Fall 2026 itineraries

[Jodi]

Omg I can’t believe today is the day

Yeah, what he said!

 

[Cfabar1]

seems like today isn't the day...

 

[Darren1969]

I think their mistake was to think they could replicate what they did successfully with the UK staycation cruises of 2021 in Australia. These were short cruises to nowhere and very popular. That’s why DCL offers mainly short cruises out of Southampton now for a large part of the summer. These don’t go anywhere interesting either. They seem to sell still ok, but it’s a shorter season. But it’s a different country with different preconditions. The UK market is used to at least some tipping, they sell cruises in GBP (have for a long time). UK Disney fans are used to Disney being a premium, whether it’s WDW or DLP hotels.

Some of the UK ones are nothing more than a glorified cross-channel ferry. Southampton - Cherbourg/Zeebrugge/Rotterdam - at sea - Southampton. Hugely expensive for what they are but they sell out.

2021 was different as it was at the very start of the return of cruising and served more as a proof of safety and a marketing opportunity than a revenue stream. If they handn’t happened it’s possible that the return would have been delayed further.

 

[Darren1969]

What "leaks" would they be? (Genuinely curious, i haven't seen anything new)

Ports such as Sydney and Galveston updating their schedules for 2026/27 before Disney make any formal announcements. Pretty unusual as Disney have NDAs with the ports.

 

[Garyjames220]

seems like today isn't the day...

Why not. Still early

 

[dreamer17555]

Website is working very well if today is the day… not saying today isn’t the day I still have my fingers crossed, but the fact that Dory is not greeting me does not fill me with a lot of hope

 

[Garyjames220]

Not sure why so many thought it would be a Tuesday. I thought the majority of announcements has been a Thursday for new cruises

 

[Kit21]

Not sure why so many thought it would be a Tuesday. I thought the majority of announcements has been a Thursday for new cruises

I agree with you, I think it was just hopefulness. The same way we get comments every day of "today's the day".

Until about 2018, tuesday was typical, then they started to favour Thursdays. But, Disney does as it wants, the only day that would be a true suprise is friday (or a weekend). Whilst Thursdays are the most likely, they've done announcements on all days of the week (weekdays) except fridays, just monday was only once and a handful of Wednesdays scattered in. I'm thinking (hoping) this thursday as well.

Ports such as Sydney and Galveston updating their schedules for 2026/27 before Disney make any formal announcements. Pretty unusual as Disney have NDAs with the ports.

Ah, I knew about those but people search the ports all the time as I wouldn't consider it a 'leak'

 

[Disneyworldlocal]

seems like today isn't the day...

That’s what I’m thinking as well

 

[yowcruiser]

Website is working very well if today is the day… not saying today isn’t the day I still have my fingers crossed, but the fact that Dory is not greeting me does not fill me with a lot of hope

Not saying it is happening today but last time, they were being loaded one by one without the site being taken down.

 

[dreamer17555]

Not saying it is happening today but last time, they were being loaded one by one without the site being taken down.

The website was still very glitchy as they loaded (similar to how it was as they changed the deposit amount). Still up but Dory was making several appearances.

 

[BamaBornNemoNut]

More specials for cruises already available so again we are left hanging

https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/special-offers/buy-2-get-2-half-off/

 

[dreamer17555]

I think we can all agree sales are extremely soft now. This is not normal for DCL

 

[Skippyboo]

I am sailing the Wish on Friday. Booked the guaranteed rate with 250 OBC Disney Visa offer. I am solo cruiser . Got put in Family Deluxe Veranda on deck 11. Definitely sales are soft.

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

Website is working very well if today is the day… not saying today isn’t the day I still have my fingers crossed, but the fact that Dory is not greeting me does not fill me with a lot of hope

Can we all take a moment to enjoy the reality that Disney IT is so bad that, "The website is actually working, there must not be anything new happening," is a totally valid conclusion to draw?

 

[DCLMP]

I think we can all agree sales are extremely soft now. This is not normal for DCL

No it's not normal for DCL, but it's also not normal for them to have as many ships as they do now. Other cruise lines run these kind of sales and special offers all the time. It will most likely be the norm moving forward.

 

[bakofarmgirl]

was the last for summer 2026 on feb 6th a thurs? i got that email at 8am pst

 

[DCLMP]

I'm not sure that would have solved their initial issues - very high cost (in AUD), unappealing itineraries (a lot of "Magic at Sea" cruises) and the perceived "value" of the cruise experience given the crowds and their unique demands (i.e. extremely long lines to meet characters, to see the shows, etc). I also vaguely recall some initial discussions about the Fantasy and Dream being too big for some ports - maybe just the Sydney Harbour / Circular Quay port?

I think the itineraries were their biggest issue. There's a big "cruising" market in Australia, but the cruises go to desirable destinations. They don't just sail around in open waters for a couple of days. I didn't follow it particularly closely, but the few interesting, longer itineraries that went to New Zealand definitely seemed to be the most popular.

I'm not sure what they could have done about the cost? I think every season has gotten some kind of discount around 30% off. Perhaps if they'd offered the "discounted" price up-front? But, then you have the fact that they should have bundled the tips into the default price, which would have "increased" the price again. I'm also not sure if it would have been possible to more clearly communicate that onboard prices (e.g. alcohol, popcorn, merchandise, etc) were in USD as opposed to AUD. That seemed to take many people by surprise.

They definitely should have realised that a majority of their guests would have never been to a Disney theme park and there would be a huge demand for the character meets, the live theatre shows, etc. To be fair, on the second season, they seemed to be offering more character meets than on the first, so they did adapt. And I'm not sure of the reasoning, but I think I saw that some cruises had the live theatre shows three times a day with an additional afternoon session.

There's also the simple fact that there's a limited number of Disney fans in Australia with the financial means to go on a cruise every year. And of those, you have to be a pretty dedicated fan to go on a near-identical cruise, with the same restaurants, same shows, etc year after year. There was no variety in terms of what was offered onboard or the ports.

So the Australians are not like the Brits who like the 3 and 4 day cruises to nowhere. At every gold and platinum event on the ships they would ask their customers where they want to go and it was always Asia and Australia.

I was on a cruise when they announced in the WD theatre that they were going to Australia everyone cheered. I was full on ready to book until I saw the cruises. Same thing in Asia. I'm not flying 16 hours to get on a ship and go in circles.

 

[Kwami]

So the Australians are not like the Brits who like the 3 and 4 day cruises to nowhere. At every gold and platinum event on the ships they would ask their customers where they want to go and it was always Asia and Australia.

I was on a cruise when they announced in the WD theatre that they were going to Australia everyone cheered. I was full on ready to book until I saw the cruises. Same thing in Asia. I'm not flying 16 hours to get on a ship and go in circles.

And the Tokyo ship is just going to go in circles, too! I don't know why Disney ships don't go anywhere interesting once they get to that side of the world.

 

[juxtapose]

No it's not normal for DCL, but it's also not normal for them to have as many ships as they do now. Other cruise lines run these kind of sales and special offers all the time. It will most likely be the norm moving forward.

With their prices, and the new excessive amount of 3–5-night FL cruises, this has to be the new normal until they develop different options, lower prices, or travel picks back up to post-Covid rates.