The Disney Destiny cruise ship is an action-packed Marvel, but villains have all the fun

We play the cards that life deals us – mine have just been shuffled by a witch doctor wearing an elongated top hat. He places a deck into the trembling palm of my upturned right hand and, with a lingering glance of piercing blue eyes, instructs me to deal the cards face down onto a semicircular table in an order that proves I have been blessed with powerful intuition.

A heady scent of scepticism from 11 awestruck witnesses fills the room as I oblige and the doctor flashes me a gap-toothed smile lightly glossed with menace, which I fancifully liken to the hissing grin of a venomous snake shortly before the serpent unleashes a fatal attack. Welcome to Dr Facilier’s Parlor aboard the newly launched Disney Destiny.

Photography, recording and electronic devices are strictly prohibited during the spookily immersive and interactive communion between 10 to 12 gobsmacked passengers and the debonair New Orleans trickster from The Princess And The Frog.

The pulse-quickening 10-minute experience is exclusive to Disney Cruise Line’s newest ship and one of the highlights of a superb entertainment programme that leans in heavily to the overarching theme of heroes and villains.

Maleficent welcomes a small audience to her digitised dungeon at the other end of the ship for an interactive ceremony of allegiance called Under Her Spell, while Cruella de Vil hosts a Wretched Runway in the Grand Hall. Her minions unfurl a makeshift catwalk for passengers to parade their couture under the dognapping doyenne’s withering gaze. The best outfits are rewarded with acid-tongued putdowns.

Based out of Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale for its inaugural season of four- and night-night cruises around the Bahamas and Western Caribbean, Disney Destiny is the first cruise ship with a Marvel Comics character adorning the stern. Spider-Man slings webs at three escaped Spider-Bots and inside the 1,119ft vessel, Peter Parker’s spandex-clad alter ego wisecracks through a photographic meet and greet, as do Black Panther and Loki.

The third Triton-class ship powered by liquefied natural gas in the fleet has the same internal layout as sister vessels the Wish and Treasure, launched in 2022 and 2024 respectively, but each ship has a distinct personality.

Wish is the overly ambitious eldest child, who looks to the stars for inspiration after she emerged from the Covid lockdown with a sense of trepidation. Treasure is the wildly imaginative goofball, who adores theme parks and revels in tiny, playful details, while Destiny is the more reserved comic book fan with a penchant for macabre humour.

She quietly accepts hand-me-downs from siblings including an identical Oceaneer Club for kids and a replica of the capacity-limited Haunted Mansion Parlor drinking den from Treasure. I personally relate to the impishness glee of the middle sister, but Destiny has her show-stopping moments.

Scrutinise the Caribbean Sea treasure map on the ceiling of the swashbuckling Cask & Cannon sports bar, dedicated to five versions of the Pirates Of The Caribbean boat ride around the world, and you’ll spy seven vessels, reflecting the number of ships in the Disney Cruise Line fleet

The Grand Hall on deck three incorporates colour palettes from the different Wakandan tribes of Black Panther. A majestic statue of T’Challa stands guard at the bottom of a long sweeping staircase. Nearby, magical artefacts including Doctor Strange’s cloak of levitation are proudly displayed in The Sanctum, a lounge designed in dark earthy tones and lush royal blue that evokes the New York refuge of the master of the mystic arts.

Across the threshold of a custom-made monochrome floor mosaic declaring “How Marvelous!” lies De Vil’s cocktail bar. Stylishly imagined in Cruella’s signature colours – black, white and blood red – the lounge offers some of the most imaginative drinks presentations on board, including Perfectly Wretched ($30/£22.78). The blend of Belvedere 10, elderflower, lime, agave, cucumber and strawberries is served with glitter face powder, edible lipstick and a champagne perfume to spray generously over the concoction. A replica of Cruella’s distinctive red telephone nestles in a display behind the bar.

