Disney Wish - Good, Bad, Ugly

[Karin1984]

I guess I don't follow. There are no midship elevators, so you don't have to go very far from wherever you are. And I don't know what side doesn't have elevators. They aren't really side-specific.

Sorry, I meant forward/mid/aft can also be considered a side.
I had a look at the deck plans, if you are on level 6 aft, and you want to go to 11 aft, you go 6 aft -> 6 mid, up to 11, and then 11 mid -> 11 aft. Instead of 6 aft up to 11 aft.

 

[dianagisme]

Sorry, I meant forward/mid/aft can also be considered a side.
I had a look at the deck plans, if you are on level 6 aft, and you want to go to 11 aft, you go 6 aft -> 6 mid, up to 11, and then 11 mid -> 11 aft. Instead of 6 aft up to 11 aft.

Are you discussing the Wish elevators? The wish doesn't have mid elevators. So if you are 6 aft you would go to the 6 aft elevator and take it up to 11 aft.

 

[Karin1984]

Are you discussing the Wish elevators? The wish doesn't have mid elevators. So if you are 6 aft you would go to the 6 aft elevator and take it up to 11 aft.

When I look at the deck plans there are elevators between forward and mid, and between mid and aft.

 

[dianagisme]

When I look at the deck plans there are elevators between forward and mid, and between mid and aft.

Oh I see, you mean that you would have to walk towards the midship if you were way in aft. I feel like the two banks would be overall more convenient for me the way they are placed because it separates the ship in thirds and if you are in the midship you could walk halfway either way to the elevators. I tend to never use the midship elevators anyways because they are always the ones that are packed after shows and dinner. I'm sailing in 32 days so I guess I will find out then

 

[slindamood]

Thanks for the thorough review!
Too bad about the lack of cabinet/clothes storage spaces. That surprised me when I saw photos and hoped there would be more elsewhere. I will bring the collapsible hanging shelves that we use in DVC closets. Never needed them for DCL.

 

[mamaburrito]

It seems like they had too many ideas for the Wish and couldn’t self edit.

 

[Sykes]

Every relatively modern cruise ship I've been on (i.e. launched in about the last 10 years) has swapped to two main elevator banks rather than three. Having fewer banks of higher capacity elevators is quite efficient when executed properly--it tends to manage surges of passengers when shows let out, etc., although it is far from guaranteed that it will be executed well. We were quite happy with the arrangement on the Celebrity Edge with 13 main passenger decks where the destinations where pretty much everyone was going to the same 5 decks, but the layout on the MSC Seashore was much more awkward with a fair bit more waiting (I suspect because people tended to be visiting a lot more decks).

 

[Calantha]

. I will bring the collapsible hanging shelves that we use in DVC closets

Oh good idea!

 

[BK2014]

Adult only area was a nice upgrade.

Can you explain what was better about the adult only area?

 

[DCL_Family]

Can you explain what was better about the adult only area?

The infinity pool overlooking the aft was amazing. The adult area seating had lots of plush loungers and oversized plush rockers with several circular loungers. Placing the adult area as far aft as possible prevents kids and teens from walking through the area to get to staterooms and elevators like the other ships.

 

[0FF TO NEVERLAND]

Hi, long time lurker, first time poster. Just got off cast preview cruise and wanted to share some thoughts. We have been on multiple preview cruises as well as post-dry dock shake down cruises so we were fully aware services and amenities might not available and did not take that into consideration in this review. This is strictly based on our experience.


The Good
- The Ship is beautiful and the best way I can describe it is comparing to WDW Resorts. If the previous cruise ships were like the Yacht Club, the Wish would be like the Beach Club and Grand Floridian had a baby, less of the darker teak wood and more of the lighter colors (whites, blues, greens).
- We loved the layout of the pool deck with multiple tiers of pools all with great views of the improved, higher resolution funnel vision. Much more capacity to play in the water. We were not able to use the Mickey Pool or the Chip and Dale Pool during the cruise. Adult only area was a nice upgrade.
- The quick service food was amazing. We have never been a fan of the pool food areas but the Tacos, Pizza and BBQ were great! Goofy's grill was on par with rest of the ships with burgers, hot dogs, fries, etc.
- Kids clubs were great. Each section can be partitioned from the regular club for character meet and greats. So you can enter the Marvel or Star Wars room from the public hallway and have character photos while secured activities happened in the rest of the club.
- We liked the stateroom bathrooms, the nightlight is an upgrade, switches are now in the bathroom and not in the entryway so no more accidentally turning on cabin lights in the dark. Shower has a glass door and makes the area feel more open.
- Outlets in the stateroom, multiple USB and USB-C connections, never had a problem keeping things charged.
- Main restaurants both the theming and the shows (Marvel and Frozen) were wonderful and an improvement over the previous ships. Food was about the same as the other ships.
- Pirate Deck party, we enjoyed the live show and fireworks were great.
- Marceline Market was an upgrade to Cabanas, loved the World cuisine section with pot stickers, crab rangoon, and curry chicken/lamb
- We did not experience Hyperspace lounge when it was open but you can walk in and take pictures and look out the "windows" as you jump between galaxies
- Aquamouse was just OK. The show was cute but we prefer the aquaduck. We did like the raft which has a back rest.
- The crew was great as always

The Bad
- Overall stateroom design is a concern. Decor is great but lake of cabinets and drawers made unpacking hard. Too much unused shelf space that should have been cabinets. Lack of hangers, we are use to around 20 hangers and probably had around 10, most clothes were kept folded and stacked in closet on shelf.
- Stateroom TV - We prefer the smaller TV with the adjustable arm. The TV is flush mounted and cannot be moved. When our son was younger we would move the TV on the other side of the curtain so we can watch it. Recently we have let him watch it and we go to sleep. It can be viewed from the couch but had to leave the curtain half open.
- The ship layout made it hard to get from point A to point B. Only two elevators, one forward and aft so missing the midship elevator. Trying to get to Cove cafe is a hike since you need to walk around the complete aft section (aquamouse blocks more direct access)
- Shopping was hit or miss, the higher end watch and jewelry shop were very spacious and mostly empty. Mickey's Mainsail is long and narrow and gets congested quickly with lines going outside the door


The Ugly
- The elevators...mentioned earlier the lack of three elevators but it was the "touch" sensors that caused the problem. It's great in theory to reduce a high traffic touch-point but most elevator rides that were halfway full had people inadvertently setting off multiple floors when they stood too close to the buttons. Be prepared to make extra and unnecessary stops.


