I think the reviews about the Disney Wish are wrong

[OKW Lover]

I did find that the Wish was somewhat lacking a quieter, more chill lounge venue. Nightingales was the attempt I think but it was too small for the purpose.

Did you try the Rose outside of Palo on the Wish?

 

[DCLMP]

I get that - which is why I addressed where/ how much distance they could get without using the stairs (having the option of decks 4 OR 5), as my response was to someone who sounded like they could be happy with doing turn-arounds. For hard-core runners, that pivot move to retrace the route probably isn’t favored, either, as you need to slow or risk an ACL or Achilles’ injury?

Technically you can run anywhere I could run around my backyard pool if I wanted to. It doesn't mean I would enjoy doing that. Every new ship and most old ships have a running track that's flat and goes in a circle. Some are better than others, but at least they have one. The fact that DCL built a ship with out one is such an oddity. Then they put in such a small gym. It's not runners, but many people like to walk too and they like to do it outside.

 

[DCLMP]

Definately a big subjective element to my and everyone reviews. What i loved others may hate. And there is no right or wrong in that.

However, in saying that, I think nostalgia is swinging the reviews too far to the negative that first timers need to account for when assesing the ship (simply because they dont have nostalgia for certain aspects of disney cruising that many who are writing the reviews do). The nostalgia aspects of a review arent wrong, but they only impact certain cruisers. If the wish was the orginal ship and the classic ships were the new ones I think (and this is just a guess not a statement of fact) that the Wish would have a lot more positive rating and may even be rated as the best ship by the majority. With time I think it will be viewed a lot more favourably.

If your read the reviews on cruise critic they are pretty diverse. Not everyone that reviews the Wish has a long history with Disney. If the Wish would have been the first ship twenty years ago then sure it would have been the best ship sailing. There's a lot of competition now.

 

[Dive Bar Casanova]

Smaller Disney ships were patterned after old cruise liners with unique-to-cruising innovations.

New DCL ships are cattle boats.

 

[Dive Bar Casanova]

A morning coffee and a few walks around the ship is worth the ticket price alone. No ship has the character, unique charm and experience like when ya do that on a Disney Ship.

Ya gotta' be a Disney fanatic since childhood to understand that.


Wifes coffee:


Maybe sometimes add a shot of Baileys. The bartenders call that a Gasoline-O.

Everything else on the ship is just a bonus.
If I can't do that, like so many others also love too, I ain't sailing on that ship.

 

[Husker Mike]

Smaller Disney ships were patterned after old cruise liners with unique-to-cruising innovations.

That's the thing that stood out when I first looked at Disney cruises. The first four ships were more elegant in the photos than the newer Triton class ships. As someone who grew up pre-Disney Channel when Disney was, well, tired and dated, the more subtle inclusion of Disney IP was welcome and attractive. The new ships seem to be designed for the people who just can't get enough Disney IP...and no doubt that those people likely love the theming of the newest ships.

 

[CastawayCayLover]

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?

So your opinion is that others opinions are wrong. Makes all the sense in the world.

 

[LambertLion]

Yeah, I’ve been on all the ships and ourcWish cruise was our 11th Disney cruise and I loved it. Set to go on the Treasure next year and looking forward to it. Always try something for yourself. Form your own opinions.

 

[AquaDame]

I get that - which is why I addressed where/ how much distance they could get without using the stairs (having the option of decks 4 OR 5), as my response was to someone who sounded like they could be happy with doing turn-arounds. For hard-core runners, that pivot move to retrace the route probably isn’t favored, either, as you need to slow or risk an ACL or Achilles’ injury?

The sheer number of times I'd need to do a turnaround to make up my 3 miles would make me dizzy... This would more like running lines for sports than jogging. Changing direction quickly is its own skill set for sure, with different strains on muscles and joints.

There is also a reason the running tracks on the other ships are all one way - if you tried to have a group of people do this in a narrow hallway we'd definitely run into each other.

