I think the reviews about the Disney Wish are wrong

[Dug720]

It’s just in such a weird place in the Wish, though…

View attachment 863896

Only in the inside cabins. I get that. But where else are they going to put it? There would be a huge outcry if they didn't have the same tvs as the other cabins. I'm in an inside for my BFFs wedding, and I figure if I'm watching it, I'll just sit on the couch.

 

[Kwami]

It’s just in such a weird place in the Wish, though…

View attachment 863896

In every other category of cabin, the TV is at the end of the bed, which makes a lot more sense. The inside cabins just don't work that way, unfortunately.

 

[sponica]

That is pretty much standard on all new ship builds (and major refurbs). My guess is first people are accustomed to larger screens as opposed to the monitor-sized screens on the older ships and second with the swivel too many people were attaching their own things to the tvs and not resetting them causing issues for future occupants.

It just made bedtime for the kids more difficult, as they can't really see the TV from the bunk beds. I'll have to remember to download way more content to the tablets ahead of time before we sail again.

 

[tidefan]

In every other category of cabin, the TV is at the end of the bed, which makes a lot more sense. The inside cabins just don't work that way, unfortunately.

Yes, I definitely would not do an inside again, especially if I had more than 2 people. The storage was a bigger issue than the TV placement.

 

[Scubadaddy32]

I nearly cancelled my Disney wish cruise based on all the negative reviews (I know many have) and I am so glad I didnt. Now I must point out the only other ship Ive been on is the Wonder which we loved. But in our view not only only does the Wish stand up relative to the Wonder but in our view is clearly superior. Here's why:

Kids club: the kids club is better themed and there is more to do on the Wish. Our kids often got bored on the Wonder kids club when there werent interesting activities on. On the Wish our kids never wanted to leave. Having a kids club the kids always want to be in massively improves holidays for families.

Atrium: when the early photos came out i thought the Wishs atrium looked cheap. But in person it looks much better and we actually preferred it to the wonder even if the Cinderella statue is creepy. But where the atrium on the Wish clearly wins is the light show at night with the perfectly choosen song from Cinderella. Its pure disney magic that there is no equivalent for on the wonder. Perfect ending to a night thatvwill make you happy to be alive. The victrophonics (who play in the atrium) were also superior to any of the non theatre entertainment on the Wonder. Unique disney interpretations that got all the kids dancing (and some adults).

Family Water area: disney wish wins. the split pools on the disney wish meant we sometimes had a pool on our own or with only one other family which made it more enjoyable. On the wonder it was always people soup in the main pool. Couldnt move. Had to keep telling the kids to not get in the way of others. The Aqua mouse is also a massive advantage over the wonder which has no waterslide for people over 10. And that one slide had a ridiculous queue all the time. It was a waste of time. However, If you timed it right you could sometimes ride the aqua mouse continuously without any need to queue or even climb stairs (on Castaway Cay morning you basically get the aqua mouse to yourself). The kids also really loved the cartoon skits on the aqua mouse. Me and my wife didnt get the appeal but the kids loved that aspect and after the 10th ride in a row they just wanted to keep going back for more.

Adults pool area. Disney wonder wins clearly. Its just way better on the wonder. Althhough we never used the adults pool areas on either ship so didnt impact us at all. Cruise pools just arent our jam due to lack of size.

Restaurants: this is close but again the Wish wins. The Arrendelle dinner show is amazing. Seriously this is disney magic at its peak. This isnt a show where the characters just sing a standard rendition of the Frozen songs. The renditions of the songs are all unique and amazing. Especially the violinists. You will also never guess which characters sing Let it go and its brilliant. I would pay money for a soundtrack of this. Im stunned people arent talking about this show more. We all had tears at one point. The equivalent Tiana restaurant show on the Wonder simply doesnt stand up in comparison. The music is just mostly background noise with Tiana singing a couple of songs. Admittedly the surprise finale after dinner is also peak disney magic on Tianas but it only last a couple of minutes. Animaters Plate on the Wonder is better then Marvel. If you like Marvel though you will enjoy the Marvel show. But animaters plate is clearly better and would work well on repeat where I cant see how the Marvel show does. Walts is better then Tritons. It feels sophisticated and the art work is amazing. Tritons looked cheap and has no disney magic at all. As for the food we could really not spot any difference in quality in any of the rotational restaurants across both ships. Its not great. But its not bad either. Adults restaurants better on the Wish cos you have an extra restaurant. And its more up market. Enchante dinner was great.

