One of the main themes of family cruises is “bigger is better,” but one popular cruise line has chosen to buck that trend with its newest ship. disney cruise line announced Friday that three of its upcoming ships will be smaller than most ships in its growing fleet.
The cruise ship is in the middle of its voyage explosive growth The company’s fleet has more than tripled in size, from four ships before adding Disney Wish in 2022 to 13 ships it plans to have by 2031. There are currently six ships in operation, with two more scheduled to be launched this year. . Disney has now revealed that three of its upcoming new ships will actually be smaller than the latest Dream and Wish class ships.
The three ships scheduled to debut in 2029, 2030, and 2031 will be yet another new class of ships and will be just 20% larger than Disney’s smallest ship. disney magic. This ship is Disney’s original cruise ship, first setting sail in 1998. The Disney Magic weighs approximately 83,000 tons and can carry up to 2,713 passengers. The new ship will be able to carry up to 3,000 guests and have a gross tonnage of approximately 100,000 tons.
Related: Ranking Disney Cruise Line ships from largest to smallest
This means that this new class of ships will be approximately 30% smaller in gross tonnage and 25% smaller in passenger capacity than the Wish class ships on the same line. Those ships include: disney wish, disney treasure and Disney Destinythe latter is scheduled to set sail later this year. It was also just announced that Disney will add a fourth ship to the Wish class in 2027. This fourth, as-yet-unnamed ship, like its classmates, will be approximately 144,000 tons in size and will be able to accommodate up to 4,000 passengers.
Disney Cruise Line is moving in a different direction from popular family cruise line Royal Caribbean, which is building increasingly large “sea resorts” by emulating the Wish class with smaller cruise ships. . The line currently operates the largest cruise ship fleet in the world. sea iconcan carry more than 7,000 passengers. An equally large sister ship, Star of the Seas, is scheduled to set sail this summer.
So you might be wondering why Disney is downsizing the next three ships.
Only Disney can answer this question with 100% certainty, but we can see that there are clear advantages to sailing a slightly smaller ship. Some cruise ports have limits on cruise ship capacity, both per day and per ship, so by operating ships with fewer passengers, cruise lines operating larger ships can There is a possibility that the options for itineraries that are not possible will expand.
“As we expand our fleet, it is important that we continue to offer a variety of experiences to our guests. Families enjoy the variety of vacations we offer, from classic ships to Wish class ships. We also look forward to exploring a wide range of travel, including destinations that favor small ship calls,” Thomas Mazloum, president of New Experiences Portfolio and Disney Signature Experiences, said in a statement. .
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Additionally, Disney is doubling down on the onboard experiences that only they can offer with characters and stories (such as Disney Treasure’s Haunted Mansion Parlor Bar), so some of those experiences can be modified to meet the requirements of the megaship. Scaling will be a big challenge.
For example, there is only one Mickey Mouse and he cannot be in two locations on the ship at the same time. With bigger cruise ships and more passengers, will Disney be able to meet the needs of all its guests who want to take pictures and hug their favorite characters and princesses?
In order to maintain a higher-than-current pricing model, Disney could more easily sell at a premium rather than build ships with more cabins that would be difficult to fill given the current high demand. You may also be choosing a ship with fewer cabins. Cruise will likely soften in the future.
Finally, the line’s original ships, the Disney Magic and Disney Wonder, will be approaching 30 years of service by the time these three new ships debut, so Disney may not be able to simply bring additional smaller ships into the fleet. Instead, it could replace the current smallest ship with some ships with better performance. Slightly larger and can take over your itinerary.
That being said, it’s not just about Disney’s small ships. Cruise line takes delivery of largest ship ever. disney adventurelater this year.
The ship can accommodate up to 6,700 passengers, making it comparable to Royal Caribbean’s mega-ships. However, the ship is being built with the Asian market in mind and will be based in Singapore. Disney purchased a ship under construction from another cruise company.
Planning a Disney Cruise? Start with the following story.
