April 4 night Magic + WDW vs Nov 7 night Fantasy

[minbrad]

Hey all! Here's my dilemma...we love WDW. There's just something about the tradition of going that has our hearts. We had a 5 night cruise on the Magic scheduled for this Thanksgiving and my husband talked me out of it because he doesn't like "being stuck on a ship". I'm kicking myself, but we've already rented DVC points and changed our flights. We are now going to WDW for 7 nights instead. As much as I love WDW, I loved our 5 night Dream cruise last year and would like to cruise again. We are planning another WDW trip in April and then said we'd do a 7 night Western Caribbean Nov 2014.

Should we do a 4 night cruise in April along with a couple nights a WDW and forgo the 7 night Fantasy or just stick to the plan? I'd love to eventually sail on all four ships and I'm afraid the Magic won't be near PC anymore. DH thinks 4 nights isn't enough, but the next breath he says he's not into cruising. UGH, what a dilemma to have.

Any insight will help. Thanks so much!!!!!

 

[flynnibus]

well since you've cruised once... people don't need to try to tell you what the differences are.. you may be stuck with personal preferences. But looking at the destinations maybe a great way to help your DH see the light. I mean.. why goto Mexico in Epcot when you can see the REAL THING? etc.

The one thing I don't like about the longer cruises is.. no longer stay at CCay. I'm doing a 7 night on the fantasy in nov and would have loved another day at CCay.

 

[joanna71985]

The Fantasy!

 

[TDF]

I gotta tell you… I don’t think the Magic is leaving the Florida area that soon. For most of 2014 all ships will be in either PC or Miami. I do however think longer is better so the Fantasy is a must. I do believe the Magic isn’t going to far so I wouldn’t worry about it that much.

 

[minbrad]

Okay, we've agreed longer is better! Now my choices would be 7 night eastern on Magic OR 7 night western on Fantasy!?! They are only a day apart, both November so time isn't issue now. We'll have lots of Christmas activities to do (if they follow same schedule as this year) so I'm not too worried about getting off at the ports. We've never been on the eastern side.

 

[TDF]

Okay, we've agreed longer is better! Now my choices would be 7 night eastern on Magic OR 7 night western on Fantasy!?! They are only a day apart, both November so time isn't issue now. We'll have lots of Christmas activities to do (if they follow same schedule as this year) so I'm not too worried about getting off at the ports. We've never been on the eastern side.

Are you ship or destination people? The Magic visits more ports of call with you guys having less days at sea. There are two days at see on the Magic with three on the Fantasy.

 

[minbrad]

We are looking at Eastern on Magic with is 3 sea days (St. Maarten, St. Thomas, Castaway) and Western on the Fantasy with 2 sea days (Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Jamaica, Castaway). We really aren't sure what kind of people we are!!! We've only been on a 5 night double dip, stayed on the ship at Nassau and were back on the ship by lunch time while at CC. We liked having less people onboard the Nassau day. We'd like to get off at all ports to at least explore. DH could care less about Cozumel and Farmouth, I don't really care where I go and DD10 just wants the "luxury of cruising"! The Magic is more appealing because it'll be "reimagined" and HOPEFULLY less crowds at the pool. We're booked mid ship floor 7 on the Fantasy right now but I've been hearing that the vibrations are terrible everywhere on the ship. We'd love to try a navigator verandah on the Magic too.

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Longer is better! I agree!

Both itineraries are great. Normally I would steer you towards the Fantasy, but I agree, the reimagined Magic should be amazing. Since you've done the Dream, I'd try the Magic.

 

[minbrad]

Longer is better! I agree!

Both itineraries are great. Normally I would steer you towards the Fantasy, but I agree, the reimagined Magic should be amazing. Since you've done the Dream, I'd try the Magic.

Okay Tammy, I value your cruise master opinion!!! Why would you normally steer me to the Fantasy and do you think the new Magic will be better?

 

[sweetpee_1993]

The Fantasy is like the Dream but with differences and pluses. She's a remarkable vessel definitely worth recommending to anyone.

The Magic when reimagined will be amazing, too. The AquaDunk will be a bit different from the AquaDuck. The size difference in the classic ships vs. the new ships is definitely worth experiencing because it does make the overall experience different. I wouldn't call it "better". It's different. If you like to sample different experiences that might be a consideration for the Magic over going on one of the new ships again. Ya know?

Also, there's something to be said for longer voyages over shorter ones. Think of it in terms of the parks. If you went to WDW for a few days you'd be more likely to run like mad and do as much as you possibly can in a short amount of time. On a longer WDW visit you might take your time more, slow down, and take more time to soak in the details. It truly is much the same on the cruises. At least for me it is!

 

[minbrad]

Everyone has convinced me that longer is better so we'll definitely do the 7 night! I guess I'm such an over planner that I'm having a hard time thinking the Magic will be easily assessable. We really want to do Alaska once the Wonder is out of dry dock so we're hoping for spring of 2015. Even if we have to put Alaska off for a year, in my head I'm thinking we'll be able to do the Fantasy from PC so why not try the Magic while it's in PC instead of Spain!!

Sweetpee, did you experience the vibrations on the Fantasy in May?

 

[TDF]

We where on the Dream and didn’t feel any vibrations nor have I heard any reports of vibrations from other here at WDWMagic. If you did the Dream I would say try the Magic. It is smaller and does have the new features look amazing.

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Okay Tammy, I value your cruise master opinion!!! Why would you normally steer me to the Fantasy and do you think the new Magic will be better?

Lol! I would normally steer you towards the Fantasy because I love the big ships. They're amazing and I love them. Since you've already tried the Dream, then I think it would be good to try a different ship. Since the Magic will be "new", that's the one I would pick.

I wouldn't pick a shorter cruise on the Magic! But if they're both 7 nights and you've done the Dream, try the Magic.

 

[minbrad]

So after going around and around about dates, we have to pay the extra and sail over Thanksgiving next year. That means choices are

Fantasy, St. Maarten/San Juan/Castaway Cay
Or
Magic, Key West/Cozumel/Grand Cayman/Castaway

Any thoughts?

 

[minbrad]

Fantasy, veranda, midship, deck 6 (we loved this location)

Magic, navigator veranda, aft, deck 7 (looks neat to us, worried about sea sickness)

 

[Disneyfalcon]

There are really no bad choices there.