Kids 3 and (almost) 5, torn b/w T'giving Fantasy or October S. Carib. on Magic

[Island_Chica]

I am having a really, really tough time choosing between two cruises. We have two boys, and they will be 3 and (almost) 5 at the time of sailing in Fall 2014. We cruised with both of them on Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas this past February, and it went quite well.

 

We are sold on taking the boys on a Disney cruise, and we are torn between two cruises:

 

1. Thanksgiving 2014, Eastern Caribbean on Disney Fantasy. We've been to all the ports before. We've got an aft Veranda on hold (Deck 10, one of those Cat 5E oversize ones).

 

2. October 2014, Southern Caribbean on Disney Magic. 3 of the 5 ports would be new to us. St. Lucia is a port that's on my bucket list, and I prefer to visit on a cruise stop via land vacation for multiple reasons. I wasn't particularly interested in this ship until I read about the updates.

 

Here are some concerns:

1. That the Magic S. Carib. may be too port intensive for little ones (though we will leave them on board one day for 4-5 hours in the kids club, particularly as they will be together).

2. I'm concerned that the Thanksgiving Fantasy cruise will be so full of kids that MY kids won't have any fun. My oldest currently doesn't do well in large groups of children, familiar or not. Thus, I wonder if cruising October might be better from that standpoint, perhaps more personalized attention in the kids clubs?

3. Size of Magic vs. Fantasy - does the Magic feel too small? Does the Fantasy feel too large? The Fantasy has the same pass capacity at RCI's Freedom OTS, and though large, it was still manageable. My favorite cruise so far was an adult trip we took on the Celebrity Summit (around 2k passengers). It was a S. Carib. and I loved, loved, loved it.

4. Will the shows on the Magic be as good as the Fantasy?

5. COST - so the T'giving cruise is running us around $6k, but we can drive to the port. The October cruise would require airfare, but it's not a popular week so experience tells me we can fly from ATL-SJU for around $300 pp. We *might* have to choose an oceanview over a veranda on this one to still come in just over $6k, plus more ports = higher costs.

 

I'd love some thoughts... these cruises book up so darn quickly (at least at affordable rates)! We only have our aft veranda on hold until this Wednesday.

[Host Mick]

I am having a really, really tough time choosing between two cruises. We have two boys, and they will be 3 and (almost) 5 at the time of sailing in Fall 2014. We cruised with both of them on Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas this past February, and it went quite well.

 

We are sold on taking the boys on a Disney cruise, and we are torn between two cruises:

 

1. Thanksgiving 2014, Eastern Caribbean on Disney Fantasy. We've been to all the ports before. We've got an aft Veranda on hold (Deck 10, one of those Cat 5E oversize ones).

 

2. October 2014, Southern Caribbean on Disney Magic. 3 of the 5 ports would be new to us. St. Lucia is a port that's on my bucket list, and I prefer to visit on a cruise stop via land vacation for multiple reasons. I wasn't particularly interested in this ship until I read about the updates.

 

Here are some concerns:

1. That the Magic S. Carib. may be too port intensive for little ones (though we will leave them on board one day for 4-5 hours in the kids club, particularly as they will be together).

2. I'm concerned that the Thanksgiving Fantasy cruise will be so full of kids that MY kids won't have any fun. My oldest currently doesn't do well in large groups of children, familiar or not. Thus, I wonder if cruising October might be better from that standpoint, perhaps more personalized attention in the kids clubs?

3. Size of Magic vs. Fantasy - does the Magic feel too small? Does the Fantasy feel too large? The Fantasy has the same pass capacity at RCI's Freedom OTS, and though large, it was still manageable. My favorite cruise so far was an adult trip we took on the Celebrity Summit (around 2k passengers). It was a S. Carib. and I loved, loved, loved it.

4. Will the shows on the Magic be as good as the Fantasy?

5. COST - so the T'giving cruise is running us around $6k, but we can drive to the port. The October cruise would require airfare, but it's not a popular week so experience tells me we can fly from ATL-SJU for around $300 pp. We *might* have to choose an oceanview over a veranda on this one to still come in just over $6k, plus more ports = higher costs.

 

I'd love some thoughts... these cruises book up so darn quickly (at least at affordable rates)! We only have our aft veranda on hold until this Wednesday.

 

 

Port intensive is really a choice on your part. You don't have to go ashore in any port. Just think of it as a sea day with a lot fewer people. Other than Castaway Cay, nothing closes in port.

