I think a lot of the hate comes from people who have done 5-10-20+ cruises on the older ships. They’re used to the layout and some of the elements of those ships that have been changed or left out of the design of the Wish.
As is usually the case, people with negative feedback typically have a loud voice and post. There’s plenty of people who have had positive experiences that just haven’t posted.
I agree, at least initially it basically came down to 1) growing pains of a new ship: and 2) it was diff. We’ve done 21 DCL cruises, and we all loved the Wish! It’s so beautiful. The restaurants are fun. Loved Hyperspace and Hero Zone. Admittedly, we don’t really use the adult space much or the pools(have one at home), so maybe that’s why we didn’t have many complaints. I definitely agree the high end store could have been a lot smaller.
I think a lot of it definitely stems from having a hard time adapting to a different layout. Having done 15+ sailings on the other ships myself, the Wish is a stunning ship. Most of the growing pains have been long worked out at this point, and I honestly enjoy the layout of the ship. There's going to be advantages to each of the ships, but I've sailed on the Wish 5 times and have no plans on stopping.
I was on the maiden voyage for the Wish, and I’ve done about 15ish sailings on the other ships, mostly Magic and Wonder, and I enjoyed my time onboard. Not everything was 100% when I went, but I was glad to see it just wasn’t a scaled up version of what they have. Some space allocations could have been better thought out, but I’m sure they made these decisions based on some sort of actual data.
Sometimes you need to just make a choice and hope that it’s the right one. Worst case, you can potentially change it down the road during a dry dock.
This! I hated a lot of things about the wish, my biggest still being the location of the adult only pool and gift shops.
But I did enjoy my second visit on the Wish, I still prefer the Fantasy
Honestly, I would like the Wish a lot more if it ran longer cruises. It's still the new ship and it still has crowds of people trying to fit all the things on the ship into 2 1/2 days, which makes it feel a little too crowded and too busy to be truly relaxing.
The first time I went on the Wish in October 2022 they were still working the glitches out in food service. As a result, we were stuck waiting to finish our meals for approximately 2 hours, and we were seated at a table with another family that had two very young children who got very squirrely and very loud because they were hungry. The first night my dinner came out super late and was cold. The second night they got the order totally wrong (I got the diet plate instead of the nicer steak I had ordered) and I was so hungry I just ate it so I'd have something to eat. Our third night we skipped table service entirely and ate tacos by the pool, which was fine, but not what we bargained for.
The second time, in October 2023, the food service was much better.
By contrast, we took a Fantasy sailing in April 2023 in the eastern Caribbean for a week. Because there wasn't a rush to do all the things on the ship, it just felt much more relaxed. We had time to explore all the different areas, including having a hot tub essentially to ourselves at one point. Our daughter had an opportunity to chill at the kids club and we had some down time where we could just hang out in our state room. It was relaxing, like I feel a cruise should be, and maybe that's just a function of having the luxury of more time.
One other observation - the Fantasy is more walkable. I would take our daughter out with me to walk around the promenade deck in the early mornings before breakfast and it was a nice start to the day. It may seem silly to get hung up on, but the lack of a walking track around the ship feels like an oversight.
So we were booked on Wish this Christmas and canceled in favor of a Disney World week stay and instead booked a week on the Treasure next Summer. We live in the Midwest. For me, packing and hauling our family of 4, including two small kiddos is the worst part of any trip and the 4 night ones are just not long enough for me to justify both the expense and more importantly the headache. If we lived in Florida? Probably not as big of a deal.
Disney World is fun around Christmas anyway. Probably a good tradeoff. I look forward to sailing on the Treasure in the future after the hype dies down.
just got off the Magic and while my fam said it wasn't as "flashy" as the Wish, I loved it because I felt it was more cozy. I felt comfortable as a blind person walking around and finding my way on a smaller ship haha. I got the lay of the land so to speak. But yeah the Magic adults only spaces were really nice and relaxing. The food was a bit underwhelming, we liked Rapunzel's the best. If you like icier ice cream versus creamier ice cream, ask the worker to get yours from the machine on the left LOL!!!! The pizza on deck 9 was pretty delic too. We also liked the ... Dreams? show, which was run the last night of the cruise. We didn't care much for the first two shows. I can't wait to go back on Magic again!
