I had heard various things about Disney’s newest ship, the Wish. Most of the things I had heard were negative or something about it being a pretty ship, but people liked the older Disney ships better. I decided to investigate for myself on a Concierge 2-story Royal Suite with Verandah on a 4-night Bahamian Cruise on the Wish. In a previous post, you can read about the food and dining atmosphere on the Wish.
While concierge guests were waiting to embark at the port, concierge team members introduced themselves and provided essential information to us. We were informed that we could use the “grab and go” refrigerator to get cans of soda and water in the Concierge Lounge on the ship, and honestly, it came off like they did not want to be bothered with beverage service. It left me with an off-putting impression at the beginning of the cruise before I embarked, and I was surprised by this announcement due to being waited on in other Disney cruise Concierge Lounges. On other Disney ships (Dream and Fantasy), the concierge team members brought us drinks while we sat in the lounge once we boarded, including glasses of ice if we requested them.
Embarkation left a lot to be desired. There was no opportunity for a photo before stepping onto the ship like on our previous Disney cruises. Multiple cast members are usually lined up to welcome us and clap as we are announced during embarkation. We were announced, although I wonder why, as no one was around to welcome us. It was a lackluster, impersonal, unenthusiastic, and confusing experience. It felt very awkward.
We took a few minutes to look around the atrium after being announced to no one. A couple of cast members were walking around holding wands to pass out to the children, which I thought was odd. It was unusual that no one seemed to care about anyone coming on board unless they were a child. Children are given wands because (and I am guessing here as nothing was abundantly clear during this process) Cinderella and Prince Charming appeared at the top balcony of the atrium as the Fairy Godmother appeared on the main floor.
We then walked a few steps from the atrium around the corner to eat at 1923 for our concierge sit-down lunch. People usually walk between the poles of hand sanitizing wipes to enter the restaurants. In the confusion of everyone walking around the atrium and into the restaurant, we did this. A very unfriendly cast member told us that entire parties, one at a time, were being allowed into the restaurant. After a minute, I told my husband that a line had formed when we had innocently walked up, and the cast member seemed very annoyed like we had tried to cut in line. There was no effective line control; people were waiting for no apparent reason other than the hostess could not handle getting parties seated if more than a few people were near the hostess stand, and the cast member was very unpleasant. The entire situation was weird and, again, off-putting.
This was my embarkation experience onto the Wish. I was not impressed when I was finally seated for lunch.
After our sit-down lunch, a concierge team member walked us to our stateroom and the Concierge Lounge. It seemed chaotic and stressful as she walked with us and instructed other guests to pick up their room cards outside their stateroom doors as we walked past guests entering their rooms. On another day, I commented to another concierge team member about how chaotic the first day had seemed, and she stated that they were assisting first-time cruisers who had many questions. My point is that the concierge team members seemed stressed and overwhelmed while attempting to assist concierge guests.
Elevators
I had read about the poorly designed elevators before our cruise. In my mind, I understood that certain elevators went to certain decks or sections of the ship, causing people to get off an elevator and then switch to another elevator to get to their final destination. The elevators were not as chaotic as I had imagined but poorly designed. There were four elevators, with two of the elevators going to all decks and the other two elevators only going up to Deck 11. We needed to go to Deck 12 and Deck 13 often to access the Concierge Lounge and our stateroom, meaning we only had two elevators available. Many times, when we pressed the button to go up, the elevators that were not useful to us were called, and we had to wait for them to close and press the up button again to attempt to get one of our elevators. At times, I became tired of waiting and rode one of the other elevators as high as it would go, then got off and attempted again to use the other elevators for the remainder of the ride up to my destination. It is challenging to accept that multiple managers during multiple meetings thought this design was a good idea.
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. The larger size of the lounge gave children room to run freely and make noise; a television other than the typical one displaying weather and the location of Disney ships allowed guests to watch movies and add to the overall noise level.
A self-serve beverage machine (I believe an espresso-like machine) was consistently used and noisy. In contrast, a concierge guest on the Fantasy told us that he had requested a drink that was not one of the typical offerings and that it required the cast member to use a blender. The cast member was happy to accommodate him but requested that the drink be made when other guests were outside the lounge so as not to disrupt them.
The lounge had more food-related options, a larger seating area, and a view through windows, unlike the enclosed lounge on the other Disney ships.
Stateroom
We stayed in a Concierge 2-story Royal Suite with Verandah. We were in stateroom 13500 (the Sleeping Beauty-inspired Briar Rose Royal Suite). We enjoyed the private deck with a hot tub, ample closet space, and roomy interior. The room had a modern feel rather than the more relaxing, comfy style of the Dream and Fantasy. The stateroom was next to the Concierge Lounge entrance via stairs; the side entrances from the hallway were located one deck down on Deck 12.
Housekeeping
Housekeeping was as expected for a Disney cruise. Our housekeeper, Lawrence, was fantastic as a statement attendant and a nice person to talk to throughout the cruise. He kept our stateroom spotless, left towel animals, and was a pleasure to get to know. You can read my article about the critical role of housekeeping in enjoying your cruise.
Overall Ship Ambiance
I did not enjoy the overall feel of the ship as much as Disney’s Dream and Fantasy. I could not dictate why until I realized that, for me, the ship seemed to have the chaos and busyness of the Disney World parks, even while dining in the evening. If I want the busyness of the parks, I will go to the parks. I prefer cruises to be relaxing and more laidback.
There was an appearance of Disney attempting to have a weird mix of a more upscale ship and a ship with too many elements from its movies incorporated everywhere. It felt like going to a Disney World on the ocean instead of a slow, relaxing cruise. At this point, Disney needs to either provide a more significant “floating city” ship with this new approach or go back to the logic of their original ships with a more relaxing cruise feel. This ambiance on a small ship does not seem to work as well as Disney’s approach with its older ships.
There seemed to be less guest fanfare than on the other Disney ships. For example, the servers did not change into different themed outfits each night, including on Pirate Night. I do not care about the events or menu relating to Pirate Night personally, but I did notice the level of guest interaction could have been much higher that night. There also was a lack of servers clapping for and welcoming guests as they entered restaurants each evening, although cast members did say welcome to us as we passed them on our way to our seats in 1923.
Final Thoughts About Disney Wish
There is a lot of room for improvement on Disney’s Wish. I left feeling like it lacked the opportunity for adequate quiet, relaxing moments and that Disney had missed the mark on creating a balance of entertainment and a relaxing cruise atmosphere. I also felt like I was a sheep being herded into restaurants and that cast members did not try as hard as they should have (and usually do) at times to provide what is expected of Disney service. Too many concierge staterooms led to the Concierge Lounge lacking other Disney ships' smaller, more intimate (and quieter) atmosphere. It also lacked the more personal attention (and more personable interactions) the concierge team members provided on the other Disney ships.
Add to all this the poor elevator design and the feeling of everything being a little overdone with an attempt to be too upscale instead of the traditional feel of a relaxing cruise, and I can check this ship off my list.
Can you go on the Wish and enjoy your stateroom, have some excellent food, and have a nice cruise? You can. Is it Disney’s best ship? I do not think it is. Maybe I should state it this way: It was not my favorite Disney ship, and I prefer to continue cruising on Disney’s other ships, but I am thankful for the memories I made and the quality family time I had while exploring this newest ship.
Comments