First Timers - booked Wish early March 3 night. Advice appreciated!

[Disney_David]

We booked a 3 night cruise on the Wish 3/3. Fri-Mon suited our schedule and if we enjoy it we’ll do a longer cruise later in the year.

First time cruisers! DW is mid 40ds, I’m late 40s. We don’t have kids.

Palo can’t be booked. I figure that’s the party of 2 issue I’ve read about. I will try to get that on embarkation day. Other experiences we might do (mixology) are sold out. We’ll catch those next time if we can’t get them on the ship.

We have the second dinner seating.

Our interests would be:

1. Soak in as much of the Disney theming as possible. We are very frequent park goers, so I’d like to see how that translates onto a ship
2. Relax and watch the world go by. DW might do the spa
3. Enjoy some nice food
4. Watch the shows

I’ll try for an early embarkation.

What would you recommend two middle age adults prioritize seeing/doing?

And are there any other tips you’d suggest?

Many thanks!!

 

[Erica1016]

We are a couple, mid-40s and no kids. We have done 6 DCL trips, on all 5 ships. Most recently on the Wish in August. We have never used the spa or eaten in one of the special restaurants (Palo, Remy, etc). We don't buy specialty coffee or partake in alcohol. We LOVE DCL!
We enjoy the shows, various trivia, game shows, etc. Occasionally, we meet a character, but don't go out of our way. And when there's not an activity, people watching and just enjoying the atmosphere is always nice. We've had late dining all but our first cruise and it is our preference - we feel like it lengthens our "eating day" and allows us to get a late afternoon snack, extra ice cream and still have room for dinner.
We also just enjoy talking with cast members and guests and meeting new people. DH is super active and just walks all over the place. Even just doing a stairwell tour (walking up and down the stairs) to admire the artwork is something we enjoy.
I'm sure you'll love it no matter what you do!
Many people have discussed how the adult area on the Wish is small and can get crowded - we don't tend to spend a lot of time in this area generally, but on our Wish cruise, we went there on the morning of Castaway Cay. Most people tend to get off the ship there. We had an early breakfast - fairly normal for us, around 7:30 - and then went to the adult area. We enjoyed the hot tub for about 15-20 minutes and then the infinity pool to ourselves for about 15-20 minutes (plenty of time for us) with a beautiful view of Castaway. Then we got off the ship around 9 am and still had a great time, found seats, enjoyed the beach, etc.

 

[Disney_David]

Thank you! It sounds like we’re alike in many ways, so this is super helpful.

We tend to like a mix of go with the flow with a reasonable amount of planning. Over planning would take the fun out for me, but…reading the posts had me thinking I need to be better prepared.

If we get Palo that’d be great. If not I won’t feel like I’m missing out. We can open a bottle of wine and drink it that night, or 3/4 might sit there for 3 weeks. So dinner/drinks isn’t out top priority. I think it would be shows. I read conflicting posts about timings. Do we see the show and then go for dinner?

Reading the posts has me thinking I need to be well prepared. i.e. “by end of day 2 we just figured out [insert what was figured out] here, and it was nearly time to disembark”.

I’m trying to learn from folks they figured out their “a-ha moments” and not miss it amongst the ocean of information! Like what I did there, lol!

So what should Disney fanatics (enjoy the history, the feeling, characters, less so rides) who are park goers multiple times per week not miss on this cruise?

Thanks

 

[Erica1016]

Thank you! It sounds like we’re alike in many ways, so this is super helpful.

We tend to like a mix of go with the flow with a reasonable amount of planning. Over planning would take the fun out for me, but…reading the posts had me thinking I need to be better prepared.

If we get Palo that’d be great. If not I won’t feel like I’m missing out. We can open a bottle of wine and drink it that night, or 3/4 might sit there for 3 weeks. So dinner/drinks isn’t out top priority. I think it would be shows. I read conflicYes,ting posts about timings. Do we see the show and then go for dinner?

Reading the posts has me thinking I need to be well prepared. i.e. “by end of day 2 we just figured out [insert what was figured out] here, and it was nearly time to disembark”.

I’m trying to learn from folks they figured out their “a-ha moments” and not miss it amongst the ocean of information! Like what I did there, lol!

So what should Disney fanatics (enjoy the history, the feeling, characters, less so rides) who are park goers multiple times per week not miss on this cruise?

Thanks

Yes, you'll go to the earlier show and then dinner. There's usually a bit of time between, sometimes we dress for dinner before the show and sometimes we go back and change into "dinner" clothes in between. This often depends on if we've seen anything on the schedule that we want to do between show and dinner.

