Port Canaveral vs. Miami cruise cost?

[traveluver]

We are looking at a Disney Cruise in December 2016. We will be flying in from Belgium, and preferably would like to fly into MCO and cruise out of Port Canaveral, as we have family nearby. BUT we noticed that the cruises from Miami (same itinerary, different ship, within a day of each other) are $700-1,000 cheaper. The Disney Magic leaves from Miami, the Fantasy from Port Canaveral.

 

Is it the ship or the port that is affecting the price? We will be with our then three year old son. We were on the Magic before and loved it. Is the Fantasy worth the extra cost? Thank you all for your input!

[moki'smommy]

I believe that it is the ship that is influencing the price. The Fantasy is newer with all the bells and whistles. And she is out of Port Canaveral making her more popular for those who wish to visit WDW. This means that she books up faster and can command a higher price.

 

Since you have been on the Magic, you know what to expect. The Fantasy is bigger, amazingly beautiful....but my family prefers the Magic.

 

I would look at flight costs. It may be that MCO is a less costly airport (we encountered this last year with a friend from the Netherlands). So that might offset the difference in price of the cruise. As far as airports go, we prefer MCO. However, we'd do Miami for the cruise we wanted particularly if the price was right.

 

Bottom line--you can't go wrong with either one. We prefer the Magic, but we also prefer MCO. Price out flights to each airport and then decide what works best for you.

[chemistrynerd]

My preferences... Port Canaveral over Miami, and the Fantasy over the Magic. Like everything, it depends on your situation.

 

My family has been on one cruise out of Miami (5-night on the Wonder). During the cruise, some of the poolside movies (Funnelvision) were in Spanish. I have nothing against other languages, but the fact is I do not speak or understand Spanish. My kids are also at an age when they spend a lot of time at the pool and need to be supervised. I really like the pool movies, so it's a downer for me to not understand them. That's a little thing, but it is one of the disappointments that come to mind on that cruise. None of our PC departures have had non-English movies, so I'm guessing it's a Miami vs. PC thing.

 

My family has been on a total of 4 Disney cruises. One was on the Wonder (out of Miami) and the other three were on the Dream (out of PC). The Dream and Fantasy have on-demand video in the cabins. The Wonder doesn't (as of Jan 2015), and I don't think the Magic does either. Because our kids are younger, naps (or at least quiet time) are part of our routine on busy vacation days. That keeps us in the cabin a bit more than some people, so having control of the video is a bonus. It was a bigger deal for me than my kids, who don't mind watching something from the start, middle, or end.

 

So, if my kids weren't at ages when we spend tons of time in the pool or resting in the cabin, it would not matter much to me. But, right now, my preference would be PC over Miami and the Fantasy (which I've never been on) over the Magic (which I've also never been on).

 

A previous poster mentioned the size of the ship. I've only been on the Dream and Wonder, and I preferred the Dream. My wife and I found that the bigger ship (Dream) was set up better. For example, Cabana's was much bigger on the Dream and seemed to be able to handle the crowds better that the pool buffet on the Magic. My sense was that the larger ships were version 2.0 of the smaller ships and therefore had lots of improvements. We're going on the Magic next year, so maybe my opinion will change about the smaller ships.

[traveluver]

Thanks Moki! Appreciate the quick response. Flight cost doesn't really matter; NATO is paying for our flight back. We really loved the Magic as well and my husband likes the smaller ship/less people concept. So we will probably do that but we wanted to check to make sure Miami port wasn't terrible or something. I figured it was the ship that was affecting the price.

 

Have a great day!

[traveluver]

Thank you for your input! I really want to try the fantasy, but I'm not sure I can talk my husband into it. The extra cost+larger ship might be two strikes .... BUT if we go with Magic (the less expensive) I might be able to upgrade our room. :-)

 

We loved the Magic with our then 6 month old. This time around, he'll be three, so nap time will be a factor. We are more readers than TV watchers, and last time we took naps while baby napped! But now we are all getting good sleep so nap time is my chance to slip off to the spa!

[chemistrynerd]

But now we are all getting good sleep so nap time is my chance to slip off to the spa!

 

Exactly!! So it's daddy (me) in the cabin supervising nap time while mommy (my wife) enjoys some well-earned luxury in the spa. So, I'm the one who is sensitive to the features of the entertainment system. My wife agrees, but I wouldn't say that she truly cares one way or the other.

[moki'smommy]

One comment to the above. The poster said he'd never been on the Magic and was using the Wonder for a comparison. The buffet area on the Magic was totally remodeled into "Cabanas" during the re-imagination dry dock. Only the Wonder has the original buffet concept now (where you go thru a line rather than multiple stations depending on the type of food you want. The seating area was also enhanced. Yes, it is smaller than on the Fantasy, but there are 2500 guests rather than 4000.

 

True that I don't know why they didn't put the "on demand" TV system on the Magic during that same dry dock. but alas, they didn'tl

 

Miami isn't terrible and DCL does what it can to make it more along the "Disney" model....but it isn't PC either. In reality, none of the other terminals or ports compares to Port Canaveral, but they are basically OK.

 

I can't address movies in Spanish on the Dumbo-tron. That would make me angry. I understand repeated announcements in several languages when cruising in Europe, but not from a US port.

[chictravel227]

We also had movies in Spanish playing during our Wonder out of Miami cruise. It was a bit annoying since I would have loved to have seen the movie in English. That being said, hopefully they made some people happy.

[holula]

I think it is a little of both. When the Magic was doing Westerns from PC earlier this year it was a similar price to the Fantasy.

 

The Magic is a smaller older ship. However there is also more competition sailing from Miami. NCL has its two newest ships there. I think the Carnival Breeze sails from Miami also. Sailings from Miami have always been a little lower, probably to attract new guests and not to out price them selves.

 

We also had some Spanish movies the last time we cruised from Miami. America does not have an official language so why not cater to the clientele of that area?

 

Also I hate the port. But that is another issue. It's so small!

[Capt_BJ]

small point but

 

sailing from PC, the 'Disneyness' can start b4 the cruise. If you take the DCL transfers from MCO to PC you usually get a fancy DCL bus (operated by MEARS but I digress) with the movies and all that stuff. AND in PC the terminal DCL uses was built for their exclusive use .... it is Mouseified .... to many, this adds significantly to the DCL experience

 

You won't get that in Miami ... the terminal is generic (shared by other cruise lines on other days) as are the busses

Edited September 15, 2015 by Capt_BJ