I do disagree with you, OP, but only because you're saying those of us who disagree with you are "wrong", while admitting it's your own opinion. I've always mentioned in my reviews that we don't have kids, so many of the things that made the Wish the best for you are things that don't matter to us, and vice versa. I don't think either of us are wrong; we're different demographics. The sheer polarity of this ship is why I think Disney may have missed the mark here - usually they nail middle-of-the-road keep everyone mostly happy. I don't hate the Wish, I just don't care if I ever sail on her again. I just kept feeling some of her quirks as design flaws instead of just quirks. If I have a choice, I'd pick any of the other four first. We're sailing on the Treasure in April as well, FWIW. Hopefully that suffices to try a current gen ship out on something other than a maiden voyage (the only time I've sailed on the Wish).

 

[magrudersmakes3]

I sailed the Wish last month and was worried since the Fantasy is my favorite ship. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed it. There are some things that make me scratch my head as to why it was done that way, but I really did fall in love with the ship.

Adult areas - I absolutely loved how they made an adult area that can watch the funnel vision. It’s not a deal breaker, but we do enjoy watching some of the Disney movies on the deck.

I love the adult lounges and you have to check out the Rose if you can. The views are absolutely amazing and I liked it better than Meridian. They are spread out, but that didn’t bother me, but I could see how it would be annoying/frustrating to others.

The adult pool is one of those that is a head scratcher. I love how it’s truly adults now, but it also feels like it was a total last minute thought and they scrambled to place it somewhere.

I didn’t get to try Palo as it was a quick 3 nighter, but I just book a B2B for September to explore more.

 

[seidelhd]

After two cancellations and nearly a year and a half of waiting, we finally made it on the Wish last fall. We knew going into it that the ship would likely be a one and done, but we wanted to see the new features, try the new restaurants, and see the new shows. We’ve been on the Dream, Fantasy, and Wonder.

My daughter is disabled and in a wheelchair. One of her favorite things to do is make laps on the deck 4 track. I knew the promenade did not go all the way around. However, I was more disappointed by all the stairs. Clearly not an option for a 100# kid in a heavy wheelchair. I am a runner (not addicted but do enjoy running on the ship and hate treadmills), and I also found this annoying. According to a Cast Member I spoke with, their surveys showed less than 10% of cruisers used the running track; it was mainly used by other Cast Members.

The food on the deck was better than the other ships, but we found the food in the dining rooms to be much worse. More salt, less flavor. We also did not like the Marvel and Frozen dinner shows, despite liking both franchises. They were just silly and pointless. Give me Animators Palate any day.

The scattered bars were kinda meh. We don’t take huge advantage of them, but I prefer the districts. The Star Wars bar was underwhelming.

Overall, this was a one and done, as I’d expected. We did book a placeholder and are using it for the Dream next summer to see Lighthouse Point (and also going to CC). No plans or interest in going on the Treasure.

 

[DisneyDaddy01]

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?

Great article. Thank you so much for your input.

 

[MinnesotaMouseketeers]

So your opinion is that others opinions are wrong. Makes all the sense in the world.

My interpretation of the OP title is, Don't cancel your vacation plans because of the negative posting that you are reading. Go with your initial plans and Decide For Yourself if you like the venue or not!

If I cancelled our vacation plans because of the negative reviews I've read for any of our trips; I would never go on another vacation again. Literally!!! And I would have missed out on some fantastic family memories.

We have done a back to back on the Wish over Christmas 2022; despite all the negative reviews.

And while it isn't my favorite Disney ship I would definitely cruise on the Wish again and I'm looking forward to booking a future cruise on the Treasure.

 

[insureman]

Been on the Wish twice and we still don't like it. Poorly designed from the bow to the fantail. It's as if the designer never worked on a cruise ship before. Oh that's right she didn't.

