I just got off the new Disney Wish premiere and a 45 minute Q and A.  Lots of details below! First and foremost, we can start booking the Wish sailings for you in late May. Her maiden voyage is June 9th, 2022, and it will follow with three and four-night Bahama itineraries to Nassau and Castaway Cay. There are so many new and extraordinary things on this ship. I couldn’t wait to share it with you!
As you enter, you are in the Grand Hall, which is the center of the ship. It has a stage that is the first of its kind on DCL. The Grand Hall has so many highlights. Some were announced earlier in the month.

The Oceaneer Club has a new feature! A secret entrance, which is a slide from the Grand Hall. Yes, your kids can slide into the kids club. They will get checked in on Deck Three, and they’ll slide on down. For the kids that don’t want to slide, there is the typical door that you can walk them through as well.
They will also have the Marvel Superhero Academy. So you will train alongside many of the Marvel Superheroes! As you can imagine, it will be very interactive. The Wish will also have the Fairytale Hall. Here you can channel your inner artist with Rapunzel, sit among Belle’s library, and immerse yourself Anaa and Elsa’s summer house.
If all the above isn’t enough, there will be an interactive Imagineer Lab area. This area includes an incredible design center where the kids can create their rollercoaster and virtually ride it. The kids club bands they will wear will allow them to experience so many experiences throughout the cruise days. For example, they create the rollercoaster. A couple of days later, they can come in and ride it virtually again, and during the open house, their parents can even ride it.
The tweens and teens will be covered with Vibe and Edge; more to come on those areas.
The Nursery, It’s a Small World will be a nominal fee, but all other kids activities will be complimentary.

As a whole, Disney is known for it’s storytelling. It is in Disney’s DNA. So there are going to be many different entertainment areas. First, we have the Walt Disney Theater designed with a magical forest theme. One of the productions we know about is Disney’s Aladdin, A Music Spectacular. There is more to come on the new creative entertainment that will take place in that theater as well. There are also three new brand new concepts as far as entertainment stages. The Grand Hall Stage, which will be fun and theatrical throughout the day with pop-up events. The second is Luna. This will be a day to night interactive type family space. Third, Heroes Zone. Heroes zone will be an interactive play and entertainment space.
We look forward to hearing more about this later.
There will also be the Wonderland and Neverland Theaters for those first-run movies and the favorites.

The adults are well taken care of on the Wish. The adult spaces are very well storied.
Star Wars Hyperspace Lounge is going to be so cool. There will have panoramic views of the galaxy. You will jump on a party-like yacht ship and travel to different planets through the galaxies with themed cocktails created for the places you hop to. It is open to families during the day and adults at night. Hyperspace will have a holotube with Holograph type descriptions of the ships you see in the galaxy passing by. They also encourage dressing up in your favorite Star Wars gear for this bar.

There is a new suite of adult-exclusive dining areas as well.
The Rose Lounge, named after the famous Beauty and the Beast Rose. Great for before and after cocktails.
Palo, which is inspired by the character Cogsworth. This is Italian fare with a modern steak house spin.
Enchante, which is Lumier themed. World-renowned Arnaud Lallement will create the french-inspired menu.
The Quiet Cove adult-only pool has a new take, with an Infinity edge.

There are three new unique dining restaurants, and they are rotational.
Arendelle is a theatrical experience that has four characters performing while you eat. Anna, Elsa, Kristoff, and Olaf will take the stage. The story is post-Frozen 2. So they are celebrating the big engagement, and it will have food with Nordic influences.

1923 will have an old Hollywood vibe. Called 1923, when the Walt Disney Studios were founded, will be a higher and elevated dining experience with a California infused menu.
World of Marvel, which is going to be your interactive dining experience and is a very ambitious interactive and cinematic feel. Disney is going to give us more details later on that.

There are 1254 staterooms, and they have nearly doubled the size of the concierge rooms.
There are four Royal suites. Two of those Royal suites will be two-story with a spiral staircase and floor to ceiling windows.
There will also be seven additional suites that are new to DCL, and those are right above the bridge at the forward part of the ship. These will be exciting to see when they come out.
Again, bookings start May 27th with Disney Cruise Line’s top loyalty members. If you would like to get on our list for one of these sailings, please reach out to me at [email protected]

​It’s Port Day! We requested a wake up call from Mickey at 7:30. No one was quite ready to get up, but it looked like it was going to be a beautiful day! 

​We went to the concierge lounge and had breakfast.

