First sailing on the Wish

[Cheburashka]

We just completed our first sailing on the Wish. It was my 13th cruise, and I've sailed on all of the other 4 ships. I was hesitant to sail the Wish because I didn't like some things described in the reviews, but for various reasons it was the best cruise option for this particular trip, so I booked it concierge to make it extra nice and went in with a positive attitude. Here are the pros and cons of the Wish from my perspective:

Pros:
It's a beautiful ship with lots of imaginative and attractive decor.

The interior of Marceline Market is better decorated than Cabanas on the Fab Four ships (food is the same).

Marceline Market offers individual seating with a view out to sea.

The kids club entrance design and slide are fantastic.

The concierge lounge is great.

The concierge character meet was great.

The shower/tub is much prettier than the shower/tubs on the Fab Four.

The 1923 restaurant was nice.

The upcharge candy/ice cream shop looked great. (Didn't eat there, as they ran out of cookies & cream when I wanted some on the first night.)

The single, large, pleasant laundry room on the Wish is a big improvement over the several small humid ones on DCL's other ships.

We had to visit the Health Center at one point of the cruise, and it was a nice experience.

The greater variety of pool deck food was great, especially Mickey's Smokestack Barbecue.

All of our meals were good.

All of the service we received was good.

Cons:
The exterior design of Marceline Market is pretty blah.

On one side, guests have to walk through a candy shop-themed hallway to get into Marceline Market. Way to get the kids begging their parents to buy them candy and upcharge ice cream.

The magnetized closet doors require a bit of effort to open.

The stateroom toilet bathroom is so tiny that I repeatedly bumped my head on the doorknob when using it (I'm 5'7" and in good shape, btw).

Our shower had only middling water pressure- don't know how common this is. It took a bit of work to wash my hair.

The public area bathrooms weren't as unique and pretty as on the Fab Four ships.

Luna isn't as well designed or as cheerful as D Lounge or Fathoms.

The AquaMouse is okay, but not as good as the AquaDuck. Also, the yellow spiral slide isn't as good as the one on the Magic (too slow).

The displayed artwork on the Fab Four ships is better.

The muster drill horn had a higher pitch than on the Fab Four ships, and was therefore more painful to hear.

The lack of midship elevators was a pain.

Elevator access to concierge floors was a pain.

The layout of the ship was poorly designed in some areas, making getting around tedious at times.

The lack of a single-deck wraparound promenade was unfortunate.

The virtual scavenger hunt had features and animation that were simplistic and lame compared to Midship Detective Agency, and you also had to use your own phone for it.

Palo wasn't laid out or decorated as nicely as on the Fab Four ships. (The food was just as good.)

The staterooms had tons of open shelves rather than drawers. Unless you bring tons of decor, you're going to have a view of many empty shelves and/or shelves filled with nondecorative personal items from home that are best kept in drawers.

The stateroom decor was mostly plain. I missed the overt maritime theming of staterooms on the Fab Four ships.

There were so many fewer windows to the ocean in public areas. It was easy to forget you were sailing, and instead feel like you were staying at a Disney resort on land.

The food offerings in cases at the concierge lounge were only so-so.

The concierge lounge advertises nightly "Dessert Treats" from 9 - 10 on the handout in your stateroom. When we went, they only had cookies (the same ones that had been in the cases all day) and truffles. When I asked the concierge about the advertised dessert treats, he said those were the dessert treats. Very lame.

The concierge sun deck jacuzzi is barely warm- not a real hot tub.

Overall lack of hot tubs and significant adult areas.

The Guest Survey was very long, had to be completed on our phones, and we ended up not finishing it due to a glitch.

Too many high end jewelry and watch shops, too few normal merchandise shops.

 

[mmouse37]

Pretty much what we experienced on the Wish (less Concierge info as we didn't do Concierge). I did like my second cruise on the Wish much better than my first (I think I got over my initial reaction of the Wish not being exactly like the others).

MJ

 

[OKW Lover]

Thanks for the review! We've sailed on the Wish twice, once in Concierge and once in a regular stateroom. I'd generally agree with most of the OP's comments. Others not so much but that just reflects different likes/dislikes and day-to-day variables so I won't enumerate further.

 

[dreamer17555]

Would you do another sailing on the Wish?

 

[Kwami]

The Guest Survey was very long, had to be completed on our phones, and we ended up not finishing it due to a glitch.

