Disney Destiny Review, the Newest Ship From Disney Cruise Line

I recently had the opportunity to sail on Disney Cruise Line’s newest ship, Disney Destiny. The sailing was a preview cruise for media/influencers/travel agents so we could get a first look at this new vessel.

While on board the ship, I wrote about my first impressions of Disney Destiny, but now it’s time to go over everything that this new ship has to offer.

Let’s take a look at the incredible spaces and experiences that are offered on Disney Destiny.

Oceaneer Club

I brought my wife and five year old son on the cruise with me. I was excited to check out the Oceaneer Club (kids club) on board. Since Disney does not have casinos on their ships, they use this extra space for the best and largest kids club at sea.

Since our sailing was a preview cruise, they had several open houses where everyone could walk around the Oceaneer Club. I wasn’t in it long before I realized that this was the best kids club on any cruise ship in the world.

I was blown away by how large this area was.

One of the features that my son loved the most was that kids could enter the club by taking a slide straight from the Grand Hall (main atrium). They had a check-in deck there and several more downstairs at the main entrance.

Each section of the Oceaneer Club was themed after different Disney movies. The bathrooms were themed after Pixar movies. There were other rooms themed after Mickey and the most beloved Disney characters, Tangled, Beauty and the Beast, Star Wars and the Avengers.

My son loved the Star Wars room so much, the workers said they had to “pry him away from it” because he was didn’t want to leave when we went to pick him up. Rey and Chewbacca spend time in the Star Wars Hanger while Spiderman and Black Panther made appearances in the Avengers room.

They also had this virtual roller coaster that my son loved and rode nonstop.

There was a separate room with 11 tables and chairs for kids to play games and for activities.

My son has cruised on five different cruise lines and the Oceaneer Club was by far his favorite. Disney really is the best cruise line for kids, and there really isn’t a second place.

As an added bonus, there was a separate section for kids at Castaway Cay, Disney’s private island in The Bahamas. Since my son got bored sitting in a lounger on the beach, we took him over to play in this area.

It is staffed by the crew from the Oceaneer Club and they called him by name as he was walking up to check-in.

There is just so much for kids when taking a Disney cruise.

Dining

I think it’s safe to say that Disney offers the most entertaining “main dining rooms” at sea. There are three different restaurants that you will eat at during your cruise: 1923, Pride Lands: Feast of the King, and Worlds of Marvel.

Since the first night our of sailing was the christening ceremony, we just had dinner at Pride Lands and Marvel.

Pride Lands: Feast of the King is a dinner show where they sing all of the beloved hits from the movie The Lion King. It was a unique dinner unlike any other I’ve had at sea and I loved every minute of it. It’s also a great show for children since there isn’t any down time like you normally have while waiting between courses of your meal.

While I enjoyed Pride Lands the most, my wife and son’s favorite dining room was Worlds of Marvel. The Marvel trivia game you play during dinner was a lot of fun.

I also love how your waitstaff follows you to each restaurant every night so you always have the same waiters and waitresses.

The casual dining was also among the best I’ve had in close to 90 cruises. In addition to the main buffet (Marceline Market), they had several stations around the pool deck that had everything from pizza to barbeque to grilled items.

In this area, there are also 24/7 drink stations that had everything from coffee to Coca-Cola. There is no extra charge for soft drinks on Disney.

Entertainment

This is another area where Disney Cruise Line really shines. On Disney Destiny, the cruise line debuted the show Hercules for the first time at sea.

They have a strict no photo/video policy for the show so I can’t show you any glimpses of it, but the show was fantastic and received a well deserving standing ovation at the end of it. Also in the Walt Disney Theater was the show Frozen, A Musical Spectacular which my son really loved.

No Disney cruise is complete without Pirate Night. I forgot how much fun this night is on the pool deck. The Pirate Party and fireworks that follow are something only that Disney offers.

One one day of our cruise, there was 21 Disney character appearances all around the ship. These photo opportunities were extremely popular on our sailing.

There are also two movie theaters that are always showing Disney movies throughout the day.

Themed Spaces

There are three themed spaces that I absolutely loved on Disney Destiny. The Sanctum, Haunted Mansion Parlor and Cask & Cannon. The second two are adults only 18+ after 9:00 PM.

The Sanctum is located just off of the Grand Hall. The venue is open on both sides to hallways but it transports you to the home of Doctor Strange. There is live music at night and some really cool magical floating drinks at the bar.

The Haunted Mansion Parlor is right across the hall from the Sanctum and it’s themed after the classic Disney ride. This quickly became one of my favorite spots on the ship. There are so many interesting things in the room that change or move that you’ll constantly be noticing different things happening in the room.

The Cask & Cannon is an extremely cool pirate themed bar/lounge that also serves food. I loved this lounge the moment I walked in and if you enjoyed the Pirate of the Caribbean movies, then you will love this space too.

Cabin

We stayed in a family balcony stateroom on Deck 11. The Incredibles themed room was extremely spacious and had plenty of storage space and power outlets.

The split bathrooms are so nice for families and there was a curtain that separated the stateroom into two for more privacy.

Final Thoughts

This was our first Disney cruise in 10 years and we had forgotten what a great experience Disney offers to their guests.

They don’t take shortcuts or try to nickel and dime you to death. The attention to detail is evident not only all around the ship, but also in the service and entertainment.

Every though Disney caters to families, there are several spots around the ship that are adults only.

I will have more on Disney Destiny over the next few weeks, so stay tuned as I bring you more about this new ship from Disney Cruise Line.