I had never intended to sail with Disney Cruise Line six times in eighteen months but that is exactly what happened since cruising restarted. As soon as the brand new Disney Wish was announced a few years ago, we knew that we wanted to book as soon as possible and followed all of the construction updates online and were really looking forward to the day when we would finally get to experience her for ourselves. However we also said that we would wait at least six months before we sailed so that any problems onboard could be sorted as there are always issues whenever a new cruise ship lets sail – no matter what cruise line – and we were more than happy to wait that little longer to sail as we had no need to be first!

As predicted when the Disney Wish set sail in the summer of 2022, she received very mixed reviews (some people just expect everything to be perfect immediately but the real world simply does not work like that especially after going through a pandemic) but we boarded the Disney Wish with a completely open mind ready for something new and different after sailing nine times on the other four ships in the fleet – if everything in life was exactly the same, it would be so boring! We had also never originally intended to book a back to back sailing (two consecutive cruises on the same ship) but again, these things happen sometimes and I will explain the reasons why in another blog.

So two months ago in January 2023, the time had finally arrived for us to travel to Florida and board the beautiful Disney Wish. After a very long and freezing cold winter, we both desperately wanted some winter sun and even though this was the first time we have ever travelled in January, it was truly perfect and we have already booked to go away at the same time again next year. However when travelling in the unpredictable winter months you always need to be prepared for any eventuality so we flew out from London to Tampa on the Friday (we did not board the Disney Wish until the Monday) as you never know when bad weather, flight delays or cancellations can very quickly ruin your plans. It felt like we had waited long enough for this trip so we did not want to risk anything ruining it at the last minute.

After spending a very chilled two nights in Orlando, we drove out to Cocoa Beach on the Sunday afternoon which I would always recommend doing if you can as I would never want to worry about being stuck in traffic on the 528 Expressway on the morning that you are supposed to be boarding your cruise. Once again we stayed at the La Quinta Inn and Suites Oceanfront just as we had done before on our previous cruises from Port Canaveral on the Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy. Our room looked out over the ocean where we watched all of the ships set sail from a very busy Port Canaveral before having dinner and getting our bags ready for embarkation the next morning.

As usual on the day that we board a cruise, I woke up at 3:30am and was unable to get back to sleep so I knew that I would be very tired later in the day and I was already looking forward to being able to get a good night’s sleep onboard as the Disney Cruise Line beds are so comfortable. I sat out on our balcony and watched as the Disney Wish sailed past at 4:50am on her way back into Port Canaveral after her weekend in the Bahamas. There was also a little rain as well as some lightning in the distance but I was not worried as the forecast for later in the day was showing sunshine and blue skies.

We sat in bed with a cup of tea and some breakfast from Starbucks whilst we filled in the quick Health Questionnaire online which only takes a few minutes to complete and which you can only do on the day of your cruise and not beforehand. After having a shower and getting dressed, we packed the last few bits into our bags before taking a photo of the Disney Wish from the highest floor of our hotel – the last time we saw that exact same view was the day we boarded the Disney Fantasy in 2019 and what an interesting few years it has been since then!

For the third cruise in a row, our luggage tags had not arrived at home before we left for Florida three days previously but a great hack that I discovered is that you can collect blank luggage tags from Bell Services at any of The Walt Disney World Resort hotels in Orlando so the previous day we had walked over to Saratoga Springs when we visited Disney Springs for lunch to get some. You can also collect them from the porters at Port Canaveral when you get to the cruise terminal so there is no need to panic if yours do not arrive either.

On both of our previous cruises from Port Canaveral we have always parked our rental car at the parking garage next to the terminal building, however since the pandemic we have found that the rental rates are now so much more expensive than they used to be. So on this cruise to help save some money (both on the rental as well as the parking charges), we had decided to drop our car back off at Alamo which has an office at Port Canaveral.

For the first time in a long time, I was feeling quite nervous as everything seemed so new and different for us on this day. Our Port Arrival Time was at 11:15am and as we did not know how long we would be waiting for a shuttle from Alamo to the port, we left our hotel room at 9:50am to make sure we had enough time. It was a short eight minute drive to Alamo and just before we dropped the car off, we made a quick stop nearby to get a photo of the Disney Wish across the water.

