Most of the things I had heard about Disney’s newest ship, the Wish, were not food-related, so I was intrigued to see the food situation on our 4-night Bahamian Cruise. We cruised with a Concierge 2-story Royal Suite with Verandah on the Wish, which gave us access to the Concierge Lounge with additional food options.
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Although there were some good things about the food on the ship, there were some issues, including difficulties obtaining food as a special diets guest (no wheat, dairy, or strawberries).
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Food and Restaurant Atmosphere-Arendelle
Yikes.
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I will start with Arendelle, the Frozen-themed restaurant. A lot was going on here. The hallway going into the restaurant is pleasant to look at…until you become ill after dinner and have to navigate this longest hallway in the world full of people shoulder to shoulder with a bathroom that should be Star Wars themed because it is in a galaxy far, far away and busy with people using it after dinner and with people coming into the restaurant between the dinner seatings. It is difficult to understand how many managers sat through multiple meetings and thought this design was a good idea.
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Once inside the restaurant, there was singing, playing of instruments, an animatronic Olaf, and characters from the Frozen movie roaming throughout the restaurant. Kristoff was putting a pretend microphone in people’s faces so they could sing into it. There was clapping. There was napkin twirling. There was hooping and hollering, a sustained loud noise, and much commotion. I found the overall experience of this restaurant to be overwhelming, and I have tried to forget about this part of the cruise.
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The tables were way too close together. Supposedly, Disney has removed tables, and the dining room is less tight now. How tight was it before? It was still so tight that servers had to turn their bodies to fit between the tables, as they could not just walk between them. We were next to a large table, and the adults decided to let the children sit together as a group next to us. A little girl seated next to me walked by our table with her braided hair over the edge of the table, played with an empty chair at our table, and had her hands and costume gloves on the edge of our table. I had to ask her to stay off of our table. Being nearby others also concerned me (especially being next to children) as a special diets guest. I did not want food from someone sitting close to me to be flipped on my plate. Seeing one of the children take her wheat-filled bread crumbs from her bread plate and dump them all over the table did not give me confidence that nearby food would not be flipped on me.
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The napkin twirling was also a concern. First, I felt like I was almost hit in the head with twirling napkins because we were packed in so tightly. Secondly, I did not want bits of food that might make me sick from people’s napkins being flipped onto my plate.
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The entire experience was very loud and a bit much, and I would not say I liked the food. My server had to bring me a menu and let me order something else because he could tell I was not enjoying dinner. I hope you were not planning on having a meaningful conversation with your loved ones during this dinner. I understand (a little) that Disney wanted to provide entertainment during dinner. Still, if you cruise occasionally or often, once you see this spectacle, you may want to avoid seeing it again. It robs you of having a relaxing dinner and quality conversation. If people want entertainment, there are entertainment options on the ship, so I do not understand the value of having this chaos.
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Food and Restaurant Atmosphere-Worlds of Marvel
Yikes again.
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I was almost unable to write a review of this restaurant because I almost skipped eating there. It was so overwhelming getting into the restaurant that I nearly bolted. This poorly designed situation was dangerous.
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When we stood in line for dinner, we found that the elevators emptied into the line area, which extended back to the stairs and around a corner. People coming down the stairs attempted to enter straight into the line from the stairs, although a line had already formed. After a while, a cast member directed us to go around the elevators into a hallway, indicating that a line was opening up; however, what happened was they had us move to make room in the area, allowing people who came after us to enter the dining room before us and causing us to lose our place in line. We were then walking in a very crowded hallway for a while to get to the restaurant. It was almost too much for me, and I could tell others around me were noticing I was struggling. No one seemed to assist us or direct us to our seats. It was mayhem, and it was out of control. I was completely frazzled by the time we got to our seats. My husband felt it was ridiculous as well. We also were seated next to a table very close to us.
