New Disney Ships: News, Rumors, Speculation.....and Names!

[LAS2AMS]

As I stated earlier we can all guess and speculate. We'll know for sure in a few years.

Yes but there’s a difference between rational, educated guessing/ speculation and fantasy/ wishful/ nostalgic (“my kids grew up on the four DCL ships and I want things to be the same”j guessing/ speculation. Much of what I’ve seen here and elsewhere is the latter.

Ultimately, DCL is a business. It’s not ordering four more ships to make its product more affordable and it’s going to maximize its profits by offering a Disney experience. Doesn’t matter what our feelings for the mega ships are, if you’re DCL it’s hard to ignore the profits and high guest satisfaction those ships deliver. I’ve yet to be on an Oasis/ Icon ship but every single person I know who has tells me it’s the greatest cruise of their lives.

 

[auntlynne]

Disney is not a party boat, it is geared towards families and kids. I think solo cruisers would be creepy on a Disney ship.

Gee, thanks.

 

[auntlynne]

Since the Triton ships have more Concierge cabins and M&W have been converting regular verandahs to Concierge, any speculation on even more emphasis on this with future ship design?

Perhaps the Ship Within a Ship concept of The Haven on NCL. A dedicated pool and restaurant? More sun deck space. How important is rotational dining to those who sail in this category of cabin?

 

[HeadNerd]

I’m at an interesting inflection point where my family did ~10 DCL cruises over the last 6-7 years (which is harder to do being West Coast based, not an easy jaunt to Port Canaveral).

Now that my kids are teens, they have more diverse interests and I took them on their first RCL cruise (after doing a few myself), and they really enjoyed all the additional amenities. Art gallery, comedy club, rock climbing, Flowrider, multiple large waterslides, expansive pools and whirlpools, etc.

Yet they also still love Disney and we’re all looking forward to a Treasure cruise in March. But at some point, RCL will win for their interest. Disney can do so so much with the Boardwalk and Central Park spaces on an Oasis-style ship. Not to mention what they could do with a full “Disney Main Street” vs the RCL Promenade.

I just feel like the Imagineers are amazing, let’s give them an even bigger canvas and see what they dream up that’s more than a few rethemed restaurants and lounges each time. Just my two cents.

 

[Cfabar1]

I'm not sure where DCL is going to position. More supply would seem to indicate less demand. People sail DCL because it is considered a premium experience. Going from 4 to 13 ships within a decade is a huge change for the brand. Here is what I have noticed though:

- Triton ships could have been bigger - they weren't. My guess is disney thinks around 4k guests is what helps them hit a sweet spot of operational needs/profit margin and guest experience
- The new mega ship is definitely an experiment, and that's why it is off in Singapore. If it works, maybe it helps them troubleshoot how to do mega ships elsewhere.
- Growing this big this quickly poses serious challenges to ensure that Disney-quality service and staffing is found throughout the entire line. Already there have been recent videos from multiple bloggers showing the crew is not properly cleaning the Magic for example. Will shoddy staff become more pervasive in DCL? So important that DCL gets the staffing and culture piece right.
- DCL in the island space has shown they are not interested in competing with RCL in amenities and offerings. Neither would seem to have enough to do for 10k passengers on two boats a day - now they could expand them, but just an observation.
- DCL seems to be a niche audience, and I personally feel, the fact it has become more and more "Disney" with the theming limits the appeal even more.
- This is a huge bet on an industry that is incredibly dependent on a strong economy and on an industry that may be subject to significant regulation on the part of many governments - particularly related to climate. It seems very risky to me.

 

[Garyjames220]

I have a stupid question...DH and I can only count twelve ships total with the new ships. Magic, Wonder, Dream, Fantasy, Wish, Treasure, Destiny, Adventure, plus the new four. That makes twelve. What ship are we forgetting?

