After the best and longest sleep of our entire trip so far, I woke up just after 7:00am ready for our last full day onboard the beautiful Disney Wish. There was an incredible sunrise at sea that morning and sitting on the verandah with a cup of tea in hand with the view of Castaway Cay ahead of us was a perfect way to start the day.

At 7:20am, the Disney Wish started to slowly turn in the water ready to back into the dock and as our stateroom was on the starboard (right) side of the ship, we had the perfect view of Castaway Cay. The sea was so calm that morning (even more than it had been a few days previously) and the When You Wish Upon a Star horn was blasted at 7:50am to signal that we had docked.

As this was our sixth visit to Castaway Cay (years ago I would have never believed that I would be lucky enough to visit more than once) we decided to change things up slightly as we usually do exactly the same thing (or very similar) on each trip. We usually get off the ship early and do something on the island whether it be renting a bike, doing the Castaway Cay 5K or snorkelling and then have lunch before getting back onboard the ship for the afternoon – and maybe even get a Happy Hour cocktail at the Heads Up Bar at Pelican Point.

However on this trip (and as we had only been to Castaway Cay a few days beforehand on the previous cruise) we were going to mix it up and spend a chilled morning on the ship before having lunch onboard and then enjoy Castaway Cay in the afternoon. We decided that this was our version of a Castaway Cay Double Dip cruise as when we had sailed on the Disney Dream last year on an actual Double Dip itinerary, Hurricane Ian had other ideas and we were unable to dock for our second visit to the island.

Just after 8:30am, the ship was cleared to disembark and we watched from our verandah as everyone onboard headed onto the island to enjoy their day at Castaway Cay.

Once we finally got dressed, our first stop of the day was to head to Guest Services to find and thank the Cast Member that I had been talking to the morning before who had left an amazing gift for us in our stateroom. It was so wonderful to be able to thank them in person but I did have to ask how he had known what stateroom we were in as I had never mentioned that or even my last name. It turned out that amongst everything else that we had talked about, he remembered that we were sailing Back to Back and that we had dined in Enchanté on the first night of the cruise and that was all he needed to know as we were the only two people onboard who had done that. I was truly speechless.

We also noticed that The Bayou on Deck 3 was completely empty for the first time (there was always different activities taking place there every time that we walked past) so we made sure to stop and look around at the beautiful decor inspired by the Princess and the Frog including the flower ceiling as well as all of the details including the Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen frog statues and the silhouette of the Tiana’s Palace restaurant behind the bar.

Outside the entrance of 1923 in the Grand Hall are some display cabinets which contain information, details, sketches and artefacts about the design of the ship including a copy of the ship’s bell, the keel coin, the different room number plaques (each floor has a different theme), a model of the Grand Hall as well as the balsa wood model of the Disney Wish that was built by Philip Gennotte which can be seen in the Disney Plus “Making the Wish” documentary.

At this time of the morning, there was also a Princess Gathering taking place in the Grand Hall where you could meet Cinderella, Rapunzel, Moana and Belle.

We also used this time to look at all of the different artwork onboard including the cross-section of the ship that can be found in the corridor opposite the high end shops on Deck 3 as well as others that are located in each stairwell on every floor. I especially loved the “Disney Wish joins the Disney Cruise Line Fleet” piece as you can see the Disney Wish sailing off to meet the other four ships in the background.

As we were both feeling very hungry, we walked up to Marceline Market on Deck 11 to have some breakfast. It was 10:30am at this time and I really loved having a later breakfast onboard which we had done several times during both our cruises as it was a lot saner and much quieter than earlier in the day. We sat outside to eat with the perfect view of the beautiful blue sea of Castaway Cay below us and we also spotted Pluto being driven back to the ship after meeting guests on the island that morning.

As it was so quiet after breakfast (it was even quieter than on our previous day at Castaway Cay), it was also the perfect morning to take photos of all the details in Marceline Market which I had been waiting to do since we had boarded the Disney Wish earlier that week.

Named after Walt’s childhood hometown, Marceline Market is designed as an old industrial loft space which has been converted into a contemporary marketplace and is split into different areas – each one inspired by a different Disney film such as Alice in Wonderland, Zootopia, Beauty and the Beast, Tangled, Pinocchio, Bambi and Ratatouille. The Disney touches are everywhere that you look yet they are so subtle that you might walk past some of them without even realising.

In the Snow White area you will find a large sign advertising Wicked Witch Orchards as well as lots of red apples, jars of apple butter and bottles of apple cider.

