Dream VS Fantasy Thanksgiving Week

[SDM07]

Hi everyone! First time posting here but I’m hoping you guys can help me out.

My family and I are considering taking a Disney cruise the week of Thanksgiving. In the past we have always gone to WDW for Thanksgiving but the last time we did (2019) it was absolutely packed and miserable.

As of now, the only available sailings for those days are on the Dream for a four-day cruise and the Fantasy for a seven-day cruise.

We are a small three person family with an only child who is six. We do not plan on ever leaving her unattended on any of the camps or day care situations, and wouldn’t even outside of Covid. So if those are limited, it doesn’t effect us.

All of that being said I’m curious to know what everyone’s experience was on either of these ships for the four or seven day sailings. This would be our daughter‘s first DC but she is well-versed in the world of WDW, so there is a certain level of “magic” she would be expecting.

I see a lot of people enjoying the smaller crowds on these cruises but most of those people seem to be going without children. Parents who have taken a small child, was it worth the amount of money?

We want to make sure she is able to enjoy herself and have fun and really get the Disney experience she is used to at the parks. We don’t mind wearing masks or socially distancing as we’ve been taking these precautions for over a year now. Im looking for feedback and reviews for these ships specifically post Covid.

It may be worth noting that my daughter has severe food allergies and Disney has been our go to since she was born because they are always so accommodating. I’ve heard that there has been issues with the food chain supply leaving fewer options. Has anyone experienced this?

Looking forward to hearing about others experiences!

 

[DCLCruiseFan09]

I cant specifically speak to children, but we did one of the 4 night reopening sailings on the Fantasy a few weeks back.

We continuously commented that we felt far safer on the ship than we have at any other point during the pandemic due to the level of testing/protocols on board. Now even more so with them testing everyone at the port before boarding.

I am allergic to some pretty unusual things and didn't see any adjustments or inconveniences with this on board. The menu's haven't changed much if at all since before Covid so I would encourage you to look up the menus and see what would be enjoyable for your daughter on board. We ran into no issues on the ship with food availability.

The Crew on board were an absolute delight as always. They were simply excited to be back at work and to be welcoming guests on board again. All Crew were wearing masks on board and did not let it interrupt the level of service.

As for which cruise, I usually recommend to try a shorter cruise first before going for a longer one to make sure that cruising is a good fit. The Dream is a great ship to start with. Plus, if you are flying, I can only assume that Mon/Fri flights thanksgiving week are a bit better pricing than Sat/Sat pricing.

Hope some of this helps!

 

[Groucho]

We are a small three person family with an only child who is six. We do not plan on ever leaving her unattended on any of the camps or day care situations, and wouldn’t even outside of Covid. So if those are limited, it doesn’t effect us.

I don't have strong information to your actual question (though I'll be on the 7-night Fantasy the week before!) but I'm not sure if I understand this sentence. Are you saying that you'd be planning on staying with her in the onboard kid's areas? As far as I know, that is not possible - you drop the child off; you are not allowed to actual go in the kid's areas except on the embarkation day "open house." So if it's mandatory that you stay with the child all the time, they will not be able to enjoy the kid's club and will consequentially probably have a lot less fun than they would otherwise. There are no rides (unless you count the water ride) and not really any "shows" during the day; the kid's clubs are meant to be the primary entertainment for a child your daughter's age. I'm sure she'd still have fun if she never set foot in one, but it would certainly be a very different and less exciting experience than WDW.

We did do a 4-night on the Magic the week before Thanksgiving five years ago, when my youngest was seven, and that worked out well. But both kids spent a big chunk of their time in the clubs and had an absolute blast. I would probably agree with the above post that it may make sense to do a shorter one first just to make sure all of you, especially your daughter, enjoy the experience.

 

[dcassetta]

Both ships have similar amenities. Is the itinerary of the Fantasy cruise more appealing to you with Mexico and 2 Castaway stops? The Magic is sailing during that week also, but she sails from Miami. You might check on the cost/availability of flights that week to help your decision process.

We have done two cruises that included Thanksgiving and enjoyed both. They do a special meal on Thanksgiving Day. DCL takes excellent care of people with allergies. Let them know ahead of time and make sure to talk with a head server upon boarding. They may have you order MDR meals a day ahead of time to make sure your daughter's meals are safe for her. They can also help choose safe options in Cabanas.

Special Dietary Requests | Guest Services | Disney Cruise Line (go.com)

There are lots of activities for the whole family and this link will show you the offerings from a recent Dream cruise.

