After ten years with no new ships, Disney Cruise Line is in the process of rapidly increasing the size of its fleet. By the end of 2025, Disney will have eight ships, doubling its fleet size since 2012. Here’s a look at the new Disney Cruise Ships that are currently being built, with all the latest information we have.
Before we begin, let’s take a quick look at the fleet as it stands today:
Ships Currently Operating
- Disney Magic — Maiden Voyage July 30, 1998
- Disney Wonder — Maiden Voyage August 15, 1999
- Disney Dream — Maiden Voyage January 26, 2011
- Disney Fantasy — Maiden Voyage March 31, 2012
- Disney Wish — Maiden Voyage July 14, 2022
And here’s a glance at what’s on the horizon:
Ships Under Construction
- Disney Treasure — Maiden Voyage scheduled for late December 2024
- Disney Adventure (Former Global Dream) — Maiden Voyage expected in 2025
- Unnamed Disney Cruise Ship #8 (Custom Construction) — Maiden Voyage expected in 2025
Now, let’s learn a bit more about each of the three ships that are still under construction.
Image © Disney
The sixth ship of the Disney Cruise Line fleet — and the next one to begin sailing — will be named the Disney Treasure.
It’s currently under construction at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany. This is the same shipyard which built three prior Disney Cruise Ships, the Disney Dream, Disney Fantasy, and Disney Wish.
The first of the large “building blocks” which will make up the ship began arriving onsite at the shipyard in November 2022. By March of 2023, one of the recognizable “funnels” had arrived.
You can follow along as more parts of the ship arrive at the shipyard over the coming months by checking out all the videos from the excellent Ems-Dollart Media YouTube channel.
Construction continues to move along swiftly; Disney’s own photographic log of the shipbuilding process shows that the bridge (essentially the “cockpit” of the ship) was installed in late June 2023.
Image © Disney
And by early December 2023, both of the iconic funnels had been installed on the ship, already showing hints of their signature red color and Mickey Mouse icon.
Image © Disney
The Disney Treasure is expected to host its first passengers in late December 2024. It will be a sister ship to the current newest ship, the Disney Wish (which began sailing in 2022) — as well as to an unnamed ship expected to join the fleet in 2025. This means that these three ships should be generally the same in terms of construction, though some themed elements will vary between the three.
Only a few details have been fully confirmed, but here’s what Disney has announced publicly and what we can estimate based on what we know about its sister ship the Disney Wish.
The overall theme of the ship is “adventure,” as announced at the 2022 D23 Expo.
The ship’s bow will feature artwork of Minnie Mouse in “adventure-ready” attire, while the stern will feature 3D sculptures of Peter Pan and Captain Hook.
The grand hall of the ship is “inspired by the grandeur and mystery of a gilded palace,” with both real-world inspiration (Asia and Africa) and fairy-tale inspiration (Agrabah).It will be the first Disney Cruise ship to feature three Disney characters in its atrium lobby statue: Aladdin, Jasmine, and their Magic Carpet (along with the fateful lamp).
On September 5, 2023, Disney released a significant amount of information on what will be included onboard the ship. As expected, some of the offerings are generally in line with what’s found on the Disney Wish — but others are unique to the Treasure.
Here’s a quick glance at some of the spaces and offerings that will be on the ship:
- Staterooms
- The usual variety of Inside, Oceanview, Verandah, and Concierge Staterooms
- Four Royal Suites, including Bagheera Royal Suites and Rajah Royal Suites with designs inspired by characters from The Jungle Book and Aladdin, respectively.
- An astounding Tomorrow Tower Suite inspired by EPCOT, in one of the ship’s iconic red funnel smokestacks.
- Dining, Snacks, and Lounges
- The Plaza de Coco restaurant, inspired by the film Coco, offers themed dining with live Mariachi music and a visit from Miguel
- The Worlds of Marvel and 1923 restaurants, also found on the Disney Wish
- Palo Steakhouse, Enchanté, and The Rose, adult-exclusive specialty dining / lounges, also found on the Disney Wish
- Jumbeaux’s Sweets, inspired by Zootopia, offers tasty snacks for purchase
- Jade Cricket Café and Heihei Café, inspired by Mulan and Moana
- Periscope Pub, inspired by 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
- Skipper Society, a lounge inspired by the Jungle Cruise attraction
- Haunted Mansion Parlor, a lounge themed to the Haunted Mansion attraction
- Marceline Market and Mickey and Friends Festival of Foods casual dining
- Water Fun
- The AquaMouse features a new Curse of the Golden Egg storyline developed for the Disney Treasure.
- Ten pools plus a Toy Story Splash Zone
- Kids and Teen Clubs
- Disney’s Oceaneer Club featuring Marvel Super Hero Academy, Fairytale Hall, Walt Disney Imagineering Lab, Star Wars Cargo Bay, and Mickey and Minnie Captain’s Deck
- Edge, Vibe, and it’s a small world nursery! for tweens, teens, and toddlers, respectively.
