Just off Wish B2B

BuckeyeFortFan

Earning My Ears
Joined
Feb 19, 2019
Messages
12
We recently came off the Wish on a 4/3 B2B. Our previous cruises were all on the Dream, a 4 day double dip and 2 B2B's over the past 8 years.
We were familiar with the criticisms of the new ship but we kept an open mind. Overall I would say we were impressed.
The Wish is beautiful, but different than the Dream. Less nautical. I believe I heard one of the designers describe it as a "Disney castle at sea." Many of the areas did remind me of the parks or resorts and I could easily see Arendelle, Marvel or 1923 transplanted to WDW.
The service was excellent as always.
The food was every bit as good as the Dream. Marceline Market may have slightly less selection than a pre-Covid Cabanas but the Fantasy of Foods makes up for it. Donald's Cantina is delicious, the Smokestack BBQ is very good and my kids loved the pizza. The main dining rooms had at least one offering per course that was excellent and I often got two entrees because I couldn't choose. I really can't comment on the main entrée sides, I usually don't eat the potato or whatever carbohydrate is offered.
The pools on the main deck are an improvement, mainly because there are more to choose from and didn't seem as crowded as on the Dream. I did not try the infinity pool in the adult section, my wife said it was small and hard to get out of because of the location of the ladder.
Aqua mouse is fine. It is nice to not have to climb six flights of stairs but it does feel shorter and not as thrilling as the Aqua duck.
We had a verandah stateroom. I really liked the room but my wife did miss the drawers beside the closet on the Dream. Next time we would pack into some type of drawer organizer that could be stacked on the shelves in the closet for small items like socks and underwear. The stateroom lighting is very nice, all dimmable LED's including a really cool light along the top of the verandah door, and bedside lamps and aimable reading lights on each side of the headboard. The closets also had lights that turn on automatically when you open the door of the hanging clothes sections on each end. The bathrooms were nice, very functional.
Criticisms we had have probably all been heard before and none were a trip ruiner.
Many spaces feel closer than on the Dream. The hallways on the stateroom decks seem much narrower. If a guest was in a ECV or wheelchair it could be difficult to navigate and hopefully no one is coming the other way.
The main dining rooms are way too crowded. The tables seem small and are definitely closer together. Servers had a difficult time navigating between them.
The Walt Disney Theater is torture to sit in for an hour. I am not the smallest guy around but the seats are small and leg room between rows is inadequate. I dreaded going to the evening shows, but my DD's love them. In comparison the theater seating in the upper deck of Luna was very comfortable. I don't know about the two movie theaters as we did not see any movies.
I would like to tell you about the adult section but it is so far out of the way that I only made it there once when touring the ship when we first boarded. I know a problem many had with the Dream class is the adults section being very close to the main area and actually having to cross through it to get to the spa or the forward elevators, but the adult section on the Wish is the extreme opposite.
The high end shopping on deck 3 is just silly. Huge amounts of space devoted to a few luxury items and honestly, I never saw anyone shopping in any of them and we spent a good bit of time in The Bayou, which is right between these shops. Mickeys Mainsail, on the other hand, was always crowded and did not seem to have near the selection as the souvenir shops on the Dream.
The elevators were not a problem for us. The buttons are a little tricky. Sometimes just waving your hand would initiate stops at several floors and other times you have to hit your floor selection two or three times to get it to activate.
Would I go back on the Wish? Sure, if the itinerary was right. We are probably done with the Nassau/CC B2Bs, and would like to try the Fantasy, but we heard she will be off to Europe and replaced by the Treasure doing 7 day trips out of PC by the time of our next trip.
If anyone has any questions about a B2B or the Wish I would be glad to answer if able.
 
How was the transfer experience between the two cruises? We're doing our first back to back in Feb of 2024
 
Thanks for your review! We are doing a 4 night in May on the Wish and I’ve been a little nervous since reading some reviews, but am feeling better after reading yours.

I think I just need to approach it with a different mindset - the Dream and Fantasy were just kind of puffed up versions of the Magic and Wonder, so I think I was expecting the Wish to be a puffed up version of the Dream and Fantasy … but it sounds like that’s not the case.
 
Thanks for your review! I'll be on the Wish for a 3-nighter in April because I want to check out the ship, so this was helpful!

Where did you hear the Fantasy will be off to Europe and replaced by the Treasure doing 7-nights in the Caribbean? I've heard speculation but nothing definitive. I love the Fantasy so that would be sad (though I get why DCL would make that move, if that is what they're doing.
 

How was the transfer experience between the two cruises? We're doing our first back to back in Feb of 2024
It was fairly simple and straight forward.
On the last afternoon of the first leg our steward left an envelope with instructions and a yellow card that denoted us as B2B. We were instructed to leave the ship by 9:30 and would be allowed back on as soon as possible.
We left our rooms as is, no packing or anything, just needed room key and passports, and our boarding paper for the 2nd trip, and the yellow card I mentioned. We did eat breakfast at 6:55 in the MDR that we were assigned to, but in the future I would just go to the buffet, which was open at 7, with limited selection but still better than the last day MDR.
After breakfast we stayed in our room a little, then went up to Marcelene Market so our steward could get into the rooms. At 9am we went down to the Grand Hall and you could see the other B2B families starting to congregate and about 9:30 the call went out for all guests to disembark.
We got off the ship, waited through a relatively short customs line and exited the terminal. On our first pre-Covid B2B we were directed right back up the escalator to the terminal. This time we had to exit the building towards the busses, walk around the round glass part of the building and back in the normal entrance. We then had to go through the check in process and security again. By this time other guests were arriving, probably concierge.
We went up the escalator and the very front section of the waiting area was labeled for B2B guests. We waited there for an hour or so and then went back through the big Mickey onto the ship. On our first B2b we were allowed to wait in the concierge area and just entered through the door from there to get to the gangway.
Our steward had told us that the rooms would be ready at 11 so we went to them, dropped our stuff and headed for the MDR lunch in Arendelle.
 
