Early 2025 - Wish, Dream, Treasure, or...?

[ray3127]

We are struggling to decide what cruise to book (if any) for early 2025.

We've cruised Disney 3 times before
- 2017, Dream 4 nights
- 2019, Fantasy 7 nights Eastern SWDAS
- 2023, Fantasy 7 nights Western PDAS

We are cruising on Oasis OTS in Feb. 2024, our first venture away from DCL. We are looking forward to trying something different, but also thinking that early 2025 could be a good time for DCL.

We have an OBB that we can use by Feb. 2025, so we are considering the following. Prices are inclusive of the OBB discount, taxes, AND gratuities. All rooms are Deluxe Family OV.
- Wish, $4,855 for 4 nights ... Sea, Lighthouse Point, Castaway Key
- Dream, $4,890 for 5 nights ... Nassau, Castaway, Lighthouse Point, Sea
- Treasure, $7,183 for 7 nights ... Western Caribbean (Castaway, but no Lighthouse Point)

As bad as this sounds, we felt a little "meh" on our 2023 Fantasy cruise. A lot of "been there, done that," even though it had been 4 years. So if we do DCL, we'd really like it to be something different. This means new ship and/or new private island.

Obviously the Wish checks both boxes. However, the Wish is only 4 nights, which feels waaaaaay too short. It was fine for our first cruise, but since then we feel like we're weeklong cruisers.

The Treasure is 7 nights on a new ship, which is awesome. But then we miss out on Lighthouse Point.

(Then there's the general consensus that people don't like the Wish. Since Treasure will be the same general layout, this is concerning.)

The Dream is a bit longer than the Wish at 5 nights, and we get both private islands. But like I said, we're ready for a different type/class of ship.

So we have to compromise somewhere.

Total wildcard: forget Disney altogether and try one of the new Carnival ships. Same dates as the Treasure cruise gets us 7 nights on the Mardi Gras (ports at Grand Turk, Amber Cove, and Nassau) for $3,421. That's inclusive of all costs in a Balcony room. Literally less than half the price. Will it be a Disney cruise? Of course not. But's it's LESS THAN HALF THE PRICE.

Our kids would be 10 & 7 at the time of this cruise. I feel like we have a few more years to focus on Disney, and Carnival may be a better fit down the road. But still, the Carnival price is attractive. And I'm sure they'd have a good time on the Mardi Gras.

I've gone round and round in my head (and on my spreadsheets) with this, and can't make a decision. Your thoughts are appreciated!

 

[RedHead0186]

I almost always go for the longer nights. In this case, though, that's a big price jump. I focus more on the itinerary, not the ship. Having both CC and LP in one itinerary is appealing, even though it's not the longest itinerary.

Don't listen to people's complaints about the Wish/Treasure. Go in with an open mind and form your own opinion. Some people love the Wish. Many people are comparing it to the original ships, and the Wish is vastly different. The Fantasy is still my favorite ship, but I didn't hate the Wish (and am booked on the Treasure in Feb 2025). Also, if you did the Treasure, the Western Caribbean itinerary is fairly port-heavy, which would mean less time on the ship (if you ended up hating it).

Personally, I'm not a fan of Carnival, and the Mardi Gras would be too many people for me. If it were me, I'd probably go Dream or maybe Treasure.

 

[OhThePain]

What about a second wild card and do a land and sea trip where you spend a couple of days at WDW before a 4 day cruise on the Wish (this is what we are doing this coming May)? This way you get your weeklong trip, new cruise ship and new island. You could rent points or stay value to help keep the cost down. If that isn't an option, I'd go with the 7-night on the Treasure.

I personally would NEVER go on a Carnival cruise.

On a side note, my wife and I cruised on the Oasis for the first time this past September, after years of her refusing to based on the size, and we both loved it. Aqua80 is one of the best shows I have ever seen, land or sea. Loved the Central Park area and the Central Park Cafe was great for breakfast, lunch or to just grab a cup of coffee and sit in the park (although I wish it would have been open all day instead of closing at 5).

 

[ray3127]

What about a second wild card and do a land and sea trip where you spend a couple of days at WDW before a 4 day cruise on the Wish (this is what we are doing this coming May)? This way you get your weeklong trip, new cruise ship and new island. You could rent points or stay value to help keep the cost down. If that isn't an option, I'd go with the 7-night on the Treasure.

I personally would NEVER go on a Carnival cruise.

