Grand Gatherings Wishes Cruise

[silly_ol_me]

Hi -- we're signed up for a Wishes cruise as part of the Grand Gatherings offereings. I'm just wondering if anyone can give me a brief overview -- just curious what to expect and if there are some places on the boat that are better than others for seeing the fireworks. Any tips are appreciated. Thanks!

 

[silly_ol_me]

bump

 

[Goofy4]

Just took the cruise last week!

I asked the same question several months ago. In the interest of time and that this was such a good response, here it is (thanks again karynnix):

..It was no problem getting the voyage scheduled, though. And it was well worth the trouble!!! We went in June, and we were told to be at the Contemporary at 7:45. It is on the 4th floor right up the escalator. If you get there early, that is where all of the shops are, so you have something to keep you busy. They have an area fenced off for you to go into. Around 8:00 or so, they called us by family into the area. We were each given a Magical Fireworks Voyage pin (one of the collectible pins) to wear. Then they brought out the food!! There were lots of different cookies, brownies and fruit. We also had water and cokes and coffee to drink. While we were eating, Captain Hook and Mr. Smee came out. They spent LOTS of time goofing off with the kids and taking pictures. The kids had plenty of time to talk with them and they were really animated and fun! That all lasted until around 9:00 or so. Then they split the larger group into 2 small groups and we went out to the boats. They are pontoon type boats that hold around 50 people. You are by no means crowded in, though. We were very comfortable. We got to meet our pirate (who, by the way, was the same CM who played Tony at the restaurant the next morning!!) and we headed out across the lagoon. The pirate sings and makes jokes all along the way. He was really great! We stopped and saw the Electrical Water Parade and when that was over, we went across to the other side to watch Wishes. While we were waiting, he sang and took individual pictues and just goofed off a lot. Then...Wishes started. That was the most beautiful thing that I have ever seen . The music is piped into the boat, and you can see well from every seat. It was so great. When it was over, we headed back to the dock. During that time, we played a pirate trivia game and he gave out prizes. As we headed back to the dock, we saw Peter Pan. We met him and he signed autographs. We were probably done around 10:30 with everything. I was a truly wonderful experience. I hope that you get to go!

To add to this... Our captain position the boat sideways. Naturally it moves around a bit during the show. While it possible that your view could be obstructed, we did not find it to be a problem (even for the kids). You could ask the captain which side of the boat will be closer, but I'm not sure it's always the same.

We had an interesting situation with some guests that missed the boat. We went back and picked them up, with the risk of missing part of the show. Our "pirate" and captain handled what could have been a bad situation masterfully (they probably earn every penny of their pay). Enjoy!

 

[DisneyConvert]

Not sure how this is done but we will be (at Poly) Jan 23-29th.

We (4 of us) would be interested in the special Grand Gatherings fireworks crusie with Hook & Smee?

I understand that we need another family of 4 or more to "link" with us (is that right?).

Anyone game? Send me a PM.

Doug.

 

[jig]

Not sure how this is done but we will be (at Poly) Jan 23-29th.

We (4 of us) would be interested in the special Grand Gatherings fireworks crusie with Hook & Smee?

I understand that we need another family of 4 or more to "link" with us (is that right?).

Anyone game? Send me a PM.

Doug.

Doug,

We are in the same boat (so to speak). We will be there from Jan 14 - 21 and want to do the same thing. We posted many times about hooking up and have got no response back. Good luck...

 

[DisneyConvert]

Anyone have any theories why Illuminations Cruises are a match-maker's dream and the GGatherings "Wishes" Cruise are no-dice!?

 

[Goofy4]

Anyone have any theories why Illuminations Cruises are a match-maker's dream and the GGatherings "Wishes" Cruise are no-dice!?

I can imagine some of the conversations between DW and DH: "Honey, to sign up for the cruise we first need to become a 'gathering' with this other family I met on the internet. The DISboards ? Yes, the DisBoards ! Disney will think we're a family traveling together and will forever send us 'family' greetings, but other than that..."

 

[SyracuseWolvrine]

Anyone have any theories why Illuminations Cruises are a match-maker's dream and the GGatherings "Wishes" Cruise are no-dice!?

Illuminations cruise: can be booked with a simple phone call to WDW recreation. Nothing about hotel reservations

GG Wishes Cruise: everyone must be staying on site, call to GG office to "link" reservations as one grand gathering, another call to GG office to schedule GG event.

 

[eshannon]

So much changes in two years!! I am taking my mom to disney to celebrate her 70th birthday. My ten year old son is also going. I have been reading, with much interest, about the Wishes boat cruise and think it might just be the "special" celebration I want to surprise her with. Can someone answer a couple of questions for me. Do I have to have enough people to fill a boat, or will they just put us in a boat with others. I hate to sound like I am an intolerant person, because I am so not that way, but we did a cruise for Illuminations once many years ago and were on a boat with the most obnoxious people and to be honest it just wasn't much fun. They had two very small children who weren't interested at all in the show and two parents who weren't interested in their children so....I so want this to be special for my mom. I do hope noone takes this the wrong way!! We are going in just a few days, so it may be too late anyway,(we are arriving the 1st and leaving the 6th.) Thanks so much!

 

[eshannon]

Goodness! I just did some more checking and got the information I need. The total is about $200 and it is available the night of the 5th Dec. There can be 8 people on the boat. Is there anyone who would be interested in sharing that cruise with us? There are three of us. Myself, my mom and my "very well behaved" son
Elaine

 

[Goofy4]

would be interested in sharing that cruise with us? There are three of us.
Elaine

If you haven't already, there's a sticky thread on the cruises -- you may get better results there.

 

[momsully]

We are going on the grand gathering Wishes cruise on January 8th. Just curious if you tip the boat captain at the end of the cruise and if so what is customary?

 

[Goofy4]

We did not tip the captain for our GG cruise. It was our first night there, so perhaps we just weren't yet thinking about who and when to tip. But mostly, since there are many CMs involved (Pirates, Peter Pan, boat captain, Mr. Smee, etc.) I would find it difficult not to tip everyone. Also, since the boat is fairly large (30-40 people), it doesn't feel like a "personalized" service. I'm sure they would appreciated it though (they earn it)!