I think the reviews about the Disney Wish are wrong

[DCLMP]

For sure, people are just as tribal about their favorite cruise ship as they are their favorite WDW Resort. Even Pete laughs about the tribal resort folks on his Youtube Channel. People will completely ignore tons of positives that the new cruise ship has over the older one and point out 2 silly things that really don't amount to a row of pins and can easily be overcome with better cabin selections and deck selections. Haha

I thought he was gone

 

[Erica1016]

For some reason, a lot of people think that the Wish is way bigger than the Dream and that it carries way more passengers. Actually, it isn't much bigger and the maximum passenger count is about the same.

The Wish doesn't have fewer elevators. The Magic-class ships have 12, the Dream-class ships have 14, and the Triton-class ships have 16. Some elevators don't go to the uppermost decks, but that's true on all of Disney's ships.

Finally, someone saying what I keep saying/thinking! The Wish is pretty much the same size and passenger count as the Dream/Fantasy. We were recently on the Magic and docked next to the Wish in Nassau. Several passgeners were commenting on how big the Wish was and how they wouldn't go on it, then they said how they like the Fantasy...I decided not to get into it.

Same on the elevators. There are elevators on the other ships that also don't go up to the highest decks. I don't know why people think that's exclusive to the Wish.

Lastly, the "dead ends". This is the biggest one I hear about the Wish. Other than the adult area that goes around and dead ends at the AquaMouse - that one is bad - I don't get it. Again, we were on the Magic and there were at least 3 spots that I expected to be able to walk and they were "dead ends", compared to the Fantasy, anyway. I just don't see how this is such a big deal on the Wish that people won't go again.

 

[brentm77]

I didn't see too many kids in the bar areas after hours but I can see that the District would have an advantage in that regard. Although the silent disco on the Dream was in the dance club and it had plenty of kids, even at night.

Usually there is more than one silent disco each cruise - one is for all ages, usually earlier in the evening, and one is usually later an adult only. But on our last cruise, the adult only one was nearly empty and a real bust.

 

[dreamer17555]

For sure, people are just as tribal about their favorite cruise ship as they are their favorite WDW Resort. Even Pete laughs about the tribal resort folks on his Youtube Channel. People will completely ignore tons of positives that the new cruise ship has over the older one and point out 2 silly things that really don't amount to a row of pins and can easily be overcome with better cabin selections and deck selections. Haha

Umm considering all that came out about Pete I think his opinion on other people's opinions is really not important. He is not someone I feel like following at any rate.

 

[Scubadaddy32]

Umm considering all that came out about Pete I think his opinion on other people's opinions is really not important. He is not someone I feel like following at any rate.

Don't know anything about what came out about Pete, but he was correct about the tribalism on these boards for sure! Haha

 

[dad of 3 addicted to DCL]

Thanks for the clarification. There is one less bank, but more elevators? That actually seems like an improvement, even though you might need to walk a little more to get to them.

IIRC, on the Magic class, there are 12 (3 banks x 4 each), on the Dream class there are 14 individual elevators (4 forward, 6 midships, 4 aft) and the Wish has 16 (2 banks x8).

(edit: it was driving me nuts so I had to go back and check the # of elevators on the deck plans)

The one thing/design issue for the Wish is that the aft elevators don't all go up to deck 14(?) where the Rose is and the entrance to Palo//Enchante. DW is a trooper, but 6 decks of stairs in heels is a PITA. I wish there was a separate button for 14 and/or all of them went all the way up. TBH, that's my biggest complaint about Wish's design; the rest (to me) is personal preference: vanilla vs. chocolate as it were.

 

[brentm77]

IIRC, on the Fab Four, there are 18 individual elevators (3 banks x 6) and the Wish has 12 (2 banks x6). I may be wrong..

The one thing/design issue for the Wish is that the aft elevators don't all go up to deck 14(?) where the Rose is and the entrance to Palo//Enchante. DW is a trooper, but 6 decks of stairs in heels is a PITA. I wish there was a separate button for 14 and/or all of them went all the way up. TBH, that's my biggest complaint about Wish's design; the rest (to me) is personal preference: vanilla vs. chocolate as it were.

I just looked it up. The Wish does have 16 elevators - 8 in each bank.

 

[dad of 3 addicted to DCL]

I just looked it up. The Wish does have 16 elevators - 8 in each bank.

Yeah, I amended my post after looking it up

 

[brentm77]

Yeah, I amended my post after looking it up

Speaking to your earlier post, it does seem like a miss to have not put in the style of elevators RCL is using on their new ships, where you pick the floor on a call screen and it assigns an elevator. It would solve the design flaw of sending people upwards on an elevator that can't get to the floor they want to get to - that's pretty shortsighted from a design point. In addition, it's much more efficient and moving people quickly.

