Tour Two Fairy-Tale Suites Aboard the New Disney Wish Cruise Ship

This castle at sea boasts the most enchanting luxury spaces including a secret tower penthouse inside the ship’s funnel. Keep scrolling for a peek into the most posh rooms you’d never guess are on a cruise ship.

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July 18, 2022

By: Deanne Revel

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Photo By: Disney Cruise Line

Photo By: Rachael Jones

A High-End Fairy Tale Cruise

You may not think of a cruise ship as a designer showcase home, but Disney Cruise Line is trying to change that by creating a castle-at-sea that harkens back to the golden age of ocean travel in the 1900s. Disney Wish, the brand-new ship and fifth addition to DCL’s fleet, is an architectural marvel dripping in opulence and inspired by the theme "enchantment." Gone is the standard boat atrium and instead there’s a grand hall that mimics a soaring gothic cathedral. But what’s most impressive is how the design team created such high-end spaces amid strict structural limitations and safety regulations of materials, especially the ship’s signature suites: four royal suites and one tower penthouse hidden inside the ship’s front funnel.

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Disney Through a Design Lens

The four royal suites, inspired by the animated classic Sleeping Beauty, look like something you’d see in a celebrity's Hollywood Regency home. That’s because the designers at the heart of the Disney Wish, Claire Weiss, creative director for accommodations, and Laura Sanden Cabo, portfolio creative executive, are from the interior design world, and they’ve approached the world of Disney through that lens. “As an architect, having worked outside the entertainment industry for so many years and really being deep into design and coming from a firm where we practiced a very high level of design, I really felt that we had the opportunity here on the Disney Wish to show that it can be an elevated level of design,” says Laura. “Whether you are into Disney, or not, the space is beautiful and elevated.” Of course, there are Aurora hidden gems and Easter eggs galore for fans. But it’s all done in a sophisticated way. Instead of a completely immersive theme like Disney Parks, these suites have subtle nods to story such as the gold filigre on the spiral staircase in the two-story Aurora suite. The motif was inspired by ornate goblets and vases in castle scenes from the film. And that beautiful pale blue stone millwork is an exact match for the specific blue used in Sleeping Beauty concept art.

Faking it in Style

There are more than 4,000 new pieces of Disney art aboard the Disney Wish, but what's most impressive is the hand-painted details on this staircase. It's actually steel, but doesn't it look like real marble? While the foyer has that beautiful medallion of hand-cut stone, the design team couldn't use real stone on the stair stringers because designing a room at sea comes with many rules about weight distribution in relation to the part of the boat or ship vibration in relation to the height of the deck. It's kind of like designing a room where every wall is load-bearing and comes with extreme restrictions. Any space aboard the Disney Wish has a mix of stone and laminate as well as hard metals and foils that are so believable not just by sight but touch, too. These stairs actually feel cold like marble. "You live, eat and sleep here," says Laura. "We can't fake things. It has to feel good to the touch." Laura says the team spent "hundreds of hours in mock-ups galore" making sure every single material felt authentic. "The second you touch and it's not right, the design falls apart," says Claire. "So we wanted to make sure that the fabrics that we're using, even in the sofa, are rich and well made and have this really lovely hand feel."

Thick Tapestries Create a Feeling of Opulence

The bedding and textiles used throughout the suite also have an intential hand feel and an incredibly heavy weight to them. And it's all tied back to story. "Something that we talked a lot about when we were designing the suite," says Claire, "is that Sleeping Beauty has a lot of lovely, huge sort of Gothic tapestries. And we don't have tapestries in that space, but there's that specific visual quality of a tapestry we wanted that feels heavy and well made and thick and regal." Instead of a large tapestry, the main bedroom features a statement wall mural inspired by Disney artist Mary Blair's concept art. The iconic painter gave Sleeping Beauty its signature Baroque and Roccoco aesthetic. But she was also heavily inspired by the soft pastels of her time— the midcentury modern movement — so her scenes depicting castle life don't have those traditional, dark jewel tones that you associate with royalty. The bed's upholsterd headboard and throws riff off that same airy, wispy blue. But the texture is ultra-thick and plush like a king's robe.

