Disney Cruise Line announced itineraries from Fall 2026 to Spring 2027 for the Magic, Wonder, Dream, Fantasy legacy ships, plus the newer Adventure, Destiny, Treasure, and Wish. This post covers the destinations, followed by commentary on pricing, what’s missing, DCL pent-up demand, and booking ASAP vs. waiting.
Early bookings open on August 25, 2025 for select Disney Cruise Line Castaway Club members, and general bookings open September 2, 2025. The full booking cadence is listed below. All bookings will begin at 8 a.m. ET / 8 p.m. SGT.
- Monday, August 25, 2025: Castaway Club Pearl Members
- Tuesday, August 26, 2025: Castaway Club Platinum Members, Golden Oak and Walt Disney World Club 33 Members
- Wednesday, August 27, 2025: Castaway Club Gold Members
- Thursday, August 28, 2025: Castaway Club Silver Members, Disney Vacation Club Members and Adventures by Disney Adventure Insiders
- Tuesday, September 2, 2025: General bookings open
It’s always a good idea to use an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner to do the work for you, but especially for opening day bookings. For one thing, using them to book your cruise is a great way to save time and stress. For another, their services are free to you since they’re paid commission by DCL on the reservation. You can also book directly on disneycruise.com or by calling Disney Cruise Line at 888-325-2500. Anyway, here are full details about the DCL Fall 2026 to Spring 2027 sailings…
Disney Cruise Line is returning to guest-favorite destinations, including Mexico, The Bahamas, Eastern Caribbean, and Western Caribbean. Don’t forgot to pack your Mickey Mouse ears because several itineraries include an extra touch of pixie dust with stops at both of Disney’s island destinations, Disney Castaway Cay, and Disney Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point.
Some sailings will stop not once, but twice at Disney Castaway Cay! And, for the first time, Disney Cruise Line will call on a new port, Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic.
DCL’s California Comeback!
The Disney Magic will kick off the sailing season in October 2026 from San Diego, California, with three, four, five, six, and seven-night voyages before heading to Galveston, Texas, in November.
The Disney Wonder will make its way to San Diego in October 2026 as well, offering everything from three- to seven-night sailings through April 2027. The Disney Magic will stop in Catalina Island, California, as well as Cabo San Lucas, Ensenada, and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
We are so back! This is the news we’ve been anxiously awaiting for a long time, as the ships have “skipped” California. In fact, the bulk of our commentary for each of the last several itinerary releases has been the lack of SoCal sailings. Now, I don’t even know what I’m going to complain about?!
I’ve found the lack of San Diego sailings a bit baffling. California is a large and highly populous state and is home to a huge Disney fan base. The demographics for DCL have to be highly favorable, so it’s wild to me that Disney Cruise Line wouldn’t want to have more sailings out of California.
And now, we’re getting two Disney Cruise Line ships sailing out of San Diego next fall (at least for a couple months). While I’m salivating at the prospect of some discounted sailings during these dates, I also want these to be a resounding success. As much as we love Halloween on the High Seas and Very Merrytime Christmas Cruises, we’d really love some summer options in 2027.
Summer seems like the perfect time for Californian families to cruise with school being out of session, and I’m also guessing there are plenty of former Disneyland Annual Passholders who would love to use cruising to get their “Disney fix.” (A dynamic we’ve heard fans discuss on DCL sailings from Florida.)
DCL’s Transfer to Texas
Families can do set sail aboard the Disney Magic from Galveston between November 2026 and April 2027 on four, five, and seven-night sailings. (Note: the photo above represents the Disney Magic moving from California to Texas via Disneyland and a longhorn.)
Whether walking the sandy beaches of Cozumel, Mexico, and exploring the historic Progreso, Mexico, or experiencing a Bahamian vacation under the palm trees at Disney Castaway Cay or Nassau, there’s something for everyone.
Like California, there’s a huge Disney fanbase in Texas (including many ex-Californians!). It thus makes sense that Disney Cruise Line is returning to Galveston for next Christmas and Spring 2027. This is another big win for an underserved demographic, and a move that makes perfect sense. Kudos to DCL on this one, again.
The one major group that’s gotta be feeling left out amidst all this good news is New Yorkers. It is a bit interesting that San Diego will briefly go from zero ships to 2 ships, whereas New York will continue having none at all. Selfishly, I’m not complaining–but that’s rough for New Yorkers. Maybe Fall 2027 will finally be their time again?!
DCL’s Florida Five
Like an old timey gang of bandits, Disney Cruise Line’s fabled Florida Five will set sail from the Sunshine State in 2026-2027. With ships sailing out of both Fort Lauderdale and Port Canaveral, there are so many Disney Cruise Line vacations from which to choose out of Florida.
The Disney Destiny, joining the DCL fleet in November of 2025, will offer four-, five-, and seven-nights from Fort Lauderdale to The Bahamas, Eastern Caribbean, and Western Caribbean throughout the 2026-2027 season. It is destined to be a heroic or villainous time!
The Disney Dream will begin fall 2026 with three-, four-, five-, and six -night dream cruises to The Bahamas and seven-night sailings to the Eastern Caribbean from Fort Lauderdale, as well as seven-night sailings to the Southern Caribbean from San Juan, Puerto Rico. The Disney Dream will then make its way to Port Canaveral for more three- and four-night Bahamian vacations.
The Disney Fantasy will call on Disney Castaway Cay, Disney Lookout Cay and Nassau between October 2026 and May 2027 during three-, four-, and five-night voyages.
The Disney Wish is waiting for you to visit Disney Castaway Cay, Disney Lookout Cay, and Nassau. Three- and four-night sailings from Port Canaveral will be offered on the Disney Wish.
