Disney Destiny set for November 2025 debut from Port Everglades

Why in the world does a 4-day cruise itinerary need to include TWO private islands (owned by the same company) as ports of call? I just don't get DCL sometimes, nor their customers that spend thousands of dollars to sail with them. To each their own I suppose.

DCL Fans: "Now we get to go to TWO Disney private islands during a single cruise? Yesssss!"

(BTW, Castaway Cay is a really cool place.)

RE Russell Meyer

They are already doing it with the Disney Wish next year before the Treasure sails, that is go to both of their private islands on one 4 day cruise sailing out of Port Canaveral. 5 day out of the same port on Fantasy is similar plus a stop in Nassau

I would be all about the cruises that go to both private islands and nothing else. When I go on a Disney Cruise, I want to be fully immersed in Disney. The private islands give you that sense of immersion along with a Caribbean island experience. Lookout Cay especially seems to give you a Bahamian culture flair through the lens of Disney. When our Disney Cruises have gone to other ports of call, we tend to stay on the ship those days. Especially if it's Nassau.

@Russell: I think a Disney cruise can't really be compared to other cruises, certainly not these short 3 or 4 night itinerary ones. You have to think of them as floating theme parks, Disney Resorts or even as 5th gates at Florida. On that basis keeping guests immersed within the Disney bubble makes a lot of sense. Add to that the anti-cruise noises coming out of Nassau plus the no-doubt significant port costs Disney would have to pay and you can see another reason why their own private islands might be appealing.

I certainly see the benefit from Disney's side to cut port costs and keep all the money spent by passengers in house. My befuddlement is more from the passenger side, and how passengers can justify a 3-4 day itinerary with costs starting at $700+/person where you don't really go ANYWHERE (Disney could have for all intents and purposes built these otherwise deserted private islands 10 miles off the Florida coast). Sure, the DCL ships look amazing and have great theming, but if I'm going to spend that much on a Disney experience (plus all the ancillary costs like upgraded meals, experiences, and the like), I'd rather just do it at the theme parks. From where I live near Washington DC, I could probably travel to and visit the Tokyo Disney parks for 4 days for just a bit more than it would cost me to travel to and take a 4-day DCL vacation (if I lived west of the Mississippi, it is probably cheaper to do a Japanese Disney vacation than a DCL out of Florida).

In my view, DCL has undermined the whole purpose of taking a cruise - as a floating hotel to visit various ports of call and cultures that would be difficult and expensive to do on a land-based vacation. They do treat their boats like floating theme parks, and it's not about the places the boat sails, it's about the offerings on the ship. Lighthouse Point appears to up the cultural interest compared to Castaway Cay, but I'd much rather take an excursion to a real island with locals and interesting sights in lieu of a second private island that has been Disney-fied. I know the DCL-ers probably love this, just as much as they drool over a PotC bar and Haunted Mansion bar (that are most likely going to be a royal pain in the you know what just to get into), but this just doesn't appeal to me in the slightest. Again, if I want a theme park, I'll go to the real thing, not some floating one that lacks real rides and attractions, but those that swear by DCL would probably book a 4-day itinerary where the ship never even left port.