Thought I'd leave a review of our 4 nights on the Wish (7/25-29) since I found other's reviews so helpful. We haven't cruised in 10 years, and the last Disney cruise I've been on was in the late 90's, so this review is coming from a newbie.
Arrival & Terminal : We had a PAT at 11:15. We arrived right at 11:15 and things went seamlessly. Luggage drop off was easy, plenty of parking, short walk to terminal. A little bit of a line to check in at the terminal, but not bad. Only issue we ran into was that our room number (assigned for weeks, GTY) had been changed that morning, so that was a little bit of a surprise, but no biggie. A little bit of a wait (45 minutes or so) after check-in before boarding.
Stateroom: Our stateroom was on Deck 9, Deluxe Oceanview with Verandah, and it was an Aurora room. Because our room had been changed that morning, there was a little confusion and delay because our keys were not outside our room, and half of our luggage was delivered to our original room - but we got it ironed out with guest services pretty easy. The stateroom was beautiful and still had that brand-new smell. Great view from verandah. We loved the split bathroom. Plenty of closet/drawer/shelf space for our family of 4. Beds were very comfy, pillows were amazing (or maybe I was just really tired each night!). Glad we brought magnetic hooks - most used item in the room. Also loved having packing cubes - so much easier and more organized for a family, especially with kids. All of our suitcases fit easily under the bed. TV placement has been a common critique but it didn't bother us much; it was hardly used.
Cast & Crew: Phenomenal. So friendly, always asking how your day was going and if everything was to your liking. Didn't want you to lift a finger if you tried. Jimmy was our cruise director (no Ashley this trip) and he was great.
Deck 11/Pools: Pools were great, didn't feel overly crowded. Liked that there were so many. The pool deck is HOT HOT HOT on your feet, though. We have "FL feet" and can take pretty hot surfaces, but we found it very uncomfortable and wore sandals between pools and while walking around. Festival of Foods was awesome. It was a great add on DCL's part. Our favorite was Donald's Cantina followed by Mickey's BBQ. Lines weren't terrible. Kids loved Minnie's Ice Cream, of course. We also enjoyed the refreshing snow cones at Wheezy's on Deck 12.
Aquamouse: This was the most frustrating part of our trip, unfortunately. We did get to ride it a couple times, so can't complain too much. But we never could find the line less than 45-60 minutes, and it broke down A LOT. The last time my youngest and I attempted to ride it, the line didn't look too bad but we ended up waiting an hour, waited through 3 break-downs/resets, and eventually had to bail the line in order to make dinner. I guess there's issues with sensors, and 2 out of the 3 times we rode it, we were delayed for multiple resets which add 10-15 minutes every time to the line time estimate. It was annoying. When it worked, it was fun - but short. Pretty views during the clear/open tunnels, especially when the ship is at port in the Bahamas.
Restaurants/Food: Restaurants and dinner shows were fun. Our favorite restaurant and menu was 1923 (kids would say Marvel and Arendelle). Food was pretty good. We had some issues here and there with everyone (kids included) getting their food at different times, but we were also a very large group, so I gave it grace. Our server was personable, friendly, and very patient with our large party. Our favorite dishes were the cilantro-lime shrimp (Pirate night), the braised meatballs (Arendelle), the baked scallops (Arendelle), sticky-date pudding (Marvel) and of course the filet (1923). Kids loved the Arendelle desserts (coronation sundae and Olaf's smores).
Oceaneer's Club: Our kids (7 in our party) had a blast at Oceaneer's club and asked to go back several times each day - mainly for the build your own rollercoaster area. Perfect because it gave us time to check out some of the lounges
Lounges: We did Nightingales, the Bayou, and Hyperspace (made reservation upon boarding). Got the signature Sweet Nightingale at Nightingales and it was good. Hyperspace was neat, but the drinks were sub-par. Six of us went, and my husband was the only one who got a good drink - the rest were too sweet and odd. He got the Tatooine which was fun to watch with the smoke bubbles, and tasted the best. The rest of us got other cocktails and didn't really enjoy them as much. We visited The Rose, which was gorgeous, but we didn't have a chance to have anything there. It was nearly empty the evening we stopped by. Very peaceful!
Spa: Enjoyed our couples massage - loved having it the first night to decompress from the stress of traveling, lifting/carrying luggage, etc. Got us into vacation mode really quickly! We did a tour of the Rainforest Room which I would have loved to enjoy, I was just worried I wouldn't have enough time to spend there to justify the cost - and I was probably right.
Shows: We really enjoyed the Sail Away party and the Pirate Night show. Little Mermaid was good but not spectacular. I expected more wow-factor, especially since it was the only show and Aladdin was cancelled until further notice.
Photobook: This, I will definitely skip next time. It was a big fail and was pricey. Part of it is our fault in not stopping for enough pictures (even though it felt like we did), but I felt like I didn't have enough good unique pictures to fill the book. I ended up having to use some stock photos when I would rather it have been pictures of our family. They also wouldn't let our family (we spanned 4 staterooms) use pictures of each other's kids in our books even though we consented with our room numbers - so cute pictures of cousins together didn't make the books. My SIL had to argue for grandma & grandpa to be able to have pictures of their grandkids in their book - they didn't want all pictures of just the two of them! They did the cruise for memories with the kids! I feel like I could make a far better book on Shutterfly for a fraction of the price I paid for the photobook. Lesson learned!
Overall: Overall incredible time and very happy with our experience. Glad we had a chance to see the Wish because it is stunning - had the most fun walking around looking at the artwork. I heard talk of 3700 being onboard for our sailing - it was mentioned that it was more than in past weeks - but I never felt like the ship was crowded. We bought the bounce-back deal and will likely consider a different ship and longer sail next time so not every day feels like go-go-go and there's more time to slow down, relax, and enjoy.
