Tried the Magic back in early 2014 after the Reimagination. Just got off the Fantasy a few weeks ago so I thought I would give my take in comparing these two ships for those that might be interested, or havent been on both classes of ships
I will start by saying that the service, food quality, and Live Entertainment on the ships was very similar, nothing stood out as being better on either (they were both great) .
Atrium - the first thing you see when entering, and a focal point of gathering/meeting , etc. Much larger and much nicer on the Fantasy. The Magic atrium was small and rather claustrophobic in comparison. Seeing the old design of the Magic online I have no idea why they redesigned it, it looks like they were trying to simulate what they did on the Dream class ships.. Whatever the rationale, the newer ships designed a space that we was a nicer place to spend time in even if just waiting in line for dinner or an event. Much more of a wow factor.
Restaurants - see comments on Atrium. Overall they are larger and the theming is much more Disney than the areas on the Magic. Cariocas on Magic - ok. Lumieres on Magic - nice but still yawn. Enchanted Garden on Fantasy- absolutely beautiful. Royal Court - Very nice. Animators palette on the Magic - nice. AP on the Fantasy - taken to the next level with more imaginative lighting and little decorations lining the walls. Cabanas - comparable on both ships. Pool Deck quick service - comparable but the Fantasy was much more spacious overall even with the larger number of people.
Rooms - identical from what I could tell.
Adult Lounges/Nightclubs - again, much more variety and nicer ambiance on the Fantasy. After Hours on the Magic = ok. The Tube = really cool. Skyline Lounge, Meridian, La Piazza, and Ooh La La on the Fantasy - nothing comparable on Magic with very nice theming. Keys (Magic) = nice place and no such offering on Fantasy (except Atrium live music which was nice). Irish Pub - comparable. Didnt spend a ton of time at night here , but had several daytime activities in the area and appreciate these additional spaces.
Adult Area Pool deck- contrary to some posters on here I think the Fantasy again wins hands down. The Magic has basically one semi enclosed area with a decent size pool but a very limited number of chairs to sit, but thats it (not counting Cove Cafe which is on both ships). The Fantasy has 2 decks - one semi enclosed area with a pool that was a bit small but nice , but another whole one-quarter of a deck full of lounge chairs, an outside bar, and Satellite Falls water area, and of course beautiful ocean views everywhere you look on this second deck.
Adult dining - didnt do on either ship so cant comment.
Family Pool deck - overall I think love that they opened this up on the Fantasy, as opposed to the smaller separate areas on the Magic class. It was very crowded on Sea Days, but no more crowded than the Magic. The Magic Mickey pool was pretty weak - they made it smaller to make room for water play area and the larger water slide (which is nice). The Magic did have the AquaDunk which we didnt try.However the addition of Nemo's Reef, Aqualab, Funnel Puddle, and of course the AquaDuck on the Fantasy gave our kids many more options - they loved it !
Other activities - Minigolf - was fun and not offered on the Magic. Midship detective agency - kids never got around to playing this but there were always kids playing it when we passed by which they seemed to love. Kids also like the animated artwork around the ship on the Fantasy
Kids Clubs - comparable on both ships. Fantasy larger space and more high tech, but kids really didnt have a preference one way or the other.
Castaway Cay - I hear people say its much more crowded when Fantasy docked there, we only noticed it when they first started serving lunch and thats it. Had no problem finding a lounge chair anytime we wanted.
General Vibe - very similar, but again the public spaces on the Fantasy were just bigger and nicer (including the Walt Disney Theater and Buena Vista theater) which you would expect given 15 years in between building the ships. The ship really seemed to accommodate the additional number of people well on the ship, and then some.
Can you tell which ship we liked better? LOL Different strokes for different folks for sure. We enjoyed our Magic cruise, but after being on the Fantasy it would be hard for us to go back other than maybe for the more unique itineraries or when the main live shows turn over to new ones. Feel free to ask any questions.
I will start by saying that the service, food quality, and Live Entertainment on the ships was very similar, nothing stood out as being better on either (they were both great) .
Atrium - the first thing you see when entering, and a focal point of gathering/meeting , etc. Much larger and much nicer on the Fantasy. The Magic atrium was small and rather claustrophobic in comparison. Seeing the old design of the Magic online I have no idea why they redesigned it, it looks like they were trying to simulate what they did on the Dream class ships.. Whatever the rationale, the newer ships designed a space that we was a nicer place to spend time in even if just waiting in line for dinner or an event. Much more of a wow factor.
Restaurants - see comments on Atrium. Overall they are larger and the theming is much more Disney than the areas on the Magic. Cariocas on Magic - ok. Lumieres on Magic - nice but still yawn. Enchanted Garden on Fantasy- absolutely beautiful. Royal Court - Very nice. Animators palette on the Magic - nice. AP on the Fantasy - taken to the next level with more imaginative lighting and little decorations lining the walls. Cabanas - comparable on both ships. Pool Deck quick service - comparable but the Fantasy was much more spacious overall even with the larger number of people.
Rooms - identical from what I could tell.
Adult Lounges/Nightclubs - again, much more variety and nicer ambiance on the Fantasy. After Hours on the Magic = ok. The Tube = really cool. Skyline Lounge, Meridian, La Piazza, and Ooh La La on the Fantasy - nothing comparable on Magic with very nice theming. Keys (Magic) = nice place and no such offering on Fantasy (except Atrium live music which was nice). Irish Pub - comparable. Didnt spend a ton of time at night here , but had several daytime activities in the area and appreciate these additional spaces.
Adult Area Pool deck- contrary to some posters on here I think the Fantasy again wins hands down. The Magic has basically one semi enclosed area with a decent size pool but a very limited number of chairs to sit, but thats it (not counting Cove Cafe which is on both ships). The Fantasy has 2 decks - one semi enclosed area with a pool that was a bit small but nice , but another whole one-quarter of a deck full of lounge chairs, an outside bar, and Satellite Falls water area, and of course beautiful ocean views everywhere you look on this second deck.
Adult dining - didnt do on either ship so cant comment.
Family Pool deck - overall I think love that they opened this up on the Fantasy, as opposed to the smaller separate areas on the Magic class. It was very crowded on Sea Days, but no more crowded than the Magic. The Magic Mickey pool was pretty weak - they made it smaller to make room for water play area and the larger water slide (which is nice). The Magic did have the AquaDunk which we didnt try.However the addition of Nemo's Reef, Aqualab, Funnel Puddle, and of course the AquaDuck on the Fantasy gave our kids many more options - they loved it !
Other activities - Minigolf - was fun and not offered on the Magic. Midship detective agency - kids never got around to playing this but there were always kids playing it when we passed by which they seemed to love. Kids also like the animated artwork around the ship on the Fantasy
Kids Clubs - comparable on both ships. Fantasy larger space and more high tech, but kids really didnt have a preference one way or the other.
Castaway Cay - I hear people say its much more crowded when Fantasy docked there, we only noticed it when they first started serving lunch and thats it. Had no problem finding a lounge chair anytime we wanted.
General Vibe - very similar, but again the public spaces on the Fantasy were just bigger and nicer (including the Walt Disney Theater and Buena Vista theater) which you would expect given 15 years in between building the ships. The ship really seemed to accommodate the additional number of people well on the ship, and then some.
Can you tell which ship we liked better? LOL Different strokes for different folks for sure. We enjoyed our Magic cruise, but after being on the Fantasy it would be hard for us to go back other than maybe for the more unique itineraries or when the main live shows turn over to new ones. Feel free to ask any questions.
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