It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s… Captain Minnie Mouse!
As Disney Cruise Line’s new ship continues its construction at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Germany, Minnie Mouse has taken her rightful place on the bow, as has been tradition across the cruise line’s fleet of six ships since the introduction of Disney Magic in 1998.
This time, Minnie is draped in a flowing cape to look every bit heroic for the new Disney Destiny’s theme: Heroes and Villains.
Symbolizing the adventurous spirit of the new ship, the whimsical hand-painted artwork will have Minnie leading the 140,000-gross-ton Disney Destiny to great heights when she eventually sets sail on her maiden voyage on November 20, 2025.
The third Wish Class vessel to be built at the Papenburg shipyard, Disney Destiny’s final blocks were added to complete the ship’s exterior at the end of 2024, just days after the maiden voyage of the cruise line’s second Wish Class Disney Treasure.
Like her sister, Disney Destiny measures 1,119 feet in length and stands 221 feet high but will feature 14 passenger decks that accommodate 1,223 staterooms and 23 suites.
With Captain Minnie at the bow, she and a slew of heroes inside the vessel will soon be busy keeping Disney’s evil villains like Maleficent, Cruella De Vil, and Loki at bay.
Read Also: Disney Destiny Cruise Ship: Everything We Know So Far
Shipbuilders, which first cut the steel for Destiny on November 8, 2023, and laid her first block – the keel – on March 20, 2024, are now working to add more details to the 4,000-passenger vessel’s exterior and interior to ready her for sea.
With all the blocks of the ship in place, builders can install wiring and plumbing and work on the vessel’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) propulsion system, designed to reduce emissions and a feature on each new build from Disney Cruise Line, including Disney Adventure, another Wish Class ship following just behind Destiny at the shipyard.
Countdown to Launch
Meyer Werft floated out the Disney Treasure just 493 days after her keel-laying ceremony. If Disney Destiny follows suit, the new ship could move from its dry construction berth into the water for the first time by mid-July 2025.
During this time, the ship will continue construction, receiving much of its interior additions, which will include prefabricated staterooms.
Constructed at an off-site factory, the staterooms, slotted into their positions at the shipyard, will feature a strong Heroes theme with cabins outfitted in colors and décor reflecting Disney’s good guys from Hercules, Mulan, Raya and the Last Dragon, Brave, Big Hero 6, and The Incredibles.
While Disney Treasure completed sea trials six months after her float out, Disney Destiny should be completing sea trials in late summer or early fall to maintain her scheduled maiden voyage from Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
But before that, the vessel will have to travel 20 miles from the shipyard’s Ems River location to the North Sea for her sea trials. Once completed, the ship will be handed over to Disney Cruise Line in Eemshaven, Netherlands, after which she will cross the Atlantic Ocean to North America.
Excited guests will get to board Disney Destiny as she sails 4- and 5-night journeys to the Bahamas and the Caribbean. Cruises, of course, will include calls at Disney’s private Castaway Cay and the new Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point, both located in the Bahamas.
At this time, the ship’s godmother has not been revealed, but we’re betting a superhero will be stepping into the spotlight soon.
