MomOTwins
The Mommy Fairy
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2018
- Messages
- 8,688
My kids are a fan of the "who would win" book series and I thought it'd be fun to a Disney cruise line version comparing my 3-night HOTHS sailing on the Wish this past weekend with a 3-night HOTHS sailing we took on the Dream last year. So without further ado, here's my (purely subjective) take on "who would win" across the categories of our experiences:
1. Kids Club: WISH
This one isn't even close. The Wish took everything up a notch, or two, or eleven (it goes to 11--you Spinal Tap fans know what I mean) from the prior clubs. If you have kids aged 12 or under, book a cruise on the Wish NOW before they age out. The theming is INCREDIBLE (you wouldn't believe the level of detail in the princess rooms) and the technology in the Marvel, Star Wars and Imagineering is seriously cool. The slide to get in--how cute and fun is that? My kids LOVED it and it is surprisingly fast and fun--they would even ask to check out and check back in to ride it more than once in a row. They let the adults ride it too during open house. In general, this kids club is a lot better for adults who want to let loose their inner kid, or kids who are too young or old for the club, since the club is designed so rooms can be shut off from the rest of the club for an hour and opened up to the hallway for anyone to enter and either play an "all ages" game (e.g. the Star Wars creature game) or meet a character, while the rest of the club remains closed off and secured for the kids who are checked in. I loved this as it let us have a bit more family time with my kids (also at the "Hero zone" which is a really great family fun area for all ages). My twins are at an age where they can go to either the Oceaneer's club or Edge, and on our last cruise on the Magic, they chose Edge, but this time they couldn't get enough of Oceaneer's. And that is saying something, because they are video game junkies and all the video games were at Edge.
2. Rooms: DREAM
This is a close call because I LOVED the room artwork on the Wish. We had frozen, but I saw the others too walking down the halls with doors open and the artwork is all gorgeous. But the layout was just not as good as the Dream. With costumes, beach gear, clothes, and swim stuff for 5 people, I didn't feel the storage was quite adequate, especially as they filled up all the shelves in the closet with life vests (why didn't they have those on a high shelf ABOVE the clothes storage area like the other ships?). Also we had a bumpout balcony on the Wish, which I thought I was going to love, but I ended up feeling a bit "meh" about it. There were no reclining loungers, so it was still just the same two chairs and a table, and not enough extra space to really be noticeable. Plus I hated that my kids all had to cram into our bed to watch a movie (part of our bedtime wind down routine on cruises) because there was no TV visible from the couch/children's beds. Finally, the bathrooms in the family (larger size) rooms felt cramped on the Wish compared to the Dream--the glass walled in shower was hard to get kids bathed in, no rainfall showerhead like there is in the family rooms on the Dream. The Dream might not have the pretty pictures on the walls, but the nautical theme is still timeless, and the layout is much more ergonomic.
3. Food: WISH
Wowza on the food. Dinner at 1923 felt like Palo quality, I kid you not. Delicious and creative menus in every MDR. I also loved the expanded "Festival of Foods" on the pool deck (OMG the PIZZA--I ate it MULTIPLE times a day for snacks. Don't judge. It is that good). Cabanas and Marceline Market are basically the same thing food-wise (the layout is a bit different, and marceline is cafeteria style instead of self-serve, but 90% of the food is the same), so those are a wash. We didn't pay for the upcharge food at Inside Out sweets, the Bayou, or the pub lounge so I can't speak to those, but we never felt we needed to because there was tons of delicious free food available at all hours.
4. Drinks: DREAM
Now for drinks, that was a bit disappointing. I like a few cocktails per day on vacation (or more than a few...) and I was so excited looking at the menus on the Wish before sailing. Despite all the cute glasses and smoke bubbles (so many smoke bubbles it started to remind me of the "more cowbell" skit on SNL--why did EVERY lounge have to do the smoke bubble thing?), the drinks were almost all sweet sugar fruit juice bombs, even at the fancy "the Rose" and "Nightengale" bars. For example, I went to the Rose and ordered a drink that the menu says has 3 ingredients listed: rum, chartreuse and galliano. I get handed a big glass of pineapple juice. "This isn't my drink," I tell the bartender, "the one I ordered didn't have any juice in it." "Sorry, says the bartender "I know the menu is wrong but they won't fix it." "Well can you make it for me without the juice?" I ask. "No maam, because almost all of it is juice, and it would only be a one-ounce drink if I did that. Uuurgggh, I'm still fuming. Something close to that experience also happened to me at Luna, in the MDRs, and at Nightengales. Most of the drinks I ordered I took two sips and then left it because it basically tasted like liquid cotton candy. The ONE exception to this is Hooks Barbery, which made VERY good old fashioneds, but I was only able to get a drink there once because there are no hours posted, and it was closed (either closed altogether, or reserved for a drink tasting) nearly all of the day. And the price for them was nuts (more on that later). At least on the Dream, I could get always get a reliably good drink at Meridian, at a reasonable price.