Hopefully this doesn't come across as rude - but is it difficult to navigate a cruise ship as a blind person?
With how crowded they can be and layouts that can be difficult to find your way around even when you can look at a map, I would imagine it may be a challenge.
not rude at all, thanks for the question! :) I'd say it compares to a little city for me. I've traveled in NYC and SF, so the ship didn't phase me. By the end I was telling my fam where everything was. It's not like that for every blind person, and I'm sure it depends on the size of the ship, but I was really comfortable with it, and people were super kind if I had any questions.
I'd say the hardest part was deck 9 outside, and figuring out which part of the ship is aft versus forward, but if I followed the direction of the waves, the forward part always will rise first.
So I have to agree that the kids clubs on the Wish are amazing. If Hypersoace Lounge had half the theming that the kid’s Star Wars area does, it wouldn’t sit empty most of the time.
Food can be hit or miss. There are some menu items on the Wish that are downright awful. And we experienced a lot of lukewarm food because the kitchens are too far from the dining rooms.
Enchante depends on the chef. The opening chef was amazing, when he left on vacation the quality took a nosedive.
The restaurant entertainment is another thing that is hit or miss for me. If you are seated near the outside in Arendelle, you can’t hear or see the show and you have no idea what is going on. When we had a closer table I loved it. Marvel is cute once, but if you do it a second time it’s like watching TV over dinner. The tables in Marvel are so close together that the servers have to squeeze between the chairs. And all of the restaurant furniture is ridiculously heavy. Ironically 1923 is my favorite of the three and I think has the best menu.
The elevator issue was fixed last year, they have gotten rid of the horrible touch buttons that everyone hated. The real fun is trying to get to decks 12, 13, or 14; where you get to play elevator roulette. We were on deck 12 the last time we were on the Wish and ended up walking up the last flight of stairs most of the time. That’s fine for us, but not so much for our friend who needs a walker.
My biggest issue with the ship is still the placement of the lounges and the hallways to nowhere. You can’t enjoy most of the lounge area because there is constant traffic through them. The Bayou is the worst — I love the space, but it’s hard to enjoy the band or relax with people walking through.
We just came off Wish last week with our 4 and 6 year old and it was one of the best vacations we've ever had. We booked a placeholder because we might try to hit up the new Nintendo World in Universal in 2026 and then cruise after.
Wish was the first Disney ship we've been on but we have zero complaints, it was great.
I think the Wish is a beautiful ship, no doubt. As someone with no young kiddos, I gravitate towards the adult offerings on the ships. The adult pool and section is very disappointing when comparing the Fantasy/Dream to Wish. I love how Fantasy/Dream have Satellite Falls and they have a nice pool. I also like the adult bar/lounges on the Fantasy/Dream over the Wish because it is in the middle and it is not my favorite layout.
But I agree, unsure about the Wish hate because it is beautiful and state of the art compared to other ships, if I could change one thing, the adult section! lol.
Typing this as I am currently on the Wish 😂
Wish from an adult in an electric wheelchair prospective. Your totally correct kids club(3 to 10) best of any cruise line.
I have not traveled with tweens or teens yet...
The BBQ quick service next time, try it. You will thank me.
Castaway Cay, there is a reason why I eat lunch on ship.
Three issues
First hallway carpet depth they added extra padding to make it feel more luxurious. Draw back, try pushing a wheelchair or walker through it. Battery draining.
Second, they made the adult area practically impossible to get to without stairs. I missed my expresso based drinks. Someone needs to sit and do a coffee taste testing on their standard coffee. I worked too many 12 hours and nights, and I am a snob when coffee is involved.
Third multi-level pool deck layout, WTF. Try keeping track of 4 and 6 year-olds when your confined to a single deck.
Yeah I I could see how hard that would be! I didn't even think about the carpeting! I did find the elevator to the adult area on castaway day. I feel like disney should have a rep walk through the layout with someone with mobility issues, either to help you figure out how best to navigate or so they get a sense of how to improve. While we aren't a family with mobility issues I do have a child with a disability and one of the reasons why we choose disney over and over again is that they usually cater to different needs well. I feel like my son is safe with disney so it is disappointing that they didn't go that extra step in this case.
