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?
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?