Happy to answer any questions if I didn't already cover it in this novel.
Arrival & Terminal : We had a PAT at 11:15. We arrived right at 11:15 and things went seamlessly. Luggage drop off was easy, plenty of parking, short walk to terminal. A little bit of a line to check in at the terminal, but not bad. Only issue we ran into was that our room number (assigned for weeks, GTY) had been changed that morning, so that was a little bit of a surprise, but no biggie. A little bit of a wait (45 minutes or so) after check-in before boarding.
Stateroom: Our stateroom was on Deck 9, Deluxe Oceanview with Verandah, and it was an Aurora room. Because our room had been changed that morning, there was a little confusion and delay because our keys were not outside our room, and half of our luggage was delivered to our original room - but we got it ironed out with guest services pretty easy. The stateroom was beautiful and still had that brand-new smell. Great view from verandah. We loved the split bathroom. Plenty of closet/drawer/shelf space for our family of 4. Beds were very comfy, pillows were amazing (or maybe I was just really tired each night!). Glad we brought magnetic hooks - most used item in the room. Also loved having packing cubes - so much easier and more organized for a family, especially with kids. All of our suitcases fit easily under the bed. TV placement has been a common critique but it didn't bother us much; it was hardly used.
Cast & Crew: Phenomenal. So friendly, always asking how your day was going and if everything was to your liking. Didn't want you to lift a finger if you tried. Jimmy was our cruise director (no Ashley this trip) and he was great.
Deck 11/Pools: Pools were great, didn't feel overly crowded. Liked that there were so many. The pool deck is HOT HOT HOT on your feet, though. We have "FL feet" and can take pretty hot surfaces, but we found it very uncomfortable and wore sandals between pools and while walking around. Festival of Foods was awesome. It was a great add on DCL's part. Our favorite was Donald's Cantina followed by Mickey's BBQ. Lines weren't terrible. Kids loved Minnie's Ice Cream, of course. We also enjoyed the refreshing snow cones at Wheezy's on Deck 12.
Aquamouse: This was the most frustrating part of our trip, unfortunately. We did get to ride it a couple times, so can't complain too much. But we never could find the line less than 45-60 minutes, and it broke down A LOT. The last time my youngest and I attempted to ride it, the line didn't look too bad but we ended up waiting an hour, waited through 3 break-downs/resets, and eventually had to bail the line in order to make dinner. I guess there's issues with sensors, and 2 out of the 3 times we rode it, we were delayed for multiple resets which add 10-15 minutes every time to the line time estimate. It was annoying. When it worked, it was fun - but short. Pretty views during the clear/open tunnels, especially when the ship is at port in the Bahamas.
Restaurants/Food: Restaurants and dinner shows were fun. Our favorite restaurant and menu was 1923 (kids would say Marvel and Arendelle). Food was pretty good. We had some issues here and there with everyone (kids included) getting their food at different times, but we were also a very large group, so I gave it grace. Our server was personable, friendly, and very patient with our large party. Our favorite dishes were the cilantro-lime shrimp (Pirate night), the braised meatballs (Arendelle), the baked scallops (Arendelle), sticky-date pudding (Marvel) and of course the filet (1923). Kids loved the Arendelle desserts (coronation sundae and Olaf's smores).
Oceaneer's Club: Our kids (7 in our party) had a blast at Oceaneer's club and asked to go back several times each day - mainly for the build your own rollercoaster area. Perfect because it gave us time to check out some of the lounges
Lounges: We did Nightingales, the Bayou, and Hyperspace (made reservation upon boarding). Got the signature Sweet Nightingale at Nightingales and it was good. Hyperspace was neat, but the drinks were sub-par. Six of us went, and my husband was the only one who got a good drink - the rest were too sweet and odd. He got the Tatooine which was fun to watch with the smoke bubbles, and tasted the best. The rest of us got other cocktails and didn't really enjoy them as much. We visited The Rose, which was gorgeous, but we didn't have a chance to have anything there. It was nearly empty the evening we stopped by. Very peaceful!
Spa: Enjoyed our couples massage - loved having it the first night to decompress from the stress of traveling, lifting/carrying luggage, etc. Got us into vacation mode really quickly! We did a tour of the Rainforest Room which I would have loved to enjoy, I was just worried I wouldn't have enough time to spend there to justify the cost - and I was probably right.
Shows: We really enjoyed the Sail Away party and the Pirate Night show. Little Mermaid was good but not spectacular. I expected more wow-factor, especially since it was the only show and Aladdin was cancelled until further notice.
Photobook: This, I will definitely skip next time. It was a big fail and was pricey. Part of it is our fault in not stopping for enough pictures (even though it felt like we did), but I felt like I didn't have enough good unique pictures to fill the book. I ended up having to use some stock photos when I would rather it have been pictures of our family. They also wouldn't let our family (we spanned 4 staterooms) use pictures of each other's kids in our books even though we consented with our room numbers - so cute pictures of cousins together didn't make the books. My SIL had to argue for grandma & grandpa to be able to have pictures of their grandkids in their book - they didn't want all pictures of just the two of them! They did the cruise for memories with the kids! I feel like I could make a far better book on Shutterfly for a fraction of the price I paid for the photobook. Lesson learned!
Overall: Overall incredible time and very happy with our experience. Glad we had a chance to see the Wish because it is stunning - had the most fun walking around looking at the artwork. I heard talk of 3700 being onboard for our sailing - it was mentioned that it was more than in past weeks - but I never felt like the ship was crowded. We bought the bounce-back deal and will likely consider a different ship and longer sail next time so not every day feels like go-go-go and there's more time to slow down, relax, and enjoy.
Happy to answer any questions if I didn't already cover it in this novel.
Very informative
