The Disney Adventure, the largest ship in Disney Cruise Line’s fleet and the first to homeport in Asia, is now sailing from Singapore. While the themed areas, attractions, Broadway-style performances, and character meet-and-greets will entice families, foodies may find that the dining options alone are a good enough reason to book this cruise.
Truth be told, we were overwhelmed with the choices and ended up running around the ship like crazy, going back and forth just to decide which restaurant to eat in.
During our 5-day and 4-night media preview sailing ahead of the ship’s maiden voyage, we got insider insights on how the food and drink menus were developed, immersed in experiential dining, hunted down secret snacks, and even stumbled upon a hidden bar.
Here are 10 food and drink takeaways I learned while on the Disney Adventure that could help you dine your way through the cruise ship.
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There’s Asian food!
While most Disney Cruises in the US and Europe are known for serving international, American/ Continental, Italian, and French cuisine, the Disney Adventure also offers flavorful Asian cuisine.
To cater to the Southeast Asian market, Disney Adventure’s restaurants employ a diverse crew of talented chefs from different parts of the region. Singapore-based chef Martin Tan, senior executive chef of Disney Cruise Line Asia, was brought in to provide culinary expertise for menu curation and ensure that traditional spices and flavors stayed authentic.
“In Singapore, we have a wide variety of great products from different regions and flavors from different cultures. So we bring them all together here. Guests can enjoy different dining experiences, different cuisines from our quick service, rotational dining, premium dining, and more,” Tan told media during the preview sailing for Disney Adventure.
For entrees, some Asian-inspired options included Porcini-spiced Ahi Tuna Sashimi, Chicken Satay, and Dragon Rolls.
While I initially gravitated towards the steaks like Wagyu Beef Tenderloin, there was also Miso-glazed Chilean Sea Bass, Murgh Makhani – Butter Chicken, Hainanese Chicken Rice, and Laksa Lemak, to name a few. For dessert, the Lemon Tart with Thai Basil and Matcha Creme Brulee were hits.
Every night offers a different dining experience
On a 3-day or 4-night sailing on the Disney Adventure, guests will get assigned to 3 out of the 6 main rotational dining restaurants, namely: Enchanted Summer, Pixar Market Restaurant, Animator’s Palate, Animator’s Table, Navigator’s Club, and Hollywood Spotlight Club, all of which have uniquely designed themes and interiors.
According to Daniel Cowan, Disney Adventure’s director for dining operations, the rotational dining experience, which is unique to Disney, allows passengers to try a different restaurant each night of their cruise.
“We started this in 1998 on Disney Magic, and it has truly become one of our guests’ favorites. What we try to do is take away all the stress from planning. So, you will have your reserved dining table against your opposite entertainment experience. That way, your evening is planned for you,” said Cowan.
Each restaurant offers two seated dinners at 5:45 pm and 8:15 pm, which you can request before you set sail. And while the main restaurants may change every night, each group gets a dedicated service team that follows them from dining room to dining room.
“While you’re experiencing new cuisines, new concepts, new dining rooms, you have the comfort of your service team who know your likes, your dislikes, and really, you know, they build that emotional connection with your family,” Cowan added.
On a special diet? They’ve got you covered
The cruise ship’s dining options consider the different dietary requirements of passengers most likely to sail from the region. With Disney catering to families, you can expect kid-friendly food options even for picky eaters.
Waiters were always quick to ask about our allergies and dietary requirements before we ordered during evening meals. Menus specifically list nut-free, dairy-free and gluten-free options. Some restaurants offer vegetarian, vegan, halal, and Jain meals. Passengers can submit their specific dietary requests through the website before they set sail.
For the buffet spots, Enchanted Summer Restaurant has two distinct dining rooms inspired by Olaf from Frozen and palace horse Maximus from Tangled. We soon found out that the Frozen side serves mostly Western classics, while the Tangled side had more Asian options. Since they’re located on the same deck, guests can cross from one buffet area to the next.
Pixar Market Restaurant, which celebrates characters from Inside Out and Cars, has a wide selection, including plant-based picks in its buffet breakfast and lunch spreads.
Dinner is a full-on spectacle
“Dining on a Disney cruise line is more than just having a meal. It’s allowing our guests to step into our Disney stories. We design our restaurants as immersive venues, and each of those venues is its own narrative within itself,” said Pam Rawlins, Walt Disney Imagineering’s executive producer.
At restaurants like Animator’s Table and Animator’s Palette, you can watch your own drawings and the animation all around you come to life as you dine. At the Navigator’s Club and Hollywood Spotlight Club, you can experience old maritime traditions and relive the glitz and glamour through lively character interactions .
Each restaurant, including the buffet areas, features thoughtful design elements from the ceiling to the floor and props all around. The attention to detail is incredible.