Adult drinking areas: here the wish clearly beats the wonder. Seriously the theming of adults areas on the Wonder is terrible. The Cadillac bar with seats that looks like parts of car is the best they can do on the Wonder for theming? Reallt? Just very little magic. The star wars lounge on the Wish however was great. I know a lot of people knock the decor but we liked it. People seem to forget that not everywhere on star wars looks like an industrial outpost dive bar. We felt it was completely immersive and we loved watching the space ship window. Drinks were unique and solid without being fantastic. We also loved the Rose and Nightingdales when the piano was on (although we thought the piano player on the Wonder was better). Both have some amazing drinks and great presentation. The sports pub and bayou were also better themed then the wonder equivalents. The wish adults areas did seem smaller but they were rarely full so it wasnt an issue for us.

Theatre shows: i will give it to the wonder just. But its very close. The goofy sea captain show on the wish is too short but it has a couple of absolute banger songs. Disney dream probably better cos theres more to it and we liked the integration of peter pan. Aladdin and frozen are line ball as the best shows on each ship. Little mermaid and golden mickeys are not as good but each have their moments.

The lack of walking track on the wish and the lack of feeling like you are on a ship: here is the biggest negative Ive read of the wish (along with the adult pool area). But on the shorter trips I dont think its that big a negative unless you have an addiction to outside jogging and cant stop for 2-3 days. Longer trips i can see it being more of a problem. Plus you can walk, there's just stairs. And there is a big plus to the wish walking track that no one is mentioning. You can walk to the front of the ship on the wish and the view is stunning. Both looking out to the ocean and then looking back at the front of the enormous ship. Some people complain you dont feel like you are on a ship on the wish. For me I didnt notice any difference with the Wonder at all in this regard and you never felt more that you were on a ship when you are standing outside at the very front on the Wish. I have a feeling if the older ships had this and then they took it away on the wish there would be a lot of complaints.

So am I wrong about the wish and the reviews are right? Probably to a certain degree as taste is subjective. However, I think nostalgia bias is weighing on a lot of the reviews. People overvalue the good things taken away and then undervalue the good new things they didnt previously have. Its just the way people are wired so we all have the same bias. If you are considering not going on the Wish because of the reviews then please reconsider. This doesnt mean the negatives of the wish arent negatives. But there are a number of things the wish does better (I havent even mentioned the pirate night show) and there are unique magical disney experiences on the Wish you dont get anywhere else that for some will make the Wish the best ship of all.

Thoughts?

For sure, people are just as tribal about their favorite cruise ship as they are their favorite WDW Resort. Even Pete laughs about the tribal resort folks on his Youtube Channel. People will completely ignore tons of positives that the new cruise ship has over the older one and point out 2 silly things that really don't amount to a row of pins and can easily be overcome with better cabin selections and deck selections. Haha

 

[Scubadaddy32]

I nearly cancelled my Disney wish cruise based on all the negative reviews (I know many have) and I am so glad I didnt. Now I must point out the only other ship Ive been on is the Wonder which we loved. But in our view not only only does the Wish stand up relative to the Wonder but in our view is clearly superior. Here's why:

Kids club: the kids club is better themed and there is more to do on the Wish. Our kids often got bored on the Wonder kids club when there werent interesting activities on. On the Wish our kids never wanted to leave. Having a kids club the kids always want to be in massively improves holidays for families.

Atrium: when the early photos came out i thought the Wishs atrium looked cheap. But in person it looks much better and we actually preferred it to the wonder even if the Cinderella statue is creepy. But where the atrium on the Wish clearly wins is the light show at night with the perfectly choosen song from Cinderella. Its pure disney magic that there is no equivalent for on the wonder. Perfect ending to a night thatvwill make you happy to be alive. The victrophonics (who play in the atrium) were also superior to any of the non theatre entertainment on the Wonder. Unique disney interpretations that got all the kids dancing (and some adults).

