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We sailed on the Disney Adventure cruise as part of our mega Asia trip in summer 2026, during its inaugural year, just months after the launch of Disney’s largest cruise ship.
This was our second Disney cruise, as we sailed the Disney Wonder from Brisbane back in 2023, so we weren’t going in as wide-eyed Disney cruise first-timers. We knew what Disney cruising felt like. What we weren’t prepared for was just how different this one would be.
Actually, that’s not entirely true! Like any excited Disney fanatic, I absolutely did read a lot of reviews, watched videos and discovered that this cruise ship had some seriously mixed reviews compared to the rest of the Disney Cruise Line fleet, which made me a tad nervous before we set sail!
But don’t worry, overall we loved it. This is our honest Disney Adventure review.
Overview of Disney Adventure
The Disney Adventure is the newest and largest ship in the Disney Cruise Line fleet at launch in 2026 and its backstory is unlike any other Disney ship. It wasn’t purpose-built for Disney.
The hull was originally the Global Dream, acquired after the Genting Hong Kong bankruptcy in 2022. Disney bought it for a fraction of what a new build would cost and spent an estimated $1.94 billion converting it at Meyer Werft in Germany.
The result is a ship that feels distinctly Disney in every detail, but one that occasionally reminds you of its origins in ways a purpose-built ship wouldn’t.
The numbers are genuinely staggering. It’s a Global Class vessel at around 208,000 gross tons, spanning 19 decks with 2,111 staterooms and capacity for up to 6,700 guests. That’s roughly 45% larger than the Wish-class ships and more than twice the size of the Disney Wonder… so yes, we definitely noticed the difference!
The ship was officially christened at Marina Bay Cruise Centre on March 10, 2026 by Robert Downey Jr., which is a flex that tells you everything about who this ship is aimed at. Yep fellow Marvel fans, I’m looking at you!
It sails year-round from Marina Bay Cruise Centre in Singapore and was specifically designed for the Asian market, with regional characters, Asian-inspired dining and cultural touches that you won’t find on the North American fleet.
What We Loved About The Disney Adventure
Just like our experience on the Disney Wonder, that Disney magic is what make Disney cruises worth the cost. Yeah, they are more expensive than most other cruise lines, but every little detail is perfection.
The entertainment absolutely delivered. The Marvel deck show was even better than Marvel Heroes Unite on the Wonder, which we loved, so that’s saying something. And the two theatre shows were excellent. The type of shows worth paying for.
The ship itself is beautiful and fun to explore. We spent time just wandering and finding new areas, and getting lost so often that it’s embarrassing.
The food was really good across the board, although maybe not quite as good as the Disney Wonder menu. Still delicious food though.
The staff (cast members), as always with Disney, were exceptional. There’s a level of care and attentiveness on Disney ships that other cruise lines haven’t managed to replicate, and the Adventure was no different.
It’s always a little bit of fun seeing on their name tag where they come from. We met a fellow Aussie hosting trivia, and turns out she lives not far from us when she’s back home.
What We Did Not Love About Disney Adventure
Honesty first: the size of this ship is both its biggest selling point and occasionally its biggest frustration.
Getting lost happens. Because the ship wasn’t built from scratch for Disney, there are decks where you simply cannot access the front or back of the ship without going up or down a level first.
It sounds minor, but when you’ve been on your feet all day and you just want to get back to your cabin, it gets old. Our youngest summed it up best. She missed how the Wonder was smaller and easier to navigate, and that’s a fair point.
The buffet was a real low point. It’s ridiculously busy and finding a table is so difficult.
We ended up eating out on the pool deck on more than one occasion, which would be fine except that there’s no cutlery easily accessible out there or on the buffet itself, since they are typically placed on the tables.
We had to go and ask for it each time, which is the kind of small friction that shouldn’t exist on a ship of this scale and at this price point.
