Disney Wish - Let the haters hate, We had a ball!

[NaturalNine]

Hi All

Disembarked from Wish this morning This is written from the perspective of a regular cruiser, but only my second Disney cruise - Other Disney cruise was on Wonder from San Diego pre pandemic and was amazing, was actually our first ever cruise.

Two adults, mid 30’s, we have kids but they did not join us on this vacation.

In short - the ship is AMAZING - so many criticism I read before hand had me really worried but after boarding I struggled to understand why people said what they did. The service was just fine, not great, but not awful.

If people review it and compared to the old ships, they’re very different. But doing so is not fair to either as they are different, if Disney built a newer version of the old ship it’d be boring and offer nothing new to market. The new ship is fresh, it is different and it is wonderful.

Ship Layout - Yes, there are stairs on outer deck, not many and not an issue, I am different to some perhaps but I’d prefer a ship designed to be optimal for 90% of the population rather than be fully inclusive and not quite right for the majority. The way it’s set out is super smart for the majority - It intelligently splits away the adults area to the kids areas, and creates a barrier between the two without being a gate or door or requiring credential access. The flow of the ship inside is wonderful and very easy to understand, Deck 3/4/5 are main guest amenity decks for shows, restaurants, Luna is the Hub of this zone spanning two levels as well as the stunning foyer which spans all three. Everything links harmoniously and without confusion. Decks 11/12/13 are the outside amenity decks and same, it all links up with the Pool/Quick Service being the hub and everything coming off from that like the Hub and Spoke layout of the parks.

Restaurants - 1923 was our favourite, amazing vibe, super sophisticated and the food was amazing. Frozen/Arrendale restaurant was good and the performance was fun, a step above what you’d find at say Tiana’s on Wonder. We did not try Marvel, we dined at Palo instead as we aren’t marvel fans.The BBQ quick service was fantastic on deck 11 as were the Tacos.

Outside of the MDR - Palo Brunch was amazing but the real stand out was Palo Dinner, seriously 10/10 meal, to get a Wagyu tenderloin for $30 is an absolute bargain, all up with drinks the bill came to around $380 and worth every dollar. Would do it again tomorrow if I was still on board.

The other surprise for us was Keg and Compass, the counter food was fantastic, bar staff super fun and a great vibe. Same with The Rose, fantastic Bar and had a real “concierge” style of service feel about it.

Entertainment - Extremely good, the adult areas were perfectly sufficient, Karoke was great fun, bingo went well although sad we walked out without winning, Trivia and game shows all the same as the classic ships and the venues themselves worked really well. Little Mermaid was a great broadway style show as was the first Disney all star show.

Internet - Top tier package for two devices was around $230 - Fast enough to swipe away on Tik tok for hours, I spent tonnes of time on socials and streaming Spotify with no issues. Probably not quick enough for YouTube but most others worked well.

Rainforest Room/Spa - Also amazing, we purchased the cruise length rainforest room access and used it every day, Massage on board was wonderful as was the facial. The Ice Room was a fantastic room to use after working out in the gym.

Criticisms:

Service - This is probably the only major letdown, State Room attendant was not attentive at all and many times frustrated us as the room would be vacant for several hours and not touched, yet the moment we got back she’d be knocking on the door wanting to tidy. We’ve never experienced such frustrations on other cruises. Same as the MDR Staff, the server and assistant server didn’t really click with us, and service was slow & over all didn’t wow us at all.
On embarkation day it was clear there was confusion amongst staff as to who did what, making dining reservations for Palo was extremely confusing I was told three different things by Port staff, Guest Services and Luna Staff. But eventually we got through that, even if I did waste the first hour running around trying to work out what was the truth. (Everywhere else on board was fantastic, particularly the bars.)

Drink selection - I am surprised and disappointed, given the obesity issues in USA, that Disney still defaults to full sugar soft drinks on board. Only a few of the machines offered Coke No Sugar and other than a few other random selections such as a lemonade, there were no other zero sugar options available from vending machines. It’s time Disney got on the right page here and offered many more zero sugar options.

