Sea Day on Disney Destiny
- Amaris Scipione
- Feb 22
- 7 min read
Today is our first and only Sea Day onboard the Disney Destiny. There is so much to see and do so we’ll need to be selective about what we want to experience today. I begin my morning with breakfast at Marceline Market. It’s the day I’ve been waiting for. The day others have talked about. The day people whisper about. Will it happen or won’t it happen? Do you have any idea on what I’m talking about?? Churro Waffles Day!!! I’ve never had a churro waffle, but so many people have raved about it and it does sound delicious so I need to experience this. The churro waffles are located on the kid’s counter which has a longer line today. They are Mickey shaped and fried to perfection with the perfect mixture of cinnamon and sugar. After receiving my waffle I roam the buffet to see what else I might find. I found a selection of smoothies. The strawberry smoothie is calling my name, but I want to make sure this is okay to eat. I have an allergy to avocados which is pretty easy to avoid, but sometimes they are thrown into smoothies. I’m pretty sure these don’t have avocado, but better to check. I ask the cast member if the smoothies have avocados and she stares at me blankly. The pause causes me to clarify the reason I am asking. She then responds. There are no avocados in the smoothie, but since you told us you have an allergy we cannot serve you. You would have needed to pre-order it. Mind you, I alerted Disney ahead of the cruise of my allergy and told my server at dinner. At no point, did they tell me I needed to pre-order breakfast nor that I would be denied service. I love everything about this cruise expect for how they treat allergies. I feel like a fifth-class passenger. Luckily, this buffet has both sides open. Most ships serve the same food on each side so I simply walk to the other side and ask for a smoothie. This cast member is unaware of my allergy and hands me a smoothie with a delightful smile which I return back to her.
A Disney cruise in my opinion is an easier vacation than a theme park visit. There are less decisions to be made and less stress with booking things and no dining reservations need to be made. Despite my complaints about lines, they are much shorter lines than you would find at Disney World. But there has to be at least one thing that requires you to be ready at a specific time right? The one thing is called “The Royal Gathering.”
The Royal Gathering is something you can sign up for and it allows you to see four characters at a designated time. This releases at midnight about 30 days before the sailing and if you want it, you’ll need to check at exactly midnight. I stayed up late and snagged our spots. You can still see characters without doing this, but you’ll need to line up for each one. You would think I would learn, but it still surprises me each time. We selected our time to see the characters and in my head that meant we had a reservation to see characters at our designated time. That is true, but what is also true is that there are a lot of other people with the same reservation. The reservation only grants you access to the line. So even with it, you still have to wait so in my opinion, it doesn’t really get you a whole lot other than the fact you see four characters instead of one for the line. The characters can vary, but for us we saw Rapunzel, Tiana, Belle, and Moana. My son only knew who Moana was so that was kind of funny. The other characters tried to interact with him. Rapunzel succeeded and my son ran around her. I’m not exactly sure what she said to him, but he had fun. He had nearly zero interest in seeing Tiana and Belle. He walked up and took a picture and then walked away. He was a little more enthusiastic with Moana.
The one character my son wanted to see was Mickey Mouse. The app has the times and locations for all the characters. Mickey Mouse was scheduled to come out soon so we went to the location. The line had already formed and it was long! The line appeared to be for Donald Duck, but he would be leaving soon and Mickey would take his spot. If you wait until Mickey is already out, you’re probably too late. My husband and I took turns waiting in line while the other parent walked around with our son. He’s autistic and waiting in line for an extended period isn’t something he handles well. My husband took them to the gift shop while I waited. That ended with a bit of an issue because he wanted a giant toy which he did not get. My husband and I switch and I dart to the quietest place I can find. Today it’s the Disney Vacation Club shop. They had a large model of the new Polynesian Resort and a giant interactive screen. The screen wasn’t working properly, but it gave us the break we needed. Mickey Mouse was near this shop so when we saw my husband at the front of the line, we joined. My son loved meeting Mickey Mouse! The characters do an amazing job is interacting with children and making them feel special.
