Key Features:
- Disney Cruise Line has confirmed that it’s going to not be returning to Australia and New Zealand after the upcoming 2025/2026 season.
- Disney Surprise will sail away with no deliberate return on February 2, 2026, after spending simply three seasons exploring the area.
- Disney Cruise Line will proceed to make magic in new markets, and can debut Disney Journey in Asia as quickly as this December.
The rumors are true. Disney Cruise Line is completely leaving Australia and New Zealand, at the very least for now.
Many DCL followers suspected as a lot as Disney Surprise, which is the Disney ship deployed to the Land Down Beneath, was noticeably absent from port schedules for the 2026/2027 season.
And certainly, the 2025/2026 Australia cruise season, which can run from October 2025 to February 2026, would be the final for the 84,130-gross ton ship.
However now, essentially the most magical cruise line at sea has confirmed the information in no unsure phrases that the Disney model will likely be crusing elsewhere for the foreseeable future.
“We’re at the moment going to be crusing within the Australia and New Zealand area up till February 2026. We won’t return for the 2026/2027 season,” Tristan, a consultant from Disney’s shoreside visitor companies management staff, confirmed to Yahoo Information.
Disney Surprise’s last round-trip voyage within the area will likely be a 3-day cruise to nowhere from Sydney, Australia, that embarks on January 30, 2026.
The two,713-guest ship will then set sail on a 14-night one-way voyage from Sydney to Honolulu, Hawaii, on February 2, 2026.
Disney’s tenure in Australia was finally fairly quick. The model solely entered Australian waters for the primary time ever on the finish of 2023 when Disney Surprise launched into her inaugural “Disney Magic at Sea” cruise.
The ultimate itineraries present an excellent selection in size, starting from 3-10 days and embarking from Melbourne, Auckland, and Sydney.
Whereas some function ports of name, others are cruises to nowhere that enable company to essentially embrace the leisure onboard.
Why is Disney Leaving?
As a lot as inquiring minds wish to know, Disney Cruise Line has not launched a motive for why the model has determined to drag out of Australia and New Zealand.
That stated, the powers that be are all the time retaining in thoughts provide and demand, in addition to the corporate’s future objectives.
When taking a look at our Cruise Hive reserving function, Disney Cruise Line’s sailings within the area are considerably costlier than comparable sailings supplied by manufacturers like Carnival Cruise Line – which can be a contributing issue.
“We’re all the time taking a look at completely different locations to discover with our company, together with our crew members,” Tristan, the Disney consultant, added.
“Sailings from Australia and New Zealand stay on our listing for future consideration, nonetheless since future itineraries haven’t been launched previous the 2026/2027 season, we’re not capable of make any feedback on that regrettably,” he stated.
As Disney has traditionally launched new itineraries 15-18 months prematurely, these sailings must be launched actually any time now.
Learn Additionally: How A lot Is a Disney Cruise in 2025? I Did All of the Checking!
DCL followers weren’t upset by the information, and have been excited to discover new places with Disney. Some hoped that Disney Surprise could be assigned to extra home homeports.
“I really feel okay if it means extra San Diego sailings,” one cruiser stated.
“I’m hoping in some unspecified time in the future the Surprise makes its technique to Galveston (or New Orleans if that resumes). We’re from Missouri and people are my closest residence ports,” one other chimed in.
After all, the cruise line can be increasing to a different model new market this yr with the debut of Disney Journey in Singapore in December.
Disney Journey will not be solely the most important ship to ever be part of the fleet, however she can be the primary to be designed for the Asian cruise market.
With 4 extra new ships on the horizon, together with a fourth Want-class ship that has simply begun building this month, there are many deployment alternatives.
Disney Cruise Line Says Goodbye to Australia and New Zealand
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