MAGIC or FREEDOM

[OceanDreams]

OK people!! This is what I need some help with. We are looking at cruising the 1st week of January, from Galveston, either on the Magic or the Freedom. I need opinions as to which ship would be better. The family ages range between 19 and 60.

 

Bring on the suggestions (thanks)

 

OceanDreams

[Everyday's a Good Day]

We haven't been on the Freedom but have been on the Magic 3 times and love her! I would go with the Magic. She doesn't have the 2.0 upgrades yet but she is still one of the newest ships. Have fun!

[pbxtech]

Been on Both and enjoyed Both. Magic left on a Sunday and Freedom left on a Saturday.

[OceanDreams]

We haven't been on the Freedom but have been on the Magic 3 times and love her! I would go with the Magic. She doesn't have the 2.0 upgrades yet but she is still one of the newest ships. Have fun!

 

Do you know when the Magic will get the 2.0 upgrades and what they will be?

 

[Teetah86]

My wife and I took our son and his wife on the Freedom for the Fourth of July week. It was a great week with the Funship 2.0 upgrades and the American Table changes in the MDR. It was one of the top three cruises we've had so far!

 

I would say either ship will offer your family a super time.

[Greatescapes]

I have been on both and they are both great ships... Magic will probably go into dry dock in Dec. during the port canaveral move sometime.

[rufflesmom]

We have been on both ships, the Freedom in May. Both ships are nice but I liked the Magic better. I much prefer the layout of the Lido deck.

 

The Magic is going into dry dock some time next year. In May we were looking at cruises for October next year and the Magic was showing up. In June it was gone and the Breeze was in its place. We are booked on the Breeze for Oct 2016.

[love my grandkids]

Cant go wrong with either.

[Topo Gigio]

Magic will be in dry dock the last week of February and the first week of March, and will reposition to PC in late April. First cruise out of PC will be on April 20.

[mom4mom]

I've been on both and enjoyed them both. Since Magic won't have it's 2.0 upgrades yet, if Guy's Burgers are one of your draws (which was great on the Freedom) then I would go Freedom. Also another consideration would be if you would be renting a car, Galveston doesn't have a car rental places open on Sun.

[Martini Mom]

We were in the same pickle and chose the Freedom because of the upgrades, SO glad we did! We really used and enjoyed them.

 

Check out more info in my photo review:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2236932

[dmdiver]

We sailed on both this year. Freedom has Guy's Burgers, which we love. It also has the Alchemy Bar that we really like. If you tell the bartender what type of drink you like, they will create something for you. Pretty cool. The aft pool is adult only, so that's nice. Freedom only has one water slide.

 

Magic has no Guy's burgers. There is no adult only pool. It has a ropes course and 2 big slides and a waterworks area. Also has pool table & foosball table. There is a lanai area on deck 5 where we enjoyed relaxing.

 

Both ships have ping pong & mini golf as well as pools & hot tubs. Both have the Serenity adult only area. Red Frog Pub is a good place to go, too.

 

So, it really depends on what all you want to do.

[OceanDreams]

Really enjoyed the upgrades of the 2.0 on the Liberty. Sounds like the Freedom received more of the upgrades then the Magic will.

 

[freedomcruiser891]

Freedom wins by my comparison. We've cruised both during peak seasons but the magic seemed so crowded all the time. The freedom is a much more comfortable size in my opinion. Sure the magic has a lot more to do. But a lot of the attractions that makes it better than the freedom are for a younger generation so for us the freedom was ideal. But like others have said you really can't go wrong with either.

[KITKAT0229]

We chose the Magic since it has Cove balconies, the Cloud 9 SPA & Waterworks. It may not have Guy's or the Cantina but it still has the grill (burgers & grilled chicken sandwiches) & the burrito bar. Plus it leaves on Sunday not Saturday which is easier for traveling for our family.

[ABQrobin]

We have done both recently...

 

Magic is a bigger ship and just feels bigger. We never even felt like we were on a ship. We had a cove balcony and loved it. The pool area, slides and ropes course are really nicer on Magic than Freedoms deck.

Freedom seems to have some motion in rougher seas, we thought it was odd, hit some roughs seas coming back into Galveston and many people were green or staying in rooms.

 

Freedom does have Guys, and they also have a nicer Red Frog Pub with live music. Magic has Red Frog pub but it is oddly shaped and felt crowded. Freedom also has the Playlist entertainment which we felt was "younger" appeal than the old format of shows on Magic. Both were good but we really like Playlist.

