Stateroom Selection for Family of 4 - Destiny Bahamian

[Mardigras2025]

Hi all, and thanks again for your help in the past. Checking in to see if anyone has specific staterooms you recommend on the Wish-class ships, specifically for a family of four. Room Numbers would be great, but general portions of the ship (mid vs. aft), decks (2? 6-9?), and categories (4 vs. 5? 8?) are all helpful as well. This is for March 22, 2027 on the Destiny for five nights going to the two private islands, so there is still decent availability but the top rooms are definitely being snapped up.

We are all cruising for the first time ever. It will be me, my wife, daughter (will be 8), and son (will be 6). None of us normally get motion sickness, but I don’t know what to expect.

I thought I would need a verandah - fresh air, not getting claustrophobic, views, and imagined early morning coffee or room service sitting outside, or even at night if the kids go to bed before we do. BUT I also recognize the kids will be past napping age, probably able to go to bed later, so we might not be in our room very often at all and never end up using the verandah, especially on a shorter 5 nighter. I could probably settle for one of the big porthole windows if I needed to (family ocean view).

From what I have gathered, midship is optimal for first timers but maybe comes with a slight price increase and smaller balcony. You might feel the motion less in the middle and you are more centrally located for getting to amenities and not going down long hallways. However, there are some appealing aft rooms that I have heard have great views, large balconies, or even secret suites with a bedroom door.

I have heard decks 8 and 9 are best, also 7 and 6 (closer to dining). I’ve heard higher gets better views, but to avoid 10 underneath the pool decks. lower feels less of the movement but maybe feel more claustrophobic. I’ve also heard deck 2 is optimal convenience for getting to everything.

With an 8 and 6 year old, we could probably get by with the smaller room vs. the family room. The extra space for $750 to $1000 might be worth it though if it feels less chaotic.

For a first and potentially only cruise, are we ok doing 5 nights on the Destiny at our ages? Worried I will really regret not doing 7, but this itinerary fits into our spring break perfectly without having to wait for an eastern Caribbean 7 nighter in the summer. I know my kids would love 7 nights, but the unknown of the cruise makes me glad maybe that it’s only 5 nights. Also happy that we get to go to both private islands.

Sorry for all the questions, definitely want to book ASAP since spring break on the new ship already has a good amount of top rooms snapped up.

 

[Girl of the South]

Sounds like you did your homework! The "Family" room with the veranda has some extra square footage that would be helpful for a crib? Otherwise, the regular veranda room is nice. I personally don't sit out there often but I like the natural light it brings in. The cabins with the one large porthole would do the same.

Not familiar with the layout for the Destiny. I guess you have looked at the Deck Plan?

Disney Ship Deck Plans

You are correct that midship is the best for motion, if you are prone to sea sickness. My favorite decks are 7 and 8. It looks like 6 is above a restaurant at one end? And yes, 10 is under the pool deck. There are LOTS of YouTube videos where you can see the space of each of the categories of cabins. Are you likely to spend a lot of time in your cabin? Some cruisers save money with inside cabins which are good for sleeping.

Don't overthink it. It's your first cruise. You really don't need larger balconies or a one bedroom suite. Cabins with "obstructed views" are marked as such. I don't know which deck the lifeboats will be on - usually Deck 4? Meaning cabins on Deck 5 will look directly down on them. You have a TON of time to do more research and there are great views all over the ships! ENJOY!

 

[sponica]

I've done the Wish and the Treasure. We did 8620 on the Wish and 8628 on the Treasure. 8628 was nice on the Treasure because it had extra closets where the murphy bed was located in 8620.
My kids were 8 and 4 on the Treasure (well my oldest turned 9 on board, the 4 year old turned 5 a few days after we disembarked). My oldest thought the 7 night cruise was just a little too long but thought the 4 night on the Wish was too short, so 5 nights might be the sweet spot.

We like the extra room in the family verandah rooms.

 

[foodiddiedoo]

We’ve done a cruise on the Treasure and had a group of 7 (family of 4 in one room and my family of 3 in the other) we were at 6534 and 6532 so forward but not that far forward. It was a lovely location because the only thing beneath it was the spa/fitness center and we could see out on the promenade deck 5 where yoga classes occurred in the morning, but then absolutely nothing else. Being on that side of the ship gave us great views for each port we stopped in (especially Castaway). We were near the forward staircases so it was very easy to run back to the room from Sarabi/Walt Disney Theater/and a lot of other things. I highly recommend that location if you want a slightly cheaper room option with a verandah. We did feel a decent amount of movement one night because our ship had a medical emergency first night and we had to turn around quickly to get someone medi-lifted in the middle of the night. Otherwise it was very nice!