Where will your favorite cruise line go next?
With major expansion plans comes new markets.
For years after the inaugural sailing of the Disney Fantasy, the slate of ports and itineraries were very predictable.
The Magic always spent the summer in Europe and the Wonder returned to the Caribbean after spending its summer in the Pacific Northwest.
The Fantasy alternated between the Eastern and Western Caribbean with minimal deviation; and
The Dream just churned through everyone’s least favorite and most favorite ports of call - Nassau and Castaway Cay.
Miami was a popular winter port along with the addition of New Orleans and Galveston from time to time. A few of the most coveted itineraries were the Southern Caribbean during the spring and fall out of San Juan. Of course, there was always the sprinkling of a few San Diego sailings before and after the Alaska season and the Magic making a few calls on the Big Apple. That was Disney Cruise Line in a nut shell. Predictable.
In March 2016, DCL announced that two new ships, larger than the Dream class, would be built by Meyer Werft. Then, at the D23 Expo in July 2017, DCL announced that a third ship would be added to the order. In 2019, Disney Cruise Line’s project “Triton” filled blogs and podcasts. The “Wish class” of ships now currently includes the Wish, the Treasure, and the Destiny, with at least one more in the class joining in the fleet in 2028.
When the Wish sailed after the COVID-19 restart (and a slight delay) in 2022, the homeport shake up began. Disney started moving the Dream class ships out of Port Canaveral, a first for the growing cruise line. At the same time, Disney shifted operations 27 miles north, from the very busy Port of Miami to Port Everglades where Disney built its second bespoke port terminal. Both Disney terminals are under contract for at least the next thirteen years. Specifically, Terminals 8 and 10 at Port Canaveral are under contract until 2039 servicing three ships year round. And Terminal 4 at Port Everglades is under contract until 2038 for a single full time ship and “seasonal” ship.
That said, as we look to the future of a “post-Destiny” fleet following her Maiden voyage in November 2025, we can start to draw a few conclusions. If the Wish and the Treasure will be full time from Port Canaveral and the Destiny will be full time from the Port Everglades, where does that leave the rest of the fleet?
Well let’s answer the easy ones first. The Adventure and The “Fourth Wish” (that will be operated by the Oriental Land Company) are the easiest.
The Adventure wasn’t part of the DCL’s initial plan. Disney (at Bob Chapek’s insistence) purchased the unfinished Global Dream out of bankruptcy. Meyer Werft, the shipbuilder responsible for the Dream, and Disney’s other Wish class ships, is overseeing the massive overhaul of the Adventure which was scheduled to sail ahead of the Destiny, but will now have her Maiden Voyage on December 15, 2025, after the Destiny.
Regardless the Disney Adventure will be home ported in Singapore for at least five years. She’s set to sail 4-Night cruises modeled after the Magic at Sea staycation cruises that DCL ran out of Southampton during the COVID restart. These sailings are meant to feature the ship as the destination for guests and the Adventure seems primed to be the ship for just that following Disney’s recent announcements of all the Adventure will offer.
As for the “Fourth Wish”. Most Japanese cruises from Tokyo are 5-Nights. Some are longer, but it seems likely, based on my research, that OLC will limit the new ship to 5-night sailings, potentially with stops in South Korea and one or two other ports in Japan.
OLC may initially follow the “staycation” model, and expand to 5-night itineraries and perhaps 11-Night itineraries that connect the Asian parks together, only after proving out the market. Imagine a cruise that takes you to Hong Kong Disneyland and Shanghai Disneyland after spending 3 or 4 days at Tokyo Disneyland. Or, better yet a 7-Night from Tokyo to Hong Kong then an open ended finish in Shanghai for a couple of days there. Followed by another open ended trip back through Hong Kong, and onward to Tokyo. Think of it like the current game of pong played between Barcelona, Spain and Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy for the first part of the Mediterranean season. OLC is well positioned to offer a cruise that many have said would their “dream” cruise during Rapid Fire on the DCL Duo Podcast.
So what’s next? Where else can Disney go? We have plenty of ships left to discuss, we’ve locked in 7 ships.