What’s the Japan ship and that’s the 4th one meant to be, is it like the wish

 

[PsylockeSmythe]

Respectfully, every single cruise message board says the same thing, and then they all book the largest mega ships in droves. What consumers say vs how they book shows this clearly. The Disney Wish commands a price premium over the Magic and Wonder. More people like the big ships, and this is clear across multiple cruise lines. This will continue until the market finds the upper limit of what customers are looking for, and there is no indication we've hit that point yet.

Not everyone likes the big ships, my wife and I have only been on the Magic and Wonder (4 cruises so far and 2 planned in 2026). I have no desire to be on the larger ships and won't look at any itinerary that are on the larger ships. So, while the market may be going in that direction, not everyone wants to be on the larger ships. If my choice is to go on one of the larger ships or not cruise, I'll save my money and not cruise.

Psy

 

[LAS2AMS]

I'm not sure where DCL is going to position. More supply would seem to indicate less demand. People sail DCL because it is considered a premium experience. Going from 4 to 13 ships within a decade is a huge change for the brand. Here is what I have noticed though:

- Triton ships could have been bigger - they weren't. My guess is disney thinks around 4k guests is what helps them hit a sweet spot of operational needs/profit margin and guest experience
- The new mega ship is definitely an experiment, and that's why it is off in Singapore. If it works, maybe it helps them troubleshoot how to do mega ships elsewhere.
- Growing this big this quickly poses serious challenges to ensure that Disney-quality service and staffing is found throughout the entire line. Already there have been recent videos from multiple bloggers showing the crew is not properly cleaning the Magic for example. Will shoddy staff become more pervasive in DCL? So important that DCL gets the staffing and culture piece right.
- DCL in the island space has shown they are not interested in competing with RCL in amenities and offerings. Neither would seem to have enough to do for 10k passengers on two boats a day - now they could expand them, but just an observation.
- DCL seems to be a niche audience, and I personally feel, the fact it has become more and more "Disney" with the theming limits the appeal even more.
- This is a huge bet on an industry that is incredibly dependent on a strong economy and on an industry that may be subject to significant regulation on the part of many governments - particularly related to climate. It seems very risky to me.

i don’t think the Adventure is an experiment. It’s not a Disney-designed ship and will be a unique experience to the fleet. Early renderings show that they plan to leave much of the Global Dream’s interior intact (the rooms are nearly identical, sans a few Disney touches). It’s likely based in Asia to keep the DCL experience elsewhere in the world consistent.

 

[happycamper47]

. I’ve yet to be on an Oasis/ Icon ship but every single person I know who has tells me it’s the greatest cruise of their lives.

We were on Wonder of the Seas and will not go back.

 

[peder]

I'm not sure where DCL is going to position. More supply would seem to indicate less demand. People sail DCL because it is considered a premium experience. Going from 4 to 13 ships within a decade is a huge change for the brand. Here is what I have noticed though:

- Triton ships could have been bigger - they weren't. My guess is disney thinks around 4k guests is what helps them hit a sweet spot of operational needs/profit margin and guest experience
- The new mega ship is definitely an experiment, and that's why it is off in Singapore. If it works, maybe it helps them troubleshoot how to do mega ships elsewhere.
- Growing this big this quickly poses serious challenges to ensure that Disney-quality service and staffing is found throughout the entire line. Already there have been recent videos from multiple bloggers showing the crew is not properly cleaning the Magic for example. Will shoddy staff become more pervasive in DCL? So important that DCL gets the staffing and culture piece right.
- DCL in the island space has shown they are not interested in competing with RCL in amenities and offerings. Neither would seem to have enough to do for 10k passengers on two boats a day - now they could expand them, but just an observation.
- DCL seems to be a niche audience, and I personally feel, the fact it has become more and more "Disney" with the theming limits the appeal even more.
- This is a huge bet on an industry that is incredibly dependent on a strong economy and on an industry that may be subject to significant regulation on the part of many governments - particularly related to climate. It seems very risky to me.

