Disney Wish - First-time Cruise - Ask us anything!

[stuffandfluff]

Hey all!
I'm sure threads like this have been done to death, but my mom and I just got back from our first-ever cruise on the Disney Wish, and we would love to discuss and answer any questions you guys have!

Some info:
- It was a 3-night cruise
- We did our Covid testing the day before we left on the cruise (on Thursday for a Friday night embarkation) from our Disney hotel room
- We had a room on deck 6 with a bump-out verandah
- We managed to book Hyperspace Lounge in the Family time-slot for our third day right when we got on the ship and tried the two mocktails
- We tried all three rotational dining locations as well as Festival of Foods and Marceline Market
- We got a massage at Senses Spa
- We saw both The Little Mermaid and Seas the Adventure
- We attended the Royal Gathering
- We rode the AquaMouse and went in the pools for a bit
- We experienced Castaway Cay
- Purchased 24-hour on-board wifi (the posting package) for our last day

Overall, we loved the Wish. We had nothing to compare it to from any company, so I can't speak to the new changes, but overall, we were able to find our way around pretty easily the whole time and had a lot of fun! We would love to answer any questions about what we thought about the Wish and about cruising in general, our experiences and our advice for first-time cruisers (especially on the Wish)!

Edit: We also managed to get a private table!

 

[I Run Long]

Did you and your mum go to the adults only area at the aft of the ship? I've been reading that people are saying that it is confusing to get to and that there is no direct path, as such, to that area. My DH and I love to go to the Cove Cafe so this is one of the things I was wondering about. Oh, and how did you make your reservation for the Hyperspace Lounge? TIA and I'm so glad you have a fabulous time!

 

[stuffandfluff]

Did you and your mum go to the adults only area at the aft of the ship? I've been reading that people are saying that it is confusing to get to and that there is no direct path, as such, to that area. My DH and I love to go to the Cove Cafe so this is one of the things I was wondering about. Oh, and how did you make your reservation for the Hyperspace Lounge? TIA and I'm so glad you have a fabulous time!

Thanks so much! Unfortunately, we didn't go to the adults-only area. I can say that we never even stumbled upon it, so that might speak to both its difficulty to get to, but also its distance to prevent people from just wandering by.

We managed to make our reservation for Hyperspace Lounge through the app. At first, we tried going to Luna Lounge and waiting in line to talk to a cast member, but the line was massive and very slow. Thankfully, someone in another line mentioned that they were able to use the app, so I went under "Book Reservations" and then "Onboard Fun" and saw the bookings - one for Family (during the day, for people with children) and one for Adult (at night, 21+ only). We managed to quickly get the Family booking, but they went quickly - the woman behind us in line wasn't able to get through and here were only about 3 slots available per day for the Family booking and 2 per day for the Adult one left, but we did manage to get it for day 3 around 2:30 pm. You can book 1 Family and 1 Adult booking total, but we were only able to get the one. If I were to do it again, definitely start checking the app early, at least when you get to the port to see when the bookings become available. Hope this helps!

 

[I Run Long]

Thanks so much! Unfortunately, we didn't go to the adults-only area. I can say that we never even stumbled upon it, so that might speak to both its difficulty to get to, but also its distance to prevent people from just wandering by.

We managed to make our reservation for Hyperspace Lounge through the app. At first, we tried going to Luna Lounge and waiting in line to talk to a cast member, but the line was massive and very slow. Thankfully, someone in another line mentioned that they were able to use the app, so I went under "Book Reservations" and then "Onboard Fun" and saw the bookings - one for Family (during the day, for people with children) and one for Adult (at night, 21+ only). We managed to quickly get the Family booking, but they went quickly - the woman behind us in line wasn't able to get through and here were only about 3 slots available per day for the Family booking and 2 per day for the Adult one left, but we did manage to get it for day 3 around 2:30 pm. You can book 1 Family and 1 Adult booking total, but we were only able to get the one. If I were to do it again, definitely start checking the app early, at least when you get to the port to see when the bookings become available. Hope this helps!

