Disney Cruise Line expands with new, private destination ships

Disney hasn’t announced many details about its latest order, but it has tapped 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 built the three most recent Disney ships and is building Disney Treasure and Disney Destiny, scheduled to debut in late 2024 and 2025.

Disney Cruise Line is also growing its footprint in Asia and the Bahamas

Two of the eight ships would have home ports in Asia, a first for the cruise line: Disney Adventure, scheduled to debut in Singapore in 2025, and another unnamed ship to be operated in Japan by Oriental Land Company, who runs the Disney company. theme parks in the country.

“Cruise deals tend to pay for themselves very quickly,” Hugh Johnston, Disney’s senior executive vice president and chief financial officer, told analysts in August. “We certainly feel positive about these investments.”

Against the backdrop of this fleet expansion, Disney Cruise Line also launched its second private Bahamas destination, Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point, in June. The new port and the cruise line’s first private island, Castaway Cay, are slated for more than 70 percent of Disney’s 442 voyages in 2025.

It’s a great time for the entertainment giant to bet big on its seaside vacation business. Major cruise lines saw record bookings and demand in 2024.

Disney said in its quarterly earnings that it saw “strong demand” in its cruise arm, with spending on board increasing throughout the summer. That could help offset some of the 3 percent decline in operating income at its theme parks from the same period last year, which it attributed to “moderating consumer demand” that beat the company’s expectations — in 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 slightly more internationally.” Hopefully, for company’s sake, with a cruise ship.