[moki'smommy]

The Fantasy is incredibly beautiful...and the Magic will be right out of a huge dry dock. Your kids are too young for the great high tech features of the Fantasy. SOME of these will be incorporated into the Magic, but we don't really know how much.

 

IMHO, we prefer the Magic. That's just personal opinion.

 

I would not sail on a holiday cruise if I had another choice. Too crazy. We prefer off season. With your ages, that's a great thing.

 

New ports are a major positive. As noted, the ports are all Caribbean islands....how "port intensive" you make it is totally your choice.

 

Why would you just assume that the shows on the Magic might not be as "good" as on the Fantasy? We prefer the shows on the Magic, but how good they are really depends on the cast. Since the casts change every 6 months, few people will have seen both of the casts you'll have to chose from.

 

Personally, I'd choose the Magic. But that's just me.

[Scrapnana]

Although I loved the Fantasy, in your situation I would choose the Magic. Reasons: 1) although still a lot of kids (it is Disney after all) October is bound to have fewer, 2) smaller ship means even fewer kids (and adults), and 3) more desirable ports for you.

[ededmd]

+1 for the Magic.

 

The ship will feel less hectic in October versus the holiday sailing.

The ports will make you happy.

Your children will likely feel less intimidated with fewer children and the smaller ship size.

[Gardeneroflove]

The magic didn't feel small to us, but that's the only Disney ship we've been on. I'm not sure how in size it compares to Conquest or Valor...

 

Thanksgiving equals kids!! I've done 3 or 4 during that week, KIDS everywhere KIDS.

 

I've done the 7 day 5 port thing, egh. But I'm not a port person. I don't cruise for the ports. I stayed on the ship one day, it was great. My dh and sil are go, go, go type people, they loved it! I like down time.

 

The shows, I think, will be the same. We don't really enjoy the shows, so we watched a few minutes of one. (different priorities now). You'll still get the same deck party.

 

You can work the ports into your budget, and spend less at ports or less else where if necessary. Book with a TA for OBC, use the Disney Visa for points towards the cruise. There are ways to make up the difference, most of the time.

[rstout]

We did a B2B on the Dream two years ago when our boys were 6 and 7 because we weren't particularly interested in the Magic or Wonder and the Fantasy wasn't out yet. Would love to try the Fantasy, but the upgrades on the Magic have me intrigued now. In your case, I would take the Magic. You can try whatever ports interest you and stay on the ship when you want to. St. Lucia and the other southern Caribbean ports are great. I wouldn't want to sail on a Holiday cruise (unless you really like that...they probably would start decorating for Christmas after Thanksgiving), and I think you will find the shows on the Magic will be just as good.

 

Also, on the Fantasy, they do have Nemo's Reef and the Aqua Lab, but the Mickey's Pool slide has these requirements:

A minimum height of 38 inches (3' 2") and a maximum height of 64 inches (5' 4") are required to use the slide. I think AquaDuck would be out.

 

I'm not sure they've listed the height requirements for the new slide on the Magic, but they do have AquaLab and the pools. I'm sure AquaDunk would be out.

[rktilleryj]

We have sailed on the Dream during Thanksgiving (peak holiday) and early November (off peak) and really did not notice much of a difference in terms of crowds. I'm sure there were probably less kids during our November cruise but it was not noticeable to us.

[LaserSB3Family]

Were it my family, I would choose the Southern Caribbean Magic cruise. I so wanted to go on the very cruise of which you speak, but my then-3rd grader cannot miss a full week of school for a vacation.

 

As far as ports, I am sure that Disney considered the needs of little ones in some of their port adventures. Perhaps choose a beach day or include your older child in choosing the adventures. Of course, you know the tolerance levels of your children, but I would consider the added port days an advantage. Most of the excursions are only 4 hours or so. It is likely that you could get back to the ship in time for a nap for your younger one if needed.

 

I imagine you will see a lot of families with toddlers on the Magic cruise, as parents of school aged children like myself are typically opposed to taking their kids out of school so close to the start of the academic year. Enjoy your freedom while you have it!

[Island_Chica]

wow - well that was an overwhelming response for the Magic! My final hesitation is that October is still peak hurricane season (though not as bad as September), but the Southern Caribbean is generally exempt from the worst storms. I've visited St. John and St. Maarten land-based during October, and we've always had at least one wash-out day.

 

Okay - thanks everyone! Much appreciated.