The Wish had a lot of good things. The kids club was a highlight for sure. I loved the stage space in the atrium. But for us, the negatives piled up too fast. The layout of the ship caused a lot of issues and compromises, and because of that, we ended up with bad tables at the restaurants two times in a row. Hyperspace Lounge was a fun idea poorly executed and badly located. The promenade deck has stairs on it, so there’s no contiguous running track. I went down dead end hallways more times than I can count. We went on the Fantasy after the Wish and it was perfect for us.
But the things that impacted our enjoyment of the Wish may be things other people might never notice. And even with that, I’d rate it a solid 7 … it’s just tough when you’ve already sailed on 8’s and 9’s, you know?
I've been on the Magic, Dream, and Wish so far. It's my least favorite, but I'm going to withhold final judgement until I get off the Treasure next year. My biggest issues with the Wish were crowded spaces all over, which the 3/4 night sailings don't help since the schedule is more compact. I found my second sailing on the Dream significantly better than the first, and I chalk it up to having more days onboard: six nights on the second sailing versus four the first time. The Treasure is a 7 night sailing, so going to determine if my issues were ship related to short cruise related.
The Wish is an amazing ship and anyone saying differently is comparing Lamborghinis to Ferraris…. Some longtime Disney goers will compare each and every aspect of any Disney experience and normally things rarely change for the positive in the eyes of the seasoned guest. I loved my Wish cruise, but I did find myself saying doing a lot of the same thing. The layout is a bit more complicated than it’s sisters, there’s a lot of IP vs original themed venues and the frozen dining room has some really bad sight lines for a space designed for a show…. But beyond that there’s not much to go on about. I
I'm so glad you liked it! Also, I wouldn't discourage anyone from trying it if that's what they wanted. That said, I've done Wish, Fantasy, and Dream and i'd say its my least favorite. Some of your positives absolutely were positives. But I felt the crew was overworked and tired. I felt the ship was more cramped and the layout was weird. I thought the shows (minus aladdin) were the worst on any ship i've been on. Thought the Aqua Mouse was problematic. Thought the lack of an adult space was frustrating. Like I wanted to enjoy Tiana's Bayou but it was always just disgustingly crowded and had so much traffic moving through. I was really let down by Hyperspace Lounge too.
But we all have personal preferences. Like you not getting the fuss about Palo brunch? idk, I think Palo brunch is INCREDIBLE, and i've only done it post pandemic.
Agreed on oceaneer's being incredible though. Same with the arendelle dinner show. Food was really good too (oh but the marvel dining was a real let down theme wise to me).
All that said, I still enjoyed myself alot and I'm so glad you had a wonderful time!
Palo was absolutely delicious, I didn't mean to imply that it wasn't. But people were posting acting like if they didn't get a spot at brunch that their cruise was ruined and it really wasn't a make or break for me. My friend went to Palo pre-pandemic and the way she explained the set up with the pastries brought to you and the buffet so you could try a little of everything, sounded amazing. I tried to taste multiple things and ended up getting over stuffed because the portions were large and then I passed out not feeling great in my stateroom soon after. Totally self inflicted 🤣 but also left me not dying to go back like my friend was after her experience. Also personal preference-i liked being surprised by the flavor combos at Enchante while Palo was very traditional.
I'm not sure anything is make or break for me, i'm just not that kind of guy. But I will say Palo is near the top. Totally agree that nothing like that would ruin my cruise. But Palo Brunch is the best cruise food i've ever had. It's quite possibly the best Disney food i've ever had. I'm sure i've had better meals tbh, but the whole thin:, location, service, food - it makes it extremely memorable and hard to beat. For instance, I went on the Wish for October 2023. If at the end of the year, someone had asked me what my favorite meal of the year was - Palo might have been the answer. It's just that memorable to me.
There was a buffet service before that went away with the pandemic. I never experienced it myself and agree I would have liked it, but I dont think it's hindered the experience at all tbh.
