spylman Posted February 25, 2016 #1 Share Posted February 25, 2016 Maybe an odd question, but please bare with me, I'm new Think of the different ships Magic/wonder vs fantasy/dream and their sizes. Question being are the bigger ships way too packed, longer wait times, etc or because they're bigger they can accommodate more guests and...what time is late dining? that's all for now, I'm sure i'll have a gazillion more questions. Looking(thinking) at the dream Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moki'smommy Posted February 25, 2016 #2 Share Posted February 25, 2016 Dinner times vary minimally on some cruises, but late dinner is typically 8:15 +/- 15 minutes. 8:15 is the norm. There are more ways to spread out people on the larger ships and the various venues are bigger ...but yes, there are longer lines, more crowded dining rooms, more crowds at Castaway, etc. They did enlarge the guest areas at Castaway to allow for the bigger ships and more people. There are good "times" for many things--if you want to ride the AquaDuck without lines, you can go during dinner or a show or early morning/late evening. If you go at 2 pm on a sunny afternoon, you'll have a line. They do cut off the character lines at a point, so those continue to be basically manageable. All said, I prefer the Magic...but I'm not a teen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c-cruise Posted February 26, 2016 #3 Share Posted February 26, 2016 In general the Magic felt less crowded to us, but both classes of ship are crowded at the expected times/places (breakfast/lunch buffet, shows, pools, etc.). We found Castaway much less crowded and more enjoyable when there on the Magic vs. Fantasy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cb at sea Posted February 26, 2016 #4 Share Posted February 26, 2016 Each ship is designed for the maximum number of passengers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
e2011 Posted February 26, 2016 #5 Share Posted February 26, 2016 I have found size makes no difference as far as perception of being crowded. I have been on smaller ships that "felt" crowded and I was on Oasis of the Seas (one of the largest ships on the sea) and felt like it was a ghost town. Hard to answer your question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Host Mick Posted February 26, 2016 #6 Share Posted February 26, 2016 Before the dream ws launched, I did a simple comparison of gross tonnage/passengers. (Gross tonnage is a measure of the volume of a ship, not weight) The Magic class and the Dream have roughly the same volume per passenger. So don't expect to feel more packed in, generally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moki'smommy Posted February 26, 2016 #7 Share Posted February 26, 2016 It isn't the "packed in" feeling....it is the length of lines to get into the dining rooms, to use the AquaDuck, to see characters (but these they do end at a certain point), etc. And the mass of kids at I Scream (and the mess despite constant CM attention) was incredible. It is self serve, but a self serve 8 year old with no parent in sight can be a disaster. We took one look and walked away. As noted, this was despite a CM trying to keep up with the cleaning! Never saw that kind of mess on Magic or Wonder. Ditto beverage station but it was in better shape. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
e2011 Posted February 26, 2016 #8 Share Posted February 26, 2016 Before the dream ws launched, I did a simple comparison of gross tonnage/passengers. (Gross tonnage is a measure of the volume of a ship, not weight)The Magic class and the Dream have roughly the same volume per passenger. So don't expect to feel more packed in, generally. Thank you! I have been using the gross tonnage divided by capacity for years to get a rough calculation of space per person and was highly criticized on another board as using a meaningless calculation. It works for me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slightlysilly Posted February 26, 2016 #9 Share Posted February 26, 2016 I've been on the Dream and the Wonder (and I've been thinking about this since the OP posted). When we were on the Dream, we stopped in Nassau and CC. Nassau was crazy busy as there were many ships at the port and it was nutso. CC was not terribly crowded but there were lines for things. And getting on the Aquaduck was really tough... every time I walked by it, it was either closed or there was a huge line. Cabanas "felt" crowded and by that, I mean I had a little sleuthing to do to find a table a prime times. Once we went there about 20 minutes before closing time and found a table with no problem. On the Wonder, the only time I really experienced a "crowd" was in the terminal at the port, BUT, I realize that we stopped in Grand Cayman on a Sunday when there was ONE other ship anchored. I heard there can be up to 20k people from cruise ships on GC. So GC was absolutely fantastic (except for the rocky waters)... now CC was where I noticed the big difference, and it could be that the water was cold and only people north of the Mason-Dixon line dared to jump in, AND there was a crazy rain storm that lasted around 20 minutes that may have led people back to the ship (for what, I don't know), but that's when I really felt the smaller amount of people and like I said, circumstances may have caused the same thing to happen on the Dream. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c-cruise Posted February 26, 2016 #10 Share Posted February 26, 2016 It isn't the "packed in" feeling....it is the length of lines to get into the dining rooms' date=' to use the AquaDuck, to see characters (but these they do end at a certain point), etc. And the mass of kids at I Scream (and the mess despite constant CM attention) was incredible. It is self serve, but a self serve 8 year old with no parent in sight can be a disaster. We took one look and walked away. As noted, this was despite a CM trying to keep up with the cleaning! Never saw that kind of mess on Magic or Wonder. Ditto beverage station but it was in better shape.[/quote'] Exactly! The GRT and passenger space ratio is great and all, but doesn't do you any good when everybody on the ship wants to occupy the same space at the same time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
e2011 Posted February 26, 2016 #11 Share Posted February 26, 2016 Exactly! The GRT and passenger space ratio is great and all, but doesn't do you any good when everybody on the ship wants to occupy the same space at the same time. You mean like the life boat drill? LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c-cruise Posted February 27, 2016 #12 Share Posted February 27, 2016 You mean like the life boat drill? LOL HA, so true! That and the stairwells trying to leave the muster drill. :eek: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gracey49 Posted February 27, 2016 #13 Share Posted February 27, 2016 I find that that people all feel they need to try everything immediately. After a few days the crowds seem less noticeable. However on a 3 or 4 day cruise, by the time everyone has figured it out and relaxed... You get off. [emoji30] And then, just remember the crowds and lines in the parks. [emoji33] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spylman Posted February 27, 2016 Author #14 Share Posted February 27, 2016 Thanks so much for your reply and trying to understand the question - haha...we did book the dream yesterday, we have 3 littles 6 & under and i have ALOT of researching to do :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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