 

[Kwami]

The one thing/design issue for the Wish is that the aft elevators don't all go up to deck 14(?) where the Rose is and the entrance to Palo//Enchante. DW is a trooper, but 6 decks of stairs in heels is a PITA. I wish there was a separate button for 14 and/or all of them went all the way up. TBH, that's my biggest complaint about Wish's design; the rest (to me) is personal preference: vanilla vs. chocolate as it were.

Again, this is a problem on all of Disney's ships.

One solution is to take whichever elevator comes, then get off at the highest floor it goes to and call another elevator to continue going up. It's annoying, but easier than six flights of stairs in heels.

 

[OKW Lover]

One solution is to take whichever elevator comes, then get off at the highest floor it goes to and call another elevator to continue going up.

That's what we do

 

[brentm77]

Again, this is a problem on all of Disney's ships.

One solution is to take whichever elevator comes, then get off at the highest floor it goes to and call another elevator to continue going up. It's annoying, but easier than six flights of stairs in heels.

Where is it a problem on the other ships? I can't recall a time that I couldn't get to a top floor that a bank of elevators went to because some of those elevators in that bank didn't go as far as others, which is what I understand the problem to be on the Wish. Are you talking about something different, where the entire bank of elevators doesn't go to the top of the ship? If so, I see that as very different. But maybe I am misunderstanding the problem on the Wish.

I'm sure you are right, but I really can't remember that being an issue on the Fantasy, Magic, or Wonder.

 

[Kwami]

Where is it a problem on the other ships? I can't recall a time that I couldn't get to a top floor that a bank of elevators went to because some of those elevators in that bank didn't go as far as others, which is what I understand the problem to be on the Wish. Are you talking about something different, where the entire bank of elevators doesn't go to the top of the ship? If so, I see that as very different. But maybe I am misunderstanding the problem on the Wish.

I'm sure you are right, but I really can't remember that being an issue on the Fantasy, Magic, or Wonder.

On the Magic-class ships, only one of the four forward elevators goes up to deck 10 (BBB) and only two of the four midship elevators goes up to deck 10 (Vibe).

On the Dream-class ships, only four of the six midship elevators go up to deck 12. Only two of the four forward elevators go up to deck 13 (Currents, Satellite Falls), only one of the six midship elevators goes up to deck 13 (Edge), and only two of the four aft elevators go up to deck 13 (sports).

Incidentally, The Rose, Palo, and Enchante are on deck 12 on the Wish and all 16 elevators go to deck 12. So, I'm not sure what the actual origin of the complaint is, anyway.

 

[dad of 3 addicted to DCL]

On the Magic-class ships, only one of the four forward elevators goes up to deck 10 (BBB) and only two of the four midship elevators goes up to deck 10 (Vibe).

On the Dream-class ships, only four of the six midship elevators go up to deck 12. Only two of the four forward elevators go up to deck 13 (Currents, Satellite Falls), only one of the six midship elevators goes up to deck 13 (Edge), and only two of the four aft elevators go up to deck 13 (sports).

Incidentally, The Rose, Palo, and Enchante are on deck 12 on the Wish and all 16 elevators go to deck 12. So, I'm not sure what the actual origin of the complaint is, anyway.

Unfortunately, that's not true re: Wish. Only the aftermost 2 sets of elevators (out of 8 total) go up to 12. I know the original deck plans show them going all the way, but they don't. Ref the updated plan

 

[RiRLPC-OG]

I nearly cancelled my Disney wish cruise based on all the negative reviews (I know many have) and I am so glad I didnt. Now I must point out the only other ship Ive been on is the Wonder which we loved. But in our view not only only does the Wish stand up relative to the Wonder but in our view is clearly superior. Here's why:

Kids club: the kids club is better themed and there is more to do on the Wish. Our kids often got bored on the Wonder kids club when there werent interesting activities on. On the Wish our kids never wanted to leave. Having a kids club the kids always want to be in massively improves holidays for families.

Atrium: when the early photos came out i thought the Wishs atrium looked cheap. But in person it looks much better and we actually preferred it to the wonder even if the Cinderella statue is creepy. But where the atrium on the Wish clearly wins is the light show at night with the perfectly choosen song from Cinderella. Its pure disney magic that there is no equivalent for on the wonder. Perfect ending to a night thatvwill make you happy to be alive. The victrophonics (who play in the atrium) were also superior to any of the non theatre entertainment on the Wonder. Unique disney interpretations that got all the kids dancing (and some adults).

