Just back from 3 days on the Wish. I debated whether or not to write a "review" as there are already a lot of threads on this but as opinions seem to be all over the map, I figured I would offer our perspective as well.
For reference, we are Platinum, this was my 18th DCL cruise. I will admit I already had a sour taste in my mouth before the cruise even left as we got locked out Palo Brunch. So many concierge guests onboard that by the time the Platinum window opened, it was all gone. As soon as we got onboard we tried to waitlist for it, but no dice. We didn't let it bother us too much as it gave an opportunity to try new food experiences as well.
So what did we think? Well if I had to boil my review down to 2 words...Exquisite....and Claustrophobic!
The ship is GORGEOUS. We did not mind the change to a new look, and while I love the other 4 ships, there was a beautiful elegance to the Wish. I wasn't sure how the departure from the nautical theme would look, but happy to report the ship was aesthetically amazing. We loved our stateroom (extended verandah on the bump-out) and the little touches of design everywhere were well placed. From the carpet to the light fixtures, they spared no expense. And they finally moved the light switches for the bathrooms INSIDE the bathroom. no more reaching out to turn the light on.
The ship is also a claustrophobic royal cluster of a design that I was not quite expecting, and our perspective (and MANY other people we ran into over the 3 days as well) was that the people who designed the layout of the ship had likely never been on a cruise. I can't possibly fathom a world where the people responsible for this mess have been on a previous DCL cruise, or Royal, Carnival, NCL, or MSC for that matter. Some of the things were just not thought out, and some were just plain stupid.
The ship is technically larger than the Dream/Fantasy but you would never know it. The venues are comically small, and I understand the idea of more smaller venues across the ship instead of fewer large venues. Maybe on paper that makes sense, but when you have Trivia in 1 small venue, you need to get there 45 min early to get a seat or miss out.
On the Dream they have 1 movie theater, on the Wish there are 2...makes sense, show 2 movies at one time. Except the theater on Dream holds 300 people, and the one's on the Wish hold 60 people each! Not sure who's bright idea that was.
Hyperspace Lounge is beautiful...and TINY. We thought it would be a Star Wars themed version of Skyline but not only was it much smaller, all "reservations" were also sold out. We got in during an open house so we could see it but not try any drinks.
The flow of the ship was also a mess. We actually liked the fact that there were only 2 elevator banks, it helped a bit, but navigating the ship was difficult, and not because it was different from the other DCL ships...we are seasoned cruisers on other lines as well. Never have I gone on a new ship from ANY cruise line and felt so discombobulated. On the top deck, the put 2 bars right in the walkway from port to aft, but not enough space to go around them with the railings...it was like Salmon swimming upstream just trying to walk around.
Oh the elevators...whatever you do, expect it to take forever. The elevators are so narrow you feel like a sardine, and the buttons are touchless...so inevitably ever time the doors open and someone in the back wants to get out, there's a person at the front that leans back to give them room, and their back "touches" every button.
The ship felt very much unfinished. Every wall sign has a badge on the top showing the deck you are on..except 70% of them were still missing. The replacement to the midship detective agency is still "not ready". Many bars were out of a lot of ingredients. My daughter tried to order a root bear float at the Bayou and was told they had no ice cream. Um, What?
In the main atrium area as you approach the Walt Disney theater, they have way too much real-estate dedicated to upscale shopping. 4 huge (and mostly empty) jewelry, watch, and handbag stores. I swear, one of the stores I never saw more than 2 people at a time in there. But Mickey's Mainsail (the only souvenir shop onboard) is up 2 decks, and is a VERY long and narrow store. After about 5 min in there, we had to leave it was so crowded. The most popular store on board, and by far the smallest one too.
The food was very good. We really likes the Marcelines market food choices, but again space was an issue. As we were walking around the buffet looking for seating, my 9 year old asks me if this ship is smaller than the Magic because there is no room to sit. I felt like the laws of physics were just paying a cruel joke on us.
The pool area food court was the best food on the ship. The BBQ and pizza were hands down better than any other ships pool-deck food.
The adult pool area is as others said, hard to get to, and ridiculously small. We spent 5 min there and checked it off our list.
The Oceanears club was fantastic as always, and the slide into it was done very well. My son loved it!
So all in all, we had a very good time. My family agreed we would most likely come back to the Wish at SOME point in the future, but not anytime soon. We already cancelled our Wish cruise for next year and replaced it with the Magic.