The Ironcycle rollercoaster was having technical issues for most of our cruise. It didn’t even run until partway through our second day, and then the line was four hours long in direct sun with no shade.
We didn’t bother, since even with tweens, standing in the heat for four hours for a ride is a hard no from us. It then continued to stop and start intermittently throughout the rest of the cruise. Obviously this may not be an issue on your sailing, but it’s worth knowing about. And I was super sad we didn’t get a go.
The activity schedule also felt slightly thinner than the Wonder, which surprised us given the ship’s size. That said, there’s more than enough to keep everyone busy — and sometimes you do just want to sit somewhere and do nothing.
So it wasn’t a dealbreaker, just noticeable.
Room service now has a $5.90 service fee per order — apparently introduced after guests on earlier sailings abused the service during the inaugural season. It’s not an unreasonable charge, but we didn’t bother.
One more thing worth flagging, especially for those planning to participate in the fish extender gift exchange: fish extender gift theft has been widely reported in the Disney Adventure Facebook groups.
It’s an entirely guest-run tradition that the cruise line doesn’t officially endorse or police, so you’re participating at your own risk. We didn’t have any issues personally, and we got some lovely fish extender gifts, but we’ve seen it come up enough to mention it here. Staff do not have any influence on this, even if you do witness theft.
Review Of The Disney Adventure Cruise Ship
The first thing you notice when you board is the sheer scale of it. The Disney Wonder felt big the first time we stepped on board. The Adventure makes the Wonder feel like a practice run.
The ship is organised around seven themed districts rather than by deck number (it does have those too), which is a concept that sounds confusing on paper and takes a day to get used to in practice.
You move between areas — Disney Imagination Garden at the centre, Marvel Landing, San Fransokyo Street, Discovery Reef, Toy Story Place and Wayfinder Bay, and each has its own character, dining, bars and entertainment.
The theming and detail throughout are exceptional, as you’d expect from Disney. What was interesting was spotting the occasional reminder that this hull had a previous life
Embarkation
The embarkation process was smoothly handled. We got out of our Grab after leaving Mandai Rainforest Resort and cast members instantly handled our luggage, with our room number before we even stepped inside the cruise terminal.
The process did take some time, but it does enter international waters so they need to have all your passport information and everything else entered.
While we were processed well before our port arrival time, there was a long wait for them to begin boarding. We were lucky to have an 11:45 port arrival time and were on the ship around 12:15, much earlier than most guests.
Navigating the Ship
Getting lost on the Disney Adventure is basically a rite of passage for the first day. On a purpose-built ship, you can walk from bow to stern on most decks.
On the Adventure, there are levels where the forward and aft sections aren’t connected, which means you sometimes have to go up a deck, cross, then come back down.
It sounds minor but when you’re doing it at 11 pm after a long day, it’s annoying and my family know I have zero navigational skills so it was a running joke too.
The Disney Cruise Line app is maybe even more important on this ship than it was on the Wonder, simply because of the size and how strictly they need to manage queues for everything, even character meets. Checking where things are before you start walking saves a lot of backtracking.
Download it before you board and get familiar with the layout. It works with the ship’s internal wifi so you don’t need an internet package for the app.
Disney Adventure Staterooms
We stayed in an inside room, compared to having a seaview room on the Wonder. Realistically, we were only in our room for sleep and to change clothes between activities, so a window wasn’t necessary. If we wanted to stare at the ocean, there are endless decks fot this.
The room was comfortably sized for a cruise ship room and I think it was potentially a little larger than our room on the Disney Wonder. They have a separate toilet and bathroom which is great.
Although, instead of the couch and pull-down bunk bed on the Wonder, the couch was converted into a double bed and remained made up the entire time. On the Wonder, they would pack down the bunk each day and make it each night.
Each room is themed to a different Disney film. Ours was Finding Nemo. You can find your theme here.
