The Disney Believe will sail its maiden voyage on Saturday, December 18, 2027, departing from Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Disney Cruise Line announced the date during its livestream reveal on Wednesday, broadcast from aboard the Disney Wish.
Anyone following the scavenger hunt Disney ran on the Wish this week had the answer a few hours early. On Wednesday morning at Castaway Cay, guests hunting for Believe clues opened a treasure chest with the code 1218, and the date turned out to be exactly that.
We’re on Castaway Cay looking for Disney Believe clues and unlocked a treasure chest using code 1218. Maybe Believe inaugural on 12/18/2027?
— Scott Gustin (@ScottGustin) October 7, 2026
That puts the first sailing a little more than 14 months away. Until now Disney had only said the ship would arrive in late 2027.
Where The Believe Will Sail
The Believe will homeport at Port Everglades and sail four- and five-night cruises to the Bahamas and the Caribbean. General on-sale bookings begin October 19, 2026, less than two weeks after the reveal.
Clues Were Hidden All Week
The Castaway Cay chest was not the only number Disney planted. On the first day of the hunt, guests solved a group puzzle that spelled out 723, which Disney revealed is the Believe’s hull number at the Meyer Werft shipyard. Walt Disney Imagineering hides each ship’s hull number somewhere in its design as a nod to where the ship began.
Other clues pointed toward the stories that will shape the ship’s venues, including a porthole puzzle that spelled out Ariel and a surprise encounter with Judy and Nick from Zootopia.
What Else Disney Revealed
The date arrived alongside a full list of what will be on board. The Walt Disney Theatre will host “Disney Encanto,” the first stage adaptation of the film, along with Tangled: The Musical with new sets and effects. Gazelle is a Zootopia entertainment hub that will host a brand-new family detective show starring Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde. The Wishing Well is a Snow White lounge, Sea Notes is a piano lounge set in Ariel’s grotto, and Skygazers is an observatory-themed pub. The Grand Hall is themed to Moana.
Oaken’s Table: A Frozen Family Feast is a new restaurant, Inside Out: Joyful Sweets returns with Inside Out 2 characters, and two new coffee shops, Big Hero Sips and Café Kakamora, round out the menu. 1923, Worlds of Marvel and Haunted Mansion Parlor return from the Believe’s sister ships. The rooms include a two-story Believe Tower Suite themed to Magic Kingdom, plus new royal suites inspired by The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast.
On the outside, the ship will carry Woody and Buzz Lightyear on its stern, drawing the Believe’s name in crayon, and Tinker Bell artwork on its bow.
Where The Ship Stands
The Believe will be the ninth ship in the Disney Cruise Line fleet and the fourth and final Wish-class ship, following the Disney Wish, Disney Treasure and Disney Destiny, and it is being built at Meyer Werft in Papenburg, Germany. Its first gigablock floated out of the shipyard in mid-September, and a second is now under construction. Days ago the shipyard held its keel laying ceremony, where a Tinker Bell coin was placed under the keel for good luck.
Trent Hitchcock, a Disney Cruise Line veteran of nearly 20 years, will be the opening cruise director. He will travel to Papenburg next year and stay with the ship through the maiden voyage and its first season. “Bringing a new ship to life is a special time and being the opening cruise director to close the Wish class is an honor and a privilege,” Hitchcock said in Disney’s Ship’s Log for the Believe.
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