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During dinner, some screens played a video of actors attempting to shrink or giantize objects, with them asking the audience twice to push an activator button on a Quantum Core on the table to assist them. It is tough trying to understand the logic behind Disney wanting people to push buttons that others have pushed (perhaps they sanitize them between seatings) while attempting to keep your hands clean for eating. The Quantum Cores lit up very brightly with flashing lights and were annoying. The television screens played scenes from a variety of Marvel movies throughout dinner. While there was adequate overall lighting, there was also a bright or harsh blue accent lighting throughout the restaurant.
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At the end of the meal, I saw a table of people leaving. I overheard a server tell someone that Spider-Man would be visiting the tables, and I felt terrible for the group that left because no one informed us that we should wait. Spider-Man erratically hopped around tables, stayed for a few seconds, and completely missed our table. Our server assistant asked him to visit our table. He quickly stood behind one group member so that I could snap a photo.
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I left asking myself why Disney planned any of this. The only positive was that the food was better than Arendelle’s. I enjoyed the butternut squash gnocchi and vegetable potstickers from the allergy options.
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If you have medical issues, gastrointestinal problems, sensory difficulties, are prone to claustrophobia or anxiety in tight places, or might need to get out of a crowd quickly, you should be aware that entering or exiting Arendelle or Worlds of Marvel might require additional planning.
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Food and Restaurant Atmosphere-1923
Much better.
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Thank you, 1923, for being a quieter restaurant offering a more classy dining experience. This restaurant allowed us to have a break from the other restaurants' complete pandemonium and be able to converse. The restaurant atmosphere allowed us to have a more upscale dining experience. Sometimes, less is more. The seating was tight again. My chair was against a wall, and I could not get my purse situated to access items if needed while leaving enough room for my husband to sit beside me. We were seated in front of a porthole window, so I placed my purse on the ledge under the window because I did not know what else to do. If you want a steak, this is the restaurant on the ship to order one.
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Quick Service Food On Disney Wish
I could hardly wait to get chicken tenders, put them on a bun, and make a tender sandwich. I did this (many times) on the Fantasy, and it was one of the things that made the cruise awesome. On the first day, I order tenders and fries to make a sandwich. It was overcooked and tough. It was a bummer, but more importantly, I believe it was the cause of me becoming terribly ill near the end of dinner at Arendelle. I ran for my life toward the bathroom. (Go back and reference what I said about the eighth wonder of the world – the world’s longest hallway, super crowded with a bathroom in a galaxy far, far away.) Sigh.
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Marceline Market
I could not eat here, but my party enjoyed the chicken noodle soup, shrimp, and crab legs. They brought their plates of food to the seating area near the quick service options on Deck 11 for lunch several times. A variety of meats, sides, and desserts were offered. My husband described Marceline Market as buffet quality, better than a typical name-brand buffet restaurant but still buffet quality, and offering a variety of foods.
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The difference between this buffet and the Cabanas buffet on the other ships is that servers provide the food, offering a more sanitary buffet experience. I will note that when we cruised on the Fantasy, the Cabanas buffet turned into this server-provided experience for a few days due to extra precautions that were taken due to illness spreading on the ship. We read people complaining about it online during the cruise. We also found that the sit-down restaurants, which are usually quiet and not busy, seemed very busy during this alternative buffet experience on the Fantasy. Many people might not like this server-style buffet experience, so this is something to consider before booking a cruise on the Wish. Â
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Food Allergy Accommodations/Special Diets at Restaurants and Castaway Cay
Getting safe food prepared correctly was a struggle. I have never experienced this level of struggle on a Disney cruise before. There was one incident where I was given a dessert with my restricted food as garnish in the lounge. Several other times in the lounge and in restaurants, they overrode my requests and served me food with toppings that I specifically asked to be omitted. I ordered my sandwiches (both in the Concierge Lounge and in the sit-down restaurant at lunch) plain without condiments, lettuce, or tomatoes. My food came out with pickles, lettuce, tomatoes, and a slice of vegan cheese. A server in the lounge brought me a wheat-free, dairy-free chocolate dessert, but it was garnished with a strawberry. She said there was a surprise filling in it, and I said I hoped it was not strawberries because they are one of my restricted foods. She quickly took it away and brought me a safe one. I hope it scared her enough to be more careful in the future.