Gym - Should be 24 hours, Opening at 6am was too late for many early risers like myself we’d be waiting at the door each morning, and then closing at 10pm…. Absolutely no reason that adult key to the world cards couldn’t provide access, the same as a hotel would.

Guest Services “Chat” - This feature is great, but So slow to get somebody this way, Disney could significantly reduce the amount of lines at GS desk by designating more resource to this. No reason it couldn’t be handled shore side by call centre staff.

Honestly so much more I could talk about and happy to answer any questions or expand on anything

 

[DCLCruiseFan09]

Thank you for your report!

Looking forward to sailing in November. Were you able to spend time in any of the adult exclusive areas? Did you find them crowded or uneasy to access?

 

[jujubiee4]

Glad you had a good time. How was your stateroom and what kind did you book? Did you
find storage a problem?

How was the weather at the ports?

 

[Mouses Magic 84]

Hello! How crowded was bingo and trivia? How early did you have to get there?

 

[Sherrilatte]

Hi All

Disembarked from Wish this morning This is written from the perspective of a regular cruiser, but only my second Disney cruise - Other Disney cruise was on Wonder from San Diego pre pandemic and was amazing, was actually our first ever cruise.

Two adults, mid 30’s, we have kids but they did not join us on this vacation.

In short - the ship is AMAZING - so many criticism I read before hand had me really worried but after boarding I struggled to understand why people said what they did. The service was just fine, not great, but not awful.

If people review it and compared to the old ships, they’re very different. But doing so is not fair to either as they are different, if Disney built a newer version of the old ship it’d be boring and offer nothing new to market. The new ship is fresh, it is different and it is wonderful.

Ship Layout - Yes, there are stairs on outer deck, not many and not an issue, I am different to some perhaps but I’d prefer a ship designed to be optimal for 90% of the population rather than be fully inclusive and not quite right for the majority. The way it’s set out is super smart for the majority - It intelligently splits away the adults area to the kids areas, and creates a barrier between the two without being a gate or door or requiring credential access. The flow of the ship inside is wonderful and very easy to understand, Deck 3/4/5 are main guest amenity decks for shows, restaurants, Luna is the Hub of this zone spanning two levels as well as the stunning foyer which spans all three. Everything links harmoniously and without confusion. Decks 11/12/13 are the outside amenity decks and same, it all links up with the Pool/Quick Service being the hub and everything coming off from that like the Hub and Spoke layout of the parks.

Restaurants - 1923 was our favourite, amazing vibe, super sophisticated and the food was amazing. Frozen/Arrendale restaurant was good and the performance was fun, a step above what you’d find at say Tiana’s on Wonder. We did not try Marvel, we dined at Palo instead as we aren’t marvel fans.The BBQ quick service was fantastic on deck 11 as were the Tacos.

Outside of the MDR - Palo Brunch was amazing but the real stand out was Palo Dinner, seriously 10/10 meal, to get a Wagyu tenderloin for $30 is an absolute bargain, all up with drinks the bill came to around $380 and worth every dollar. Would do it again tomorrow if I was still on board.

The other surprise for us was Keg and Compass, the counter food was fantastic, bar staff super fun and a great vibe. Same with The Rose, fantastic Bar and had a real “concierge” style of service feel about it.

Entertainment - Extremely good, the adult areas were perfectly sufficient, Karoke was great fun, bingo went well although sad we walked out without winning, Trivia and game shows all the same as the classic ships and the venues themselves worked really well. Little Mermaid was a great broadway style show as was the first Disney all star show.

Internet - Top tier package for two devices was around $230 - Fast enough to swipe away on Tik tok for hours, I spent tonnes of time on socials and streaming Spotify with no issues. Probably not quick enough for YouTube but most others worked well.