We arrived at Alamo at 10:05am and there was already a driver and van waiting which took us (it was a very quiet day at Port Canaveral so we did not have to wait for anyone else) directly to Cruise Terminal 8. After initially worrying that returning the car to Alamo would take a long time, we dropped off our luggage with the waiting porters at 10:20am – nearly an hour before our Port Arrival Time. It was such a surprisingly easy and effortless start to our day.

It was so amazing to see the Disney Wish up close for the first time and she looked so shiny and new. As they were taking our bags, one of the porters also let us know that boarding would be delayed that day due to a coastguard inspection that was taking place. To kill some time, we took the elevator up to the roof of the parking garage where you can get a great view of the ship docked in Port Canaveral – I had seen other people take photos from here on previous trips and it really is a great spot to visit before boarding if you have the time.

After taking way too many photos of the Disney Wish, we were able to enter the very quiet terminal at 10:40am – it only started to get busy shortly afterwards as all of the buses from Orlando Airport and the Disney hotels started to arrive. There are separate lines when you arrive depending on your Castaway Club status but there was no wait at any of them to check in. As we had completed the check in process at home online, our passports as well as my US Visa and my boyfriend’s US ESTA were checked. A top tip is if you are cruising with Disney and travelling with a US ESTA, make sure to have a paper copy of it with you (as we did) as they will need to see it at the port.

After checking in, we went through a very quick security line and up the escalator to sit and wait to board. I was also so happy that the Disney Wish Inaugural Sailings banner was still up as I had seen so many pictures of it online.

As we had Boarding Group 5 and at this time we did not know what time boarding would start, our first stop was the pressed penny machine as this is only available when departing from Port Canaveral which cost $1 for one design for $5 for all eight. We also walked out onto the Observation Deck before it got too busy and crowded to take some photos of the Disney Wish up close and we could also see that the crew were taking part in a lifeboat drill as part of the coastguard inspection.

We then grabbed a seat so we could sit down whilst we waited for boarding to start. On our last cruise out of Port Canaveral, boarding was also delayed so it just seemed like old times once again. We were also feeling hopeful that as there was a coastguard inspection on this day, there would not be another one later that week when we returned to Port Canaveral so that we would be able to reboard the Disney Wish as quickly as possible.

Whilst sitting and waiting to board we connected to the ship’s wifi to set up the Disney Cruise Line Navigator app – at this time we were able to book our Walking the Wish tour for the following day and we could also see our dining rotation for this cruise which was:

Monday – Port Canaveral – Arendelle: A Frozen Dining Adventure
Tuesday – At Sea – 1923: Roy Disney
Wednesday – Nassau – 1923: Roy Disney (Pirate Night)
Thursday – Castaway Cay – Worlds of Marvel

Just before midday, the terminal started to feel incredibly busy so I was glad that we had somewhere to sit whilst we waited – I even heard So Close from Enchanted playing in the terminal which always makes me smile and which felt very appropriate given the situation.

Finally at 12:25pm they announced the Family of the Day before they called Group 1 forward to board. The boarding process was very slow compared to all of our previous cruises we have been on and Group 5 (which we were) was eventually called just before 12:50pm. To board the ship they simply scanned the QR codes from our Port Arrival Form and you can also easily add these to your Apple Wallet on an iPhone so you can access them quickly.

We were welcomed onboard the Disney Wish at 12:55pm. It was so wonderful to finally be onboard and she was even more beautiful than I could have ever imagined. The Grand Hall looked incredible and it creates such an amazing first impression – on the photos and videos I had seen before our cruise, it always looked so white and a little harsh but in person, it was so warm and welcoming – even Cinderella was waving to everyone from the balcony as they boarded. We were each handed a wishing wand but we did not stay to watch the welcome show as we were both hungry and we wanted to get some food before Marceline Market got busy.

As we made our way up to Marceline Market on Deck 11 Aft, everything felt very familiar as I think I had watched every ship tour video on YouTube before our cruise. Marceline Market was already very busy but we had no trouble finding a table outside as even though it was a little breezy that day, it was not cold in the slightest. As the Disney Wish was built during a pandemic, the majority of the food at Marceline Market is served to you (but there are a few small sections that are self service) so for my lunch I had Shrimp, Asparagus and Sweet Potato Fries followed by a Strawberry Creme Pot and a small Celebration Cake which reminded me of the amazing cupcakes that they used to serve at Cove Cafe which I loved and still miss to this day!