 

I would do either ship in a heartbeat... in fact we plan to if we can work into 2016 schedules. I would pick by the ports and your schedule.

[OceanDreams]

Please keep the opinions coming.

 

Houston is really easy for us all to travel to....this is why the 2 ships are being considered.

[s.schultz]

The freedom is a beautiful ship with the 2.0 upgrades (guys and cantina). I've never been on the magic but it is similar in layout to the breeze(which I sailed on in March) except it doesn't have the upgrades. The layout of the magic is more modern than the freedom. If I had to choose it would be based on the itineraries of the two ships but the food upgrades on the freedom are definitely a plus!!

 

Happy cruising!!

[dmdiver]

Please keep the opinions coming.

 

Houston is really easy for us all to travel to....this is why the 2 ships are being considered.

 

But you know they are in Galveston, right? I guess just flying in to Houston then transfer to Galveston...

 

 

Never mind - just re-read the 1st post. My bad.

Edited August 9, 2015 by dmdiver

[ttown]

Just back from the Freedom and we really liked this ship. The décor is a bit dated but it is in great shape. Having the 2.0 upgrades and an adults only pool area makes a big difference. With the exception of the Lido buffet area, the ship never felt crowded even though there were 3650 passengers. We also enjoyed the new menu and food presentation. Since there were just two of us, the Your Time Dining worked really well. We ate in the Chic Dining Room on 5 nights and were always able to get the same waiter.

[sailor_jimc]

We have sailed on both ships multiple times. (It has just seemed to work out that way). The previous replies have summed it up pretty well. It really depends on what you NEED in your ship. The waterworks and sports square of the Magic are great if you are traveling with kids. Although the Freedom has the Seuss at Sea and the Camp Ocean for the kids. Both have a Red Frog pub but only the Magic's RFP offers the pub food. Freedom has an Alchemy bar... not so much on the Magic.

 

So bottom line is it really depends on what features you MUST have on your cruise ship. Both ships are great but certain features may push you over to one or the other.

 

Once the Magic gets her dry dock and get the couple of features she is missing added, then it's going to be no contest. But until then you are probably going to be fine with either unless you have kids that will want to use water works.

[cruiser fanatic]

I have been on both, Freedom twice and Magic 3 times. I like both. If you are traveling with kids I would choose the Magic because it has the SkyCouse, Waterpark, etc.. If not, I would go with the Freedom since it has the 2.0 upgrades.

[OceanDreams]

But you know they are in Galveston, right? I guess just flying in to Houston then transfer to Galveston...

 

 

Never mind - just re-read the 1st post. My bad.

 

Yes.....It's really easy cruising from Galveston. Whether we fly into Bush International or Hobby. Coming from Bush Int. then we take a limo and hire an extra van to carry all the luggage. Most of the time we fly into Hobby and stay at a friends hotel, they pick us up, we stay a couple of nights then they drive us to the ship. We love cruising from Galveston.

[OceanDreams]

We have sailed on both ships multiple times. (It has just seemed to work out that way). The previous replies have summed it up pretty well. It really depends on what you NEED in your ship. The waterworks and sports square of the Magic are great if you are traveling with kids. Although the Freedom has the Seuss at Sea and the Camp Ocean for the kids. Both have a Red Frog pub but only the Magic's RFP offers the pub food. Freedom has an Alchemy bar... not so much on the Magic.

 

So bottom line is it really depends on what features you MUST have on your cruise ship. Both ships are great but certain features may push you over to one or the other.

 

Once the Magic gets her dry dock and get the couple of features she is missing added, then it's going to be no contest. But until then you are probably going to be fine with either unless you have kids that will want to use water works.

 

Do you what additions the Magic will be getting and when?

[BLTMA]

We were on the Magic a couple years ago. Two weeks ago we sailed on the Freedom. Without question (in our humble opinion) the Magic is just all around better. Better floor plans, MUCH better activities and entertainment. The food was about the same on both (but Guy's Burger Joint on the Freedom WAS a big highlight for the Freedom). Magic has MUCH better activities for a wide variety of ages of kids. The Magic's athletic areas are far superior to the Freedom. The decor on the Magic is far better than on the Freedom. Basically, everything about the Magic seemed nicer, newer, and more family friendly.