Last week, Disney took another step toward an unprecedented expansion of its cruise business. But will that expansion reach California?
Disney Cruise Line held a preview of the new Disney Treasure cruise ship last week. I sailed from Port Canaveral in Florida for a three-night preview. At Disney Treasure, Disney Imagineers have taken up residence within the park, creating lounges themed after the Haunted Mansion, Jungle Cruise, and Walt Disney World’s defunct 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea attraction.
The Disney Treasure is a sister ship to the Disney Wish, which was launched in 2022. The third ship in this new class of ships, Disney Destiny, is scheduled to set sail next November from Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. A fourth Wish-class ship (as yet unnamed) is scheduled to depart from Japan by the end of the decade.
Each Wish-class ship has approximately 1,250 staterooms. However, Disney plans to launch an even bigger ship, the Disney Adventure, in December 2025. The ship only sails from Singapore and has over 2,000 cabins. Completing this wave of expansion are four more ships, announced at the D23 event in Anaheim in August. Fans are still waiting for information on the size, names, and locations of these ships.
As the fleet expands to 13 ships within the next 10 years, could one of those ships make California its year-round home? Last month I wrote about Disney’s New Experience Portfolio and Disney Signature Experiences. We asked Thomas Mazloum, who heads Disney Cruise Line as president of the company, that question.
Currently, Disney runs cruises from San Diego to Mexico for about two months every spring. They will head north to Alaska for the summer season aboard the Disney Wonder, one of the cruise line’s two small original ships. But Southern California may be the world’s largest market for Disney fans, with millions of Disneyland visitors and Magic Key pass holders.
“The West Coast is definitely one of our priorities for the future,” Mazloum told me. “So even if I don’t make an official announcement here, you can understand that, but I think there’s a lot to look forward to on both coasts, including the West Coast.”
All Disney ships are Bahamian-flagged. As a result, thanks to the Passenger Vessel Services Act of 1886, cruises from the United States are required to call at an international port at some point during their voyage. When you think of California, you think of Mexico. But Mexico plans to charge cruise ships higher port fees. Other cruise lines have resisted this in order to keep fares low, but Disney has never been a low-cost cruise.
Although there’s no casino or unlimited drinks package, Disney has vastly different economic situations and passenger demographics, as it has plenty of family entertainment designed to appeal to multiple generations. But now, with crowds flocking to Disneyland all year round, Californians seem to have an insatiable appetite for Disney.
If more Disney cruises depart from local ports, Mexico’s ports will be full and able to meet that demand, even if prices are higher. If that happens, a major expansion of West Coast cruises could be a win for Disney and its fans.