Rainforest Room/Spa - Also amazing, we purchased the cruise length rainforest room access and used it every day, Massage on board was wonderful as was the facial. The Ice Room was a fantastic room to use after working out in the gym.

Criticisms:

Service - This is probably the only major letdown, State Room attendant was not attentive at all and many times frustrated us as the room would be vacant for several hours and not touched, yet the moment we got back she’d be knocking on the door wanting to tidy. We’ve never experienced such frustrations on other cruises. Same as the MDR Staff, the server and assistant server didn’t really click with us, and service was slow & over all didn’t wow us at all.
On embarkation day it was clear there was confusion amongst staff as to who did what, making dining reservations for Palo was extremely confusing I was told three different things by Port staff, Guest Services and Luna Staff. But eventually we got through that, even if I did waste the first hour running around trying to work out what was the truth. (Everywhere else on board was fantastic, particularly the bars.)

Drink selection - I am surprised and disappointed, given the obesity issues in USA, that Disney still defaults to full sugar soft drinks on board. Only a few of the machines offered Coke No Sugar and other than a few other random selections such as a lemonade, there were no other zero sugar options available from vending machines. It’s time Disney got on the right page here and offered many more zero sugar options.

Gym - Should be 24 hours, Opening at 6am was too late for many early risers like myself we’d be waiting at the door each morning, and then closing at 10pm…. Absolutely no reason that adult key to the world cards couldn’t provide access, the same as a hotel would.

Guest Services “Chat” - This feature is great, but So slow to get somebody this way, Disney could significantly reduce the amount of lines at GS desk by designating more resource to this. No reason it couldn’t be handled shore side by call centre staff.

Honestly so much more I could talk about and happy to answer any questions or expand on anything

Thanks for this report!

 

[Garyjames220]

Someone told me there is no calaries at sea

 

[DCLDVC1]

Someone told me there is no calaries at sea

It’s true. I read it on Facebook.

 

[AgentCooper]

Honestly so much more I could talk about and happy to answer any questions or expand on anything

Thanks for the review! Did you manage to get a Hyperspace Lounge reservation please?

 

[CastawayCayLover]

Entertainment - Extremely good, the adult areas were perfectly sufficient, Karoke was great fun, bingo went well although sad we walked out without winning, Trivia and game shows all the same as the classic ships and the venues themselves worked really well. Little Mermaid was a great broadway style show as was the first Disney all star show.

Glad you enjoyed your cruise. Question, for trivia, were they doing all of the Disney themed trivia (food, parks, Star Wars, Marvel) or did they do general knowledge and or 70's, 80's, 90's music trivia or something else?

 

[MichelleCanada]

We also got off the ship this morning. It was our 5th cruise and we just got off the 9-day cruise on the Fantasy two days before. I agree - there was so much that was great! When we get home I will try to write a full review.

 

[Cheburashka]

Gym - Should be 24 hours, Opening at 6am was too late for many early risers like myself we’d be waiting at the door each morning, and then closing at 10pm…. Absolutely no reason that adult key to the world cards couldn’t provide access, the same as a hotel would.

Agreed.

 

[jpeterson]

Sounds like we were on the same cruise! We generally really enjoyed the Wish as well but there were some odd choices that puzzled/frustrated us.

The pool layout is odd. I'm not sure who thought a bunch of little pools ranging from 6" to 2' in depth was a good idea but I didn't.

The stairs on the promenade frustrated me as I'm a runner trying to get his workout in without resorting to a treadmill. Wish that was better laid out.

My wife found the lack of dinner options outside of the rotational dining to be frustrating as well. It didn't bother me as much but she was looking for other options and found them lacking.

 

[Kwami]

The pool layout is odd. I'm not sure who thought a bunch of little pools ranging from 6" to 2' in depth was a good idea but I didn't.

I think there are a few motivations for the new layout. First, large pools of water cause balance problems on tall ships, especially if they aren't in the center and especially if the seas are acting up and causing the pool water to slosh around. From an engineering perspective, having more pools, but making them smaller and spaced out, might be an easier problem to solve.