5. Service: DREAM
I probably shouldn't even include this category, because service is so hit or miss. But we did have top-notch service across the board on the Dream, whereas on the Wish, I do feel the crowds and inexperience of some of the crew (several remarked that this was their first sailing, so we may have just had unlucky timing) were distracted and seemed unhappy and overworked. Ordering drinks at the bars and getting the bill for them often took a painfully long time. At dinner, we had an amazing server who was very attentive and friendly, but no "magic tricks" (I LOVED those on the Dream), and our assistant server was not the greatest--one night, our drinks arrived after the second course. Plus, this is the first time in 6 Disney cruises that I genuinely felt like a second class citizen because of all the fawning over concierge I saw. Might be because there was more concierge guests on the ship, but as an example one morning at the buffet I was navigating my way to the table balancing two plates of food and four glasses of juice for my kiddos and overheard a manager tell the staff that a suite guest was arriving and they needed to meet them at the door to find them a table and bring them their drinks and I wanted to cry. They pay for it, I get it, but it used to be the "regular" service was so good I never felt envious of concierge. I can't tell if this is a one-off so take it with a grain of salt.
6. Entertainment: WISH
The entertainment staff was on their a-game this cruise! Some of the singing at the evening shows was just phenomenal--what incredible talent! The special effects in Aladdin and Seas the Adventure are amazing--won't share spoilers but they were great shows. Little mermaid was fine, but not great (good singing and acting, less-than-stellar costumes, choreography and set design). Compared to the Dream which has one stunning show (Beauty and the Beast) and two others that are just okay, the evening show win goes to the Wish. But more importantly, it truly felt like the whole ship was a Disney movie come to life from start to finish. The sail away show blew the other ships' sailaways out of the water. The Arrendale show was spectacular and the Marvel dinner show was a lot more fun that it seemed in the videos--lots better than Crush on the Dream. Olaf's picnic (pricy but worth it!) was a full stage musical show, much better than the Royal Tea on the Dream where they basically just introduce the characters for a meet and greet. The pirate night live music, introduction of the "Red" pirate character, and the double fireworks gave it a little extra Wow factor. And the "wishing star" event each night was just pure magic. This is the one reason my heart just longs to be back on the Wish someday--the entertainment never stopped for a second and was superb.
7. Halloween: WISH
Halloween was VERY well done on the Wish. I get that some of that might just be that last year had limited offerings due to the pandemic, but the pumpkin tree was extra beautiful and unique on the wish compared to other ships, the character costumes were new and very fun (Minnie, Daisy and Clarabelle as the Sanderson sisters is a highlight), and it really felt like Halloween was a lot more "present" in the day to day experience than on the Dream last year.
8. Cost: DREAM
Okay, this is the part that makes me so sad because I would LOVE to sail again on the Wish, but boy was it expensive compared to the other ships. And I'm not just talking about the $1,000+ surcharge on the base price for the cruise. Prices for everything on board seemed a little nuts. Remember those yummy old fashioneds I mentioned? $50 each. And the garbage sugar-water drinks at the other bars weren't cheap either--typically around $30 after tax and tip. We bought the rainforest passes like we always do on the other ships, and even though I knew the price going in, it stung to pay $200 per person after the required autogratuity--compared to less than half that on the other ships--only to have an inferior experience (sauna/steam room weren't hot, cold room wasn't cold, showers didn't have the same "rainforest" effects as the other ships, no views of the water like on the Dream). Overall, because of the cost, I cancelled the Wish B2B I had booked for spring break next year and switched it to a Fantasy cruise with the Disney+ deal for $3,500 less. The Wish is nice, but my funds are not unlimited, especially with the stock market and inflation taking a big hit on our savings at the moment. Hard to justify returning to the Wish when I know there is such a good quality to be found on other ships.
