Dream or Wish

[msmitten]

Hi All,
My family is in the process of planning a December 2024 cruise. This will be our first cruise/Disney Cruise. We've narrowed our options down to a 4-night trip on the Wish or a 5-night trip on the Dream. There are obvious pros and cons to each ship. The idea of the Wish's rooms being so much newer appeals to me, but I've seen some negative feedback as well.
Any advice would be appreciated!

 

[jdb in AZ]

Hi All,
My family is in the process of planning a December 2023 cruise. This will be our first cruise/Disney Cruise. We've narrowed our options down to a 4-night trip on the Wish or a 5-night trip on the Dream. There are obvious pros and cons to each ship. The idea of the Wish's rooms being so much newer appeals to me, but I've seen some negative feedback as well.
Any advice would be appreciated!

Do you mean December 2024? I'd go with a five day cruise. Anything shorter is too short -- you just get to know your way around the ship and it's time to go home.

 

[lilmc]

5 night Dream no question. Longer is always better and I love the Dream and Fantasy. I’d be hard pressed to get back on the Wish

 

[loislane]

I'd opt for the 5 night on the Dream. Aside from liking the adult area better on the Dream, it's the extra night that would really convince me.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I'd always choose the longer cruise.

 

[ladyofthetramp]

5-on the Dream would be my choice

 

[MomOTwins]

The dream sails out of ft lauderdale and the wish sails out of port canaveral. Does that make a difference to you? Where we leave it is much easier and cheaper to fly into orlando than ft lauderdale, but if you are driving it might not matter. One other bug difference is you can talk on a day or two at WDW in orlando if that appeals to you.

 

[RedHead0186]

I almost always pick the longer itinerary. But @momoftwins brought up a great point about departure port; you might want to take that into consideration.

 

[auntlynne]

I would pick the 5-night Dream with a stop at Castaway Cay and at Lighthouse Point. Many cruisers stay onboard in Nassau, so I don’t factor that into my choice.

Lighthouse Point is a new development on the Southern end of Eleuthera Island in the Bahamas; sailings to it begin Summer 2024.

If considering the cruises closer to Christmas, I would take budget into consideration.

Disney does a nice job on maintaining their ships. Unless you are the type who just needs newer, the Dream delivers a representative Disney cruise.

Ft Lauderdale is a nice airport / hotel / distance to port situation.

 

[JM_97]

I'd go with the 5 night Dream. One night longer and I like that class of ships the best.

 

[DWillowBay]

No matter the ship, more is better. That being said, I would also choose the Dream. Great ship!

 

[ShaneDJ]

Dream 100%!

 

[Husker Mike]

Hi All,
My family is in the process of planning a December 2024 cruise. This will be our first cruise/Disney Cruise. We've narrowed our options down to a 4-night trip on the Wish or a 5-night trip on the Dream. There are obvious pros and cons to each ship. The idea of the Wish's rooms being so much newer appeals to me, but I've seen some negative feedback as well.
Any advice would be appreciated!

Most rooms on the Wish are slightly smaller in terms of square footage than comparable rooms on the Dream/Fantasy. For example, the verandah rooms are 246/299 on the Dream and 243/284 square feet on the Wish.

Look at photos to see if the design of the rooms matters to you. The Dream/Fantasy have more stained wood than the Wish, which has more painted surfaces and lighter wood. If you are big into the Disney creative, the rooms on the Wish have more Disney art in your room.

Personally, I would join the crowd recommending the 5 nights over the 4 nights. Longer vacation...and to me, nicer rooms make this an easy choice.

 

[HairyChest]

Wish. It’s BEAUTIFUL. Ive been on the dream and had a wonderful time BUT the food was horrible and I dont feel like I need to go back on it. I hear the wish has better food, especially the mickey bbq and pizza. 4 nights is a good amount of time.

And if pictures and videos of the wish rooms, hallways ( I LOVE the colors) , all the amazing art and spaces speak to you, but you end up booking the Dream, you will have this nagging thought in the back of your mind about how the Wish would’ve been had you booked that.

The qualms about the ship is basically the layout, and its all from people who have cruised a ton and have gotten used to certain designs. For a newcomer, the Wish wont show those minor layout differences.

The one thing I will say that deserves recognition is the beauty and the beast show on the Dream. I dont think the ariel (from third hand accounts)or aladdin ( saw it at california adventure years ago) show are as good.

Besides, if people prefer the other ships and find them superior, wouldnt it make sense to start with the wish and move “up”?

I say book the newest and most beautiful ship.

 

[J i m]

Hi All,
My family is in the process of planning a December 2024 cruise. This will be our first cruise/Disney Cruise. We've narrowed our options down to a 4-night trip on the Wish or a 5-night trip on the Dream. There are obvious pros and cons to each ship. The idea of the Wish's rooms being so much newer appeals to me, but I've seen some negative feedback as well.
Any advice would be appreciated!

On night four on the Wish you will say....I wish I booked the five day. Dream for five all day every day. Don't listen to the negative noise DCL cruises are something special....all of them.

 

[NephieRN]

Longer is always better on DCL. There’s no bad ship. Sure we all have our favorites and least favorites, but to someone who has never sailed DCL, you more than likely won’t be bothered by the things that make other people dislike certain ships. That being said, the wish is my least favorite so I will always recommend other ships over it unless it happens to be the longer sailing.

 

[sponica]

FLL isn't a direct destination for us, so Port Canaveral sailings generally win out for us.

 

[Mom2Anna&Elsa]

I was faced with this exact scenario for our spring break 2024 cruise. We opted for the 5 night Dream. While I think the food looks better on the Wish, I opted for 1 extra night for about the same price. I also like the adult area better on the Dream.

We have to fly in from Indy to either MCO or FLL so that didn't really matter for us. I do appreciate that the distance from the airport to our hotel and to the port is so close together in Fort Lauderdale.

I'll know in a few months whether we made the right decision. I think having two sea days will be so nice.

 

[OpieDoodle]

Personally I'm always the longer the trip the better for me. We switched from the Wish 3 night to the Dream 5 night this past Nov. Same price better itinerary. Easy choice. I wanted to see the new ship but not that bad LOL!

 

[meliscan]

I vote for the Dream. We cruised the Wish but it has been my least favorite ship. The Dream's sister ship the Fantasy is my fave. (2nd Magic, 3rd Wish).
I would also vote for the longer cruise. The more time to spend on the boat the better!