We had the most basic room type. There are, of course, window cabins, balcony cabins, concierge cabins, and on this cruise ship, there are also balcony cabins that overlook the stage so you can watch from your private balcony. These were around $1000 AU higher for 3 nights than our inside stateroom.
A few things worth knowing about the staterooms:
- Storage under the main bed fits full-sized luggage, same as the Wonder
- USB-A and USB-C ports are on both sides of the bed and at the desk, which is a real improvement on older ships
- Power points are a mix of Singaporean (British-style) and European outlets, but they provided an adaptor
- The sofa converts to an extra bed if needed
- Toiletries are provided as standard, so leave the shampoo and conditioner at home
- There is a separate toilet and bathroom
Read next: What to pack for a Disney cruise
The Disney Adventure Deck and Waterpark
The pool and waterpark setup is considerably bigger than the Wonder, with a larger pool that didn’t feel like sardines squished together, a Toy Story splash pad and kids splash zone, plus two waterslides.
The headline attraction is Deck 19, which is where the Disney Adventure really feels different. This cruise ship has been referred to as a theme park at sea, and the fact that it has 3 actual theme park rides is the reason why.
Marvel Landing includes the Ironcycle rollercoaster (the largest rollercoaster at sea), Pym Quantum Racers and the Groot Galaxy Spin.
As mentioned above, the rollercoaster had a frustrating amount of downtime during our cruise and we didn’t end up riding it. We did do the Groot Galaxy Spin though, which a cute ride, like a mini version of Dumbo Flyers at the Disneyland parks.
The Pym Quantum Racers seemed to be targeted at very young children and rarely ran.
The same advice from the Wonder applies but even more urgently here: do all of these as soon as you board. The queues build fast and the upper decks in the Singapore sun are relentless.
We had several goes on the waterslide during our first afternoon since we had an early port arrival time. There was almost no queue at this time. It was really long for most of the rest of the cruise.
WayFinder Bay
Wayfinder Bay has a second swimming pool, and it’s often fairly quiet but… it’s really shallow and designed mostly for younger kids. There’s a deeper section in the middle and wading areas to the side, which we sat in to watch some of a movie one afternoon.
This area is usually really quiet, yet there are a gazillion deck chairs and pool lounges here. If you want a quiet spot to soak in some sunshine, read your book and have a drink from the Wayfinder Bar, this is a perfect place for it.
There are also hot tubs here.
Disney Adventure Food
Rotational Dining
One thing that’s different about the Adventure from other Disney ships is how the rotational dining works. Because the ship is so large, there are actually two versions of each main dining room — an Animator’s Palate and an Animator’s Table, for example, which are separate restaurants with the same theme and menu but different experiences.
You’re assigned to one of two rotation tracks, and you will visit three restaurants over your cruise, without crossing to the other track’s versions.
Rotation 1: Navigator’s Club, Animator’s Palate, Enchanted Summer (Olaf)
Rotation 2: Hollywood Spotlight Club, Animator’s Table, Enchanted Summer (Maximus)
The upside is that you can actually visit the restaurants from the other rotation during breakfast and lunch if they are operating, which is worth doing if you’re curious what you missed.
We were on Rotation 2, so we kicked off with Animator’s Table, which has a variation on most Disney cruise ships where each person draws a character and it comes to life on the screens. Lot’s of fun!
Hollywood Spotlight and Navigator’s Club feature a performance from your favourites, Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Daisy and they come around to greet all the tables.
And Enchanted Summer either has a Frozen/Olaf theming or, in our case, a Tangled/Maximus theme.
The overall food quality was good. But I don’t think anything has quite lived up to the amazing meal we had at Tritan’s on the Wonder. I think my favourite dish this time was in fact the chocolate lava cake.
Casual Dining and Snacks
The casual options spread across the ship include Stitch’s Ohana Grill, Gramma Tala’s Kitchen (Moana-inspired), Mowgli’s Eatery (Jungle Book themed, Indian cuisine including vegetarian options) and a beach-themed diner in Discovery Reef.