On a side note, my wife and I cruised on the Oasis for the first time this past September, after years of her refusing to based on the size, and we both loved it. Aqua80 is one of the best shows I have ever seen, land or sea. Loved the Central Park area and the Central Park Cafe was great for breakfast, lunch or to just grab a cup of coffee and sit in the park (although I wish it would have been open all day instead of closing at 5).

So this is a distinct possibility ... this cruise would fall within an AP year, May '24-'25, and we would have a few spare points lying around. However, we have 3 separate WDW trips planned within that AP year, so it's not like we "need" to go to WDW.

We also love Vero Beach Resort, and could spend a couple days there before the cruise. We have family in Vero and down in Boynton Beach, so could spend some time with them as well.

I still struggle with having only 3 full days on board, with 2 of those days going to the private islands. Is it a little frenetic to see/do everything? We are fairly fast-paced travelers (i.e. when people say you need a week at a national park, we take a day or two), but still, I don't want to feel like we're running 24/7.

If we're "tired" of the Dream class ships, is it worth it to sacrifice 1 night on the Dream to try the Wish (for the same price)?

 

[NephieRN]

Is the Magic an option you could make work? I prefer the classic ships to the Dream and Triton class ships. The Wish is my least favorite of all 5. Add in the fact that it is only 4 nights and that’s a hard no for me. Carnival with young-ish kids would be a hard pass for me too.

 

[ray3127]

We'd like to sail Magic/Wonder some time, but Magic doesn't stop at CC or LP in Jan/Feb 2025, so no.

 

[Erica1016]

We've done all the ships and are in the group that likes the Wish. My favorite is the Fantasy, but we liked the Wish and are very much looking forward to the Treasure. My vote is for the Treasure getting a new ship and the most nights. While I can see the draw of the new island, it's only one day. I'd choose the new ship to explore for all the days.
The good news is, no matter what you choose, you can't go wrong!

 

[ray3127]

OP here; we've made a little progress.

Last week we watched a couple detailed videos of the Wish. Those scared us off, and we ended up booking the Dream.

But since then, we've realized that most of the 'problems' with the Wish/Treasure aren't necessarily big problems for us. We still aren't considering the Wish, because 4 nights just isn't enough (especially when 2 of the 3 full days on board will be spent on land). But we are considering the Treasure.

Many of the Triton-class improvements seem to outweigh the problem areas for our family. These include:

- Better family pool deck is more important than the poor adult pool deck.
- Better pool deck food
- Updated/improved kids clubs
- New shows (to us); Moana & Seas of Adventure
- New main dining restaurants look exciting
- Elevator crowding doesn't bother us; we almost always take the stairs
- Lack of adult 'district' is a non-issue for us

So we're down to Dream vs. Treasure, and it seems to boil down to this:

DREAM (5-night Bahamian w/CC & LHP)
+ 'Double dip' with Castaway and Lighthouse Point
+ Cost (overall is obviously less; cost per day is a bit less, too)

TREASURE (7-night Western)
+ Brand new ship
+ 7 nights

We are thinking about switching to the Treasure, but we are also considering going with the Dream and booking the Treasure for early 2026 while on board the Dream. Our thought process here is:
- Let them work out the kinks for a year.
- Preference is Eastern Caribbean over Western. 2025 would have to be Western due to schedule, but we could shoot for Eastern in 2026.
- Let the hoopla die down, and perhaps prices, too (maybe that's wishful thinking).

The biggest issue with that is it's over 2 years away, which kind of stinks. But maybe that's the wise decision?

I appreciate the thoughts/feedback. We can do no more than one cruise per year, so the opportunity (not to mention financial) cost is significant.

 

[SuperJ]

I almost always go for the longer nights. In this case, though, that's a big price jump. I focus more on the itinerary, not the ship. Having both CC and LP in one itinerary is appealing, even though it's not the longest itinerary.

Don't listen to people's complaints about the Wish/Treasure. Go in with an open mind and form your own opinion. Some people love the Wish. Many people are comparing it to the original ships, and the Wish is vastly different. The Fantasy is still my favorite ship, but I didn't hate the Wish (and am booked on the Treasure in Feb 2025). Also, if you did the Treasure, the Western Caribbean itinerary is fairly port-heavy, which would mean less time on the ship (if you ended up hating it).

Personally, I'm not a fan of Carnival, and the Mardi Gras would be too many people for me. If it were me, I'd probably go Dream or maybe Treasure.

We actually ended up booking the western on the treasure because it was so port heavy. We’re not planning on getting off in every port and are hoping it will mean more days with lots of people off the ship/less crowds onboard.