Family Water area: disney wish wins. the split pools on the disney wish meant we sometimes had a pool on our own or with only one other family which made it more enjoyable. On the wonder it was always people soup in the main pool. Couldnt move. Had to keep telling the kids to not get in the way of others. The Aqua mouse is also a massive advantage over the wonder which has no waterslide for people over 10. And that one slide had a ridiculous queue all the time. It was a waste of time. However, If you timed it right you could sometimes ride the aqua mouse continuously without any need to queue or even climb stairs (on Castaway Cay morning you basically get the aqua mouse to yourself). The kids also really loved the cartoon skits on the aqua mouse. Me and my wife didnt get the appeal but the kids loved that aspect and after the 10th ride in a row they just wanted to keep going back for more.

Adults pool area. Disney wonder wins clearly. Its just way better on the wonder. Althhough we never used the adults pool areas on either ship so didnt impact us at all. Cruise pools just arent our jam due to lack of size.

Restaurants: this is close but again the Wish wins. The Arrendelle dinner show is amazing. Seriously this is disney magic at its peak. This isnt a show where the characters just sing a standard rendition of the Frozen songs. The renditions of the songs are all unique and amazing. Especially the violinists. You will also never guess which characters sing Let it go and its brilliant. I would pay money for a soundtrack of this. Im stunned people arent talking about this show more. We all had tears at one point. The equivalent Tiana restaurant show on the Wonder simply doesnt stand up in comparison. The music is just mostly background noise with Tiana singing a couple of songs. Admittedly the surprise finale after dinner is also peak disney magic on Tianas but it only last a couple of minutes. Animaters Plate on the Wonder is better then Marvel. If you like Marvel though you will enjoy the Marvel show. But animaters plate is clearly better and would work well on repeat where I cant see how the Marvel show does. Walts is better then Tritons. It feels sophisticated and the art work is amazing. Tritons looked cheap and has no disney magic at all. As for the food we could really not spot any difference in quality in any of the rotational restaurants across both ships. Its not great. But its not bad either. Adults restaurants better on the Wish cos you have an extra restaurant. And its more up market. Enchante dinner was great.

Adult drinking areas: here the wish clearly beats the wonder. Seriously the theming of adults areas on the Wonder is terrible. The Cadillac bar with seats that looks like parts of car is the best they can do on the Wonder for theming? Reallt? Just very little magic. The star wars lounge on the Wish however was great. I know a lot of people knock the decor but we liked it. People seem to forget that not everywhere on star wars looks like an industrial outpost dive bar. We felt it was completely immersive and we loved watching the space ship window. Drinks were unique and solid without being fantastic. We also loved the Rose and Nightingdales when the piano was on (although we thought the piano player on the Wonder was better). Both have some amazing drinks and great presentation. The sports pub and bayou were also better themed then the wonder equivalents. The wish adults areas did seem smaller but they were rarely full so it wasnt an issue for us.

Theatre shows: i will give it to the wonder just. But its very close. The goofy sea captain show on the wish is too short but it has a couple of absolute banger songs. Disney dream probably better cos theres more to it and we liked the integration of peter pan. Aladdin and frozen are line ball as the best shows on each ship. Little mermaid and golden mickeys are not as good but each have their moments.

The lack of walking track on the wish and the lack of feeling like you are on a ship: here is the biggest negative Ive read of the wish (along with the adult pool area). But on the shorter trips I dont think its that big a negative unless you have an addiction to outside jogging and cant stop for 2-3 days. Longer trips i can see it being more of a problem. Plus you can walk, there's just stairs. And there is a big plus to the wish walking track that no one is mentioning. You can walk to the front of the ship on the wish and the view is stunning. Both looking out to the ocean and then looking back at the front of the enormous ship. Some people complain you dont feel like you are on a ship on the wish. For me I didnt notice any difference with the Wonder at all in this regard and you never felt more that you were on a ship when you are standing outside at the very front on the Wish. I have a feeling if the older ships had this and then they took it away on the wish there would be a lot of complaints.