Our burgers from Stitch’s Ohana Grill were fantastic!
The buffet (Pixar Market and Enchanted Summer serve buffet-style at breakfast and lunch) is a different story.
Pixar Market gets absolutely swamped, particularly at peak meal times. Finding a table inside is a real challenge, and we ended up out on the pool deck more than once.
There’s also pizza from Pizza Planet on the upper pool deck and hot dogs from the Infinity Bar.
The unlimited soft drinks and soft-serve are still there and the kids made good use of both.
Specialty Dining (Extra Cost)
Mike & Sulley’s Flavours of Asia is the standout specialty dining concept on the ship and unlike anything else on the Disney fleet. It’s a Monsters Inc-themed Asian dining precinct with four options: a Japanese steakhouse, a teppanyaki room, omakase-style dining and an outdoor sushi and sashimi experience.
We didn’t try this. When you’re only on a 3 night cruise, it’s impossible to fit everything in, which is likely why so many people do back-to-back sailings.
Palo Trattoria is the adults-only Italian restaurant that’s a staple across the DCL fleet.
Disney Adventure Entertainment and Activities
Live Shows
There were two Broadway-style theatre shows during our cruise, plus the Marvel deck show and smaller shows featuring Moana and Duffy and Friends.
We didn’t prioritise the Moana or Duffy shows. They looked more suited to younger kids, but we caught the three main events and they all delivered.
The two theatre shows were Disney Seas The Adventure, which was a fun, musical stage show and Remember, which pulled at the heartstrings a little more, featuring WALL-E and EVE as central characters.
The Marvel Avengers Assemble deck show was a highlight of the cruise.
It was even better than Marvel Heroes Unite on the Wonder, which is a high bar because that was one of our favourite moments from that cruise. This ship was designed to allow even better aerial stunts, so it’s pretty cool to see them flying overhead.
Disney Adventure is the only cruise ship in the world that does fireworks at sea, and experiencing that on the open ocean is still something you don’t forget.
They have a Lion King: Celebration in the Sky, which was beautiful but late at night always for the fireworks. The deck is packed for the fireworks, so go earlier to get a good spot with younger kids if they’re still up.
The theatre fills up fast for the main shows. Arrive early and don’t make the mistake we made on the Wonder of assuming you’ll get a seat five minutes before curtain. It absolutely will not happen for this ship and it would be awful for you to miss out.
You will be assigned to the two theatre shows and will be required to show your Navigator app assignment for the Remember stage show.
Family Activities
Beyond the main shows, the days are filled with trivia sessions, learn-to-draw classes, character meets, movie screenings and general wandering.
We did some trivia (we were not significantly better than we were on the Wonder) and the girls found plenty to keep themselves busy, older now and able to roam freely.
The scheduled activity program felt slightly thinner than the Wonder, which surprised us for a ship this size. That said, there’s enough on, and sometimes the best thing about a cruise is doing absolutely nothing productive, so it wasn’t really a problem in practice, just something we noticed.
We even managed to catch Toy Story 5 just days after release in one of the onboard cinemas. They screen a mix of latest releases (from their cinema release date) and older favourites from Disney, Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars.
Within the San Fransokyo Street, there’s seriously cool Big Hero 6-inspired theming that makes you feel like you’re in Tokyo, along with a few games and activities and regular Baymax meet and greets. This is where you’ll find the Edge tween club and the Baymax Cinemas.
Then in the Disney Imagination Garden, there’s often something happening. We stumbled on a late-night dance party on our first night, and I got the biggest hug from Pluto randomly!
Donald, Daisy, Goofy, Chip and Dale were all dancing with the crowd. Fun!
Kids Club On The Disney Adventure
The kids clubs on the Adventure are enormous compared to the Wonder.