Second, when there's only one family pool, then a single kid having an accident closes the pool for everyone. With many pools, this problem isn't as bad.

And finally, maybe the pools don't feel as crowded and people-soupy if there are fewer people in each one?

My wife found the lack of dinner options outside of the rotational dining to be frustrating as well. It didn't bother me as much but she was looking for other options and found them lacking.

At some point, Marceline Market will offer another options for dinner. Until then, it's the main dining restaurants, room service, pub food, Palo, Enchante, or the pool deck food (which might close before the second dinner seating).

 

[WaDiWo]

I agree OP, Platinum members here and have sailed all 5 DCL ships now and this Wish cruise was amazing. Highlights for me were Palo Brunch, the shows, concierge lounge, etc, all great.

 

[nancipants]

Someone told me there is no calaries at sea

Probably cruise director Jimmy.

 

[WB1971]

Thanks for the detailed review. $380 for Palo dinner? I hope lots of that was expensive drinks? That’s waaay beyond what I would be willing to spend. On same topic, if not too personal, what would you say was total spend for the 4 nights? (Fare, rainforest/spa, food not included) I’m trying to figure out if I stick with Disney go forward or jump to another line and prepay package prices for all the extras at a known cost at time of booking. Thanks again.

 

[CamColt]

Hey Gang, I have deleted some posts on this thread due to being off topic. We are not here to discuss diabetes, sugary soda, artificial sweeteners, etc.... Some people drink regular soda, some drink diet, some drink none. What is available on a cruise is not going to change that. Lets keep this post on track. Thanks!

 

[Trera]

Hi All

Disembarked from Wish this morning This is written from the perspective of a regular cruiser, but only my second Disney cruise - Other Disney cruise was on Wonder from San Diego pre pandemic and was amazing, was actually our first ever cruise.

Two adults, mid 30’s, we have kids but they did not join us on this vacation.

In short - the ship is AMAZING - so many criticism I read before hand had me really worried but after boarding I struggled to understand why people said what they did. The service was just fine, not great, but not awful.

If people review it and compared to the old ships, they’re very different. But doing so is not fair to either as they are different, if Disney built a newer version of the old ship it’d be boring and offer nothing new to market. The new ship is fresh, it is different and it is wonderful.

Ship Layout - Yes, there are stairs on outer deck, not many and not an issue, I am different to some perhaps but I’d prefer a ship designed to be optimal for 90% of the population rather than be fully inclusive and not quite right for the majority. The way it’s set out is super smart for the majority - It intelligently splits away the adults area to the kids areas, and creates a barrier between the two without being a gate or door or requiring credential access. The flow of the ship inside is wonderful and very easy to understand, Deck 3/4/5 are main guest amenity decks for shows, restaurants, Luna is the Hub of this zone spanning two levels as well as the stunning foyer which spans all three. Everything links harmoniously and without confusion. Decks 11/12/13 are the outside amenity decks and same, it all links up with the Pool/Quick Service being the hub and everything coming off from that like the Hub and Spoke layout of the parks.

Restaurants - 1923 was our favourite, amazing vibe, super sophisticated and the food was amazing. Frozen/Arrendale restaurant was good and the performance was fun, a step above what you’d find at say Tiana’s on Wonder. We did not try Marvel, we dined at Palo instead as we aren’t marvel fans.The BBQ quick service was fantastic on deck 11 as were the Tacos.

Outside of the MDR - Palo Brunch was amazing but the real stand out was Palo Dinner, seriously 10/10 meal, to get a Wagyu tenderloin for $30 is an absolute bargain, all up with drinks the bill came to around $380 and worth every dollar. Would do it again tomorrow if I was still on board.

The other surprise for us was Keg and Compass, the counter food was fantastic, bar staff super fun and a great vibe. Same with The Rose, fantastic Bar and had a real “concierge” style of service feel about it.