- Entertainment and Activities
- Live Broadway-style shows in the Walt Disney Theatre, including Beauty and the Beast, Disney Seas the Adventure, and a new show called Disney the Tale of Moana
- Hero Zone, Wonderland Cinema, and Never Land Cinema, also found on Disney Wish
- Character encounters, music, and shows in the Grand Hall (ship atrium / lobby)
- Sarabi, a “central hub” for daytime activities and adult-exclusive evening entertainment
- Spa and Salons
- DCL-favorite Senses Spa returns to the Disney Treasure, along with a reimagined Senses Fitness center
- Tangled Salon and Hook’s Barbery for beauty treatments
Birthplace
Meyer Werft shipyard – Papenburg, Germany
Maiden Voyage
Dec. 21, 2024
Home Port
Port Canaveral, FL
Tonnage
Approximately 144,000 gross tons
Length
1,119 feet
Beam
128 feet
Draft
27.2 feet
Height
221 feet
Speed
19.5 knots cruising speed and 23 knots maximum speed
Fuel Type
Liquefied Natural Gas
Crew Members
1,555
Maximum Capacity
4,000 passengers
Guest Staterooms
1,256 staterooms, about 90% of which are expected to have either a porthole window or verandah balcony
- 123 inside staterooms
- 185 oceanview staterooms
- 948 verandah staterooms
Passenger Decks
14 passenger decks. Technically, the second floor of the Tomorrow Tower Suite would be a 15th deck, but it’s an isolated space inside the ship’s funnel not accessible to most passengers.
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Image © Disney
In 2022, it was announced that Disney had purchased a partially-completed cruise ship that was in the process of being built for another cruise line. This announcement was a big shock, as Disney had already surprised fans with an unexpected announcement of Disney Cruise Line’s seventh custom-built cruise ship (see next ship section below) and everyone thought that would be the end of the fleet expansion for the foreseeable future.
This newly-acquired, partially-constructed ship — known at the time as the Global Dream — was in its fourth year of construction at MV Werften shipyard in Germany as an addition to the fleet of Genting Hong Kong.
But thanks to a series of bankruptcies (involving both the original cruise line and the shipbuilder!), construction was eventually abandoned and the partially-built ship was due to be scrapped.
Disney Cruise Line was long rumored to be interested in acquiring the hull, and the purchase was officially announced in November 2022. Meyer Werft, which has built every Disney Cruise ship since the Disney Dream, will oversee the Global Dream’s completion and its conversion into a Disney Cruise ship.
As you can see in this video originally taken in February 2022 (months before the deal was announced), a significant amount of construction on the ship has already been done. Note that the video pre-dates the Disney purchase but has since been retitled to reflect Disney’s ownership.
Because Disney has come into the project as the ship is already about 75% complete, the former Global Dream is not likely to have a so-called “sister ship” in the Disney fleet; it will be its own vessel without an equivalent.
The ship will not home-port in the United States but rather in Singapore. At the time the purchase was originally announced, Disney indicated that the ship was being purchased specifically to serve “new markets,” and the conventional wisdom of industry observers at the time was that this ship would likely primarily serve Asia — its original target market under the prior cruise line.
On March 29, 2023, Disney and the Singapore Tourism Board announced a five-year exclusive partnership that would base the ship in Singapore once construction is complete in 2025.
Image © Disney
Sharp-eyed readers might notice that in the newer concept art, the ship has “lost” one of its three red smokestack funnels and now has only two — mirroring the other ships in the Disney fleet.
Although this is the eighth Disney Cruise Ship to be announced, comments by Disney Parks, Experiences and Products Chairman Josh D’Amaro have repeatedly indicated that it will be the seventh one to enter service.
Disney recently dipped its toes into serving previously-uncharted waters (uncharted by Disney, at least), with its new Australia and New Zealand itineraries. It’s widely believed that the additions of the Disney Wish, Disney Treasure, and the yet-unnamed custom-built ship to the fleet will give Disney the freedom to reassign some some of its older ships — as well as the former Global Dream ship — to cruise farther-flung itineraries going forward.
The Singapore announcement gives credence to those theories.
Theme
Virtually no information about Disney’s new theme for this ship has been released. We did, however, find out its name. On September 9, 2023, Disney announced that it will be known as the Disney Adventure.
Given that it’s a standalone ship with no “sister,” we really don’t have much to compare it to. And given that the ship is expected to target an international audience, it’s unclear if any of the traditional Disney Cruise elements might be adjusted (or completely abandoned) to better match regional travel preferences and customs.
Amusement Park Onboard?
Among the most tantalizing items in the original plans for the Global Dream was mention of an “amusement park” onboard the ship. It’s unknown how extensive that concept was in the first place — much less what (if any) of it will survive now that Disney has taken over. But Disney has been upping its onboard attractions game as of late; the Disney Wish is home to the AquaMouse, which Disney has called its first ever “attraction at sea.” We’ll see if this concept takes forward when the former Global Dream re-launches as a Disney ship.