In the Ratatouille area you can find the Anyone Can Cook book by Chef Auguste Gusteau as well as Remy’s first chef’s hat, a recipe card for Ratatouille as well as the wooden spoon that Remy used to prepare and present the dish for the restaurant critic Anton Ego.

The Zootopia section is full of different fruits and vegetables all the way from the Hopps Family Farm in Bunnyburrow as well as several references to the “Carrot on a Stick” snack which can be seen in the film. Even the lights in this area are actual colanders.

In the Beauty and the Beast area, Maurice’s Mechanical Marvels workshop features blueprints for all of his inventions, his work tools, teapot lights, a display case of clocks and candelabras as well as sheet music for Beauty and the Beast.

Attila’s Recipe Book and Anyone Can Bake can be found in the Tangled section along with various frying plans, rolling pins, ducks and cake stand lights. There is also a sign for Bim Berry Bread which is a reference to the Gopher Grab episode of Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure.

In the Pinocchio area there are lots of toys all handmade by Geppetto including wind-up ducks and a Pinocchio marionette as well as cuckoo clocks on the wall.

After leaving Marceline Market, I walked back down to the Grand Hall where all of the chairs as well as the Cinderella statue and glass slipper had been covered in dust sheets as the Wishing Star Chandelier had been lowered from the ceiling to be cleaned. I would have always assumed that this would be done overnight or between cruises so it was a great surprise and it was really interesting to see.

It was finally time for a much-needed coffee so we decided to go and sit in the beautiful air conditioning of a very quiet Cove Cafe. We were the only ones there (with the exception of Captain Andy running in to get a coffee as well) and I finally earned five stamps on my coffee card (you get a stamp each time you purchase a speciality tea or coffee onboard) which meant that I had a free coffee to get before we disembarked the next morning.

After leaving Cove Cafe and before getting some lunch, we walked around the top decks as I was really interested to see how busy the ship was as we were docked at Castaway Cay. There was just over twenty people sat by the main pools, a few more people getting food at Mickey and Friends Festival of Foods and we also saw a group of people doing the Walking the Wish tour so we were definitely not the only ones still onboard the ship.

The view of the whole of Castaway Cay from wherever you looked onboard the Disney Wish that day was perfect and I was really looking forward to spending the afternoon on the island after we had eaten lunch.

Even though Marceline Market was open for lunch we decided to go to Festival of Foods and it was definitely the quietest I had seen it all cruise – it’s a great place to have lunch on Castaway Cay day and in the future I would definitely get back onboard to eat as the choices are so much better before heading back out onto the island afterwards.

I decided to get an Impossible Burger from Goofy’s Grill for lunch (it was a lot better – as well as hotter – than the one on Castaway Cay) and it came with Sweet Potato Fries and sitting on one of the tables on Deck 11 with a view of Castaway Cay made it even better. I also noticed Chip and Dale hiding in one of the napkin dispensers at Mickey and Friends Festival of Foods – those two chipmunks get everywhere especially if food is involved!

On the way back to our stateroom to get changed ready to head out onto Castaway Cay for the afternoon, we quickly stopped at Inside Out Joyful Sweets as despite walking past it so many times throughout the previous week, we had not even been inside yet. As well as looking at all the details, I also bought a vanilla Donald Duck cupcake to enjoy later that day.

Whilst heading down to the gangway, we walked through the Grand Hall again and spent a few more minutes taking some photos without anyone else in them as it was completely deserted. Once again even after a week onboard the Disney Wish, I was still spotting things that I had not noticed yet as there was a small pumpkin on top of the display case which holds Cinderella’s glass slipper.

We disembarked the Disney Wish that afternoon just as everyone else on Castaway Cay seemed to be heading back onboard. Even as we walked along the Island Pathway there was hardly anyone else in sight except for full trams heading back to the ship despite having several hours left before the all aboard time.

We had no plans that afternoon on Castaway Cay so we found a great spot on one of the first beaches and just sat in the shade with a cold drink in hand from Cookies BBQ enjoying where we were whilst occasionally going for a paddle in the sea to cool off. It was so much quieter than I expected it to be and there was plenty of sunloungers available everywhere you looked.

After a while we walked to Pelican Point where we caught the tram to Serenity Bay which is the adult only beach on Castaway Cay. We were the only two people on the tram and there was only a handful of people there when we arrived. Again we could not believe how quiet it was and we sat at the Castaway Air bar which we had never done before with a cocktail enjoying a beautiful view out to sea and along the beach and it was the perfect afternoon and the perfect final day onboard the Disney Wish.

Just after 4:00pm we took the tram back to Pelican Point and from there slowly walked back towards the ship only making a quick stop at She Sells Sea Shells and Everything Else as I had spotted a Castaway Cay wet dry pouch earlier that afternoon which I had to buy and has since proved invaluable as it has not left my travel bag since as I use it every time I go away.

