Germany/USA: Construction of Disney’s Newest Cruise Ship Disney Wish Begins
With a virtual handover of the traditional coin by “Captain Minnie Mouse” and the subsequent lowering of the ship’s first block, Meyer Werft and Disney Cruise Line yesterday celebrated via video conference the keel laying of the new ocean vessel “Disney Wish”, currently under construction in Papenburg, Germany. As announced in 2019 (cf. EAP news of 26 Aug 2019), Disney’s cruise fleet – so far consisting of the four vessels “Disney Magic”, “Disney Wonder”, “Disney Dream” and “Disney Fantasy” – is to be expanded by three new ships, the first of which as Disney Wish is scheduled for completion in spring 2022 (cf. EAP news of 23 Mar 2021). Its maiden voyage is planned for summer 2022.
“As we look to the future with anticipation and excitement for continuing our legacy of creating magical vacations for families across the globe, we are thrilled to reach this significant milestone in the ship building process and to unveil Captain Minnie as the beloved character on the bow of the Disney Wish,” said Thomas Mazloum, president of Disney Cruise Line. For over a year now, the shipyard in Lower Saxony and the US shipping company have been working virtually via video conference on the detailed design of the Disney Wish, as almost all the engineers and designers involved in the project are working remotely. So now hull assembly is starting for Disney’s new cruise ship, which, like the other planned new vessels, will be powered by LNG, i.e. liquefied natural gas instead of heavy oil as fuel. With a size of approx. 144,000 gross tons and 1,250 guest staterooms, the ship will be slightly larger than the Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy.
More to follow here soon, when the details on the cruise ship’s architectural highlights and attractions will be announced at the end of this month. (eap)
Photo (f.l.t.r.): Henning Stellermann (Project Manager, MEYER WERFT), Philip Gennotte (Portfolio Project Management Executive, Disney Cruise Line), Jan Meyer (Managing Director MEYER WERFT) und Manuel Ortuno (Lloyd's Register).