Where did you hear the Fantasy will be off to Europe and replaced by the Treasure doing 7-nights in the Caribbean? I've heard speculation but nothing definitive. I love the Fantasy so that would be sad (though I get why DCL would make that move, if that is what they're doing.
Our steward told us, but I have seen the same speculated elsewhere and it makes logical sense, but until itineraries are posted I guess we don't know for sure.
 
It was fairly simple and straight forward.
On the last afternoon of the first leg our steward left an envelope with instructions and a yellow card that denoted us as B2B. We were instructed to leave the ship by 9:30 and would be allowed back on as soon as possible.
We left our rooms as is, no packing or anything, just needed room key and passports, and our boarding paper for the 2nd trip, and the yellow card I mentioned. We did eat breakfast at 6:55 in the MDR that we were assigned to, but in the future I would just go to the buffet, which was open at 7, with limited selection but still better than the last day MDR.
After breakfast we stayed in our room a little, then went up to Marcelene Market so our steward could get into the rooms. At 9am we went down to the Grand Hall and you could see the other B2B families starting to congregate and about 9:30 the call went out for all guests to disembark.
We got off the ship, waited through a relatively short customs line and exited the terminal. On our first pre-Covid B2B we were directed right back up the escalator to the terminal. This time we had to exit the building towards the busses, walk around the round glass part of the building and back in the normal entrance. We then had to go through the check in process and security again. By this time other guests were arriving, probably concierge.
We went up the escalator and the very front section of the waiting area was labeled for B2B guests. We waited there for an hour or so and then went back through the big Mickey onto the ship. On our first B2b we were allowed to wait in the concierge area and just entered through the door from there to get to the gangway.
Our steward had told us that the rooms would be ready at 11 so we went to them, dropped our stuff and headed for the MDR lunch in Arendelle.
Thank you so much!
 
Thanks for the review. I too am trying to keep an open mind for our first Wish Cruise next month, but I am somewhat concerned over some of the repeated negatives I keep hearing. I do like the positives though! :thumbsup2
 
Thanks for the b2b info. Excited to do our first one & see the Wish. So many questions ! Was lunch open when you got back on or any food? About what time were you back on? Any chance you were able to get a Palo brunch for the 2nd cruise while on the 1st? Do they have any pastries in cove cafe?
 
Besides pirate and nautical what else where the characters wearing?
Mostly their cruise uniforms. Pirate garb on pirate night and 1 day they were in their classic costumes, during a dance party in the Grand Hall. On CC Chip & Dale had on Hawaiian shirts. They were the only ones I saw there.
 
Thanks for the b2b info. Excited to do our first one & see the Wish. So many questions ! Was lunch open when you got back on or any food? About what time were you back on? Any chance you were able to get a Palo brunch for the 2nd cruise while on the 1st? Do they have any pastries in cove cafe?
We were back on at 11:30 and lunch opens in the MDR and MM at 12. There was supposed to be snacks for us in the Marcelene Market Cafe, but we didn't get there. By the time we were back to our rooms and settled it was time for lunch. We expected to be back on by 11 and I know on a previous B2B we were back on by 10:30.
We have never tried for any upcharge dining. We have 4 kids! But....I bet you cannot book anything for the 2nd leg during the 1st. My wife and daughters wanted manicures and could not schedule until the 2nd cruise began but were able to walk in and sit down on 2nd embarkation day.
My wife says no pastries in Cove Cafe, but I was only there once at the very beginning of our trip.
 
It was fairly simple and straight forward.
On the last afternoon of the first leg our steward left an envelope with instructions and a yellow card that denoted us as B2B. We were instructed to leave the ship by 9:30 and would be allowed back on as soon as possible.
We left our rooms as is, no packing or anything, just needed room key and passports, and our boarding paper for the 2nd trip, and the yellow card I mentioned. We did eat breakfast at 6:55 in the MDR that we were assigned to, but in the future I would just go to the buffet, which was open at 7, with limited selection but still better than the last day MDR.
After breakfast we stayed in our room a little, then went up to Marcelene Market so our steward could get into the rooms. At 9am we went down to the Grand Hall and you could see the other B2B families starting to congregate and about 9:30 the call went out for all guests to disembark.
We got off the ship, waited through a relatively short customs line and exited the terminal. On our first pre-Covid B2B we were directed right back up the escalator to the terminal. This time we had to exit the building towards the busses, walk around the round glass part of the building and back in the normal entrance. We then had to go through the check in process and security again. By this time other guests were arriving, probably concierge.
We went up the escalator and the very front section of the waiting area was labeled for B2B guests. We waited there for an hour or so and then went back through the big Mickey onto the ship. On our first B2b we were allowed to wait in the concierge area and just entered through the door from there to get to the gangway.
Our steward had told us that the rooms would be ready at 11 so we went to them, dropped our stuff and headed for the MDR lunch in Arendelle.
Your reboarding was very similar to our b2b on the Fantasy in November. We had done b2b cruises before covid and was always back on the ship within 45 minutes. In November we were not onboard until noon and it was after the concierge guest.
 
Very nice review. I know there are some drawbacks/differences, but this review makes me look forward to checking it out for myself. Sounds like a great cruise!
 

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