 

[Cfabar1]

My only beefs with the Triton class are:
- Adult pool area is lacking
- Lack of running/walking/jogging deck being continuous

If you can look past those things, I'd say book the Treasure and enjoy the 7 nights. If you can afford/have the time for the longer cruise, that to me is always the best way to go!

 

[Cheburashka]

I'll sail the Dream or Fantasy in 2025. The Wish class ships just don't appeal to me, and they're also overpriced. The only reason I would sail one of them would be to please someone else who wanted to go.

 

[RedHead0186]

OP here; we've made a little progress.

Last week we watched a couple detailed videos of the Wish. Those scared us off, and we ended up booking the Dream.

But since then, we've realized that most of the 'problems' with the Wish/Treasure aren't necessarily big problems for us. We still aren't considering the Wish, because 4 nights just isn't enough (especially when 2 of the 3 full days on board will be spent on land). But we are considering the Treasure.

Many of the Triton-class improvements seem to outweigh the problem areas for our family. These include:

- Better family pool deck is more important than the poor adult pool deck.
- Better pool deck food
- Updated/improved kids clubs
- New shows (to us); Moana & Seas of Adventure
- New main dining restaurants look exciting
- Elevator crowding doesn't bother us; we almost always take the stairs
- Lack of adult 'district' is a non-issue for us

So we're down to Dream vs. Treasure, and it seems to boil down to this:

DREAM (5-night Bahamian w/CC & LHP)
+ 'Double dip' with Castaway and Lighthouse Point
+ Cost (overall is obviously less; cost per day is a bit less, too)

TREASURE (7-night Western)
+ Brand new ship
+ 7 nights

We are thinking about switching to the Treasure, but we are also considering going with the Dream and booking the Treasure for early 2026 while on board the Dream. Our thought process here is:
- Let them work out the kinks for a year.
- Preference is Eastern Caribbean over Western. 2025 would have to be Western due to schedule, but we could shoot for Eastern in 2026.
- Let the hoopla die down, and perhaps prices, too (maybe that's wishful thinking).

The biggest issue with that is it's over 2 years away, which kind of stinks. But maybe that's the wise decision?

I appreciate the thoughts/feedback. We can do no more than one cruise per year, so the opportunity (not to mention financial) cost is significant.

I'll say it again: don't make your decision based on other peoples' judgements of a ship (meaning, don't let other peoples' YouTube reviews scare you away). If there's a particular itinerary you want to do, do it. Focus on the itinerary first and the ship second (and always keeping budget in mind). Go into any ship that's new to you with an open mind and have fun exploring. Once you've experienced it for yourself, then you can make a full judgement.

Breaking it down to cost per day is a good idea, I do that too. If you really want to do the Eastern Caribbean itinerary, then don't 'settle' for the Western just to get on the Treasure. Unless you're really set on 7 nights, then maybe the Dream CC/LP itinerary is the better option for you at the moment (just making my observation based on what you've written; you ultimately have to decide what works best for your family).

 

[ray3127]

I'll say it again: don't make your decision based on other peoples' judgements of a ship (meaning, don't let other peoples' YouTube reviews scare you away). If there's a particular itinerary you want to do, do it. Focus on the itinerary first and the ship second (and always keeping budget in mind). Go into any ship that's new to you with an open mind and have fun exploring. Once you've experienced it for yourself, then you can make a full judgement.

Breaking it down to cost per day is a good idea, I do that too. If you really want to do the Eastern Caribbean itinerary, then don't 'settle' for the Western just to get on the Treasure. Unless you're really set on 7 nights, then maybe the Dream CC/LP itinerary is the better option for you at the moment (just making my observation based on what you've written; you ultimately have to decide what works best for your family).

Really appreciate this. I am here asking for others' opinions, but more about what to do in my situation than what they prefer. But ultimately I need to decide for myself.

I think I'm hung up on the exact dilemma you present: The Dream CC/LP makes a lot of sense, but anything less than 7 nights feels too short. And we really are excited to try something NEW. So, maybe we do the Western on the Treasure in 2025, then do the Eastern in 2026.

Oftentimes I ask for advice, but end up re-reading my posts to find the answer. When I was debating buying Beach Club or Boardwalk DVC, somebody said "it's clear your heart is with Beach Club" ... In my head I thought it was a toss-up, but upon re-reading my comments they were exactly right. We are very happy Beach Club owners!

Getting it out of my head and into some text can really help. And sometimes I just need to book something and see how it sits/feels for a few days. I'm still not convinced that this Dream cruise is perfect, so I may switch to the Treasure and see how I sleep tonight

Thank you again for the help!