Thank you! That does help alot. I'll be checking that app as soon as I get to the port - would like to experience it at least once. I'll make it my mission to map out the route to the Cove Cafe - LOL

 

[stuffandfluff]

Thank you! That does help alot. I'll be checking that app as soon as I get to the port - would like to experience it at least once. I'll make it my mission to map out the route to the Cove Cafe - LOL

Lol! If it helps, there are open houses for Hyperspace Lounge at least on day 1 and 2, but they don't serve any of the drinks then, and it does tend to be slightly more crowded, but nothing unbearable!

 

[Bestdisdad]

The cove cafe is super easy to get to you just walk up the tiered pool decks and head towards the back . It was never that crowded and you could go in the pool as you pleased . The 1 hot tub was fine hardly anyone ever in there so it was nice and quiet no kids in sight. Can’t stress how awesome the wish really is.

 

[insureman]

The cove cafe is super easy to get to you just walk up the tiered pool decks and head towards the back . It was never that crowded and you could go in the pool as you pleased . The 1 hot tub was fine hardly anyone ever in there so it was nice and quiet no kids in sight. Can’t stress how awesome the wish really is.

Is there a way to get there without walking up steps?

 

[AndreaA]

How crowded was it? No where to sit at the pools, lines everywhere? Or somewhat manageable?

 

[stuffandfluff]

How crowded was it? No where to sit at the pools, lines everywhere? Or somewhat manageable?

The general pools were pretty crowded most days, but we were able to get chairs in the shade pretty often by asking a cast member to bring some extra chairs over for us! We used the pools on Castaway Cay day, and they were much less crowded then - we ended up getting in one of the pools all on our own, but it was one of the shallower pools, so swimming was essentially impossible. The other, deeper pools had folks in them, but not too many - maybe 3-4 people per pool?

 

[Bestdisdad]

Is there a way to get there without walking up steps?

Yes you can take the aft elevators to the deck with the quiet cove and the adult pool area. . If you aren’t able to use stairs . Super easy . It’s right in front of the marceline market and near the aqua mouse. Super easy to navigate.

 

[mama&me]

How were the two mocktails?

 

[stuffandfluff]

How were the two mocktails?

I wasn't the biggest fan of either. I got the Cloud City, and it tasted a lot like pure heavy cream - not much flavor - with orange/tangerine type flavored ice cream on top. This one was the better of the two for me though, but I'm not the biggest fan of orange flavor - but if you mixed it, I bet it would taste like a Creamsicle if you like those! My mom got the Temple Twist and she really enjoyed it! I'm not a fan of ginger either, and this one had that spicy ginger taste, but she thought it was nice, light and refreshing. It had kiwi chunks and popping boba with what we think was green apple flavor!

 

[lynnfitz]

We haven't cruised at all, but love Disney. Thinking of trying the 3 or 4 night cruise next year. 2 questions-did you feel the 3 night was enough time, or would you suggest the 4 night cruise? Also, since we've never cruised, you mentioned you had a private table, do you get seated with other people for dinner?
Thanks! Sounds like you had an awesome time, one more question-did you book on your own, or use a travel agent? I haven't used a TA in years, but was wondering if I should consider for a cruise.
Thanks again!!

 

[stuffandfluff]

We haven't cruised at all, but love Disney. Thinking of trying the 3 or 4 night cruise next year. 2 questions-did you feel the 3 night was enough time, or would you suggest the 4 night cruise? Also, since we've never cruised, you mentioned you had a private table, do you get seated with other people for dinner?
Thanks! Sounds like you had an awesome time, one more question-did you book on your own, or use a travel agent? I haven't used a TA in years, but was wondering if I should consider for a cruise.
Thanks again!!