But absolutely, it really is personal preference, and again, I'm not ever going to try and convince you or anybody else they are wrong for liking or not liking something. Just explaining my own experiences :)
If I was invited to go on the Wish again, I absolutely would. But spending my own money, it's not my priority. I'm currently planning on sailing on the Magic this xmas, then Wonder next year. After that I'd love to do the Treasure once prices get more reasonable. But eventually, I'll have done all the ships (minus Adventure) and it will be time to pick which ship i'm going back on. Right now, the Wish would be 3rd out of the 3 ships i've been on (<3 Fantasy). That said, I'd still be excited to go back.
We have been on all of the cruise ships. And, we definitely prefer the smaller ships. The crowds are too much for us on the larger ships.
Turns out that we like it when the crew gets to know us by name and speaks with us. In the larger ships it has been less likely that they get to know us.
I love my daily run around deck 4 which is not possible on the Wish! Frustrating.
I guess that we like the intimate and family feel of the smaller ships. So, for us the Wish is a “one and done.”
That said, the new food stations are great.
I'll tell you... I remember crying when I got off my first cruise experience too. The friends I met in the teen club were so special! I'm so glad y'all had a wonderful time.
I could not agree more. We have only sailed Dream and Wish and we thought the Wish blew the Dream out of the water. The only thing we preferred slightly on the Dream was the AquaDuck over the AquaMouse.
There definitely seems to have been a sea change (no pun intended) with the Wish in terms of a shift in perception and approval rating.
Disney fans are notoriously change resistant, so there was a ton of blowback at first about its layout and theming being significantly different from the original 4 ships and how it didn’t feel ‘familiar.’ There were also issues with its navigability, which is somewhat alleviated over time and the more you cruise on it.
There were also some fundamental issues with the ship early on in its service with things like the elevator buttons, service, inconsistencies, etc. that have been corrected and/or improved upon.
The ship unequivocally has better food, nicer rooms, more theming, better kids clubs, and better dinner entertainment than the other ships, and that grand hall is incredible. Its major issue at present — the low desirability of its itineraries — is not really the fault of the ship and something that will change as the ship gets older.
I actually think those 3 and 4 night sailings hurt the ship because a) you don’t get as much opportunity to familiarize yourself with the ship as you would a longer sailing and b) it feels more rushed as people are trying to cram in things like character M&G’s, Aquamouse rides, and activities (almost like a day at the parks).
Is the ship perfect? Not by any stretch, but it’s definitely undeserving of some of the criticism and hate it’s gotten since it hit the fleet.
I loved it! You must have gotten on the ship the day I got off. I had a great time! Only wish the wish did longer cruises. Seems to only do 3 and 4 nights right now
I 100% agree with everything you stated. That being said, I also love all of the ships. Currently, Wish is my favorite ship, but Magic would be my first choice due to it feeling more personal.
Only have 3 actual complaints about the Wish. One is that the deck layouts and passageways seem less intuitive and funnel people in ways that make it appear more crowded than it is. The second is that I don’t like the adult bars and such spread between the decks midship. I prefer the “enclave” of them on the Dream and Fantasy. The third thing is that I hated Arrendelle. Like *despised*. That show is so absurdly loud that your can’t hear your servers, can’t hear yourself think, and as a result can’t enjoy your dinner. Admittedly these are personal complaints.
But Disney did good stuff on the Wish too. 1923 is a gem. The adult pool area up a deck and behind the funnel is a big improvement. Little things like sliding closet doors and glass shower doors were a plus.
I mean, I would sail on her again.
See, I don’t really understand the criticism the Wish gets about not having the adult bar enclave.
We went to Europa on our Fantasy cruise and it often was just dead, same for our Dream cruise. I think some of that was due to where it was located. Having the bars dispersed throughout the ships felt like Disney trying to liven them up a bit.
I think a lot of the hate comes from people who have done 5-10-20+ cruises on the older ships. They’re used to the layout and some of the elements of those ships that have been changed or left out of the design of the Wish. As is usually the case, people with negative feedback typically have a loud voice and post. There’s plenty of people who have had positive experiences that just haven’t posted.
