Why Disney Just Delayed the Wish
In April of 2021, Disney Cruise Line announced the dates for the maiden voyage of its new luxury ship, the Disney Wish.
Despite any number of issues pertaining to shipyards and construction, the company confidently revealed a launch date of June 9th, 2022.


Image Credit: Disney
Alas, that proclamation has proven ambitious. Disney Cruise Line just confirmed that the Disney Wish won’t be ready in June.
Instead, the Disney Wish has suffered a delay. Here’s what we know.


Credit: Disney
About the Delay
On the afternoon of February 3rd, 2022, Disney confirmed that it could not meet its previously announced launch date of June 9th.
Let me be clear before you start worrying that the ship won’t be ready for 12-18 months. This delay only involves a few weeks.


Image Credit: Disney
Instead of June 9th, the Disney Wish will embark on its maiden voyage on July 14th. So we’re talking about precisely five weeks or 35 days with the delay.
Realistically, this news won’t affect most Disney fans. The Disney Wish features a guest capacity of 4,000, meaning that a dozen cancellations only impact less than 50,000 people.


Credit: Disney
However, this announcement causes tons of headaches for the guests involved.
Imagine learning that you’re no longer traveling on June 9th. Instead, you MAY be taking your cruise on July 14th.


Credit: Disney
Of course, you have no guarantees of that because of your busy schedule. Also, Disney has others currently booked on July 14th already. So, it creates a domino effect among potential cruise guests.
As a reminder, Disney sold the inaugural voyage of the Disney Wish at a higher rate than standard cruises.


Image Credit: Disney
For this reason, Disney has determined its highest-paying customers gain precedence over those who had booked regularly priced cruises on that date. Is that right? Who’s to say?
All I know for sure is that Disney Cruise Line faces many disgruntled customers today.
Disney Wish Cancels Maiden Voyage As Well As Others- Major https://t.co/EGScx1FX1B #canceled #DisneyCruiseLine #DisneyWish #MaidenVoyage
— MickeyBlog.com (@MickeyBlog_) February 3, 2022
What Happened?
In a word, Omicron.
Despite recent events, the people running Disney aren’t idiots. No matter how you feel about CEO Bob Chapek, Disney runs a tight ship, metaphor chosen intentionally.


Screen Capture Source: “Once Upon A Disney Wish”
Numerous people were involved in the selection of dates for the maiden voyage. They didn’t pick anything overly ambitious.
Last April, vaccine rollouts were expanding exponentially. Shipyards finally returned to something akin to normal.


Credit: Disney
Still, when Disney announced the date, I expressed some surprise at the announcement. I’ve watched this webcam a few times during the pandemic:
https://www.meyerwerft.de/en/company/webcam/index.jsp
Here’s an article from May 2nd, 2021, wherein I mentioned them. In researching that article and others, I did a ton of research about pandemic shipyards.
The results…weren’t pretty. Frankly, COVID-19 destroyed the conventional form of ship construction.
Real people suddenly couldn’t work the only way they’d received training to do.
This timelapse of the construction of the Disney Wish made a splash during the of @DisneyCruise panel this morning at #DestinationD23: Presented by @ToppsDigital. Watch more of today's presentations here: https://t.co/RxiRa4etlW 🛳 pic.twitter.com/AxdZTY7Mul
— Disney D23 (@DisneyD23) November 21, 2021
However, after a year or so of social distancing, they adapted to the new normal and adjusted their practices.
Once vaccines were available, shipyards could return to a semblance of how things were.
Nobody could have anticipated Omicron, the suddenly omnipresent variant that caused massive infection rates.
That webcam looked like a ghost town at the end of 2021 and the start of 2022. In fact, the shipyard seemed as empty as it had during the spring of 2020.
How much shipbuilding would you expect when nobody is working? Sure, Mickey Mouse looks adorable in a hard hat, but he’s not real.
Construction crews faced staffing shortages that went beyond crisis level.


Photo: NSC Staffing
The staff at Meyer Werft shipyard didn’t want to disappoint a high-paying customer like Disney, but Omicron proved beyond their control.
What’s Next?
Unless you were traveling on the Disney Wish in June or early July, this news doesn’t matter much to you.
Sure, you might joke that Chapek can’t catch a break, which he can’t, and that Disney management has P.R. problems, which they do.
That’s the expected hot take when a corporation misses a hard deadline.


Photo: Matt Stroshane/Courtesy Disney Parks
If you were one of the people with a booked cruise on the Disney Wish, you’ll receive notification of the cancellation.
You obviously cannot travel on the Disney Wish before July 14th. Now that this date represents the maiden voyage, you’re possibly out of luck then as well, at least if you’d booked for July 14th.


Credit: Disney
Instead, Disney will offer you options to cancel or book a later date. If you choose to cancel, you’ll gain a full refund within days.
Unfortunately, I recently had to cancel a hotel reservation for late January due to Omicron.
However, Disney customer service was fantastic, and the money was back in my account within 72 hours.
About Rescheduling
Should you choose to book a different date, you’ll love your options.
Disney will discount your next voyage on the Wish by 50 percent if you book through December of 2023. That discount applies to ANY category!
So, the company is making this right. You’ll either cruise for cheaper now, or you’ll receive a better room for the same price…possibly even less.


A Royal Suite on the Disney Wish
Credit: Disney
Disney will convert your initial paid funds to a massive credit toward your next voyage on the Disney Wish.
Please understand that if you cancel and request a full refund, you’re not eligible for the 50 percent discount, though.


A two-story Royal Suite on the Disney Wish
Credit: Disney
If you were scheduled for the maiden voyage, you don’t technically have to do anything except change your vacation dates. Here’s the exact quote:
“Guests who were booked on the original maiden voyage will be automatically shifted to a new sail date of July 14th at a 50 percent discount.
If they are unable to move to the new sail date, they will have the option of either a 50 percent discount on a future cruise departing by December 31st, 2023, with any originally paid funds converted to a Future Cruise Credit, or a full refund.”
As usual, Disney has done right by its loyal customers.
I recognize that’s not the consensus opinion lately. Still, it’s one of many examples during the pandemic that Disney owns up to its mistakes.
The one thing you should know about rebooking is that Disney has paused Disney Wish bookings through February 8th.


Credit: Disney
Employees need that time to adjust reservations for impacted guests from those 12 cruises.
So, there you have it. History will remember July 14th, 2022, as the launch date for the Disney Wish. Hopefully.