Opinions of The Wish

[foolish-mortal]

It seems like opinions on The Wish seem to be warming up a little over time. I'm wondering if the initial surprise of the differences and some of the disappointments are starting to settle. I'm doing a girls' trip on it in a few weeks. I was originally disappointed that this was the ship that worked with our schedules. I really had no interest in sailing on it at all from the things I'd read and seen. But the more I research it - the more excited I'm getting. Knowing what to expect ahead of time helps I'm sure. I think what I'm least excited about is the dining rooms and the promenade deck. Dinner shows are not my thing and I keep reading that space is tight. And I'm bummed that the promenade deck doesn't go all the way around. Other than that I'm looking forward to it. But it seems like overall I see less negative reviews of it. Maybe I'm just reading into what, though.

 

[CamColt]

I agree, being prepared helps. You seem to have the right attitude. And I do think everyone should make their own opinion on it as we all have different likes and dislikes. Some things that others dislike about it, I didn't mind and vice versa.

I was in the same boat as you, didn't really want to sail on the Wish but it fit our schedule. I'm also not a fan of dinner shows but I will say I didn't feel the dining rooms were tight. Maybe we just had a good table location, and having our own table may have helped too, but space did not seem to be an issue for us.

We had a good time, it was not horrible (really, how can a cruise be horrible?), and Im glad we did it. But I'm still in no rush to book another cruise on the Wish or the Treasure.

 

[NAB]

You well have a great trip. It really is a beautiful ship.

I missed walking around deck 4 but it wasn’t the only thing I did so I could still get steps in walking around. Saw people very day walking around the top pool deck. Can’t beat the deck food. BBQ and Taco place were busy.

Dining rooms are tight but again I ate and left only one part of the day.

Only thing with the Wish is how short the cruises are.

 

[bobbiwoz]

We enjoyed the DVC Member Cruise on the Wish so much, that it was our ship of choice for the Merrytime cruise, and that was very enjoyable. I hope you have a great time with your friends.

We both really enjoy the deck food!

 

[DWillowBay]

She is a beautiful ship. There is no doubt about that. Some of the initial concerns have been addressed such as the 'all-too-sensitive' elevator buttons, for instance. However, with only 2 banks of elevator instead of 3 and a difficult layout, I'm with CamColt in that I am in no hurry to be on that particular ship any time soon.

 

[BillO]

It's a beautiful ship and has a nice selection of entertainment and lounges. The food in the main dining rooms was very good compared to the other ships. Also, the deck food was excellent. However, we were disappointed with the access to the adult area on the top deck. It was only accessible from one side of the ship and the Cove was about half the size. Despite those couple of issues, we had a wonderful time.

 

[kiford]

I think what I'm least excited about is the dining rooms and the promenade deck. Dinner shows are not my thing and I keep reading that space is tight.

That was my feeling about Arendelle, too - it looked a bit cringy from the videos I saw, but I changed my mind about it. The singers were great, and the violinist was exceptional. We really enjoyed it, and there were some things on the menu that I really liked. DH didn't really like the Marvel restaurant, but I thought it was fine, though it was our least favourite for the menu. We both really liked 1923 - food and atmosphere. We had breakfast there every morning too.

I didn't personally find them to be any more cramped than those on the Fantasy. I liked the fact that 1923 and Marvel were cut into smaller rooms. Made them feel a bit more intimate and less like a giant dining hall.

I was less than impressed with the deck food. I thought it was okay and IMO was missing fresh fruit, salads, and sandwiches (I have nothing bad to say about the ice cream station where we were quite often to be found). I definitely found the aisle between the food stations and the tables in Marcelline Market to be quite tight, which made it a bit hard to maneuver with plates.

I've warmed up to it more after the second time; there are some things I like better on it than on the other ships, some things I don't like, or like less than the other ships. In the end, once I got over my whiny it's-not-like-the-other ships pout and remembered that there are things I prefer about the Dream class over the classics and vice versa, I quite enjoyed her and will sail on her again.

No, you can't go all around the promenade, but you can go to virtually the front of the ship, and if you get up early, you can watch the sunrise there, and it's very quiet. Then off to the Bayou for coffee and warm beignets.

 

[insureman]

Been twice still not a fan.

 

[Cfabar1]

It’s a beautiful and great ship. Dinner is a tad too themed for my taste, and miss the walking deck, but it is a great ship…. Don’t believe the haters.

 

[insureman]

Not a hater I just know we like the other ships more. The OP asked for opinions.

 

[npatellye]

I read the negative reviews before we went on the Wish in July 2023. But my family really enjoyed our very short Wish cruise: the food in the dining rooms was good, plenty of things to do, the line for Aquamouse was never too crazy, and pools weren’t crowded to the point of being uncomfortable. If the Wish was doing an itinerary we wanted this summer, we absolutely would have booked it without a second thought.

