One of the dominant themes in family cruising is “bigger is better,” however, one popular cruise line has decided to buck that trend with its newest ships. Disney Cruise Line announced Friday that three of its upcoming ships will be smaller than most of the ships in its growing fleet.
The cruise line is in the middle of a growth explosion as its fleet triples in size from the four ships it had before the addition of Disney Wish in 2022 to the 13 ships it plans to have in its fleet by 2031. It currently sails with six ships, with two more scheduled to launch this year . . Disney has now revealed that three of the upcoming new ships will actually be smaller than their most recent Dream Class and Wish Class ships.
The three ships scheduled to debut in 2029, 2030 and 2031 will form another new class of ships and will be only 20% larger than Disney’s smallest ship. Disney magic. That ship is the original Disney cruise ship that first set sail in 1998. Disney Magic measures around 83,000 tons and can carry up to 2,713 passengers. The new ships will be able to carry up to 3,000 guests and will weigh approximately 100,000 gross tons.
Related: Disney Cruise Line ships ranked from largest to smallest
That means this new class of ships will also be approximately 30% smaller in gross tonnage and 25% smaller in passenger capacity than the line’s Wish Class ships. Those ships include disney wish, Disney Treasure and disney destinythe latter of which 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 yet-to-be-named fourth ship, like its classmates, will measure approximately 144,000 tons and accommodate up to 4,000 passengers.
By following the Wish class with smaller cruise ships, Disney Cruise Line is moving in a different direction than the popular family cruise line Royal Caribbean, which is building increasingly larger “resorts at sea.” That line now operates the world’s largest cruise ship, seas iconwhich can transport more than 7,000 passengers; an equally large sister ship, Star of the Seas, will set sail this summer.
You might be wondering why, then, Disney is going smaller with three of its upcoming ships.
While only Disney can answer that question with 100% certainty, we can detect obvious benefits to sailing on slightly smaller ships. As some cruise ports add limits to cruise capacity, both per day and per ship, having ships with fewer passengers on board could open up itinerary options that cruise lines with larger ships wouldn’t have.
“As we expand our fleet, it is important that we continue to provide a variety of experiences to our guests. Families enjoy the diversity of vacations we offer, from our classic ships to our Wish Class ships. They also look forward to exploring a wide range of destinations , including those who prefer to host smaller ships,” Thomas Mazloum, president of New Experiences Portfolio & Disney Signature Experiences, said in a statement.
Daily newsletter
Reward your inbox with TPG’s daily newsletter
Join over 700,000 readers to receive breaking news, in-depth guides, and exclusive offers from TPG experts.
Additionally, as Disney doubles down on the onboard experiences that only it can offer using its characters and stories (like the Haunted Mansion Parlor bar on Disney Treasure), scaling some of those experiences to meet megaship requirements would present real challenges.
For example, there is only one Mickey Mouse and he can’t be in two places at once on a ship. Could Disney satisfy every guest’s need for a photo and a hug from their favorite character or princess with cruises and increased passenger numbers?
It is also possible that, to maintain its current above-average pricing model, Disney will choose ships with fewer cabins that it can more easily sell at a premium price rather than building ships with more cabins that would be harder to fill if current high demand of cruises will soften in the future.
Finally, with the line’s original ships, Disney Magic and Disney Wonder, approaching 30 years of service by the time these three new ships debut, Disney could not simply introduce additional smaller ships to the fleet, but replace its smaller ships. current with some that are a little bigger and can take care of your itineraries.
All that said, it’s not just about the smaller ships with Disney. The cruise line will receive its largest ship yet, Disney Adventureat the end of this year.
This ship will rival Royal Caribbean’s megaships, as it will have capacity for 6,700 passengers. However, it is a ship built with the Asian market in mind and will be based in Singapore. Disney purchased the ship while under construction from another cruise line.
Are you planning a Disney cruise? Start with these stories:
