Disney Cruise Line's newest ship, the Disney Believe, will set sail from Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale on December 18, 2027, bringing with it the world's first stage adaptation of Encanto and a lineup of four- and five-night cruises to the Caribbean and the Bahamas. General bookings open October 19, with itineraries built around stops at Disney Castaway Cay and Disney Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point.
The homeporting plan traces back to a 15-year agreement Disney Cruise Line finalized with Broward County in late 2021, which established Cruise Terminal 4 at Port Everglades as the company's second dedicated Florida homeport starting in late 2023, according to Port Everglades. That deal turned South Florida into a year-round hub for Disney sailings, complementing Port Canaveral, which remains the company's primary Central Florida base. A 2022 economic study conducted by Martin Associates, as reported by Seatrade Cruise News, estimated that Disney's multi-year operations at the port would support 1,111 direct local jobs, $31.6 million in wages, and $12.3 million in state and local tax revenue.
As first reported by WFTV, the Disney Believe will feature experiences inspired by Encanto, Frozen, Moana, and other Disney properties throughout the ship. Its signature stage production, Disney Encanto, follows Mirabel and includes the songs “We Don't Talk About Bruno” and “Surface Pressure.” The ship will also carry a reimagined version of Tangled: The Musical with new sets and exclusive special effects, plus Disney Seas the Adventure, a show built around Disney and Pixar characters and songs.
New Dining and Themed Lounges Round Out the Ship
Dining aboard the Believe leans heavily into the fleet's growing roster of intellectual properties. Oaken's Table: A Frozen Family Feast will bring Oaken, Anna, and Kristoff together with music inspired by the Frozen films, per the station's report. Two new coffee and specialty drink spots, Big Hero Sips and Café Kakamora, draw their themes from San Fransokyo in Big Hero 6 and from Moana, respectively, each serving coffee, tea, and specialty drinks.
For adults, the ship adds the Wishing Well, a fairy-tale lounge inspired by the 1937 film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, featuring a gothic castle bar, stained glass art, and a courtyard seating area topped with white blossoms and red apples, according to Disney Food Blog. It will offer live music and drinks. Just off the Grand Hall, the newly announced Sea Notes piano lounge draws on Ariel's grotto from The Little Mermaid and centers on a pearlescent piano styled as a forgotten ocean treasure, as detailed by DCL Fan. Skygazers Pub will offer sports, cocktails, and light bites, while the returning Haunted Mansion Parlor comes back with a new menu of cocktails and mocktails.
A Grand Hall Built Around Moana
The ship's Grand Hall atrium, which sets the aesthetic tone for arrivals on every Wish-class vessel, is themed around Moana and will showcase a bronze statue of Moana, Pua, and Hei Hei alongside Polynesian finishes and a moving wave chandelier concealing the Heart of Te Fiti, according to WDWMagic. The ship will also feature a Zootopia-themed entertainment hub where Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde headline a family show, according to the seed reporting from WFTV. That space transitions from daytime family programming into an adults-only venue at night with live variety acts and a silent disco.
Families will find plenty to do as well: the Believe brings back the Aquamouse water ride and includes seven pools spread across its Mickey and Friends family district, along with a Toy Story-themed water area designed for younger children.
Part of a Rapid Fleet Expansion
The Disney Believe is the ninth vessel in the Disney Cruise Line fleet and the fourth in its Wish-class series, featuring 1,250 staterooms and a gross tonnage of approximately 144,000 tons, according to WDW News Today. It's being assembled at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany, where its first 31,000-ton midships gigablock floated out in mid-September and its keel-laying ceremony took place on September 29 — a maritime tradition that placed a custom coin featuring Tinker Bell beneath the keel for good luck, per Marine Link.
The ship's arrival fits into a broader acceleration of Disney Cruise Line's global growth. In August 2026, the company revised its expansion timeline to reach 13 operational vessels by late 2030, a year ahead of its former 2031 target, by adding three smaller 100,000-gross-ton ships between 2029 and 2030, according to Cruise Fever. Disney operated just five ships in early 2024 before adding the Treasure, Destiny, and Adventure, making the Believe the fourth and final Wish-class ship before Disney shifts to its new, smaller ship class. Hoodline previously covered the Destiny's arrival at the same Fort Lauderdale port.
For South Florida, the stakes extend beyond theme park nostalgia. Terminal 4's buildout at Port Everglades was approved specifically to handle Disney's growing guest traffic, reinforcing Broward County's role as a year-round hub designed to capture the region's drive-in and flight-in cruise market. With general bookings for the Believe opening October 19, Fort Lauderdale cruisers now have a concrete date to plan around for the ship's December 2027 debut.
