Facts, Rumors/ Speculation, and Thoughts on the Disney Cruise Line Expansion

Facts, Rumors/ Speculation, and Thoughts on the Disney Cruise Line Expansion

Right now, it is an exciting time for DCL fans!!! Lots of known facts, rumors and speculation is going on. Let’s separate them so we know exactly what is known proven FACT vs Rumors/Speculation.

Known Facts:

Disney Cruise Line is expanding its fleet to 13 ships by 2031

They will have:

• 2 Classic-Class Ships
• 2 Dream-Class Ships
• 5 Wish-Class Ships
• 1 Global-Class Ship
• 3 Unnamed-Class Ships
• Wish-Class Destiny will join the fleet November 2025
• Disney Cruise Line is sending one new ship to Singapore, December 2025, Disney Adventure
• Disney Cruise Line is building and sending a new Wish-Class ship to Japan to be under the same company that owns and operates Tokyo Disneyland and Disney Sea.
• Wish-Class Ship Unnamed to come to the USA in 2027
• Wish-Class Unnamed ship to Japan in 2028
• New Unnamed-Class Ships to join the fleet 2029-2031

Disney Cruise Line has added 2 new year-round Ports:

• DCL has made an agreement starting Fall of 2027, they will be stopping at Catalina Island year-round.
• DCL has confirmed that they have made an agreement with the Port of Galveston to start sailing out of Galveston year-round starting 2027.
• Port Canaveral has too much cruise traffic and cannot handle more ships sailing out of there. Port Canaveral cannot expand to take on more traffic.
• Fort Lauderdale is also getting busy and nearing a limit to the number of ships and expandability.
• Disney Cruise Line popularity is growing.
• US West Coast and Gulf of Mexico cruising is growing.

Rumors and Speculation:

• Disney Cruise Line will leave Magic & Wonder (the 2 Classic-Class ships) on the West Coast most of the year.
• Disney Cruise Line may bring one or more of their Unnamed-Class ships to the West Coast.
• Magic and Wonder will continue going to Alaska.
• Wonder will continue going to Australia in the US winter.
• So far reports are saying a new Wish-Class Disney will call Galveston, Tx home port.
• One of the Dream-Class ships will most likely continue going to Europe in the Summers.

Why these Speculations:

• Only the Classic-Class ships and maybe the Unnamed-Class to be built can get through the Panama Canel. Dream and Wish-Class ships are too tall to go under the Bridge of Americas.
• The Magic and Wonder are specifically mentioned in the Catalina Island agreement. There is mention of possible “other” Disney ships.
• It looks like the Unnamed-Class ships could be small enough to pass through the Panama Canel so it would be able to come over to the West Coast. This is unconfirmed.
• The Australian Cruises are quite popular. I don’t see Disney stopping it. They may switch up ships but still DCL will go there.
• I believe 3 Wish-Class ships will be split between Port Canaveral and Fort Lauderdale Fl. along with a Dream-Class. With 5 or 6 ships there I believe DCL has reached it’s limit for keeping any other class ship there.
• With the addition of 3 new Unnamed-Class smaller ships there are lots of options. You could split them between Galveston, Tx and San Diego, Ca.
• Very sad speculation. Magic and Wonder are approaching 30 years old. 30 years is the expected useful life of a passenger cruise ship. After 30 years the ships smell on the inside, technology has passed them up and mechanical issues show up. It is possible that these two wave breaking ships may be decommissioned in the next 5-10 years. The newer smaller Unnamed-Class would take over for them.

 

New DCL Itineraries should be coming out in the next few weeks. Let me know if you would like to be on the list to be notified.

Info@PixieDustedMemoriesTravel.com

 

Disney Cruise Future Dreaming

Disney Cruise Future Dreaming

            Okay there’s been a lot of rumors out on the internet about future plans for the Disney Cruise Line. At this time there are no confirmations from the Disney Cruise Line as to what future plans are. Rumors run the gambit from major refurbishment of the Magic and Wonder to the addition of two ships to the Disney fleet. Some rumors even state the possibility of the Disney Magic being retired (the Magic is about 15 years old).

            With all the possibilities being tossed around and knowing an announcement is coming April 24^th I thought I’d toss my two cents out. No, I don’t know what the Disney Cruise Line is up to. I’m just stating what I’d like to see at what I think would be good for both the cruise line and guests.

            I would love to see two new ships in the Disney fleet. If that happens here are some fun ideas for itineraries that I have.

Magic:

Island hop Hawaii. This could also include two week cruises from Los Angeles to Hawaii with stays at Disney’s Aluani resort.

Wonder:

United States Pacific Coast cruises. Leaving from Los Angeles, San Diego or San Francisco stop at one of the other California major tourist ports listed above and then cruise on into Oregon or Washington State with a stop in Canada. Travel to Mexico is no longer that attractive to many people due to the drug cartels. The Wonder could also spend part of the year going to Alaska. I’ll be honest, I’d like to see them head to Alaska from a US West Coast port.

Dream and Fantasy:

Leave them where they are! Maybe alter the itinerary some as to where they stop but continue to keep them at Port Canaveral.

New Ship One:

For at least part of the year run out of New York doing cruises to Canada, Bahamas and the Caribbean. Continue stops Port Canaveral with a day at WDW.

New Ship Two:

For at least part of the year go out of Galveston Texas as the Magic has been.

Any of the ships to be taken for a few months out of the year to Europe for cruises in the Mediterranean.

Having been on the Disney Wonder just two years ago I can tell you the older ships do need some downtime. The ships are still beautiful and well maintained but some of the fine detail is beginning to show its age. That is to be expected after this many years in harsh seawater and whether. I believe it is time for both the Magic and the Wonder to get some tender loving care. I do not believe that either one of the ships has reached the end of its life. I do believe that Disney will not behave like other cruise lines (that shall remain nameless and that I’ll never sail on) and use the ships beyond their useful life. A well-maintained cruise ship is designed to survive 30 years at sea with proper maintenance. The older ship in the Disney fleet, the Magic is 15 years old so she still has more good years ahead.

Some of the fun things I’d like to see added to the Magic and Wonder when they go down for refurbishment is the addition of some of the fun things they have on the newer ships, Dream and Fantasy. I’d love to see the interactive art and the multiple popcorn songs. Updating Animators Palette is also a good idea.