Disney is betting big on cruises. This is why it needs to.
Disney Cruise Line plans to more than double its five-ship fleet over the next seven years.
If you had a genie, what would your three wishes be? If one is going on a Disney cruise, you’re in luck — you’ll have more opportunities to do so soon.
On Sunday, Disney Cruise Line announced an order for four ships to be delivered between 2027 and 2031 — on top of the four vessels already set to debut through 2029.
These eight vessels would more than double Disney’s five-ship fleet in seven years.
Disney hasn’t announced many details of its latest order, but it has tapped the German company Meyer Werft to build the four ships. Meyer Werft said it was the “highest order value” in the shipyard’s history.
The shipyard also constructed Disney’s latest three vessels and is constructing the Disney Treasure and the Disney Destiny, scheduled to debut at the end of 2024 and in 2025.
Disney Cruise Line is also growing its footprint in Asia and the Bahamas
Disney Cruise Line said its next exclusive beachfront property, Lighthouse Point, shown in a rendering, launched on the Bahamas island of Eleuthera in June. The cruise line already has a private island, Castaway Cay.
Two of the eight ships would have their home ports in Asia, a first for the cruise company: Disney Adventure, scheduled to debut in Singapore in 2025, and another unnamed ship, set to be operated in Japan by Oriental Land Company, which runs Disney’s theme parks in the country.
“The cruise ships tend to pay back very quickly,” Hugh Johnston, Disney’s senior executive vice president and chief financial officer, told analysts in August. “We certainly feel positive about those investments.”
In the background of this fleet expansion, Disney Cruise Line also launched its second private destination in the Bahamas, Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point, in June. The new port and the cruise line’s first private island, Castaway Cay, are scheduled for more than 70% of Disney’s 442 voyages in 2025.
It’s a great time for the entertainment giant to bet big on its vacation-at-sea business. Major cruise companies have been experiencing record bookings and demand in 2024.
Disney said in its quarterly earnings that it had seen “strong demand” in its cruise arm, with onboard spending increasing throughout the summer. That could help offset some of its amusement parks’ 3% drop in operating income from the same time last year, which it attributed to a “moderation of consumer demand” that surpassed the company’s expectations — in step with competitors like Six Flags and Universal.
“The lower-income consumer is feeling a little bit of stress,” Johnston told analysts. “The high-income consumer is traveling internationally a bit more.” Hopefully, for the company’s sake, by cruise ship.