The Oceaneer Club is the largest on any Disney Cruise Line ship, with dedicated zones including a Walt Disney Imagineering Lab (where kids design and ride their own virtual roller coaster), Andy’s Toy Box (life-sized Toy Story playground with a Slinky Dog slide and giant pinball machine), a Marvel WEB Workshop and a Fairytale Hall.
It’s impressive even just to look at during open house.
Our girls (11 and 13 at the time) spent some time at Edge (the 11-14 tweens club in the San Fransokyo Street district) but found it a little boring.
They’re at the age where hanging out with their parents and exploring the ship at their own pace is more appealing than structured club activities. They mostly just roamed and found their own adventures, which felt right for them.
We can’t speak to what the younger kids clubs are actually like from the inside, but from what we saw during the open house, they looked like fun. Way more space and more theming than the equivalent on the Wonder, and clearly designed to make a long sea day feel like an attraction in itself.
Vibe (14-17 year olds) is available for older teens, and we forgot to pop in during open house to see what it looked like, but if it’s like the Wonder, it likely has gaming consoles and activities targeted to those almost adults.
Adult Amenities
Adults-Only Pool and Marvel Infinity Bar
Beyond Marvel Landing is the adults-only area, which Simon and I did spend a bit of time at each afternoon.
The infinity pool is beautiful, overlooking the rear Wayfinder Bay pool, and the Marvel Infinity Bar right next to it had us working our way through the six Infinity Stone cocktails, each themed to one of the stones. The Soul Stone one was my favourite.
Yes, I’m a total Marvel geek. Simon just puts up with me…
Interestingly enough, when this ship first launched for the first month or so, there was no adults-only area on the Disney Adventure as they wanted this to be a family focused cruise ship to suit the Asian market, but this changed, perhaps due to the demand and I’m glad it did because this area was very relaxing without the kiddos…
Fitness Centre
Simon used the gym twice because that’s how he rolls. He said it was busy one morning since they had just run a pilates or something when he arrived, but otherwise pretty quiet.
Spa
The Senses Spa is on Deck 18. We didn’t do this splurge, but it’s there if that’s what you want to do.
Bars and Lounges
The theming across the Adventure’s bars is excellent. Alongside the Marvel Infinity Bar, the ship has an Evil Queen-inspired Spellbound lounge with mystical “potion” cocktails that looked amazing, a pirate-themed sports bar and a Tiarna’s Bayou Lounge where live music was often performed… or in our case, a couple of trivia sessions.
Gift Shop and Exclusive Merchandise
We browsed the gift shops, and they had some very cool exclusive ship merch and general Disney merch. We didn’t make any purchases though. There is also a Duffy and Friends shop.
There is also both the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique for a princess makeover or the Marvel Style Studio for a superhero makeover too.
Disembarkation
Disembarkation worked the same way as it did on the Wonder. The night before, you’re given luggage tags and the option to leave your bags outside your stateroom by 10:30 pm, and they’re taken care of and delivered to the terminal for collection.
Despite what looks like an overwhelming number of suitcases, they were so easy to find, sorted into sections, ready for us to grab the moment we were able to disembark.
They call groups based on the luggage tags you were given, so purple Daisy in our case. That way there isn’t a huge influx of people getting off at once or searching for suitcases at the same time.
The alternative is keeping your luggage with you and walking off the ship yourself, which we considered given we had a flight to catch. In the end, the tagged luggage option was so smooth that we were glad we let them handle it instead.
Other Things To Know About The Disney Adventure Cruise Ship
Gratuities
We prepaid our gratuities before sailing, which we’d recommend. The standard rate covers your Server, Assistant Server, Head Server and Stateroom Host (the crew member looking after your room).
Even though ours were prepaid, we were still given envelopes and a small slip showing the amount going to each person, along with the option to add extra cash on top if we wanted to.
On one of the last nights, your Stateroom Host leaves these in your room for you to hand out. It’s a nice, low-key way to say thank you to the four people who look after you the most throughout the cruise.
