Debating 4 nights on the wish vs 5 on the dream. Similar in cost - the 5 makes a stop at the new island in addition to Bahamas and CC. First time on DCL!
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I would look at the pros and cons of each to see which makes the most sense for you. I’ve only been on the Dream class ships to date and am planning on the Wish class for our next cruise, but off the top of my head (IMO, I’m sure others might have more to add):
Dream:
Pros:
another day is always better, also = lower cost per day for the experience
getting to go to lookout cay
Remy dessert is really good & I’ve heard great things about the other meals (easier to get than Palo brunch)
Beauty and the Beast Show
Animator’s Palate (crush show is fun, animation night is really cool)
lots of great things to do on Dream class ships
Potential cons:
1 more day of cruise extra costs (gratuities and extra cost experiences)
Are you planning WDW before or after the cruise? farther than Port Canaveral
no DCL bus to WDW hotels if that interests you
if you’re flying, how are flights to/from Fort Lauderdale (for us they’re much less convenient than Orlando)
Wish:
Pro’s:
everything is still shiny and new
all the new restaurants and experiences not on the dream class ships
easier to get to/from WDW & DCL bus is an option
1 less day of cruise extras (gratuities and extra cost experiences)
Potential con’s:
1 less day = higher cost per day for the experience
if you want the same length vacation in either experience, would cost more to have another day of expenses off the ship (eg we usually take at least a week, so for us on top of the 4 days being more cost per day, we also would have the extra expenses for the 5th day not on the ship)
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TL;DR The Dream because those stops will be incredible & I am always a fan of more time! But you also can’t go wrong with the Wish either, especially if any of the specific character theming of the spaces is some of your favorite Disney.
Our first cruise was a 5-n on the Dream and it felt like the perfect amount of time for a first trip. It was long enough that we got a taste but short enough that if we were miserable, we weren’t feeling stuck on the ship. Our 2nd cruise was a 4-n and it felt rushed! So I wish we could always only take 5 nights or longer! And when we really wanted to try the Wish but didn’t want to just take 4 nights, we ended up deciding to do back to back sailings to get 7 nights total and then decided that still wasn’t enough so added another 3 nights to go back to back to back. So we’ve done both the Dream & the Wish and each one has its own wonderful things.
The Dream’s restaurants were great and the shows all good. But we preferred the dinners and shows on the Wish. We are both Frozen and Marvel fans so the dinners on the Wish themed to those were just amazing for us and all the menus were fantastic. The Dream’s menus and restaurants though are great. The service on both was fantastic.
We loved the decor/atrium/artwork on both the ships but loved the Dream’s classic cruiseliner look just a bit more. But the Wish would appeal to you more if you loved a cleaner (visually, both ships are impeccable)/more modern look.
The kids clubs were pretty even between the two. My younger kids absolutely loved the slide down into the Wish’s Oceaneer club but the Dream had plenty to make up for it inside including light-up dance floors, an Andy’s room playroom space, Pixie Hollow themed room, an Infinity game room, and a flight simulator of the Millenium Falcon. The Wish also had some really fun things with a Frozen interactive game in a Frozen themed room, a Belle’s Library & Rapunzel themed rooms, a Captain Minnie & Mickey’s playground for the smaller kids, and then an interactive Star Wars game invovling the creatures of the Star Wars universe as well as a Marvel Hero suit interactive game and Imagineering game designing and then testing out your own ride.
The tween spaces (Edge) on both are fabulous as well. We haven’t explored the teen spaces on either, but they both sound great. As for adult only spaces & lounges. The lounges on the Wish were so cool, Hyperspace especially, and the Bayou was so beautiful (not necessarily adult only since it was right in the middle of walkways on either side and definitely had traffic past it quite a bit, but still beautiful! I never did get to explore much of either adult pool deck but I hear that the Wish’s is small and can get crowded compared to more room on the Dream’s. Also, the lounges in the Dream were all mostly contained to one district/area and for me, with kids meant I happened on them a lot less since I had to make a specific trip to that area to see them strategically planned when all kids were entertained/otherwise occupied and that meant I saw very little of them compared to the Wish where they were literally on the way past everything and easier to pop into.
We also preferred that Cabana’s (pool deck buffet) on the Dream let you serve your own crab vs. Marceline Market on the Wish having a crew member plate it for you. Some of the time it felt like they were metering how much crab they were allowing us to have. But Marceline’s in general had better food overall, so if you don’t necessarily want to maximize your crab leg intake, then Marceline’s is slightly better.
As for the things to do, we felt the Dream won in this category. Between the mini-golf, Midship Detective (interactive game with several different story lines to play around the ship), it just felt like there was more that we were interested in doing available to us. The Wish does have a Hero Zone that is indoors so if your group will like shooting hoops, playing ping pong it’s available more readily on the Wish (the dream has those things, but they are outdoors so not available after sunset or if it’s too windy or rainy). The Wish does also have an interactive game available but it was in the app and struggled to work for us the handful of times we tried (the Dream’s midship detective had a card you would pick up at the starting location(s) & always worked).
For Pirate Night, the Wish’s pirate night party was such a fun highlight and we LOVED it. The Dream’s is also fun, but the Wish’s was just elevated so much by the live band and 80s rock music that you jam out to before & after the fireworks.
Also, the Dream has a specialty ice cream/gelato/confectionary (that is an additional charge, not included) themed to Wreck it Ralph and that is a family favorite so we absolutely loved going there. They also had a family challenge (a giant sundae that came in a trophy cup) that we would customize the flavors & toppings. We pre-ordered them to have as dessert for our last night at the main dining room and it was such a fun way to end the trip. The Wish has a specialty shop themed to Inside out but didn’t have a similar family challenge/giant sundae, but was still great.
And then finally, the stops. It seems that the Dream going to both islands for me would be the clincher. We haven’t yet seen the new island, but will in February and from the few people who have gone (it just opened up in June), I am so excited for how beautiful the beach looks and can’t wait to see the Junkanoo Festival character dance party in person, it looks so fun & colorful!
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This is a very individual-specific question. Have you been cruising before? Which ships / destinations have you seen? Anything that is must-do for you (whether it be a stage show, rotational dining option or port destination)?
For my cruise, I thought 3 nights was great. It gave me a taste for cruising without too much time or expense commitment. I would consider cost (including cost per night if that matters) and which works better timing wise for you.
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