Entertainment - Extremely good, the adult areas were perfectly sufficient, Karoke was great fun, bingo went well although sad we walked out without winning, Trivia and game shows all the same as the classic ships and the venues themselves worked really well. Little Mermaid was a great broadway style show as was the first Disney all star show.

Internet - Top tier package for two devices was around $230 - Fast enough to swipe away on Tik tok for hours, I spent tonnes of time on socials and streaming Spotify with no issues. Probably not quick enough for YouTube but most others worked well.

Rainforest Room/Spa - Also amazing, we purchased the cruise length rainforest room access and used it every day, Massage on board was wonderful as was the facial. The Ice Room was a fantastic room to use after working out in the gym.

Criticisms:

Service - This is probably the only major letdown, State Room attendant was not attentive at all and many times frustrated us as the room would be vacant for several hours and not touched, yet the moment we got back she’d be knocking on the door wanting to tidy. We’ve never experienced such frustrations on other cruises. Same as the MDR Staff, the server and assistant server didn’t really click with us, and service was slow & over all didn’t wow us at all.
On embarkation day it was clear there was confusion amongst staff as to who did what, making dining reservations for Palo was extremely confusing I was told three different things by Port staff, Guest Services and Luna Staff. But eventually we got through that, even if I did waste the first hour running around trying to work out what was the truth. (Everywhere else on board was fantastic, particularly the bars.)

Drink selection - I am surprised and disappointed, given the obesity issues in USA, that Disney still defaults to full sugar soft drinks on board. Only a few of the machines offered Coke No Sugar and other than a few other random selections such as a lemonade, there were no other zero sugar options available from vending machines. It’s time Disney got on the right page here and offered many more zero sugar options.

Gym - Should be 24 hours, Opening at 6am was too late for many early risers like myself we’d be waiting at the door each morning, and then closing at 10pm…. Absolutely no reason that adult key to the world cards couldn’t provide access, the same as a hotel would.

Guest Services “Chat” - This feature is great, but So slow to get somebody this way, Disney could significantly reduce the amount of lines at GS desk by designating more resource to this. No reason it couldn’t be handled shore side by call centre staff.

Honestly so much more I could talk about and happy to answer any questions or expand on anything

We were on the same cruise and are now on the next one as part of our B2B. I agree with you on most all topics. We like the ship and food but they are definitely still working out service issues on most fronts but that is to be expected with so many new hires. They will figure it out soon enough.

Luna is a nice space but too small for
bingo. It was overflowing the time we went and they sold out of the electronic bingo machines.

Palo was great. Our room steward was great. Our dining team on cruise one was learning but our current team is from the Dream and are outstanding.

Concierge lounge is very nice. Our DD loves the shows and kids club has some neat stuff

Overall we definitely didn’t have the issues that many on here had.

 

[bbn1122]

Thanks for the review. And I can not wait to see this Beautiful and Different Ship!! Happy to hear you had a great cruise.

Rain Forest passes? I am sailing on the Wish in late September and I would love to visit. How do I get a pass and does it have to be the length of cruise? @NaturalNine

Thanks

 

[insureman]

I think there are a few motivations for the new layout. First, large pools of water cause balance problems on tall ships, especially if they aren't in the center and especially if the seas are acting up and causing the pool water to slosh around. From an engineering perspective, having more pools, but making them smaller and spaced out, might be an easier problem to solve.

Second, when there's only one family pool, then a single kid having an accident closes the pool for everyone. With many pools, this problem isn't as bad.

And finally, maybe the pools don't feel as crowded and people-soupy if there are fewer people in each one?


At some point, Marceline Market will offer another options for dinner. Until then, it's the main dining restaurants, room service, pub food, Palo, Enchante, or the pool deck food (which might close before the second dinner seating).

The pools except for sloshing in heavy seas would not cause a listing issue especially with a modern 144,000 gross tonnage ship with ballast tanks. Having shallow multiple "pools" is a cost savings measure.