 

[michelecrystal]

Just left the Wish this morning...a few thoughts...
This was my first cruise ever and I am so happy it was on the Wish. I am not a boat person. We had a veranda room and I loved it. And I did not get motion sickness. We also had perfect weather.
My daughter is a teen and we've been to WDW almost 20 times in 10 years. She's upstairs crying because she wants to be back on the ship. She had the time of her life and never even went to a kid's club, but the 20 year old with our 2 family group did enjoy 1820 and had a lot of fun with them.
The Wish is magnificent- plenty of shops, kids clubs, pools, shows and activities to keep you happily occupied. Every where you look, there's beautiful art, character meets throughout the day and evening- all of the special touches and details that we enjoy and appreciate- plus the exceptional cast members doing their best to make sure each guest has a great experience.
The Frozen show is a standout for entertainment. Also- our service team at dinner was the best.
My friend and I did the Palo brunch. Food and service was amazing, but long.
We spent about 10 minutes in Nassau, which just wasn't what I expected. So, back to the Wish we went... to the Hyperspace Lounge which was fun and I do love Star Wars.
I love coffee- Wishing Star and Cove Cafe were both great, but Wishing Star was my favorite.
The kiss goodnight at 11 pm is a nice touch. I think they also do it at midnight.
The one thing I really wanted to do that I didn't get to do was the Wish Walking Tour. It was on my plans in the Navigator app early in the day, but then disappeared while we were on Castaway. I didn't want to leave Castaway only to find out the tour was cancelled because it is kindof a hike back to the ship. So, I don't know??
About the Navigator App, yes, everything is on it and if you aren't in the mood to always be checking it, you're out of luck. I miss paper. It's just easier for me to decide what I want to do when I can see it printed out on a grid.
Here's my biggest "complaint", if you will:
The pictures are only available while you are on the ship, so you have to go through all of your pictures and buy the ones you want and download them and there just isn't enough time to do that and pack and enjoy your limited time on the cruise.
We loved the cabin decor and the split bathroom is great.
The laundry room on deck 8 is a dream if you need to get away from the crowds. The Navigator app will tell you when your laundry is ready.
We were on Deck 11 and I would choose it again for the close access to everything and it was not crazy loud to me.
Loved Pirate Night!
I'm sure more experienced DCL and cruise people will have more to add in specifics, but if you are looking for a new way to experience the magic of Disney, the Wish just might make you take the placeholder offer as a consolation for having to go back to your regular "home."

 

[Dug720]

Been on the Wish twice and we still don't like it. Poorly designed from the bow to the fantail. It's as if the designer never worked on a cruise ship before. Oh that's right she didn't.

From what she said in the doc about the Wish on Disney+ she'd never even BEEN on a cruise.

Yeah, I guess choosing her made sense in someone's mind? Not sure how though.

 

[sponica]

From what she said in the doc about the Wish on Disney+ she'd never even BEEN on a cruise.

Yeah, I guess choosing her made sense in someone's mind? Not sure how though.

One of the architecture firms that designs RCC's megaships is comprised of people who aren't cruise people. They make design decisions around the cruise-hesitant.

I enjoyed the Wish and I particularly enjoyed the scattered bars, made it easier to pop in and grab a drink to go on the way to picking up my kids from the kids club, and it helped me learn my way around.

I just wish they hadn't mounted the TV to the wall in the staterooms, not sure if that was a supply chain decision or an intentional one.

 

[Dug720]

I just wish they hadn't mounted the TV to the wall in the staterooms, not sure if that was a supply chain decision or an intentional one.

That is pretty much standard on all new ship builds (and major refurbs). My guess is first people are accustomed to larger screens as opposed to the monitor-sized screens on the older ships and second with the swivel too many people were attaching their own things to the tvs and not resetting them causing issues for future occupants.

 

[Kwami]

That is pretty much standard on all new ship builds (and major refurbs). My guess is first people are accustomed to larger screens as opposed to the monitor-sized screens on the older ships and second with the swivel too many people were attaching their own things to the tvs and not resetting them causing issues for future occupants.

And, adding a swivel to the larger screens is potentially hazardous since they're more likely to fall of the wall, especially with kids bumping into them when they're swiveled out and in the way.

 

[tidefan]

That is pretty much standard on all new ship builds (and major refurbs). My guess is first people are accustomed to larger screens as opposed to the monitor-sized screens on the older ships and second with the swivel too many people were attaching their own things to the tvs and not resetting them causing issues for future occupants.

It’s just in such a weird place in the Wish, though…