Great write-up that highlights some of the strategic issues with such a large expansion. I had forgotten about the labor side of this little micro-econ case study. You're absolutely right that at least in the short run while Disney trains up so much staff, they will have issues maintaining standards. But they might also exhausts the pool of talent available that is available at the labor rates they'd like to pay (there are only so many people in the world willing to work 6 months at a time without being able to see family, and once you exhaust that pool, you have to pay a ton more to entice marginal workers to come into the industry).

So it's risky in both the short- and long-term.

As far as the private islands go, I don't think they need to make any changes to the islands themselves, just the schedule. Disney currently has gaps in the schedule at Castaway Cay, and tons of open dates on the calendar for Lookout Point. They can serve more ships here simply by filling out the schedule completely. They lose some flexibility this way, but they can definitely increase the number of sailings to the private islands without modifications to the islands.

Lastly, great call on how dependent this industry is on an economy in a bull market. This announcement of 4 more ships really seems like one of those flashing warning signs about how overextended a bull market is, and in retrospect we'll all say that supply far outstripped demand.

 

[OKW Lover]

This whole discussion about DCL vs RCL and the related discussion about ship size reminds me that the audience for cruising is large and highly diverse. Many people love the small ships. Many love the large ships. Many love DCL. Many love RCL (and the others). Just because we have the current DCL fleet size/amenities/entertainment doesn't mean all the future DCL ships need to follow that mold.

For background, I'm DCL Platinum having sailed on all 5 ships, with two more cruises booked, including the new Treasure. I'm also RCL Diamond + having sailed on their small and large ships. To me they aren't in competition. They are just different products.

 

[bakerworld]

Not everyone likes the big ships, my wife and I have only been on the Magic and Wonder (4 cruises so far and 2 planned in 2026). I have no desire to be on the larger ships and won't look at any itinerary that are on the larger ships. So, while the market may be going in that direction, not everyone wants to be on the larger ships. If my choice is to go on one of the larger ships or not cruise, I'll save my money and not cruise.

Psy

We started out feeling this way but the larger ships aren't that larger - like one more bar and a bigger adult area. We didn't notice any difference in people but maybe we were on ships not full - plus DCL counts kids and we never see them as we actively avoid family areas.

 

[JM_97]

This whole discussion about DCL vs RCL and the related discussion about ship size reminds me that the audience for cruising is large and highly diverse. Many people love the small ships. Many love the large ships. Many love DCL. Many love RCL (and the others). Just because we have the current DCL fleet size/amenities/entertainment doesn't mean all the future DCL ships need to follow that mold.

For background, I'm DCL Platinum having sailed on all 5 ships, with two more cruises booked, including the new Treasure. I'm also RCL Diamond + having sailed on their small and large ships. To me they aren't in competition. They are just different products.

DCL also has a very niche following. Most of the time, you are on DCL because you are in some way a Disney fan. Some are bigger fans than others but most are sailing because a Disney style vacation is a priority. Not the case with RCL, NCL, CCL, etc.

 

[peder]

DCL also has a very niche following. Most of the time, you are on DCL because you are in some way a Disney fan. Some are bigger fans than others but most are sailing because a Disney style vacation is a priority. Not the case with RCL, NCL, CCL, etc.

Yep, and the push into the mainstream will force Disney to meet customers who are largely indifferent to Disney. At which point they will mostly be competing on the same grounds as Carnival, Royal, etc.

So on that note....

Since the Triton ships have more Concierge cabins and M&W have been converting regular verandahs to Concierge, any speculation on even more emphasis on this with future ship design?

Perhaps the Ship Within a Ship concept of The Haven on NCL. A dedicated pool and restaurant? More sun deck space. How important is rotational dining to those who sail in this category of cabin?

Yes, I think they're going to have to expand some of these types of amenities. I can't imagine they'll launch another class of ship that where Concierge doesn't have its own restaurant and pool. If they're going to attract cruisers from the Haven, Yacht Club, etc. they'll need the Concierge amenities to match those other lines.