The Incredi-Course is an inflatable obstacle course that makes an appearance once on the sailing. It is themed to the Incredibles and has a giant line. I wait while my husband and son explore elsewhere. I end up chatting with the mom behind me. She sails Disney a lot and she told me this ship has been much more crowded than other sailings. She said they have this obstacle course on the Disney Wish and there was no line. Her son did that course a few times over and over again. Her son is similar in age as mine and also on the spectrum. I wasn’t really paying close attention to the time, but I think the line took at least 30 minutes. Also important to know that you need socks to do this. I’m going to race my son once we get to the front. The boy in front of us is with his dad who doesn’t want to race. My son joins the boy to race and then immediately goes again with me. (We did ask the cast member if this was okay.) My husband has moved on the higher level to record us. He comments about how the first video with the two children is 40 seconds like, but the video with me is about 90 seconds. He also mocks my pure athleticism as I flop through the course. My son wins by a landslide. For the record, my son could run through the rings at the front, but they were too small for an adult to stand through, so I had to dive through them instead. And by dive, I mean repeatedly belly flopping through each one. We laughed and it was fun.
Disney is known for their shows, and I haven’t seen on yet. Shows are difficult for my son and my husband has little interest. We split. My husband and son enjoy the pool while I watch Hercules. Disney is known for their popcorn and popcorn buckets and that park tradition can be found here too. The line is pretty long for popcorn, but I wait. Everyone is tapping their bands, so it appears to have a cost. I buy one popcorn cup and it’s $5. It is nice to have popcorn, but the $5 charge seems excessive.
Hercules the musical was well done! I really enjoyed the show. We weren’t allowed to take pictures or videos of the show so you’ll have to see it in person to know!
The fish extender has been a joy for my son. He’s excited to see what while find each day. He wants to give a gift as well. I hadn’t packed little gifts, but we have an unopened bag of a Disney snack. They are little waffle cones with chocolate. My son writes a hand written note thanking the cabin for the beach ball and we deliver the note and snack to their fish extender. He had just as much fun giving something as he did receiving gifts.
Dinner tonight is at Worlds of Marvel and we are actually fifteen minutes early. We had forgotten that the doors don’t open until dinner time so it’s a mass of people waiting for the doors to open. We don’t do well in masses so we exit the area to the outside. No one is out here and shuffle board is available. Brian and my son play while I watch. Fifteen minutes later, the doors open, the crowd dissipates, and we find our table. There is a giant lantern looking object on the table which is surprisingly heavy. My son presses all the buttons and it’s unclear what its purpose is. Our server tells us it’s for trivia. Soon enough, trivia is displayed on the screen and you can use the lantern to answer. The color changes to show if you answered correctly. I really enjoyed my meal and I was served at the same time as everyone else. My husband takes our son to the kid’s club after the entrees and we enjoy the desserts on our own.
We have one more bar to try. DeVil’s is a Cruella DeVil themed piano bar. The pianist was talented and played jazzy Disney tunes while we enjoyed our drinks. There was a fun drink that is served on a makeup type platter. It includes a bottle of perfume which is sparkling wine, lipstick which is edible, a makeup thing with glitter which is also edible, and the drink. I was tempted to order it but opted for something else.
We must pack now and place our bags out before 10pm. It’s been a short trip, but a lovely and memorable one. I would love to do another one, but longer. Maybe the Disney Wish or Disney Treasure. Would anyone want to join us?
My son and I finish our last night at a stop at Edna A La Mode Sweets. This has an extra cost and in my opinion is a better option than paying for popcorn. My son orders the mango sorbet loaded with gummy bears and I order the chocolate Twix gelato in a waffle cone. It was delicious and I would buy again. I asked my son how it compares to Mitchell’s Ice Cream and he said Edna was better. I would say they are equal in quality. It’s a sweet end to our cruise.
