Fall 2026 itineraries

Anyone else hoping they sail out of NYC again in the fall of '26?🤞

Nope. Not at all. It’s just too far to get a really good itinerary. I would much much rather see them do a robust offering of cruises from San Juan that can visit some truly interesting ports on a 7-day cruise instead!!
 
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The Aussie dollar buys .65c usd with fluctuations with exchange rates (first mistake was not charging in local currency). Disney charged standard US market prices which the market baulked at. Most cruises didn't go up in price as they are already perceived by the market as overpriced. Disney sold very well in their inaugural year (marketing made it sound like it was a once off "special season".) But few are returning to cruise three/four nights to nowhere. Let alone the tipping situation which hasn't gone over well.

Does Disney have a contract or is it receding a subsidy from Australia? If it isn’t, and the cruises are doing as poorly as suggested, it’s hard to imagine why they keep returning. As it is, the repositioning cruises take about a month and are sold for dirt cheap.

DCL says it plans to return to LA/SD year round, so why keep going back to Australia if it’s performing poorly?
 

Does Disney have a contract or is it receding a subsidy from Australia? If it isn’t, and the cruises are doing as poorly as suggested, it’s hard to imagine why they keep returning. As it is, the repositioning cruises take about a month and are sold for dirt cheap.

DCL says it plans to return to LA/SD year round, so why keep going back to Australia if it’s performing poorly?

Seems that it must still be profitable- or they certainly wouldn’t keep doing it.
 
DCL says it plans to return to LA/SD year round, so why keep going back to Australia if it’s performing poorly?
Only DCL knows, but we Aussies are fans of cruises for holidays and Disney, so I imagine they're trying to break into a crowded, but potentially profitable market, and figuring out how best to do so.

Some things work in their favour, like most of the season overlapping with school holidays and the fact that we don't have anything "Disney" down under (i.e. no theme park, no Disney stores), so the cruises are an "easy" way for many families to embrace Disney without the expense and hassle of flying overseas to the US (or more likely, at least recently, Japan).

But, there are some obvious negatives too, like the cost (which is high / very high in comparison to most of the cruise lines operating in Australia) and the lacklustre "Magic at Sea" itineraries. The heaving crowds on some of the more popular cruises (especially the first season), also leads to disappointment for many who don't get the character meets, theatre entertainment, etc they were expecting.
 
Only DCL knows, but we Aussies are fans of cruises for holidays and Disney, so I imagine they're trying to break into a crowded, but potentially profitable market, and figuring out how best to do so.

Some things work in their favour, like most of the season overlapping with school holidays and the fact that we don't have anything "Disney" down under (i.e. no theme park, no Disney stores), so the cruises are an "easy" way for many families to embrace Disney without the expense and hassle of flying overseas to the US (or more likely, at least recently, Japan).

But, there are some obvious negatives too, like the cost (which is high / very high in comparison to most of the cruise lines operating in Australia) and the lacklustre "Magic at Sea" itineraries. The heaving crowds on some of the more popular cruises (especially the first season), also leads to disappointment for many who don't get the character meets, theatre entertainment, etc they were expecting.

But is that problem unique to Australia? The pulled the Wonder mostly from San Diego to go Australia. Carnival, Royal and Disney operate identical 3/4 night itineraries (same days of the week even). The itinerary features Ensenada, which is a pretty depressing place to visit (it’s not a beach community). It’s a short drive from LA and especially SD and is served only to meet foreign port requirements. Few people get off the shop.

For a family of four, Disney typically charges $1,000 night. Carnival and Royal can be had for $175-$300 when the Wonder is in the region.

I live in Los Angeles and I don’t do the Wonder locally because it’s not worth paying &4,0000 for when I can do Carnival or Royal for less than $1,000. But Disney fanatics disagree.

Obviously the Wonder keeps going back to Australia - in spite of spending nearly a. Month depositing at supper cheap rates - so there must be enough Disney fanatics who think it’s worth the price.
 
Obviously the Wonder keeps going back to Australia - in spite of spending nearly a. Month depositing at supper cheap rates - so there must be enough Disney fanatics who think it’s worth the price.
Yes, but whether they keep coming back for the same ship (and the same restaurants and shows) with the same or near identical "Magic at Sea" itineraries perhaps remains to be seen.

I'm hopeful they will send the Magic our way and start experimenting with some more interesting itineraries, similar to the ... 11 (?) day cruise to New Zealand that they're offering this season. If not, then Singapore and soon Japan will offer alternatives.
 
Yes, but whether they keep coming back for the same ship (and the same restaurants and shows) with the same or near identical "Magic at Sea" itineraries perhaps remains to be seen.

I'm hopeful they will send the Magic our way and start experimenting with some more interesting itineraries, similar to the ... 11 (?) day cruise to New Zealand that they're offering this season. If not, then Singapore and soon Japan will offer alternatives.

They’ve been solely sending the Wonder to SoCal for over a dozen years. Same ship, same restaurants, same itineraries.

These problems aren’t unique to Australia.

*The first year the Wonder went to Australia, they sent the Magic over for a few weeks to cover the Wonder’s traditional fall schedule… but that was a one off.
 
The heaving crowds on some of the more popular cruises (especially the first season), also leads to disappointment for many who don't get the character meets, theatre entertainment, etc they were expecting.
If crowds were a problem, then maybe DCL is deliberately planning cruises to sail without being full in order to improve the guest experience.
 
Anyone else hoping they sail out of NYC again in the fall of '26?🤞
Yes!! We love sailing out of NYC - the sail away (and back in) is just beautiful. We also adore the itineraries that go up the Maine and Canadian coast - breathtaking! I'll take that over the same ole, same ole Caribbean islands any day.

Of course, being able to drive to the port is a big bonus for us. FL gets enough ships - throw us northeastern folks a bone, would you?
 
When does the Adventure start sailing out of Singapore? I wonder if that ship effects if the Magic/Wonder goes to Australia.
 
Anyone else hoping they sail out of NYC again in the fall of '26?🤞
I would love to see them sail out of NYC again, for the convenience of being able to drive to port. I would also love to see a Canadian cruise offered again. I've been following DCL since 2022 and saw the last two NYC Canadian cruises offered but my son was too young at the time for us to consider going.
 
Anyone else hoping they sail out of NYC again in the fall of '26?🤞
We live in Florida and would love to see NYC sailings for a change from hot weather and beaches. The New England/Canada sailings we’ve done in the past have been amazing, and we’d book those in a heartbeat if they’re offered again.
 

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