WWYD 5 night Dream or 6 Night Magic

[aebeauregard]

Looking for some guidance and opinions. This will be our first cruise and we are debating a 5 night out on the Dream out of Miami (Castaway Cay and Grand Caymans stops) or 6 night on the Magic out of Galveston (Cozumel and Grand Caymans stops). Price is roughly the same. Planning on an interior room. Family of four (me, husband, daughter 8 and son 5).

Is Castaway Cay worth losing an additional day if we sail the Magic instead? Dates are in January...will Castaway Cay be too cold for swimming? I'm a little worried the Dream will be a little overwhelming, but the mini golf, onboard detective thing, and aquaduck seem really fun and like something my family would enjoy. The dining themes on the Magic seem more fun for my family. We aren't looking to spend much money on excursions at ports so I'm not sure if Cozumel and Grand Caymans are good stops to explore without excursions and still feel safe.

Thoughts or opinions anyone? Looking for some guidance.

 

[Clarkson U]

So assuming getting to each port is the same hassle and cost for you - then I prefer to going on longer sailing. Magic is smaller but feels big! We like both ships a lot. Castaway is a lot of fun but for most people in January too cold to swim in the water but the beach area and island area are nice.

Both Grand Cayman and Cozumel allow for walking around without an excursion so no issues there.

All else being the same go for the longer sailing. It’s what you pay for so per night which one is the cheapest including travel costs etc and choose that one.

Either way you will have a great time!

 

[dreamer17555]

I would sail the Dream out of Miami. While I like the Magic and generally am for an extra day I would not want to miss Castaway

 

[Marthasor]

That's a tough one - they are both beautiful ships. I would, typically, choose CC over Cozumel any day of the week, however, keep in mind, you aren't required to even leave the ship at any port, so the 6-night could be appealing as well, IMHO, as you could take advantage of a fairly empty ship if you don't want to explore the ports/purchase shore excursions. I would weigh all costs and then decide from there. You can't go wrong with either of those choices.

 

[aebeauregard]

Looking at prices I think going out of Galveston would also save us about $500 in plane ticket costs. Taking into account the longer distance from airport to port I think in the end it might save us roughly $350 total.

If we did the Dream out of Miami, we would certainly get off at CC. Maybe check out Grand Cayman for just a couple hours on foot.

If we do the Magic I anticipate finding local transit to 7 mile beach and spending a couple hours at the beach for the Grand Cayman day. Then probably just exploring Cozumel by foot for a little bit and heading back to the ship.

Any chance we will feel bored on the Magic for 6 nights without the aquaduck, mini golf, or detective hunt thing on the ship?

 

[Clarkson U]

Looking at prices I think going out of Galveston would also save us about $500 in plane ticket costs. Taking into account the longer distance from airport to port I think in the end it might save us roughly $350 total.

If we did the Dream out of Miami, we would certainly get off at CC. Maybe check out Grand Cayman for just a couple hours on foot.

If we do the Magic I anticipate finding local transit to 7 mile beach and spending a couple hours at the beach for the Grand Cayman day. Then probably just exploring Cozumel by foot for a little bit and heading back to the ship.

Any chance we will feel bored on the Magic for 6 nights without the aquaduck, mini golf, or detective hunt thing on the ship?

Nope! They will have activities on the ship and we often bring a deck of cards or phase 10 to play as a family just incase. You can watch movies, sleep in, have a sit down breakfast in a dining room etc instead of rushing off the ship at ports.

We have never been bored and never been able to do everything offered on the ship. More days gives you a chance to try out more meals, maybe some room service, watch movies on funnel vision or in the theater, play trivia games, go to towel folding or Disney animation where you can try to draw a character - all fun things to do! And shuffleboard which is one of our favs on the ship!

If it saves you money AND you get one extra night on the ship then I say do the 6 nighter.

 

[Doberge]

I live a five minute drive from the Port of New Orleans and we are choosing to drive to Miami for the Dream for our first DCL cruise for three reasons. First. My wife really wants to do CC, we canceled a previous Magic cruise out of New Orleans when the itinerary changed, and there have not been any CC itineraries from New Orleans since. Second, we jumped on a GT rate that saved 35%. We booked nonrefundable before the Disney+ rates were announced. Third, we picked a Merrytime cruise and there are no Merrytime cruises from New Orleans.

As you can see, none of our reasons had anything to do with the ships themselves. I'm sure they're both lovely and that you'd love either one, so I'd focus on prioritizing whether CC or an extra day is more important. If all else was equal to me I'd personally do the linger cruise.

