Is the Wish really crowded?

[cdh]

How crowded is the Wish? I have a trip planned for mid April and I’m thinking about canceling because I’ve watched alot of recent vlogs and the ships look incredibly crowded. Since Covid I’ve become really intolerant of crowded places…..maybe I’m just getting old and grumpy but crowds seem to bring out the worst in people and that makes me uncomfortable. The problem is that when we planned the trip I watched all of these vlogs with reduced capacity and they looked wonderful but now they all look like it’s incredibly crowded in the gift shops, the restaurants, the pool, etc. Is there a way to cruise but avoid the crowd? I think I’d rather lose the money (about $2500) than to deal with the crowds.

 

[DCLCruiseFan09]

How crowded is the Wish? I have a trip planned for mid April and I’m thinking about canceling because I’ve watched alot of recent vlogs and the ships look incredibly crowded. Since Covid I’ve become really intolerant of crowded places…..maybe I’m just getting old and grumpy but crowds seem to bring out the worst in people and that makes me uncomfortable. The problem is that when we planned the trip I watched all of these vlogs with reduced capacity and they looked wonderful but now they all look like it’s incredibly crowded in the gift shops, the restaurants, the pool, etc. Is there a way to cruise but avoid the crowd? I think I’d rather lose the money (about $2500) than to deal with the crowds.

We sailed on a nearly full ship in Nov 2022. It really wasn't bad. We showed up to most things early and had no issues getting a seat. Our normal rule was 15 min before.

Things like Trivia and Bingo seem to be the biggest "This is too crowded for my taste" complaints. We looked into one of the trivia sessions and it was literally wall to wall people spilling out into the hallways even. Really, that was the only example I could think of where things were "too crowded"

The best part about a cruise for me is that when I get overloaded, I can escape to the cabin to relax and de-stress. Its actually better than other options because I have that personal space.

Alternately, you could always ask about moving your cruise to a less busy travel time?

 

[cdh]

We sailed on a nearly full ship in Nov 2022. It really wasn't bad. We showed up to most things early and had no issues getting a seat. Our normal rule was 15 min before.

Things like Trivia and Bingo seem to be the biggest "This is too crowded for my taste" complaints. We looked into one of the trivia sessions and it was literally wall to wall people spilling out into the hallways even. Really, that was the only example I could think of where things were "too crowded"

The best part about a cruise for me is that when I get overloaded, I can escape to the cabin to relax and de-stress. Its actually better than other options because I have that personal space.

Alternately, you could always ask about moving your cruise to a less busy travel time?

Thanks for the reply. I’m glad that your cruise wasn’t too crowded. Hopefully ours will be ok. I called Disney to try to change the date of the cruise but because we are less than 45 days out they were going to charge a cancellation fee of half of what we paid for the cruise. I‘m a little salty about that given that they have availability on later dates and they could easily find someone to take my place on our current sailing but those are the rules.

 

[Marthasor]

We cruised in early October and, yes, it was crowded. I would expect mid-April will be really crowded since many children are off from school. IMHO, the only way to avoid the crowds is to book a concierge stateroom. We were on a 4-night Wish cruise, spent the majority of our sea day on the concierge sun deck (not crowded) and did not disembark on the Nassau day (we did Palo brunch and enjoyed an empty ship). We only disembarked at CC and did Serenity Bay (not sure if that's an option for your group) - while we had to walk down the beach a bit, there were still loungers available when we arrived (very slow drink service, however). We then had a late lunch on CC, again, to avoid the crowds. With a concierge stateroom, you also have the opportunity to enter the theater early to get good seats for the evening shows, thereby bypassing the crowds. We also ate most breakfasts and lunches in the lounge (we did pool deck QS one day and it was a nightmare).