Once we had finished our delicious lunch we decided to start exploring the ship as the staterooms would not be ready until 2:30pm due to the delay caused by the coastguard inspection. I know that I have already mentioned it but everything felt so familiar yet so different which I loved – change is not always a bad thing! I know that lots of people have complained about the dead end at the Quiet Cove and the Cove Cafe on Deck 13 Aft but we absolutely loved this area and found some comfortable rocking chairs to sit in and enjoy the sunshine, blue skies, peace and quiet as well as the view.

At 2:30pm we made our way down to Deck 8 to our stateroom which was a Category 5B “Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom with Verandah”. Our Key to the World cards were waiting for us in a sealed envelope outside the door and it was another wonderful surprise to find that our stateroom was Princess and the Frog themed – the mural behind the bed was simply beautiful and even sparkled when the light hit it at a certain angle.

We also had the Disney Wish Inaugural Sailing welcome back gifts as Gold Castaway Club members waiting for us which included lanyards, a beach bag, a laundry bag, towel bands and a travel wallet. As this was our tenth cruise and we would be Platinum for our next cruise later that week, I was looking forward to seeing what we would receive in a few days time.

As boarding had been so delayed, time seemed to be going by very quickly that afternoon so after unpacking our carry on luggage we decided to explore the ship a little more before the muster drill. I was so happy that we were staying onboard for a second cruise as it meant that we had so much more time to enjoy everything on the ship – there was no way we could have done everything that we wanted to in four days.

As we were passing, we also took the time to explore the Edge (the tween club) and all of the details whilst it was still in open house.

We quickly returned to our stateroom to collect our bags with our cameras as well as spare batteries ready for the sailaway party so that we did not need to waste time and go back to our room after the muster drill. Our muster station was “U” which was located in Worlds of Marvel on Deck 4 and to get there, we were guided to the crew stairs and into the back of the restaurant where our Key to the World cards were scanned before we took a seat and waited for the drill to begin.

After doing the virtual muster drill on our last four cruises which made embarkation day so relaxing, it really felt like we had gone back in time having to do the muster drill the old fashioned way. It now feels so stressful again as you cannot do anything until the emergency drill is done – and by that I mean get a good spot for the sailaway party without having to rush.

The emergency alarm sounded at 3:55pm and the announcements onboard instantly became much more urgent to tell people that they must attend. There was two families missing from our muster station but thankfully we did not have to wait for them and not long afterwards the safety video finally started playing on the screens in the restaurant. However I noticed that the video was much shorter than it used to be and was nowhere near as informative as when it was the virtual drill which I thought was very strange.

Once the emergency drill had finished, we exited outside onto Deck 4 and joined the crowds of people all climbing the aft stairs – I dread to think how long the wait for an elevator was as the lines were huge! By the time I reached Deck 9, the crowds had completely disappeared and I continued walking up to Deck 12.

For every other sailaway party we have always stood on the higher deck so we could get a good unobstructed view but when I reached Deck 11, there was only one other person already standing by the deck stage. We had never stood so close to the stage for anything but on this occasion we thought that we should grab this opportunity with both hands and make the most of it.

Once we had our spot for Set Sail on a Wish, I could finally relax and I could not stop smiling and what made it even better was the sunshine and blue skies surrounding the ship. Every other time we have sailed from Florida there has always been thunderstorms and we have experienced the sailaway party going ahead, an indoor sailaway party at the last minute as well as the sailaway party being cut short after only five minutes due to the weather! However we did not have that same worry on this day (another major benefit of sailing in January rather than the rainy and humid summer months) and it was a wonderful feeling.

The Fairy Godmother asked everyone to use their wishing wands to say “Wishes Do Come True” before Captain Minnie, Captain Mickey, Donald, Daisy, Goofy and Pluto arrived on the stage to begin the sailaway party.

