When you think of a Disney cruise, you probably picture hordes of children and frazzled parents. But after spending four nights aboard Disney Cruise Line’s new ship, the Disney Destiny, for my 32nd birthday, I was reminded that Disney's cruises have quietly become one of the company’s best experiences for adults.

That’s partly thanks to the rise of the “Disney adult” — a label given (sometimes affectionately, sometimes mockingly) to grown-ups whose love of Disney never faded after childhood. Many are millennials who grew up during Disney’s so-called Renaissance era of the late 1980s and 1990s, when films like The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King dominated cinemas. Today, that generation has spending power, and Disney has increasingly catered to it with adults-only experiences that extend far beyond the parks.

I’d seen that evolution firsthand a decade earlier, while working as a performer aboard the Disney Wonder. Singing and dancing for thousands of guests was my initiation into the world of Disney’s massive floating mini-cities.

From experience, I knew the ships offered a much more relaxed alternative to the often-hectic pace of Disney’s theme parks. So, when I saw that the newly launched Disney Destiny was sailing over my birthday weekend, it felt like the perfect excuse for a mother-daughter getaway — and a chance to revisit my youth as a sailing Disney staffer.

What I didn’t expect was that one of Disney’s biggest strengths would also become its biggest flaw.

Walking aboard the Disney Destiny feels less like boarding a cruise ship than entering a floating Disney resort. The vessel accommodates more than 4,000 passengers across more than 1,200 staterooms, yet rarely feels overwhelming. There are three main dining rooms, a sprawling buffet, quick-service eateries, pools, Broadway-style entertainment, kids’ clubs and no shortage of family activities.

Disney’s storytelling is everywhere. The Destiny’s overarching Heroes and Villains theme runs throughout the ship, with elegant cocktail lounges and restaurants sitting alongside nods to classic Disney films. But what stood out most to me wasn’t the offering for children. It was just how much of the ship had been designed with adults in mind.

An upcoming three-night cruise on the Disney Destiny starts at just over $1,000 per person, including accommodation, meals and entertainment — but that’s before you’ve ordered a drink. And, naturally, the bill rises with the length of the cruise. Pricey as it may be, it’s easy to see where that money goes, especially in the nine luxurious adult-only spaces, ranging from cocktail bars and specialty restaurants to a spa and the Quiet Cove pool. On paper, it sounded like plenty.

It didn’t take long to discover otherwise.

While exploring the ship, my mom and I happened upon a line stretching the length of an entire corridor; however, there wasn’t a child in sight. This was, in fact, not the line for guest services, or a Disney princess, but De Vil’s — the ship’s 101 Dalmatians-inspired cocktail lounge.

Now, De Vil’s isn’t simply a themed bar. Several times throughout the evening, Cruella herself bursts through the doors to play a small role in an interactive musical performance that transforms the intimate lounge into one of the ship’s hottest tickets. Nearly every detail references the classic film, from the monochrome décor and spotted piano to themed cocktails and playful touches throughout the room.

It’s a bar, but it also doubles as an attraction.

And that’s exactly where Disney has created a problem.

I repeatedly found that the Destiny’s bar areas were too small for demand. The Haunted Mansion Parlor, Cask and Cannon, and The Rose — three other drinking holes geared toward grown-ups — were similarly packed. Cask and Cannon, a Pirates of the Caribbean-themed pub, offered noticeably more breathing room thanks to its larger footprint and dedicated food menu, but it was the exception rather than the rule. Random non-peak times were the best chances to score a bar seat without squeezing your way in. However, that’s not exactly an optimum guest experience.

When asked about designing the Destiny, and how guest feedback shaped the ship, Sara Pepper and Madeline Weber from Walt Disney Imagineering told The Independent: “Families are always at the heart of how we design our ships.”

They added that with the newest ships (including the Disney Wish, Disney Treasure and Disney Destiny), designers moved the kids’ clubs to a more centralized location, closer to the adults-only areas, “ensuring everyone can enjoy their own experiences while still feeling connected onboard.”

When probed about whether the shifting of spaces created space restraints, they responded: “Ship design is a bit like solving a complex, three-dimensional puzzle, and that’s part of what makes it so exciting. When designing adults-only spaces, the goal is to create an elevated, immersive experience that feels both exclusive and story-driven.

“Every detail is intentional — from the design to the atmosphere — so adult guests can truly step into the story and enjoy a sophisticated escape while onboard. The desired impact is for guests to feel transported and to have spaces that feel distinctly theirs.” Speaking specifically about De Vil’s, they added, “The space is intentionally intimate, luxurious, and elevated, reflecting Cruella’s bold personality.”

It’s hard to argue that Disney hasn’t achieved its goal.

De Vil’s does feel intimate. It feels exclusive. It feels immersive.

But intimacy comes at a cost.

Eventually, my mom and I managed to get seats by arriving between dinner sittings and quietly watching for other guests to leave. It worked, and the experience was incredible — but only because we'd planned our evening around one bar. On a cruise marketed as an opportunity to unwind, that hardly felt ideal.

As a self-confessed Disney adult myself, these child-free spaces are a huge draw — a space to indulge in nostalgia without an overstimulated child in sight. But by incorporating entertainment offerings into these intimate spaces, Disney has also created a bottleneck.

The irony is that Disney has already solved this problem before.

When I worked aboard the Disney Wonder, there was an adults-only venue called WaveBands that welcomed families during the day before transforming into an 18+ entertainment space each evening. It was large enough to host karaoke, trivia and live performances without forcing guests to queue down the corridor.

Disney doesn’t need fewer themed cocktail bars. It needs to stop placing some of its most in-demand entertainment inside venues that simply can’t accommodate everyone who wants to experience it.

Whether that means staging performances in larger venues, increasing the number of shows or redesigning future ships with more flexible adults-only spaces, the current model creates unnecessary competition for what should be one of the most relaxing parts of the cruise.

Disney clearly understands that adults are an important part of its audience. That’s why the Destiny offers sophisticated restaurants, elegant cocktail lounges and peaceful corners away from the family crowds. Those adults-only spaces are among the ship’s biggest strengths. The next step is making sure everyone gets the chance to enjoy them without needing to queue before the doors even open.

If Disney really does take guest feedback into consideration, then here’s my wish upon a star: an adults-only ship where Cruella isn’t confined to a tiny bar and all who wish to attend her show can do so in peace.