I’m sat at the water’s edge on a private island in the Bahamas, my bare toes buried in white sand, an ice-cold margarita in hand. Behind me, palm trees are swaying gently in the breeze as I watch the blazing sun glittering on a sea so clear I can spot fish swimming right up to the shoreline.
Surprisingly, I’m not in an exclusive honeymoon resort, but on a Disney cruise. My 12-year-old son Luke is swinging in a hammock nearby and at the other end the beach, I can spot Minnie Mouse, dressed in sunglasses and a Crayola-bright beach dress, waving to children splashing in the water.
Further still along the expanse of sand, I can see our ship itself, the stately 4,000-passenger Disney Wish, which has docked for the day on Disney’s very own private island, Castaway Cay. It’s a far cry from an exhausting day trudging round a sprawling theme park, but has all the same Disney dazzle to charm the whole family. Plus, there’s barely a queue in sight.
Disney Wish
The fifth of Disney’s seven – soon to be eight – ships, Disney Wish has been sailing three and four-night itineraries in the Bahamas since 2022. All leave from Florida’s Port Canaveral, an hour’s drive from Walt Disney World in Orlando, and generally call to the Bahamian capital Nassau and either Castaway Cay or Disney’s private beach resort in Eleuthera, Disney Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point. However in 2027, the ship will become the line’s first larger Wish-class vessel to sail outside the US when it arrives in Southampton for a summer of no-fly European cruises directly from the UK.
The Disney Wish kicks off three- and four-night cruises from its new home port of Port Canaveral, Florida. Every sailing includes a stop at Disney’s private island paradise, Castaway Cay.
A handsome ship with an exterior in the classic Mickey Mouse colours of jet black, bright yellow and postbox-red, the inside has even more fairytale appeal. While other ships in the fleet are themed around classic Disney tales or even heroes and villains, Disney Wish focuses on enchantment and princesses. Staterooms on board have artwork from classic stories including Cinderella and The Little Mermaid while the two-storey, eight-person Tower Suite inside one of the ship’s funnels has décor inspired by Moana, plus a library, spiral staircase, marble bar and separate kids’ room with bunkbeds, although it will set you back more than £22,000 per cruise.
Magical touches continue throughout the ship. The Grand Hall is designed to look like the inside of Cinderella’s castle, with an enormous chandelier, hand-painted gold detailing, stained glass railings and three-storey columns inset with fibre optics to look like they’ve been sprinkled with fairy dust. A slide leads from there directly into the enormous kids’ club on the floor below with its Rapunzel-themed art studio, life-size replica of a Star Wars cargo bay and Marvel super hero academy where the likes of Black Panther and Spider-Man drop by to teach crime-fighting skills.
This is one of the ship’s biggest thrills for any parents who’ve spent hours queueing to meet characters in one of Disney’s parks (just me?) There are scheduled meet and greets with everyone from Mickey to Moana throughout the ship all day long but also plenty of impromptu interactions that could never happen in a busy theme park. Princesses read bedtime stories in the kids’ club and we bump into Minnie and Pluto bounding down the corridor on the way to breakfast one morning. Heading back to our room later, we pass Donald Duck leading a conga line through the Grand Hall while at dinner in the Worlds of Marvel restaurant, Spider-Man stops by our table to high-five Luke during dessert.
All Age-Appeal
It feels like Disney have thought of everything a family could possibly need. Luke wanders round wide-eyed for the first 24-hours trying to take it all in, though quickly becomes far better at finding his way around than I am. In fact, there’s so much to cram in, most people don’t even get off the ship when we dock at our first port, the Bahamian capital of Nassau, brimming with its duty-free stores, rum bars and craft shops.
On board, it’s hard to know what to do first. There are two cinemas screening big-name movies, an indoor sports arena with basketball, table football, an inflatable Incredibles-themed assault course and a theatre with slick nightly shows including The Little Mermaid and a special effects-packed Disney’s Aladdin – A Musical Spectacular. A daily schedule of entertainment includes everything from trivia quizzes to family karaoke, plus there’s a ship-wide treasure hunt where interactive worlds can be unlocked via a mobile phone. The top deck is the real highlight for us, with its outdoor cinema, small swimming pools, Toy Story splash zone and the twisting water-coaster, AquaMouse, where riders in inflatable rafts whizz round a 760ft tube that winds its way around the ship before splashing into a lazy river.
My son is equally delighted by the child-friendly food on board (while I make a mental note to up his vegetable intake once we return home). At the breakfast buffet, he discovers chocolate chip pancakes and Churro waffles in the shape of Mickey’s head, while the food court serving freshly-made pizza, chicken tenders and all-you-can-eat ice-cream is perfect for by-the-pool lunches. In the Inside Out-themed dessert shop just next door, we drool over cupcakes that look like works of art, macarons in every shade of the rainbow and a vast ice-cream toppings bar including everything from unicorn sprinkles to gummy bears.
Dinners are served in one of three à la carte restaurants, including Arendelle: A Frozen Dining Adventure where characters from the film perform its biggest hits as we dine on dishes such as scallops baked in flaky pastry and roasted pork tenderloin with buttered chard. Happily, there’s no battling for restaurant reservations first. Every guest has pre-allocated bookings in each restaurant and keeps the same waiters no matter where they dine. Ours, the cheery Dmello Branel from India, realises Luke prefers skinny fries to chips, so a plate piled high with them appears unbidden the next night, even though they’re not on the menu.
Not Just For Kids
When my son heads off to play table tennis with a new friend one morning, I finally get to discover the lesser-known side of a Disney cruise. Tucked at the back of the ship, the adult-only area, the Quiet Cove, has a sunset-facing infinity pool, hot tubs and its own bar with an extensive champagne menu. There are several scheduled over 18’s activities too, including mixology classes and gin tasting. Elsewhere, there’s a spa with an ice lounge, sauna, steam room and a tranquil outdoor relaxation space with day beds for snoozing, plus a pirate-themed barber’s shop with its own secret whiskey bar.
The kids’ clubs are open until midnight if you fancy fine-dining. The ship has two adult-only restaurants including the elegant Enchanté, where the menu comes from chef Arnaud Lallement, owner of the three Michelin-starred L’Assiette Champenoise near Reims in France. However, while other restaurants – and room service – are included in your fare, both these (plus all alcohol on board) will cost extra.
Luckily even with children in tow, it’s possible to pop into Star Wars: Hyperspace Lounge during the day, though it’s adults only after 9pm. Designed like the inside of a spaceship, the window behind the bar appears to look out into the galaxy beyond, passing planets and iconic Star Wars spaceships.
A space-themed menu includes drinks that burst into smoke and change colour upon drinking, plus the much-hyped $5000 (£3,656) Kaiburr Crystal, a cocktail of rare spirits that comes with extra Disney swag including silver-plated cups and a voucher for a private visit to George Lucas’ own vineyard, Skywalker Ranch in California.
We give it a miss and head back to the top deck for more ice cream instead, which we eat sitting contentedly side by side watching the waves and feeling like life probably doesn’t get much better.
All images: Disney
We may earn a commission if you buy something from any affiliate links on our site.
Any Questions or Tips to add?