Extensive Bedroom Mirrors Bring the Magic

You're not seeing double. The right side is a wall of sliding doors with mirrors. The bedroom's walk-in closet is long and narrow, almost like a galley-style kitchen, and its elongated design is intentional. Like a movie camera, you pan through the closet into a big reveal that is the spacious, spa-style bathroom. "One of my favorite elements is when you come upstairs to the bedroom and you go through the closet, which is a beautiful actual sort of curve, a linear closet," says Laura.

Smart Spa Style

Once your go through the rabbit hole that is the winding closet, you end up in this gorgeous, almost secret bathroom. And it is stunning, from the giant soaker tub to the lavish walk-in shower to the floor-to-ceiling windows offering a panoramic view of the ocean. But unlike a hotel, a cruise ship moves. And your view may not always be the ocean. Sometimes, depending on the port of call, your view could be directly into the pool deck of another cruise ship. Not to worry. The windows are made of smart glass and with the push of a button, the glass immediately turns an opaque white.

Layering the Details

Luxury often comes in layers and this bathroom is stacked with details, from the giant stone medallion in the floor to the fluted reed glass in the vanity and toilet door. And, no, that stone isn't gray. It's blue and has blue streaks like tiger stripes. Claire says it took a long time for the team to find a natural blue stone with the exact blue they wanted. "Blue stone, I've learned, is incredibly hard to find," she says. "It's actually not,;it's hard to find a blue stone that you like." The team looked at dozens of marble samples from Italy. "Every single sample of everything on this ship has been in my house at one point. And we looked at all of these stones, and then we tried to find specifically the blue that felt like a good companion for what we were doing from a design perspective but also always going back to the story and checking it with those midcentury modern Disney blues."

Textural Tiles

Even the wall tile goes back to story. At first glance, it's just a wall of glazed tile. But a closer look reveals that each tile is different. And Claire says the different textures harken back to the visual textures in the film and concept art by iconic Disney artist Ivan Earl. "You have those elongated sort of pale blue tiles that we intentionally did a range of textures for," says Claire. "Because if you look at the concept art from that film, a lot of those shapes are really specific. They're really stylized. You get a lot of diamond patterns, a lot of like really heavy visual textures."

Clever Horizon Lines

The suite's private deck plays with lines, too, specially the horizon line. The deck railing is left clear to give a nearly seamless view of the ocean. And depending on where you're sitting, the view changes. From the chaise longues, it's a straight view into the horizon line. But from the elevated vantage point of the whirlpool, it creates an almost infinity pool effect from the water.

Chandelier Goals

This bedroom isn't the main bedroom. (Though it is right next to the outdoor whirlpool and that's a serious perk.) But it feels just as luxurious thanks to posh details such as the upholsterd headboard, ornamental sconces and a giant chandelier. "All of the chandeliers are hand cut crystal," says Claire. "We specifically made those to feel as if they were sort of an inverse tiara, but made of crystal because that's also about reflectivity and the celebration of light, which is what all these fairy tale stories are about." But as grand as the chandelier is, it's not her favorite detail in the room. "My favorite pieces are the sconces that have the birds sitting on the little rim, because what's so important about Sleeping Beauty is her interaction with all these wonderful animal creatures. So it's as if the forest has embraced you, and you're laying in bed and these birds have come and sat next to you."

Finding the Right Gold

In terms of color palette, gold has a big role in this suite. There are gold accents everywhere throughout Sleeping Beauty and also her iconic tiara is gold. "We love a nice gold," says Claire. "But gold is a very hard material because it's either too bright or too dull or too green or too shiny. So, we looked at probably — I'm not joking — 50 plus samples to get the shade of gold that felt regal and royal without being dated. You don't want to overtly notice it. It supports the space."