We then headed to D lounge at 8:30 to go on our excursion. On our last cruise, we didn’t get off the ship at the port, only at Castaway Cay. Since this itinerary only had one port day and no one had ever been to Jamaica but me, we decided to go for it. The other families we went with chose different adventures. Two of the families did the Dolphin Encounter with Dunn’s River Falls (FA05) and one of them did the Deluxe Jewel Beach Break (FA68). If anyone has questions about those adventures, I would be happy to get more details for you! Our family chose a half day excursion and we wanted something that would let us see some of Jamaica. We ended up picking Rafting on the Martha Brae (FA01). They said we could bring sealed snacks but no fruit or veggies. We had grabbed some cereal and oranges from the lounge, so we left the oranges behind.  There were a lot of people who were late, so we waited in the D lounge for quite a while. It was nice of them to wait on everyone, but our kids were getting antsy! We finally got off the ship and were on our bus at 9:15.

​Atal was our driver and Laverne was our guide. She gave us a tour as we drove. We saw Usain Bolt’s school and a swamp that is in the James Bond movie Live and Let Die.

​We stopped at the Trelawny Parish Church of St. Peter the Apostle that is over 200 years old. She told us Jamaica has the most churches per square mile than anywhere else. She also said they have over 150 rivers. 

​We randomly stopped at an ATM for someone else on the tour. We got to the Martha Brae at 10:30. We went to the bathrooms, which were relatively nice. We then had complimentary fruit punch. You could pay to add rum to it, but we didn’t. 

​We browsed the shops. Our kids picked out a few souvenirs. The shops only take cash. They handed out life jackets at 11and we were finally on our raft at 11:30. They said you are only supposed to be 2-3 on a raft at a time. When our rafter, Sheldon, arrived, there wasn’t another raft in sight and we were the last of our group. He said he could take us all, so all 5 of us got on the raft. It was nice to be all together! Sheldon was awesome. He pointed out the different trees and animals and answered all the boys questions. He even let them all get up and try the pole. The kids loved it. The raft ride is about 3 miles and so beautiful. We saw kids playing in the river.  

The rafting was over and we were back on the bus by 12:45. They took us back to the port. The port in Jamaica is really lovely. Lots of cute shops. We leisurely walked through the port and then got back on the ship. We headed up to the concierge lounge for lunch.

​We then went to the room and changed and we were at the pool by 2. It wasn’t very crowded at all! I am so glad we did a short excursion so we could all enjoy the weather and lower crowds on the ship. We played in the pool, had some snacks and ice cream cones. 

​We headed back to the room a little after 4 to shower and get ready for dinner.

​It was pirate night! 

​We took the kids to eat at Animators Palate. Some of the adults had appetizers, but we did not. We were saving ourselves for later!

​We then took all the kids to Oceaneer club because we had a reservation at Palo at 8 and we all needed to change clothes. Pirate attire does not follow the Palo dress code. The food was great, but the service was very slow. We asked if we could be done by 9:45 so we could see the fireworks and they said this was possible. But they didn’t make it happen. We missed it, so the kids missed it too. We were all a little disappointed.

​Caprese salad –ok  the tomatoes could have been riper

​Calamari – delicious

​Ciuppin soup – delicious

Pappardelle con Aragosta – delicious

Dover sole – delicious

​They debone it tableside, so here is a video of that.

​Chocolate soufflé –amazing

Amaretto soufflé - very good

​lemoncello tart - delicious  

​We got a group photo of all the adults!

​After the dinner, it was pretty late, so we picked up the kids and went to bed. 
Our pirate towel guy was very cool!

​If you remember, I ordered bacon, eggs, fruit and pancakes for 5. It was SOOO much food!

​We had princess to meet this morning! My daughter and I went to the princess meet and greet first. It includes Cinderella, Arial, Tiana and Belle. We then went to the Frozen gathering. When we were on the Dream last year, it was Elsa and Anna. This year, it was only Anna. Apparently Elsa was stuck in her ice castle all week (also known as sick). My little one was very disappointed, but she she was still excited to meet Anna. They boys wanted to go to Oceaneer club for Spider Man’s Web Warriors 101, so my husband took them and got a few minutes alone.

​After the princesses, we met up with my husband and went up to the concierge lounge. Our middle child had lost his Stitch keychain at dinner last night, so we went to see if they could track it down for us. I got a mocha (that coffee machine in the lounge is AMAZING!) My husband got some hot tea and our daughter had chocolate milk and fruit. We went for a walk around the ship, and then we dropped her off at Oceaneer club so she could Doc McStuffins Pet Hospital. I really wish they took pictures in the club. I would have loved to see her participate in this. She still talks about it! And our boys still talk about all the superhero training they got to do!

Since we were randomly kid free, we went to the spa to use the rainforest pass I had purchased. It was ok. We were glad we only bought a day pass. It was kind of busy, we had to wait for a lounge chair, and then we felt guilty when other people came in. I’m glad we tried it, but we probably won’t do it again.