 

[Cheburashka]

Castaway Cay is special enough to be worth it, yes. I wouldn't sail DCL to the Caribbean without a stop at CC. It's part of the DCL experience.

The water at CC will be chilly but it's warm enough to swim in. Once you immerse yourself your body adjusts, and the air is typically warm enough to feel just fine climbing out, walking around wet, & going back in again, like at the Pelican Plunge slide. The water will be around 75 degrees fyi.

The air temps are usually warm year-round on CC, but the occasional cool day can happen in winter if a major cold front has passed through the region. But those days are rare, and less than ideal weather can occur at any time of year. One perk is that winter is the dry season there. And the fact that it's warm rather than burning hot or muggy makes bicycling around the island more pleasant. I've sailed there in late December / early January several times, and always had warm, dry weather.

Galveston isn't a great port to sail from: much colder in winter than Miami, and sometimes foggy which can cause delays.

I'd choose the Dream cruise in a heartbeat.

 

[maui2k5]

We are just wrapping up a 4 night on the Dream and I would choose the Magic over the Dream from Galveston (we live in Houston). I’m not sure if it’s the Miami crowd or just our cruise, but it was more rowdy than I have experienced on the Magic/Wonder out of Galveston. My family likes the classic ships more with 1 on the Magic and 3 on the Wonder from Galveston,

The Dream is a fantastic ship, don’t get me wrong, For a first cruise on DCL, go with the extra night and the classic ship. Then, you still have Castaway for a future cruise on the Dream class ships or Wish.

 

[Lillebelle]

If you were to choose the Dream cruise, and ultimately not be able to dock at Castaway Cay due to weather, would you regret your choice? I'm not experienced enough to know when this is most likely to be an issue, but it does happen from time to time. I just wouldn't want you to choose solely based on that stop and then end up hugely disappointed if it didn't happen.

I'm usually in the 'longer is better' camp and I personally prefer the 'classic' ships. That said, if it's your first cruise, and you're planning on being in an inside stateroom, I might say do the Dream instead just because you don't know how you and your family will like cruising, and 5 nights is a good length to get a good taste of it but not feel trapped if you don't end up loving it. I feel like I've also read threads about Galveston having really rough waters (I have not sailed out of Galveston myself), so if you don't know how your family will do seasickness-wise, that might be something to consider as well.

I think you could have a great time either way though!

 

[tigerchic89]

If the longer cruise is cheaper (overall travel cost), go for that one. You won't be bored on any DCL ship.

IMO, in grand cayman, do a stingray city excursion , it's amazing

 

[lanejudy]

I just wouldn't want you to choose solely based on that stop and then end up hugely disappointed if it didn't happen.

I agree with this -- I would NOT choose based solely on 1 port stop. Any given port stop can be cancelled on any given day; it's unfortunate but it does happen. I recall a poll a while ago and I think January popped as the most common month to miss Castaway Cay. Not that it happens a lot each year, but it is somewhat more likely.

 

[Bibbidi_Boo]

Dec is a coin toss if it will be comfortable to swim. The water will be cold, it will really depend on how warm a day you get, could be cool to hot.

 

[CamColt]

I would sail the Dream out of Miami. While I like the Magic and generally am for an extra day I would not want to miss Castaway

This is exactly what I was thinking. But also, there is no guarantee you will make it to CC (there's always that chance, sadly). Personally I would probably do the Dream as it is easier to get to for me and I would hope to make it to CC.

 

[aebeauregard]

I love hearing all the opinions. You are all making it tricky though. Every couple comments seem to swing the other way. Haha.

How busy do the aqua duck, mini golf and CC get/feel?

I think we are looking for a Disney trip without the busy Disney feel….if that makes sense. I would also like to spend some time at a beach with the kids. They have never been to the ocean. CC is appealing for that, but I don’t want it to feel too crowded. And I don’t think we are all day beach people. 2-3 hours would probably suffice.

Magic seems a little more low key which is appealing but I worry it may be too low key for the kids.

Someone mentioned I should decide if CC is a priority or an extra night is. I guess having never cruised I’m not sure which way to go.

 

[Keyser]

I could see going either way with the cruise (we would probably pick Galveston for the extra day plus lower/easier travel).

Grand Cayman is easy to do without an official excursion (we did). The 7-mile beach or whatever it's called is pretty easy to get to - there are (pretty cheap) busses/taxis that go from the port, and we just went a ways and asked them to drop us off at a random point. On the beach we ran into some guys who would rent chairs and an umbrella (and sell some drinks and stuff out of a cooler). It wasn't exactly free, but very cheap compared to any booked excursion, it was easy, and the beach was incredible. Other areas of the beach had clubs or bars, and so on. The one thing I remember, though, is that there were a lot of other things you could pay extra for along the beach (floating water slides, etc., saw some guy with a water-based "jetpack", and so on. Kids might really want to do those depending on where you land on the beach. In any case, you can have a great time there without an excursion.