We also found out that the reason why it was so quiet that day and why most people were back onboard so early that afternoon was that it was the NFL Conference Championship weekend and both of the football games were being shown everywhere onboard the ship including on the Funnelvision. Neither of us know anything about nor are we remotely interested in American Football so we had no idea what was going on but this completely worked in our favour as the peace and quiet on Castaway Cay felt amazing.

After taking a few more photos and walking all the way back to the ship, we were back onboard at 4:25pm – twenty minutes before the all aboard time which is the latest we have ever arrived back onboard any of the ships. We took the elevator up to Deck 11 to get a cup of tea and it was so busy and crowded as well as incredibly noisy as everyone was out there watching the game – though it felt completely wrong to have television commercials and sports showing on Funnelvision instead of Disney movies.

We headed back to our stateroom to start packing ready to disembark the Disney Wish the next morning. At 4:40pm Captain Andy announced that they would let go of the lines in fifteen minutes time and that we would be sailing at 20 knots to cover the 225 nautical miles back to Port Canaveral and that we would be docking at 6:00am.

It was a such a beautiful sailaway from Castaway Cay and it was made even better with the addition of the Donald cupcake that I had bought earlier that afternoon. We had spent an incredible two days there that week and we bid the island a fond farewell as it will be quite a while before we are back again as hopefully we will visit the new Lighthouse Point on the island of Eleuthera in the Bahamas instead on our next Disney Cruise whenever that will be.

After watching Castaway Cay disappear into the distance, we showered and got dressed ready for our dinner reservation at Palo Steakhouse at 6:45pm. We had originally only been able to get a much later reservation (as that was all that was available when our booking window opened online) however we had been able to change times once we were onboard very easily and without any hassle.

We arrived at The Rose a few minutes early as we both wanted to have a cocktail before dinner. I ordered the “Plant and Fleurs” which was made with Grey Goose VX, Vanderpump Rosé and Blackberry which was absolutely delicious. Considering how busy it was everywhere else on the ship, it was truly an oasis of calm in The Rose and booking both Enchanté as well as Palo Steakhouse for dinner on two nights of our three night Disney Wish cruise was one of the best decisions that we have ever made.

Palo Steakhouse is inspired by Cogsworth from Beauty and the Beast and there is different artwork as well as small clock details in the decor throughout the restaurant. Even though it now has a new name, Palo Steakhouse still has the regular Italian menu from Palo onboard the other ships in the fleet as well as a selection of premium steak options such as Wagyu.

We were shown to one of the alcove tables in the restaurant and introduced to Gaetano who was our incredible server for the evening. Dinner at Palo Steakhouse costs $45 per person for the Prix Fixe menu (which has very limited choices) or you can also order individual items from the á la carte menu. However as this was our first cruise as Platinum Castaway Club members (it still feels very strange to say that) one of the benefits was a complimentary dinner at Palo where you each receive a $45 credit that will cover the Prix Fixe menu or can be used towards your choices from the á la carte options.

Our dinner started with a beautiful Gnocchi amuse-bouche (I was already in food heaven as I absolutely love any form of Gnocchi) and Gaetano also brought a basket of amazing freshly baked bread to our table and we also ordered a bottle of San Pellegrino to drink.

Also as I now love tuna (something that a year ago I would have never thought possible), I ordered the Sliced Herbed Yellowfin Tuna to start and it was great to try something completely new on the menu and I really enjoyed it – the Apple Mostarda and Limoncello White Pear Balsamic that it was served with was so fruity and completely elevated the dish to a whole new level.

Despite seeing it on the menu so many times before on our previous cruises I had also never tried the Butternut Squash Agnolotti with Sage Brown Butter and I now wonder why it took me so long as it tasted heavenly and I already know that I will want to order it straight away on our next cruise. We also got the Soft Potato Gnocchi to share and even though it was delicious, I preferred the Gnocchi from our previous dinner at Palo on the Disney Wonder last year as the sauce was completely different and even better.

Sadly the incredible Warm Orange Almond Cake (one of my favourite desserts ever) is not on the Palo Steakhouse menu so I had to order the Tiramisu instead (which is also another one of my favourite desserts) and it was so good and the presentation was simply beautiful.

We finished our amazing and incredible meal at Palo Steakhouse with a complimentary shot of Frozen Limoncello, Prosecco and Raspberry Sorbet before paying our bill. The $45 each that we had from being Platinum Castaway Club Members easily covered the cost of all of our food however drinks are not included so all we had to pay for was the bottle of San Pellegrino that we had as well as the gratuity for the amazing Gaetano who had looked after us so well that evening. This was the second time we have had dinner at Palo on the final night of a cruise and it really is the best way to finish your trip on an absolute high.

