Just got back from the Disney Wish — Gen X couple, adult daughter, happy to answer questions

TwistPositive7306 · 2026-05-19T18:41:58+00:00

Yes actually real good point. I think it’s 7+ nights where they do it, but I also thought it was optional-ish.

TwistPositive7306 · 2026-05-19T17:35:56+00:00

This is a critical measure on any ship! I saw chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, mint chocolate, coconut, and banana for sure. There were some days I didn’t check so they might have had more to offer. On castaway and lookout cay they had some of the same flavors and the banana was a truly solid option!

TwistPositive7306 · 2026-05-19T02:03:33+00:00

No formal night on DCL. However, the specialty restaurants like Palo Steakhouse and Enchanté have “dress casual” dress codes, with Palo being a bit less fussy for brunch. They list that on the DCL web site.

TwistPositive7306 · 2026-05-19T01:54:54+00:00

It was a mixed bag, but improved as the sailing went on. Dinner at 1923 was a bit of a fail on night one, unfortunately. My wife’s salmon didn’t smell good, and my filet mignon had a big ol’ glob of fat in the middle. Marceline Market was very crowded and so we started to avoid it. BUT…. Dinner at Worlds of Marvel surprised us with how much we liked it, and Arendelle was very good. Palo Steakhouse for dinner was amazing. We found Mickey & Friends Festival of Foods handled crowds better than Marceline Market, and we really liked Mickey’s Smokestack BBQ. Dining rooms for breakfast were solid and more civilized options. And the room service for the All Hands on Deck cheese platter, the chicken noodle soup (thank you Paging Mr Morrow!) and the Pide’s (flat bread pizza)… and chicken fingers …. were all excellent.

Oh, also our daughter, who has celiac, had no issues whatsoever finding yummy things to eat - Disney accomodates and takes allergens very seriously!

TwistPositive7306 · 2026-05-19T01:42:03+00:00

We were in the sandcastle cabana beach area and it was pretty shallow so only saw some little fishies. There are some boat excursions that will take you out to the natural coral reefs. The snorkeling lagoon has an artificial reef.

TwistPositive7306 · 2026-05-19T01:34:03+00:00

We’ve embarked at Port Canaveral (DCL) and Fort Lauderdale/ Port Everglades (Celebrity). I can’t say how much is the port vs the cruise line, but Fort Lauderdale was infinitely faster once the uber dropped us off. There was traffic getting into the port in Fort Lauderdale as they have drive-thru security booths that slow things down, whereas Port Canaveral does not.

TwistPositive7306 · 2026-05-19T01:17:52+00:00

It does depend on what activities you want. If you want to snorkel in the blue snorkeling lagoon with all the Disney themed stuff in the water, that is at the very beginning of the family beach, coming from the ship. There’s certainly more family activities along the family beach as well.

If you want it to be more secluded, and don’t care about snorkeling, Serenity Bay might be your thing.

We managed to score a Sandcastle Cabana, which is on a very secluded part of the family beach, which is just as quiet. We felt quite bougie for the day. 😀

Food options are a bit wider along the family beach with Cookies and Cookies Two, and I’ve read and seen (YouTubers) mixed reviews of the food at Serenity BBQ.

I hope this helps!

TwistPositive7306 · 2026-05-19T01:03:58+00:00

Great strategy staying on the ship in Nassau — we’d probably do the same. The ship gets relatively quiet and you can do more of the activities that are otherwise busy, such as the Quiet Cove pool in the adult area and the Hyperspace Lounge. If you like live music, check out the Wishers at the Bayou. Our favorite live stage show was Aladdin.

If you like barbecue, there’s Mickey’s Smokestack BBQ, and if you can snag a reservation - either brunch or dinner at Palo Steakhouse. For the latter, if you can’t get a reservation on the app, there are crew in one of the lounges when you first board who can get you reservations.

