Disney Delays Launch Dates of 2 Ships by 2 Years

Disney Wish postponed.

Disney Cruise Line will be postponing the launch of its sixth and seventh ships from 2022 and 2023 to 2024 and 2025, respectively.

This was announced by CEO Bob Chapek during the question and answer part of the Nov. 12 financial results conference call.

Chapek blamed the delay on having to go through and adapt to “quite thorough” latest CDC guidelines.

“They really entail some really high hurdles in terms of not only testing by the potential guests that we host on the ships but also a process that has to happen in order to certify our first sailings,” he said. “Those will necessarily result in delays beyond what we had hoped in terms of getting our ships back in service and making magic for our guests.”

Chapek also reminded that the launch of the Disney Wish, the cruise line’s fifth ship, was postponed from the end of 2021 to summer 2022.

Pandemic-related issues at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Germany were cited as the reason for the six-month delay back in mid-October when it was first announced.

Chapek added that the cruise line sees a “very, very strong demand” for its new cruise ships.

“We hope and expect that the world will back to normal by then, and anticipate having a fine time trying to fill up the demand of those ships. And we think there's going to be so much pent-up demand that we don't expect to have many issues given the love that our guests have for Disney Cruise Lines,” Chapek said.

Disney Cruise Line's fifth: Disney Wish

The Disney Wish's stern will feature Rapunzel.

Disney Cruise Line's fifth ship will be called the Disney Wish. At its D23 Expo on Sunday, Disney revealed the name of the ship as well as renderings of its stern design and atrium. 

Disney described the three-story atrium as "bright and airy, inspired by the beauty of an enchanted fairytale."

The stern design features Rapunzel with a paintbrush in hand, suspended by her enchanted blond hair. Her sidekick chameleon, Pascal, holds the easel while Rapunzel paints.

"Spirited, smart, curious and -- above all -- adventurous, Rapunzel embodies the wish and desire to see and experience the world," Disney said.

The Disney Wish is scheduled to enter service in January 2022.

The Disney Wish's three-story atrium will be inspired by an enchanted fairytale.

"There couldn't be a better name for our incredible new ship because making wishes come true is part of the Disney DNA and is at the heart of so many of our cherished stories," said Bob Chapek, chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products.

The Wish will be powered by liquefied natural gas. At approximately 144,000 gross tons and 1,250 guest staterooms, it will be slightly larger than the Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy.

Also at D23, Disney revealed new information about Lighthouse Point, its second private destination in the Bahamas, located on the island of Eleuthera.

Disney said Joe Rohde, whose work includes the design of Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park in Orlando and the Aulani resort Hawaii, has taken a cultural tour of the Bahamas to meet with local artists and cultural experts. 

"The Lighthouse Point site is so beautiful and so full of nature that we want to preserve this and use our designs to call attention to the extraordinary quality of the place itself -- a place of natural beauty with a rich and fascinating cultural tradition," Rohde said. "We will be directly involved in conservation efforts to preserve and protect the environment that creates this beauty, and we will be working with artists of every kind, much like we did with Aulani in Hawaii, to create a unique destination that is rooted in Bahamian culture and imbued with Disney magic."

Disney said Lighthouse Point guests can look forward to an island experience that celebrates nature and the spirit and culture of the Bahamas.

Disney Cruise Line completed its purchase of Lighthouse Point earlier this year, committing to develop less than 20% of the property and build an open-trestle pier that eliminates the need to dredge a ship channel.

Construction at Lighthouse Point will begin after an environmental impact assessment and environmental management plan are reviewed and accepted by the government of the Bahamas, Disney said. The company said construction could begin in 2020 with completion in late 2022 or 2023.

Disney to Add to Meyer Order, Three LNG Ships

Disney fans attending D23 in Anaheim got a huge surprise today. They were the first to hear that Disney Cruise Line is planning not two, but three new ships in the next phase of expansion. By the time these three ships are sailing, we’ll have nearly doubled the size of our fleet! That means more families than ever before will be visiting spectacular destinations around the globe and creating magical memories at sea!

Last year, we told you that two new ships were going to be built at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Germany with scheduled completion dates of 2021 and 2023. This additional ship will be built at the same shipyard and is scheduled to be completed in 2022.

“We decided two ships wouldn’t be enough to hold all of the exciting new experiences we have been dreaming up to take family cruise vacations to a whole new level with immersive Disney storytelling, world-class family entertainment, and imaginative innovations that are fantastically fun and uniquely Disney,” Bob Chapek, Chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, said.

All ship names, design plans and itineraries are still in development, with each of the ships expected to have their own unique experiences. The three new ships will be powered by clean-burning liquefied natural gas and be the same size – approximately 135,000 gross tons with about 1,250 guest staterooms planned – which is slightly larger than the newest Disney Cruise Line ships, the Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy.

With a legacy of revolutionary design, Disney Cruise Line’s new ships will usher in the next generation of innovative cruise experiences designed especially for families that will transform the art-of-cruising and take guests on adventures in a way never dreamed of before.