 

[JM_97]

If you go Disney, my pick would be the Dream. Best class of Disney ships and you would still get a new destination. Plus you'll avoid Nassau! Wish isn't for me, but that's a matter of personal preference.

A lot of people like to bash Carnival on here, but they have upped their game with their newer ships. Mardi Gras is a mega ship that will have it all and you'll have a lot more on board options for basically everything. It's a different cruising experience but the Mardi Gras has rave reviews, for much, much less. I would not completely rule it out, especially if you could squeeze in a day at WDW before hand.

 

[RedHead0186]

Really appreciate this. I am here asking for others' opinions, but more about what to do in my situation than what they prefer. But ultimately I need to decide for myself.

I think I'm hung up on the exact dilemma you present: The Dream CC/LP makes a lot of sense, but anything less than 7 nights feels too short. And we really are excited to try something NEW. So, maybe we do the Western on the Treasure in 2025, then do the Eastern in 2026.

Oftentimes I ask for advice, but end up re-reading my posts to find the answer. When I was debating buying Beach Club or Boardwalk DVC, somebody said "it's clear your heart is with Beach Club" ... In my head I thought it was a toss-up, but upon re-reading my comments they were exactly right. We are very happy Beach Club owners!

Getting it out of my head and into some text can really help. And sometimes I just need to book something and see how it sits/feels for a few days. I'm still not convinced that this Dream cruise is perfect, so I may switch to the Treasure and see how I sleep tonight

Thank you again for the help!

Agreed. Sometimes you 'sleep on it' and suddenly the answer becomes clear. Good luck making your decision!

 

[HairyChest]

We are struggling to decide what cruise to book (if any) for early 2025.

We've cruised Disney 3 times before
- 2017, Dream 4 nights
- 2019, Fantasy 7 nights Eastern SWDAS
- 2023, Fantasy 7 nights Western PDAS

We are cruising on Oasis OTS in Feb. 2024, our first venture away from DCL. We are looking forward to trying something different, but also thinking that early 2025 could be a good time for DCL.

We have an OBB that we can use by Feb. 2025, so we are considering the following. Prices are inclusive of the OBB discount, taxes, AND gratuities. All rooms are Deluxe Family OV.
- Wish, $4,855 for 4 nights ... Sea, Lighthouse Point, Castaway Key
- Dream, $4,890 for 5 nights ... Nassau, Castaway, Lighthouse Point, Sea
- Treasure, $7,183 for 7 nights ... Western Caribbean (Castaway, but no Lighthouse Point)

As bad as this sounds, we felt a little "meh" on our 2023 Fantasy cruise. A lot of "been there, done that," even though it had been 4 years. So if we do DCL, we'd really like it to be something different. This means new ship and/or new private island.

Obviously the Wish checks both boxes. However, the Wish is only 4 nights, which feels waaaaaay too short. It was fine for our first cruise, but since then we feel like we're weeklong cruisers.

The Treasure is 7 nights on a new ship, which is awesome. But then we miss out on Lighthouse Point.

(Then there's the general consensus that people don't like the Wish. Since Treasure will be the same general layout, this is concerning.)

The Dream is a bit longer than the Wish at 5 nights, and we get both private islands. But like I said, we're ready for a different type/class of ship.

So we have to compromise somewhere.

Total wildcard: forget Disney altogether and try one of the new Carnival ships. Same dates as the Treasure cruise gets us 7 nights on the Mardi Gras (ports at Grand Turk, Amber Cove, and Nassau) for $3,421. That's inclusive of all costs in a Balcony room. Literally less than half the price. Will it be a Disney cruise? Of course not. But's it's LESS THAN HALF THE PRICE.

Our kids would be 10 & 7 at the time of this cruise. I feel like we have a few more years to focus on Disney, and Carnival may be a better fit down the road. But still, the Carnival price is attractive. And I'm sure they'd have a good time on the Mardi Gras.

I've gone round and round in my head (and on my spreadsheets) with this, and can't make a decision. Your thoughts are appreciated!

We are having the same exact dilemma! I’ve sailed the dream (4 nighter), hated the food, hated nassau but loved everything else.so I want a new ship AND new island (AND castaway If possible).

i keep trying to convince myself to do the fantasy or even magic because they go to the new island and are kind of cheaper but everytime i see youtube videos of just the staterooms on the wish, I fall madly in love!! They look gorgeous!

So ive decided it will HAVE to be the wish or treasure (I want to do both to be honest). It may mean I have to sacrifice days and/or going to the new island but here is whats helped my thought.

Having a brand new ship with all new dining and shows EVERYDAY of my cruise vs going to a new island for half a day??