Watching the sailaway party from so close to the stage was great fun and before we knew it, our Cruise Director Jimmy was asking Captain Minnie to start the countdown to sound the ship horn. I have lost count at how many times over the years I have heard the “When You Wish Upon a Star” horn and I will never get bored of hearing it!

Once the sailaway party had finished, the Disney Wish had already left the dock so we walked up to Deck 12 to look at the Space X Falcon 9 first stage rocket booster (that had launched to space a few days earlier) on the “A Shortfall of Gravitas” drone ship along with the Space X Recovery ships Megan and Doug (named after astronauts Megan McArthur and Doug Hurley) which were all docked in Port Canaveral that day.

I am a true geek at heart and this was so incredible to see up close once again as back in May 2019 we had actually watched a Space X launch from Cocoa Beach the night before we boarded our Disney Fantasy cruise before seeing the rocket booster on a different drone ship out at sea as we left Port Canaveral.

It was also at this time that I realised how tired I was starting to feel especially as I had not had any coffee yet that day so we walked up to the Cove Cafe on Deck 13 Aft and quickly ordered a much needed latte which I savoured whilst enjoying the view as we left Port Canaveral on our way to the Bahamas.

As we made our way back to our stateroom, we met Sam who was our amazing Stateroom Host who looked after us for both of our cruises on the Disney Wish and as our bags had arrived, we spent a few minutes unpacking everything before storing the cases underneath the bed and out of sight for the next week.

The sunset that evening as we left Port Canaveral and sailed along the Florida coastline was truly stunning – sunsets at sea are simply the best and one of my favourite parts of cruising.

Our first stop of the evening was Mickey’s Mainsail on Deck 5 which was surprisingly empty as everything that I had read online before our cruise said that it would be packed on the first night but it was actually the complete opposite for us. We were able to get the Disney Wish inaugural pins that we wanted as well as a Christmas decoration that I had not seen before – as with any cruise it is always best to buy anything that you know you want as soon as possible in case it sells out which can happen.

From Mickey’s Mainsail, we walked straight to the Walt Disney Theatre ready for the Seas the Adventure show which we were really looking forward to after hearing so many good things about it. Before the show began Jimmy our Cruise Director introduced himself and reminded everyone to forget all of their New Year’s diet resolutions and “If you see it, eat it!” which we both fully intended to do whilst onboard!

Seas the Adventure features Captain Minnie Mouse handing over the helm of the Disney Wish to Deckhand Goofy and his journey to find his inner captain. I had never realised that I needed Goofy singing “Go the Distance” from Hercules in my life (which was simply brilliant) and it was truly one of the best shows I have ever seen onboard any Disney Cruise ship (along with Beauty and the Beast on the Disney Dream) and a perfect way to begin our week onboard.

Once the show was over, we walked back up to our stateroom to drop off our shopping before dinner and discovered that some idiot nearby was smoking weed as the smell when we walked out onto our verandah was horrific. Thankfully after a quick phone call to security it did not happen again whilst we were onboard as it would have made our verandah (as well as everyone else’s nearby) unusable due to the disgusting smell.

As we still had an hour before dinner, we decided to walk around the ship starting on the top decks before heading down to Deck 4 where you can no longer walk a complete lap of the deck like you can on the other four ships in the fleet which for us was one of the only few downsides of the Disney Wish.

Once back inside the ship, Lady Lily and Lord Leopold were on the balcony reenacting various Disney stories and we also met both Goofy as well as Daisy Duck who were both out and about walking around the decks of the Grand Hall.

We walked past the balcony of Luna and spent a few minutes watching the Disney Victrophonics who sing jazz versions of different Disney songs – this show is only offered once on each cruise and should not be missed!

Our dinner on the first night of our cruise was in Arendelle which is located on Deck 5 Aft and as we had second seating, our dining time was at 8:15pm every night. One other downside to the Disney Wish which we had read and which was indeed true was that the tables in the dining rooms are located very close together and there are very few tables for smaller groups. When we finally found our table, my heart absolutely sank and my worst fear came true to find that we were seated at a table for six with one other couple. We always request a private table and this was the first time in ten cruises that the request had not been granted – we have always checked with the dining team after boarding on all of our other cruises but due to the delay in boarding earlier in the day, we completely forgot.