The Disney Treasure will offer 7-night sailings from Port Canaveral will allow guests to experience the beauty of Cozumel, magic of Disney Castaway Cay, sunshine of San Juan, Puerto Rico, and the picturesque views of the Caribbean between October 2026 to May 2027.
Disney Adventure
The Disney Adventure, setting sail later this year, will continue with three and four-night cruises from Marina Bay Cruise Centre in Singapore from October to December 2026. Disney Cruise Line has an agreement with Singapore, so there’s no reason to expect the Adventure cruising from any other home port in the next 5 years or more.
Guests will have their own adventures experiencing beloved Disney, Pixar, and Marvel stories in brand new ways, including Marvel-themed attractions and Broadway-style theatrical experiences exclusive to the Disney Adventure.
We’re still looking forward to setting sail aboard the Adventure at some point, but sadly, opening season didn’t work out for us. Perhaps next year during fall colors season, I can convince Sarah to tack-on a stop in Singapore!
Halloween & Christmas Cruises
For the fans of spooky and merry festivities, it is time to start planning holiday celebrations at sea. Halloween on the High Seas is retuning on select sailings from September to October 2026. Very Merrytime Cruises will begin in early November and continue through December 2026 sailings.
Haul out the holly, enjoy all the festive treats, and savor all the Halloween candy while celebrating the season onboard Disney Cruise Line with friends and family. These holiday themed sailings will be available on select domestic Disney Cruise Line itineraries.
We’ve become big fans of Halloween on the High Seas and Very Merrytime Cruises, seeing them as fun value-adds from October through December. There’s definitely not as much meat to them as what Disneyland includes with admission, but it’s better than what you’ll get at Walt Disney World outside of hard ticket events.
Here’s a graphic offering an easily digestible visual rundown of Disney Cruise Line’s Fall 2026 to Spring 2027 sailings:
Our Commentary
Every year opening day price-points make waves on social media, as prices always jump. This is not really a surprise at this point, but it’s nonetheless easy to be taken aback when first seeing each year’s prices…especially if you remember what prices were in 2019 and earlier.
We’ve also had sticker shock in looking at DCL prices during the pent-up demand period, especially as compared to the post-reopening window when Sarah went on several sailings with friends–there were a ton of last minute steals back then because very few people (me included) wanted to cruise.
As covered in Rising Tide in Discounts for Disney Cruise Line, it now appears that Disney Cruise Line is following a similar trajectory as Walt Disney World as revenge travel burned out there, just a couple years behind. It’s also possible that this is partly wishful thinking on my end, as plenty of sailings are still very expensive.
I don’t think it’s just wishful thinking. After publishing that piece, we’ve seen even more special offers, as covered in Save Up to 30% on Disney Cruise Line in Fall 2025, Plus $250 Onboard Credit. Beyond that, Disney has made changes to increase bookings, such as the move to Cut Disney Cruise Line Deposits in Half. And we didn’t cover it, but there’s a new discount to Save 50% Off 3rd & 5th Guests on Select DCL Sailings. This is all on top of increased discounting for Floridians, Cast Members, and other demos.
Nevertheless, it’s worth noting that opening day stateroom rates are typically on the lower end of the eventual pricing spectrum. Which is to say that as itineraries start to book up and stateroom inventory becomes more scarce, rates invariably increase. Pricing is demand-based, with cruises in recent years rarely decreasing in price–increases are far more common.
Basically, this is my warning to not bank on the exhaustion of pent-up demand leading to greater discounts. While we fully expect more deals in 2026 and beyond, they always apply to “select sailings.” That means itineraries that are in lower demand, and aren’t projected to sell out. If you have a specific cruise that you really want to take, and it’s in higher demand–and there are still plenty of those–prices will go up, not down!
Ultimately, it’ll be interesting to see what happens with Disney Cruise Line, just like all other aspects of travel.
After having fantastic experiences aboard the Disney Treasure and Wish last Christmas, we are excited to be doing another Halloween on the High Seas sailing next month as a family. It’s the first time that all three of us will be going to Florida together in a while “thanks” to weather this time of year.
As I’ve said before, May through September is the ideal time to do Disney Cruise Line. Summer is my least-favorite time to travel pretty much everywhere else due to climate and crowds. (“Everywhere else” meaning the places I like to go: theme parks, Japan, France, and the U.S. National Parks.)
Since the ships are capacity-constrained, largely indoors, and have a cool breeze outside in the evenings, I find them to be great summertime alternatives to the normal tourist destinations. By contrast, we love October through April at our favorite destinations, especially Halloween and Christmas, as well as fall colors, winter, and cherry blossom seasons.
Even so, 3-4 night cruises are “bite-sized” ways to get away on quick trips, and we might try to take both an early Halloween on the High Seasons and a late Very Merrytime Christmas cruise out of San Diego in 2026. Having an option close to home is a gamechanger, just as it was when we lived in Florida and did more last-minute DCL sailings.
Planning to set sail aboard one of the Disney Cruise Line ships? Read our comprehensive Disney Cruise Line Guide to prepare for your trip, plan entertainment and other activities, and learn what to expect from your Disney cruise! If you want personalized recommendations for Disney Cruise Line itineraries, ships, and more, click here to get a cruise quote from a no-fee Authorized Disney Vacation Planner. They can find you all of the current discounts, and help you plan the details of your cruise!
YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you think of these Fall 2026 and Spring 2027 Disney Cruise Line itineraries? Any that appeal to you? Thoughts on pent-up demand for cruises starting to exhaust itself? Have you spotted any (worthwhile) DCL deals recently? Will you be booking on opening day, or taking a wait and see approach hoping to score a deal later? Do you agree or disagree with our perspective? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!