Trip Report We took the Wish for a spin! COMPLETE

Hello, everyone,

You may remember us from previous TRs including:

Land & Sea - Baja Style!
We kept in on the DL...the DCL
It’s not about Ryan Gosling, but there is a Gosling involved

Once again, it's time for another DCL adventure with @lostpro9het and @imahistorygeek.

We are doing a WDW/DCL/WDW sandwich and hopefully this isn't a bologna sandwich with miracle whip. Let's hope it's a fancy Italian Boars Head sub from Kroger with all the fixins.

I should preempt this by saying we still have to pass a covid test because our cruise is the last one to require testing if you're vaccinated. Boo on you DCL. So this entire TR could be scrapped on Wednesday morning.

When: We fly out on the evening of September 15.
Where: Our first night is the Poly. Got to get our rest in before at sea funtivities.
What are we doing: We're sailing on the Wish, back to back! This is a first for us.

We've combined a 3-night and 4-night with a Halloween party ticket when we return. This is a Halloween on the High Seas cruise which means costumes! I've made them and they're ready to go!

After we fly in, we will pick up our one-way rental from National. We have no park plans for arrival day and really no dinner plans either.
Embarkation day - we will drive to National Car rental at the port and get a shuttle to the port. We will do this same thing after debarkation and head back to the Poly. Our Halloween party tickets are for that evening and we fly home the next day.

We have found it very hard to get excited about our cruises. There are several reasons:

• We still have to test. We will not pack until we pass the test. I still have some eMed tests left over from Celebrity (which no longer tests), so we will use them for our cruise.
• Negative feedback regarding the Wish. We are trying to stay away from it. We know the ships aren't the same. We're not really researching anything, just looking at the food and drink menus. The only thing we will familiarize ourselves with is the deck plan, because it will be different and we don't want to waste our time trying to find things.
• We are trying to buy a house. If things go well, we will close next Monday.
• We are trying to sell our house. It's currently on the market and open for viewing and it will be while we are gone.
• Our previous cruise (on the Wonder) was fine, but nothing spectacular, except for the BREACHING OF A WHALE!

However, there are some things we are looking forward to experiencing on the ship:

• New ship and venues.
• New drinks and food. There look to be some interesting food and drink choices, especially the drink that is in the ice ball at Nightingales.

With all this said, wish us luck for a negative test next Wednesday!

 

[imahistorygeek]

I'm not a cheesecake girl but that Fuji Apple Cheesecake looks amazing!

It was very good! I'm not a fan of cooked apple things, but this was one of the best desserts. It was not overly sweet either.

I hate to encourage crime in any way, but those look like purse shakers to me!

I agree. I honestly wonder how long they are going to be on the tables.

 

[imahistorygeek]

One thing the Wish knocks out of the park is the kids' clubs. I mean what kid doesn't want to slide down into the club from the lobby?

We took a tour during open house and it did not disappoint. I would have loved these as a kid. All of the areas connect to one another.

 

[imahistorygeek]

Like I mentioned above, they are all connected, so you just move from one area to another.

 

[imahistorygeek]

This is the slide I mentioned above.

 

[imahistorygeek]

Another kids/family area is the Hero Zone. It's a bouncy castle in what I think is the basketball court. It's nice and air conditioned. I believe they have competitions for families and open time.

 

[imahistorygeek]

One of the bars I wished we had visited more was The Rose. As you can tell, I'm not really going in any specific order, but just spaces and experiences. One of the drinks I had wanted to try on this trip was The Rose.

The entrance to The Rose is beautiful with a rose constructed of pages from a book. Theming is *chef's kiss*.

The entire venue is lined with windows on one side and they offer quite the view. Do I have a picture of this view. Of course not.

The menu is super fancy.

My drink for the evening:

Was it worth the $50? I don't know, but I enjoyed it from the beginning to the end. The Wish has a lot of "presentation" drinks on the menus.

First things first, you receive a rose and real napkins for the drinks.

Drink presentation:

If you take a look in the glass, you'll see something at the bottom. It's a hibiscus flower that was covered in syrup and completely edible. Beautiful presentation and a really good drink. I think it was just a bit too fancy for me, but I still enjoyed the experience and taste. The Rose is really a beautiful venue. This is where you'll find entrances to both Enchante and Palo.