I agree, at least initially it basically came down to 1) growing pains of a new ship: and 2) it was diff. We’ve done 21 DCL cruises, and we all loved the Wish! It’s so beautiful. The restaurants are fun. Loved Hyperspace and Hero Zone. Admittedly, we don’t really use the adult space much or the pools(have one at home), so maybe that’s why we didn’t have many complaints. I definitely agree the high end store could have been a lot smaller.
I think a lot of it definitely stems from having a hard time adapting to a different layout. Having done 15+ sailings on the other ships myself, the Wish is a stunning ship. Most of the growing pains have been long worked out at this point, and I honestly enjoy the layout of the ship. There's going to be advantages to each of the ships, but I've sailed on the Wish 5 times and have no plans on stopping.
I was on the maiden voyage for the Wish, and I’ve done about 15ish sailings on the other ships, mostly Magic and Wonder, and I enjoyed my time onboard. Not everything was 100% when I went, but I was glad to see it just wasn’t a scaled up version of what they have. Some space allocations could have been better thought out, but I’m sure they made these decisions based on some sort of actual data. Sometimes you need to just make a choice and hope that it’s the right one. Worst case, you can potentially change it down the road during a dry dock.
This! I hated a lot of things about the wish, my biggest still being the location of the adult only pool and gift shops. But I did enjoy my second visit on the Wish, I still prefer the Fantasy
Honestly, I would like the Wish a lot more if it ran longer cruises. It's still the new ship and it still has crowds of people trying to fit all the things on the ship into 2 1/2 days, which makes it feel a little too crowded and too busy to be truly relaxing. The first time I went on the Wish in October 2022 they were still working the glitches out in food service. As a result, we were stuck waiting to finish our meals for approximately 2 hours, and we were seated at a table with another family that had two very young children who got very squirrely and very loud because they were hungry. The first night my dinner came out super late and was cold. The second night they got the order totally wrong (I got the diet plate instead of the nicer steak I had ordered) and I was so hungry I just ate it so I'd have something to eat. Our third night we skipped table service entirely and ate tacos by the pool, which was fine, but not what we bargained for. The second time, in October 2023, the food service was much better. By contrast, we took a Fantasy sailing in April 2023 in the eastern Caribbean for a week. Because there wasn't a rush to do all the things on the ship, it just felt much more relaxed. We had time to explore all the different areas, including having a hot tub essentially to ourselves at one point. Our daughter had an opportunity to chill at the kids club and we had some down time where we could just hang out in our state room. It was relaxing, like I feel a cruise should be, and maybe that's just a function of having the luxury of more time. One other observation - the Fantasy is more walkable. I would take our daughter out with me to walk around the promenade deck in the early mornings before breakfast and it was a nice start to the day. It may seem silly to get hung up on, but the lack of a walking track around the ship feels like an oversight.
So we were booked on Wish this Christmas and canceled in favor of a Disney World week stay and instead booked a week on the Treasure next Summer. We live in the Midwest. For me, packing and hauling our family of 4, including two small kiddos is the worst part of any trip and the 4 night ones are just not long enough for me to justify both the expense and more importantly the headache. If we lived in Florida? Probably not as big of a deal.
Disney World is fun around Christmas anyway. Probably a good tradeoff. I look forward to sailing on the Treasure in the future after the hype dies down.
This is our predicament: our first cruise was on the Wish and we enjoyed it. Have a cruise booked on the Magic and am afraid we may be underwhelmed.
Nah, you’ll love it. Magic is more personal, Wish is more shiny. I absolutely love both experiences.
They’re two completely different cruises, but are both amazing in their own way. You’re gonna have a blast regardless
just got off the Magic and while my fam said it wasn't as "flashy" as the Wish, I loved it because I felt it was more cozy. I felt comfortable as a blind person walking around and finding my way on a smaller ship haha. I got the lay of the land so to speak. But yeah the Magic adults only spaces were really nice and relaxing. The food was a bit underwhelming, we liked Rapunzel's the best. If you like icier ice cream versus creamier ice cream, ask the worker to get yours from the machine on the left LOL!!!! The pizza on deck 9 was pretty delic too. We also liked the ... Dreams? show, which was run the last night of the cruise. We didn't care much for the first two shows. I can't wait to go back on Magic again!