 

[teetee830]

We sailed on the Wish for Fall Break in October. While yes crowded it never felt overly so or like I couldn't get away from crowds. With the bigger ship the crowds can be more spaced out. Of couse there were higher traffic areas like the Grand Hall in the evenings and around the Walt Disney Theater, but they were managable. Pool decks were nice because there are so many smaller pool spaces we were able to find a spot to get in a cool off and lots of deck chairs. Marceline Market we never struggled to find a table away from crowds. Yes some trivias were crowded but if you get there early you'll get a seat and are not shoulder to shoulder.

I know some people are not a fan of the layout of the ship be we enjoyed it.

 

[kiford]

We sailed on the Wish on Jan 30. It really depends on where you are and when. We found that the main Disney shop gets incredibly crowded right as the theatre exits because you pass by it and everyone goes in. The lineups were insane. So we went at an off time, and there was practically no one there. Just got to time it right.

Some of the trivia events got full quickly, so you had to be there early because the venue was small but other than that, we didn't find anything overly packed. I liked that 1923 and the Marvel restaurant are cut into smaller connected rooms, so you don't feel like you're in a giant dining hall. Yes, the tables are close together, but it felt less crowded to me because I could only see a small number of tables. Same with Marcelline Market. There are lots of little separate areas, and we often were the only ones in that area. We only spent a little bit of time in the adult-only pool area on CC day when everyone else got off (we didn't), so it wasn't crowded then we also went up to some of the areas higher up on the ship and no one was there.

I don't know how busy the ship was compared to when you're going, but there are lots of places to go and spread out. Lots of people don't like the design of the ship because there isn't a single area with all of the bars and lounges, but I actually preferred it because it does tend to distribute people around the ship more.

 

[tvguy]

Things like Trivia and Bingo seem to be the biggest "This is too crowded for my taste" complaints. We looked into one of the trivia sessions and it was literally wall to wall people spilling out into the hallways even. Really, that was the only example I could think of where things were "too crowded"

Different ship, the Magic, and a different group of people. We were one of just three families that showed up for Trivia. And this was on a sold out packed New Year's Even cruise.

 

[ryrythedisneyguy]

DW and I sailed the first week of February and only felt overwhelmed by the crowds once (first night when Mickey's Mainsail opened up and we made the mistake of heading in as soon as the doors opened ). To echo what others have said, there seems to always be somewhere you can head where you feel spread out and like you can breathe easily, you just have to look for it! For what its worth, we had the 8:15pm dining and the crowds felt very light in the MDRs as well as in the theatre for the 6pm shows. It's a really beautiful ship with a crew that is doing an amazing job, I'd hate for you to miss out on it!

 

[jujubiee4]

A couple of things. First everyone seems to be traveling now. We just got off Fantasy on Sat. The ship
was full and seemed fuller. People everywhere. Im not used to that and hate crowds. We actually did the
parks afterwards for a few days and thought it was more pleasant!

Contrast that to our Wish cruise in Dec. I assume it had a lot of people being Christmas themed but
did not seem like it. Maybe something to do with a lot of small places to congregate instead of several
big ones lol. DH wants to cancel next cruise and my kids even agree to do something else. But frankly
everything seems busy and will probably continue to be through summer.

 

[shananigans]

We are sailing the Wish in January 2024. Hoping lots of kids will be in school. We are concierge - it’s for my son’s 16th birthday and he has no idea we are going. I have heard concierge is better on the smaller ships (Magic & Wonder). I’ve never sailed concierge on any ship other than the Wonder. So it will certainly be a new experience for us!

 

[cdh]

Thank you to everyone for the replies. I think that we are going to cancel. Over the past couple of years we have become really intolerant of crowds. On top of that, we are just not enamored with the characters anymore. I don’t want to be approached by shop owners in Nassau. It seems to be a great trip for people with young children but not so much for us. If I could get a concierge room then we would still go but there are no rooms available right now and if I wait any longer we will just lose more money.

 

[OKW Lover]

We have sailed on all five of the DCL ships. I wound't say the Wish is any more crowded than there other four.

