Fantasy or Magic?

[Donalddidwhat…?!]

Planning on doing our very first cruise next May. We are looking at doing 4 nights on either the Magic or Fantasy and can't decide which to pick. Both sail dates work for us and there is only a $20 price difference and the itinerary is the same. It will be me, husband, and 2 daughters who will be 4 and 5 at the time. Just wondering which one others would pick? Thank you!

I can’t speak to the Fantasy, as our one and only DCL cruise (so far ) was on the Magic back in Dec. of 2022.
DWifey, myself, our 3 grown children, son-in-law and 2 young granddaughters (now 5 and 2) were on that cruise.
It was a 5-night cruise out of the Port of Galveston to Cozumel and Progreso, Mexico.
It was very enjoyable for all of us…!!!!!
Granted, among other things, it being a Christmas cruise made it even more special, as well as our 3 kiddos and SonIL gifting us a 34th wedding anniversary brunch at Palo…!!!
For comparison sake, we’ve cruised Carnival 4 times (3 times before Covid and 1 after) and very much enjoyed those cruises as well, although we did notice a decline in food quality on our last Carnival cruise in Dec. of 2023.
Not sure if any of this info is helpful, but hope y’all have a Magical cruise, no matter which ship y’all chose..,!!!

 

[auntlynne]

Do the adult lounge areas play into this?
Or adult sun and water areas?

The bed situation is big bed + a sofa that turns into a twin (mattress is in the sofa back and flips forward to reveal it. The other space is an upper berth (like a bunk bed, that flips down from the ceiling. They both are stowed during the day (unless you request otherwise). To get two low, single beds, you need a Family cabin that has an extra bed, a Murphy bed, that folds down from the wall.

 

[MamaMermaid]

Absolutely the Fantasy.

 

[auntlynne]

For kids clubs, the child must be fully independent in toileting - no help at all provided.

For the pools (not the ocean), no swim diapers. Potty trained. I don’t know what age that usually occurs.

 

[MrsGir]

Did you consider the cruises that stop at both Disney beach destinations? Castaway Cay and Lighthouse Point? Basically, a beach vacation. At this point, Lighthouse Point is an unknown. But I do see that the beach seems to be more open to the open ocean than it is on Castaway Cay.

Sometimes, we are limited by real life when picking holidays.

View attachment 859158

Oh my gosh you are amazing! I hadn't considered leaving from Ft. Lauderdale. I figured it would be easiest to get to port Canaveral. But that would actually save us quite a bit of money! Another win would be both Disney stops. We were hesitant about Nassau and planning on just staying on ship.

 

[auntlynne]

Oh my gosh you are amazing! I hadn't considered leaving from Ft. Lauderdale. I figured it would be easiest to get to port Canaveral. But that would actually save us quite a bit of money! Another win would be both Disney stops. We were hesitant about Nassau and planning on just staying on ship.

We fly Delta. Fort Lauderdale is a smaller airport - and closer to the port. Airport and hotels are 10-15 minutes to the cruise port. (If you see the name, Port Everglades, it is the Ft Lauderdale cruise port).

 

[auntlynne]

You aren’t limited to a Delta! Here’s the carriers that go to FLL: