Back to Back on Dream OR just longer cruise on Fantasy?

[Clojel]

Alright, I need a little input. We got back from our first Disney Cruise two weeks ago and we are already talking about booking another trip for the next year or so. This time around, we did 3 days at WDW and then a 5 day/4 night cruise on the Disney Dream. We loved the cruise SO much that we're considering ditching the parks and just opting for a longer cruise...but we're trying to decide the best way to do that! In a perfect world, we'd like to do a 7 day on the Dream...but it looks like that really isn't an option. I know some people will do a 4 night B2B with a 3 night to make the cruise longer; while other people will just switch to the Fantasy for their 7 day cruise. Can anyone give me any insight into the pros and cons of each?? How similar are the layouts of the Dream & Fantasy? We kind of wanted to stay on the same ship so we could get more familiar with all it had to offer...but doing a B2B sounds like kind of a hassle. Any input would be great!! Thanks!!

 

[phinz]

Depends on how fast you want to get to Gold, or if you care. I prefer the Fantasy, but we're going b2b2b on the Dream in early 2019 to get to Platinum before the new boats arrive.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I have not done the 3 and 4 back to back because I really prefer to have different shows. The Fantasy has a wonderful version of Aladdin!

 

[ACDSNY]

I've done both and prefer the Fantasy as the day between the B2B seems to be a wasted day to some extent.

 

[GatorMomInNC]

I was booked for next month on a B2B on the Dream and a 7 day on the Fantasy. There were several reasons I was leaning towards the Dream - to see B&TB; 2x at CC; we have never been on the Dream; and to surprise my kids by having my husband show up for the 2nd cruise (he couldn't go for the whole week). But, he started a new job and can't go at all so I decided to switch to one week on the Fantasy. The benefit of the Fantasy is no repeat menus or shows. A little less rushed as we don't have to disembark halfway through our week.

Since you have been on the Dream, I would try the Fantasy for a change and see some shows and ports you didn't get to see last week...

 

[ludari]

If you are trying to move up to the next level on your Castaway Club I say do the B2B. Doing a B2B cruise is not a hassle at all and DCL does an excellent job. If that's not important to you I would definitely choose the Fantasy over the Dream. The layout of the ship is the same just different names for some of the MDR and bars. I also think you'll enjoy the Fantasy itinerary and I prefer the shows on the Fantasy as well not to mention longer cruises are always better. Good luck with your decision.

 

[nycdisneygal]

B2B is pretty nice and the nice thing is you can skip the shows on 1 cruise and do something else those evenings. And do Remy or Palo and not miss out on MDR since you can do it on one leg...and it counts as 2 cruises towards your next status Also 2 stops at CC is amazing!

what does it work out price wise?

 

[quickcat]

I like the Fantasy better because it has the splash zone which we find rarely used. Great place to enjoy water away from the crowd.
I have done a back to back and just feel like the transition day is rather a waste for us.
We much prefer the Fantasy and the 7 night cruise to different ports rather than hitting the same ports again the same trip.
Either way, you will be on a Disney cruise so really, any decision will be great!
Happy planning!!

 

[CamColt]

I've done both and it's hard to say I like 1 better than the other. CC is the only port we care about so getting there twice is great. The Fantasy has formal night which we enjoy, B2Bs you can miss the shows and do other things during that time that you would have missed, however the Fantasy has different shows. The same thing with dinners, you can go to Palo or Remy and skip a meal in the MDR but not miss out on it, however the Fantasy has different menus. I personally don't feel like the switch over day is a wasted day...I'm just happy getting a chair up on deck and sitting in the sun, but I know some people don't feel that way. I think it comes down to what your preferences would be on things like that then go from there.

 

[sefowler1]

We did our first B2B this past February. It was fun to do once, but I wouldn't do it again. It is great fun to know that when you debark, you can get right back on. Everyone else is packing up but you aren't. It was cool to exit and make a u-turn back into the terminal. We liked getting the bump in status with the second trip.

However, it felt like a wasted day. We had to go through customs, and then wait in the terminal a few hours. Sure, we had a separate waiting spot, but we didn't get back on that much sooner. We spent those few hours doing laundry and just sitting in the room. We felt like we were in the way of the busy stateroom hosts as we moved the ropes to get to the laundry room. We also didn't enjoy doing everything twice. Same menus, same shows, etc.

 

[tee11]

I’ve wanted to do a B2B on Dream, but it’s always priced significantly more than a one week Fantasy. Is that other people’s experience as well? I was looking at the same weeks when comparing.

So I couldn’t really justify that - because we love the Fantasy! Several things only happen on 7 day and longer cruises - character breakfast, special days (like Star Wars Day), etc.
Also there are bigger perks for using your onboard booking credit for 7 day and longer cruises.

If I were you, and you haven’t been on the Fantasy yet, I’d go with the Fantasy.

 

[Geomom]

I'd go for the 7nt Fantasy to get new shows, new ports, and more cruise activities. The Fantasy and Dream are sister ships, so they basically have the same layout (a few minor differences after the last Fantasy dry dock), but with different theming. We've only been on the Wonder so far, but will be on the sister ship Magic next summer--which makes us happy as we'll know where everything is...it'll just have a different name!