Nautical Design, Literally

Technically, cruise ships today only need one funnel. But when Disney Cruise Line set out to create its own magical fleet in the '90s, designers were inspired by iconic ocean liners of the early 20th century. So, Disney ships always have two funnels for symmetry, even though only one is actually working. And for the Disney Wish, that extra square footage is a secret penthouse. Yep, the whole funnel is a suite. And it's massive with 2,000 square feet of living and sleeping space, two main bedrooms, a children's bunk room, a library that converts into a bedroom, four-and-a-half bathrooms and a private elevator.

Subtle, Chic Tropics

Unlike the royal suites, the funnel Tower Suite is inspired by the animated film Moana. It's an elevated riff on the shapes, textures and colors of the film. "This space is about sophistication and glamor," says Claire. "We wanted to make sure that it had the refinement in the finishes." A great example is the mega gold chandelier suspended over the living room and visible from the second floor. It's an ultra-modern take on the palm fronds seen on Moana's island of Motunui.

A Color Palette With Depth

While there are marine teal accents inspired by the tropical waters of Moana, most of the suite is a lot darker than teal or beachy blues. There are deep navy chairs, throws and wallpaper. "The color palette is really inspired by what you would expect under the waves," says Claire. "So we have really soft peaches and corals, if you think of ocean life way deep down under, but also deep sea blues."

Pearlescent Finishes Mimic the Sea

The dining area, however, riffs on the lighter neutrals of the ocean. And these neutrals are just as dramatic as the deep blues because the fabrics seem to shimmer. "This is a celebration of the ocean," says Claire. "So you'll see a lot of pearlescent finishes that feel like the shine on the sand or the gleam of the water."

Sculptural Details Tell a Story

Shapes and silhouettes from Moana were a big inspiration. "We wanted to make sure that it felt like the natural environment but also was refined," says Claire. The dining room table feels very modern with a marble top and metallic base, but if you look closely at the shape of the legs, it's definitely marine-esque, almost like the curve of the grandmother's manta ray spirit in the movie. And that would be fitting, considering that this is a table for family to gather.

Statement Tile Suggests Fish Scales

Another subtle nod to ocean life is in the downstairs half bath. The statement wall of pale blue tile features a repeating pattern of semi-circle tiles that mimic fish scales.

Dynamic Shapes Mimic Ocean Waves

For the suite bedrooms, the design team studied the movement and fluidity of the ocean. The chandelier resembles ruffled jellyfish is motion. Even the headboard seems to gently sway with the cruise ship. "You'll see a lot of the stitching in the headboards are really evocative of the movement of waves," says Claire.

And Dynamic Lines Bring Moana to Life

Fluid stitching, again, creats the movement of waves for the bunkbeds in the children's room. And because this space is for the kiddos, the design team leaned into more immersive, magical decor. "The ceiling in the kids' room boasts a fiber optic effect of the star feel that is actually iconic from the film," says Claire. "So, you'll see the Heart of Te Feti come to life. You'll see Maui's hook. You'll see Grandma Tala. And that's part of this idea of always tying it back to the story, so everything has a purpose and a meaning.”

Marble and Brass Add Elegance in the Bathroom

The suite's full bathrooms are all-marble stunners with shiny brass fixtures. But there's always a link back to the story. And a shower is a great place to play with the theme of water. "The [floor] tile is this beautiful fish shape," says Claire. "Which feels like the tails of a fish. We wanted this idea of energy of water and creatures below the surface."

A Cinematic Creative Process

Most interior designers start with color or style. But Claire Weiss and Laura Cabo say they approached every room like a film. "We're paying attention to how you move through a space," says Laura, "and what you see, because it's very film oriented." This giant soaking tub in one of the suite's multiple spa bathrooms is like a wide shot. And then your eye moves to one of the small, polished brass fixtures. "That's our close up," says Claire. "That's the thing that we want you to know. Everything we did we thought about, and we put care into."