MrsInsG
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jul 12, 2017
- Messages
- 244
Hi All-
Everyone was such a help in preparing me for my adults-only Wish adventure that I wanted to pay it forward.
My husband and I are newly minted gold DCL and have enjoyed several cruises with our daughters. We have sailed the Magic and the Fantasy, so the Wish was new to us. It fit our time frame for our 25th anniversary, so we decided to give it a go. Our sailing was a Very Merrytime cruise, and we sailed out of pier 8 at Port Canaveral. We stayed in an inside room on deck 9 (we had never done interior before, and a short cruise seemed like a good time to try it.) We sort of took each day as it came with the only requirement being that we were having fun and what we did involved spending time together. I wasn't sure about the Wish given some of the reviews I've read over the years, so I'll address my (our) experiences, only.
Great:
-The service in the dining rooms and quick food and coffee locations. People were generally very friendly even when guests were not being particularly polite.
-The decor of the ship - WOW! It really is beautifully done.
-Palo Steakhouse and The Rose were incredible in service, decor, and food. Our evening there was just perfection!
-The cruise hosts and hostesses were lovely and friendly. We had a great time at trivia and other events where they were present.
-The bartenders were great! Friendly, personable, quick, and a little heavy-handed on the pour (YMMV on this one, but I got a Pain Killer at the Cove Bar, and HOLY COW I felt like someone had stolen my legs when I stood up!)
-Castaway Cay... I LOVE it there.
Good:
-The food, overall. Everything was good to very good and I appreciated the smaller variety in Marceline Market (as compared to Cabanas) as the food seemed fresher and just tastier.
-The lack of mid-ship elevators (I know, I can't believe it, either!) I think if there was one more thing in that atrium, it would have been awful. Also, the forward and aft elevators have been adjusted toward the mid-ship area so it never seemed to be a problem for us.
Needs Improvement:
-The Very Merry portion of the cruise was somewhat lacking. There was a beautiful tree and swags in the atrium and some other random decor about the ship, but I think I was expecting more of a Main Street-during-a-Christmas-party feel rather than what it was. There were a couple of Christmas-themed events, but it was not what I was expecting. In fairness, I had never done a Christmas cruise before, so it may always be like this or maybe it's because it was only a 3nt. At any rate, meh.
-Lack of holiday decor at Castaway Cay - what was that about? We've done two November DCLs prior, and we always enjoyed seeing the tree and snow family out on the pier in addition to swags and island-style Christmas music. There were a couple of wreaths and garlands between security and the bridge, but that was it. It was weird!
-The merchandise on the ship was baffling. Surely there aren't THAT many people purchasing Cartier or Rolex on their DCL? Just as surely the market for DCL branded merchandise is higher than the market for jewelry?
Are You Kidding Me?:
-The choke points on the Wish were significant. I understand wanting the beautiful open atrium, but the actual space to walk around the perimeter on decks 4 and 5 was incredibly limited and made worse when there were characters present in addition to lines forming for various things and dinner seatings beginning (with lots of people moving in a single direction). Similarly, the backside of Marceline Market was like this. No one could move because no one could move. It was odd.
-And finally, Pier 8... what a disappointment. We were in boarding group 3 (came by DCL transfer from MCO) and I am not speaking hyperbolically when I say it was MAYHEM. There were many lines for many things but not enough cast members to get people in the correct spots (they were trying!) We sort of got pushed along a side wall until there was nowhere left to go but through the stanchions to board the ship; that would have been great if it had been time to board the ship, but it wasn't. Looking around, it looked as though there were a lot of unhappy people and no one knew what to do. There were folding and plastic chairs to sit on, but they were being used as barricades and were being knocked over. The noise level was significant and somewhat disorienting. We were quickly called to board, but my nervous system was shot from about 10 minutes in that space. Then, you had to walk the length of the building (it's arranged horizontally, not vertically as the actual DCL building is) to get to the gangway, then walk it again to get up the first half of the gangway, then AGAIN for the second half. We are healthy adults who have no mobility issues, be aware if that is not the case for you. My husband joking referred to the walk from the bus to actually getting on the ship as the Port Canaveral 5K!
Overall it was a great trip and I'm so glad we did it. We're doing a family cruise on the Treasure this June/July, and I am looking forward to being back on DCL!
