Wish Crowds

[db0125]

Ok, I'm ready for summer vacation and starting to book my next DCL cruise. For those that have sailed already how were the crowds on the Wish? I'm expecting it to be busy being a new ship and all but
- are the pools so crowded there's no room to swim?
- are the lines long?
- etc (please share your experiences)
I went on the Dream with my 5yr old for the 1st time last year and we had a blast! went right before school let out and when they weren't doing full capacity so it was very comfortable walking around, always a seat to eat at the buffet, never a line at the kids club, even got in the hot tub! I know the elevators are always full but we never had a problem taking the stairs, I just want to make sure I'm getting my money's worth and am able to check out all activities. I'm a huge marvel fan and her favorite has always been frozen so the wish is a no brainer but I looked at other cruises and we could do the Magic instead.. I feel that ship would be less crowded (and its $2000 cheaper). Thoughts on the Magic as well? we have only sailed the Dream.

 

[DCLCruiseFan09]

Ok, I'm ready for summer vacation and starting to book my next DCL cruise. For those that have sailed already how were the crowds on the Wish? I'm expecting it to be busy being a new ship and all but
- are the pools so crowded there's no room to swim?
- are the lines long?
- etc (please share your experiences)
I went on the Dream with my 5yr old for the 1st time last year and we had a blast! went right before school let out and when they weren't doing full capacity so it was very comfortable walking around, always a seat to eat at the buffet, never a line at the kids club, even got in the hot tub! I know the elevators are always full but we never had a problem taking the stairs, I just want to make sure I'm getting my money's worth and am able to check out all activities. I'm a huge marvel fan and her favorite has always been frozen so the wish is a no brainer but I looked at other cruises and we could do the Magic instead.. I feel that ship would be less crowded (and its $2000 cheaper). Thoughts on the Magic as well? we have only sailed the Dream.

We went on the Wish 11/28 for 4 nights. The ship's pool areas are some of my favorite. The tiered layout of the family pools allow for multiple swimming options and depths. If there are any accidents, they can close individual pools without having to close everything.

The Aquamouse had a wait of about 45 min on our sailing. If you try to hit it on off times (In port in Nassau, CC, during Dinner service) you'll have a shorter wait. we never waited longer than 30 min.

There is a large 6 - 8 person Hot tub in the adult area which is the only free Hot tub on the ship for guests who do not want to pay for the Rainforest room. We went daily and had no issues sharing the space with others who were pleasant. There are not hot tubs on this ship in the family areas as far as I am aware but someone might be able to correct that.

We loved the wish and look forward to sailing on her again once the "New" wears off a bit and the price becomes more reasonable/discounts become available.

You can go no wrong in my mind with any Disney ship. Usually we are more limited by ships but with the Wish, Magic, and Dream all sailing from FL with similar itineraries we have lots of choices now.

I would encourage you to stick with what you have but others may share different opinions. If you Enjoyed the Dream and felt "I would like more to do" the Wish may be the right choice. If you enjoyed the Dream but would enjoy a bit more of a "relaxation by the pool for a few hours every day" kind of cruise that still has plenty of activities, while still keeping true to DCL in a classic atmosphere that is more similar in design to the dream than the wish is, then pick the magic.

Other things to keep in mind, the Wish still offers lots of premium options included with your cruise faire that the magic doesn't. The price may be higher but the ship does offer QUITE a bit more than the Magic does.

The food on the Wish for us was the stand out. Even the Marvel restaurant (Our lowest rated) was better than other menus on the Classic ships. The Filet at 1923 is worth the cruise in my opinion. I am looking forward to eating there again.

 

[DSLRuser]

was just on the wish in January 2023.

The ship was full, but the ship eats crowds. The pools on the main deck were "people soup". But 6 year old kids don't mind.

We went to the Star Wars Bar 3 or 4 times and there was always open seating. People lined up for dinner, when there was no need. Go to dinner 5 mins after your time and walk right to your table.

Elevators suck. We were deck 10 so always took the stairs 1 flight up to the pool deck. In fact we only took the elevators 1 time. always took the stairs.

Adults only area was never crowded. Always able to find room in the pool. The hot tub was hit or miss.

Aqua Mouse for us was 5 min wait all three times we did it...but we did camp near the line for our seats and watched for low crowd times.

Had such a blast, we are going again in June, and December. The Wish is by far the best ship in the fleet.

Pre Sale Away

Sale Away

Pirate Party

Scuttles Cove Mid Day

 

[MomOTwins]

I have done every ship except the Wonder and I would say it is definitely a close call. We enjoyed the Wish and the Magic pretty much evenly for different reasons. The Wish has more people but is bigger so it absorbs crowds just as well—we were on a sold out sailing on both ships and didn’t feel it was any more crowded on wish vs the magic, though if you are going in summer versus when school is in session that will make it more crowded regardless of which ship you pick. The one exception is on castaway cay, since the fewer people on the magic is more noticeable on the island.

