Today, Disney Wonder sailed into Australia, and after this season, we’re not quite sure when we’ll see Disney next.
Today, Disney Wonder sailed into Australia for its final season. The cruise line has announced that it wouldn’t be returning to Australia for the 2026/27 season, and won’t be sailing in Australia for the foreseeable future.
Just a couple of years ago, it would have been difficult to imagine this scenario unfolding, as Disney’s initial announcement that they’d be coming to Australia sent our cruise and travel industries into a frenzy. Cruise agents reported their phones blowing up and more and more cabins snapped up by the minute.
Disney has remained quiet on the reasons why it won’t be making its way back to Australia, but there are quite a few things we can suggest to understand how we went from seeing travel agents inundated to Disney having to offer unprecedented discounts just to try and get Aussies onboard.
This includes the introduction of Disney Adventure out of Singapore, a massive ship that Disney may be hoping will attract the Australian market who are still keen to sail with Disney.
Another theory is that Australia’s smaller population means our cruise market relies more on repeat cruisers, however, Aussies perhaps due Disney more as a one-off novelty cruise, than a cruise to jump on every year.
However, the change can be most simply explained by looking at the prices of Disney Cruises and understanding that they’re out of reach for the average Aussie cruiser.
A three-night Disney Magic cruise out of Sydney starts from $5521 for two kids and two adults, which is $920 per adult per night, and that’s for an interior cabin.
Over the coming season, you could get the same deal for a Carnival three-night cruise for $1328 for two kids and two adults. This means that you can purchase four Carnival cruises for the price of the Disney cruise, and still have a bit of money left over.
While Disney is a very specialised and premium offering, the reality is that the two cruise lines are both targeting Aussie families, and it’s a big ask for Aussie families to opt for the cruise line that can prove four times more expensive.
Finder data from last year shows that 50% of Aussies are already making lifestyle sacrifices to afford holidays and 27% are cutting down on social activities to better afford holidays. For most families, a Disney cruise simply isn’t a realistic financial decision.
That’s not to say that there aren’t Aussies out there who are willing to splash the cash to spend time at sea. Luxury cruises are actually booming in Australia.
However, there are many factors that explain why the success of luxury cruises in Australia doesn’t mean that people are willing to pay Disney’s prices.
Luxury cruise lines in Australia spend to sail with ships with capacity from anywhere from 400 to 1000 people, compared to Disney’s much larger 2700 capacity. They also tend to sail longer itineraries, moving around Australia and nearby continents, with less volume of sailings, rather emphasising variety. This leaves them with exceptionally less cabins to fill.
Disney will sail 26 sailings this season in Australia, leaving them with 70,200 spaces to fill for the season.
If we look at Viking Australia season, they actually charge prices similar to Disney in per day per adult terms, albeit for a more luxurious veranda cabin, not an interior. However, they have just 10 cruises to sell this season, which translates to 9300 spaces overall.
Selling these cruises is a much smaller task, as it involves appealing to niche that is looking for luxury and can afford it as well.
Selling Disney cruises is another beast entirely in Australia, with the idea of paying luxury level prices for a slightly more specialised and premium big ship experience, clearly not appealing to Aussie holidaymakers.
None of this is to say that the Disney offering isn’t exceptional. The ships generally receive rave reviews and offer perhaps another level of entertainment than other family lines, particularly for Disney fans.
However, with Aussies able to hop onboard other family lines for a fraction of the price, and big cruise spenders after a completely different experience, Disney didn’t quite cut it in Australia.
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