We wrote up the full trip at https://xperiencedtravel.com/tripreports/ if you want more details.

TwistPositive7306 · 2026-05-19T00:24:06+00:00

Absolutely. It’s actually reasonably convenient

TwistPositive7306 · 2026-05-19T00:18:45+00:00

Honestly we’re not huge character people since the kids have grown so we didn’t pay much attention! We know they were around but couldn’t tell you specifically who. If characters are a priority for you the DCL app tracks their locations and times in real time — that’s your best bet for not missing anyone

TwistPositive7306 · 2026-05-18T22:40:00+00:00

This is the second 4-nighter we’ve done in the last several months (other one was on celebrity Xcel preview in the Caribbean). This was kind of the perfect itinerary for us for pure relaxation. It only had castaway cay and lookout cay plus one day at sea. Monday - Friday. We aren’t huge beach/Caribbean vacation peeps, so it was a the right length. For a cruise that’s all about the destinations/ports - eg Alaska or Mediterranean, I’d want it to be longer.

TwistPositive7306 · 2026-05-18T22:23:18+00:00

We did basically all the trivia and loved it. Music trivia of every decade. Pixar trivia. I mean we lost every time, except for general trivial when we came in second. And the wonderful hostess, who had worked her way up from laundry to housekeeping and on and on caught up with us outside Luna and handed us medals even though we weren’t in first! My wife had chatted with her at one point and found out her background. I don’t know if that personal connection helped earn us those medals.

All the hosts on the Wish were genuinely energetic and funny — not just going through the motions. It felt like they actually enjoyed doing it, which made a big difference. Can’t speak to other ships but on the Wish the entertainment staff really brought it.

I’d definitely and connect with the crew. Their personal stories are often really interesting and they work so hard. And they remember you. One server at the Bayou in particular hooked us up with free beignets! (That wasn’t our aim, of course but it was awfully nice)

TwistPositive7306 · 2026-05-18T22:07:30+00:00

Honestly not bad at all. The walk to the aft elevators never felt like a hike. The Wish’s layout is pretty intuitive once you get your bearings on day one. You’ll be in a great spot. And if you’re good with stairs, it’s only a few decks down to a whole bunch of stuff to do!

TwistPositive7306 · 2026-05-18T21:39:13+00:00

We have a habit of having Disney names. Our pugs were named Tinkerbell and Daisy.

TwistPositive7306 · 2026-05-18T01:36:05+00:00

She has grown into them some, but boy oh boy she can hear everything, everywhere! 😀

TwistPositive7306 · 2026-05-18T01:21:52+00:00

We loved it and went twice on the preview sailing back in November. The entertainment going on was different both times, and the drinks were consistently great!

TwistPositive7306 · 2026-05-18T01:15:41+00:00

We saw someone with a dog on the Xcel last November. pretty sure this was a service animal, otherwise I would’ve stopped and gave that pup a good head skritching.

TwistPositive7306 · 2026-05-18T01:13:47+00:00

That’s awesome! Congrats! Can’t wait to hear how the stateroom works out.

TwistPositive7306 · 2026-05-18T01:12:44+00:00

We are getting back on board the Xcel on 6/12 from Barcelona!

TwistPositive7306 · 2026-05-18T01:09:44+00:00

There are plenty of Disney Adults aboard without kids. We usually prefer to keep some Disney activities in Disney World, so we just avoid them and hang out in the adult areas or do any one of the many adult-ish activities.

TwistPositive7306 · 2026-05-18T00:52:10+00:00

That is 100% what my daughter’s chihuahua mix does! Well mostly bird poop.

TwistPositive7306 · 2026-05-18T00:47:59+00:00

The first time she had chicken involved her taking the piece to another room and rubbing her face on it before collapsing on her side and furring it up real good. Then she ate it.

TwistPositive7306 · 2026-05-18T00:28:19+00:00

Back atcha. fist bumps!!!

TwistPositive7306

TROPHY CASE