Also, vibration in the aft was non-existent. For you seasoned Disney cruisers, you know that the ships have an aft vibration issue. No such issue on the Wish.

 

[lostpro9het]

 

[imahistorygeek]

The most hyped space on the Wish...Hyperspace Lounge. It's located off the atrium across from The Bayou. Fits perfectly in that area. /s

It's a tiny hallway entrance to the left. You'll push a button to get it. It's your typical Star Wars ship door.

Reports of a small space have not been exaggerated. I think there may have been a line on the first day, but after that, you could really go in at any time. It was not the happening place on the ship. The music was very loud in a small space and got old quick.

Inside themeing is nice.

This is the ice bucket for the $5,000 drinks. We didn't see anyone purchase this, but that's not a surprise considering the price.

This is a view from the furthest back wall.

You'll notice the machine with Disney Wish. All the bars that serve coffee drinks have one of these. It adds characters to the top of your drink. They don't match any of the lounges' theming.

 

[imahistorygeek]

A lot of lounge menus are ipads. They all worked well.

I ordered the Coruscant. It was ok. It was a combo of sour/sweet. The bubble maker was out in full force. Again, the glassware on this ship has been amazing.

This is the Mustafarian Black Ale by Terrapin. Sean says it's the same as Terrapin's Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Moo Hoo. It's a good beer.

 

[Darstarr]

This is the Mustafarian Black Ale by Terrapin. Sean says it's the same as Terrapin's Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Moo Hoo. It's a good beer

Who cares if its good.
8.5>4.3

 

[Darstarr]

@lostpro9het I thought about you today. I took my oldest to lunch (last week he said he wasnt drinking or eating fried food until Thanksgiving)
Ha!
He got a beer flight

Not a great picture and I cut one out, but you see that really dark one???

It is number six in the above picture. I tried it, it was a little bland until the 11% alcohol hit me. My son said it was like doing a shot of vodka. (And also, he got a fried chicken ala vodka sandwich)

 

[lostpro9het]

@lostpro9het I thought about you today. I took my oldest to lunch (last week he said he wasnt drinking or eating fried food until Thanksgiving)
Ha!
He got a beer flight
View attachment 676773
Not a great picture and I cut one out, but you see that really dark one???
View attachment 676772
It is number six in the above picture. I tried it, it was a little bland until the 11% alcohol hit me. My son said it was like doing a shot of vodka. (And also, he got a fried chicken ala vodka sandwich)

Respect! 11 is doing it right! Ive been slumming it with these lowly 9%ers.

If you’re ever in the Peach State and had your fill of Zimas with @wdisney9000, I’ll be glad to show you a heavy flight.

 

[MickeyCB]

This is the ice bucket for the $5,000 drinks. We didn't see anyone purchase this, but that's not a surprise considering the price.

And you don't even get to keep the friggin bucket!
But, I heard you do get a water bottle, so there's that.

 

[imahistorygeek]

And you don't even get to keep the friggin bucket!
But, I heard you do get a water bottle, so there's that.

I mean who wouldn't want a water bottle?? Such a good deal. They should be letting you keep that bucket and a free cruise.

 

[lostpro9het]

And you don't even get to keep the friggin bucket!
But, I heard you do get a water bottle, so there's that.

I mean who wouldn't want a water bottle?? Such a good deal. They should be letting you keep that bucket and a free cruise.

Don’t forget the automatic 18% automatic gratuity! What a deal…

 

[Darstarr]

If you’re ever in the Peach State and had your fill of Zimas with @wdisney9000, I’ll be glad to show you a heavy flight.

 

[imahistorygeek]

A Disney cruise wouldn't be complete without Palo. We had zero luck getting reservations before the cruise for either leg. So, we decided to wait until we boarded the ship on the second leg. Went directly to guest services to be put on a waiting list. After that, radio silence. We were pretty sure it was not going to happen this cruise.