Since we were still kid free, we went to the Disney Vacation Club seminar because we were curious. They were also giving away a $200 stateroom credit. We didn’t win. But they did give everyone a $25 stateroom credit so that was nice! We went and picked our kids up. None of them ate lunch while there because we didn’t tell them too! So we headed up to concierge and all had lunch. Sandwiches, salad and fruit. We got drinks and popcorn then went to see Mary Poppins Returns. We loved it! Our daughter fell asleep and had a nice little nap.
 
After the movie, our oldest and youngest wanted to swim, so we did a quick change and headed to the pool. Our middle wanted to relax, so he and my husband had some downtime in the room. Those of us at the pool had ice cream cones and did some swimming. We then met up with my husband and middle child in the lounge for the concierge party. Stitch was there which made my boys super happy! There were also rice krispie mickey bars, so the kids stocked up on those.

​We went back to the room to get changed for diner. The kids watched some Moana, I read on the verandah. We then headed off to dinner at Tritons.

​Fried brie- awesome

​Duck confit- ok

​French onion soup – delicious

​Farmhouse salad- good

​Filet – good

​Duck breast – delicious

​Lobster pasta  - ok (this is what I ordered initially and Stefan suggested I choose something else because people tend to be disappointed in it. So I ordered the duck and he brought me a side dish of this. He was right. It was just ok. )

​Crème Brule – good

​Apple tart – ok

​Grand marnie soufflé –awesome

The moms decided we should take a group photo. With the digital photo package on the ship, it is for your stateroom only. Even though our reservations were all linked together, this did not allow all our photos to be linked. If anyone from our stateroom was in the photo, then those photos were included in our package.

​We went to concierge for popcorn and drinks and then picked the kids up from Oceaneer club and went to Frozen. We got there at 8:15 and it was packed! The 5 of us shared 3 seats and we were lucky to get those together! There were people sitting in the aisles on the steps! The show was good, but we all said we liked the Golden Mickeys better.

​Our daughter lost her mind after the show. She had an epic meltdown right in front of the elevators. I mean, laying on the ground, screaming and kicking. Another great thing about Disney cruises, no one is surprised or bothered by melting down kiddos. I got a lot of sympathetic “I have been there” looks, which I was thankful for! She finally worked it out and we all got back to the room to get ready for bed. The kids loved our monkey towel animal tonight!

​Our daughter climbed in bed with us at some point in the night. The ship was moving quite a bit.  Room service knocked on our door by accident at 7AM. This was a bummer because I had requested it to be delivered at 9 and this woke everyone up! I turned on Cars for the kids and my husband went in the master bedroom and went back to sleep. Room service was delivered at 8. I could have sworn I asked for 9, but since the kids were up already it was no big deal. We ate breakfast while we watched Cars.

​The kids and I went to meet Captain America.  There was a time change during the night and somehow I missed this! So breakfast was delivered at 9, I just thought it was 8! And we missed Captain America. The boys wanted to go build a fort in the Oceaneers Club, so we dropped them off. My daughter and I went to meet Minnie. 

​We then all went to see Spider Man. My husband met up with us and took our daughter with him to the concierge lounge for snacks. She was having a hard time waiting! 

​My husband and the kids got in their swimsuits and headed to the pool. I think they ate lunch poolside, but I’m not totally sure since I wasn’t there!

I left them and went with 2 of the ladies we were traveling with to go to the Chocolate and Liquor tasting. The cost was $35 per person. We all loved it!
 
White and caramel melted chocolate, White, caramel, and dark chocolate pieces,
Parmesan reggiano and Melted dark chocolate

​It was a lot of fun. The Sommelier told us that champagne pairs well with fried foods. I love champagne and fried foods, so I was excited to learn this! All the pairings were delicious.
 
My husband and kids were in the room taking showers. I picked our daughter up for her appointment at Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. She wasn’t able to do this on our last cruise because she was too young. She was super excited to go! My husband and the boys went to see Ralph Breaks the Internet. We saw it a couple of months ago, but they loved it and wanted to see it again. At BBB Our daughter decided on the Frozen package and chose Elsa. The size 4 dress barely fit, but the next size up was a 5/6 and it was way too big. She fell asleep during her appointment. It was so sweet. She got a blonde braid, some hair jewels and an Olaf with her package. The blonde braid with her brown hair was so funny! When we got to the room that night, BBB had sent her a Magical Moments for being a sleeping beauty.