So am I wrong about the wish and the reviews are right? Probably to a certain degree as taste is subjective. However, I think nostalgia bias is weighing on a lot of the reviews. People overvalue the good things taken away and then undervalue the good new things they didnt previously have. Its just the way people are wired so we all have the same bias. If you are considering not going on the Wish because of the reviews then please reconsider. This doesnt mean the negatives of the wish arent negatives. But there are a number of things the wish does better (I havent even mentioned the pirate night show) and there are unique magical disney experiences on the Wish you dont get anywhere else that for some will make the Wish the best ship of all.

Thoughts?

For sure, people are just as tribal about their favorite cruise ship as they are their favorite WDW Resort. Even Pete laughs about the tribal resort folks on his Youtube Channel. People will completely ignore tons of positives that the new cruise ship has over the older one and point out 2 silly things that really don't amount to a row of pins and can easily be overcome with better cabin selections and deck selections. Haha

 

[mmouse37]

The sheer number of times I'd need to do a turnaround to make up my 3 miles would make me dizzy... This would more like running lines for sports than jogging. Changing direction quickly is its own skill set for sure, with different strains on muscles and joints.

There is also a reason the running tracks on the other ships are all one way - if you tried to have a group of people do this in a narrow hallway we'd definitely run into each other.

I do disagree with you, OP, but only because you're saying those of us who disagree with you are "wrong", while admitting it's your own opinion. I've always mentioned in my reviews that we don't have kids, so many of the things that made the Wish the best for you are things that don't matter to us, and vice versa. I don't think either of us are wrong; we're different demographics. The sheer polarity of this ship is why I think Disney may have missed the mark here - usually they nail middle-of-the-road keep everyone mostly happy. I don't hate the Wish, I just don't care if I ever sail on her again. I just kept feeling some of her quirks as design flaws instead of just quirks. If I have a choice, I'd pick any of the other four first. We're sailing on the Treasure in April as well, FWIW. Hopefully that suffices to try a current gen ship out on something other than a maiden voyage (the only time I've sailed on the Wish).

I also was on the Wish MV and had my negative views of her. Just booked a 3 day last night on the Wish for next month and will give it another try. I do like the BBQ on deck and can't deny the ship is beautiful but it definitely is not my favorite ship. Interested to see what my husband thinks as he has not sailed her yet.

MJ

 

[Dive Bar Casanova]

For sure, people are just as tribal about their favorite cruise ship as they are their favorite WDW Resort. Even Pete laughs about the tribal resort folks on his Youtube Channel. People will completely ignore tons of positives that the new cruise ship has over the older one and point out 2 silly things that really don't amount to a row of pins and can easily be overcome with better cabin selections and deck selections. Haha

But “Pete Exotic” has mentioned there is nothing that sets the Wish apart to select a cruise aboard it because any good or unique things about it.

That was a red flag and we agree. It’s a mass passenger carrier cattle boat and the Treasure being the same, we canceled it.

Ya got amusement parks and like Disney ya got Theme Parks. A difference.

Ya got cruise ships and like Disney ya got Cruise Liners. A difference.

Eisners first mention of DCL was the ships would be liners. Unique in the industry & he delivered.

 

[Alicatt]

I sailed the Dream, the Wish and the Dream again. They are both beautiful and have unique things to love. I wasn't sure which was my favorite until I sailed the Dream the second time. I still love it but I like the Wish quite a bit more. I found the food the be better all around. I didn't like the confined feeling of the District. It's nice to just wander and decide to stop for a drink whenever. I didn't realize how many kids were running through the adult section of the Dream until I had been to the adult area on the Wish. It just seems like it depends on preference of things like this. I can absolutely understand that. I don't understand why people are calling it a cattle boat though. It felt much less crowded to me because of its size and because the bars are spread out, so not everyone is together at night. It's also very attractive. Lots of subtle touches and details. If this is how you treat your cattle, I'd like to apply for a job as head steer.

 

[Kwami]

I don't understand why people are calling it a cattle boat though. It felt much less crowded to me because of its size and because the bars are spread out, so not everyone is together at night. It's also very attractive. Lots of subtle touches and details. If this is how you treat your cattle, I'd like to apply for a job as head steer.

For some reason, a lot of people think that the Wish is way bigger than the Dream and that it carries way more passengers. Actually, it isn't much bigger and the maximum passenger count is about the same.