Overall Winner: IT'S A TIE! I honestly didn't plan it that way, was just going to see where it landed, but the Wish and Dream had an even number of winning categories. And to be honest, that's kind of the perfect reflection of how I feel. I loved the Dream. And I loved the Wish. They are different, and they both have pros and cons, but in the end, both still felt like a Disney cruise. And that's my favorite kind of vacation.
1. Kids Club: WISH
This one isn't even close. The Wish took everything up a notch, or two, or eleven (it goes to 11--you Spinal Tap fans know what I mean) from the prior clubs. If you have kids aged 12 or under, book a cruise on the Wish NOW before they age out. The theming is INCREDIBLE (you wouldn't believe the level of detail in the princess rooms) and the technology in the Marvel, Star Wars and Imagineering is seriously cool. The slide to get in--how cute and fun is that? My kids LOVED it and it is surprisingly fast and fun--they would even ask to check out and check back in to ride it more than once in a row. They let the adults ride it too during open house. In general, this kids club is a lot better for adults who want to let loose their inner kid, or kids who are too young or old for the club, since the club is designed so rooms can be shut off from the rest of the club for an hour and opened up to the hallway for anyone to enter and either play an "all ages" game (e.g. the Star Wars creature game) or meet a character, while the rest of the club remains closed off and secured for the kids who are checked in. I loved this as it let us have a bit more family time with my kids (also at the "Hero zone" which is a really great family fun area for all ages). My twins are at an age where they can go to either the Oceaneer's club or Edge, and on our last cruise on the Magic, they chose Edge, but this time they couldn't get enough of Oceaneer's. And that is saying something, because they are video game junkies and all the video games were at Edge.
2. Rooms: DREAM
This is a close call because I LOVED the room artwork on the Wish. We had frozen, but I saw the others too walking down the halls with doors open and the artwork is all gorgeous. But the layout was just not as good as the Dream. With costumes, beach gear, clothes, and swim stuff for 5 people, I didn't feel the storage was quite adequate, especially as they filled up all the shelves in the closet with life vests (why didn't they have those on a high shelf ABOVE the clothes storage area like the other ships?). Also we had a bumpout balcony on the Wish, which I thought I was going to love, but I ended up feeling a bit "meh" about it. There were no reclining loungers, so it was still just the same two chairs and a table, and not enough extra space to really be noticeable. Plus I hated that my kids all had to cram into our bed to watch a movie (part of our bedtime wind down routine on cruises) because there was no TV visible from the couch/children's beds. Finally, the bathrooms in the family (larger size) rooms felt cramped on the Wish compared to the Dream--the glass walled in shower was hard to get kids bathed in, no rainfall showerhead like there is in the family rooms on the Dream. The Dream might not have the pretty pictures on the walls, but the nautical theme is still timeless, and the layout is much more ergonomic.
3. Food: WISH
Wowza on the food. Dinner at 1923 felt like Palo quality, I kid you not. Delicious and creative menus in every MDR. I also loved the expanded "Festival of Foods" on the pool deck (OMG the PIZZA--I ate it MULTIPLE times a day for snacks. Don't judge. It is that good). Cabanas and Marceline Market are basically the same thing food-wise (the layout is a bit different, and marceline is cafeteria style instead of self-serve, but 90% of the food is the same), so those are a wash. We didn't pay for the upcharge food at Inside Out sweets, the Bayou, or the pub lounge so I can't speak to those, but we never felt we needed to because there was tons of delicious free food available at all hours.
4. Drinks: DREAM
Now for drinks, that was a bit disappointing. I like a few cocktails per day on vacation (or more than a few...) and I was so excited looking at the menus on the Wish before sailing. Despite all the cute glasses and smoke bubbles (so many smoke bubbles it started to remind me of the "more cowbell" skit on SNL--why did EVERY lounge have to do the smoke bubble thing?), the drinks were almost all sweet sugar fruit juice bombs, even at the fancy "the Rose" and "Nightengale" bars. For example, I went to the Rose and ordered a drink that the menu says has 3 ingredients listed: rum, chartreuse and galliano. I get handed a big glass of pineapple juice. "This isn't my drink," I tell the bartender, "the one I ordered didn't have any juice in it." "Sorry, says the bartender "I know the menu is wrong but they won't fix it." "Well can you make it for me without the juice?" I ask. "No maam, because almost all of it is juice, and it would only be a one-ounce drink if I did that. Uuurgggh, I'm still fuming. Something close to that experience also happened to me at Luna, in the MDRs, and at Nightengales. Most of the drinks I ordered I took two sips and then left it because it basically tasted like liquid cotton candy. The ONE exception to this is Hooks Barbery, which made VERY good old fashioneds, but I was only able to get a drink there once because there are no hours posted, and it was closed (either closed altogether, or reserved for a drink tasting) nearly all of the day. And the price for them was nuts (more on that later). At least on the Dream, I could get always get a reliably good drink at Meridian, at a reasonable price.
