheaper airfare) and gives you a day at the parks in Orlando it's tough! All depends what you want to get out of your vacation. I don't think there is a bad choice among them!!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

We are current booked on the Wonder for the Southern Caribbean in January. We are leaning towards canceling this cruise due to cost when factoring in airfare and it being so port intensive.

Here are the alternatives so far including airfare, hotel, OBC, specialty dining, and drink packages. All cruises are about the same sail date, balcony cabins, and all Western itineraries.

Allure of the Seas - 7 nights $3800

Fantasy - 7 nights $4100

Magic - 5 nights $2900

We have sailed on the Oasis and the Fantasy before but never the Magic.

I am leaning towards the Magic. DH is leaning towards the Allure.

Any thoughts? Would we be disappointed in the Magic compared to the bigger ships?

Well, for starters, I'd probably drop Allure. The price difference between Allure and Fantasy isn't really that great.

That leaves the Magic & Fantasy. I've been on both (admittedly, I haven't been on the Magic since her re-image), and while I'd prefer the Magic, I'm firmly in the "longer is better" camp. Now, the difference works out to $600 per night if you do the Fantasy over the Magic. How many of you are traveling? Is it worth $600 per night for those extra two nights? If not, it seems the Magic wins.

 

[emilymad]

Well, for starters, I'd probably drop Allure. The price difference between Allure and Fantasy isn't really that great.

That leaves the Magic & Fantasy. I've been on both (admittedly, I haven't been on the Magic since her re-image), and while I'd prefer the Magic, I'm firmly in the "longer is better" camp. Now, the difference works out to $600 per night if you do the Fantasy over the Magic. How many of you are traveling? Is it worth $600 per night for those extra two nights? If not, it seems the Magic wins.

When I did the math on the Allure I was actually surprised to see how close in price it is to the Fantasy. I am normally in the longer is better camp as well but it seems like a big price different for 2 extra days. We are 2 adults so the extra $1200 seems like a lot.

 

[Ofinn]

When I did the math on the Allure I was actually surprised to see how close in price it is to the Fantasy. I am normally in the longer is better camp as well but it seems like a big price different for 2 extra days. We are 2 adults so the extra $1200 seems like a lot.

You won't see a huge price difference in the offseason. In fact you will see many GT rates released on DCL. Summer season and school breaks are a different story. The cost difference between DCL and everybody else can be in the thousands sometimes double. We have done every Caribbean cruise DCL offers, and the SC was hands down my favorite.

 

[bumbershoot]

including airfare, hotel, OBC, specialty dining, and drink packages

Wow, so those prices are TOTALS? Pretty good! The shorter cruise is more per night than Allure. Price per night always goes into my decision-making process. It's not always the last stop, but it's important to me. (if I get really nitpicky it's price per person per night LOL)

And if you've included beverage packages on the Royal cruise, it means that the price for the cruise itself is even lower. And there are no booze packages on Disney, I believe, so you won't be zero OOP on DCL if you drink alcohol.

Make sure you're looking at the right beverage packages for what you want. And remember that each person on Royal can order whichever package is right for them (or no package); you don't have to get the same one for everyone, or ANY package for any given person in your party.


I personally prefer an Eastern itinerary over Western. And have you looked at a slightly smaller ship on Royal? We really enjoyed Freedom, for instance.

In 2014 the idea of the 5 port days freaked us out, but we're looking forward to our Southern itinerary (December 2016, waaaah) on Royal. (Adventure of the seas, I believe)

 

[emilymad]

Wow, so those prices are TOTALS? Pretty good! The shorter cruise is more per night than Allure. Price per night always goes into my decision-making process. It's not always the last stop, but it's important to me. (if I get really nitpicky it's price per person per night LOL)

And if you've included beverage packages on the Royal cruise, it means that the price for the cruise itself is even lower. And there are no booze packages on Disney, I believe, so you won't be zero OOP on DCL if you drink alcohol.

Make sure you're looking at the right beverage packages for what you want. And remember that each person on Royal can order whichever package is right for them (or no package); you don't have to get the same one for everyone, or ANY package for any given person in your party.


I personally prefer an Eastern itinerary over Western. And have you looked at a slightly smaller ship on Royal? We really enjoyed Freedom, for instance.

In 2014 the idea of the 5 port days freaked us out, but we're looking forward to our Southern itinerary (December 2016, waaaah) on Royal. (Adventure of the seas, I believe)

The prices are totals for 2 people. For the Allure I included a soda package and the non-alcoholic package. I also included 3 of specialty restaurants.

We did look at the Freedom but the prices was more than the Allure. We have sailed on Freedom before and had a nice time. We feel like if we go to RCL we want to do the Oasis class again.

Our last 3 cruises have been Eastern so we decided to go for Western for a change.

We love to do the Southern Caribbean someday but for the price and the "busyness" of the cruise we go to Europe instead.

 

[DahliaRW]

Our first cruise was on the Fantasy, my 2nd on the Magic. I don't think I could ever go back to the bigger ship. I really, really, really loved the smaller ship. It was more personal, it was easier to navigate (smaller to walk around), the MDRs were smaller and less noisy (could have been our itenerary, though), etc. I don't think a smaller ship will be an issue.

 

[jack87891]

We were on the Magic a month ago and loved it. You can't go wrong with it. The fantasy is amazing and if you choose 7 nights, the $300 premium for the fantasy over the allure doesn't seem that great. So, no bad decision. it really comes down to your preference. Maybe you can choose the magic and put the $1200 towards the next cruise!!!

 

[emilymad]

Our first cruise was on the Fantasy, my 2nd on the Magic. I don't think I could ever go back to the bigger ship. I really, really, really loved the smaller ship. It was more personal, it was easier to navigate (smaller to walk around), the MDRs were smaller and less noisy (could have been our itenerary, though), etc. I don't think a smaller ship will be an issue.

Thanks! The Magic would be the smallest ship we ever sailed on so it makes me a little nervous.

 

[SwimMom2]

I can tell you that the Magic is simply stunning. We sailed on her in early June. If I didn't know she was built in 1998, I would have thought she was new. Immaculate.