Guests booked onboard two upcoming sailings of Disney Dream have been notified that their cruises have been cancelled. The impacted cruises are the November 8 and November 13 departures, both in 2025.
This gives travelers roughly 15 months to adjust their travel plans and choose an alternative Disney cruise if they wish.
Disney Dream is sailing from Fort Lauderdale at that time. The November 8, 2025 departure was to have been a 5-night Western Caribbean sailing to Castaway Cay and Cozumel.
Meanwhile, the November 13 departure was to have been a 4-night Bahamian cruise visiting Nassau as well as Disney Cruise Line’s newest private destination, Lighthouse Point, which just welcomed its first guests in June 2024.
Guests and their associated travel agents are receiving further details about compensation, including their full refund returned to the original form of payment. The time to process refunds will vary based on individual banking institutions.
Impacted travelers will also receive a 20% discount on a future Disney Cruise Line getaway that departs on or before September 3, 2026.
Further terms and conditions may apply to the discount offer, such as the types of sailings available for rebooking. Typically, holiday cruises are not eligible for such offers, but it can vary between different cruise lines and different circumstances.
The 129,690-gross-ton Disney Dream can welcome 4,000 guests per sailing. She is currently sailing a northern European season from Southampton, visiting top ports in Norway, Iceland, France, Belgium, Spain, Germany, and other Western European countries.
The ship will enjoy a 13-night transatlantic cruise departing October 20, 2024 that will bring her to Fort Lauderdale, where she will remain homeported at least through April 2026 offering shorter itineraries to the Bahamas and the Western Caribbean.
Why Two Cancellations?
Very little information was provided about the reasoning behind the cancellations, other than for “operational needs.” This may mean the sailings have been privately chartered, or the cruise line may be adjusting itinerary lengths to different options at that time.
Speculation has been high that perhaps the ship will be entering dry dock during that time period, but it should be noted that Disney Dream is already scheduled for an extended dry dock from mid-September through mid-October this year, 2024.
This will be undertaken at the Damen Shiprepair Brest yard in western France and will include significant upgrades and refreshment.
It is unlikely that another dry dock would be planned just a year later, particularly for just a few days. Typically, smaller dry docks are emergency repair situations and would not be scheduled more than a year in advance.
Another option may be that Disney Dream is being rescheduled due to the arrival of Disney Destiny, the upcoming sister ship to Disney Wish due to homeport from Fort Lauderdale beginning in November 2025.
To give Disney Destiny appropriate fanfare, the cruise line will want to use the dedicated cruise terminal and not have another ship needing attention or distracting from the welcoming celebration, christening, media previews, and other activities.
Read Also: Disney Cruise Ships – Newest to Oldest
At this time, however, this is pure speculation, as the maiden sailings for Disney Destiny have not been released, nor have official announcements been made for any inaugural celebrations. Such information should be forthcoming in the next few weeks and months.
The 144,000-gross-ton Disney Destiny will likewise be able welcome the same number of passengers as Disney Dream – 4,000 per sailing – but the larger ship will have more amenities and extra features to make each voyage truly filled with extraordinary experiences.
Disney Destiny is currently under construction at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany. She floated into the main construction hall earlier this month after Disney Treasure – the second Wish-class ship – floated out to begin finishing and outfitting work.