New ship wins.

So I've boiled it down to the wish or treasure.

 

[tidefan]

To throw a wrench back in...

DW is Pearl and I am close, so we love DCL. That said, we've cruised a bunch of other lines as well.

I would personally give the Mardi Gras a chance. We sailed her back in March 2022 and will be back on her again this year. We absolutely loved it. For reference, we had been on Oasis of the Seas two months prior to our Mardi Gras sailing and we all liked the Mardi Gras much better. It IS NOT your father's Carnival cruise...

 

[tidefan]

Here is another view of the Mardi Gras next to an older Carnival ship for perspective:



All that said…. You can’t go wrong with DCL either! We love DCL and have never had a bad cruise!

To your question on Dream or Treasure, don’t think there is a wrong answer either. You would have a great time on either one!

 

[Mommb]

OP, what do you want to do on the ship? If you were thinking “been there, done that” on the Fantasy, you will probably have the same feeling on the Dream, since those 2 ships are similar. If your main goal is to get off the ship and see something new, then taking a cruise that is short but goes to a new island might be fine. If, on the other hand, you want to spend lots of time on the ship exploring places you haven’t seen, the Treasure would give you that.

If you’re interested in both seeing a new island and exploring a new ship, then I wouldn’t rule out the Wish, which would give you both. You can use the money you’s save versus the other options to book a pre- or post-cruise activity that you otherwise wouldn’t — maybe a day at the Kennedy Space Center or a special meal at Walt Disney World. If you don’t like the Wish, it won’t be a big problem because you’ll be aboard only a few days. If you do like the Wish, you can try the Treasure on your next cruise.

 

[ray3127]

OP, what do you want to do on the ship? If you were thinking “been there, done that” on the Fantasy, you will probably have the same feeling on the Dream, since those 2 ships are similar. If your main goal is to get off the ship and see something new, then taking a cruise that is short but goes to a new island might be fine. If, on the other hand, you want to spend lots of time on the ship exploring places you haven’t seen, the Treasure would give you that.

If you’re interested in both seeing a new island and exploring a new ship, then I wouldn’t rule out the Wish, which would give you both. You can use the money you’s save versus the other options to book a pre- or post-cruise activity that you otherwise wouldn’t — maybe a day at the Kennedy Space Center or a special meal at Walt Disney World. If you don’t like the Wish, it won’t be a big problem because you’ll be aboard only a few days. If you do like the Wish, you can try the Treasure on your next cruise.

We are having the same exact dilemma! I’ve sailed the dream (4 nighter), hated the food, hated nassau but loved everything else.so I want a new ship AND new island (AND castaway If possible).

i keep trying to convince myself to do the fantasy or even magic because they go to the new island and are kind of cheaper but everytime i see youtube videos of just the staterooms on the wish, I fall madly in love!! They look gorgeous!

So ive decided it will HAVE to be the wish or treasure (I want to do both to be honest). It may mean I have to sacrifice days and/or going to the new island but here is whats helped my thought.

Having a brand new ship with all new dining and shows EVERYDAY of my cruise vs going to a new island for half a day??

New ship wins.

So I've boiled it down to the wish or treasure.

Thank you so much for these comments, they helped us a lot.

The main draw would be to explore & enjoy the ship. On our three previous cruises, we've actually only ever gotten off at Castaway (somewhat due to itineraries, but also the kids' ages on the first couple).

We don't have any desire to get off on the Western ports, so if we did the Treasure we would be on board up until Castaway as well. We would get off at the Eastern ports "next time," in 2026 or beyond.

So it's either Dream, 2 full ship days + 2 Disney islands; or Treasure, 5 full ship days + 1 Disney island.

New island + new ship is nice, but we just feel like we're past 4 nights. If we lived closer, then maybe. But for a M-F cruise, we are all missing a week of school (DW and I both teach), plus we are flying down there from Nebraska. Doesn't seem worth it for 4 nights. I appreciate the suggestions for additional activities, and we do have the WDW annual passes. But we have other WDW trips specifically planned, so that would not feel necessary. And we just did Kennedy Space Center (literally one year ago TODAY!).

All of that is to say that we are leaning heavily towards the Treasure. Haven't booked it yet, but likely will soon.

In future years we can plan on the Eastern itinerary, as well as a 5-nighter to hit LHP either on the Dream/Magic. Or maybe one of the Magic repositioning cruises, which would be for 6 or 7 nights AND hit CC & LHP, plus San Juan! That would check the new (to us) ship + new island boxes as well.

Thanks again for all of the thoughts/feedback.