​She was refreshed from her nap at BBB! We met my husband and the boys for the Royal Tea Party. We did this on our last cruise, but our daughter was too little, so we decided to do it again. She and I were going to do it solo, but the boys were not cool with that, so we all went. They get so much swag at this thing. Our daughter got a crown, a Cinderella doll, a jewelry box with a necklace and bracelet, an autograph book and a pen. The boys got a sword and shield, a drawstring bag, a sailor teddy bear, an autograph book and a pen. And every time one of the princesses come in, they give the little girls a charm for their bracelets and the boys get a pin. No wonder it is so expensive! The tea was delicious. The kids get apple juice instead of tea. The sandwiches were ok. The bread was dry. It was dry the last time too. The desserts were delicious. The cupcakes the kids get are huge! You put in your prince/ princess request ahead of time for your cupcake. The boys chose Prince Phillip (because he fights dragons) and our daughter chose Tiana. It is a fun experience, but very expensive, so I really don’t think we will be doing this on future cruises. 
 
They announce you as Princess or Prince “Name” as you walk in.

​Our oldest wanted to go back to kids club, so we dropped him off. We went back to the room to drop off all the swag. We then ran up to the concierge lounge so I could order hot breakfast for room service and cancel the boys tickets for the princess meet and greets. They decided they no longer wanted to go. For concierge you can order a hot breakfast for room service and you can order from the menu of whichever restaurant is serving brunch that day. However, you can’t have it until they open. They wouldn’t have been able to deliver until 9:30 at the earliest, and we had princesses to meet the next day! If you want something basic, they will let you order from Cabanas. So I ordered pancakes, eggs, bacon and fruit for 5 people, oj for the kids and coffee for the grown ups. Our middle child loves shopping, so we went back to the gift shops to browse again. I don’t remember anyone buying anything this time. We picked up our oldest from kids club and headed to dinner, which was at Tiana’s tonight. The music was amazing and we all loved seeing Tiana and Louis.

​I missed taking a picture of our first course, but here is what we had.
Shrimp and Grits – awesome
Charcuterie – good
 
Shrimp and orange salad – delicious

​Hot pot – ok

​Pasta – ok

​Sea bass – good

​Jenn got the prime rib and said it was delicious

​Bread pudding – awesome

​Beignets – delicious

​Cappuccino – delicious

​The kids went to the Oceaneer club when they were done eating. The grown ups finished our dessert and coffee. My husband and I headed up to the concierge lounge to get drinks and popcorn and then picked up the kids from the club. They were all excited about seeing the Golden Mickeys. We all loved it!

​After the show, we headed back to the room and went to bed. We had a penguin towel animal tonight!

This is our second Disney Cruise. Our first one was a 4 day Bahamian Cruise out of Port Canaveral on the Disney Dream. We were super excited to be on a slightly longer cruise and on one of the smaller ships. We were sailing on the Disney Wonder out of Galveston. This is our first time sailing concierge class. We really wanted to try a one bedroom to have separate space from the kids after bedtime! We have three children, two boys ages 7 and 5 and one girl age 3. We traveled with 3 other families that we go to church and school with. This gave us 8 adults and 10 kids total!
January 9: Departure Day
I will always tell you to get to your port city the day before you depart. The 3 families we were traveling with all did this! My husband really needed to work a full day on Monday, so we decided to risk flying in on departure day. We woke up at 4:30AM.  I was super nervous about flying in so last minute, but it was a direct flight and the first flight out of the morning, so I felt a little better about it. Thankfully we had an on time departure at 7:00 AM!

As you walked on, they were encouraging passengers to go into Triton’s for a table service lunch. Concierge guests also had the option of lunch in Tiana’s Place, which is where we went.  Wine or beer was included with the concierge lunch.

The kids ordered macaroni and cheese and a hamburger. They were all happy with their food. ​

Molten Chocolate – rich, but oh so yummy:

The kids also had the first of many Mickey Bars! ​

Dinner was at Animator’s Palate. Our servers were Stefan and Francisco. They were amazing! Our head waiter was Devendra. I don’t remember ever meeting our head waiter on our last cruise, but we saw Devendra every night. He would come by and do a magic trick for the kids.

Here is the kids menu:

He ordered it medium rare and it came out well done. We didn’t say anything, but Stefan noticed and got him a new one. 

We did early dining and asked our servers to feed the kids as quickly as possible. Once the kids were done, a couple of the adults would take them all to the Oceaneer Club. This let the grown ups enjoy our dessert and coffee at a more leisurely pace!
​
Limoncello ice box pie –delicious:

My husband and I went up to the concierge lounge to get popcorn and drinks. We had packed cups with lids and straws for the kids since DCL no longer provides plastic straws or lids. The bar was open, so we got an adult beverage as well. The bartender, Alit, was just darling. Any time you asked how he was, he always said “magical”. 
​
We went to pick up the kids from the Oceaneers Club and the boys did not want to leave. Our daughter did, so we got her and headed to the evening show which was David Gatti, the magician. We all really enjoyed it!