Disney Future cruise ship is on the point of set sail

The Disney fleet is increasing but once more.

Later this month, the Disney Future cruise ship will make its maiden voyage from Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, formally changing into the seventh ship within the firm’s lineup.

The Future, which is 221 ft tall and 1,119 ft lengthy, can carry 4,000 passengers and 1,555 crew members. For its inaugural season, the ship will provide four- and five-night cruises to the Bahamas and Western Caribbean, together with visits to at least one or each of the corporate’s island locations, Disney Castaway Cay and Disney Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Level.

Like Disney’s different cruise ships, the brand new vessel options themed eating, curated lounges and premium on-board reside leisure. Disney’s portfolio of mental property has been the bedrock of its theme parks for the reason that very first location opened its doorways, and that is translated to its cruise line as nicely.

The Future incorporates a heroes and villains theme. Black Panther is the characteristic character inside the Future’s Grand Corridor, a distinguished gathering area aboard the vessel, however visitors can even be capable to work together with iconic Disney villains and anti-heroes like Cruella de Vil, Maleficent, Dr. Facilier, Captain Jack Sparrow and Loki.

The Future units sail at a time of speedy development on the Walt Disney Firm’s experiences division, which incorporates its theme parks, resorts and cruise line. The corporate, which hadn’t launched a brand new ship in a decade previous to the Disney Want’s debut in mid-2022, added the Disney Treasure final yr and is about to have 13 vessels crusing by 2031.

“We’re present process the most important enlargement in our historical past,” Josh D’Amaro, chairman of Disney experiences, advised CNBC. “The Future, I believe, is simply going to be one other instance of how we proceed once more to push the envelope on what a cruise expertise may be.”

In fiscal 2024, the experiences division posted report income and revenue, with income up 5% for the total yr to $34.15 billion and working revenue up 4% to $9.27 billion. As of the fiscal third-quarter of 2025, Disney anticipated the experiences section would see 8% development in working revenue for the present fiscal yr. The corporate stories earnings Thursday.

The experiences section was the second-highest income driver for Disney final yr behind its leisure division, which tallied $41.19 billion in fiscal 2024. Nevertheless, the leisure section’s working income had been smaller, at simply $3.92 billion.

Disney has turn out to be a frontrunner within the household cruising area, regardless of its comparatively small variety of ships. Its fleet dimension of simply seven ships is dwarfed by the most important cruise traces: Carnival, with greater than 100 vessels; Royal Caribbean, with almost 70; and Norwegian Cruise Line, with greater than 30.

Disney is taken into account barely costlier than Carnival and Royal Caribbean for base pricing, but when visitors select to improve to bigger cabins or add meals packages or experiences to their itineraries on the key cruise traces, the costs may be related.

Disney’s Future provides four-night cruises beginning at round $2,300 for 2 grownup visitors and about $4,000 for a household of 4. 5-night cruises begin at $2,900 for 2 adults and $4,700 for a household of 4. These costs can enhance if vacationers choose premium rooms or ebook cruises tied to Halloween or Christmas or for choose seven-night cruises aboard the Future.

Like different cruise ships within the area, the Disney Future options upscale eating places, swimming pools, spas and gaming rooms for teenagers, however the firm injects storytelling into the combination.

Moreover, Disney accommodates diners utilizing “rotational eating” on its cruise ships. Passengers do not eat in a single massive mess corridor — they’re prescheduled to dine at totally different themed eating places. Disney rotates the restaurant workers, too, to comply with every group of passengers to their scheduled restaurant. In consequence, visitors have the identical servers, busboys and restaurant managers all through their journey, and the waitstaff will get to know the visitors — and their preferences.

Among the many themed eating halls aboard Future is Satisfaction Lands, a feast of the Lion King, which invitations visitors to dine on a menu with genuine African flavors whereas reside musicians take the stage to current a retelling of Simba’s story from cub to king.

At Worlds of Marvel, households will take heed to a mixture of hit songs and check their superhero data whereas they eat. Rocket and Groot from “Guardians of the Galaxy” can be featured in an onscreen story that can unfold through the meal. The menu options nods to in-universe places like Wakanda and the fictional Jap European nation of Sokovia in addition to New York, the house base of the Avengers.

A 1923 eating corridor, named for the founding yr of the Walt Disney Firm, celebrates the legacy of Disney’s animation. This setting options greater than 1,000 drawings, props and different instruments of the animation commerce, together with paintings from “Hercules,” “Sleeping Magnificence,” “Massive Hero 6” and “Wreck-It Ralph.” The menu at 1923 is impressed by the fusion of cultural flavors discovered all through California, together with Asian, European and South American influences.

Visitors in search of fast meals and snacks can have plenty of different eating choices together with Cafe Megara and Cafe Merida in addition to Edna Á La Mode Sweets, a confectionary with gelato, ice cream, cookies, candies and different specialty treats based mostly on super-suit designer Edna Mode from “The Incredibles.”