Casinos Onboard?
The original plans for the ship under its prior ownership also included a casino — Disney doesn’t have casinos on any of its existing ships, so it’s likely that this space will be repurposed for something else on the Disney Adventure. Theoretically, it’s possible Disney could keep the casino given the “new market” targeting, but it’s generally considered unlikely.
Home Port
One of the two cruise ports in Singapore. Most likely the Marina Bay Cruise Centre, which is better-equipped to handle mega ships such as this one.
Tonnage
The Disney Adventure will be a behemoth! At 208,000 gross tons (based on original Global Dream specs and early indications from Disney), it’s expected to be among the top ten heaviest cruise ships in the world; based on ships currently sailing in 2023, it would rank number 7.
Length
Estimated to be approximately 1,122 feet (based on original Global Dream specs)
Beam
Estimated to be approximately 152 feet (based on original Global Dream specs)
Draft
Estimated to be approximately 31 feet (based on original Global Dream specs)
Height
Unclear at this time
Speed
Unclear at this time
Fuel Type
Green Methanol (based on early indications from Disney)
Crew Members
Estimated to be approximately 2,300 (based on early indications from Disney)
Maximum Capacity
Estimated to be between 6,000 passengers (based on early indications from Disney)
Guest Staterooms
Unclear at this time. Global Dream was originally expected to have about 2,500 staterooms, but it’s likely Disney Adventure could remove some of those to accommodate more common areas. This possibility would be supported by the fact that Global Dream was originally expected to hold about 8,000-9,000 passengers but Disney has indicated it would likely only accommodate somewhere around 6,000 after conversion.
Passenger Decks
Estimated to have approximately 14 passenger decks, counting both staterooms and common areas such as pools (based on original Global Dream concept art)
Image © Disney
The last ship currently scheduled to be fully built (from start to finish) specifically for Disney’s fleet — is due to arrive in 2025.
This ship was somewhat of a surprise in and of itself. Disney originally announced in 2016 that it would be building two new ships. But at the following year’s D23 Expo, the company announced it would actually be building three new ships.
Though the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the expected roll-out of the additions to the fleet, this ship is now expected to hold its maiden voyage sometime in 2025. Although it has long been colloquially known as the “seventh” Disney ship, the addition of the Disney Adventure (previously known as the Global Dream) to the fleet lineup will likely mean that this ship will actually be the eighth Disney ship to begin sailing with passengers.
Like the Disney Treasure, this ship is expected to be materially similar to the Disney Wish in terms of construction.
Theme
Virtually no information about the theme of this ship — not even its name — has been released. But given that it is a sister ship to the Disney Wish, we expect a similar layout in terms of the number of kids’ clubs, restaurants, pools, etc. But we don’t yet know the theme of any of them.
Home Port
Not yet known. Either Port Canaveral or Port Everglades (Fort Lauderdale) are strong possibilities, given that they are the two year-round home ports for Disney Cruise Ships and Disney historically has put its newest ships in Florida — at least to start.
Tonnage
Estimated to be approximately 135,000-144,000 gross tons (based on Disney Wish and Meyer Werft data)
Length
Estimated to be approximately 1,119 feet (based on Disney Wish data)
Beam
Estimated to be approximately 128 feet (based on Disney Wish data)
Draft
Estimated to be approximately 27.2 feet (based on Disney Wish data)
Height
Estimated to be approximately 221 feet (based on Disney Wish data)
Speed
Estimated to be approximately 19.5 knots cruising speed and 23 knots maximum speed (based on Disney Wish data)
Fuel Type
Liquefied Natural Gas (based on Disney Wish and Meyer Werft data)
Crew Members
Estimated to be approximately 1,555 (based on Disney Wish data)
Maximum Capacity
Estimated to be approximately 4,000 passengers (based on Disney Wish data)
Guest Staterooms
Estimated to have approximately 1,250 staterooms, about 90% of which are expected to have either a porthole window or verandah balcony (based on Disney Wish and Meyer Werft data)
Passenger Decks
Estimated to have approximately 14 passenger decks, counting both staterooms and common areas such as pools (based on Disney Wish data)
Can’t Wait for the New Ships? Plan a Disney Cruise Now!
You don’t have to wait for all the new ships to arrive to start planning a Disney Cruise Line vacation. You can book sailings right now on any of the Disney Cruise Ships that are currently in service!
Stick close to Florida with a Caribbean or Bahamian cruise, or take a Disney Cruise to Hawaii onboard the Disney Wonder. Find departure ports closer to home — Port Canaveral, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, San Diego, New Orleans, New York, or Galveston — or make the trip to Vancouver to embark on a wonder-filled Disney Cruise to Alaska! You can even visit Europe on a Disney Cruise.
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