Family Water area: disney wish wins. the split pools on the disney wish meant we sometimes had a pool on our own or with only one other family which made it more enjoyable. On the wonder it was always people soup in the main pool. Couldnt move. Had to keep telling the kids to not get in the way of others. The Aqua mouse is also a massive advantage over the wonder which has no waterslide for people over 10. And that one slide had a ridiculous queue all the time. It was a waste of time. However, If you timed it right you could sometimes ride the aqua mouse continuously without any need to queue or even climb stairs (on Castaway Cay morning you basically get the aqua mouse to yourself). The kids also really loved the cartoon skits on the aqua mouse. Me and my wife didnt get the appeal but the kids loved that aspect and after the 10th ride in a row they just wanted to keep going back for more.

Adults pool area. Disney wonder wins clearly. Its just way better on the wonder. Althhough we never used the adults pool areas on either ship so didnt impact us at all. Cruise pools just arent our jam due to lack of size.

Restaurants: this is close but again the Wish wins. The Arrendelle dinner show is amazing. Seriously this is disney magic at its peak. This isnt a show where the characters just sing a standard rendition of the Frozen songs. The renditions of the songs are all unique and amazing. Especially the violinists. You will also never guess which characters sing Let it go and its brilliant. I would pay money for a soundtrack of this. Im stunned people arent talking about this show more. We all had tears at one point. The equivalent Tiana restaurant show on the Wonder simply doesnt stand up in comparison. The music is just mostly background noise with Tiana singing a couple of songs. Admittedly the surprise finale after dinner is also peak disney magic on Tianas but it only last a couple of minutes. Animaters Plate on the Wonder is better then Marvel. If you like Marvel though you will enjoy the Marvel show. But animaters plate is clearly better and would work well on repeat where I cant see how the Marvel show does. Walts is better then Tritons. It feels sophisticated and the art work is amazing. Tritons looked cheap and has no disney magic at all. As for the food we could really not spot any difference in quality in any of the rotational restaurants across both ships. Its not great. But its not bad either. Adults restaurants better on the Wish cos you have an extra restaurant. And its more up market. Enchante dinner was great.

Adult drinking areas: here the wish clearly beats the wonder. Seriously the theming of adults areas on the Wonder is terrible. The Cadillac bar with seats that looks like parts of car is the best they can do on the Wonder for theming? Reallt? Just very little magic. The star wars lounge on the Wish however was great. I know a lot of people knock the decor but we liked it. People seem to forget that not everywhere on star wars looks like an industrial outpost dive bar. We felt it was completely immersive and we loved watching the space ship window. Drinks were unique and solid without being fantastic. We also loved the Rose and Nightingdales when the piano was on (although we thought the piano player on the Wonder was better). Both have some amazing drinks and great presentation. The sports pub and bayou were also better themed then the wonder equivalents. The wish adults areas did seem smaller but they were rarely full so it wasnt an issue for us.

Theatre shows: i will give it to the wonder just. But its very close. The goofy sea captain show on the wish is too short but it has a couple of absolute banger songs. Disney dream probably better cos theres more to it and we liked the integration of peter pan. Aladdin and frozen are line ball as the best shows on each ship. Little mermaid and golden mickeys are not as good but each have their moments.

The lack of walking track on the wish and the lack of feeling like you are on a ship: here is the biggest negative Ive read of the wish (along with the adult pool area). But on the shorter trips I dont think its that big a negative unless you have an addiction to outside jogging and cant stop for 2-3 days. Longer trips i can see it being more of a problem. Plus you can walk, there's just stairs. And there is a big plus to the wish walking track that no one is mentioning. You can walk to the front of the ship on the wish and the view is stunning. Both looking out to the ocean and then looking back at the front of the enormous ship. Some people complain you dont feel like you are on a ship on the wish. For me I didnt notice any difference with the Wonder at all in this regard and you never felt more that you were on a ship when you are standing outside at the very front on the Wish. I have a feeling if the older ships had this and then they took it away on the wish there would be a lot of complaints.

So am I wrong about the wish and the reviews are right? Probably to a certain degree as taste is subjective. However, I think nostalgia bias is weighing on a lot of the reviews. People overvalue the good things taken away and then undervalue the good new things they didnt previously have. Its just the way people are wired so we all have the same bias. If you are considering not going on the Wish because of the reviews then please reconsider. This doesnt mean the negatives of the wish arent negatives. But there are a number of things the wish does better (I havent even mentioned the pirate night show) and there are unique magical disney experiences on the Wish you dont get anywhere else that for some will make the Wish the best ship of all.

Thoughts?

