Disney Wish Cruise Review - PREP 336

Recent cruise on the Wish with the WDW Prep team! Heather, Allyson, Felicia, and Shannon go on a team trip each year and the only rule is no work. The purpose is to team-build and have fun. It’s important to remember why they do this.

In this article

Arrivals

They took a 4-day cruise on the Wish. There were mixed reviews and Shannon was worried prior to the trip because of them but wanted to share her own thoughts about the experience.

Everyone arrived to Orlando the day before the cruise was set to leave. This is always recommended in case there are any travel challenges – you want to be sure you have plenty of time to get on the ship!

The team stayed at the Hyatt at the airport. This is a very common and convenient way to arrive before the cruise. You can even have Hyatt take your luggage from baggage claim if you’d like!

They had wine delivered to the hotel via Instacart. You can bring up to 2 bottles of wine per person onto the cruise.

Embarking and Day 1

Shannon and the team took Quicksilver and had a great experience. Their driver was early, which worked out really well.

It took about 45 minutes to get to the port. The size of the vehicle was perfect because there was plenty of room for the 4 adults and their luggage.

They arrived just a bit before their boarding time but that didn’t seem to matter. They showed their passports and went through security.

Port Canaveral is specific to Disney and a wonderful port. You can get your photo taken in the terminal with cute backdrops.

Once they called their number, they were able to board the ship. When you board a cruise, you are announced. The WDW Prep team were announced by their first names.

The first stop was guest services to try and get some activities they couldn’t get prior to boarding. They also had some credit card things to clear up.

After that, they got to Marceline Market for some good. This is the quick service dining option on the Wish. The food was really good.

The first thoughts of the ship was that it was absolutely gorgeous. Their favorite seating area was to the left in a room with drink stations. It was rarely crowded.

Around 1:30 p.m. they waited for their cabin to be ready. They were told that it would be ready by 2 p.m. When it was ready, they went to the room. One of them had their luggage outside the door but everyone else had to wait for their luggage.

The room was very familiar. The bathroom seemed a bit smaller but the room overall was very spacious and included a veranda.

They called immediately to have the door between the two rooms opened. Unfortunately it took a day or two before they could have that door opened.

The onboard gifts Shannon ordered were already in the rooms. It included Disney Wish blankets, pillowcases, Captain Minnie gift pack, and some banners and decorations. That was a really fun way to start the ship.

Shannon got her luggage last and didn’t get it until closer to dinner. They did the Avengers Restaurant on the first night. Everyone loved it, even those who aren’t big Avengers fans. The theming and food were excellent.

After dinner they all went to the Main Stage. They like eating the early dinner and then doing entertainment. This show was called “Disney Seas the Adventure.”

They really liked that this included the strong female characters. The performers were wonderful and everyone really liked it.

They also attended the sail away party, tree lighting (which was very very busy!), silent disco, and other fun activities. It was a jam-packed day!

Day 2

The day began with beignets and coffee for breakfast at the Bayou. It’s a wonderful space for breakfast. After breakfast, they got photos taken with characters.

They utilized the Disney Cruise app to remind them of activities that they wanted do. You can heart the activities that sound fun and then the app will remind you 15 minutes prior to the activity.

After photos, the group went to a beer tasting. It was in the pub area. Then they visited a Star Wars themed Hyperspace Lounge, which was reminiscent of Space 220. It wasn’t the best experience for the group.

Dinner was at the Arendelle Dining Room. The menu was like Akershus and might not appeal to everyone. The theme and entertainment is all Frozen themed!

Shannon purchased a wine package for the trip. There are a variety of packages and Shannon purchased the 4-bottle package. This gave her a discount on the price of the wine and she could choose each night which bottle of wine she wanted.

After dinner, they played Bingo. It was a bit complicated because it was all electronic. You just have to watch your card and see if you win.

Overall, it was a really great day at sea!

Day 3

Today was the day at Nassau. The group opted to not get off the ship because they prefer to stay on the ship rather than to go Nassau.

The day started with room service. They’d chosen their breakfast options the night before and left that out with the time chosen to have it delivered. They ate their breakfast out on the verandah which was lovely.

Then they put on matching pajamas and went to see Minnie in her holiday dress! These characters can get longer lines, so it’s important to get there a bit early.

Next it was time for the pool. They went to the adults-only area which was a great vibe.

After the pool they finally won first place at Disney Food Trivia! They’ve played before and come in second or third place but never first. They decided to just play until they won and they did. Getting the medals was exciting.

Their dinner that night was also in the Arendelle dining room again but it was pirate night in all the dining rooms. After dinner there was a pirate deck show followed by fireworks.

It is such a treat to see fireworks on the ship. The fireworks are made from materials that are safe for the fish but they look just like normal fireworks.

The stage show was the Little Mermaid. It was a classic story with an adjusted ending with more of a female empowerment vibe. This show was a bit longer but the performers were incredible.

Day 4

The group decided to sleep in after a long day 3. They got breakfast at 10 a.m. at Marceline Market before heading to Castaway Cay.

This is their favorite spot on the cruise. The weather was perfect and sunny. It was wonderful to be back and went to the adult beach. In order to get there, you need to take two trams.

Shannon had pre-purchased the package that gave everyone an inner tube, snorkel gear, and a bike to ride around the island. They picked up their inner tubes on their way to the beach.

The water was a bit cold and snorkling wasn’t possible. It turned out no one wanted to bike except for Shannon so in retrospect, she would have just made sure everyone could get an inner tube rather than pre-purchasing the whole package.

Shannon loves biking around the island because it doesn’t take very long and you can see the whole island. There’s also an overlook you can stop and see the ship and a higher viewpoint.

There were a lot of characters and photo opportunities on Castaway Cay. There are several throughout the island.

Everyone was back on the ship by 3:30 p.m. or so. They got cleaned up for dinner at 1923. It looks a lot like Hollywood Brown Derby.

They had a wonderful dinner. It felt a lot more adult-focused.

After dinner, the show was Aladdin. The show was a bit too long but the performers were incredible. The ending was also altered a bit.

Because this was the last night of the cruise, they got more photos taken and did some shopping. Everyone else had the same idea so the lines were very long to pick out photos and go shopping.

They opted not to put their luggage out the night before because they wanted to be sure they had access to their luggage in the morning. However, this meant that they had to walk off the ship with their luggage.

Disembarking

They packed up and walked with their luggage off the ship at 7:20 a.m. They met their car to the airport around 8 a.m.

Shannon booked a Hyatt room for the day through Resort Pass. This gave them a place to stay because they didn’t all have flights at the same time.

Overall Thoughts

The ship was incredible. Everyone really loved the food. The performers were absolutely incredible and really talented.

There were some negative thoughts about the layout and they found it a bit confusing, but didn’t have any problems with the layout.

They did have a lot of trouble with the weird elevators. It’s easy to push every single button, which is very irritating.

They would highly recommend this cruise either as a combination as land and sea or just a shorter cruise.

Quick Tip

Raina called to leave the tip that if you are staying at a Disney resort, you can continue to use the amenities at your resort up until midnight on your checkout day. This can be very helpful if you have a later flight. You can leave your bags at bell services, spend the day at the park, and come back to freshen up before your flight.

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