Did not experience - Palo and Echante, Senses Spa, Main Theater Shows were not performed publicly, Disney Uncharted Adventure was not available


Overall we had more positives than negatives but we did not have the "Wow Factor" like we did when the Dream Class came out.

As someone who has never cruised period, will I be wowed? Lol

 

[JWelch62]

To me the biggest drawback is the available itineraries. I would love to try out the Wish, but I am not a fan of 3N/4N cruises. I prefer 7N. Hopefully when the ship-to-be-named-later arrives in 2024 it will sail longer itineraries.

 

[Kwami]

To me the biggest drawback is the available itineraries. I would love to try out the Wish, but I am not a fan of 3N/4N cruises. I prefer 7N. Hopefully when the ship-to-be-named-later arrives in 2024 it will sail longer itineraries.

You could always do a 3N+4N combo cruise. Before the Wish, doing the 3N+4N combo on the Dream was usually about the same price as a 7N on the Fantasy. The downsides are that you get the same menus twice, the same entertainment twice, and the same ports twice. But, maybe it's worth it on a new ship? I accidentally ended up doing a 4N+3N combo on the Dream back in February and I enjoyed it a lot more than I expected to, despite the repeating bits.

 

[JWelch62]

You could always do a 3N+4N combo cruise. Before the Wish, doing the 3N+4N combo on the Dream was usually about the same price as a 7N on the Fantasy. The downsides are that you get the same menus twice, the same entertainment twice, and the same ports twice. But, maybe it's worth it on a new ship? I accidentally ended up doing a 4N+3N combo on the Dream back in February and I enjoyed it a lot more than I expected to, despite the repeating bits

It's a combination of the available itineraries and the length. Just not a fan.

I was really hoping to do the 9N southern last year, but Covid took care of those plans for me.

 

[RadekBonk]

The infinity pool overlooking the aft was amazing. The adult area seating had lots of plush loungers and oversized plush rockers with several circular loungers. Placing the adult area as far aft as possible prevents kids and teens from walking through the area to get to staterooms and elevators like the other ships.

The biggest test of these areas, in my opinion, is a full ship. The adults-only deck area looked crowded during the media preview. Now imagine it with thousands of additional guests. I'm reserving judgement, but we'll see how it holds up.

 

[Kwami]

The biggest test of these areas, in my opinion, is a full ship. The adults-only deck area looked crowded during the media preview. Now imagine it with thousands of additional guests. I'm reserving judgement, but we'll see how it holds up.

If you look at the deck plans, though, the adult area is actually very large. It wraps around on both sides of deck 13. Port side, it only goes to where the Aqua Mouse boards, but starboard side, it goes all the way past the aft elevators to the edge of the deck, overlooking the pools on deck 12. And then there's some extra space on deck 14, too.

The pool looks kind of small, but the overall area doesn't.

 

[Karin1984]

As someone who has never cruised period, will I be wowed? Lol

I think yes. Depends of course on what you expect. But the scale of a cruiseship is hard to imagine if you have never stood next to one. I think most people will be in awe when they board. Just the thought of all of this, with pools, restaurants, theaters, floating on the sea, it's like realizing what kind of mechanical wonder mankind is capable of.

And it is a great way of vacationing where everyone can have the vacation they want. You want to relax and lay by the pool, you can. You want to be entertained every minute of the day (except after midnight ), you can.

I do think you can have this experience on any of the Disney ships, not necessarily the Wish.

The only Disney fans I think who will not like it, if you are a coaster junkie. Otherwise go in with an open mind and relax.

 

[Cheburashka]

The elevators...mentioned earlier the lack of three elevators but it was the "touch" sensors that caused the problem. It's great in theory to reduce a high traffic touch-point but most elevator rides that were halfway full had people inadvertently setting off multiple floors when they stood too close to the buttons. Be prepared to make extra and unnecessary stops.

Ugh, this will be awful when the ship is filled with families. I think DCL will eventually change this because it will become problematic.

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

To me the biggest drawback is the available itineraries. I would love to try out the Wish, but I am not a fan of 3N/4N cruises. I prefer 7N. Hopefully when the ship-to-be-named-later arrives in 2024 it will sail longer itineraries.

This is what is still holding me back, otherwise I would have already booked a Halloween cruise on the Wish. I could go the rest of my life and never step foot in Nassau again and I would be delighted, and I don't honestly care about Castaway Cay either. But they've figured out that they sell more merch and probably drinks too on the shorter cruises with more turnover.

 

[Kwami]

This is what is still holding me back, otherwise I would have already booked a Halloween cruise on the Wish. I could go the rest of my life and never step foot in Nassau again and I would be delighted, and I don't honestly care about Castaway Cay either. But they've figured out that they sell more merch and probably drinks too on the shorter cruises with more turnover.

Well, and the 3- and 4-night cruises are more affordable then longer cruises. The 3-night cruises are also over a long weekend, which makes them possible for people that can't or don't want to use up vacation time for a cruise. And, some people actually just like the shorter cruises.