Of course! We were in the same boat (haha) in that we love Disney, but never cruised before! I would suggest opting for a 4-night cruise. Since we were first-time cruisers, it felt like we were constantly rushing to get to do everything we wanted to do. It would be like doing a short trip for your first Disney World trip - you feel rushed to do everything, and may leave feeling disappointed that you didn't get to do everything!
I believe typically you do get seated with other people at dinner unless you request a private table, which I've heard is pretty easy to get as long as you request ahead of time. Other people may be able to give you more info on what sitting with other people is like, but we also noticed that at some restaurants, like 1923, the tables all seemed pretty small, and it didn't seem like anyone was being seated with others. In contrast, at Arendelle, most tables were long, and could probably fit between 2-3 parties, depending on size.
We used a travel agent because then we knew we were getting everything we needed done. We've also been using a travel agent for our last two Disney World trips, including the one before the cruise, just for the ease, so I would definitely recommend it for a first-time cruise! Hope this helped!

 

[lynnfitz]

Thanks so much, I actually just reached out to Dreams Unlimited for a quote. I also would want a family stateroom with the veranda. Any suggestions? I tried looking around the internet which deck/catagory would be best, a little overwhelming. I did mention that to Dreams Unlimited that I would appreciate what they thought would be a good location. Any opinions on that? thanks!!

 

[stuffandfluff]

Thanks so much, I actually just reached out to Dreams Unlimited for a quote. I also would want a family stateroom with the veranda. Any suggestions? I tried looking around the internet which deck/catagory would be best, a little overwhelming. I did mention that to Dreams Unlimited that I would appreciate what they thought would be a good location. Any opinions on that? thanks!!

Sure! We loved our verandah, and it was the bump-out kind. I know that some other people said it felt like they could see into other people's verandahs and vice versa, and my mom said she saw other people leaning out on their verandahs a few times, but we didn't think it felt bothersome or like we were out in the open. We were on deck 6 with a Cinderella theme - each floor has about 1-2 themed rooms depending on the type of room, I believe. I'm not sure of all of them off the top of my head, but I'm sure someone has them all written down somewhere!
Unfortunately, I can't speak to other types of rooms or categories. I can tell you that our room was probably close to the middle of the ship, where we were about equal distance from both elevators, and the walk from both sides wasn't too bad! I can see if someone was way towards the aft or forward parts of the ship, it might be troublesome getting from the elevators on the opposite side of the ship, unless you remembered to get on the closer elevator each time.
I can also say that we were worried when getting deck 6, as many people warned that it might be loud, being above a MDR, some of the lounges, the gym, and a kids club, but we didn't hear any noise at any time from anything above, below or around us! My mom also pointed out that deck 6 was great, because it was close to everything, so we could frequently take the stairs to events or down to the atrium. Another reason we chose a lower deck is because we heard that the further down you are, the less you feel the rocking of the ship. I don't know how true that was, because we never felt seasick at all, even when on upper decks, but for what it's worth, we slept very well!

 

[SnappySerape]

I also stayed on Deck 6 and I agree with everything stuffandfluff said. I'm in my 30s and took the stairs after every show (avoiding elevator crowds) or if i needed to jaunt down to Luna or Triton to lose at trivia lol. I was forward so it was great to exit the elevator right at the Festival of Foods! The only thing I'll add is that my balcony felt like it sat right above the outside promenade deck. I could overhear talking when I sat out there and I'm sure they could hear me talking too (I'll admit that I can be a bit of a loud talker sometimes) so just keep that in mind. I personally really liked being forward because of the access to the lounges/theaters/Festival of Foods. If you prioritize access Marceline Market and the dining rooms, aft rooms might be a better choice (of course this is just a cruise ship so it's not too far of a walk but since we're just chatting). I was on a 4 nighter and did not feel any up and down movement in the room like one would in a forward-ish stateroom. My room was also above the Senses gym and I didn't hear a thing. If you prefer easy hero zone/Aquamouse/Festival of Foods access, you might want to stay on deck 9 or 10! You can technically watch the fireworks from your balcony if you stay on the right side of the ship but you'll miss the show and music.

 

[lynnfitz]

Thanks everyone, really appreciate all your help!!

 

[auntlynne]

Did you catch the cruising bug? Or is it a one-and-done?

 

[datavortex]

One thing I wasn't able to find anywhere - what time were your fireworks? Did they conflict with the main theater show that evening?