Cozumel we've either done an official excursion or we did basically the same thing on our own (it's pretty easy and somewhat cheaper, though not "cheap" to go to Chankanaab and do the dolphin stuff/park on your own).

 

[facepalm]

They have never been to the ocean. CC is appealing for that, but I don’t want it to feel too crowded. And I don’t think we are all day beach people. 2-3 hours would probably suffice.

If they've never been to the beach, they may surprise you! Show a kid some sand and a shovel and they might be there the whole day

 

[KatieKepic]

For me, I would go with Galveston on the Magic. I personally prefer the classic ships, with the Magic being my favorite and longer is almost always better in my book. I also have to agree with maui2k5, as our one sailing from Miami also had a much different vibe then our sailings from any other port (we've sailed from Galveston, San Diego, PC, Miami & Dover). While I do prefer CC to Cozumel, the water is not warm enough for my family to want to swim in it at CC that time of year whereas we've swam in Cozumel in December, January & February no problem but that may also depend on where you're coming from (we live in South Texas). And while my family does enjoy CC, it's not enough that we'd pick a cruise strictly for that but I know a lot of people do. That being said, the roughest waters we've experienced have been sailing from Galveston (we've also had smooth sailings as well) and we've also had a fog delay from Galveston. It hasn't deterred us from sailing from Galveston but since it's our home port, it's the easiest for us to sail from so that probably is a bigger factor

 

[Cheburashka]

I love hearing all the opinions. You are all making it tricky though. Every couple comments seem to swing the other way. Haha.

How busy do the aqua duck, mini golf and CC get/feel?

I think we are looking for a Disney trip without the busy Disney feel….if that makes sense. I would also like to spend some time at a beach with the kids. They have never been to the ocean. CC is appealing for that, but I don’t want it to feel too crowded. And I don’t think we are all day beach people. 2-3 hours would probably suffice.

Magic seems a little more low key which is appealing but I worry it may be too low key for the kids.

A few things:

1. Magic won't be too low key for the kids. There is almost the same amount of things to do on both ships. A few extra bells and whistles on the Dream, such as the AquaDuck, minigolf (it's a really small course, so don't overbuild that in your mind) and Midship detective agency, but not enough to make the kids bored if it isn't there. There is no shortage of game shows, parties and other family activities on the Magic. The Magic has the all-ages Twist & Shout curvy waterslide (never has an extreme line), and also AquaDunk, a short but thrilling drop down box slide if your kids are up for that.

2. AquaDuck gets busy at peak periods- you can easily wait in a 45 minute line. That said, I've ridden it dozens of times and have never waited in that kind of line. I go at off-peak times, such as right upon boarding (on the early side) before lunch on embarkation day, after 6pm each day, and early afternoon on Castaway Cay day. Minigolf is small so not worth waiting in a long line. If you go at off-peak times, there won't be any line.

3. CC is the perfect family beach. That's why it's so popular and why imo it's worth sailing to, even at the expense of one fewer day. Could the ship possibly not be able to dock? Sure, but anything is theoretically possible (there could possibly be a blizzard that prevents you from even getting to Miami at all), and it is very rare for that to happen. Sure, it's happened to some people on this board, but some people on this board have cruised DCL upward of 20-30 times. I've sailed to CC 7 times, mostly in late December / early January, and each time the weather was great and there were no issues docking.

4. CC never feels crowded, at least not with the Fab Four ships (I haven't sailed the Wish). There are somewhat longer Pelican Plunge lines on Dream class cruises, but that line never takes more than about 20 minutes even at its max. 5-10 minutes is typical. It also might be easier to find a lounger right at the edge of the water on a Dream class cruise, but if you're not picky about being right next to the water, you won't have any shortage of loungers. Even if 2 ships docked there (which is impossible btw), there would probably be enough loungers. CC is very relaxed and pleasant. Ride a bike through the whole bike path, climb the observation tower (this is on the bike path), etc., and it will be a peaceful, beautiful day.

 

[aebeauregard]

Thanks for all the advice and opinions.

We ended up booking a 6 night Magic out of Galveston on January 13th. Once we crunched the numbers with hotel and flights we saved almost $600 and got an extra night doing the Magic.

With the money we saved I’m tempted to book an excursion now. Any suggestions there? Cozumel and Grand Cayman are our stops.