Whilst we had been eating our desserts, we could see a ship through the windows in the distance and it looked like it had two red funnels. After leaving Palo Steakhouse, we ran back to our stateroom to collect a camera as well as a zoom lens and rushed up to the Quiet Cove and it turned out to be the Disney Dream which was heading back to Miami after also spending the weekend in the Bahamas.

Trying to take a photo of a moving ship from another moving ship at night is difficult but we had to laugh as when we had sailed onboard the Disney Dream last year, we saw the Disney Wish out at sea one day and now it was the opposite way round!

After watching the Disney Dream disappear off into the night, we walked down to Deck 4 of the Grand Hall to watch the beautiful Kiss Goodnight one last time before grabbing a spot ready to watch WISHing Ever After (the farewell show onboard the Disney Wish) and to see the characters for the final time that week.

As I had bought five speciality coffees during our two cruises, I had enough stamps on my card for a free coffee so I got one final latte from the Wishing Star Cafe on Deck 4 and as there are so many different designs that you can request, I asked for the Disney Wish artwork which made me smile so much.

Throughout our week onboard I never once got bored of looking at the Wishing Star Chandelier in the Grand Hall and it was even more beautiful during WISHing Ever After as it changes colour to represent all of the different stories told onboard the Disney Wish!

Before we knew it, it was time to say our final “See Ya Real Soon” to the characters as this is the last time that you see them onboard as they are not out on disembarkation morning. It will be a while before we see them again onboard one of the ships as even though we do currently have another Disney Cruise booked, it’s not for a very long time!

Even though it would be some peoples first stop onboard, we realised all of a sudden that we had not been in the Star Wars Hyperspace Lounge all week (none of the cocktails had sounded good when we had looked at the menu on the Disney Cruise Line Navigator app) so we quickly walked down to Deck 3 to have a look around.

Normally on the last night of any cruise, I walk around the ship late at night taking as many last minute photos as I can – especially as the ship is normally very quiet – but I had managed to get all the pictures that I wanted during the week already and my bed was calling me as it was going to be a very early start the following morning as well as a very long day as our flight back to London was not due to depart Tampa until 9:00pm that evening.

The next morning I was awake early again as usual and looking out over Port Canaveral, it was a very strange feeling that we were going to be leaving the Disney Wish that day especially as it had felt so good to stay onboard for a second cruise a few days previously.

We did not want to have breakfast onboard as we were going to meet one of our friends in Altamonte Springs near Orlando for an early brunch instead. As we had all of our bags with us, we were going to do Express Walk Off and as we could disembark whenever we were ready, we left our stateroom at 8:00am and took one of the elevators down to Deck 3 and it took a few minutes to get in one as they are so busy on the final morning.

There was a small line of people waiting to disembark the Disney Wish and at 8:10am, we tapped our Key to the World cards as we disembarked the ship for the final time. There was a short customs line and once we were outside the terminal at Port Canaveral, we walked around to Bus Stop 12 where the Alamo Car Rental shuttle is located. We had just missed one shuttle so we had to wait just over ten minutes for them to come back again which was not a problem at all.

There was no line at all to collect our car once we reached Alamo and we were on the road driving towards Altamonte Springs just before 9:00am. This was our first time dropping off a rental car and then collecting a new one at Port Canaveral and I would definitely do this again next time as it was very easy to do with no stress involved and it saves a lot of money on rental fees and car parking charges at the port.

Our week onboard the Disney Wish was everything that we wanted it to be and she is truly an incredible and magical ship and I would have no hesitation sailing onboard her again in the future. Whilst she is not perfect, she really does not deserve some of the criticism that she has received online. I loved the fact that she was different to the other ships in the Disney Cruise Line fleet – change can often be good and in this case, it definitely was!

I was also so glad that we had made the decision to sail Back to Back on two consecutive cruises as we would not have been able to experience everything that we wanted to do on the Disney Wish otherwise. The Disney Wish was the perfect finale to our six cruises in eighteen months – something that we never originally intended to do but it simply just worked out like that.

We are now truly ready for a change of pace as well as a change of scenery and we have some amazing travel plans to look forward to in the next year or so including at least six new countries, completing every state in the USA (only five to go!) as well as finally returning to Asia after what seems like a very long time away.

But you never say “Goodbye” on Disney Cruise Line, you simply say “Until We Meet Again” and I cannot wait for that day to arrive whenever that may be!

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