Disney rumoured to be considering buying Global Dream mega cruise ship

Disney Cruise Line is reportedly in talks with Germany-based shipbuilder MV Werften’s insolvency administrator to buy the still under construction Global Dream cruise ship.

Global Dream is reported to be 75% complete, it was under construction for Dream Cruises, but its parent company Genting HK declared bankruptcy in April 2021, forcing construction to stop.

Genting owns Dream Cruises, Star Cruises, Crystal Cruises and MV Werften. All four companies were placed in administration, and it was anticipated that Global Dream would be sold the scrap.

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The ship is one of the largest in the world at 208,000-gross tons, with the highest passenger capacity in the world at 9,000 guests.

Now the German broadcaster NDR has reported that Disney Cruise Line is in talks to potentially buy the ship. The cruise line is reportedly in talks with insolvency administrator Christoph Morgen.

Apparently, Disney Cruise Line is considering having the ship completed at MV Werften in Papenberg, where the cruise line already has another ship on order in its new Triton class.

Global Dream was reported to cost 1.6 billion euros when she was first ordered, but Disney Cruise Line is likely to pay only the base construction costs, if indeed the reports are true.

However, the ship has been designed from the keel up for the Asian market, which is a major drawback for American or European cruise companies.

The ship is also considerably larger than anything else in the Disney Cruise Line fleet, the 4,000-passengers Disney Wish is currently the largest Disney ship, and is just 144,000-gross tons compared to Global Dream.

Disney Cruise Line already has another two identical sister ships on order, representing a major increase in capacity, and Global Dream is considerably different in design compared to anything else in the fleet.

Disney has always focused on evoking the golden age of ocean liner travel with its ship designs, from Disney Magic back in 1998 to Disney Wish in 2022.

“The 1930s time of travel was the most romantic, so that is where we started with our design,” explained Bruce Vaughn, Chief Creative Executive for Walt Disney Imagineering back in 2011 when Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy were ordered.

“We want our guests to get excited just seeing the ship – evoking a beautiful, classic 1930s ocean liner,” he added.

Global Dream is more similar to the floating apartment-block style of the Royal Caribbean Oasis-class ships, which means that if the reports are true, she’ll be a marked departure in ship style for Disney Cruise Line.