 

[Quellman]

We have done both. You can read some more about it in this thread here and more here and here.
The ships are essentially the same layout, but with some name changes for some of the spaces. I don't think there is any hassle with doing a back to back cruise, especially if you have the same room for both legs of the journey. Some people even choose to leave the port area on the turnaround day and visit nearby attractions. they do express walk off in the morning and then return soon before the all aboard time. We stayed in the terminal and got back on to enjoy the ship.

I’ve wanted to do a B2B on Dream, but it’s always priced significantly more than a one week Fantasy. Is that other people’s experience as well? I was looking at the same weeks when comparing.

So I couldn’t really justify that - because we love the Fantasy! Several things only happen on 7 day and longer cruises - character breakfast, special days (like Star Wars Day), etc.
Also there are bigger perks for using your onboard booking credit for 7 day and longer cruises.

If I were you, and you haven’t been on the Fantasy yet, I’d go with the Fantasy.

We didn't find the cost to be more when doing a B2B on the dream last year, but I know that pricing can vary for seemingly no reason. i will mention that character breakfasts and stuff are great perks of a longer cruise!

 

[sefowler1]

I’ve wanted to do a B2B on Dream, but it’s always priced significantly more than a one week Fantasy. Is that other people’s experience as well? I was looking at the same weeks when comparing.

So I couldn’t really justify that - because we love the Fantasy! Several things only happen on 7 day and longer cruises - character breakfast, special days (like Star Wars Day), etc.

It was a thousand cheaper for us to do the B2B compared to the same week on the Fantasy.

You are right about the longer cruises. I missed some of those activities on the shorter cruise.

 

[Shanti]

Alright, I need a little input. We got back from our first Disney Cruise two weeks ago and we are already talking about booking another trip for the next year or so. This time around, we did 3 days at WDW and then a 5 day/4 night cruise on the Disney Dream. We loved the cruise SO much that we're considering ditching the parks and just opting for a longer cruise...but we're trying to decide the best way to do that! In a perfect world, we'd like to do a 7 day on the Dream...but it looks like that really isn't an option. I know some people will do a 4 night B2B with a 3 night to make the cruise longer; while other people will just switch to the Fantasy for their 7 day cruise. Can anyone give me any insight into the pros and cons of each?? How similar are the layouts of the Dream & Fantasy? We kind of wanted to stay on the same ship so we could get more familiar with all it had to offer...but doing a B2B sounds like kind of a hassle. Any input would be great!! Thanks!!

My vote is for the B2B, because:

• You'll get to gold status faster.
• You'll get to visit Castaway Cay twice.
• You'll get to see the Beauty and the Beast show.
• The Dream has fewer issues with severe vibration in its aft staterooms than the Fantasy has.
• The Fantasy no longer has a hot tub on the family pool deck, but the Dream still has it.
• The Dream has Vanellopes.
• Imo the Fantasy's character breakfast was lame: just Disney Junior characters & Mickey (not the whole Mickey gang), food was mediocre, & you had to stay seated for the photos. It wasn't as nice as character breakfasts at the parks or resorts.

The main things I would miss about the Fantasy would be the animation show in Animator's Palate & formal night. Although formal night isn't that formal on a Disney cruise. Since it's optional to dress up, only about half of the passengers do so.

 

[mmmears]

Personally, I'd take the 7 night on the Fantasy and not waste a day of my vacation. Also the longer cruises have more menus, different shows, and are just paced better IMHO. I wouldn't hesitate to book the Dream for a 3 or a 4 night trip, but if I had a week I wouldn't do a repeat trip; I'd do a complete week long cruise.

 

[CamColt]

I’ve wanted to do a B2B on Dream, but it’s always priced significantly more than a one week Fantasy. Is that other people’s experience as well? I was looking at the same weeks when comparing.

I often hear the B2Bs are less expensive however that has not been my experience when comparing, until this year. Using my 10% OBB discount for the 4 night and then booking the 3 night as a new cruise with no discount came out to a couple hundred less than doing the Fantasy the same week with the 10% off the whole cruise.

 

[KayKayJS]

Hands down the 7 night fantasy.

 

[MinnesotaMouseketeers]

Depends on how fast you want to get to Gold, or if you care. I prefer the Fantasy, but we're going b2b2b on the Dream in early 2019 to get to Platinum before the new boats arrive.

Wife and I are on the Magic next year and that will get us two away from Platinum. So we are thinking of booking a future cruise while on board and doing a b2b to get to Platinum. But we definitely prefer longer cruises and the more sea days the better. I really wish DCL would count any cruise longer than 10 nights as two cruises. We were on the 15 night PC on the Wonder back in 2011.
I agree if a person doesn't care how quickly they move up for CC, go for a longer cruise!

 

[phinz]

Wife and I are on the Magic next year and that will get us two away from Platinum. So we are thinking of booking a future cruise while on board and doing a b2b to get to Platinum. But we definitely prefer longer cruises and the more sea days the better. I really wish DCL would count any cruise longer than 10 nights as two cruises. We were on the 15 night PC on the Wonder back in 2011.
I agree if a person doesn't care how quickly they move up for CC, go for a longer cruise!

I wish they would just count days. If a person has 30 days on the Dream then they can be up to Platinum on the next cruise, but do 30 days on the Fantasy and you're not even to Gold yet. In addition, most lines give double points for booking suites and higher (basically, for booking Concierge). Having booked Concierge 4 times out of 6, we'd be Platinum on our next cruise if they did it like most of the others.

Then again, there isn't really much advantage to being higher level on Disney anyway. Not like there is on those other lines at least.