DOVER, ENGLAND – JUNE 12: In this handout image provided by Disney, the “Disney Magic” cruise ship passes the White Cliffs of Dover in England. This was the first time the ship was in Dover as part of Disney Cruise Line’s first Northern European Capitals sailing of 2010 on June 12, 2010 in Dover, England. (Photo by Mark Andrews/Disney via Getty Images)
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Disney Cruise Line is seeing exponential growth in its fleet and earnings. During The Walt Disney Company’s recent Q3 earnings call, Disney’s CFO, Hugh Johnston, stated Disney Cruise Line sailings are nearly half booked for next year, and the ratio of booked rooms is even higher on Disney’s newer ships.
“The cruise ships are doing extremely well right now. Forward bookings look great, and we’re running at very high occupancies in terms of the cruise ships,” said Johnson during the presentation. “Our cruise ships continue to be incredibly well received. As we sit here today, we’re already basically half booked out for all of next year, and the newer ships are even higher in that regard.”
During the earnings presentation, it was revealed that the Disney Experiences segment (which includes theme parks, the cruise line and more) operating income of $2.5 billion was up 13% compared to the prior-year quarter. And operating income for Domestic Parks & Experiences grew by 22%, in part thanks to growth at Disney Cruise Line.
A Strong Finish In 2025 For Disney Cruise Line
17 June 2025, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Wismar: The cruise ship “Disney Adventure” is moored at the outfitting quay of the TKMS shipyard. After around seven years of construction, one of the world’s largest cruise ships was pulled out of the shipbuilding hall on 19.04.2025. The coronavirus-related insolvency of the MV shipyard group in 2022 had significantly delayed the construction of the approximately 340-metre-long ship. The US shipping company Disney Cruise Line took over the ship from the insolvency estate and is having it built by the Meyer shipyard in Papenburg, Lower Saxony. The ship is scheduled to be in service for the Disney Group in Southeast Asia from the end of 2025. Photo: Jens Büttner/dpa (Photo by Jens Büttner/picture alliance via Getty Images)
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Just this year, Disney will launch two new cruise ships. The first, the Disney Destiny, will make its maiden voyage from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on November 20, 2025. The ship is themed to heroes and villains, features an all-new stage production of Hercules, and has Disney’s first Marvel characters with Black Panther and Spider-Man as its Grand Hall statue and stern character, respectively. The 4,000-passenger ship has over 1,200 staterooms.
The second new Disney Cruise Line ship to debut in 2025 will be the Disney Adventure, which will homeport in Singapore. Its maiden voyage is set for December 15, 2025. The ship is not one that Disney has fully designed and constructed on its own. Rather, the cruise line bought the partially constructed Global Dream from Dream Cruises. The ship will be the first Disney vessel to call upon Southeast Asia. It’s also the biggest in the Disney fleet with room for about 7,000 passengers.
Singapore is ripe for a Disney Cruise ship, too. While thinking about where to homeport the new ship, Disney discovered that there are 3.5 billion households in the area and about 300 million income-qualified families that could potentially step onboard the Disney Adventure.
“When we went to the market and started selling trips on this ship, [they] were extremely robust, sold out very, very quickly over, I think, the first two quarters of operation. This will give us an opportunity to basically sail or float the Disney brand in all of its glory into a region that we think has huge Disney brand affinity, and it creates a huge opportunity for us,” said Bob Iger, CEO of the Walt Disney Company, on the earnings call.
The Expanding Future Of Disney Cruise Line
Super Hero Minnie in front of the Disney Destiny as the ship has its float out at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany.
Megan duBois
Additionally, it was announced at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Expo that the cruise brand would be expanding its fleet to 13 ships by 2031, including a ship built in partnership with Oriental Land Co., Ltd, that will homeport in Japan, and three mid-sized vessels that will be between the size of the Wish-class ships and the Magic-class ships.
Disney considers its ships an ambassador for the brand. This is especially true of the newer ships, the Wish, Treasure and upcoming Destiny, where the infusion of movie and theme park intellectual property is prominent through the spaces onboard.
Even its older ships continue to be ambassadors for growth and return cruisers. “We’ve discovered that many of the people who sail on our current ships have such a great experience that they are the first to want to sail on our new ships,” explained Iger. “So interestingly enough, what we’re getting is, in effect, repeat visitation onto new ships.”
In the past, Disney has also stated that its cruise business is one of the highest guest-rated experiences in its portfolio. It’s also one of the most profitable. In the 2024 fiscal year, the then-five ships (Magic, Wonder, Fantasy, Dream and Wish) had an occupancy of 98%. And new ships typically have a track record of being profitable in the first quarter of operation.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/megandubois/2025/08/19/disney-cruise-line-continues-growth-with-sailings-half-booked-for-2026/
