What Do Guests Actually Want to See on Carnival Destiny?
Carnival’s new ship, the Carnival Destiny, will be the first ship in its new Ace Class, and the first new Carnival ship class since the Excel Class. When it launches in 2029, it will also be the largest ship Carnival has ever built, with room for up to 8,000 guests at maximum capacity.
But what do guests actually want to see onboard?
Carnival Cruise Line posted on its Facebook page last week, asking followers what they wanted to see on the ship. I went through Carnival’s Facebook post asking guests what they hoped to see on Destiny. Some results weren’t surprising, but they raise interesting questions about how Carnival should handle a ship this large.
For the main rankings, I counted every comment or reply as one vote and every visible reaction as another. Looking at it that way produced 590 basic votes. It’s a small sample size, but it offers some insight into what Carnival fans want.
Better Water Features
The clearest message from the discussion was water. Water features and pools represented about 22% of the requests. Guests want more pools, larger pools, more space around the pools, swim-up bars, wave pools, heated water, and easier ways to get in and out.
The biggest request was for more and larger pools, as well as more dedicated adult-only pools and hot tubs. That makes sense, as pools are usually jam-packed on sea days on many Carnival ships, and Carnival’s falling behind the competition here. Royal Caribbean’s upcoming Hero of the Seas has 9 different pools; Carnival’s upcoming ship, the Festivale, has only 6 pools, most of which are much smaller than the Royal Caribbean versions.
But a more unique feature wasn’t far behind: people are asking for a lazy river.
While some people quickly dismissed a lazy river as impossible on a cruise ship, Carnival’s sister brand AIDA already has them. Both AIDAprima and AIDAperla feature a Four Elements area with a Lazy River. While it’s relatively small on those sister ships, in theory, if Carnival wanted to put a lazy river on a ship, it likely could.
The weight of the water seems to be the biggest problem. Water is heavy, and a river would need quite a bit of it. But pools on cruise ships are already getting bigger. Royal Bay on Icon of the Seas is marketed as the largest pool at sea and holds more than 40,000 gallons of water, according to Royal Caribbean.
If Carnival designed a lazy river that contained that volume of water, it could have one that stretches around 300 feet, providing about a six-minute ride. Capacity would be an issue, though. It would only allow around 500 guests per hour. Still, that’s way more than Carnival’s BOLT roller coaster, and it would make a huge differentiator for the Ace Class.
Other popular requests included swim-up bars, adult-only pool areas, splash areas for children, and more pool shade.
Accessibility came up repeatedly too. Several guests specifically asked for steps or walk-in pools instead of ladders. Currently, most Carnival pools are deep and use ladders to get in and out. Royal Caribbean’s newer ships have zero-entry options, large steps, and shallower pools, making them more useful and accessible for older guests, guests with mobility challenges, and anyone who simply doesn’t enjoy climbing a ladder to get out of the water.
Food Comes in Second
Food and beverage was the second-largest theme, representing about 16% of requests.
Carnival has always been strong with fast-casual, included food options like Guy’s Burger Joint, Blue Iguana Cantina, and Big Chicken and guests appreciate that.
But the biggest food-related discussion centered on late-night options. In 2024, Carnival cut hours of its formerly 24/7 pizzeria on board. Instead, the pizza place now closes at midnight. While doing that, they added Good Eats: Late Night Snacks in the main buffet, which can run from midnight until 2:30 AM, although hours vary by ship and itinerary. But guests don’t seem to be loving that.
Comments mentioned bringing back the midnight buffet, extending pizza later into the night, adding tacos, and offering more substantial food after the main dining venues close. Another asked Carnival to bring back late-night pizza and add more hamburgers. There was also a lot of interest in better buffet quality, more variety, and better late-night choices in general.
But the fact that guests are still asking for a proper midnight buffet suggests this is partly about nostalgia and partly about expectations. People want late-night food that feels like an event, not just whatever happens to be available after midnight.
The other major food request was more international and specialty dining. Guests mentioned Indian, Mexican, Mediterranean, organic, healthy, and specialty restaurant options. Carnival does offer Indian food on its ships, including Indian selections in the main dining room, while its newer Masala Tiger concept is available for an extra charge.
Others asked for better overall food quality, larger bars, coffee options, and more beverage choices. For a ship carrying thousands of guests, variety may matter as much as the total number of restaurants.
More Quiet Spaces
The third-largest response seemed to come from left field for a cruise line like Carnival. At about 13% of requests, people want more quiet, relaxing spaces onboard.
That’s surprising because Carnival is a cruise line known for its energetic, very social atmosphere. But it makes sense. Even guests who enjoy the party still want somewhere to escape when the music, crowds, and activities become too much.
The largest subtopic in this category was improving Serenity, Carnival’s adult-only space available on every ship. Guests asked for more pool space, more hot tubs, more shade, more loungers, and better wind protection.
