Thoughts on Disney Cruise Line Late 2025 and Beyond!
This post has no official information on what will happen with Disney Cruise Line Ships after the current itineraries. (This includes the just released Summer 2025 Itineraries.) This is completely my thoughts and hopes for the future of DCL Cruising.
Between 2022 and 2025 DCL will double its fleet from the 4 ships to 8!! There are 3 left to be completed and join the fleet in 2024 and 2025. In order they are Disney Treasure (Maiden Voyage will be 12/21/2024), Disney Adventure (Maiden Voyage not yet announced but will sail from Singapore.), and Disney Destiny (Maiden Voyage and placement not yet announced but we know it will be based in the USA.)
DCL’s Main Homeport is Port Canaveral, Florida. This has
always been the homeport of Disney Cruise Line Ships since the line started in 1998. In June 2024 DCL will
start sailing out of a second dedicated terminal at Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
These are the year-round ports that Disney sails from. The terminal buildings
are Disney themed and dedicated to DCL alone. From late spring and through the
summer of 2025 Disney Magic, Disney Wish and Disney Treasure will sail from
Port Canaveral.
DCL has been sailing from Miami, Florida for part of the
year, but will no longer be doing so as of 2024. They would sail from Miami
before sending the ship to Europe for Meditation cruises. Instead of Miami
Disney will now sail from a dedicated Terminal at Fort Lauderdale. Disney has
made a commitment to being in Fort Lauderdale and a financial commitment to setting
up a terminal for those ships. Disney Dream will be sailing from this homeport through Fall 2025.
Disney ships also have regularly sailed from New Orleans, Louisiana,
Galveston, Texas, San Diego, California, with a summer stay at Vancouver,
Canada for the Wonder to do Alaskan Summer Cruises. In 2023 and 2024 Disney
Wonder has or is scheduled to sail to Australia for the US Fall/Winter and
Australian Summer Season. We do not know if this will be repeated in 2025 as of yet.
In Summer 25 the Miami, New Orleans, Louisiana, and Galveston,
Texas are not on the itineraries. We do not yet know what will happen at the end of 2025 when the Disney
Destiny is planned to join the fleet in the US and the Disney Adventure is to
be introduced in Singapore. This is sad for Miami, New Orleans and Galveston DCL
cruisers!!
So with this information what do I see happening and what do
I hope happens at the end of 2025 and beyond.
I can see 2 Disney ships homeported at Port Canaveral and
Fort Lauderdale year-round, offering Caribbean and Bahaman cruises. Not much
will change there as we usually have 2 ships there. It is only what ship that will change. I believe Disney Wish, Disney Treasure, and Disney Destany
along with either the Dream or Fantasy will homeport between Port Canaveral and
Fort Lauderdale. Either the Fantasy or Dream will go to Europe for the
summers. The ship that does not go to
Europe may go to the other ports, New Orleans, Galveston, and maybe additional
Gulf Coast ports. Unsure if this will be the case.
I can see one ship, most likely the Magic or Wonder having a
homeport on the west coast. This could be San Diego (where Wonder usually
ports) or maybe a port in Oregon or Washington. I am sure Wonder will continue
to do its Alaskan Summer cruises from Vancouver, Canada. Maybe Disney Magic
will do a Panama Canal trip twice a year and be in San Diego while Wonder is in
Alaska. That would be a joy for West Coast Disney Cruise Fans! I can only hope
Disney Cruises will start adding northbound Pacific Coast Cruises touching into
Canada before returning to a port on the West Coast. Maybe put the Magic in San
Diego doing Mexico Baha cruises and the Wonder further North heading to Canada
is an option. This is truly my hope and dream for beyond 2025.
Why is it always Disney Wonder doing Alaska? Wonder has had some extra design work done to make the decks a little more comfortable in the cool Alaskan Summer. They have more glass around the decks to shield the decks from the cool breezes of the Alaska waters.
Why can’t one of the new ships come to the West Coast? Great
question!! It is one I asked and hunted for the answer for. The only Disney
Cruise Line ships that can make the Panama Cannel crossing are the Magic and
Wonder. All the others are too tall to go under the Bridge of the Americas.
Because of this I don’t see any of the newer ships coming to the West Coast. It
would be a very long cruise to bring one of the newer ships to the West Coast.
I think that will only happen if they decide to leave her on the West Coast after that trip.
Disney Adventure will be homeported in Singapore for at
least the next 5 years. From there she can do a lot of cruising to Asia and
even Australia/New Zealand. We will have to wait and see where exactly she
goes. It will truly be an Adventure!
A little information about the Disney Adventure. Disney Adventure was not originally being built for Disney. A Chinese cruise line ordered the ship before the Covid pandemic. The ship was around 1/2 built when both the cruise line and the shipyard building her when under due to the financial burden of Covid. Disney came in and purchased the ship and asked Meyer Werft Shipyard to take over the shipyard and continue building the ship. This ship will carry around 6,000 guests when completed.
Again, these are only ideas I have for what may happen once
Disney has 8 ships in the fleet!!