Blotches resembling Mickey heads are intentionally hidden on a dalmatian-spotted white piano which dominates the space. The Machiavellian mistress occasionally gatecrashes the lounge for an improvised show called Treble Making With Cruella. The self-aggrandising arbiter of taste demands patrons write a new theme song to replace the ditty that declares if she doesn’t scare you, no evil thing will.

Two of the three family restaurants included at no additional cost with rotational dining, 1923 and Worlds Of Marvel, are identical to sister ship Disney Treasure, including an underwhelming screen-based dinner show featuring Groot and Rocket which invites sporadic interaction using miniature quantum cores stationed on each table.

The third venue, Pride Lands: Feast Of The Lion King, is exclusive to the Destiny and elegantly evokes the savannah down a long hallway embellished with intricate wooden carvings. Six live performers, including a seated percussionist armed with 23 African instruments, relate the story of Simba’s ascension to the throne.

In a neat touch, the sun rises in darkened windows positioned around the restaurant as the cast harmonises on Circle Of Life, revealing silhouetted creatures including Simba, Timon, Pumbaa and officious red-and-yellow-billed hornbill Zazu.

Eric Damoah, Culinary Standards Manager for Disney Cruise Line, was born in Ghana and contributed to the authentic African flavours on the menu, including a tomato and red pepper rice, served with an appetiser of pan-seared berbere-spiced roasted chicken, which evokes his childhood. “I ate that growing up,” he smiles. “That recipe is my mother’s recipe.”

The king of my culinary jungle was the Cape Malay shrimp curry with a fragrant cumin and coconut sauce, served with aromatic basmati rice, cucumber sambal and butter roti.

Muscles flex and voices soar in the ship’s signature theatrical production: an exclusive 75-minute musical staging of Hercules, choreographed and directed by brothers Kevin and Marcel Wilson in the 1,274-seat Walt Disney Theatre.

Pegasus and Hades’ wisecracking sidekicks, Pain and Panic, are regrettably absent from the London West End production of Hercules but are restored on the Destiny. Puppetry and practical effects realise a multi-headed Hydra with brio and the five-strong troupe of Muses (three women, two men) shamelessly steal the spotlight from lead actor Corey J Bradford.

On deck 11, a life-sized figurine of The Incredibles’ diminutive fashion doyenne entertains baby Jack-Jack in Edna À La Mode Sweets. Peek-a-boo through a front window display of Mr Incredible and Elastigirl’s red super suits to savour rows of impeccably themed cupcakes ($5.50/£4.18 each), chocolate bark postcards ($7.50/£5.70 each) and an ice cream sundae served in a souvenir red race car bowl ($12.95/£9.83) among the moreish treats.

In one corner, a mischievous raccoon emerges from a waste bin, stretching hopefully towards a small plate of cookies.

Outside, the splashy AquaMouse water coaster jettisons two-person inflatable rafts along 760ft of tubes that coil around the upper deck. On the Destiny, dastardly animated characters festoon the video screen-laden lift hill, rechristened Villain Mountain.

Prepare for a generous soaking as you Sing A Silly Song with the Headless Horseman, Scar from The Lion King, the Queen Of Hearts and Chernabog from Fantasia. Heroes may always triumph on screen, but it’s good to be bad on the Destiny. You don’t need a deck of Dr Facilier’s cards to intuit that.

How to plan your trip

Virgin Atlantic Holidays (virginatlantic.com/holidays ; 0344 209 2768) offers four-night cruises on the Disney Destiny from Fort Lauderdale to the Bahamas and Disney’s private islands Castaway Cay or Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point from £3,207 for two adults or £5,384 for a family of four sharing a standard inside stateroom room on a full-board basis, including Virgin Atlantic Economy Classic return flights from London Heathrow direct to Miami, room-only accommodation at Sonesta Fort Lauderdale for one night before boarding, all fees, taxes and port charges. Price based on September 30, 2026 departure.