If there is a ship tour on the schedule, I'd say to definitely go to that. When we went, it was still very "new" and they only had it available as a limited thing and you had to ask at guest services. It might be worth asking if you don't see it on the schedule.

Another thing we really enjoy is walking through the restaurants at off times...if the doors are open, you can go in and walk around. I think you'd especially enjoy the artwork and history in 1923!

When they have a group of characters meeting in the Grand Hall (maybe princesses), we like to watch from above. We love watching general guest/character interaction. One of my favorites recently was a kid wearing a Pluto hat and shirt carrying a plush Pluto meeting Pluto! You could just tell that kid was having a blast.

The other thing I'd say - that I know you'll read, if you haven't - is that you can order multiple things at dinner. If multiple apps, soups, entrees or desserts sound interesting, ask for them and try them. We sometimes share so that we can try everything.

I can't think of anything else at the moment, but I'll ask my husband for ideas/tips when he gets home!

 

[0FF TO NEVERLAND]

I will say as a first timer, I recently got palo two weeks before the trip on the app. Keep checking as you get closer. You never know what might pop up. I was surprised it was available but it was. Sold out cruise also

 

[ironz]

Another mid-life couple here--
First, and it looks like you have this figured out-- you can't do everything, especially not in 3 nights. From our experience on a 4 night a few months ago, we were able to add a tasting after we boarded through the app. Palo dinner may become available (brunch less likely because they don't offer it every day).

Shows are great-- previous poster just discussed the timing, so I won't repeat that.

Adult areas are nice-- we enjoyed relaxing in the infinity pool for a while.

Agree with previous poster to try to walk around and see the various venues-- we were able to peek our heads into Palo and the Rose after boarding, but before the ship was crowded. There are lovely details all around the ship that will catch your attention, just as in the parks.
Also agree to try to get one of the ship tours (times on the app-- they use headsets now, so space may be limited, but it's worth trying).

 

[Disney_David]

Yes, you'll go to the earlier show and then dinner. There's usually a bit of time between, sometimes we dress for dinner before the show and sometimes we go back and change into "dinner" clothes in between. This often depends on if we've seen anything on the schedule that we want to do between show and dinner.

If there is a ship tour on the schedule, I'd say to definitely go to that. When we went, it was still very "new" and they only had it available as a limited thing and you had to ask at guest services. It might be worth asking if you don't see it on the schedule.

Another thing we really enjoy is walking through the restaurants at off times...if the doors are open, you can go in and walk around. I think you'd especially enjoy the artwork and history in 1923!

When they have a group of characters meeting in the Grand Hall (maybe princesses), we like to watch from above. We love watching general guest/character interaction. One of my favorites recently was a kid wearing a Pluto hat and shirt carrying a plush Pluto meeting Pluto! You could just tell that kid was having a blast.

The other thing I'd say - that I know you'll read, if you haven't - is that you can order multiple things at dinner. If multiple apps, soups, entrees or desserts sound interesting, ask for them and try them. We sometimes share so that we can try everything.

I can't think of anything else at the moment, but I'll ask my husband for ideas/tips when he gets home!

Thank you!!!!!

 

[Disney_David]

I will say as a first timer, I recently got palo two weeks before the trip on the app. Keep checking as you get closer. You never know what might pop up. I was surprised it was available but it was. Sold out cruise also

That’s good to know. I’ll keep checking. Palo pops up (doesn’t say sold out like Enchante desert does), but after choosing our party, I get the “we could not complete your request…” on all dates. I can/could book Enchante

 

[Disney_David]

Another mid-life couple here--
First, and it looks like you have this figured out-- you can't do everything, especially not in 3 nights. From our experience on a 4 night a few months ago, we were able to add a tasting after we boarded through the app. Palo dinner may become available (brunch less likely because they don't offer it every day).

Shows are great-- previous poster just discussed the timing, so I won't repeat that.

Adult areas are nice-- we enjoyed relaxing in the infinity pool for a while.

Agree with previous poster to try to walk around and see the various venues-- we were able to peek our heads into Palo and the Rose after boarding, but before the ship was crowded. There are lovely details all around the ship that will catch your attention, just as in the parks.
Also agree to try to get one of the ship tours (times on the app-- they use headsets now, so space may be limited, but it's worth trying).

Thank you for the great advice!!

 

[Mommb]

Regarding shows: if you have the second dinner seating, you will see the theater shows before dinner (during the earlier dinner seating time). However, if you are able to get a Palo seating but it’s during first seating dinner, you can go to the later show — just let your server know if you are trying to finish in time to make it to the show.

