lostprincess_danie
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Apr 16, 2019
- Messages
- 234
My family (me, DH and DD) were on the Sep 26th Wish cruise that was delayed at sea two extra days due to hurricane Ian. It was our first cruise ever. Husband and I are regular Disney World park-goers and it has always been one of my favorite destinations. But after experiencing what DCL offers followed by a very lackluster and frustrating few days at WDW we have been converted to the cruising way of vacationing!
I will get into details below, but in summary, if you are trying to decide between a trip to the world or a trip at sea - book the cruise!
Our original plan was fly into MCO Sunday, embark Monday for 4-nights on the Disney Wish, debark Friday and head to CBR, do 3 days of parks and fly back home Wednesday. As you cruise board members know, Hurricane Ian had other plans. Due to unsafe conditions at Port Canaveral we were at sea two additional nights. The captain did an amazing job of avoiding rough waters and the entire cruise staff kept us in good spirits. Guest relations was a nightmare (understandably) but we made the best of things and figured we would deal with whatever changes needed to be made once we were back in port.
Things worked out for us eventually, we shifted everything forward for our second part of the trip at the parks. In hindsight, we either should have gone straight home after debarking OR done a few park days BEFORE the cruise. The contrast in our experiences at the parks and on the cruise (at least for us at this time) was jarring.
- Cast & Crew -
On the Wish knew my daugther's name and the names of the friends we were traveling with by night 2. Pleasant greetings and smiles each day. Generally going out of their way to help guests have a nice time. In contrast, the first Cast Member we encountered upon arriving 2 days late to our CBR reservation literally rolled her eyes at us as we explained how we could not modify our stay since we did not have easily accessible phone or internet while out at sea. Then chewed her fingernails and cuticles while on the phone trying to move our reservation. (This is an aside, we were surprised that Disney guest relations on board has no knowledge of guest relations ashore. DCL guest services CMs would have to look up the phone number for WDW resorts, dial it for you then just hand me the phone to wait on hours long hold.)
- Cleanliness/Mousekeeping -
We all probably know where this is going… On the Wish, it was such a calming experience to return to a clean room after a day out enjoying the boat and activities. Our stateroom host even set up multiple bed configurations for our daughter the first night so she could test if she liked top or bottom bunk area better (she chose top). By day 3 at CBR our trash and towel service had been neglected, so I called to request it. Perhaps I am old fashioned but I, as a guest, should not be the one monitoring the overflowing trash can in my resort room. The cast member on the phone asked how many towels I needed and if I needed any trash bags. I told her that I don't know but I hope housekeeping would leave some if we needed them. We came back that evening to a cleaned room but for the rest of the trip no other housekeeping was offered.
- Entertainment & Experiences -
These are very different when comparing cruising to the parks, obviously. But the EASE of finding and participating in entertainment is leaps and bounds more pleasant on the Wish.
DD and I love meeting characters and were able to knock out the main 6 within an hour by walking back and forth to their appearance spots in the Wish atrium. Princesses all done within 30 minutes thanks to the scheduled Royal Court times on board. If we had tried to do all that on our MK park day we would have never done anything else due to how long the lines for characters have become.
Seas the Adventure and Little Mermaid are wonderful shows on the wish (I didn’t care for Aladdin too much but DH liked it). The entertainment during Arendelle dining is also fantastic. And you don’t have to wait in the hot sun for an hour to do these things! Unlike that time later in the week where we thought the carousel wait was 15 minutes and /magically/ turned into 40 by the time we entered the queue.
We enjoy theme park rides but now things are so complicated and crowded at the parks it takes too much effort to enjoy it. I don’t want to have to constantly do wait-time calculations and strategically plan how best to waste my money on LL passes any more.
- Dining -
There is no comparison here. Food was readily available and delicious on the cruise. Plenty of choices for us and the kid. Contrast with the day we spent 40 minutes in line at Woody’s Lunchbox because mobile order times ran out, we got our food then spent another 20 stalking a table just to sit and eat a measly QS lunch.
