Review: The Disney Destiny
I sometimes feel a bit ridiculous talking about Disney cruises, as I know some of you have been on 30-plus sailings.
I’ve been on two.
Photo: Disney
Still, for those of you like me who are still relatively new to cruising, the opinions of a newbie help the most.
So, here’s my review of the Disney Destiny, currently the newest ship in the American fleet.
About the Destiny
Photo: Disney
The Destiny hasn’t even celebrated its first birthday yet, and while the Disney Adventure is technically newer, it’s also more niche.
The reality is that most of the people reading this article won’t be flying to Singapore anytime soon. So, for those of you like me, the Destiny remains the newest choice and will be until the Disney Believe sets sail late in 2027.
As such, you’ll carefully consider itineraries on the Destiny to determine whether it’s worth a slightly higher price.
Photo: Disney
You can definitely sail on the Magic class ships for less money… unless you’re sailing to Alaska.
Actually, I just fact-checked that, and a four-night Destiny sailing costs about the same as seven nights in Alaska, which underscores the price difference.
Photo: Disney
Destiny is the latest ship in the Wish class, which has proven to be a bit divisive among veteran Disney cruise fans.
The Destiny definitely changes some of its design aesthetics compared to previous ships, which can confuse passengers.
Photo: Disney
On a later date, I’ll compare the Wish class to the Dream class based on my personal experiences. For now, I’ll say that I was definitely aware I was on a differently designed ship.
One of the reasons fans choose the Destiny is that Disney has stacked each deck with amenities. We couldn’t possibly have done everything during a single sailing, and honestly, we barely even scratched the surface.
Photo: Disney
The drawback is that the Wish class ships are larger and carry more passengers, which can create two seemingly opposite effects.
At times, you’ll feel like you’re alone on the ocean, but then in other instances, you’ll get claustrophobic during the most popular events, such as the nightly Broadway-caliber shows.
Photo: Disney
So, I’ll discuss the ship’s layout first, followed by the amenities.
Definitely Different from the Dream
Obviously, I research Disney cruises exhaustively for work, so I had a strong understanding of the Destiny’s layout.
You probably won’t be as lucky… unless you read my writing and that of everyone else here at MickeyBlog.
Photo: Disney
The point is that we picked the perfect cabin on the 10th deck for our needs.
We were comfortably slotted between the two sets of elevators, providing us with ready access to all three sections of the ship.
Photo: Disney
We chose a cabin on the 10th floor, giving us near-immediate access to Marceline Market and the other restaurants on the 11th deck.
My wife and I paid slightly more for this location, but I can confidently say that we got our money’s worth.
You don’t need to know much about cruises to understand that eating matters the most.
We could nosh whenever we wanted, so much so that we never ordered room service on this sailing. That’s the positive.
The negative is that the Wish class ships legitimately have walkways to nowhere.
We’d heard this ahead of time, yet my wife and I were still mystified when we experienced this for ourselves. Occasionally, we’d follow a path straight into a wall, and I’m not joking.
Restaurants and Theaters
Also – and this is a nitpick – I didn’t like Marceline Market as much as Cabanas on the Dream. It felt smaller, with fewer menu choices.
Disney intentionally chose this strategy by including several outdoor restaurant kiosks. You’ll find them on the Dream class as well, but they didn’t feel as unavoidable.
For me, it was partially a dietary issue, as many of the foods I could eat were available in these kiosks rather than the indoor dining area.
Still, I know from other comments that Marceline Market isn’t as universally loved as Cabanas, and I can understand why.
Don’t get me wrong. It’s a giant cruise buffet, but in a vacuum, I prefer the old guard.
The other difference I didn’t love involved the theaters. I’m a movie buff, so this matters to me more than it would to most people. I had expected the one giant theater like you find on the Dream class ships.
Disney
So, the two smaller theaters surprised and disappointed me, as I never quite warmed to them.
