Unpopular opinion -- DCL veteran here: I loved the Wish

[WaDiWo]

Hi all!

Ok, some background: we are Platinum, and have sailed on all of the other DCL ships, and at least 50-60% of the sailings on Concierge. Admittedly the Dream is my favorite. But really -- I *LOVED* the Wish.
I read all these criticisms, and I see where they're coming from, but all good. Here's my take:
-Layout and flow -- ok so the Wish is laid out differently and the flow is different. - ok so it takes one fun day of exploration to get yourself acclimated and see where things are. No problem. I actually like the layout.
i LOVE how the adult bars are scattered throughout instead of being in just one dedicated adult area. The bars are beautiful and makes of more more lively and busy atmosphere during the day.
-pools are too small? -- ok so the pools are small only because they divided and separated them, that way if there is an "accident" in one they only have to shut down ONE and there are several others that people can use.
-small adult area far away -- ok fine it's small but the complaint from other ships was that too many kids were walking through the adult area, so not that it's tucked away: problem solved!
-only 2 elevator banks! : for us I didn't see any problem at all.
-Palo is no longer a buffet: still an awesome brunch and one of the best restaurants I've ever eaten at
-Enchante -- dinner was amazing!!
-shows: wow, Seas the Adventure is worth the price admission
-food: every restaurant was amazing. hello performers are Arendelle, wow!
-concierge: best lounge ever.
-cut backs: ok I agree with this here, no more pirate bandanas, or organized castaway 5k, or bar snacks.

I see all the criticisms and mixed reviews. But from a platinum member who has sailed all the ships, honestly the Wish is amazing. Don"t be discouraged by the reviews, Disney Cruise Line knows hows to run and awesome cruise for the whole family!

 

[3DisneyFanz]

-pools are too small? -- ok so the pools are small only because they divided and separated them, that way if there is an "accident" in one they only have to shut down ONE and there are several others that people can use

Just a note on this one. If this is the supposed logic behind it then it doesn’t make sense when they close all of them at the same time for cleanings which happens daily. If that is supposedly the reason then you should clean one and then move on to the next as opposed to running everyone out of every pool for scheduled cleaning.

 

[insureman]

No offense but it seems like the most favorable reviews about the Wish are coming from concierge passengers. Is this possible ? If so why would this be? Just my opinion. Oh, also platinum here with some concierge and 23 cruises.

 

[auntlynne]

No offense but it seems like the most favorable reviews about the Wish are coming from concierge passengers. Is this possible ? If so why would this be? Just my opinion. Oh, also platinum here with some concierge and 23 cruises.

And as much as they pay, you would think that even small flaws would be a big detractor for them.

And sounds like this OP only addressed things that were available to all passengers. (I don’t think Concierge pool deck has an actual pool? Maybe just a big foot bath.)

It is possible Concierge has been posting more positive. But overall, it does seem like there are more positive reviews.

 

[happycamper47]

I see all the criticisms and mixed reviews. But from a platinum member who has sailed all the ships, honestly the Wish is amazing. Don"t be discouraged by the reviews, Disney Cruise Line knows hows to run and awesome cruise for the whole family!

My take is, as with the vast majority of forums, you usually only hear from the disgruntled customer. The majority who are satisfied normally never post.

 

[WaDiWo]

No offense but it seems like the most favorable reviews about the Wish are coming from concierge passengers. Is this possible ? If so why would this be? Just my opinion. Oh, also platinum here with some concierge and 23 cruises.

Hi! thanks for your observation. Yes I was concierge but I tried to make it a point NOT to concentrate on concierge in my original point and assessment (other than say the concierge lounge was great.) In fact, i’ve had better concierge service on the other ships due to the fact that the Wish concierge staff is spread thin because there are almost double the rooms!
But the point being that despite all that, I LOVED the rest of the non-concierge stuff available to all as I described

 

[Trera]

Hi all!

Ok, some background: we are Platinum, and have sailed on all of the other DCL ships, and at least 50-60% of the sailings on Concierge. Admittedly the Dream is my favorite. But really -- I *LOVED* the Wish.
I read all these criticisms, and I see where they're coming from, but all good. Here's my take:
-Layout and flow -- ok so the Wish is laid out differently and the flow is different. - ok so it takes one fun day of exploration to get yourself acclimated and see where things are. No problem. I actually like the layout.
i LOVE how the adult bars are scattered throughout instead of being in just one dedicated adult area. The bars are beautiful and makes of more more lively and busy atmosphere during the day.
-pools are too small? -- ok so the pools are small only because they divided and separated them, that way if there is an "accident" in one they only have to shut down ONE and there are several others that people can use.
-small adult area far away -- ok fine it's small but the complaint from other ships was that too many kids were walking through the adult area, so not that it's tucked away: problem solved!
-only 2 elevator banks! : for us I didn't see any problem at all.
-Palo is no longer a buffet: still an awesome brunch and one of the best restaurants I've ever eaten at
-Enchante -- dinner was amazing!!
-shows: wow, Seas the Adventure is worth the price admission
-food: every restaurant was amazing. hello performers are Arendelle, wow!
-concierge: best lounge ever.
-cut backs: ok I agree with this here, no more pirate bandanas, or organized castaway 5k, or bar snacks.