Everyone was such a help in preparing me for my adults-only Wish adventure that I wanted to pay it forward.
My husband and I are newly minted gold DCL and have enjoyed several cruises with our daughters. We have sailed the Magic and the Fantasy, so the Wish was new to us. It fit our time frame for our 25th anniversary, so we decided to give it a go. Our sailing was a Very Merrytime cruise, and we sailed out of pier 8 at Port Canaveral. We stayed in an inside room on deck 9 (we had never done interior before, and a short cruise seemed like a good time to try it.) We sort of took each day as it came with the only requirement being that we were having fun and what we did involved spending time together. I wasn't sure about the Wish given some of the reviews I've read over the years, so I'll address my (our) experiences, only.
Great:
-The service in the dining rooms and quick food and coffee locations. People were generally very friendly even when guests were not being particularly polite.
-The decor of the ship - WOW! It really is beautifully done.
-Palo Steakhouse and The Rose were incredible in service, decor, and food. Our evening there was just perfection!
-The cruise hosts and hostesses were lovely and friendly. We had a great time at trivia and other events where they were present.
-The bartenders were great! Friendly, personable, quick, and a little heavy-handed on the pour (YMMV on this one, but I got a Pain Killer at the Cove Bar, and HOLY COW I felt like someone had stolen my legs when I stood up!)
-Castaway Cay... I LOVE it there.
Good:
-The food, overall. Everything was good to very good and I appreciated the smaller variety in Marceline Market (as compared to Cabanas) as the food seemed fresher and just tastier.
-The lack of mid-ship elevators (I know, I can't believe it, either!) I think if there was one more thing in that atrium, it would have been awful. Also, the forward and aft elevators have been adjusted toward the mid-ship area so it never seemed to be a problem for us.
Needs Improvement:
-The Very Merry portion of the cruise was somewhat lacking. There was a beautiful tree and swags in the atrium and some other random decor about the ship, but I think I was expecting more of a Main Street-during-a-Christmas-party feel rather than what it was. There were a couple of Christmas-themed events, but it was not what I was expecting. In fairness, I had never done a Christmas cruise before, so it may always be like this or maybe it's because it was only a 3nt. At any rate, meh.
-Lack of holiday decor at Castaway Cay - what was that about? We've done two November DCLs prior, and we always enjoyed seeing the tree and snow family out on the pier in addition to swags and island-style Christmas music. There were a couple of wreaths and garlands between security and the bridge, but that was it. It was weird!
-The merchandise on the ship was baffling. Surely there aren't THAT many people purchasing Cartier or Rolex on their DCL? Just as surely the market for DCL branded merchandise is higher than the market for jewelry?
Are You Kidding Me?:
-The choke points on the Wish were significant. I understand wanting the beautiful open atrium, but the actual space to walk around the perimeter on decks 4 and 5 was incredibly limited and made worse when there were characters present in addition to lines forming for various things and dinner seatings beginning (with lots of people moving in a single direction). Similarly, the backside of Marceline Market was like this. No one could move because no one could move. It was odd.
-And finally, Pier 8... what a disappointment. We were in boarding group 3 (came by DCL transfer from MCO) and I am not speaking hyperbolically when I say it was MAYHEM. There were many lines for many things but not enough cast members to get people in the correct spots (they were trying!) We sort of got pushed along a side wall until there was nowhere left to go but through the stanchions to board the ship; that would have been great if it had been time to board the ship, but it wasn't. Looking around, it looked as though there were a lot of unhappy people and no one knew what to do. There were folding and plastic chairs to sit on, but they were being used as barricades and were being knocked over. The noise level was significant and somewhat disorienting. We were quickly called to board, but my nervous system was shot from about 10 minutes in that space. Then, you had to walk the length of the building (it's arranged horizontally, not vertically as the actual DCL building is) to get to the gangway, then walk it again to get up the first half of the gangway, then AGAIN for the second half. We are healthy adults who have no mobility issues, be aware if that is not the case for you. My husband joking referred to the walk from the bus to actually getting on the ship as the Port Canaveral 5K!
Overall it was a great trip and I'm so glad we did it. We're doing a family cruise on the Treasure this June/July, and I am looking forward to being back on DCL!