5. Service: DREAM
I probably shouldn't even include this category, because service is so hit or miss. But we did have top-notch service across the board on the Dream, whereas on the Wish, I do feel the crowds and inexperience of some of the crew (several remarked that this was their first sailing, so we may have just had unlucky timing) were distracted and seemed unhappy and overworked. Ordering drinks at the bars and getting the bill for them often took a painfully long time. At dinner, we had an amazing server who was very attentive and friendly, but no "magic tricks" (I LOVED those on the Dream), and our assistant server was not the greatest--one night, our drinks arrived after the second course. Plus, this is the first time in 6 Disney cruises that I genuinely felt like a second class citizen because of all the fawning over concierge I saw. Might be because there was more concierge guests on the ship, but as an example one morning at the buffet I was navigating my way to the table balancing two plates of food and four glasses of juice for my kiddos and overheard a manager tell the staff that a suite guest was arriving and they needed to meet them at the door to find them a table and bring them their drinks and I wanted to cry. They pay for it, I get it, but it used to be the "regular" service was so good I never felt envious of concierge. I can't tell if this is a one-off so take it with a grain of salt.
6. Entertainment: WISH
The entertainment staff was on their a-game this cruise! Some of the singing at the evening shows was just phenomenal--what incredible talent! The special effects in Aladdin and Seas the Adventure are amazing--won't share spoilers but they were great shows. Little mermaid was fine, but not great (good singing and acting, less-than-stellar costumes, choreography and set design). Compared to the Dream which has one stunning show (Beauty and the Beast) and two others that are just okay, the evening show win goes to the Wish. But more importantly, it truly felt like the whole ship was a Disney movie come to life from start to finish. The sail away show blew the other ships' sailaways out of the water. The Arrendale show was spectacular and the Marvel dinner show was a lot more fun that it seemed in the videos--lots better than Crush on the Dream. Olaf's picnic (pricy but worth it!) was a full stage musical show, much better than the Royal Tea on the Dream where they basically just introduce the characters for a meet and greet. The pirate night live music, introduction of the "Red" pirate character, and the double fireworks gave it a little extra Wow factor. And the "wishing star" event each night was just pure magic. This is the one reason my heart just longs to be back on the Wish someday--the entertainment never stopped for a second and was superb.
7. Halloween: WISH
Halloween was VERY well done on the Wish. I get that some of that might just be that last year had limited offerings due to the pandemic, but the pumpkin tree was extra beautiful and unique on the wish compared to other ships, the character costumes were new and very fun (Minnie, Daisy and Clarabelle as the Sanderson sisters is a highlight), and it really felt like Halloween was a lot more "present" in the day to day experience than on the Dream last year.
8. Cost: DREAM
Okay, this is the part that makes me so sad because I would LOVE to sail again on the Wish, but boy was it expensive compared to the other ships. And I'm not just talking about the $1,000+ surcharge on the base price for the cruise. Prices for everything on board seemed a little nuts. Remember those yummy old fashioneds I mentioned? $50 each. And the garbage sugar-water drinks at the other bars weren't cheap either--typically around $30 after tax and tip. We bought the rainforest passes like we always do on the other ships, and even though I knew the price going in, it stung to pay $200 per person after the required autogratuity--compared to less than half that on the other ships--only to have an inferior experience (sauna/steam room weren't hot, cold room wasn't cold, showers didn't have the same "rainforest" effects as the other ships, no views of the water like on the Dream). Overall, because of the cost, I cancelled the Wish B2B I had booked for spring break next year and switched it to a Fantasy cruise with the Disney+ deal for $3,500 less. The Wish is nice, but my funds are not unlimited, especially with the stock market and inflation taking a big hit on our savings at the moment. Hard to justify returning to the Wish when I know there is such a good quality to be found on other ships.
Overall Winner: IT'S A TIE! I honestly didn't plan it that way, was just going to see where it landed, but the Wish and Dream had an even number of winning categories. And to be honest, that's kind of the perfect reflection of how I feel. I loved the Dream. And I loved the Wish. They are different, and they both have pros and cons, but in the end, both still felt like a Disney cruise. And that's my favorite kind of vacation.