Lo and behold, the day we were in The Rose for a drink, Sean just walked up to the Palo/Enchante stand to inquire about a reservation. For those of you trying to get a Palo dinner reservation and having no luck, looks like the best day is the last day of the cruise. They had plenty of availability. The real problem is the lack of 2-seater tables. We made the reservation for the last night, which was fine because that was our 2nd Marvel rotation. You know how we feel about Marvel.

The Palo vibe is different on the Wish.

Fancy Art:

Fancy Champagne:

And then there's this:

This is also our server. This was her 2nd week in Palo. Yep, 2nd week. She did not move up from the buffet to main dining, to Palo. I want to say she's a ballet dancer, but I can't remember. She just applied and was hired. We had to remind her of some things, like things we ordered and there were long stretches of not seeing her. She was very nice, but no David from Hungary. We tried to track him down and hoped to see him on the Wish, but word at the time was that he was on the Wonder as the Palo manager. Service was fine at best this trip.

Sean ordered beer.

And I ordered this tiny pour of wine.

I liked the water stand beside us. Made it very convenient to pour our water.

We really did have a great seat and as I mentioned before, there's no vibration in the aft, which is really nice.

 

[imahistorygeek]

On to the food!

Oh, yes. I did order this drink. I think it's basically a lemon drop martini. It was very delicious and very potent.

First things first...Amuse-bouche.

This is standard Palo fare of a breaded and fried piece of gnocchi. It was good, but a little cold. Maybe that's the style, though.

We decided to share an appetizer, steak, and sides.

Antipasto
Prosciutto, Coppa, Bresaola, Salame Calabrese, Parmesan-Reggiano, Pecorino Toscano, Caciotta al Tartufo
$22.00

This was very good and a huge serving for two people.

The palate cleanser is no longer served between appetizer and main course.

28oz Dry-aged Prime Angus Porterhouse Steak
With your choice of Salsa: Pink Peppercorn, Tomato Béarnaise, Truffle Thyme Borolo Jus, Gorgonzola or Salsa Verde
$62.00

The meat was flavorful and tender. We had no problem finishing this. I don't regret the meat sweats.

Fried Yukon Potato
Rosemary, Parmigiano-Reggiano, Lava Salt
$4.00

I like potatoes, so this was very good.

Pan-roasted Wild Mushrooms
Shallots, Garlic, Pinot Grigio, Thyme
$4.00

You had me at pinot grigio. These were also very good and a large portion.

You'll see the sauces that came with the steak. They were ok, but I didn't feel as though the steak needed them, which is a good thing.

Looks like we had some broccolini as well.

Broccolini
Black Garlic, Breadcrumbs, Parsley and Lemon
$4.00

For dessert, we shared the souffle. It was delicious as usual.
Chocolate Soufflé
Madagascan Vanilla Bean Gelato, Chocolate Sauce, Vanilla Anglaise
$10.00

We ended our meal with the drink at the end.

As platinum cruisers, we each have a $45 credit for Palo for a total of $90. A Palo meal used to be completely free.
So if you add up everything we ordered, the grand total was $106. $16 extra is not bad considering the amount of food. We did add on a tip to the end. This total doesn't include drinks.

We enjoyed ourselves. The food was very good. The only lackluster bit was the service. It just wasn't up to par with other Palo experiences.

 

[imahistorygeek]

I'll wrap this up by saying we had a good time. We enjoyed the new ship and the new offerings.

Will we be in a rush to come back? No. I've read so many reviews that start out with "it's a beautiful ship, but..." I feel exactly the same.

It just didn't live up to the hype or any of the other experiences we've had on DCL. We are always sad to leave a DCL ship and can't wait to return, but this was not the case. The food was on par with other ships. The theatre entertainment was good. The adult entertainment was good to ok. The most disappointing aspect was the adult area. No thought to what we actually like was in this area. This is a main reason we will probably not sail this ship again. That, and the short itineraries. We met some really great crew, but even they were a one and done for their contracts.

And to add insult to injury, they're going back to in-person muster drills. The word on the internets is that not enough people were checking into the app.

We will stick to the older ships from now on. We know them and they have their faults, but they're still better than the Wish.

 

[Swissmiss]

Fancy Champagne:
View attachment 679021

Technically this is Fancy Sparkling wine