In short, we should expect to see the design and marketing of these future ships to shift closer to the mainstream, because DCL is growing so large they'll be square in the middle of the mainstream market.

 

[Lucien Franciosa]

I'm not sure where DCL is going to position. More supply would seem to indicate less demand. People sail DCL because it is considered a premium experience. Going from 4 to 13 ships within a decade is a huge change for the brand. Here is what I have noticed though:

- Triton ships could have been bigger - they weren't. My guess is disney thinks around 4k guests is what helps them hit a sweet spot of operational needs/profit margin and guest experience
- The new mega ship is definitely an experiment, and that's why it is off in Singapore. If it works, maybe it helps them troubleshoot how to do mega ships elsewhere.
- Growing this big this quickly poses serious challenges to ensure that Disney-quality service and staffing is found throughout the entire line. Already there have been recent videos from multiple bloggers showing the crew is not properly cleaning the Magic for example. Will shoddy staff become more pervasive in DCL? So important that DCL gets the staffing and culture piece right.
- DCL in the island space has shown they are not interested in competing with RCL in amenities and offerings. Neither would seem to have enough to do for 10k passengers on two boats a day - now they could expand them, but just an observation.
- DCL seems to be a niche audience, and I personally feel, the fact it has become more and more "Disney" with the theming limits the appeal even more.
- This is a huge bet on an industry that is incredibly dependent on a strong economy and on an industry that may be subject to significant regulation on the part of many governments - particularly related to climate. It seems very risky to me.

As a scientist, a proper experiment in changing one variable at a time. The Adventure is changing two variables, size and market. I don't believe the Adventure is an experiment as much as it is an opportunity. Disney bought it on the cheap, it was designed for the Asian market, and it is going to Asia.

Growth requires some risk

 

[Lucien Franciosa]

Yep, and the push into the mainstream will force Disney to meet customers who are largely indifferent to Disney. At which point they will mostly be competing on the same grounds as Carnival, Royal, etc.

So on that note....



Yes, I think they're going to have to expand some of these types of amenities. I can't imagine they'll launch another class of ship that where Concierge doesn't have its own restaurant and pool. If they're going to attract cruisers from the Haven, Yacht Club, etc. they'll need the Concierge amenities to match those other lines.

In short, we should expect to see the design and marketing of these future ships to shift closer to the mainstream, because DCL is growing so large they'll be square in the middle of the mainstream market.

Disney has always marched to the beat of its own drum, I don't think they are going to be forced to change. They aren't trying to become Carnival, Royal, etc Version 2. If anything they leaned more heavily into their own mythos with the Wish, Treasure, Destiny. This trend to being more Disney argues against your idea they will bend to the competition.

I think the additional ships represent expanding markets in areas other than the Caribbean. Disney's whole approach has been to test the waters first (pun intended, remember the big Red Boats), and then go in hard. They have been doing limited cruising in other parts in the world. Expect that to increase, with the same type of Disney amenities they are known for.

 

[peder]

Disney has always marched to the beat of its own drum, I don't think they are going to be forced to change. They aren't trying to become Carnival, Royal, etc Version 2. If anything they leaned more heavily into their own mythos with the Wish, Treasure, Destiny. This trend to being more Disney argues against your idea they will bend to the competition.

I think the additional ships represent expanding markets in areas other than the Caribbean. Disney's whole approach has been to test the waters first (pun intended, remember the big Red Boats), and then go in hard. They have been doing limited cruising in other parts in the world. Expect that to increase, with the same type of Disney amenities they are known for.

I'm just arguing in terms of micro economics. If there are `N` number of people in Disney's market segment for a given Disney Capacity `C`, and now `C > N`, then to fill ships Disney will need to expand into other market segments to fill their ships. They can do this by competing on amenities and/or on price.