Cashless On Board
The ship is cashless. Everything is charged to your Key To The World card (your room card) and paid at the end automatically via the card you have on file, or a different card if you attend guest services.
WiFi Is Expensive, And Not Always Reliable Once You’re At Sea
We didn’t bother buying a WiFi package, and honestly didn’t miss it much.
Oddly, my daughter’s WhatsApp kept working regardless via the ship’s Wi-Fi. My Asia eSIM stopped working once we were far enough from land, which wasn’t unexpected, but I did try to activate a Gigsky sea eSIM as a backup and left it too late to get it working properly. We just managed without.
If you want to stay connected at sea, sort your eSIM or WiFi plan out before you’re already relying on it, not once you notice you have no signal.
Photography Packages
Like most cruise lines, the photography packages onboard aren’t cheap.
Pre-paying before you sail gets you a better rate than buying onboard, which we did on our first Disney cruise but skipped this time.
You can also buy individual photos rather than a full package if there’s just one or two you want. All your photos can be viewed through the TV in your stateroom, which makes browsing easy before you decide what to buy.
Self-Service Laundry
There is self-service laundry available onboard if you need it. We didn’t end up using it on this cruise, but it’s there if you’re doing a longer sailing or just want to avoid overpacking.
BYO Alcohol
Like all Disney Cruise Line ships, you are allowed to take your own alcohol on board for guests over 18 (or whatever local age minimum). This includes 6 cans of beer or a bottle of wine per person. This needs to be packed in your hand luggage. Any such items in your suitcase will be confiscated until the end of the trip.
Tips and Recommendations
- Board and head straight to the waterpark or if they are open, the Marvel Landing rides and get them done ASAP on the first day
- Wear or pack your swimmers in your hand luggage so you can swim before you have room access
- The buffet gets overwhelmingly busy at peak times — eat early or late, or choose one of the casual quick-service spots or sit-down dining options instead
- Download the Disney Cruise Line app before you board
- Book specialty dining (Mike & Sulley’s Flavors of Asia especially) & other specialty experiences as early as possible when your booking window opens
- Don’t miss the theatre shows or the Avengers Assemble!
- If you’re doing the fish extender gift exchange, be aware that theft has been widely reported in the Facebook groups for this ship. Participate knowing it’s unmonitored and at your own risk
- Room service now has a $5.90 service charge — factor this in or skip it as we did
In Summary: Our Disney Adventure Review
The Disney Adventure is a spectacular ship. It’s beautiful, it’s immersive, it’s fun to explore. The entertainment is some of the best Disney has put on a cruise ship. The Marvel deck show alone is worth it if you’re a Marvel family.
The food is exceptional. The staff are so welcoming and a lot of fun.
There were quite a few staff who were memorable, particularly in the different bar areas running trivia or just serving drinks. Like our Mexican bartender who assured us he makes the best Margaritas and our Aussie trivia host who had us in hysterics before it started.
It has pools, rides, shows, and plenty of deck chairs to just lay back and stare at the ocean. Which is all you can really do since there aren’t any port stops on a Disney Adventure Singapore Cruise… but you don’t need them. There’s more than enough to do on board.
Would we recommend the Disney Adventure? Yes, absolutely.
But it’s worth going in with realistic expectations about the size. You will get lost at first. The buffet situation is a frustration. The rollercoaster may or may not be running. And our youngest’s preference for the smaller, more intimate Wonder is a fair take.
There’s something about the scale of the Adventure that trades a little of the warmth for spectacle.
That said, we still loved it. The staff were exceptional as always, the food was good, the adults area was great and the ship gave us moments we will remember for a long time.
Is it better than the Wonder? This is a hard one.
I feel like the shows and the food may have been a tiny bit better and the ease of navigation was nice, but this ship had a lot to love and they are harder to compare than the Wonder versus any of the other Disney cruise ships. I guess we’ll just have to wait until we go on a few more to make that assessment!