 

[Disney_David]

Regarding shows: if you have the second dinner seating, you will see the theater shows before dinner (during the earlier dinner seating time). However, if you are able to get a Palo seating but it’s during first seating dinner, you can go to the later show — just let your server know if you are trying to finish in time to make it to the show.

Thank you!!!

 

[Cruzin’Sisters]

Thank you!!!

Since it is 3 nights, enjoy each of the dining rooms. Don't worry about Palo til next time when you will have silver castaway club status.

Have fun! We will be on the Wish next Monday!

 

[NAB]

Since it is 3 nights, enjoy each of the dining rooms. Don't worry about Palo til next time when you will have silver castaway club status.

Have fun! We will be on the Wish next Monday!

Yes agree with this see the main dinning rooms they are all different.

We did a walking tour on the Wish , they told us things we would have missed.

Mostly we just walked around the ship taking it all in. You can’t do it all.

The hosts in Luna at night are great. So much fun . Don’t miss Match Your Mate! It is usually around 10:30 at night just after second seating dinner. Always headed to Luna after dinner.

 

[auntlynne]

 

[Disney_David]

[I did my first cruise (3 nights on the Wonder) with about 3 weeks prep - and a whole lot less info than you already have. I had a great time; and went back 5 months later (4 nights on the Wonder) with more of the family.]

Download the DCL app before you get on the ship. You will use it onboard to find activity schedules, food venue hours… It can also be used to communicate between guests.

Typically, on boarding day, you can sign up for a small amount of free internet.

I like to treat a new ship or cruise line as an introductory cruise, unfazed if I miss something. There’s always next time. Or maybe not. I look at the daily schedules and pick out what sounds good to me.

Three days is short when cruising. My sister just got home from a 4 night on the Wish and commented that at the end of Day 3, she thought that it would have been weird to think that would have been the final night. She thought 4 nights was just barely long enough. (I imagine she would sail 3 nights if that was the only option.)

The late(r) night adult-only gatherings can be a fun way to end the day (comedy, Match Your Mate / Newlywed-type show).

It is okay to go watch family-friendly activities like Jack Jack’s Diaper Derby or the inflatable obstacle course (you can participate, too - bring socks).

On boarding day or Castaway Cay day, the kids’ clubs should have an Open House - it gives you an opportunity to see what Disney Imagineering can do.

There’s a DIY 5K on Castaway Cay. Medals are given out on the island when you self-report completion. Walk or run.

If you anticipate sailing within the next two years (not on a discount rate like FL residents or a GT rate), there is a Future Cruise Deposit program. For $250, you will be able to save 10% off cruise fare and will pay a reduced deposit once you pick and book a cruise that will sail in the following 24 months. Your $250 is refundable if you wish. This is only available onboard.

Bon Voyage. Have a great cruise!

Appreciate all that information! That is super helpful! Thank you!

Do you know if the future 10% is applicable to concierge level? Googled but couldn’t get the answer.

Thanks!

 

[auntlynne]

 

[Erica1016]

Appreciate all that information! That is super helpful! Thank you!

Do you know if the future 10% is applicable to concierge level? Googled but couldn’t get the answer.

Thanks!

I’m fairly sure it is not applicable for Concierge. If I can find that info, I will let you know (or someone else will jump in with it).

[Here’s info I found: According to disneycruisefamilytravelblog web page, it is not applicable to Concierge. The discounted deposit of 10% (of cruise fare) is for sailings 7+ nights; <7 nights is a 20% deposit).]

I can't say about Concierge, but we have used our 10% OBB for sailings of only 4 nights. I can also attest that you can use it for a GTY (guaranteed - where they choose your room), but not for an *GT (where they choose your room but have restrictions).
The OBB was a great tip, @auntlynne !

 

[Flossbolna]

(Edited to add: This might be outdated!) The good thing about the onboard booking placeholder is that if you don’t use it, you will get your 250$ back after two years (or you can cancel it earlier even). Do it’s totally risk free. Every (adult?) passenger can get one. My husband and I often booked one each in case we want to book two cruises.

 

[auntlynne]

 

[bakerworld]

Most of the AM we spend on our veranda with coffee, enjoying the view. We enjoy watching the docking process. Last cruise we took in a movie, which was fun - stadium seating and surround sound (can you tell we never go to the movies anymore?). We enjoyed the DVC presentation, which is like a game show. In the past I've enjoyed the spa but it's not unique so I stopped that expense. The funnel vision is nice to watch a kids movie. That area on the Wish isn't as loud as the other Disney ships.