Destiny 4-night November 2025 - The Maiden Voyage

[anricat]

Travel to Fort Lauderdale and Embarkation - November 19 and 20, 2025​

Back in July, my friend Heather asked me if I might like to go with her on the maiden voyage of the Disney Destiny in November. It had never even crossed my mind to go on a maiden voyage, but it seemed like a once in a lifetime opportunity so I said yes, paid my half of the fare and booked my flights. And so it was that I found myself flying solo to Miami to meet up with her in Fort Lauderdale to embark on a unique voyage.

My flights were uneventful and when I arrived in Miami I jumped onto the Tri Rail to make my way to Fort Lauderdale. The timing of my flight out just worked better for me to travel to Miami. Once in Fort Lauderdale, I grabbed a Lyft to the hotel and met up with Heather and some of the other folks that work at her travel agency (and some of the friends they had brought along with them as well) for dinner. After dinner, we went to our room and organized our belongings for embarkation the following morning.

We woke up and took turns in the bathroom and munched some quick breakfast from the Starbucks in the lobby. Heather has Pearl status with DCL, which meant that we got the first port arrival time (10:45 AM) and boarding group 2. However, it seemed that half the ship also had the same status because the port was absolutely packed. Even so, check-in and security went smoothly and we found some seats to wait for boarding. Heather found some people she knew that were cast members at the call center the TAs use for booking so I got to meet some of those nice folks. Boarding began around 11:30 and our group was called around 11:40 and pretty much the entire terminal got up and headed for the ship. It was just a huge mass of humanity. It’s been awhile since I’ve done the embarkation photo, but we both agreed, as this was a unique situation.





We got onboard and because the ship had been in port overnight without any passengers (a “dark night”) we were able to go straight to our rooms. We dropped off our stuff and went to Marceline to eat lunch. After lunch, we explored the ship taking photos and seeing all the great themed areas. This ship has the same layout as the Wish, which I was less into than the other ships. Indeed, many things I didn’t like about the Wish I still don’t like about the Destiny, but I enjoyed the theming much more. “Heroes and Villains” is definitely more my style! Heather had some coffee from Cafe Merida and I tried out the interactive Haunted Mansion game which is a scavenger hunt type game similar to the Midship Detective Agency on the Dream and Fantasy. I don’t recall the Wish having anything like that and I haven’t been on the Treasure.





After a while I decided to grab a coffee and went to Cafe Megera (one deck below Cafe Merida, but pretty much in the same spot) and returned to the room to unpack before the muster drill. Our muster station was in the Marvel restaurant which was nice because we could sit down.



After the drill, we went up to the top deck to attend the sail away party. I haven’t gone to one in a while, but again, this seemed like a unique situation so we both decided to go. I’m glad we did because not only did we have a great spot to see all the characters, Susan Egan came out to kick things off. (Susan Egan is the godmother of the ship and you may know her as the voice of Meg from Hercules as well as Belle in the original cast of Beauty and the Beast on Broadway.)




After the sail away party (during which we had already set sail) Heather returned to the room to continue to organize her belongings and I went to the atrium for the “Legend of Loki” in which two storytellers told his story and then he came out for an appearance to tell them they had it all wrong and so forth. These storytellers popped up for various stories throughout the cruise, but this was actually the only time I went to one of their shows. After this I ran into Courtney, who I had learned a few days earlier would be on the sailing—she used to be my daughter's theatre teacher. We caught up a bit and then Loki passed by so of course we took a selfie with him.




I returned to the room and met back up with Heather and we went off to dinner, which that evening was in the Marvel restaurant. We were linked with the other folks from her agency, but we seemed to be the first to arrive. After a while Heather got a message that they wouldn’t be coming and would just grab something in the Concierge Lounge because they wanted to go shopping instead. I guess there was some exclusive Concierge merchandise and they wanted to ensure they could get some before it sold out. They had all been on a preview sailing previously so they had already experienced the restaurants.



Now, let me back up just a bit to a few days before the sailing. Someone in the Facebook group had posted that Susan Egan (who I previously mentioned) would be onboard and there would be a special show she was doing with some other Broadway stars including Jordan Fisher and James Monroe Iglehart. My DD and I had seen James Monroe Iglehart on Broadway in Aladdin. In fact, it was her first ever Broadway show, and possibly her first ever live theatre experience. Now 17 years old and pursuing a career in musical theatre herself, I didn’t tell her who would be onboard, but we had a photo of James Monroe Iglehart as the Genie that we had gotten at the show when we saw it in August of 2014. Before leaving, while she was at school, I rummaged around her room until I found the photo and took it in my bag with me, along with a sharpie, just in case I ran into him.



