New Disney cruise ship, Fantasy, on its way to New York
By Gene Sloan, USA TODAY
It's official: The Disney Cruise Line is now a four-ship company.
Disney executives on Thursday formally took possession of the line's newest
vessel, the 2,500-passenger Disney Fantasy, at a ceremony in Bremerhaven,
Germany -- one of the last major milestones before the ship's maiden voyage in
March.
The 130,000-ton Disney Fantasy has been under construction for more than a
year at Germany's Meyer Werft shipyard. It'll remain in Bremerhaven for several
days before setting sail for New York, where it will officially be named on
March 1.
A sister to the much-heralded Disney Dream, which debuted last year, the
Disney Fantasy is arriving as Disney gears up for a major
expansion that includes its first cruises out of New York, Seattle and
Galveston, Texas. The two new ships are Disney's first in more than a decade and
together are more than doubling the line's capacity.
PHOTO TOUR: A sneak peek inside the new Disney Fantasy
The Disney Fantasy will be similar but not identical to the Disney Dream. In
December, the line unveiled
plans for a new show on the Fantasy called Wishes, and the ship also will
have a new nighttime entertainment district for adults called Europa and an
elaborate new dinner show. See
illustrations of what Disney is planning.
Like the Disney Dream, the Disney Fantasy also will boast an innovative
"water coaster" called AquaDuck that wraps around the pool deck and extensive
children's areas. See
photos of the Disney Dream's most innovative features.
The Disney Fantasy and Disney Dream are more than 50% larger than Disney's
two previous ships, the 14-year-old Disney Magic and 13-year-old Disney
Wonder.
Scheduled to sail on its maiden voyage on March 31, the 1,250-cabin Disney
Fantasy will be based in Port Canaveral, Fla., and operate alternating,
seven-night sailings to the Eastern and Western Caribbean. Read
more about Disney's plans for the ship
