 

[Lillebelle]

IMHO there are pros and cons of every ship -- there is no one ship that is the absolute best on all fronts. That's what makes it fun to go on different cruises. There are things about the Wish that were odd choices or maybe even missteps in design, but there were also a lot of great things to balance it out. As long as you go in looking to have a good time, I'm confident you will

 

[ladyofthetramp]

We went in with an open mind. She is a beautiful ship . The CM's are enthusiastic and seem to know about how the ship was received by many. We had a really nice time-it was a DCL cruise afterall. But, I did find the dinning rooms were very noisy-too noisy. The food in them was quite good. I missed the walking track, but it was a short cruise... I loved the fact you can walk all the way to the bow-that is a fun spot. Otherwise, if I was looking for a short getaway, I would sail the Wish again, but I am not in any hurry to.

 

[Drfate102]

We enjoyed the Wish. Beautiful ship with a few questionable design choices. But we would sail her again and we are booked on the Treasure.

 

[JM_97]

I wouldn’t even consider sailing the Wish for a while but after reading posts on here and watching YouTube videos, she is slowly growing on me. She’s only doing 3 and 4 nights for the foreseeable future, which isn’t terrible, but you don’t have as much flexibility with scheduling. I‘m not ruling out a 4 night in the future.

 

[randumb0]

It only does 3 and 4 night sailings. Hard pass for me

 

[Memorymakerfor4]

We liked the Wish, it's beautiful. We didn't find the elevators to be an issue as we used the stairs most of the time and those few times we didn't want to climb 6 flights of stairs, it was never a very long wait. The only day we rode the AquaMouse was the port day at Nassau and we rode it back to back several times no problem in late morning. The worst part was the short itinerary and sometimes feeling rushed, but we were locked into that particular weekend and 3 days were better than none! We liked Marceline Market better than the rotational restaurants, but we've always thought DCL food in general leaves something to be desired. I'd book again, but only 4 nights. I'm very interested in the Treasure, especially those Aladdin rooms.

 

[DisneyCowgirl]

What I liked: Having the lounges located as they are seemed to make them more lively. Maybe people would pass by and decide to stop, rather than having to go out of their way to find them. Plus the ship is lovely.

What I didn't like: The adult pool area. We like to spend a day lounging by the pool in the shade on loungers. Not possible on this ship. And my mom who has some mobility issues could not possibly get into that pool. This is a big deal for our group, but probably a big nothing for a lot of people.

 

[MomOTwins]

We’ve been twice now. After my first sailing I had mixed feelings but still overall positive. After sailing twice it is now my favorite ship.

Promenade deck is one of my favorite features. The views from the front of the ship are stunning, though I’d understand if I was mobility impaired and couldn’t use the stairs to get there that would be a downgrade.

Dinner shows are well done, but if you hate dinner shows of any kind it may make sense to book Palo one of the nights. I will say the meal we had at 1923 was actually better than Palo dinner—my favorite menu of any disney ship.

The ship is beautiful. The lobby always takes my breath away. Everything from the wallpaper in the elevators, the lighting fixtures, the artwork in the staterooms and common areas the theaters—they are works of art.

Lack of 3 elevator banks was not a big deal. There are more elevators in each bank, so you spend less time waiting at the cost of a few extra steps, which we felt was well worth it.

Yes the adult pool deck area is small, but has lovely views. Chip n dale pool was a nice option if you want somewhere peaceful—though not adult only, it was very quiet even on a sea day when the other pools were packed as most people don’t seem to know it is there. The adult lounges are also a step up on the Wish. The Rose is just stunning with floor to ceiling ocean views, but all the lounges had great theming and excellent drinks. Loved that the lounges are spread around the ship instead if stuck in one interior corner of one floor—made grabbing a cocktail before dinner or a show much more pleasant.

 

[dad of 3 addicted to DCL]

We've done 3 Wish cruises, the first was her 3rd overall cruise. Much has improved since they launched. Wish is different than the Fab 4, but not necessarily bad. I agree, the original elevator buttons were a nightmare. I was 'that guy' who accidentally triggered every floor when trying to be considerate and backing up to squeeze a family in. When we figured out where everything is, we quite like the ship. It's a vanilla vs. chocolate discussion for us; and we like both.

I will say, that it was a horrible design flaw for the aft elevators being staggered as to their topmost floor when that's the easiest way to get to the Rose/Enchante/Palo. We don't mind taking the stairs to work off some of the desserts, but when we're going to the upcharge restaurants, my wife isn't a fan of stairs in her heels and playing elevator shuffle is a PITA.