Back to our dinner: Heather and I are chatting and I hear a laugh from the next table over. I look over Heather’s shoulder and there he is! I look at Heather, look at him, look at Heather. And I’m DYING. What are the chances? What do I do? I can’t bother the guy at dinner with his family. I’m freaking out though because will there be another chance to meet him? So, between courses I race back to the room, grab the photo and race back. I bide my time and when the meal is over and we’re all getting up, I make my way over.

“Excuse me, may I ask you a favor?” I say. He sort of looks at me quizzically, maybe wondering where this is going. I tell him about my DD and that she’s currently applying to colleges for Musical Theatre. I explain that Aladdin was the first ever show she saw and how much we loved it. I produce the photo and ask if he might sign it for me. He’s delighted. He signs it and is so kind and gracious. He then says, “Do you have your phone on you?” I affirm that I do and he orders me to hand it over, which I do. He opens up the camera and records a video message for her. I’m absolutely dying. I thank him and we take a selfie and I’m just over the moon. What a great guy.




After dinner, I returned the signed photo to the room and we headed back out to do a little shopping and play the Haunted Mansion game. Apparently the rest of the gang’s shopping was a little crazy. There was a fight over some of the merch (and they had plenty of it so that was pointless). Literally they had to pull two ladies off each other over a bag. There was a line to get into the main shop on deck 5, but it moved quickly. We had pre-ordered a few items that were left in the room for us, but we still wanted to check out all the options.

We decided to skip the show for the evening and instead made our way to the Haunted Mansion parlor. It was the perfect time because it was really chill inside. This was one of my favorite areas of the ship. The theming was absolutely incredible and it was just so chill and amazing inside. What a huge step up from the bland and boring Hyperspace Lounge on the Wish—what a missed opportunity that space was. I love Star Wars, but Hyperspace Lounge just doesn’t feel right to me. It’s like the empire when really I want to be part of the rebellion. I wish it were more like Oga’s at the parks: gritty and fun. Instead it’s polished and sterile. Back to the Destiny; The Haunted Mansion Parlor is perfection and I loved it.





We left there and got in line to meet Minnie Mouse in her new Hero costume. The line was already long, even when we got in it 15 minutes before her meet was scheduled to start. She spent a lot of time with each person so things took a while and, spoiler alert, nearly every character meet was like this during the cruise. Long, long wait, but many of the characters were unique and they really tried to make the experience with each person unique and personal so I didn't mind.



After Minnie Mouse, we went back to the room and crashed. We were super tired from the long day!

 

[DianaMB333]

Following…
Thanks for sharing, it sounds you had an amazing experience

 

[anricat]

Lookout Cay - November 21, 2025​

We woke up early. Me, because I was in the wrong time zone. I considered going for a workout, but we had planned to take the nature trail and there’s a long walk down the pier from the ship so I decided that was my workout and I would just skip the gym. We had originally wanted to do a sit down breakfast but we were sitting in the room hungry and ready to go at 7:30 AM so we just went up to Marceline instead because it was open, and sit down wouldn’t open for another 30 minutes.

We returned to the room and finished readying ourselves for the day. I wanted to meet Maleficent at 9:15 so we got in line around 9:05 which was already far, far too late. As long as you were in the line by 9:30, you got to meet her. By 10:45 I was finally meeting her. It was a long wait, but I made friends with the folks in front and behind me and Heather contented herself with taking some photos around a less-busy ship. Maleficent was a fabulous meet and well worth the wait. However, if I had it to do over again, I would have waited and done the meet after her little show in Saga the next day, but I didn’t realize it was a meet and greet.


We went back to the room and got our stuff to disembark. Upon leaving the ship we made the long walk down the pier (it’s about a half mile) and went directly to eat lunch. We disembarked the ship much later than we anticipated because of the long Maleficent wait so we were already hungry. Then we went over to check in with the rest of Heather’s Storybook Destinations crew who had Cabana D over at Serenity Bay. It was a nice Cabana location for sure! We walked down to the water and surveyed the view before heading over to the nature walk to the lighthouse.

