Disney Cruise Line just launched their newest ship in the fleet (and their largest) – WISH. Check out our experience and what you should expect.
What’s better than a ocean cruise in the Bahamas? A Disney Cruise in the Bahamas. What’s better than that? The first voyage and Christening Cruise on a new Disney WISH in the Bahamas! And what a great experience it was! Let’s check out who should be sailing on this new ship. If you would like to see video content of this trip and our few days at Walt Disney World, click HERE and HERE.
Disney Cruise Line invited us for the christening and then the Christening Cruise of their newest ship, the Disney Wish. It was so much fun to discover a brand new ship and all the new things it had to offer! The Wish only arrived in Port Canaveral, Florida from it’s German builder 9 days prior to its christening. The Disney Cruise Line team really had its work cut out to get it ready to sail with guests for the first time on June 29th, but they worked some Disney magic and got the job done. Bippity-Boppity-Boo worked yet again!
Following a beautiful christening ceremony where Disney had three children who served as ambassadors from the Make-A-Wish Foundation christen the ship, we enjoyed a VIP reception and then began boarding. First impressions are everything and when one first boards the WISH – well, it’s nothing short of spectacular! The grand hall seems so much bigger and open than any other Disney ship. It holds the promise that there is lots more to come. And come it did!
When we opened the door to our stateroom we were impressed for the second time. The room was a beautiful ocean view verandah stateroom with outdoor seating. It seemed more spacious than staterooms on our previous Disney voyages with great modern conveniences. For example, there were many cell phone and tablet charging stations, even with built-in USB-C outlets for the newest iPhones. First time I’ve seen that in any ship or hotel! Tanya was excited about the extra large, full-length mirror for her daily outfit mirror selfies. But this was just the beginning of the fun.
Our first excursion around the WISH took us to the Star Wars Hyperspace Lounge. From the time the door whooshes open, you’re transported to the deck of a big space cruiser with a gigantic viewing port looking out at planets, ships going everywhere and stars. Once you’ve taken in your surroundings, your ship jumps to light speed and arrives at a whole new place with even more to see. There’s a menu of exotic beverages, including a $5,000 special cocktail, the Kaiburr Crystal. The Kaiburr Crystal is named after the crystals that power lightsabers for those of you that aren’t Star Wars buffs. It’s a galactic secret as to what this cocktail entails, and sadly no one in our group purchased one to find out. The Hyperspace Lounge is going to be one of the most popular attractions of the WISH. We enjoyed a The Chancellor from Coruscant and a Freetown Reserve from Tatooine. Click HERE to watch the video. The pictures can’t capture how truly spectacular this is.
While there’s plenty of things for the kids to do on board, we particularly enjoyed the adult oriented activities. However, there’s at least one child oriented special attraction that deserves note. There’s a spiral slide from the lobby down a deck into the kids clubs. I saw more than one adult follow their child down the slide having at least as much fun as their child. The kids club made us want to be kids again as it features Marvel Superhero Academy, Star Wars: Cargo Bay, Walt Disney Imagineering Lab and Fairytale Hall. Each of these spaces are designed for interactive play. The WISH also has It’s a Small World nursery and Mickey & Minnie’s Captain’s Deck for the little cruisers.
We attended two stage performances in the Walt Disney Theater that were great for folks of any age. The first featured live performances – Disney Seas The Adventure, where you will meet the many characters from Disney movies. I have to say that after the unbelievable performance by the actor & singer playing Elsa from Frozen, I was ready to give a standing ovation just for her. The second performance we saw was a preview of the WISH stage production of The Little Mermaid, also a crowd pleaser. There are no pictures allowed of live performances so we can’t include any. Not to be missed is the Wonderland Movie Theater where the first run movie Lightyear and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was playing throughout the cruise, too. There just wasn’t enough time to do it all!
One of the adult activities we most thoroughly enjoyed was the beautiful Spa. We enjoyed a couples massage in one of the special couples treatment suites. The massage was great, but I wish we had booked more time to enjoy the in-suite hot tub. We did spend time in the steam room, the dry sauna and the new (for me anyway) ice room. The indoor/outdoor portion of the Spa called the Rain Forest was beautifully designed for adult sunning and quiet relaxation.