 

[brentm77]

I sailed the Dream, the Wish and the Dream again. They are both beautiful and have unique things to love. I wasn't sure which was my favorite until I sailed the Dream the second time. I still love it but I like the Wish quite a bit more. I found the food the be better all around. I didn't like the confined feeling of the District. It's nice to just wander and decide to stop for a drink whenever. I didn't realize how many kids were running through the adult section of the Dream until I had been to the adult area on the Wish. It just seems like it depends on preference of things like this. I can absolutely understand that. I don't understand why people are calling it a cattle boat though. It felt much less crowded to me because of its size and because the bars are spread out, so not everyone is together at night. It's also very attractive. Lots of subtle touches and details. If this is how you treat your cattle, I'd like to apply for a job as head steer.

I haven't sailed with Wish, but the reason I like the adult districts is because we can hop between the three clubs to see what looks interesting. We do that a fair amount some evenings. It's one of my favorite parts of the classic designs, and I don't mind them being tucked away since we primarily use them at night when you can't see anything outside.

Is there a problem keeping kids out of the adult bars in the evenings with them being independently spread out?

I would also greatly miss the running track. Even if only 10% of the ship uses if for running, as stated above, if that 10% is one person in a family of four that uses it, that 10% could cause a bigger effect that it looks like on paper. I wouldn't avoid a ship because of the missing running track, but it might keep me from repeated cruises if there wasn't enough other positives to pull us back. Besides the short itineraries, it's the small adult pool area that has made me think twice about booking. We don't swim much, but we love the adult pool areas for relaxing on the classic ships.

I am also concerned about the Wish having less elevators. How as that played out in practice? The newer RCL ships uses those elevators where you pick the floor and then it assigns you an elevator to take you there. They are super efficient and we love them at the Coronado Springs tower. I would love to DCL move that system to the ships. If you are traveling with someone with mobility issues, the elevators become a major bottleneck. There were times that it took 20 minutes to go up one flight of stairs because we couldn't find an elevator that could fit her wheelchair, and we almost always had to take the stairs while we squeezed her in with other people. It was a major challenge at times. We finally learned to push both up and down and have her ride the opposite direction first if the opportunity arose. (Side note: If you are able and can use the stairs, it's a major help to those with mobility challenges if you use the stairs, and is a genuinely good way to burn some of those extra calories)

 

[tink1970]

Side note: If you are able and can use the stairs, it's a major help to those with mobility challenges if you use the stairs

DH and I use the elevator twice a cruise-upon embarkation and disembarkation as part of the concierge service. I'd never actually considered it helpful to anyone/anything else but my waistline...but now, when I'm huffing and puffing around the 10th deck or so, I'll remind myself of your gentle request and it will be extra motivation!

 

[brentm77]

DH and I use the elevator twice a cruise-upon embarkation and disembarkation as part of the concierge service. I'd never actually considered it helpful to anyone/anything else but my waistline...but now, when I'm huffing and puffing around the 10th deck or so, I'll remind myself of your gentle request and it will be extra motivation!

Ha - I really mean it. We always took the stairs before, and still do when not riding with my daughter or when there isn't room for us with her, but it makes a huge difference if people do that. The elevators just don't have the capacity they need to have for so many passengers and Disney draws a lot of people with mobility issues because they are so good at accommodations.

I'm not going to lie, it became frustrating to see a healthy energetic group of 14 year old's run onto and elevator to go down one floor when we couldn't seem to find one with enough room. It was also somewhat common for someone to run to a door that opened, even though they clearly saw we were there before them. Or the lady and her kids who pushed up, we pushed down, the down elevator came and she said, "let's take it down and then back up," taking the spot my daughter would have taken for the elevator she had called to go down. I learned quickly that I had to speak up and tell people assertively that it was our elevator.

I personally am grateful every time I can walk a flight of stairs, after seeing my daughter struggle with it. She's such a rock star that she climbed three flights of stairs with her one leg and crutches while I carried the wheelchair one time, because she wanted to show she could and didn't want to wait.

Luckily, 99% of the people on the ship were friendly and helpful though. So forgive my little side tangent. Back to discussing the Wish...

