We’re going on the Disney Wish! That first sighting over the bridge still gives me goosebumps!
This time, we had a rental car while we were at Disney World, so we just drove to Port Canaveral, which is about an hour east, and parked at the terminal parking garage. It’s about $20 per day. In the past, we’ve also taken Uber/Lyft and that’s a good option too. Just time it right so that you get there close to your Port Arrival Time. Read my DCL Online Check-In article for details about your Port Arrival Time.
This actually picks up where that one ends. We got to the port, dropped off our luggage, parked in the garage, checked in through security (which was quick and smooth since we had our Port Arrival Form printed out and passports at the ready), and went up to the terminal to wait for our boarding group to be called to get on the ship. We didn’t have to wait long since we were in group 6, so here we go!
More goosebumps! After months of anticipation, it’s finally real! We’re on the ship! It’s so beautiful! The Wish has the grandest, most majestic atrium. I love the chandelier! It really is like a castle on the sea.
I won’t do a full play-by-play since I’ve already done that in our other cruise recaps, though each ship is slightly different. I’ll focus on some new things on this sailing. In general, we just love the “feel” of the Disney ships. There’s so much to do, always activities going on (character meets, trivia, game shows, crafts, etc), shows to see, and food to eat. Or you can just chill by the pools and do nothing!
If you’ve been on any of the previous four Disney ships, this one has a slightly different feel to it. It has a more modern, princess-y look instead of the art-deco classic cruise ship-py type look, if that makes any sense. Both aesthetics are beautiful, and since it’s Disney, all of the ships are in immaculate shape, even though some are many years older. You would never know it. We see them cleaning and maintaining everything every day all the time. The Wish has a slightly different layout than the others as well, but there are also many similarities. You’ll figure things out very easily.
I often hear people asking which ship is better or which one to choose. I don’t think it matters. They’re all great in their own way! You should make a point of doing them all, in fact. I think it more depends on which port stops and the cruise length you want. That’s really the biggest difference between them. I can go on more about the specifics of which one fits you best if you want to contact me about your scenario, though.
Back to this cruise, we’re celebrating some milestone birthdays and anniversaries, so we splurged on dinners at the adult specialty restaurants, Palo and Enchante. This is our first time doing Enchante at all and our first time doing dinner at Palo. We’ve only ever done brunch there on previous cruises. So excited!
Palo dinner was so good! There are more entrees, especially steaks and such, that aren’t offered at Brunch. You can’t go wrong with any selection here, though. Everything we’ve ever had at this restaurant was delicious! Try to book right when your activity window opens for booking if you want to book either restaurant. They go fast!
Enchante was a whole top-notch fine dining experience, not just simply a meal. Everything was perfectly cooked with the best ingredients, many imported from Europe, in the most interesting and unique ways. Nothing was crazy exotic, so don’t be afraid. We had about 10 courses, and each one looked small at first, but we were soooo stuffed by the end. The servers took their time explaining each course and made it a whole 3+ hour experience, in a good way. Be ready to take your time and enjoy it slowly. We had a window seat right around sunset in the beginning, so we soaked it all in. This was definitely the fanciest dinner experience we’ve ever had. So amazing!
Aside from these meals, we also enjoyed many delicious meals at the standard dining restaurants and the buffet. The pool deck food choices on the Wish are most different from the other ships, in that they have BBQ and Mexican foods sections too. So good!
We also had fun doing the fun activities and seeing the numerous shows on the ship. We didn’t even bother getting off the ship at Nassau since we’d been there before. We just spent more time enjoying the ship and relaxing. There is so much to do.
We did get off at the Castaway Cay port, which is Disney’s private island. This is like the most stereotypically beautiful Bahamian island that you often imagine in pictures and movies. I highly recommend you save your beach time for this port. This is our favorite stop on a Bahamian or Caribbean Disney cruise.
There are tons of lounge chairs around the island for you to just sit around and relax amidst the clean white sand and clear cool water. However, if you’re looking for more action, you can also go snorkeling, biking, boating, and tons of other fun activities. There are many excursion activities that you can book ahead of time, or just rent floats, bikes, or snorkeling equipment right there that day for a small fee. I’ve never had them run out of those. This time, we rented bikes on the fly to ride around the island. There’s a paved trail that you can ride on along an old runway.
They also provide free BBQ lunch and unlimited ice cream and non-alcoholic drinks on the island, serviced by the chefs and servers from the ship. Since we didn’t have kids with us this time, we went down to the adults-only section and had lunch down there. It’s a quieter section of the island for 18+ year olds. If you don’t want to eat on the island, you can also go back to the ship. The buffet area and usually at least one sit-down restaurant will be open during port days too, and since the ship docks right on the island, it’s a short walk back.
All in all, we had an amazing time on this cruise, as always on any Disney cruise. It was a short 4-days, but we’ll definitely be back. It’s a beautiful ship!
Check out my Instagram (adventures_by_anne) for more pics.
Ready for a surprise at Disney World next? Come along!
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May 2023 Trip | WDW | Wish Cruise | WDW
Adventures By Anne 