The 2014 Cruise Critic Cruisers’ Choice Awards have been released with Disney Cruise Line earning 13 first-place awards including a Best Ship for the Disney Fantasy for the second consecutive year. The Disney Fantasy earned an impressive 9 first-place awards for Disney Cruise Line. The Disney Wonder followed up with 3 first-place awards including Best Overall in the Mid-size ship category. The Disney Dream earned one first-place award with the Best Cruises to the Bahamas. The Disney Magic was the only ship in the fleet to not earn a first place award this year, but in retrospect she did not earn one in last year’s awards either. In fact, the Disney Magic did not place in the top ten of any category. It is important to keep in mind the Disney Magic turned 15 this past summer and underwent a massive re-imagination during last year’s dry dock which should result in a rebound in the 2015 Cruise Critic Awards.
Disney Cruise Line’s First-Place Awards
Large Ship Category
- Best Overall Ship: Disney Fantasy
- Best Cabins: Disney Fantasy
- Best Dining: Disney Fantasy
- Best Entertainment: Disney Fantasy
- Best Public Rooms: Disney Fantasy
- Best Service: Disney Fantasy
Mid-Size Ship Category
- Best Overall Ship: Disney Wonder
- Best Entertainment: Disney Wonder
- Best Service: Disney Wonder
Destinations Categories
- Best Cruises to the Bahamas: Disney Dream
- Best Cruises to the Caribbean: Disney Fantasy
- Best Cruises from Florida: Disney Fantasy
Other
- Best for Families: Disney Fantasy
Disney Cruise Line Top 10 Rankings
Cruise Critic categorizes the ships based on passenger capacity. The Disney Dream & Disney Fantasy are listed in the large ship (2,000+ passengers) category, while the Disney Magic & Disney Wonder are listed in the Mid-size ship (1200-1999 passengers) category. Keep this in mind while reviewing the following rankings. For example the Disney Wonder & Disney Fantasy are the top overall ships in their respective categories. The one exception is the Best for Families* category that does not break out by ship size.
| Best… | Fantasy | Dream | Wonder | Magic |
| Cruise Experience | ||||
| Overall | 1 | 9 | 1 | |
| Cabins | 1 | 3 | 2 | |
| Dining | 1 | 7 | 8 | |
| Embarkation | 3 | 8 | ||
| Entertainment | 1 | 4 | 1 | |
| Fitness | ||||
| Families* | 1 | 4 | 3 | |
| Public Rooms | 1 | 5 | 2 | |
| Service | 1 | 4 | 1 | |
| Shore Excursions | ||||
| Value | 4 | 9 | ||
| Cruise Destinations | ||||
| Alaska | ||||
| Bahamas | 1 | |||
| Caribbean | 1 | |||
| Mediterranean | ||||
| From Florida | 1 | |||
| From Northeast | ||||
| From West Coast | ||||
| From U.K. | ||||
Visit the 2014 Cruise Critic Cruisers’ Choice Awards for a complete list of winners. These awards are based on review submitted by Cruise Critic’s readers from cruises sailed in 2013. To be included ships must have a minimum number of posted reviews and ratings in each category to be included in the top 10 list. Click here to read Cruise Critic’s complete methodology.
Granted these awards are based on user reviews, I am quite surprised that the Disney Magic did not rank in the Service category. The crew not just on the Disney Magic, but fleet wide go above and beyond the call of duty. The crew is the heart and soul of Disney Cruise Line and I have a hard time with one ship being left off in this category. The other interesting category was Shore Excursions. Last year, the Dream was number 1, and in one year dropped out of the top 10.
Do you agree with the 2014 Cruise Critic Cruisers’ Choice Awards?
We were on the Magic in 2012 and loved it, so much so that we booked the Wonder to Alaska in 2013. We knew we’d enjoy ourselves but were even more impressed by the Wonder and booked the Dream for the end of this year before disembarking. As our aunt said, “They think of everything.”
Well done, Disney!
Its hard for me to believe that the Magic didn’t place at all, I just figured they didn’t count it with the dry dock… Hope shes great next week as I’m sailing on her for the first time!
The Disney Magic is fine. These reviews are mostly from before her dry dock. I anticipate a rebound next year.
What is something to think about (and I am sure Disney is), while the Magic is 15 years old the Wonder is 14. Why would only a year make such a difference in reviews?
Pingback: In Case You Missed It: Disney News and Rumors - 2/28/14 | TouringPlans.com Blog
I’m surprised by the Magic being missing as well. We sailed both the Magic (Barcelona) and the Wonder (Port Canaveral) in 2010. We found the facilities really comparable, and actually preferred the food and service on the Magic. We even has some of the same crew between the two, with the Assistant Cruise Director on the Magic getting promoted to Cruise Director when we sailed on the Wonder. Ultimately our perception of the difference may have been that we were on a longer cruise on the Magic and on a European itinerary.
We’re heading out on the Magic again this summer, this time from Venice, so we’ll see how the reimagined ship feels!