 

[Kwami]

I am also concerned about the Wish having less elevators. How as that played out in practice?

The Wish doesn't have fewer elevators. The Magic-class ships have 12, the Dream-class ships have 14, and the Triton-class ships have 16. Some elevators don't go to the uppermost decks, but that's true on all of Disney's ships.

 

[brentm77]

The Wish doesn't have fewer elevators. The Magic-class ships have 12, the Dream-class ships have 14, and the Triton-class ships have 16. Some elevators don't go to the uppermost decks, but that's true on all of Disney's ships.

Thanks for the clarification. There is one less bank, but more elevators? That actually seems like an improvement, even though you might need to walk a little more to get to them.

 

[Pixarfans]

Thanks for the clarification. There is one less bank, but more elevators? That actually seems like an improvement, even though you might need to walk a little more to get to them.

I personally like the 2 banks of elevators on the Wish. We almost never use elevators, and if we do it is very seldom midship. So I like how the 2 banks make the pool deck feel smaller on the Wish. You aren’t walking through the buffet area and there isn’t the midship elevator chaos.

 

[Pixarfans]

I like the Wish and can’t wait for the Treasure. Everything was shiny and new! I liked the different food and MDRs. I can handle using a treadmill for my running (I do it all winter in my basement without an ocean view). The only reason I won’t be back on it is I like longer cruises and I didn’t enjoy the b2b experience.

 

[CamColt]

Is there a problem keeping kids out of the adult bars in the evenings with them being independently spread out?

We had a couple incidents that I chalk up to the adult clubs not being secluded in their own area like the other ships.

We were doing trivia in Luna. The host had to stop the show as some kids had wandered in upstairs and were leaning up on the balcony. She nicely told them they had to leave this is for adults. Then the Dad leaned in and said "Oh no, it's ok, they are just watching not playing". The poor trivia host was at a loss as to what to do. She was in a lose/lose situation and just ignored they were there. Luckily it was trivia and not match your mate as we heard one of the most R (X?) rated answers on that cruise that we have ever heard. I'm sure the dad wouldn't have been happy if the kids heard that.

Another time we were doing some adult event in Luna, and there was a family event going on upstairs at Tritons. The kids were so loud we could hear them and had to pause our event to wait for them to quiet down. I have nothing against kids having fun and being loud at an event like that, they should be, but it's just poor placement of the adult activity. DCL's early advertising touted how kids can have fun and adults have their own space too. That doesn't seem to be the case with the new ships.

 

[Alicatt]

I didn't see too many kids in the bar areas after hours but I can see that the District would have an advantage in that regard. Although the silent disco on the Dream was in the dance club and it had plenty of kids, even at night.

 

[anjuan]

We had a couple incidents that I chalk up to the adult clubs not being secluded in their own area like the other ships.

We were doing trivia in Luna. The host had to stop the show as some kids had wandered in upstairs and were leaning up on the balcony. She nicely told them they had to leave this is for adults. Then the Dad leaned in and said "Oh no, it's ok, they are just watching not playing". The poor trivia host was at a loss as to what to do. She was in a lose/lose situation and just ignored they were there. Luckily it was trivia and not match your mate as we heard one of the most R (X?) rated answers on that cruise that we have ever heard. I'm sure the dad wouldn't have been happy if the kids heard that.

Another time we were doing some adult event in Luna, and there was a family event going on upstairs at Tritons. The kids were so loud we could hear them and had to pause our event to wait for them to quiet down. I have nothing against kids having fun and being loud at an event like that, they should be, but it's just poor placement of the adult activity. DCL's early advertising touted how kids can have fun and adults have their own space too. That doesn't seem to be the case with the new ships.

I've been on the Wish 3 times now. There is a lot that I like about it- for example Mickey's Festival of Foods is awesome, I love the bathrooms in the rooms, etc. However, I agree that Luna is a miss. I've been to match your mate and other adult activities and sat in the upper level. There were multiple times where people would come in with their kids and the host had to ask them to leave. I don't even think that the parents realized it was an adult-only activity. They just saw an activity going on and decided to stop in. Also, when people are loud in the hallway upstairs in can be disturbing when you sit in the top level since it is open to the hallway.