Conversely, I adored all of the shopping and entertainment, especially the dual access to the Sanctum and the cavernous Saga lounge.
Photo: Disney
The Destiny’s activities felt more laid-back due to the intimate size of each facility.
The flip side was that the most popular activities filled up quickly.
Disney
During one of our visits to Haunted Mansion parlor, a Cast Member politely informed me that what I was sitting on wasn’t a chair.
Amenities
Disney Hercules Aboard NEW Disney Destiny
Do you know what I’ll remember the most from my Destiny cruise? Well, the answer is actually spending time with my family.
However, we sometimes get those stray memories that tend to linger for no good reason. On the Destiny, mine happened while we were standing in line for the Hercules show.
Sanctum hosted Sports Trivia at the same time.
As we stood beside the open-air lounge, my wife and I happily answered a dozen questions, which made the time fly by.
Photo: Disney
That’s really good design by Disney – and that’s before I gush praise about Disney Hercules, which is Disney’s best cruise play to date.
I’ve had “Go the Distance” as an earworm ever since I got off the ship, which happened more than a week ago.You know a presentation is great when it lingers in your head for that long.
Similarly, the Haunted Mansion Parlor lives up to the hype.
After we’d been seated for a couple of minutes, my wife looked at me, smiled widely, and said, “I live here now.”
Also, I have to say that the drinks were delicious, which flies in the face of this place’s public perception.
Both our drinks tasted like candy, and I mean that in the best possible way.We didn’t have a chance to visit De Vil’s Piano Lounge or Dr. Facilier’s Parlor.
People were standing in line four hours early for both shows. I’m not joking. I wanted to eat dinner instead. Still, the passion for the presentations speaks volumes about the buzz they’ve generated.
Dining
Photo: Disney
I’ve already referenced Marceline Market, so let’s focus on the rotational dining options.
We found World of Marvel extremely loud but joyously entertaining.
I should mention that I also write for MarvelBlog, which means I am the perfect target audience. Still, my wife was the one who happily played Marvel trivia throughout the meal.
She was so engaged, that if they’d scored it, I’m pretty sure she would have won.
As for the food, there was a sundae that came with a donut on top. My brother will talk about it for the rest of his life.
The next two nights we dined at Pride Lands: Feast of the Lion King, though we only saw the show the first night.
Photo: Disney
The second evening was Pirate Night, and it featured an entirely different menu.
The show here is absolutely fabulous and mesmerized my family.
We also loved the cuisine, though I suspect we slightly favored the desserts at World of Marvel.
On the final evening, we dined at 1923, and I’ll be honest that I wish I’d had more time to explore this place.
By the time we’d arrived, the dining room had filled, and the tight spacing prevented me from wandering to admire the artwork. Even so, this was my favorite meal of the cruise.
While 1923 technically isn’t any finer dining than the other two rotational options, it feels fancier. Plus, everyone’s in a great mood as they happily recount the final day of the cruise.
Photo: Disney
We had a terrific time here, and the 90 minutes flew by, always a sign of a spectacular dinner.
Overall, the rotational dining would be one of the reasons I return to the Disney Destiny.
Reviewing the Disney Destiny
Serenity Bay Beach
I said this 16 months ago, and my opinion hasn’t changed.
At this point, I’m a cruise person even more than a theme park fan, and I say that as someone with my fourth Disney book coming out soon.
Disney cruises deliver many of the joys of a theme park visit with none of the stress.
As proof, I focused exclusively on the cruise features this time.
I made no mention of the private islands or the Halloween on the High Seas activities.
Both of those would fully justify a Disney Destiny sailing, yet they’re not even necessary to provide a rave review of the ship.
At this point, I don’t think you can go wrong with any of Disney’s ships, yet the Destiny still impressed me. I probably won’t return for a while, as our next cruise will likely be on the Disney Treasure or the Disney Believe.
Still, we had several members of our traveling party across three cabins, and all of us raved about the Disney Destiny.
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Feature Photo: Disney