I'm guessing that Disney's thesis is that their ships are all sailing full, and that `N` is much much larger than they thought. So they can increase capacity `C` substantially without changing strategy. That may be the case, but why would they so greatly increase their capacity all at once? Seems very risky, and if they oversupply the market, they are "forced" to change either pricing or amenities to keep their ships full.

And it IS a really dramatic increase in supply. They are moving from 13,400 capacity thru 2021, to 35,400 after the introduction of Triton 4, to 57,400+ after they introduce the next 4 ships (I'm using a capacity number of 5,500, but could easily be higher). They are more than quadrupling their size in under a decade. That's basically unheard of in the cruise industry.



Numbers for existing and confirmed future fleet taken from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Disney_Cruise_Line_ships

 

[kylenne]

This whole discussion about DCL vs RCL and the related discussion about ship size reminds me that the audience for cruising is large and highly diverse. Many people love the small ships. Many love the large ships. Many love DCL. Many love RCL (and the others). Just because we have the current DCL fleet size/amenities/entertainment doesn't mean all the future DCL ships need to follow that mold.

The funny thing is. As popular as the Oasis class etc are there many Loyal to Royal folks who enjoy the smaller ships and are getting tired of the behemoth ships. My family is big on Royal, my mom is Emerald and my sister hit Pinnacle this year and while she enjoyed her trips on Wonder and Symphony she prefers the Quantum class, which is smaller. My hope is that Adventure is more of a one off since the Global Dream was already a Wish dot com Oasis ship when Chapek bought it half finished. I think it would be a mistake for Disney to pull a Carnival and join the mega ship arms race with Royal, that feels like a bubble that is going to burst sooner rather than later given the increasing backlash and restrictions at ports.

As a new to Disney cruiser I am excited for the new ships, but I hope they branch out with their itineraries. One of the reasons it has taken so long for us to try them is we are itinerary people first and ship people second. Not very exciting itineraries on offer, and Europe is too expensive for us with Disney. Hoping that more ships will mean more home ports as well, I really miss having one in NYC. But if they do return here I hope I do not creep anyone out if I sail solo.

 

[HeadNerd]

I'm just arguing in terms of micro economics. If there are `N` number of people in Disney's market segment for a given Disney Capacity `C`, and now `C > N`, then to fill ships Disney will need to expand into other market segments to fill their ships. They can do this by competing on amenities and/or on price.

I'm guessing that Disney's thesis is that their ships are all sailing full, and that `N` is much much larger than they thought. So they can increase capacity `C` substantially without changing strategy. That may be the case, but why would they so greatly increase their capacity all at once? Seems very risky, and if they oversupply the market, they are "forced" to change either pricing or amenities to keep their ships full.

And it IS a really dramatic increase in supply. They are moving from 13,400 capacity thru 2021, to 35,400 after the introduction of Triton 4, to 57,400+ after they introduce the next 4 ships (I'm using a capacity number of 5,500, but could easily be higher). They are more than quadrupling their size in under a decade. That's basically unheard of in the cruise industry.

Numbers for existing and confirmed future fleet taken from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Disney_Cruise_Line_ships

Keep in mind, just because they are announcing four more ships doesn’t mean they couldn’t change their mind and “delay” some/all of them. Many D23-announced projects don’t actually get there. And they can always blame an economic downturn.

Having just finished a massive D23 event, I think we all collectively underestimate how big the “N” is here. Remember, DisneyWorld alone gets 58M visitors a year. Disneyland like 18M. There’s a large untapped market even without crossing over from the Disney faithful.

 

[happycamper47]

Keep in mind, just because they are announcing four more ships doesn’t mean they couldn’t change their mind and “delay” some/all of them.

They already signed the contract, so possible, but doubtful.

Disney Cruise Line: Bernard Meyer signs largest order in the history of MEYER WERFT​

https://www.cruiseshipportal.com/ne...-largest-order-in-the-history-of-meyer-werft/