Disney Cruise Line Fleet - Why the Return to Smaller Ships?
The Disney Cruise Line's fleet has grown extensively over the past several years, and currently sits at 6 ships. By the end of 2025, it will have grown to 8 ships. Which is why a couple weeks ago, when Disney announced there are plans after this year to continue adding 4 more ships, Disney got our attention. Clearly, the company is committed to their cruise line, despite setbacks during the pandemic.
But what's really interesting about the announcement is that while, up until now, Disney has been making larger and larger ships, 3 of these 4 new ships will be smaller. In fact, they'll be smaller than all but two of the existing ships.
In this post, we'll explore the Disney ship classes, where these ships sail, and why the return to smaller ships is in line with the company's strategy.
Current Fleet
Disney's current cruise fleet includes 3 classes of ship:
Magic-class ships include the first two ships ever to sail under the DCL flag: The Disney Magic and the Disney Wonder. These ships were first built in 1998 and 1999, and have a capacity of about 1,750 guests assuming each cabin holds two guests. They each offer multiple pool areas, lounges, three main restaurants, and a large show area. The Magic sails Europe every summer while the Wonder sails Alaska every summer.
Dream-class ships are 35% larger than Magic-class ships, and include the Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy. These ships began to set sail 2011 and 2012, marking a more than 10-year break before Disney began to expand its cruise line. These ships can hold about 2,500 guests based on double-occupancy. They are known for inside staterooms that contain "magical portholes" that offer ocean views via high-definition screen, and the AquaDuck watercoaster that encircles each ship's pool deck. The Disney Dream is currently based in Miami with sailings to the Bahamas and Western Caribbean while the Fantasy is based in Port Canaveral and typically offers the longer sailings to the Eastern Caribbean.
Wish-class ships are 42% larger than the Magic-class ships, and include the Disney Wish, Disney Treasure, Disney Adventure, and Disney Destiny. Two of these ships (the Adventure and Destiny) are not yet completed. The Wish set sail in 2022, and Treasure set sail in 2024, so these are the newest and largest ships currently in the fleet. These ships carry 2,508 passengers at double-occupancy, and are known for highly themed lounges and restaurants, and the AquaMouse, a higher-tech version of the AquaDuck. They are also the first ships that offer large suite-style cabins.
Why Go Smaller?
Three of Disney's newly announced ships will be smaller than both the Wish-class and Dream-class ships, and only 20% larger than the Magic-class ships. Given the clear trend in larger and larger ships, we had to wonder why would Disney choose to go smaller? And we found it seems to boil down to two very good reasons:
Access to ports. Some smaller ports just can't be accessed by larger ships, or prefer smaller ships. We've already seen port access become a contentious issue, even on Disney's two privately owned islands. For the first, Castaway Cay, Disney dredged away what some people say was reef and animal habitat to allow the ships to pull directly into port. With their next island, Lighthouse Point, Imagineer Joe Rohde, known also for his work with Disney's Animal Kingdom, wanted to protect the environment. Disney addressed this by building a very long causeway so the ship could "dock" further out at sea where the water was still deep enough, no dredging needed. But guests hated this causeway because it's a long walk with little shade offered on the way to port. Smaller, lighter, ships won't need as much clearance and can make it closer to shore and into narrow ports.
Environmental commitment. The new ships are going green and will be able to run on a variety of fuels including hydrotreated vegetable oil, and renewable methanol. They'll also be lighter than previous ships, meaning less fuel will be needed, especially when coupled with emerging higher-tech propulsion systems. Additionally, these ship's engines can entirely shut down in port and the ships can be powered through shore power.
Where Does Disney Sail?
In addition to the above announcements, Disney also announced that they will partner with the Oriental Land Company, the same company that operates Tokyo Disneyland, to also create ships and routes in Japan. This means we can look forward to sailings around Japan in the future!
The map below shows where the Disney Cruise Line currently sails and which ships typically sail those destinations. We wanted to create this to see where Disney is NOT sailing, and where they may add routes with the newer, larger fleet, once completed.
The image above shows that the Bahamas, Western Caribbean, and Eastern Caribbean remain the most popular destinations for the Disney Cruise Line, with the most ships allocated to sailing these itineraries including the Magic, Dream, Wish, Destiny, and Fantasy ships at various times of year. These ships, while sailing to the same destinations, are often docked in different ports. Notably, the Magic sails out of Galveston, Texas, with other ships sailing out of Port Canaveral, Fort Lauderdale, or Miami, Florida.
In Summer, the Magic, Fantasy, and Dream will sail some itineraries in Europe and the Mediterranean, including France and Belgium.
Perhaps the most interesting piece of the puzzle here is the range of the Wonder, which basically owns the entire Pacific, offering Alaskan cruises in Summer, Pacific coast and Hawaii cruises, and Australia and New Zealand cruises in the Northern Hemisphere's winter.
The Adventure will add a new destination when it sails in 2025, allowing access to Southeast Asia, with a port in Singapore.
In addition to each of these destinations, Disney will reposition ships from time to time, opening up opportunities for guests to sail a transatlantic itinerary or a Panama canal itinerary.
Disney's cruise line expansion seems rapid, especially since the more than 10 year break between the first 2 and second 2 ships. But Disney remains a small cruise line compared to major players in the cruise industry. And Disney is not the only cruise line moving to smaller ships in the future. Royal Caribbean announced similar plans.
We're happy to see cruising getting more environmentally friendly. We think it's a great way to see several ports while keeping your luggage in one place, and we've certainly enjoyed our experience with the Disney Cruise Line. What destinations are you excited about? What destinations or ports do you hope Disney will add to its repertoire with the new ships?
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