I find the gatekeeping of what is a valid review, such as saying the reasons someone didn't like the ship are nitpicky or the making up of motivations, such as, "it just isn't what they are used to," off-putting. Particularly from people who openly admit they haven't even sailed on the Wish yet.
First, this isn't some low-grade cheap cruise. People have every right to be nitpicky when spending this kind of money. And just because something isn't important to you, doesn't mean it isn't important to others. We all have little things that make us happy when cruising. I'm sure there are small things that you would miss if they were changed or gone that others wouldn't even blink at. The bottom line is that people are spending a ridiculous amount of money to sail
DCL, and even more to sail this particular ship. It's reasonable to have very high expectations, even for the small details.
Second, there were things that worked really well on the previous ships or that work really well on other lines, that were not used in the Wish's design, without better alternatives. Most people aren't bothered by new things when there is a genuine improvement, or at least a really good reason for the change. But there appears to be many design choices that simply don't make sense or are downgrades from previous ships. It appears that Disney could have done new, without missing some of the stuff cruisers know and love too.
Third, I think we were all ready for some huge design changes. We wanted to be blown away with Disney's innovation and creativity. But it appears Disney cut corners, didn't really understand what guests loved about DCL, and built a superficially pretty ship (depending on taste) without any real innovation at all. Even much of the stuff Disney made look innovative and exciting in marketing seems to be pretty dull in implementation. I suspect nearly all DCL returning customers would have welcomed a very different ship if it was an improvement over previous ships.
I think sharing an alternative viewpoint, particularly if you have actually sailed the Wish, is perfectly valid. So is arguing why you think your subjective opinion makes more sense - for example, arguing the extra space gained for the restaurants was worth giving up the traditional promenade deck. But dismissing subjective opinions as somehow invalid by assigning labels or inferior motivation isn't very helpful. I think most reviewers are grown adults who are entitled to their opinion and would know if the only reason they didn't like it was because it wasn't a copy of previous ships.
All that said, I would love to try the Wish for myself one day if she ever sails longer itineraries. But I have my suspicions that some huge mistakes were made in her design. I welcome the many different reviews. and hope those who sail the Wish feel welcome to share future reviews here, even if they are negative.
P.S. Good design wouldn't require most guests to constantly consult a map just to take a stroll. It would come naturally. Sure - if you want to find a specific thing for the first or second time, but not just to experience the ship organically, which appears to be very hard from all accounts. A hallmark of good design is simplicity. It's a real talent to keep things simple and amazing at the same time. It's much easier to make things complex because you just dump everything in without regard to what the actual experience will be like.
Edited to fix typos (I'm sure there are more)