(DONE!) Complete 4 night Disney Dream Navigator | The DIS Disney Discussion Forums - DISboards.com

Since it is her first cruise, I would recommend doing the Midship Detective Agency. This is sort of a ship-wide scavenger hunt where you "solve" a mystery. It is a lot of fun and will take you to many different locations on the ship.


The ships are magical, but I would anticipate that character opportunities will still be distanced. Will you daughter be disappointed with just waving to Mickey or talking with Cinderella if she cannot hug them?

 

[Cheburashka]

Hi everyone! First time posting here but I’m hoping you guys can help me out.

My family and I are considering taking a Disney cruise the week of Thanksgiving. In the past we have always gone to WDW for Thanksgiving but the last time we did (2019) it was absolutely packed and miserable.

As of now, the only available sailings for those days are on the Dream for a four-day cruise and the Fantasy for a seven-day cruise.

We are a small three person family with an only child who is six. We do not plan on ever leaving her unattended on any of the camps or day care situations, and wouldn’t even outside of Covid. So if those are limited, it doesn’t effect us.

All of that being said I’m curious to know what everyone’s experience was on either of these ships for the four or seven day sailings. This would be our daughter‘s first DC but she is well-versed in the world of WDW, so there is a certain level of “magic” she would be expecting.

I see a lot of people enjoying the smaller crowds on these cruises but most of those people seem to be going without children. Parents who have taken a small child, was it worth the amount of money?

We want to make sure she is able to enjoy herself and have fun and really get the Disney experience she is used to at the parks. We don’t mind wearing masks or socially distancing as we’ve been taking these precautions for over a year now. Im looking for feedback and reviews for these ships specifically post Covid.

It may be worth noting that my daughter has severe food allergies and Disney has been our go to since she was born because they are always so accommodating. I’ve heard that there has been issues with the food chain supply leaving fewer options. Has anyone experienced this?

Looking forward to hearing about others experiences!

The Dream and the Fantasy are almost identical ships. Only slight differences in the decor set them apart. They offer almost the exact same amenities and entertainment. One difference is that on the Fantasy, your daughter will get to experience Animation Magic on her second night at Animator's Palate (don't miss this), which has the true Disney magic. 7 night cruises also typically offer a free character breakfast, but I don't know if they will in the Covid era, and even back in the day, we found DCL's character breakfast lackluster in comparison to character meals at WDW or DL. Less character interaction, fewer top tier characters, and middling food.

Imo the ships are more likely to feel magical than the parks right now. The latter have received a lot of complaints about cleanliness issues in the past several months, as well as overcrowding. Crowding will not be an issue onboard DCL this fall, and cleanliness has never been an issue for DCL. How clean and well-maintained the ships are is one area where DCL has always stood out from other mass market cruise lines and from the Disney parks.

DCL will work diligently to accommodate your food allergies, but this is one of their relatively weak areas, at least in comparison to Disney parks. My son used to be on a gluten-free diet (and I ate gf with him so he wouldn't feel deprived), and we found that dining gluten-free at Disney World was much nicer than dining gluten-free on DCL. It was a noticeable difference. Cruise ship food is mostly mass produced, and they can mass produce it well, but that does mean that variations are not going to be their strong point. Our special meals took longer and were less flavorful than regular meals. It wasn't enough to stop us from cruising again with DCL (and lucky for us, my son got to end that diet after a few years), but the food was the Achilles heel of the cruise for us when he was on a gluten-free diet. We cruised gluten-free 5 & 6 years ago, so things might have improved since then. We also felt a bit better accommodated for that on the Fantasy than on the Magic, but that might have been due to having a better serving team. If your daughter's allergy is to something less all-encompassing in food than gluten, she will probably have a better time with it than we did years ago.

 

[Mitura]

We have been on both ships are they are both great!

We have been specifically on the Dream for Thanksgiving in the past and it is a unique experience. The characters are dressed in Thanksgiving apparel. Also they have a special Thanksgiving dinner. These are only offered on Thanksgiving. We loved being on the beach for the holiday when every one back home was freezing standing in holiday shopping lines! Also all day on Thanksgiving they show NFL on funnel vision.

What we had to take into consideration is that Thanksgiving week is extremely expensive (regardless of either ship) compared to the week after, school & work schedules and travel arrangements (we drive from Phila.).

Whichever one you pick you'll have a great time!