June 10, 2022
(11:25 a.m. EDT) -- Disney Cruise Line's first new cruise ship constructed in a decade was officially handed over to the line from the shipyard Thursday.
The 4,000-passenger Disney Wish was welcomed into the Disney Cruise Line fleet with a handover ceremony held in Bremerhaven, Germany. The ship, which is powered by Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), was constructed at Germany's Meyer Werft shipyard and was most recently in Eemshaven, Netherlands for crewing and final outfitting.
As is maritime tradition, the handover ceremony was attended by executives from both Disney Cruise Line and Meyer Werft, including Disney Cruise Line president Thomas Mazloum and Meyer Werft managing director Jan Meyer.
The Meyer Werft flag was lowered from the vessel, and Disney Cruise Line's house flag was raised, signifying transfer of ownership of Disney Wish over to the cruise line.
Disney Cruise Line presented Meyer Werft with a Cinderella statuette in honor of the life-sized bronze statue that will welcome passengers into central atrium -- dubbed the Grand Hall -- aboard Disney Wish.
Disney Wish becomes the fifth ship in Disney Cruise Line's fleet, following the magical tradition set by Disney Magic, Disney Wonder, Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy. The ship represents an entirely new class for Disney Cruise Line and introduces a number of new features and design concepts for the line, including all-new entertainment concepts, an Avengers-themed main dining room, smart adults-only spaces, and even a massive suite inset into the ship's forward (dummy) funnel.
Disney Wish makes its official maiden voyage from Port Canaveral on July 14. Cruise Critic will be sailing on a special media preview cruise on June 29 and will have all the details of this exciting new ship here.
Cruise Critic recently sailed aboard the 1999-built Disney Wonder on one of its special Western Caribbean cruises from New Orleans, and found the pandemic has dampened none of the line's special brand of family-friendly fun.