They also want Serenity to feel like a genuine retreat, not just another pool deck. On some ships, Serenity is right next to the main Lido pool, meaning you can never really escape from the dreaded “Cha Cha Slide.”
The Havana area, a dedicated section of the ship available only to guests staying in Havana cabins, was another recurring topic. Guests repeatedly asked for a Havana area similar to what is found on Vista Class ships. Those ships have a dedicated aft-deck area for Havana guests, with a large pool and hot tubs. The implementation on Carnival’s Excel Class ships was considered a step down by many guests, with a much smaller pool and less deck space.
One commenter specifically asked for, “A proper Havana area like we have on Vista class, not the afterthought on XL ships.”
The message is pretty clear. Carnival guests may like fun, but they also want to be able to relax and get away.
More Space and Less Crowding
The fourth-largest theme was space, comfort, and crowd flow, representing about 12% of the requests.
Guests asked for more room to move around, more public space, more seating, more shade, and less of the feeling that every available area has been filled with another attraction.
That could be a real challenge for Ace Class. The ships are expected to carry up to 8,000 guests, more than any cruise ship currently sailing. That makes layout and crowd flow especially important. A ship this large does not necessarily have to feel crowded, but it has to be designed smartly.
Larger venues, especially for comedy and other popular entertainment, came up a lot in the comments. On larger ships, most cruise lines still try to keep some venues smaller so they feel more intimate and guests do not feel like just another number on a massive ship. They get around the capacity issue by offering several smaller spaces or multiple performances instead of relying on one huge venue.
For example, on my sailing on Carnival Celebration, there were seven comedy shows in one night across two venues. That meant 2,100 people could see comedy on that night, but some guests might not get the time they wanted.
Several commenters discussed show reservations, and the idea was hotly debated. Some guests liked reserving seats so they wouldn’t have to wait in line for an hour. Others strongly rejected the idea of having to make reservations for shows.
Does This Echo What Royal Caribbean Learned?
This feedback has some interesting similarities to the design choices Royal Caribbean made with its new Icon Class ships.
Royal Caribbean has said its research showed that guests wanted to feel more connected to the ocean. Icon of the Seas was designed around that idea, with more pools, more ocean-facing spaces, and water features that let guests look out toward the sea.
On Royal Caribbean’s Oasis Class ships, you can sometimes feel almost completely disconnected from the sea. With Icon Class, Royal Caribbean really focused on changing that. The Royal Promenade has large windows overlooking the ocean, there are more pools than ever before, many of those pools overlook the ocean, and Category 6 is the largest waterpark at sea.
Carnival ships have traditionally had more of an ocean focus than Royal Caribbean’s largest ships, so it is likely that was already part of the Ace Class plans. But to pull off the number and variety of pools Royal Caribbean has on Icon Class, Carnival will have to design the space very carefully.
Icon Class also showed the importance of food. The class has more casual, grab-and-go options than other ships in Royal Caribbean’s fleet. There is a huge amount of included food, along with plenty of extra-fee specialty restaurants.
Oddly, where the two seem to differ is quiet space.
Icon Class ships are incredibly busy. There is loud music everywhere, bold colors, energetic sculptures and attractions, and there is not really anywhere onboard where you feel like you are relaxing.
In fact, Royal Caribbean removed the traditional adults-only Solarium found on many of its other ships and instead created The Hideaway, an adults-only area with an infinity pool, bar, DJ, and more of a Las Vegas-style resort pool atmosphere.
That could be one area where the two cruise lines take different approaches. In its marketing, it seems that they’re saying Royal Caribbean guests who want a quieter, more premium experience can also move up to Celebrity Cruises. Carnival does not have quite the same marketing position with Princess Cruises, even though both are owned by Carnival Corporation.
What Will Carnival Go With?
It’ll be interesting to see what Carnival chooses to do with the Ace Class. Although we’ve only seen a couple of preliminary renders so far, it looks like these ships will be more of an evolution of the Excel Class, and Princess’ Sphere Class, than a complete revolution.
Carnival has taken a similar route in the past. The Conquest Class was an evolution of the Destiny Class design, while the Vista Class built on many of the ideas introduced with the Dream Class.
For the Ace Class, Carnival also has a lot of different audiences to listen to: guests who want more onboard activities, guests who want quiet relaxation, and guests who want something closer to a theme park at sea.
Guests want bigger pools, but they also want less crowding. They want more attractions, but they also want more open space. And Carnival still needs to fit enough cabins onboard to make a ship this large financially successful in investors’ eyes.
The strongest concept for Carnival Destiny may be simple: a large ship that still feels connected to the ocean, gives guests room to breathe, and keeps the personality that makes Carnival different.
If Carnival can combine better water features, stronger food options, more usable adult spaces, and thoughtful crowd management, Destiny could be more than just Carnival’s biggest ship.
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