As Rawlins said, “The dining experience is something that we want our guests to live in these stories and create wonderful memories for years to come.”
Quick service spots offer flavorful bites
While it’s tempting to make a beeline for the buffet for breakfast and lunch, the smaller quick-service restaurants are worth exploring for flavorful regional specialties. These spots are also included in your cruise ticket and are free to dine. Unlike other cruises where you’re limited to one restaurant per mealtime, you can eat in all of the restaurants within their operating hours. So if you’re trying to lose weight, best of luck to you.
Cosmic Kebabs, one of our personal favorites, celebrates Ms. Marvel (aka Kamala Khan, the first Muslim-American Super Hero in the Marvel Universe), with Mediterranean-inspired street food like tasty kebabs, pitas, falafel, and hummus.
Mowgli’s Eatery, patterned after The Jungle Book, dishes out Indian classics like Butter Chicken and Kerala Fish Curry, alongside churtneys, crisp naans, and slow-cooked vegetables. You can build rice bowls at the Moana-inspired Gramma Tala’s Kitchen, with Asian dishes like Sichuan braised tofu and soy glazed yams.
For a snack, Stitch’s Ohana Grill, a Hawaii-inspired surf shack straight out of Lilo & Stitch serves juicy burgers with blue cheese. Pizza Planet, from Toy Story, is the best place to grab free pizza if you order beer by the pool on the top deck. In case you find dine-in areas too crowded, you can always take the free food back to your room.
Plus, there are loads of other secret free snacks to enjoy. While many people miss out on this, Infinity Bar, all the way on Deck 18, serves delicious hot dogs with customizable toppings.
It’s not officially listed on the menu, but the famous Mickey Premium Ice Cream Bars can be requested for free at any of the rotational dining restaurants. Even the 24-hour room service has bonus menu items like milk and chocolate chip cookies for midnight snacks.
You can bar-hop without leaving the ship
In the mood for a pub crawl at sea? The ship has a good number of themed bars and pubs designed after different Disney, Marvel, and Pixar elements, developed jointly with Disney’s Imagination team. Like the ship’s various venues, the bars were created to be a stage, celebrating 100 years of Disney storytelling magic.
“When it comes to drinking, Gen Z and millennials are driving the trend, and they want the unique experience. So we have to get connected to them,” Salah Chetbi, DCL’s Director of Beverage Operations and Integration, told media.
Every cafe, bar, nightclub and lounge features incredibly detailed interiors, whimsical touches, and quirky drinks served with flair and film references. I found it interesting how several watering holes were inspired by villains.
For instance, Spellbound, a bewitching cafe/bar inspired by the Evil Queen from Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, serves refreshing Appletinis and an elaborate “Poison Apple” cocktail in a Witch’s mug, which guests can take home afterwards.
Infinity Bar on Deck 18 serves cocktails inspired by the Infinity Stones, named after the artifacts wielded by Thanos from the MCU’s Avengers franchise. How cool is it to sip on cocktails named Space, Mind, Reality, Power, Time, and Soul, at a bar overlooking an Infinity pool as you sail.
Buccaneer Bar, a pirate-themed sports bar themed after Captain Hook from Peter Pan, serves a cocktail for two called “Dead Man’s Chest,” in an actual treasure chest, complete with theatrical elements.
Some drink menus are works of art in themselves matching the bar’s vibe. You’ll browse through high-tech tablets in the futuristic Big Hero 6-themed Alley Cat Cafe in San Fransokyo, magic tomes in Spellbound and leather-bound journals at Buccanneer Bar when selecting drinks.
Each rotational restaurant also has its own bar with unique drinks and merch that you can only snag there. At the Navigator’s Club, you can get souvenir Tinkerbell straws with a drink called Pixie Dust. At Pixar Market Restaurant, there are colorful tumblers of Dante, the Mexican Xolo dog from Coco.
There’s something to sip for every mood
While Disney Cruises typically cater to the American and European markets, Chetbi explained that drinks for the Disney Adventure were developed to connect to the origins and traditions of the region. Browsing any bar menu reveals a wide range of wine, beer, cocktails, mocktails, sake, and other tipples.
“We studied all drinking habits in Malaysia, in Indonesia, in the Philippines, Vietnam, Singapore, and learned a lot of different products,” said Chetbi, sharing how they incorporated “fantastic” regional drinks in their menu.
The bars carry a wide range of wines, Japanese whiskey, Korean soju, and even moutai, the “national liquor” of China. They also offer zero-proof tasting for those who want to celebrate with non-alcoholic drinks. As a nod to the region, some cocktails are infused with local ingredients like pandan, lychee, and yuzu.
At Alley Cat Cafe, there’s a non-alcoholic drink called Alley Cat’s Meow made with espresso, condensed milk, oat milk, vanilla, and yuzu. At Spellbound, one of the signature drinks, Pandan Cloud, makes use of Pandan and Coconut Cream.
