10 years onward since Disney launched the Fantasy and all we could hope for was a refreshing addition to the fleet. Disney answered the call with a beautiful vessel, but, does it deliver everything we could have wished for?
The main theme of Disney WIsh is "Enchantment." The ship is beautifully designed with classic interior rich with Marble finishings, extravagant molding work, and of course, Disney themed artwork.
All cruise ships are becoming larger and more complicated to navigate, but the Wish is still smaller than new ships on other lines. We found it easier to move front to back of the ship without having to constantly go up and down.
Port Canaveral, FL is one of the best designed ports. The boarding process was incredibly easy and took less than 10 minutes from the moment we arrived at the terminal.
We typically stay in verandah or balcony staterooms whenever we cruise and we were most impressed by the staterooms on the Wish, particularly the bathroom design.
Bigger and more crowded seems to be the trend in cruising. But, the Wish is noticeably smaller and more intimate compared to other new offerings from other cruise lines. We found it easier to get some space on this ship.
Disney has a variety of main dining rooms providing a different experience in each venue. Your wait staff will move with you each evening to ensure a consistent dining experience.
There are plenty of elevators on the Wish, but they are definitely the skinniest elevators we have ever seen on a cruise ship. Be aware of this if you have a larger power wheelchair.
JetSetDNA brings you an in-depth tour of the Disney Wish. Check it out for yourself on YouTube!
The home port for Disney Wish is Port Canaveral, FL, which is located 46 miles east from Orlando International Airport. The drive from the airport takes about an hour.
Port Canaveral is massive and services many different cruise lines and ships. Parking is readily available and is not too expensive.
Disney offers bus transportation from the airport or from any of their hotels at Walt Disney World. However, Disney will not provide transportation to Universal and other competitors. So, if you are splitting your trip between Disney and attractions from other providers, it will be easier to arrange alternate transportation. Uber is readily available, but this may be a big hassle when disembarking the ship as many others will have the same idea at the same time.
The easiest way to get to the port is to book a private car service. We used Orlando Luxury Transportation to book a round trip car service from our Disney resort and back to our Universal resort. The cost was just over $500 round trip for a large GMC Denali SUV that could carry up to 7 people, making this a cost-effective option vs Disney’s bus service if you have 4 or more people in your party. We had an excellent experience with Orlando Luxury Transportation and cannot recommend them enough.
The Wish sports a timeless design with classical marble and moulding work. Several themes are present throughout the ship starting with Cinderella in the Grand Hall. Other themes include Frozen, Sleeping Beauty, Princess and the Frog, The Little Mermaid, and Moana.
Of course, no Disney ship or hotel would be complete without subtle Disney details hiding in plain sight. Be sure to give the carpets, walls, artwork, and more an extra look to find hidden design elements. Overall, the ship is beautifully designed and no stone was left unturned.
The Grand Hall is adorned by Cinderella as the atrium character for the ship. The hall serves as the central hub for the ship and features live entertainment with character meetings as well as access to restaurants, shops, boutiques and more.
The Oceaneers kids club is located directly beneath the Grand Hall and is accessible via staircase or slide for the little ones. We didn’t find much use for the kids club given the short itinerary on this sailing, but there are tons of activities to keep the kids busy for days.
Mickey’s Main Sail is the primary shopping boutique on the Disney Wish. This store has all the Disney merchandise you could be looking for including apparel and toys. Note that Castaway Cay merchandise is only available on the island and that Disney Cruise Line and Wish specific merchandise are only available onboard.
There are many other shops scattered around the Grand Hall area. Many of these shops are selling jewelry and fancy clothing. There are more casual Disney-themed stores on the upper decks selling pool and beach gear. Like any cruise ship, there are plenty of stores to browse and shortage of ways to blow your money. One nice touch is that Disney doesn’t setup booths outside the shops to pressure you, unlike other cruise lines.
If you have a sweet tooth, Disney has you covered. Joyful Sweets serves ice cream and other sweet treats throughout the day and evening, for an additional fee of course.
Senses Spa offers a calming retreat for the adults to indulge in relaxing services. Prices and treatments at this spa were typical with Spas on other cruise lines. The spa had a modern elegant design, but there was nothing special about the treatment rooms. One of our biggest complaints on this ship were mechanical noises that we could heard during our massage, which ruined the calming mood.
