Port Canaveral-bound Disney Treasure cruise ship leaves shipyard on way to sea trials
The latest vessel in Disney Cruise Line’s growing fleet left its shipyard home Wednesday making the slow 20-mile river trip so it can complete sea trials ahead of a debut from Port Canaveral later this year.
The Disney Treasure, a sister ship to Disney Wish that debuted in 2022 and also calls Port Canaveral home, left the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany making its way on the Ems River toward the North Sea.
The inland shipyard requires a tugboat-assisted conveyance of the 1,119-foot-long, 128-foot-wide ship traveling on the river facing in reverse.
A live stream of the conveyance was broadcast by YouTube channel Hamburg Port Live.
The vessel is first headed to Eemshaven, Netherlands, before it heads out for sea trials in the North Sea. The shipyard has a lot of practice getting vessels up the river, traveling at only 3-5 mph over several hours.
In the past, parts of bridges had to be disassembled to allow for a ship’s passing, although Disney Treasure, while the largest in Disney’s fleet along with Wish to date, isn’t the biggest transported from Meyer Werft.
It comes in at 144,000 gross tons with 1,246 staterooms, compared to the 130,000 gross tons of Disney Dream and Fantasy and the 84,000 gross tons of the line’s two original ships Disney Magic and Wonder.
Treasure is the second of four Wish-class vessels constructed at Meyer Werft with Port Everglades-bound Disney Destiny due in 2025. The fourth, ordered by the Oriental Land Co. in partnership with DCL, will sail out of Japan in 2029.
Disney Cruise Line orders 4 new ships, announces ‘Hercules’ show on Disney Destiny
The shipyard also will construct four more ships in a new class for Disney with the first coming online in 2027.
Disney Treasure only got its first taste of water in March when it was floated out for the first time. Its keel was laid in March 2023 so its trip out to sea trials comes at around 18 months since the beginning of construction.
The ship won’t be handed over to Disney Cruise Line until after it has completed a series of sea trials to prove its seaworthiness, and won’t make the transatlantic sailing to Florida until late November or early December. Once in Florida it has a few weeks before its maiden voyage Dec. 21 on a a seven-night Eastern Caribbean cruise followed by alternating seven-night Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries.
Among spaces coming to the ship are bars inspired by the Haunted Mansion, Jungle Cruise and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea theme park attractions and an Aladdin-themed Grand Hall atrium. Its top deck will once again feature the AquaMouse water coaster-dark ride combo. One new dining venue on board will be themed to the Pixar movie “Coco.”
New entertainment on board includes “Disney The Tale of Moana.”
Its arrival will grow the DCL fleet to six ships, but with 2025’s Disney Destiny and Asia-bound Disney Adventure also under construction, that will grow to eight next year and with the new ships on order will grow to 13 by 2031.