The beer selection is mainly a mix of mainstream international and Singapore brands (like Hoegaarden, Guiness and Tiger). Draft beers are available on tap and bottles, including Brooklyn Defender IPA from New York and Beijing-based Jing-A Brewing Co.’s Worker’s Pale Ale and Mandarin Wheat.
TIP: If you’re a beer drinker, you might want to buy the Disney Cruise Line Beer Mug the first time you visit a bar. This way, you get beer upgrades for the same price as a regular glass from all the bars you visit. You also get to take home the mug as a souvenir.
Luxury coffee and tea salons are inspired by Aladdin and Beauty & the Beast
Coffee and tea lovers are also in for a treat. The Disney Adventure is the only ship in Disney’s fleet that serves luxury brands Bacha Coffee and TWG Tea in every stateroom.
These brands are also served in various spots around the ship, like the restaurants, spas, and lounges. Both have elegant stand-alone boutiques inspired by Disney animated classics, with beverage tastings and limited edition co-branded Disney merchandise.
Bacha Coffee is a luxury specialty coffee brand founded in 1910 in Marrakech, Morocco. The first-ever Bacha coffee room and boutique on board a Disney Cruise Line ship takes inspiration from Aladdin and offers cruisers a whole new world of finely brewed coffee. We highly recommend buying the Magic Lamp coffee taster set on board to take home.
TWG Tea is a luxury Singaporean brand founded in 2008, well-known for offering high-end, artisan teas. The elegant salon and boutique, with décor inspired by Beauty and the Beast, invites passengers to be their guests with delectable tea-infused macarons and pastries. They also sell Beauty & the Beast-themed tea and tea sets here.
Monsters Inc. & Luca-themed spots offer premium dining
While the family dinner venues, quick service restaurants, and snacks are all included in the price of the cruise ticket, the ship also has two premium dining restaurants inspired by Pixar films for elevated dining.
Mike and Sulley’s Flavors of Asia is an upscale, family-friendly Japanese dining area with 4 distinct dining options: a full-service Japanese steakhouse, a Teppanyaki room, Omakase-style dining, and an outdoor sushi-sashimi experience.
Why reference the lovable monsters for a Japanese restaurant, you might ask? The whimsical spot was inspired by Harryhausen, the high-end Japanese sushi restaurant in Monstropolis featured in Monsters Inc., where Boo escapes when Mike Wazowski is on a date. Watch the scene here.
Meanwhile, Palo Trattoria is a specialty venue featuring décor inspired by Venice and the Pixar film Luca. This stylish adults-only venue offers brunch and dinner focused on classic Northern Italian cuisine, including antipasti, pasta, pizza, seafood, and steak.
Palo Trattoria is said to be the one restaurant that’s featured on every Disney Cruise Line ship and is sought-after among cruisers seeking an exclusive spot to celebrate milestones.
There’s a hidden bar inside Marvel Style Studio
Speaking of premium experiences, there’s a secret bar on board the cruise ship specializing in whiskey and top-tier tipples that look like they belong in Tony Stark’s mansion.
By day, the Marvel Style Studio is a fun spot where kids (and adults) can get superhero-inspired makeovers, don costumes, and get photoshoots done. At night, the salon transforms into a speakeasy for high-end beverage tastings, as I discovered on my first night exploring the ship.
It’s here where you can gaze in awe at a stunning bottle of the Macallan Horizon, an ultra-luxury, limited-edition single malt drink, designed in collaboration with British automaker Bentley Motors.
At first glance, this horizontally oriented glass bottle with twisted inlays enveloping the glass vessel resembles a sleek Chitauri weapon or artifact, much like Loki’s Chitauri Scepter. According to the luxury whiskey brand, the drink blends the world of luxury automobiles and high-end whiskies.
According to the speakeasy’s Filipino bartender Archie, the entire bottle costs over $56,000. The Marvel-themed bar sells an ounce of the whiskey (not a full shot) for $6,500 a pop for those who have the cash to spare.
In comparison, the all-in price for a 3-day sailing on the Disney Adventure cruise (including all the food, stateroom, and live Broadway-style performances), which starts at $1,100 for 2 people, suddenly sounds like a steal.
The Disney Adventure is now sailing from Singapore. Check out all the details of the ship and what to expect here.
NOTE: This trip was made possible by Disney Cruise Lines. Follow their social media channels for more updates:
- TikTok: @disneycruiselinesg https://www.tiktok.com/@disneycruiselinesg
- Facebook: Disney Cruise Line https://www.facebook.com/DisneyCruiseLineSG
- Instagram: @disneycruiselinesg https://www.instagram.com/disneycruiselinesg/
Cover thumbnail and additional photos courtesy of Disney Cruise Line