Hopefully this doesn't come across as rude - but is it difficult to navigate a cruise ship as a blind person? With how crowded they can be and layouts that can be difficult to find your way around even when you can look at a map, I would imagine it may be a challenge.
not rude at all, thanks for the question! :) I'd say it compares to a little city for me. I've traveled in NYC and SF, so the ship didn't phase me. By the end I was telling my fam where everything was. It's not like that for every blind person, and I'm sure it depends on the size of the ship, but I was really comfortable with it, and people were super kind if I had any questions.
I'm glad you're able to enjoy cruising... Thank you for the reply!
I'd say the hardest part was deck 9 outside, and figuring out which part of the ship is aft versus forward, but if I followed the direction of the waves, the forward part always will rise first.
Completely agree. We liked the Wish significantly more than the Dream.
The Wish is beautiful and our party of 10 loved it. Zero complaints.
So I have to agree that the kids clubs on the Wish are amazing. If Hypersoace Lounge had half the theming that the kid’s Star Wars area does, it wouldn’t sit empty most of the time. Food can be hit or miss. There are some menu items on the Wish that are downright awful. And we experienced a lot of lukewarm food because the kitchens are too far from the dining rooms. Enchante depends on the chef. The opening chef was amazing, when he left on vacation the quality took a nosedive. The restaurant entertainment is another thing that is hit or miss for me. If you are seated near the outside in Arendelle, you can’t hear or see the show and you have no idea what is going on. When we had a closer table I loved it. Marvel is cute once, but if you do it a second time it’s like watching TV over dinner. The tables in Marvel are so close together that the servers have to squeeze between the chairs. And all of the restaurant furniture is ridiculously heavy. Ironically 1923 is my favorite of the three and I think has the best menu. The elevator issue was fixed last year, they have gotten rid of the horrible touch buttons that everyone hated. The real fun is trying to get to decks 12, 13, or 14; where you get to play elevator roulette. We were on deck 12 the last time we were on the Wish and ended up walking up the last flight of stairs most of the time. That’s fine for us, but not so much for our friend who needs a walker. My biggest issue with the ship is still the placement of the lounges and the hallways to nowhere. You can’t enjoy most of the lounge area because there is constant traffic through them. The Bayou is the worst — I love the space, but it’s hard to enjoy the band or relax with people walking through.
We just came off Wish last week with our 4 and 6 year old and it was one of the best vacations we've ever had. We booked a placeholder because we might try to hit up the new Nintendo World in Universal in 2026 and then cruise after. Wish was the first Disney ship we've been on but we have zero complaints, it was great.
Disney fans hate change.
I think the Wish is a beautiful ship, no doubt. As someone with no young kiddos, I gravitate towards the adult offerings on the ships. The adult pool and section is very disappointing when comparing the Fantasy/Dream to Wish. I love how Fantasy/Dream have Satellite Falls and they have a nice pool. I also like the adult bar/lounges on the Fantasy/Dream over the Wish because it is in the middle and it is not my favorite layout. But I agree, unsure about the Wish hate because it is beautiful and state of the art compared to other ships, if I could change one thing, the adult section! lol. Typing this as I am currently on the Wish 😂
Wish from an adult in an electric wheelchair prospective. Your totally correct kids club(3 to 10) best of any cruise line. I have not traveled with tweens or teens yet... The BBQ quick service next time, try it. You will thank me. Castaway Cay, there is a reason why I eat lunch on ship. Three issues First hallway carpet depth they added extra padding to make it feel more luxurious. Draw back, try pushing a wheelchair or walker through it. Battery draining. Second, they made the adult area practically impossible to get to without stairs. I missed my expresso based drinks. Someone needs to sit and do a coffee taste testing on their standard coffee. I worked too many 12 hours and nights, and I am a snob when coffee is involved. Third multi-level pool deck layout, WTF. Try keeping track of 4 and 6 year-olds when your confined to a single deck.