The Wish also offers a full fitness center with cardio and weight-lifting equipment.
Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique is a Disney staple offering to transform your little ones into princesses and princes. Pirate transformations are also on offer, which is perfect for the pirate themed night onboard the ship.
Untangled Salon and Hook’s Barbery are also on offer for the adults.
The Wish has a more classic layout than newer ship offerings from other cruise lines. The ship was more accessible horizontally with less need to constantly take elevators up and down. The one downside is the elevators themselves, they were particularly skinny and made it difficult to move around for those in wheelchairs and scooters.
We really enjoyed the top decks on the Wish. The main area features two pools, hot tubs, and ample deck space with seating. As you would expect, the giant screen shows Disney movies all day.
The number of people onboard felt right for this ship. Cruising feels crowded these days, but things were refreshingly less stuffy on this ship. We had little issues finding seating compared to other cruise ships. Additionally, once seated, you felt like you actually had space to sit and relax without having people constantly walking in front of you. Kudos to Disney for not over packing the decks.
The main deck area features two pools, which are fairly large and didn’t feel overrun with people. There are some other pools scattered amongst the ship if you are looking for a more quiet experience.
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Toy Story Splash Zone offers a separate area for younger passengers to splash and play without having to worry about getting overrun by bigger kids. There is also plenty of seating in this area for the adults to rest while the kids play.
Quiet Cove provides a nice adults-only refuge for those looking to escape the action. Located on the aft of the ship, this area features a pool, hot tubs, plenty of seating and a bar.
We always book a verandah or balcony stateroom when cruising and this room on the Wish did not dissapoint.
The room features a comfortable queen-size bed with plenty of outlets on both nightstands. Headboards boast beautiful Disney artwork and have different themes depending on which deck you are on. The bed itself is very comfortable and is located high off the floor to allow for suitcases to be stored underneath.
The sitting area has a couch, small table, and desk area with plenty of storage and outlets.
The sitting area converts into bunk beds with the couch converting into a bed and a pull-down bed from the ceiling. Best of all, there is no need to set this up yourself. Your stateroom attendant will setup and make the beds while you are at dinner and will convert it back to a sitting area when you leave your room in the morning.
The verandah is typical to any other cruise ship balcony room and has two chairs with a small table. The railing is filled with glass to ensure nothing slips through and the verandah door has a child lock at the top for extra peace of mind with young kids.
The bathroom is the best thing about the stateroom. A split design works perfectly for families with the main bathroom featuring a shower with 4-foot tub and a sink. This shower is by far the biggest we have experienced in a standard balcony/verandah room on any cruise line and the tub is a nice bonus for those with younger kids. The tub also helps to keep the floor from getting completely wet.
The secondary part of the bathroom is a water closet with toilet and another sink. This split design made getting ready so much easier for families and saved tons of time.
The bathroom(s) had a contemporary and clean style complete with wooden vanities, while subway tiles, and chrome fixtures.
The room was complete with a closet to hang your more fashionable clothing and had a safe to store your valuables.
Disney has a lot of connected staterooms on their ships in order to cater to multigenerational families traveling together. This was the case for us with identical connecting rooms.
The Wish also features plenty of accessible rooms. These rooms sport electronic automatic doors for easy mobility, roll-in shower, and space under the sink. Of course, the room itself is larger with plenty of space to maneuver around.
Disney Wish has three specialty adults-only venues themed after Beauty and the Beast. Two are restaurants and include Palo Steakhouse and Enchanté by Chef Arnaud Lallement. The third venue is The Rose bar.
We did not sample any of these specialty options on board because the rotational dining had us covered for the short 4 nights of our trip.
Disney does something a bit different from other cruise lines with rotational dining. Your wait staff will rotate with you across three different restaurants during your cruise all with different themes.
The Wish features three different restaurants, Arendelle, 1923, and World’s of Marvel.
Arendelle is a Frozen-inspired dining experience in which you are a guest of Queen Anna and Kristoff as they celebrate their engagement.