However due to how the restaurant was laid out, this was as private as we were going to get and even though they were sat at the opposite end of the table (the people on the table next to us were sat closer than they were) it was a really uncomfortable dining experience that evening – they never said a word to us and we did not say a word to them. However this looked to be a common issue as we noticed other couples sat on opposite ends of tables for six but the good thing was throughout the entire cruise, we were treated as two completely separate tables which I really appreciated

Another huge positive was our amazing and brilliant dining team – Meena was our Server, Charles (who seemed so familiar but we could not work out where from at the time) was our Assistant Server and JC was our Head Server – they were simply the best!

The menu in Arendelle for me was the weakest of all three main dining room menus onboard the Disney Wish (the vegetarian options are not great) and was very similar to the Freezing the Night Away menu from our Transatlantic cruise. To start I had the Anna’s Koldtbord followed by Queen Iduna’s Potato Lefse which I did enjoy but it needed a lot more flavour. For dessert I ordered the Troll Family’s Rock Chocolate Bar which I could only manage a few bites of due to a strong marzipan taste which I did not really like.

I have always joked that the more cruises we do, the worse our table locations seem to get and Arendelle was no exception as once again I had a pillar blocking my view of the stage in the centre of the restaurant – the only thing worse than a shared table is a shared table where you struggle to see the show as well!

Arendelle: A Frozen Dining Adventure is a celebration in honour of Queen Anna and Kristoff’s engagement and everyone is invited. The host for the evening is Oaken who has expanded his business and in addition to his “Trading Post and Sauna” now runs “Oaken’s Hearty Party Planning Services”.

The evening starts with the Royal Kindred Trio singing For the First Time in Forever and Lost in the Woods before being joined by Elsa, Anna, Kristoff and Olaf for Some Things Never Change. After a toast to the happy couple, dinner is served whilst Anna, Kristoff, Elsa, Oaken and Olaf walk around talking to everyone – this was definitely one of the times when you noticed how many tables were packed into the restaurant and how narrow the walkways were as it took several attempts for the cart carrying Olaf to make it around the corner near where we were sitting.

The Royal Kindred Trio returned and performed Do You Want to Build a Snowman, In Summer, Home, Show Yourself and All is Found. However the absolute highlight of the entire evening was Oaken and Kristoff singing “Let It Go” which was absolutely brilliant. I’m so happy that I managed to get the few photos that I did during the show when the characters moved away from the centre of the stage to somewhere where I could actually see them!

Elsa then provides a little icy magic and lights up the ceiling before everyone sings Love is an Open Door whilst the servers lead a parade around the entire restaurant and you cannot help but sing along! The show finishes with the violinist from the Royal Kindred Trio performing an incredible solo of Into the Unknown as the Northern Lights appear outside of the windows.

Whilst I did enjoy the show during our dinner at Arendelle, it was my least favourite of the three main dining rooms onboard the Disney Wish. Whilst absolutely beautiful, it was far too noisy and crowded and if you have an obstructed view of the stage, it will really ruin the evening for you. I was happy that we would only be dining here once during our week onboard however I could not wait to visit again the following morning in daylight as part of our Walking the Wish tour to look at all of the details up close.

After leaving Arendelle, I was struggling to keep my eyes open so we took the elevator up to Deck 11 so we could both get a cup of tea. We could not have timed it any better as Enchanted (one of my favourite films) was playing on Funnelvision and we walked outside just as So Close was starting so we just stood and watched for a few minutes before walking back down to our stateroom.

Our first blanket animal of the cruise was a crab who was sitting on the edge of our bed along with some chocolates. Finally getting into bed after such a long and tiring day felt like heaven and we were both ready for a good night’s sleep before our day at sea the following day – and thankfully there was absolutely no movement on the ship at all so we were both asleep within minutes!

So far I was absolutely loving the Disney Wish and could not wait for the rest of our week onboard. Whilst we had noticed some things that we had seen mentioned before the cruise that were not completely ideal, we found that they did not take away from our overall cruise experience onboard at all. I encourage anyone thinking about booking a cruise on the Disney Wish to do it and make up your own mind as you will truly have a wonderful and magical time.

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