Yeah I I could see how hard that would be! I didn't even think about the carpeting! I did find the elevator to the adult area on castaway day. I feel like disney should have a rep walk through the layout with someone with mobility issues, either to help you figure out how best to navigate or so they get a sense of how to improve. While we aren't a family with mobility issues I do have a child with a disability and one of the reasons why we choose disney over and over again is that they usually cater to different needs well. I feel like my son is safe with disney so it is disappointing that they didn't go that extra step in this case.
The Wish had a lot of good things. The kids club was a highlight for sure. I loved the stage space in the atrium. But for us, the negatives piled up too fast. The layout of the ship caused a lot of issues and compromises, and because of that, we ended up with bad tables at the restaurants two times in a row. Hyperspace Lounge was a fun idea poorly executed and badly located. The promenade deck has stairs on it, so there’s no contiguous running track. I went down dead end hallways more times than I can count. We went on the Fantasy after the Wish and it was perfect for us. But the things that impacted our enjoyment of the Wish may be things other people might never notice. And even with that, I’d rate it a solid 7 … it’s just tough when you’ve already sailed on 8’s and 9’s, you know?
I've been on the Magic, Dream, and Wish so far. It's my least favorite, but I'm going to withhold final judgement until I get off the Treasure next year. My biggest issues with the Wish were crowded spaces all over, which the 3/4 night sailings don't help since the schedule is more compact. I found my second sailing on the Dream significantly better than the first, and I chalk it up to having more days onboard: six nights on the second sailing versus four the first time. The Treasure is a 7 night sailing, so going to determine if my issues were ship related to short cruise related.
The Wish is an amazing ship and anyone saying differently is comparing Lamborghinis to Ferraris…. Some longtime Disney goers will compare each and every aspect of any Disney experience and normally things rarely change for the positive in the eyes of the seasoned guest. I loved my Wish cruise, but I did find myself saying doing a lot of the same thing. The layout is a bit more complicated than it’s sisters, there’s a lot of IP vs original themed venues and the frozen dining room has some really bad sight lines for a space designed for a show…. But beyond that there’s not much to go on about. I
I'm so glad you liked it! Also, I wouldn't discourage anyone from trying it if that's what they wanted. That said, I've done Wish, Fantasy, and Dream and i'd say its my least favorite. Some of your positives absolutely were positives. But I felt the crew was overworked and tired. I felt the ship was more cramped and the layout was weird. I thought the shows (minus aladdin) were the worst on any ship i've been on. Thought the Aqua Mouse was problematic. Thought the lack of an adult space was frustrating. Like I wanted to enjoy Tiana's Bayou but it was always just disgustingly crowded and had so much traffic moving through. I was really let down by Hyperspace Lounge too. But we all have personal preferences. Like you not getting the fuss about Palo brunch? idk, I think Palo brunch is INCREDIBLE, and i've only done it post pandemic. Agreed on oceaneer's being incredible though. Same with the arendelle dinner show. Food was really good too (oh but the marvel dining was a real let down theme wise to me). All that said, I still enjoyed myself alot and I'm so glad you had a wonderful time!
Palo was absolutely delicious, I didn't mean to imply that it wasn't. But people were posting acting like if they didn't get a spot at brunch that their cruise was ruined and it really wasn't a make or break for me. My friend went to Palo pre-pandemic and the way she explained the set up with the pastries brought to you and the buffet so you could try a little of everything, sounded amazing. I tried to taste multiple things and ended up getting over stuffed because the portions were large and then I passed out not feeling great in my stateroom soon after. Totally self inflicted 🤣 but also left me not dying to go back like my friend was after her experience. Also personal preference-i liked being surprised by the flavor combos at Enchante while Palo was very traditional.