On the Magic, loved the pool layout with the hot tubs in the center where you can watch funnel vision (though maybe less important in summer—we went in spring), loved the Tangled and Wishes shows, loved the Rapunzel dinner, loved the cozy smaller layout of the ship making everything so easy to get to. On the Wish, we preferred the aqua mouse water slide (not a fan of the “dunk” slide on the magic), we enjoyed the “disneyfied” room and ship decor, loved the frozen and marvel dinners, but felt the theater shows were better on the magic. I think both are about equal when you add up the pros and cons, which does make me lean toward the cheaper option, but we had a wonderful time on both ships.

I note there are some STRONG opinions on these boards against the Wish, though most seem concentrated on the adult only areas, change from “classic ocean liner” design to “castle at sea” aesthetic, and promenade deck. I personally don’t care about any of those things but I do acknowledge the Wish is more polarizing.

 

[Maisie78]

Other things to keep in mind, the Wish still offers lots of premium options included with your cruise faire that the magic doesn't. The price may be higher but the ship does offer QUITE a bit more than the Magic does.

I'm not trying to start an argument (and I did like the Wish, so not a Wish hater) but am a bit confused by this statement. What included premium options does the Wish have that the Magic doesn't?

ETA: Just remembered one big one - the Scavenger Hunt type thing (can't remember the name - it wasn't available when I sailed this summer)

 

[DCLCruiseFan09]

I'm not trying to start an argument (and I did like the Wish, so not a Wish hater) but am a bit confused by this statement. What included premium options does the Wish have that the Magic doesn't?

ETA: Just remembered one big one - the Scavenger Hunt type thing (can't remember the name - it wasn't available when I sailed this summer)

Things like the AquaMouse/AquaDuck vs AquaDunk, More Quick service options on the wish, upgraded MDR offerings (Filet in 1923, Scallops in Arendelle), Uncharted Adventure (Wish)/Midship Detective Agency(Dream/Fantasy). More recreation options for pools, the list goes on.

The magic is a wonderful ship. I still prefer to spend time on the classics just as much. The wish is priced higher because it offers more.

I think my favorite thing about DCL is that all of them are really great. I can sail on the Magic and have just as amazing of a time as on the Wish. One of the best parts about the Wish is that it set the Dream free to do more itineraries and different things. Lets face it, no matter how much you like the wish, the 3 and 4 night itineraries aren't great.

 

[goofy4prez]

Had such a blast, we are going again in June, and December. The Wish is by far the best ship in the fleet.

Definitely opinion based. I myself think the Fantasy is the best ship. Others would say the Wish, Magic or Dream is the best ship. We are all correct as to which ship is the best.

But having said that, the most important thing is having a blast, and I am certainly glad you had a blast.

 

[DCLMP]

The Wish is priced higher because it’s new. The 3 and 4 night cruises out of PC always had high per night costs when the Dream was there too.

 

[kiford]

- are the pools so crowded there's no room to swim?

The pools are very small but there are several of them. It's not feasible to actually swim in any of them. Some days they were crowded and other times not so much. It wasn't consistent and not all of them are always open simultaneously.

are the lines long?

Because some of the venues - coffee places, lounges/bars - were small, there were lines and the areas were definitely crowded. The atrium can get crowded when they do character greetings or activities but when those weren't happening, it was really easy to get lots of pictures of Cinderella, the slipper, the carpet (look closely at the carpet), etc. without anyone else getting the way or ending up in your picture. Guest services was really busy the first day but not after that, and efficiently managed.

We only went to Marcelline Market a couple of times and one of those times was when everyone else was on Castaway Cay so it definitely wasn't busy then. Some lineups at other times but it moves well and there's lots of seating. The longest lines I saw was during lunch on deck at the quick service places but it still moved reasonably well.

Mickey's Mainsail was insanely packed right after the show ended (you kind of walk past it when you leave) with lineups at the cash 10 people or more deep. Not a good time to go. We went at other times and we were the only people buying.

I did in general feel it was more crowded than the Fantasy/Dream but I think that's largely because they've made so many of the places and services small so it doesn't handle sudden influxes of people well. If you can go at off times, it's better. For example, outside of the main lunch time, the quick service places on deck are not at all busy but at noon it's a zoo.

Surprisingly, we got a good spot for both pirate shows and it wasn't wall to wall people elbowing their way in. Not that it wasn't well attended, but it didn't seem as packed as previous pirate shows. The stage shows were reasonably full but we were still able to find four seats together 15 minutes before the show. Maybe not the most premium seats but they still had a good view. No need to show up 30 minutes prior unless you are really set on a specific seat.

Thoughts on the Magic as well? we have only sailed the Dream.

It's hard to give you an unbiased opinion since the Magic is still my favourite ship. She's a little older, doesn't have quite so many of the new technological features of even the Dream, but she's so classic and a little more intimate. The staterooms are larger than any of the other ships except her sister ship. But if your daughter likes Frozen, I have to say that the Arendelle show would be a hit. I had seen other people posting videos and thought it would be a bit hokey but we all loved it. I'm not sure you can go wrong with either the Magic or the Wish.

 

[anricat]

ETA: Just remembered one big one - the Scavenger Hunt type thing (can't remember the name - it wasn't available when I sailed this summer)

You didn't miss much. We found it to be buggy with clunky gameplay and honestly, slightly boring. We gave up on it. Midship Detective Agency is a lot more fun.

 

[auntlynne]