I see all the criticisms and mixed reviews. But from a platinum member who has sailed all the ships, honestly the Wish is amazing. Don"t be discouraged by the reviews, Disney Cruise Line knows hows to run and awesome cruise for the whole family!

We were on a B2B concierge cruise three weeks ago and I second your sentiments. If we cruised the Wish again, I think the only thing we would do different is to visit the Hyperspace lounge during the open house to watch the video screens and shoot a few pictures. We were not a fan of the drinks there and the strict 45 min time limit.

 

[axfather]

I loved the Wish, but do have one complaint......the seats for the movies are uncomfortable and a def. downgrade from the Fantasy/Dream.

 

[FLPrincessMom]

I loved the Wish, but do have one complaint......the seats for the movies are uncomfortable and a def. downgrade from the Fantasy/Dream.

Yes! I agree!! They felt like they sloped forward - it was terrible

 

[jiminyC_fan]

Thank you for your review! I am platinum and leave in a few weeks. I plan to look for the good and not concentrate on the negative reviews. I, also, won't compare the Wish to the other four. I am open to "new". Thanks again for your perspective.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

I'm boarding in a week and not in concierge either. mind wide open. brain might fall out.
Actually my favorite ship is probably the Magic.

 

[DCLMP]

My take is, as with the vast majority of forums, you usually only hear from the disgruntled customer. The majority who are satisfied normally never post.

There's always been a lot of positive reviews on this forum. If you research hotels on trip advisor you'll find hotels with reviews that are 95% positive. Disney seems to be generating a lot of negative reviews over the last year, but most of it is justified. If you go back a few years it's the opposite.

 

[insureman]

Hi! thanks for your observation. Yes I was concierge but I tried to make it a point NOT to concentrate on concierge in my original point and assessment (other than say the concierge lounge was great.) In fact, i’ve had better concierge service on the other ships due to the fact that the Wish concierge staff is spread thin because there are almost double the rooms!
But the point being that despite all that, I LOVED the rest of the non-concierge stuff available to all as I described

I really want to like this ship because we are scheduled for a b2b in the beginning of February so I'm wondering if I made the right decision to do the b2b instead of 4 day to try it out.

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

Thank you for your post! I love hearing about others experiences and opinions that are based off of said experiences. Considering I am most liley doign my first ever cruise in general on the Wish next year, I appreciate it even more.

 

[Pooh93]

We are looking forward to sailing the WISH in November. I figure there will be so much to explore we will be booking another sailing!.

 

[John VN]

Thank you for your review! I am platinum and leave in a few weeks. I plan to look for the good and not concentrate on the negative reviews. I, also, won't compare the Wish to the other four. I am open to "new". Thanks again for your perspective.

DW and I seriously had thoughts about TRYING a 4 day/3 day B2B WISH after hearing from her sister (she recently sailed a 4 Day Concierge and was very pleased with most everything) until I watched some WISH Concierge Lounge videos. This might sound strange but we are not FULL SHIP IMMERSION cruisers meaning that every aspect of the ship must be taken into consideration for us to enjoy a cruise. Onboard activities aren't important, shows aren't important, décor is not important but what is important is the Concierge Immersion Experience for the dollars paid.

DW just booked a B2B July 2023 YC Concierge for $2,000 less than a WISH Verandah and $7,000 less than Concierge.

 

[insureman]

DW and I seriously had thoughts about TRYING a 4 day/3 day B2B WISH after hearing from her sister (she recently sailed a 4 Day Concierge and was very pleased with most everything) until I watched some WISH Concierge Lounge videos. This might sound strange but we are not FULL SHIP IMMERSION cruisers meaning that every aspect of the ship must be taken into consideration for us to enjoy a cruise. Onboard activities aren't important, shows aren't important, décor is not important but what is important is the Concierge Immersion Experience for the dollars paid.

DW just booked a B2B July 2023 YC Concierge for $2,000 less than a WISH Verandah and $7,000 less than Concierge.

Sorry, what is YC concierge?

 

[anjuan]

We weren't concierge for our b2b Wish cruise but we also had a great time. Are there things that I like better on the other ships- absolutely. But there are also things that are much better on the Wish. The ship is very beautiful! I think people just need to look at them as two different experiences. Now would I pay substantially more for the Wish at this point? Probably not because I like longer cruises and I don't prefer the Wish substantially more than the other ships. But I think that anyone booked on the Wish will have a great cruise!

 

[tink1970]

Thanks for your post @WaDiWo -we're on a B2B in concierge late Oct/early Nov and reading some of the other reviews was pretty discouraging. Since these are likely our last cruises with DCL for the foreseeable future, happy to hear a positive perspective!

 

[CamColt]

Thanks for the review! I'm glad you enjoyed it and glad to hear a good review? My biggest concern was addressed but not really confirmed that it's ok.

Kids walking through the adult area never bothered me, so the fact that is resolved is a non issue to me. The small adult area and lack of chairs is my issue. From your review it sounds as though it is in fact small? Is it bad? Were there any lounge chairs in the sun near by? In over 10 cruises on the Dream and Fantasy I have never had an issue getting a lounger in the sun. And THAT is how I spend just about ever day. That is really my top priority on any cruise.