Disney Cruise Line's recently acquired mega-ship will be based in Singapore

Mar 29, 2023 in "The Walt Disney Company"

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Disney Cruise Line Announces Acquisition of Ship

Posted: Wednesday March 29, 2023 9:08am ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Disney has today announced that the Disney Cruise Line is heading to Southeast Asia for the first time, under a collaboration to homeport their brand-new ship exclusively in Singapore.

Under a recently signed Memorandum of Understanding, Disney Cruise Line and Singapore Tourism Board agreed to collaborate to homeport a brand-new Disney cruise ship exclusively in Singapore for at least five years beginning in 2025. More details about the maiden voyage, itineraries and onboard experiences will be announced at a later date.

Disney says that Singapore’s strategic location, world-class air connectivity and port infrastructure make it a thriving cruise hub in Southeast Asia, a diverse region that is home to over 40 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The addition of a Disney Cruise Line ship in Singapore has the potential to add millions of local and foreign cruise passengers across the five-year period, including fly-cruise passengers who arrive in Singapore by air. It is also expected to bring about significant spillover benefits for the wider economy. These include greater demand for port and ship-related services, as well as on-ground spending in Singapore for the lifestyle and hospitality sectors.

Disney Cruise Line Announces Acquisition of Ship

“This is a very exciting year for The Walt Disney Company — 2023 marks our 100th anniversary,” D’Amaro said. “As part of this, Disney Cruise Line is currently undergoing an ambitious expansion with new ships and new destinations around the world. We are incredibly excited to make Singapore the home port to our seventh-launched ship, which will sail from here year-round starting in 2025.”

“We look forward to welcoming the magic of Disney Cruise Line to Singapore in 2025,” said Keith Tan, Chief Executive, Singapore Tourism Board (STB). “This is an important milestone for STB and reflects Disney Cruise Line’s strong confidence in Singapore and Southeast Asia. The new Disney cruise ship will be an attraction itself and is expected to boost the tourism sector in Singapore for many years to come.”

The new ship, based in Southeast Asia, will feature innovative Disney experiences and the exterior will be adorned in the iconic, Mickey Mouse-inspired colors of the fleet, complete with signature red funnels.

The 208,000-gross-ton ship is expected to be among the first in the cruise industry to be fueled by green methanol, one of the lowest emission fuels available. Disney Cruise Line expects the passenger capacity to be approximately 6,000 with around 2,300 crew members. In comparison, the new Disney Wish can carry 4000 passengers.

Construction will be completed at the former MV Werften shipyard in Wismar, Germany, under the management of Meyer Werft, the Papenburg-based company that built the Disney Dream, Disney Fantasy and Disney Wish. The ship’s previous owner filed for bankruptcy before completing the vessel, enabling Disney Cruise Line to secure it at a favorable price and within the capital expenditure guidance The Walt Disney Company provided on its recent earnings call. The project also secures employment for hundreds of former MV Werften employees and will provide opportunities for numerous maritime industry suppliers in the region.

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NotCalledBob6 days ago

The prices look really good for Adventure. As long as the product holds up. I'm very tempted. We were in Singapore very briefly earlier this year on the way home from Vietnam (which I wholeheartedly recommend as a place to visit, and a short flight from Singapore), and the children liked what they saw of Singapore in the short time we were there and would like to return. It is all lining up perfectly!

abaker197515 days ago

I think 4 days looks about right to get a good chance at enjoying the ship. I am 50/50 on if this looks like a thing for me. So many places in South East Asia I think I would rather spend time at, plus if I was craving some Disney Theme Park in the area would much rather go to Hong Kong or Tokyo rather than a limiting Theme Park at Sea.

C33Mom27 days ago

We are definitely going to sail but it’s very hard to justify 6+ days (after dragging my kids across the world) in a Disney bubble. I’m hoping it will be like the RCCL cruises out of Singapore where there’s more local food options and a lot of Mandarin used on the ship…but even still, 7 days is a lot of time that could be spent in Singapore itself, or Bali, or Bangkok, etc.

Indy_UK28 days ago

Ive listened to a couple of DCL podcasts the last week or so and they all seem to confirm that this will be 3 and 4 nights at Sea cruises with no port stops. For me I would rather they did it as a 7 night rather than having to do a back to back in order to do all on the ship but I get for a new region why they want to quickly turn people over on the shorter cruises.

abaker197528 days ago

Agree - they seem to have gone the "floating" theme park route for this ship. Kind of makes the Wish class look boring. However, no word yet on if this ship will visit anywhere or just be a cruise to "nowhere" with the ship only being the attraction.

C33MomOct 17, 2024

So we had planned to take our kids to Australia for the first time Christmas 2025, with a stop in Tokyo on the way out and a long layover in HK on the way back…. After the Marvel Landing announcement I now need to rearrange EVERYTHING to work this into our antipodian adventure. At least they are short sailings…but I already find it stressful to do Wish in 3 days with so many options, no idea how we can accomplish everything on this ship in that time.

DCBakerOct 16, 2024

Here's a look at the coaster on land: First and exclusive look at the roller coaster of the new Disney Adventure. Originally built for the Global Dream in 2020, the roller coaster has now been repainted and will be rebuilt for testing purposes in fall 2024. After the Disney Adventure float out in 2025, the roller coaster will be installed on deck. With a length of 303 m, it will be the longest roller coaster on a cruise ship.