 

[Kwami]

For what it's worth, the Wish passenger count and stateroom count are approximately the same as on the Dream-class ships. So, if the Wish is more crowded, then that's probably because it's still new and everyone wants to try it. Once the newness dies down, it'll be about as crowded as the Dream was when it was sailing the same 3/4-night Bahamian itineraries.

We only disembarked at CC and did Serenity Bay (not sure if that's an option for your group) - while we had to walk down the beach a bit, there were still loungers available when we arrived (very slow drink service, however).

The drink service on CC has been horrendously slow since the restart. Even when I took a very uncrowded 4-night cruise on the Dream in February 2022, when everyone still had to get tested and wear masks and passenger counts were low, we waited nearly an hour for our drinks!

 

[dwg]

We were on the Wish this past November. The ship was 3/4 full with about 3,000 passengers. We did not feel the crowds walking around the ship. I would even say that the Atrium area did not feel crowded at all. But the MDR's felt very crowded and noisy and if you get to the MDR before the doors open (early seating) the hallways to enter the MDR, especially Marvel got so crowded that people were packed into the elevator banks making it difficult for people getting off the elevators to navigate through the crowd. The other area that felt crowded to us was the adult area which was in the back of the ship. It went around from the left side across the back to the right side where you had to turn around and go back because you couldn't go through.

We are going back on the Wish in September. It was booked prior to the November cruise but since we really did not enjoy the MDR's due to the closeness of the tables and noise level we are going to skip the MDR's and find alternatives for dinner.

So is the Wish crowded? It really depends where you are on the ship.

 

[Marthasor]

Thank you to everyone for the replies. I think that we are going to cancel. Over the past couple of years we have become really intolerant of crowds. On top of that, we are just not enamored with the characters anymore. I don’t want to be approached by shop owners in Nassau. It seems to be a great trip for people with young children but not so much for us. If I could get a concierge room then we would still go but there are no rooms available right now and if I wait any longer we will just lose more money.

Can you move to a different cruise so you don't lose all of your money? I've sailed on the Magic a few times and it felt much less crowded than the Wish - maybe look for an alternative so you don't lose so much money?

 

[cdh]

Can you move to a different cruise so you don't lose all of your money? I've sailed on the Magic a few times and it felt much less crowded than the Wish - maybe look for an alternative so you don't lose so much money?

This is my first cruise so I’m not familiar with their policies about cancellation and changes. A few weeks ago I called Disney Cruise Line because they had a concierge stateroom available for a sailing one week later. I wanted to change the date of the sailing and get the concierge room. The cast member told me that I would have to cancel and rebook and, and that time, the penalty was around $1250.

I bought vacation insurance and I can transfer 75% of the total to another date but then it becomes really inflexible. I think I may be better off to lose the $2500 and forget about cruising because I think Disney is probably one of the nicest cruise lines but it seems unreasonable, IMO, that they are so inflexible with changes after your PIF date.

 

[DCLMP]

Yes, cruises out of port Canaveral tend to be full.

 

[bcwife76]

Pretty sure all cruise lines have the same flexible (or inflexible) policy after the PIF date, Disney is no different.

 

[Lilsia]

It is as crowded as every other ship that I have sailed on and I didn't notice any difference from my other cruises. I would book for off season and when the kids are in school to avoid a full ship.

 

[Marthasor]

This is my first cruise so I’m not familiar with their policies about cancellation and changes. A few weeks ago I called Disney Cruise Line because they had a concierge stateroom available for a sailing one week later. I wanted to change the date of the sailing and get the concierge room. The cast member told me that I would have to cancel and rebook and, and that time, the penalty was around $1250.

I bought vacation insurance and I can transfer 75% of the total to another date but then it becomes really inflexible. I think I may be better off to lose the $2500 and forget about cruising because I think Disney is probably one of the nicest cruise lines but it seems unreasonable, IMO, that they are so inflexible with changes after your PIF date.

If you are paid in full and can't cancel or modify, I would seriously consider just going and giving it a try instead of losing $2500.