Which would you choose?

[Honeypot]

Ok, so I know there is really no wrong answer here, but this is why I can't make up my mind! So I'd love to know what you would do and why.

Background: I have cruised once with my sister, her family and my Dad with DCL on the Magic 12 years ago. My husband cruised once when he was a kid, and he did love it then, but now kind of hates the idea of cruising. My kids (9 and 12 by cruise time) really want to go on one, so we are working on convincing him to go next year for spring break. He has begrudgingly agreed, if we do concierge (yeah, tough break for me )

Based on our dates, I am looking at the 5 night Marvel at Sea on the Dream from Miami, or the 4 night bahamian cruise on the Wish. The ports don't actually matter that much to me, in fact I think if we do the Wish, we will not got off at Nassau. Price is similar between the 2, so we can get an extra night on the Dream for nothing. But I was wondering if you thought some of the perks of concierge would be worth it on the Wish, like the private pool and the lounge being bigger with a view? Or just being on a newer ship in general? The other thing I am thinking about is if we go on the Wish I could squeeze in a day or 2 at WDW, but we are doing a 10 day trip in August so I'm not sure if it matters that much or not. But really my main concern is which do you think is a better option for a cruise-weary person?

Which one would you choose? An extra day or a newer ship? Beach time before/after the cruise or WDW? Thanks!

 

[Cruising Engineer]

5 nights of concierge beats 4 nights hands down. Sounds like you really want to sail on the Wish and trying to justify it????? We prefer arriving at least 2 days before the cruise (just in case something delays the flights) and spending the time at WDW (we're DVC).

 

[Cheburashka]

Ok, so I know there is really no wrong answer here, but this is why I can't make up my mind! So I'd love to know what you would do and why.

Background: I have cruised once with my sister, her family and my Dad with DCL on the Magic 12 years ago. My husband cruised once when he was a kid, and he did love it then, but now kind of hates the idea of cruising. My kids (9 and 12 by cruise time) really want to go on one, so we are working on convincing him to go next year for spring break. He has begrudgingly agreed, if we do concierge (yeah, tough break for me )

Based on our dates, I am looking at the 5 night Marvel at Sea on the Dream from Miami, or the 4 night bahamian cruise on the Wish. The ports don't actually matter that much to me, in fact I think if we do the Wish, we will not got off at Nassau. Price is similar between the 2, so we can get an extra night on the Dream for nothing. But I was wondering if you thought some of the perks of concierge would be worth it on the Wish, like the private pool and the lounge being bigger with a view? Or just being on a newer ship in general? The other thing I am thinking about is if we go on the Wish I could squeeze in a day or 2 at WDW, but we are doing a 10 day trip in August so I'm not sure if it matters that much or not. But really my main concern is which do you think is a better option for a cruise-weary person?

Which one would you choose? An extra day or a newer ship? Beach time before/after the cruise or WDW? Thanks!

5 night cruise on the Dream class, definitely. That said, the Wish isn't extremely appealing to me from what I've seen. If I were eager to cruise on it, my answer would be different.

I agree that being able to visit WDW shouldn't play into your decision, since you have a 10-day trip there coming up, anyway. Stick with the more complete cruise experience.

 

[Honeypot]

5 nights of concierge beats 4 nights hands down. Sounds like you really want to sail on the Wish and trying to justify it????? We prefer arriving at least 2 days before the cruise (just in case something delays the flights) and spending the time at WDW (we're DVC).

Thanks for your thoughts. No, I really don't know which one I would rather book. I haven't followed much about the Wish, so I didn't know if there was anything about the concierge that would be particularly appealing compared to the other ships. And I wasn't sure if people thought 4 nights would be a better fit rather than 5.

 

[Honeypot]

5 night cruise on the Dream class, definitely. That said, the Wish isn't extremely appealing to me from what I've seen. If I were eager to cruise on it, my answer would be different.

I agree that being able to visit WDW shouldn't play into your decision, since you have a 10-day trip there coming up, anyway. Stick with the more complete cruise experience.

Thanks! Sounds like you don't think 5 nights is too long then. Much appreciated.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Are you set on those options? My favorite itinerary for new cruisers would be a 5 night double dip on the Magic out of Miami. The smaller ship and relaxed itinerary make the whole thing a lot less overwhelming.

 

[Honeypot]

Are you set on those options? My favorite itinerary for new cruisers would be a 5 night double dip on the Magic out of Miami. The smaller ship and relaxed itinerary make the whole thing a lot less overwhelming.

They are the shorter options that fit in with the dates we have. I don't see the Magic at all from Miami next year? It seems to be leaving from New Orleans, which I hadn't considered but I guess I could. Although then there is no stop at Castaway Cay. There is also one on the Fantasy from PC, but they concierge is $$ and I was worried 7 nights would be too much.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Which one would you choose?

5 nights wins out over 4 for me.

 

[swimfin]

5 nights over 4 for me. The longer the better!