It was getting really hot. I didn’t remember it being that hot the last time we went down there, but I think it was earlier in the day the last time I made that walk. It’s worth the walk though, the beach and rocky outcroppings at the end of the trail are beautiful and peaceful and hardly anyone goes there. I highly recommend it. We walked back down the beach along the beautiful teal water and went straight back to the ship because we were tired and sweaty by then!










Heather was ready for coffee and I was ready for a shower so she enjoyed a latte while I showered and then we switched and I grabbed coffee while she showered. After my coffee, I continued to play the Haunted Mansion scavenger hunt (Heather played vicariously through me because the whole time her stupid MagicBand wouldn’t charge properly). After that we went to our one and only trivia of the entire cruise: Disney Food Trivia. We lost. Badly.








Then we got in line to take Haunted Mansion Magic Shot photos. They came out cute, but we both felt they were a little dark and the photographer should have posed us facing the other direction or forward. It’s a Maiden Voyage, they are still sorting things out. It’s a great idea and I’m sure they will get all the kinks worked out.




After that it was time for dinner, which I was very excited about because it was the new Pride Lands: Feast of the Lion King restaurant. The food was great and the show was wonderful. The moment the performer walked out and started those opening notes of “Circle of Life” I was covered in goosebumps. All the performers were absolutely incredible.


After dinner I returned the Maiden Voyage t-shirt I had pre-ordered because I didn’t like the way it fit. Then we lined up early for the show. The evening’s show was “Heroes and Villains” and was a group of six different Broadway/Disney performers including the aforementioned Susan Eagan and James Monroe Iglehart as well as Jordan Fisher, Olivia Donalson, Lissa deGuzman, and Adam J Levy. Wow, what a show. This performance was truly one of the highlights of the entire trip. (Yes, they let us take photos and video. There are a number of videos online if you'd like to see some clips.)




It wasn’t just each performer or group coming up to sing a song; they had choreography, lights, costume changes and the songs flowed with a story and theme to the performance. It was incredible and clear that these performers had put in a lot of work to create this show that they only performed on that evening. It was definitely a pinch-me moment.

After the show, we went back to the shops so I could buy myself a new shirt that I liked better. It didn’t have “Maiden Voyage” on it, like the other one did, but I liked the style and fit much more. I crashed into bed after a really lovely day.

 

[anricat]

Castaway Cay - November 22, 2025​

We were up early, around 7 AM so that we could meet up with the rest of the Storybook crew to head to the island to enjoy the Cabana they were able to secure and we each pitched in on the cost. It was my first time ever being at a Cabana so I was excited to try it out. We went up to breakfast at Marceline and then met up in the atrium at 8:30 to head off the ship together.


We arrived at Cabana 14 at about 9 AM and enjoyed some relaxing time there. The beach is really peaceful on that section of the island and it was nice to be able to relax in the shade. Heather and I both agreed that we preferred lunch on the ship so we returned just before lunchtime.








We went up to Marceline for lunch and then Heather decided to return to the island to take some additional photos. I took the opportunity to check out the Aqua Mouse slide which didn’t really have any wait time. After I was done sliding, I hung out on the deck and watched a bit of The Princess and the Frog before returning to the room to get cleaned up.

Heather returned to the ship around 2 PM and I offered to go grab us some coffee while she got cleaned up, which was easier said than done. First, I went to Merida’s because the best coffee I had was made the day before by a guy named George at that location. It was closed. So I went to Megera’s. It was mobbed with a giant line. So then I went down to The Sanctum. It was closed. I didn’t want to go all the way to Cove because it was on the opposite end of the ship way up top so I went back to Meg’s which was still crazy, though less so. Unfortunately, when I got back to the room, I realized that my coffee was some completely other thing that wasn’t what I ordered. I suspect my cup got switched with someone else’s cup. I drank it anyway but I was definitely going to see George at Merida the next day.


I spent the next chunk of the afternoon largely on my own because Heather had to meet up with a client. So at 3 PM I went to Saga for “Under Her Spell: A Maleficent Encounter” and sat in the balcony section which I was informed would not be interactive. She came out and did a quick thing with a few audience members with some really great background projections. Then anyone that wanted a meet and photo could stay behind (on the bottom level). If I had known it was mostly a meet and greet, I would have skipped the line the day before and done this because things moved much faster.



After that I played some more Haunted Mansion game before returning to the room to change into my pirate outfit and go take some pirate photos. Then I went to DeVille’s for a few minutes to listen to some piano music. It was really hard to get into that place as it was nearly always at capacity. The theming on the Destiny is top notch, but the spaces are too small!