For a lot of, Disney cruises are a household affair. So, the corporate has devoted areas for each age group. 

It is a Small World nursery provides babysitting providers for kids ages 6 months to three years, whereas older kids can head over to Disney’s Oceaneer Membership, which options a number of immersive areas themed to Marvel’s superheroes, Disney’s princesses, Star Wars and Mickey and Minnie Mouse.

There is a two-story venue known as Saga that performs host to interactive exhibits and occasions like “Match Your Mate” and “Household Time Sport Present,” in addition to Edge, an area for tweens to make associates and play video games, and Vibe for these aged between 14 and 17 to observe motion pictures, take heed to music and hang around.

The Walt Disney Theatre would be the residence to a Broadway-style manufacturing of “Hercules,” a present that options progressive puppetry and state-of-the-art results.

Every cruise can even embrace reside performances of “Frozen, a Musical Spectacular” and “Disney Seas the Journey.” There can even be Pirates Rockin’ Parlay Get together, a nighttime spectacular that includes a reside rock band and fireworks, an “Incredibles” themed sports activities space and all-you-can-watch complimentary film screenings at Wonderland and By no means Land Cinemas.

Just like the Want and the Treasure, the Future additionally has a Toy Story-themed space that features a splash pool, wading pool and household waterslide. There’s additionally an tailored model of the AquaMouse water coaster known as “Sing a Foolish Track.”

Disney has additionally designed places which might be only for adults.

Quiet Cove is sequestered away from the bustling household actions and options an infinity pool, a poolside bar and a restaurant. Senses Spa provides spa and sweetness remedies, whereas Senses Health is an train and wellness facility.

The Disney Future additionally options De Vil’s piano lounge, a lavish locale for fashionable cocktails, and the Sanctum, a lounge that takes inspiration from Physician Unusual from the Marvel universe.

“We’re persevering with to take mental property or franchises, not simply from the large display, however from our theme parks as nicely,” D’Amaro mentioned. “We did that with ‘Haunted Mansion’ on our final ship, and ‘Haunted Mansion’ can be again on the Future this time, as nicely. However, you will additionally see a ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ lounge, for instance, which is simply beautiful, and I believe our visitors are going to reply exceptionally nicely to it.”

That is the second time that Disney has introduced its theme park IP to its cruise line. The Haunted Mansion Parlor debuted on the Disney Treasure final yr, and an identical lounge space, that includes ghostly design parts and spooky cocktails, can be on board the Future.

There’s additionally Cask & Cannon, which is the eclectic however cozy pub impressed by “Pirates of the Caribbean” attraction. That is the primary time “Pirates of the Caribbean” has been introduced aboard a Disney ship on this capability. The vacation spot will characteristic themed drinks and decor.

The Disney Future’s launch can be shortly adopted up by the maiden voyage of the Disney Journey, which is able to service Singapore beginning in March 2026. Further ships will launch between 2027 and 2031, bringing the Disney cruise fleet to 13 vessels.

“From a enterprise perspective, the Disney cruise line is essential, not solely to the Disney experiences section, however to the Walt Disney Firm,” D’Amaro mentioned. “It is a large model ambassador for us. So, the flexibility to take the entire tales that we now have to inform and produce them all over the world with an asset that strikes could be very, very highly effective for us.”

D’Amaro famous that the section has seen double-digit returns on its cruise ships and continues to generate excessive occupancy and powerful future bookings.

However, Disney’s cruise line is not the one piece of the corporate’s experiences enterprise that’s increasing. There are development plans throughout the globe for Disney’s theme parks and resorts.

“We’re in the course of turbocharging the Disney experiences section of the Walt Disney Firm,” D’Amaro mentioned. “So, it is a actually particular time for this a part of the enterprise. We have now extra tasks underway proper now than we now have ever had within the historical past of the corporate.”

The Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, is seeing its largest enlargement ever at Magic Kingdom with the addition of a villains-themed land and a “Automobiles” space being added in Frontierland. A “Monsters Inc.” land is coming to Hollywood Studios and the Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster is being rethemed to characteristic “The Muppets.” At Animal Kingdom, the corporate is including an “Encanto” and an “Indiana Jones” attraction.

On the West Coast at Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, Avengers Campus on the California Journey Park can be expanded to incorporate two extra rides. The corporate can also be including an “Avatar” space and its first ever “Coco” attraction.

Internationally, the corporate is about to interrupt floor on its seventh theme park resort in Abu Dhabi. Disneyland Paris, Hong Kong Disneyland, Shanghai Disneyland and Tokyo Disney are all getting new points of interest based mostly on common IP.

“We have now so many extra tales to inform, and it is taking place everywhere in the world,” D’Amaro mentioned. “Each single considered one of our locations is present process a big transformation, including new capability, including new tales, including new ports.”