 

[princesscinderella]

Definitely 5 nights the more the better

 

[Kariyaffa]

I think Wish is going to be really good for people who are tired of the features on the other ships and want Disney but with new features. Since that’s not you, I think the 5 night.

 

[MomOTwins]

I think Wish is going to be really good for people who are tired of the features on the other ships and want Disney but with new features. Since that’s not you, I think the 5 night.

This was exactly my thought too. Having sailed so much on the Dream, I'd rather do the Wish personally, but seeing as how you won't be repeating experiences on the Dream, I'd go with that. An extra night for the same price is just a better value. and with the Wish having more concierge rooms, you'll probably have an easier time getting a cabana at castaway cay on the Dream.

Only other reason to choose the Wish is if Port Canaveral is a lot more convenient. For example, we are DVC members and can stay free in Orlando with our DVC points, so that makes it more of an attractive port for us as hotel cost in Miami in spring break can be pricey.

 

[Honeypot]

Thanks everyone! Definitely sounds like 5 nights is the big winner here.

@MomOTwins, we have to fly in and pay for a hotel either way, so one is not more convenient than the other. I will probably try to use Marriott points so there is no extra cost for the hotel. Hopefully I can get an ok deal since I am planning so far ahead.

 

[Husker Mike]

The aesthetic of the Wish is that of a heavily themed Disney World resort. Some people will love it, and pay extra for it. But if that doesn't fancy you, there's little reason to pay extra for it.

 

[Jhondy]

I was going through a similar turmoil and also haven’t been on a disney cruise in over a decade. So both Dream and Wish would be new ships for me. I went with Wish cause the dates were slightly better for me but also cause I felt like the Wish had more to do and more space for the amount of people on the ship to spread out. I liked the multiple pools and the kids club sounds neat. I’m hoping I made the right decision and am eagerly waiting till July to see videos of the Wish. I figure if the videos of Wish don’t look as good as I’m hoping then I might change to the 5 day on the Dream (depending on how much price goes up by then)

 

[iloveeeyore]

Surprised no one else has mentioned this but Marvel Day at Sea is amazing. Another plus for the Dream.

 

[Chrispy97]

Marvel Day at Sea was fantastic. It wasn't the primary reason I picked our cruise on the Magic in January 2020 (that was getting to stop at Key West, actually) but it was definitely a highlight of the trip. Seeing families get completely into the theme with costumes, the trivia (including me winning a Marvel trivia contest) and the added character interactions were all great.

I'm excited to do the Wish this summer, but I typically look for new experiences, particularly ports, on my cruises. I'd like to do SWDAS but I don't know if it will come back in the near future with Pixar now on the Fantasy.

For an extra day, which is a Marvel Day at Sea, at the same price? I'd wait on the Wish and do the Dream unless you're not big Marvel fans.

 

[Honeypot]

I was going through a similar turmoil and also haven’t been on a disney cruise in over a decade. So both Dream and Wish would be new ships for me. I went with Wish cause the dates were slightly better for me but also cause I felt like the Wish had more to do and more space for the amount of people on the ship to spread out. I liked the multiple pools and the kids club sounds neat. I’m hoping I made the right decision and am eagerly waiting till July to see videos of the Wish. I figure if the videos of Wish don’t look as good as I’m hoping then I might change to the 5 day on the Dream (depending on how much price goes up by then)

Glad to know I'm not alone in my turmoil! For me the Dream is actually better for dates, and with that plus the extra night right now that's what I'm going with (I haven't put the deposit, so let's see if I stick with it). I'm hoping the videos of the Wish won't be so good that I'll regret my decision and want to change! Who knows, maybe my husband will decide cruising is awesome and then we'll get to go on the Wish at another point.

 

[Honeypot]

Surprised no one else has mentioned this but Marvel Day at Sea is amazing. Another plus for the Dream.

Thank you, I'm glad to hear this too!

 

[Honeypot]

Marvel Day at Sea was fantastic. It wasn't the primary reason I picked our cruise on the Magic in January 2020 (that was getting to stop at Key West, actually) but it was definitely a highlight of the trip. Seeing families get completely into the theme with costumes, the trivia (including me winning a Marvel trivia contest) and the added character interactions were all great.

I'm excited to do the Wish this summer, but I typically look for new experiences, particularly ports, on my cruises. I'd like to do SWDAS but I don't know if it will come back in the near future with Pixar now on the Fantasy.

For an extra day, which is a Marvel Day at Sea, at the same price? I'd wait on the Wish and do the Dream unless you're not big Marvel fans.

Thanks so much for sharing. I'm happy to hear good reviews on it. I wasn't sure if it was something worth considering in all the factors, but I'm glad to hear it adds something to the cruise. I would say my kids are a bit more into Star Wars than Marvel, but when I talked to my youngest about the Marvel day at sea he got really excited! And I'm sure he would love to dress up for it.