There are no paper surveys at all? On previous sailings, I had the usual paper survey that goes into a box on the way to breakfast and a much, much longer phone survey. I don't always get the second one, though.

 

[sponica]

There are no paper surveys at all? On previous sailings, I had the usual paper survey that goes into a box on the way to breakfast and a much, much longer phone survey. I don't always get the second one, though.

We didn't get a paper survey just the QR code, but I didn't read the fine print that said it had to be completed on board.

 

[DCLMP]

I just completed my second sailing on the Wish. I wanted to give it a second try. I still didn't like it. I won't say I won't every sail on her again or any of the new ships, but it would have to be a really good price to get me back on a Triton class ship.

I agree with most of what OP stated, but I would also include the shear number of people and the lack of space. The adult area is just awful. The lack of walking deck is a deal breaker for me. Concierge area does look nice though. I think the best thing about the ship is the laundry room. It would be a great ship for a long European cruise just for the laundry room alone.

 

[tom1944]

This will be our first cruise ever so I wonder what we might not like and what we will love since we have nothing to compare it to

 

[Girl of the South]

"The stateroom toilet bathroom is so tiny that I repeatedly bumped my head on the doorknob when using it (I'm 5'7" and in good shape, btw)."

HOW do you hit your head on a doorknob getting off a toilet? Is the toilet right next to the door into it? Is it still split baths?

 

[tom1944]

"The stateroom toilet bathroom is so tiny that I repeatedly bumped my head on the doorknob when using it (I'm 5'7" and in good shape, btw)."

HOW do you hit your head on a doorknob getting off a toilet? Is the toilet right next to the door into it? Is it still split baths?

It is split baths.

 

[tidefan]

It is split baths.

Unless you are in an inside stateroom. Ours on the Wish was noticeably smaller than the ones on the Magic/Wonder.

 

[Kwami]

I agree with most of what OP stated, but I would also include the shear number of people and the lack of space.

The guest capacity on the Wish is the same as on the Dream and Fantasy, but the ship is a bit larger. So, I don't understand this complaint.

 

[tom1944]

Unless you are in an inside stateroom. Ours on the Wish was noticeably smaller than the ones on the Magic/Wonder.

I was not aware. I watched a video on the room we booked and they were split

 

[DCLMP]

The guest capacity on the Wish is the same as on the Dream and Fantasy, but the ship is a bit larger. So, I don't understand this complaint.

The layout of ship makes a difference in how crowded it feels. I've been on ships bigger than the Wish that absorbed the crowds better.

 

[CamColt]

Unfortunately, the comment card is going to be on the phone for all ships. We were on the floor (8) that tested it out on the Dream back in April, didn't do it then and wrote an email. We just got off the Fantasy where it was the only option for all rooms. We made it known we would not do it on the phone and were given paper to write and recognize CMS, which we did. We had met the hotel director (manager? I forget the title) earlier in the cruise and she saw us dropping it off as we were leaving so we nicely mentioned it to her too.

While the phone may be easier for some it is not for all. For years it has been drilled into our heads how important this survey is, and now they made it harder to do IMO.

 

[BStieers]

The guest capacity on the Wish is the same as on the Dream and Fantasy, but the ship is a bit larger. So, I don't understand this complaint.

The spaces are divided up in odd ways, and it feels like a lot more space is dedicated to high end shopping & the spa

 

[ShaneDJ]

Cons:

The lack of midship elevators was a pain.

The layout of the ship was poorly designed in some areas, making getting around tedious at times.

The lack of a single-deck wraparound promenade was unfortunate.

The bad design of:

(a) No midship elevator stack, and
(b) No wraparound walking/jogging path on the promenade deck

...are the biggest misses with the Wish and the Triton-class ships.

It's not fixable until a new design and new class of ships.

 

[tidefan]

I was not aware. I watched a video on the room we booked and they were split

 

[cvjw]

Is there any shade in the adults only area? We sail on the fantasy and spend the week reading at satellite falls and walking on deck 4 every afternoon. We are very hesitant to try the Wish.

 

[Cheburashka]

Would you do another sailing on the Wish?

I wouldn't seek out the Wish over other DCL ships, but I would sail her again if she were all that worked for my schedule and itinerary demands. She's a beautiful ship and it was a good cruise. I just like DCL's other ships better.