We booked the future cruise discount offer while on board and hopefully will be sailing with DCL again in 2024. I don’t think we will be back to WDW for a long while and if we do it would only be tacked on as part of a larger trip.
If you have questions about the Wish or more details from our trip, am happy to answer.
I will get into details below, but in summary, if you are trying to decide between a trip to the world or a trip at sea - book the cruise!
Our original plan was fly into MCO Sunday, embark Monday for 4-nights on the Disney Wish, debark Friday and head to CBR, do 3 days of parks and fly back home Wednesday. As you cruise board members know, Hurricane Ian had other plans. Due to unsafe conditions at Port Canaveral we were at sea two additional nights. The captain did an amazing job of avoiding rough waters and the entire cruise staff kept us in good spirits. Guest relations was a nightmare (understandably) but we made the best of things and figured we would deal with whatever changes needed to be made once we were back in port.
Things worked out for us eventually, we shifted everything forward for our second part of the trip at the parks. In hindsight, we either should have gone straight home after debarking OR done a few park days BEFORE the cruise. The contrast in our experiences at the parks and on the cruise (at least for us at this time) was jarring.
- Cast & Crew -
On the Wish knew my daugther's name and the names of the friends we were traveling with by night 2. Pleasant greetings and smiles each day. Generally going out of their way to help guests have a nice time. In contrast, the first Cast Member we encountered upon arriving 2 days late to our CBR reservation literally rolled her eyes at us as we explained how we could not modify our stay since we did not have easily accessible phone or internet while out at sea. Then chewed her fingernails and cuticles while on the phone trying to move our reservation. (This is an aside, we were surprised that Disney guest relations on board has no knowledge of guest relations ashore. DCL guest services CMs would have to look up the phone number for WDW resorts, dial it for you then just hand me the phone to wait on hours long hold.)
- Cleanliness/Mousekeeping -
We all probably know where this is going… On the Wish, it was such a calming experience to return to a clean room after a day out enjoying the boat and activities. Our stateroom host even set up multiple bed configurations for our daughter the first night so she could test if she liked top or bottom bunk area better (she chose top). By day 3 at CBR our trash and towel service had been neglected, so I called to request it. Perhaps I am old fashioned but I, as a guest, should not be the one monitoring the overflowing trash can in my resort room. The cast member on the phone asked how many towels I needed and if I needed any trash bags. I told her that I don't know but I hope housekeeping would leave some if we needed them. We came back that evening to a cleaned room but for the rest of the trip no other housekeeping was offered.
- Entertainment & Experiences -
These are very different when comparing cruising to the parks, obviously. But the EASE of finding and participating in entertainment is leaps and bounds more pleasant on the Wish.
DD and I love meeting characters and were able to knock out the main 6 within an hour by walking back and forth to their appearance spots in the Wish atrium. Princesses all done within 30 minutes thanks to the scheduled Royal Court times on board. If we had tried to do all that on our MK park day we would have never done anything else due to how long the lines for characters have become.
Seas the Adventure and Little Mermaid are wonderful shows on the wish (I didn’t care for Aladdin too much but DH liked it). The entertainment during Arendelle dining is also fantastic. And you don’t have to wait in the hot sun for an hour to do these things! Unlike that time later in the week where we thought the carousel wait was 15 minutes and /magically/ turned into 40 by the time we entered the queue.
We enjoy theme park rides but now things are so complicated and crowded at the parks it takes too much effort to enjoy it. I don’t want to have to constantly do wait-time calculations and strategically plan how best to waste my money on LL passes any more.
- Dining -
There is no comparison here. Food was readily available and delicious on the cruise. Plenty of choices for us and the kid. Contrast with the day we spent 40 minutes in line at Woody’s Lunchbox because mobile order times ran out, we got our food then spent another 20 stalking a table just to sit and eat a measly QS lunch.
We booked the future cruise discount offer while on board and hopefully will be sailing with DCL again in 2024. I don’t think we will be back to WDW for a long while and if we do it would only be tacked on as part of a larger trip.
If you have questions about the Wish or more details from our trip, am happy to answer.