I am sure I had many other thoughts but that's all that comes to mind right now...feel free to ask anything, I will do my best to answer.
For reference, we are Platinum, this was my 18th DCL cruise. I will admit I already had a sour taste in my mouth before the cruise even left as we got locked out Palo Brunch. So many concierge guests onboard that by the time the Platinum window opened, it was all gone. As soon as we got onboard we tried to waitlist for it, but no dice. We didn't let it bother us too much as it gave an opportunity to try new food experiences as well.
So what did we think? Well if I had to boil my review down to 2 words...Exquisite....and Claustrophobic!
The ship is GORGEOUS. We did not mind the change to a new look, and while I love the other 4 ships, there was a beautiful elegance to the Wish. I wasn't sure how the departure from the nautical theme would look, but happy to report the ship was aesthetically amazing. We loved our stateroom (extended verandah on the bump-out) and the little touches of design everywhere were well placed. From the carpet to the light fixtures, they spared no expense. And they finally moved the light switches for the bathrooms INSIDE the bathroom. no more reaching out to turn the light on.
The ship is also a claustrophobic royal cluster of a design that I was not quite expecting, and our perspective (and MANY other people we ran into over the 3 days as well) was that the people who designed the layout of the ship had likely never been on a cruise. I can't possibly fathom a world where the people responsible for this mess have been on a previous DCL cruise, or Royal, Carnival, NCL, or MSC for that matter. Some of the things were just not thought out, and some were just plain stupid.
The ship is technically larger than the Dream/Fantasy but you would never know it. The venues are comically small, and I understand the idea of more smaller venues across the ship instead of fewer large venues. Maybe on paper that makes sense, but when you have Trivia in 1 small venue, you need to get there 45 min early to get a seat or miss out.
On the Dream they have 1 movie theater, on the Wish there are 2...makes sense, show 2 movies at one time. Except the theater on Dream holds 300 people, and the one's on the Wish hold 60 people each! Not sure who's bright idea that was.
Hyperspace Lounge is beautiful...and TINY. We thought it would be a Star Wars themed version of Skyline but not only was it much smaller, all "reservations" were also sold out. We got in during an open house so we could see it but not try any drinks.
The flow of the ship was also a mess. We actually liked the fact that there were only 2 elevator banks, it helped a bit, but navigating the ship was difficult, and not because it was different from the other DCL ships...we are seasoned cruisers on other lines as well. Never have I gone on a new ship from ANY cruise line and felt so discombobulated. On the top deck, the put 2 bars right in the walkway from port to aft, but not enough space to go around them with the railings...it was like Salmon swimming upstream just trying to walk around.
Oh the elevators...whatever you do, expect it to take forever. The elevators are so narrow you feel like a sardine, and the buttons are touchless...so inevitably ever time the doors open and someone in the back wants to get out, there's a person at the front that leans back to give them room, and their back "touches" every button.
The ship felt very much unfinished. Every wall sign has a badge on the top showing the deck you are on..except 70% of them were still missing. The replacement to the midship detective agency is still "not ready". Many bars were out of a lot of ingredients. My daughter tried to order a root bear float at the Bayou and was told they had no ice cream. Um, What?
In the main atrium area as you approach the Walt Disney theater, they have way too much real-estate dedicated to upscale shopping. 4 huge (and mostly empty) jewelry, watch, and handbag stores. I swear, one of the stores I never saw more than 2 people at a time in there. But Mickey's Mainsail (the only souvenir shop onboard) is up 2 decks, and is a VERY long and narrow store. After about 5 min in there, we had to leave it was so crowded. The most popular store on board, and by far the smallest one too.
The food was very good. We really likes the Marcelines market food choices, but again space was an issue. As we were walking around the buffet looking for seating, my 9 year old asks me if this ship is smaller than the Magic because there is no room to sit. I felt like the laws of physics were just paying a cruel joke on us.
The pool area food court was the best food on the ship. The BBQ and pizza were hands down better than any other ships pool-deck food.
The adult pool area is as others said, hard to get to, and ridiculously small. We spent 5 min there and checked it off our list.
The Oceanears club was fantastic as always, and the slide into it was done very well. My son loved it!
So all in all, we had a very good time. My family agreed we would most likely come back to the Wish at SOME point in the future, but not anytime soon. We already cancelled our Wish cruise for next year and replaced it with the Magic.
I am sure I had many other thoughts but that's all that comes to mind right now...feel free to ask anything, I will do my best to answer.
