Just yesterday, I booked a TA rate on the Wish for a Guaranteed Verandah. Our boat leaves 3 weeks from today! I am going with my BFF and frequent Disney Travel Partner. Neither of us have ever done a Disney Cruise, and have only cruised a couple of times each.
I am too late to book brunch at Palo, which is one of her biggest desires, but we will check as soon as we board the ship.
We are both doing a lot of research into Must Do’s and other Helpful Suggestions. If you have any advice, I’d gladly accept it!
We will fly in the night before and stay at All Star Sports. We plan to take Disney transportation so we can (hopefully) arrive and board earlier even without any cruise status. We will fly home after debarkation and plan to take Disney transportation to MCO.
It is just a 3 night cruise, so I’m sure that the minute we feel comfortable with the ship and layout and rhythm, we will be done. We love to try new things together, so we are both so excited!
Oh and I have never been on the Wish, but even on a 3 day cruise I would do whatever ship tour they are offering! I loved ours. (Other lines charge for it! So bonus to DCL there.)
Have y’all ever purchased Wi-Fi? Embarrassingly, I have a pretty long crossword puzzle streak, and I can’t decide if it’s worth paying $$$$ to keep my streak.
I usually get the internet plan for myself. It’s honestly great for peace of mind (and for streaks ) but if you want to disconnect you know yourself and whether you can handle it.
Upgrade to Palo if you can get a reservation. It was a fantastic meal.
As @Jeff_AZ said get to Castaway early and hit up the adult only beach. Also its a good time to browse the shops along the way. Go farther along the beach and it will feel you have the Island to yourself, at least till around lunch time.
After lunch if you feel like you have been a slug and eaten too much on the ship you can do the 5k. Walk it don’t run. You can get a map of the course and the medal when you complete it where they rent the bikes.
I am up early in the morning and use the internet so I always buy the wifi.
Cruising without kids or with teens is an absolute blast and not weird!
There are so many adult only areas. Even if you can’t eat at Palo or Enchante do the Rose bar. Bar hopping is also fun. I liked the piano bar and the Star Wars bar. Try the waterslide if that’s your kind of thing. Play bingo (while drinking lol). Do a trivia game of your choice/preference. If the game is functioning (it wasn’t when we went that first summer) I’d personally check that out as I like the older version on Dream. It’s like a scavenger hunt. Read a book on the balcony. Do not miss the fireworks on pirates night and dress up. I don’t think the rainforest room on this one is as nice nor the spa compared to the older Disney ships. I don’t like the low ship placement. You can feel the engines and its internal. But if spas are your thing I’d book something. Definitely see a stage show. The mermaid sets are very nice but it’s not my fave of the shows cuz the singer we had was pitchy. But they are still very high quality shows. Listen to live music. See a first run movie. Don’t miss 1923 and the frozen rotational dining. Skip marvel restaurant and eat somewhere else that night imho.
Oh, that’s awesome! You will have a blast! I haven’t been on the Wish, but I have cruised on the Treasure (and Dream, Fantasy, and Magic). I wouldn’t worry about planning too much ahead of time or booking anything really. There is so much to explore on the ship and especially with only three days time you can’t even begin to see it all. I personally wouldn’t worry about booking Palo, but what do I know?
If you like the spa treatments, they always keep plenty of openings and offer specials on that first day of sailing. The spa is full of potential sales pitches, so be ready to guard against that if you don’t want any upsells. They also do a giveaway raffle that first afternoon, and you have to be present to win, so you get decent odds. I have won before, and I’m not typically lucky like that.
I agree with @melcort10 about the ship tour. That’s always so fun to learn about the details. On the Dream they just offered that as an activity on the navigator, but on the Treasure, you had to book it. Not sure how that works on the Wish, but just ask a CM once on board!
I guess I am an outlier in preferring the early dining rotation, even without kids. For me, it was because I like going to the show after dinner, rather than vice versa–and I rarely miss the show!
I thought you might be meaning on Disney specifically so I was calling out how many adult things there are.
As an adult who doesn’t want to go on a frat party cruise I prefer Disney. I like high quality alcohol and a little more classy bar than cheap booze and loud dance music like Royal Caribbean cruise. So that’s what I meant.
Thanks everyone! I’m so excited to take a Disney Cruise. In my adult life, I’ve only done one other cruise and it was on Holland to Alaska with my mom and my siblings and their families. I enjoyed it, mostly for the scenic Alaska parts, and did not get off of the boat itching to do another cruise. I really hope to feel the “Disney Difference”.
And I love activities! So I will definitely do the ship tour and bingo and trivia if I can!!
Fellow outlier here! We’ve always done early dining even though our kids are now young adults. And it’s mainly because of the shows (though a bit because we just like to eat early). If shows are a priority, I would try for early dining.
We love to try new things together, so we are both so excited!
) but if you want to disconnect you know yourself and whether you can handle it.