Disney Bets Big on Cruises

Those of you who have read MickeyBlog lately know the deal.

Disney is betting big on cruises, and we’ve had the proof in November.

Disney invited some of the MickeyBlog team on a preview sailing of the Disney Destiny.

This ship comes right on the heels of the Disney Treasure, which debuted in 2024.

Remarkably, the Destiny will only hold the title of newest cruise ship for a few months.

That’s because the Disney Adventure is nipping at its heels as the next vessel.

The Singapore-based ship will embark on its maiden voyage in March 2026.

At that point, Disney will have introduced four ships since July 2022.

In case you didn’t know, Disney Cruise Line (DCL) needed 14 years to get to four ships in the fleet.

Yes, Disney’s cruise business is mirroring its theme parks in that it’s in an era of mega-expansion.

So, what’s the rationale behind Disney’s big bet on cruises? Let’s discuss.

About the Expansion Era

Josh D’Amaro, the Chairman of Disney Experiences, recently gave an interview to Fast Company.

During this conversation, D’Amaro provided a straightforward, honest explanation for this accelerated growth.

“These ships are tremendous ambassadors for our brand.” It’s really that simple.

Disney will prove this when the Disney Adventure sets sail, opening an entirely new region for DCL.

Notably, Disney never planned to build a Singapore-based ship. It happened almost by accident.

A Hong Kong company went bankrupt with the Adventure half-built.

The shipyard stuck with an unfinished cruise ship literally made Disney an offer it couldn’t refuse.

Now, the Adventure will redefine what’s possible on Disney cruises, as it’s the largest ship to date.

The Destiny and the two other Wish-class DCL ships are capable of hosting 4,000 passengers.

The Adventure can transport 6,000 passengers to all the beautiful locations in Southeast Asia.

Somehow, that’s not even the best part, as the ship will be a virtual theme park at sea.

Disney has designed the Adventure to have themed sections based on beloved Disney films.

That’s the identical premise Walt Disney himself employed when creating Disneyland.

Notably, this won’t be the only Asian-based cruise ship, either.

The Oriental Land Company (OLC) has licensed a Disney cruise ship to cater to the Japanese market.

Why is Disney exploring these areas? As D’Amaro indicated, the company is growing the brand.

OLC already owns and operates Tokyo Disneyland, one of the best theme parks in the world.

So, it has proof of concept that it can capably execute Disney’s vision. Now, OLC will attempt to do the same thing with Disney cruises.

Why Disney Is All-In on Cruises

The Adventure may sound like it’s competing with OLC, but the ships will be based more than 3,000 miles apart.

That spacing tells a story about how Disney’s expansion plan works.

DCL intends to blanket the globe with cruise itineraries for every Disney fan.

The company’s CEO and CFO, Bob Iger and Hugh Johnston, have noticed something.

In their own words, they believe that Disney’s demand outweighs its supply by at least a factor of eight.

So, these cruise ships in new countries unlock opportunities to target untapped customers.

Disney also knows that the cruise industry is thriving after what seemed like an existential threat.

During the earliest days of the 2020 pandemic, news reports questioned whether the cruise industry was dead.

That thought process seems laughable with the benefit of hindsight, as the numbers show.

According to AAA, 21.7 million people will take cruises in 2026. If true, that would be a record.

Disney anticipated this rising tide of cruise popularity when it announced expansion plans.

When the company filed the paperwork to spend $60 billion on the Experiences division, people missed this fact.

Disney flatly stated that not all the money would go to the parks. DCL is the reason why.

As executives recently pointed out, cruise sales haven’t been impacted by the new ships.

In other words, DCL claims the same occupancy rates after having added three more vessels.

People are booking every cruise at the same rate as before, which is to say they’re all nearly selling out.

The demand for Disney cruises appears limitless, and that leads to a logical conclusion.

The Expansion Era Includes Cruises

Disney should build more cruise ships, which it has done and will continue to do.

As Fast Company notes, five more DCL vessels will arrive by 2031.

Check your calendar, folks. That’s just a little over five years from now!

The Disney Destiny cost nearly $900 million to build, which makes these new ships a $4.5 billion investment.

A company that operated just two cruise ships from 1998 to 2010 and no more than four for 20 years has changed philosophies.

DCL will include a fleet of 13 (!) ships by the end of 2031. And data suggests they’ll all be near maximum occupancy.

This is the latest example of Disney anticipating the next phase of consumer behavior.

At a time when the cruise industry was in shambles, Disney not only re-committed but gave a full-throated endorsement.

Now, the company is poised to benefit from 2026’s record year for the industry.

DCL will even have two new vessels capable of hosting 10,000 guests between them in 2026.

So, Disney is no longer the small cruise business run as a curiosity by a theme park company.

Instead, the company has capitalized on three consecutive years of record cruise travel, with a fourth on the horizon.

Even better, guests are spending more than ever on cruises. Here’s the Fast Company quote:

“According to Bank of America credit and debit card data from May 2024, spending on cruises was up 12% year-over-year.”

To a larger point, cruise ships can expand the Disney brand to places where theme parks aren’t feasible.

According to D’Amaro, “We can move them anywhere in the world we like and you’re seeing us do that with the Adventure.”

The Benefits of Disney Cruises

Fast Company also points out the reasons why Disney is expanding its cruise division.

One of them is obvious. Once people take cruises and experience the Disney Bubble, they’re hooked.

These tourists want to visit the parks and often do so, making cruises a two-for-one deal for Disney.

The company earns the cruise revenue then and enhances the possibility of theme park revenue later.

Finally, D’Amaro points to the point of the cruise experience that surprised me the most.

When you spend three nights or more at sea with Disney, your experience is choreographed.

There’s a flow to your vacation that isn’t possible at the parks, which are more mercurial by nature.

As D’Amaro tells it:

“We’re basically trying to create a three-, four-, five-, or seven-day experience that we can completely choreograph and make sure you’re seeing everything on the ship, make sure you’re getting exposed to all the stories we have.”

That kind of seabound storytelling has resonated with fans, including me.

To a larger point, it explains why Disney has bet big on cruises…

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Feature Photo: Disney