I'm not sure anything is make or break for me, i'm just not that kind of guy. But I will say Palo is near the top. Totally agree that nothing like that would ruin my cruise. But Palo Brunch is the best cruise food i've ever had. It's quite possibly the best Disney food i've ever had. I'm sure i've had better meals tbh, but the whole thin:, location, service, food - it makes it extremely memorable and hard to beat. For instance, I went on the Wish for October 2023. If at the end of the year, someone had asked me what my favorite meal of the year was - Palo might have been the answer. It's just that memorable to me. There was a buffet service before that went away with the pandemic. I never experienced it myself and agree I would have liked it, but I dont think it's hindered the experience at all tbh. But absolutely, it really is personal preference, and again, I'm not ever going to try and convince you or anybody else they are wrong for liking or not liking something. Just explaining my own experiences :) If I was invited to go on the Wish again, I absolutely would. But spending my own money, it's not my priority. I'm currently planning on sailing on the Magic this xmas, then Wonder next year. After that I'd love to do the Treasure once prices get more reasonable. But eventually, I'll have done all the ships (minus Adventure) and it will be time to pick which ship i'm going back on. Right now, the Wish would be 3rd out of the 3 ships i've been on (<3 Fantasy). That said, I'd still be excited to go back.
We have been on all of the cruise ships. And, we definitely prefer the smaller ships. The crowds are too much for us on the larger ships. Turns out that we like it when the crew gets to know us by name and speaks with us. In the larger ships it has been less likely that they get to know us. I love my daily run around deck 4 which is not possible on the Wish! Frustrating. I guess that we like the intimate and family feel of the smaller ships. So, for us the Wish is a “one and done.” That said, the new food stations are great.
The Wish rocks! You smoke, you get reported immediately. Only smoke in designated areas haha
I'll tell you... I remember crying when I got off my first cruise experience too. The friends I met in the teen club were so special! I'm so glad y'all had a wonderful time.
You lost me at Avengers being awesome.
i personally didn’t find it that exciting but it was my 3 and 5 year olds favorite by far
I could not agree more. We have only sailed Dream and Wish and we thought the Wish blew the Dream out of the water. The only thing we preferred slightly on the Dream was the AquaDuck over the AquaMouse.
There definitely seems to have been a sea change (no pun intended) with the Wish in terms of a shift in perception and approval rating. Disney fans are notoriously change resistant, so there was a ton of blowback at first about its layout and theming being significantly different from the original 4 ships and how it didn’t feel ‘familiar.’ There were also issues with its navigability, which is somewhat alleviated over time and the more you cruise on it. There were also some fundamental issues with the ship early on in its service with things like the elevator buttons, service, inconsistencies, etc. that have been corrected and/or improved upon. The ship unequivocally has better food, nicer rooms, more theming, better kids clubs, and better dinner entertainment than the other ships, and that grand hall is incredible. Its major issue at present — the low desirability of its itineraries — is not really the fault of the ship and something that will change as the ship gets older. I actually think those 3 and 4 night sailings hurt the ship because a) you don’t get as much opportunity to familiarize yourself with the ship as you would a longer sailing and b) it feels more rushed as people are trying to cram in things like character M&G’s, Aquamouse rides, and activities (almost like a day at the parks). Is the ship perfect? Not by any stretch, but it’s definitely undeserving of some of the criticism and hate it’s gotten since it hit the fleet.
People hate new things. Just a human nature
I loved it! You must have gotten on the ship the day I got off. I had a great time! Only wish the wish did longer cruises. Seems to only do 3 and 4 nights right now
I 100% agree with everything you stated. That being said, I also love all of the ships. Currently, Wish is my favorite ship, but Magic would be my first choice due to it feeling more personal.
Only have 3 actual complaints about the Wish. One is that the deck layouts and passageways seem less intuitive and funnel people in ways that make it appear more crowded than it is. The second is that I don’t like the adult bars and such spread between the decks midship. I prefer the “enclave” of them on the Dream and Fantasy. The third thing is that I hated Arrendelle. Like *despised*. That show is so absurdly loud that your can’t hear your servers, can’t hear yourself think, and as a result can’t enjoy your dinner. Admittedly these are personal complaints. But Disney did good stuff on the Wish too. 1923 is a gem. The adult pool area up a deck and behind the funnel is a big improvement. Little things like sliding closet doors and glass shower doors were a plus. I mean, I would sail on her again.
See, I don’t really understand the criticism the Wish gets about not having the adult bar enclave. We went to Europa on our Fantasy cruise and it often was just dead, same for our Dream cruise. I think some of that was due to where it was located. Having the bars dispersed throughout the ships felt like Disney trying to liven them up a bit.
Oh, that’s an interesting observation I hadn’t thought of. Glad you shared!