The restaurant has seating all around a grand ballroom with a stage in the middle showcasing live performances of all the famous songs from the movie. Olaf and other characters make their way around the tables to greet all guests. This is not the restaurant for you if you fancy peace and quiet.
The food at all restaurants in general is better than offerings on other mainstream cruise lines. There is something for everyone and don’t be afraid to try multiple options!
Named after the founding year of the Walt Disney Company, 1923 transports you back to the glamour of classic Hollywood. The restaurant is located off the Grand Hall and sports two dining rooms named after the founders Walt and Roy Disney.
Traditional 1920’s decor outfits the restaurant complete with gold accents. The coolest thing about this restaurant is all the Disney artwork on display.
This dining room provides a more elegant experience and will cater more to the adults.
The food selection at 1923 resembles more of a classic steakhouse. Everything was excellent.
All Disney sailings feature a Pirate night and ours took place for a second night in 1923. Pirate night offers a separate menu with Caribbean inspired dishes.
World’s of Marvel is an action-packed dining experience that transports you to the Avengers universe. The show features Ant-Man and The Wasp in a Quantum Encounter mission where you will get to join in using an interactive Quantum Core located on every dining table. The kids will really enjoy this one.
World’s of Marvel has an American and African inspired menu. Like the other restaurants, there is something for everyone and the food is good.
Marceline Market serves as the main buffet on the ship. The food on offer was typical with nothing special to call out. The biggest issue with Marceline Market is the seating. It was tight and often difficult to find open tables. Try to come during off-hours, especially if you have a larger party.
Disney Wish offers typical fare up on deck such as pizza, but had additional offerings that were good including Mickey’s Smokestack Barbecue and Donald’s Cantina. These options were popular and had some longer lines during the lunch hour.
Disney Wish has a variety of bars and lounges to enjoy. Mix it up each night with a new venue. The Star Wars Hyperspace Lounge was a unique experience. However, there are plenty of other venues onboard. Below are some shots of some of the other bars, but there is even more that isn’t captured here.
Disney puts on a pirate night with every sailing that caps off with fireworks at sea. The show was entertaining, but crowded, so be sure to get there early to hold a spot. The fireworks were a bit hard to see as they were partially blocked by the Aquamouse and they didn’t last very long. Don’t make this the primary reason you choose Disney for your cruise.
Disney hosts their theatrical shows inside the Walt Disney Theatre. A theatrical adaption of “The Little Mermaid” has been created exclusively for the Wish. Theatrical shows also include “Disney Seas the Adventure” and “Disney’s Aladdin – A Musical Spectacular.”
There are numerous lounges on the Disney wish including Luna and the Triton Lounger. Our kids enjoyed the dance parties that were being hosted in Luna in the evenings.
Mini-skits would be performed in the Grand Hall, but the main entertainment in this space was character meet and greets, which were scheduled periodically each day.
The Guest Services desk was particularly helpful and is located in the Grand Hall. Make sure to stop by off hours to avoid the lines.
Housekeeping was typical compared to any other mainstream cruise line. The sitting area was converted to bunk beds each night and packed away in the morning. Towel animals, a cruising staple, greeted us each night in our cabin.
The wait staff were kind and attentive. However, they seemed to be stretched a bit thin compared to the wait staff we had on other cruises. There was also some confusion regarding how to make one of the adult beverages we ordered, which was a pretty common cocktail. Overall, We have received better dining room service on other cruise lines.
Disney prides itself on world-class service, but we have always found this to be oversold. Disney’s service is good, but nothing earth shattering good. Everything was up to par on the Wish, with perhaps some minor improvements needed from the dining room staff.
Disney Wish is a beautiful addition to the Disney Cruise Line fleet. Overall, Disney delivered on their next generation of cruise ships. The rotational dining rooms are fantastic and the ships design is well thought out while boasting high-end elegant style. The staterooms are the best we have experienced among mainstream cruise lines and the rotational dining options and food are excellent. The only negatives are minor and seem fixable with the dining staff appearing to be stretched a bit thin and the mechanical noises in the spa treatment rooms. Other than those minor flaws, the biggest issue with this ship is the itinerary. 3 or 4 nights is simply not enough time to experience all the Wish has to offer. In fact, there are many experiences missing from this review, so be sure to make the most of your time on this amazing ship!