The Wish and the Treasure with an additional full time ship out of Port Canaveral, we will call that D23H1 (D23 Horizon Ship 1 of 4). While some may call these ships “Horizon class,” I’m hearing rumblings of a different project name, but don’t have it from enough sources to feel comfortable sharing.
The Destiny with a “seasonal” ship out of Port Everglades. I suspect the seasonal ship will be the Dream. She’ll be based in Port Everglades during her off-season from Europe, sailing Duo Dips (stops at both Castaway and Lookout cays) in the winter. That makes five ships in Florida.
The Adventure (in Singapore) and OLC1 (in Tokyo).
That’s 7 of the 13 ships we will see by 2032. The Wonder will continue to sail in Australia and Alaska, with a super short season in San Diego. So that locks in 8. That leaves us with the Magic, the Fantasy, and D23H2-4 that still need homes.
Let’s look at ports and destinations, starting with the largest ports in the US, outside of Florida.
Port of Galveston
Port of New York and New Jersey
Port of San Juan
Port of New Orleans
Port of Los Angeles
Port of Seattle
Port of Boston
Port of Baltimore
Port of Charleston
Miami is the only interesting port in Florida not in DCL’s current portfolio. Disney has been there before and there are other locations in the Caribbean that are well suited for Miami. For example Turks and Caicos as well as the Dominican Republic, which are hugely popular on other cruise lines and would leave the ship in line to hit one of Disney’s private islands. If it’s a smaller ship, maybe 4-Night sailings with a private island and Key West make their way back into DCL’s portfolio? So let’s put D23H2 in either Miami full time or potentially an expanded agreement with Port Everglades.
The Fantasy is an interesting one. With 13 ships Disney can expand their European market to two ships. I think the hardest pill to swallow for DCL would be double the transatlantic crossings. Disney could shift the schedule so the Dream crosses in April or May and the Fantasy crosses the second week of June (during peak season). Cabins might then have a higher sell through rate. Same for the return, bring the Dream back mid August and the Fantasy back late September. For the rest of the year let’s put the Fantasy at the Port of Galveston. Houston or George Bush Intercontinental Airport is a major hub for United, as well as budget boutique carriers like Spirit and Frontier, with Delta and American connecting every other major market in the US.
Next, and this is a personal pick (fully supported by the DCL Duo!). We need DCL to return to The Big Easy. New Orleans is a world class city with such contrasting culture to the rest of the US. The Crescent City is one of a kind. DCL could easily leverage D23H3 to split time between New Orleans and San Juan. That would give DCL the flexibility to move into two markets where they have experience and create more opportunities and variety from both ports.
From New Orleans DCL could easily support Eastern sailings to the Bahamas and Key West, maybe even a Port Canaveral stop to create accessibility to the parks from Louisiana. San Juan also affords some interesting itinerary options - including the Southern Cairbbean. One itinerary to the ABCs (Aruba, Bonaire, and Caracao), another to Barbados north through St Lucia, Martinique, Antigua, and St. Kitts. Another great opportunity is a mix of the Virgin Islands, St Marteen, St. Thomas, St. John, St. Croix, Virgin Gorda. An overnight stay in St. Thomas would also be interesting.
That leaves us with D23H4 and the Magic. I mixed and matched these for a while. I almost went all West Coast with both and landed instead at a mix of Disney expanding to new markets while also covering California.
For the Magic, I believe its summer home will be Vancouver, Canada, traveling south to California, Oregon, and Washington. After it will transit the Panama Canal and perhaps test a few seasons out of a port like Charleston or Baltimore.
For D23H4, Disney will homeport in NY/NJ in the summer, offering cruises to Bermuda, Central Florida, and their private islands. Maybe a few Canadian/New England trips early in the Fall and then the ship could head south to Brazil to service a growing economy and new market.
So to summarize my prediction for the fleet are below.
While ships will likely rotate or cover different ports than what was presented here, the potential ports and destinations are what’s truly important. I am interested in hearing what the community thinks on this one. Do you want to see more on the West Coast than what I’ve predicted. Do you agree two ships are headed to Europe? Are there other markets you think DCL should explore? Comment here or reach out to @dclduo and @tinfoilmears on socials!
I agree 2 ships in Europe to cover the “combo and local” market with shorter sailings and a ship for the longer Med sailings the American tourists love.