I returned to the room to meet up with Heather again and we went to dinner, again at the Pride Lands, but this time for the pirate night menu. I hadn’t had the pirate menu in a while because Roger and I generally go to Palo because it isn’t a favorite of ours. It was better than I remembered, so that was nice. After dinner we did a bit more shopping and then hung out for a while in Saga and chatted with some of the Storybook folks as well as Scott from the Disney Cruise Line Blog and his wife.


After that we returned to the room and I changed out of my pirate outfit before returning to the top deck to catch the pirate show (which is so much fun with a live band) and the fireworks. It was a busy day so I fell right to sleep upon returning to the room.

 

[anricat]

At Sea - November 23, 2025​

I was determined to hit the gym on our last day on the ship. I got up at 6:50 and made my way to the gym, which is smaller than I’d like. I had checked it out on the first day and noted that there weren’t any Peloton bikes, but then when I walked in the door, there were two bikes! I could have sworn they weren’t there on embarkation day. Maybe they were still getting them sorted or maybe I just didn't see them. Both were occupied, but I knew the person on one of them and she said she was just finishing her cool down so I warmed up by practicing a little BODYCOMBAT while I waited.

As I finished my practice, a guy came over and said, “Are you a BODYCOMBAT instructor?” This was a first! I said that I was and he said he taught BODYPUMP and I told him I did too! We chatted for a few minutes and then it was my turn on the Peloton and I found a 45 min ride with Christine that looked good and knocked out a solid ride.

I got back to the room and had some of the room service breakfast we had ordered the night before. This was something I had not done previously, but actually, it was really nice to have some light breakfast waiting for me when I got back. I showered and cleaned up and this is where the morning diverged from what I thought was going to happen.

Originally I was going to go with everyone to Palo at 10 AM. However, a Q&A with the Broadway performers from two nights before was happening at the same time and I made the decision to go to that. Heather went off to Palo to enjoy brunch and I went to the Q&A which was absolutely amazing.


After the Q&A I was hungry since I hadn’t eaten much after my workout so I slid into Marceline just in the knick of time to grab a little bit more breakfast, which I enjoyed outside in the aft section. It was a perfect beautiful sunny day and I relaxed there for a bit. Then I explored the ship, took some photos, went to the Vibe open house and played a little Mario Kart and then went to eat lunch on the pool deck at noon.


After lunch I returned to the room and began to pack up, meeting up with Heather, then the two of us went off to get in line for Dr. Facilier’s Parlor. We got in line about an hour before the event because this was the last opportunity and it was in high demand. While waiting in line we had coffee. I, of course, went back to Merida to see my pal George, who remembered me and made me an excellent coffee. Thanks George from Serbia!


Back to the parlor. We were in the first group to go in. About 15 of us went into the parlor and got to experience a card trick. One lucky person was selected to participate in the trick. It was me!! No photos or videos were allowed, but it was really fun.


After that it was time for baby racing which is rebranded on the Destiny as some other name that isn’t memorable at all so I can’t remember. Hero Dash or something? I dunno. I will still call it Jack Jack’s Incredible Diaper Dash because that’s so much better. We actually had a good race: 3 heats of 3 or 4 babies each and then a final round of 3 babies.


After that I checked out the Avengers Academy in the Oceaneer Club, which was pretty cool, then I returned to the room to do some packing and organization. During this time I believe that Heather was having a meeting for work so I was on my own and decided to attend the Dr. Facilier meet and greet. Another long long line, but a super fun meet (same guy and he remembered me).



Our final night of dinner was in 1923, which was really great and was just Heather and me again as everyone else was off doing their own thing. After dinner we organized some more things in the room (we had a lot of free gifts for the maiden voyage and a lot of purchases to pack and sort out). We decided to line up for the final night’s show an hour early. It was good we did because we were way way down the hallway for this one. The final show on the cruise is the signature show on the Destiny: “Hercules.” It was a really fun show and Heather and I agreed that it had a lot of great moments. Definitely worth seeing.


After the show we met up with some of Heather’s agency friends and we all chatted and compared notes about our cruise experience. Heather then had some packing to do so she went back to the room, but I was all done so I went to the atrium (er, “Grand Hall”) to see what was going on there. I stayed for a little of the Sea Ya Real Soon party, but then left to go play Majority Minds and then do a little karaoke (“High Hopes” by Panic! At the Disco). As I finished, I got a message from Heather that she was done with her packing. Perfect timing!