We loved having a romantic evening at one of the featured restaurants, Enchante. Enchante and the other adult-only restaurant, Palo, is brought to Disney by three-starred Michelin chef, Chef Lallement. Enchante’s staff did a wonderful job with the meal and the presentation which was second to none. Each course was served by at least four waiters. It felt like we were in Beauty and the Beast…in Paris. Before our dinner, we enjoyed a lovely cocktail at Rose named after the rose in Beauty and the Beast. It’s just so relaxing to watch the ocean go by as you unwind in a beautifully decorated bar/lounge. We didn’t get to eat at Palo this trip, but on the WISH, it’s not only an Italian restaurant, but a steakhouse, too. Our trip mates that dined there told us it too was an exceptional experience. These two restaurants are an additional charge.
Included in your cruise are three exceptional dining experiences. Disney rotates its guests so that everyone gets to experience each restaurant. There are two dinner seatings 6:15 PM or 8:00 PM. We always opt for the second dinner seating and pop into one of the many lounges before for a cocktail (like the one pictured above). Each bar/lounge has beautiful decor and some offer live music. Your dining staff rotate with you each night getting to know your every need. 1923 is a sophisticated restaurant with Disney memorabilia and has two sides – Roy Disney and Walt Disney.The Marvel superhero-themed restaurant, Avengers:Quantum Encounter (an interactive experience with your meal) featured the characters Ant Man and the Wasp. The technology was incredible! The third experience is Arendelle: A Frozen Dining Adventure and it is spectacular! Each restaurant has its own branded china, silverware, decor and atmosphere.
There were so many more things we enjoyed onboard including the ice cream/gelato shop, Joyful Sweets, the traditional Disney fireworks, the adult-only pool and sunning area called Quiet Cove, and the new 760′ water slide attraction, AquaMouse. AquaMouse combines features of a roller coaster and a waterslide. Nothing nearly as exciting as the brand new Guardians of the Galaxy attraction at EPCOT (highly recommended – before you eat lunch, that is) we had ridden just two days before, but AquaMouse was more attuned to our level of desired excitement.
This 4 day/3 night cruise docked and spent the day at Castaway Cay, Disney’s private island. We’ve enjoyed this island several times before. There are beautiful beaches, places to eat, bars, and loads of activities. Keep your eye out – you’ll see your favorite Disney characters enjoying the island life too! You don’t have to disembark and can enjoy everything the ship has to offer if you want to. In fact, the shopping on board is amazing! If you do enjoy the private island, all aboard the ship by 4:45 PM for cast off.
There are a lot of the old favorites too, like the (seemingly) always open self serve ice cream station. There are also the classic restaurant stations near the pool serving everything from hamburgers and hot dogs to Texas barbecue to Italian pizza to wok prepared bowls to vegetarian entrees and, of course, a dedicated dessert station. These casual dining spots are called Mickey’s Smokestack Barbecue, Donald’s Cantina, Daisy’s Pizza Pies, Goofy’s Grill and Sweet Minnie’s Ice Cream. You can also dine anytime at Marceline Market, which offers a wide variety of food for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Did you know that you can order room service 24 hours a day AND it’s included? Yep, we do this for breakfast so that we can enjoy our coffee on our verandah in our robes while soaking in the ocean breeze. It’s heavenly!
All-in-all, we found this was one of most enjoyable Disney experiences ever. The WISH is going to be a big success! Thank you Disney for inviting us to experience its first voyage! And stay tuned, Disney Cruise Lines is expecting two more new ships by 2025. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, even if this wasn’t our first rodeo!
The Disney WISH officially sets sail TODAY, July 14 and can be booked for your next voyage HERE. We highly recommend spending a few days at Walt Disney World on the front end so that you can experience the best of land and sea. While we certainly enjoyed all of the adult experiences as empty nesters, this is also an excellent trip for kids and grandkids. Make it multi-generational like we did with our Walt Disney World trip earlier this year.
Bon Voyage! xoxo – Tanya and Pete
P.S. If you have any questions, please leave a comment. We’ll be happy to answer them. 🙂
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Thank you to Disney Cruise Line for gifting the trip. All experiences and opinions are our own.
Tags: Bahamas, Castaway Cay, Disney, Disney cruise, Disney Cruise Line, Walt Disney World, WISH