We had an absolutely magical time on the disney wish. It was my favorite cruise so far and the reviews did not hit with me at all. I was very concerned before going and had talked to some of my fellow disney co-workers who did get chosen to test the wish out before it officially opened and they assured me that it was going to be fantastic and boy were they right. We were concierge so maybe some of the issues the gen pop experienced did not affect me such as; the hot deck food options due to non air conditioned deck, lack of space in hot tubs, and crowded areas. We don't like to spend time in the shops much anyways and we tend to avoid the evening broadway shows. None of those things affected our cruise at all. We do wish we could have time to do all the things, however, we did leave feeling like we had been freshly dusted by the fairies with magic and crying as we exited the ship. The size of the ship is grand in comparison to the wonder and magic. Don't get me wrong, i truly love those ships and its peaceful having less guests on board but that being said I have never felt put off by the disney crowd. I believe these guests are some of the best behaved and are also just wanting to have a great experience so they are doing their best to stay out of your way. The food was amazing and some of the best leek soup I have ever had in my life. I agree that the Arendelle restaurant was supreme. Now when some things never change comes on my playlist on the way to work my eyes well up with tears because I relive that night where were all at the table singing along and were so engrossed in the moment that the rest of the world has just fallen away from us. This is what it is all about. The marvel restaurant was the one we really hoped to get twice but that never happens to my family. We ended up getting 1923 twice, as usual. Last time for us it was the Royal court we got twice. I am the most when it comes to theming and I want to be soaked in the disney culture so I always cross my fingers for animators twice or marvel but alas It usually isnt in the cards for me. I don't hold this against them. Even the bathrooms on this cruise ship were fun. Literally my only disappointment IS the lack of a track. I run and one of the most magical points for me on a Disney cruise is getting up early to watch the sun rise as I run the deck to some disney music. That did not happen this time. I took a nap on the rainforest room deck instead. Again, not a complaint because when something is removed disney always manages to replace it with something else I can be doing instead.

 

[Kwami]

Unfortunately, that's not true re: Wish. Only the aftermost 2 sets of elevators (out of 8 total) go up to 12. I know the original deck plans show them going all the way, but they don't. Ref the updated plan

Noted. Thanks!

 

[Dug720]

The newer RCL ships uses those elevators where you pick the floor and then it assigns you an elevator to take you there. They are super efficient and we love them at the Coronado Springs tower. I would love to DCL move that system to the ships.

Just as a note, those do not always work super quickly. Especially because you're not inputting the number of passengers so they can get woefully over-booked. My parents came to NYC a couple of months ago and we stayed in a joint Hampton Inn/Home2Suites with 5 of those and even with 5 there were times it took over 20 minutes to get an elevator. The time it took 25 minutes, a hotel exec happened to get off on our floor for something and my dad said something to her and she was able to arrange for us to get a private elevator. She admitted they were not working the way they were intended, but the company kept saying there was nothing they could do.

The biggest problem with them is you can't do the "up to go down" thing because you aren't pushing anything when you're in, so yeah, you could jump on one to go up, but you might be stuck there until it gets assigned to go to the ground floor.

 

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

IIRC, on the Magic class, there are 12 (3 banks x 4 each), on the Dream class there are 14 individual elevators (4 forward, 6 midships, 4 aft) and the Wish has 16 (2 banks x8).

(edit: it was driving me nuts so I had to go back and check the # of elevators on the deck plans)

The one thing/design issue for the Wish is that the aft elevators don't all go up to deck 14(?) where the Rose is and the entrance to Palo//Enchante. DW is a trooper, but 6 decks of stairs in heels is a PITA. I wish there was a separate button for 14 and/or all of them went all the way up. TBH, that's my biggest complaint about Wish's design; the rest (to me) is personal preference: vanilla vs. chocolate as it were.

they should have put the panels where you select a floor and it assigns you an elevator on the Wish.

 

[brentm77]

Just as a note, those do not always work super quickly. Especially because you're not inputting the number of passengers so they can get woefully over-booked. My parents came to NYC a couple of months ago and we stayed in a joint Hampton Inn/Home2Suites with 5 of those and even with 5 there were times it took over 20 minutes to get an elevator. The time it took 25 minutes, a hotel exec happened to get off on our floor for something and my dad said something to her and she was able to arrange for us to get a private elevator. She admitted they were not working the way they were intended, but the company kept saying there was nothing they could do.

The biggest problem with them is you can't do the "up to go down" thing because you aren't pushing anything when you're in, so yeah, you could jump on one to go up, but you might be stuck there until it gets assigned to go to the ground floor.

I wonder if it has to do with better programing on some than others. We stayed at Coronado Springs tower at WDW a couple of times, and it always seems to be faster than regular elevators, even when there are massive crowds returning from the parks. I will be curious to see what people think about them on the new RCL ships that use them. It does seem like a good idea to build them so they can track the number of passengers and not overbook them.

 

[OKW Lover]

It does seem like a good idea to build them so they can track the number of passengers and not overbook them.

The problem becomes that the buttons have no way of knowing how many people are in whatever party wants to go to a specific floor.