Comparing Dream and Wish Cruise Prices

The Disney Wish is going to enter the DCL fleet in June of next year, and I'm excited.  It will introduce a lot, and there's still so much that hasn't been announced yet!  However, one of the most important Wish features has already been announced:  The itineraries (and their prices).  In its first summer, the Wish will be doing 3-night and 4-night Bahamian cruises from Port Canaveral. Both of these itineraries visit Nassau and Castaway Cay.  This is like what the Dream has done for its entire time in service.  Because of the Wish, the Dream will be moving from Port Canaveral to Miami in summer 2022.  After going to Miami, it will do some unusual 5-night cruises before returning to its usual 3-night and 4-night Bahamian cruises.  

At that point, there will be two DCL ships doing 3-night and 4-night Bahamian cruises.  The coolest part is that the cruise schedule between the ships is aligned later in the summer.  For example, on the day the Dream starts a 3-night cruise, the Wish will start one too.  The only differences in the itineraries are the home port (Port Canaveral vs Miami) and the order of the ports that the ships visit.  

With pretty much the exact same itineraries happening on the exact same dates, you would expect the prices to be similar.  As great as that would be, we can't forget that we're comparing cruises on a brand new ship and a ship that's over a decade old.  Disney is charging more for Wish cruises than Dream cruises, but how much more?  Let's do some math to find out!

To determine this, let's compare a 3-night Bahamian cruise on the Dream with the same cruise on the Wish.  I'll be comparing the two cruises that start on September 2nd and end on September 5th.  Also, the prices I'm looking at are for two adults and one child.

We'll begin with looking at inside staterooms, specifically standard inside staterooms.  The standard inside staterooms I'm looking at on both ships are room 9087.  That's convenient.  Both 9087s are on Deck 9, Midship, and they're both in category 11A.  While the rooms are pretty much the same, the prices sure aren't.  For all of the images in this post, the cruise on the Dream is on the top and the cruise on the Wish is on the bottom.

For two adults and one child in a category 11A standard inside staterooms, the cruise on the Dream costs $735.69 less than the same cruise on the Wish.  The Wish price is about 28% more than the Dream price.

Next, let's look at oceanview staterooms on those same two cruises.  The deluxe oceanview staterooms I'm looking at on both ships are room 2552.  They're both in category 09B and both on Deck 2, Midship.

For two adults and one child in a category 09B deluxe oceanview stateroom, the cruise on the Dream costs $816.69 less than the same cruise on the Wish.  For this room, the Wish price is about 31% more than the Dream price.

Both the Dream and the Wish feature larger deluxe family oceanview staterooms in addition to the smaller deluxe oceanview staterooms, so let's see how the price differs between these staterooms.

For two adults and one child in a category 08B deluxe family oceanview stateroom, the cruise on the Dream costs $897.69 less than the same cruise on the Wish.  The Wish costs about 33% more!

Staterooms with verandahs are the most expensive non-concierge staterooms, so there'll likely be a big difference between verandah room prices on the Dream and comparable rooms on the Wish.  Let's look at room 10020 on both ships.  Both of these rooms are category 05A deluxe oceanview staterooms with verandahs, and they are on Deck 10, Forward.

For two adults and one child in a category 05A deluxe oceanview stateroom with verandah, the cruise on the Dream costs $906.69 less than the same cruise on the Wish.  The Wish price is around 32% more than the Dream price.  This price difference is just below $10 more than the difference observed in the deluxe family oceanview staterooms, but it's not a small difference.

There was a noticeable difference between the normal deluxe oceanview staterooms and the deluxe family oceanview staterooms, so I think there'll be a similar difference between the normal deluxe oceanview staterooms with verandahs and the deluxe family oceanview staterooms with verandahs.  Let's find out.  For this type of room, I've chosen to look at room 6094 on both ships.  Both versions of 6094 are in category 04C and are on Deck 6, Midship.

For two adults and one child in a category 04C deluxe family oceanview stateroom, the cruise on the Dream costs $897.69 less than the same cruise on the Wish.  The Wish price is about 30% more than the Dream price.  This is surprising, since this price difference is less than that of deluxe oceanview staterooms with verandahs.

I would go over the price differences of concierge rooms, but there are zero concierge rooms available on any of the announced Wish cruises!  This is crazy, since the Wish has more concierge rooms than any other DCL ship.  Also, the Wish is introducing new types of concierge rooms, like that really nice Wish Tower Suite, so I'd be limited in the amount of room prices I'd compare.  Plus, if you're booking a concierge room on the Wish, you probably aren't too concerned with prices.

Making this post was very interesting.  I initially thought that if the price of a room was higher, then the room's price difference between the Dream and the Wish would be higher as well.  However, the deluxe family oceanview staterooms with verandahs proved this wrong.  So, as prices get higher, the price difference across ships is not necessarily higher as well.

If you don't care about any of the Wish's exciting new features or if you're just going on a cruise for Nassau and Castaway Cay, you'd be much better off going on the Dream.  You'd save a lot of money while still having a similar experience.  Even with everything new that the Wish is introducing, the Dream is still a great option for short cruises, especially because of the lower price!