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My meal on the private island, Castaway Cay, was terrible. This was a mess all around. We were given different stories from servers and concierge team members as to how my food would be delivered, and these instructions ranged from going to a particular restaurant to pick up my food allergy order to the food being delivered to our cabana on Serenity Bay. I did not want to keep my family from eating, so I walked to the buffet area on Serenity Bay and sat with them while they ate. My husband shared that the restaurant needed to be more organized when it opened at 11:30 a.m. I had to leave them to finish eating while I returned to the cabana to wait for my food to be delivered. This was not an ideal situation. The food finally came, and the cast member delivering it had no idea what he delivered or if it was accurate. This made me nervous. He then wanted to look at the food, and I panicked, worried he was going around delivering food and lifting lids and might cross-contaminate my food. I quickly used a hand wipe and asked him if I could lift the lids. I immediately noticed my salmon was not prepared correctly. It was something I was looking forward to eating. It came without any of the honey and bourbon glaze and was plain. I put forth a fantastic amount of effort explaining to our server when I preordered my island lunch that I wanted the glaze. It was also marked safe for me to eat on the menu. The food was cold, almost feeling refrigerated. The fries were a steamed mess due to being tightly covered with plastic wrap.
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I was extremely frustrated because I had done my part by preordering and arranging this meal and explaining how I wanted my food. The concierge team should have contacted me to let me know there would be an issue with my food so I could order something else. I ate the cold rotisserie chicken and some allergy cookies, but ultimately, I did not get to have lunch like everyone else. The cabana attendant asked if everything was ok, and my husband informed him my lunch was incorrect. A few minutes later, the attendant handed my husband a phone, and he talked to a supervisor and told her that my food was not properly prepared and was cold. She called back to say that there was wheat in the glaze. She never offered to bring me something else or to have my meal redone so I could have warm food. No one seemed to care I did not get to eat while everyone else went up to the buffet multiple times and got to eat whatever they wanted. This hurt my feelings badly, and I sat in the cabana and cried because I was so hurt by how I was treated. Here is the scary thing: I was wheated by Disney on a not-that-long-ago cruise when there were two separate stops on the private island on the same cruise, and on the first stop, I was given an allergy order of salmon with the glaze, and when I thought this is delicious and I shall order it again, the following private island day (on the same cruise) it came without the glaze, and I was disappointed. There is no way they changed a recipe within 2-3 days. Right now, I started having severe doubts about Disney being capable of handling my dietary restrictions.
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I asked my husband to go to the concierge lounge and discuss what had happened. They already knew why he was entering the lounge when they saw him, and they did apologize. They offered to give me a snack. However, offering me a snack when I spent the day without eating and was on the way to dinner was not helpful. The next day, a concierge team member looked at my husband as we sat in the lounge and said they were again sorry about what happened. I was sitting right there. No one ever apologized to me for what happened, even when I was right before them. Again, cast members were not trying on this cruise. I had previously requested cookies with icing as an allergy snack, which is easily obtainable on Disney’s other cruises. I was informed that they did not have this, but after the island fiasco, they suddenly appeared in my stateroom. It made me even angrier that they could have fulfilled my request earlier but did not want to and only did so after messing up so badly.
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Concierge Lounge
The lounge offered self-serve cans of soda and bottles of water. Desserts, candy, and sandwiches were displayed in a case for a cast member to hand to you. You could also order off a menu in the lounge (and preorder food with allergy restrictions). The lounge was much larger than the lounges on the Dream and Fantasy. It seemed busier and noisier and did not have the expected atmosphere of some quiet that I feel the lounges on the other ships have. It did have more food-related options, a larger seating area, and a view through windows instead of an enclosed lounge like on the other ships.
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Overall, most of the food options on the Wish were similar to those on the other Disney ships. However, the restaurant atmosphere is louder and more chaotic. Entering the restaurants was a disorderly mess. The Concierge Lounge was larger and offered more food options, which was nice. This cruise was the worst one so far for supporting me as a restricted foods guest, and there were several mistakes made, which made me lose confidence in Disney being able to accommodate people with food allergies.Â
