Better itinerary or better ship?

Which would you pick?

A. Disney 7 night Fantasy Eastern Cruise - newest ship on Disney's cruise line. I have previously been to every island on this cruise and they are not my favorite islands.

B. Disney 4 night Dream Bahamas Cruise - also very new. Don't want to go back to the Bahamas though. We could do a few days in Orlando at the parks.

C. Disney 7 Magic Western Cruise - refurbished in 2013. Not sure if it makes it just as new or newer than Fantasy. Itinerary includes islands I have never been to cayman and couzmel, Mexico.

Does anyone know if the actual staterooms are new on Magic? I googled and see the major changes on the ship but no mention of actual staterooms.

Message edited 3/26/2014 10:44:24 PM.

Re: Better itinerary or better ship?

For me cruise ships are about itinerary so I can see as much as possible

Better itinerary or better ship?

C. Sounds like it fits your needs.

Re: Better itinerary or better ship?

A refurb they don't do totally new rooms, but they do refresh...new bedspreads that short of thing. I think this refurb most redid public spaces. It is an older ship with some new spaces amenities. That is not necessarily bad though. Have you looked at photos of the ships to see what you prefer?

I personally would choose the fantasy bc I like Eastern routes. I think they are a bit more family friendly.

I do not like Nassau and would spend it on the ship.

Option C is probably better for you. I like grand cayman but not couzmel. Don't get me wrong I enjoyed Tulum in the past but I am not a fan of the western routes. I prefer southern and eastern Caribbean.

As far as boat or itinerary. My answer is it depends. What do you like to do, how active are you, how much down/relaxing time are you looking for, do you do something on every island?

I think the ship is somewhat important. Unlike a hotel you might want to just put your head down and as long as it has what you need are is clean you might not care if it has a water park, 10 restaurants or whatever, it is a bed. With a cruise you are a captive audience. This is why I am picky about cruise lines and ships. You MUST spend at least part of your day or days on the ship. Unlike the parks where you could get up and spend rope drop to park close in the parks and just shower and sleep. You will be eating, spending evenings and maybe 1+ days on the ship. I think with the disney ships you will be fine with any of those three choices but I do suggest you look at what each offers and make sure you are okay with it.

I personally just turned down a four day Dream bc for us it is just too short to relax. I think I need 7 days.

Re: Better itinerary or better ship?

I've only been on the Dream but from what I have heard, all of the ships are lovely, and some people actually prefer the experience of the smaller ships(pools are less crowded, fewer people at castaway cay). And the refurbished Magic is supposed to be really nice. I agree with the previous poster, also, that longer would be more relaxing. 4 days just flew by.

Better itinerary or better ship?

I would pick the Dream or Fantasy over the Magic. The Dream and Fantasy are the exact same ship as an FYI. The Dream and Fantasy have the Aqua Duck coaster. The Magic has the Aqua Dunk which has a 48" height requirement, and is VERY steep. The ship is also smaller. But, it's cheaper than the other two.


We stayed on the boat at Nassau, and most people got off. So we had a lot of stuff to ourselves. Namely the pools and Aqua Duck. My kids rode it over and over. Castaway Cay was perfect for us.


The Staterooms were all refurbished on Magic. Albeit, many have had plumbing issues. Not sure if those have been fixed. They look more like the Dream and Fantasy rooms now.

Message edited 3/27/2014 9:23:34 AM.

Re: Better itinerary or better ship?

itinerary

Re: Better itinerary or better ship?

I would pick C. For me I'd like to go to places i've never been. When I went to Cozumel I did a trip to Tulum and that was awesome.

Re: Better itinerary or better ship?

For us we pick based on ship and price. We usually do beach days at islands and I don't care which beach I find myself on...

Re: Better itinerary or better ship?

I personally can't do short cruises... I love cruising so it's like a tease...

As for repeat islands, that doesn't bother me so much bc it's nice to know where you def want and don't want to go when you step foot off ship... Or you can just stay on the ship and enjoy having the boat to yourself

I've been doing research myself on disney cruises and I believe the magic has slightly larger staterooms than the other 2 ships. Magic is a smaller ship with less people... But if your looking at an inside cabin, magic doesn't have the magic portholes ironically ( only dream and fantasy do)

I like eastern Carib itinerary better but in this case, I'd prob pick based on my room needs

Message edited 3/28/2014 3:41:48 PM.

Re: Better itinerary or better ship?

Just did the Magic in Feb, it was unbelievable ! We did connecting rooms and had a good amount of space. (plus this gave us two bathrooms :) I am completely hooked. The rooms felt like they were brand new, and there was so much storage ! It surpassed my expectations in every way. For me this wasn't really about the itinerary, as I traveled a lot prior to kids (been to most islands etc). This was about the Disney experience.

Castaway Cay is gorgeous. And great for little kids as the water is calm, and there is even a splash area.

Stayed on the ship at Nassau.

DCL has amazing activities for the children. My kids are young so snorkeling and adventures as such are not as interesting as hanging out with Captain Hook or being read to by Belle. The kid's club, and the variety of activities they had lined up for the kids was more interesting for them, which gave me time to relax, drink, ...and be an adult :)

Four nights was a tease !!!! The longer the better...but it's DCL so anything is better than nothing. It's that good !

The Kids Club is similar on all the ships except for the Wonder. Toy Story is my son's favorite so that is what sold me. Although, Dream and Fantasy have a Monster's Inc area. I rebooked quickly on our cruise and didn't select the ideal dates. I am now trying to figure out which cruise to take and the pricing for the Fantasy is so much more (less rooms available during the time I want to travel) that I can't see paying that difference. In addition, people seem to prefer the smaller ships (they aren't small) lol because there are less people at Castaway Cay. I am probably going to do the Magic again for their 7 night -Cozumel and Grand Cayman, won't get off at Key West. Being on the ship during port day was great !

Honestly, not sure you will go wrong with any decision you make. But if you can, go with more nights !

Message edited 3/28/2014 2:21:57 PM.