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Cruise passengers always take a chance on delays or cancellations when choosing a cruise vacation near a ship's planned dry dock dates.
Disney cruisers never expected multiple cancellations long past what was to have been the end of Disney Fantasy's upcoming dry dock, however.
The impacted guests received notification of their cruise cancellations this week, and a total of four sailings have been removed. The ship's October 20, November 2, November 7, and November 12, 2025 departures are now cancelled.
"Due to an unplanned change in the scheduled dry dock dates for the Disney Fantasy, your sailing is no longer available," the notification read. "We sincerely apologize for any disappointment this may cause and welcome the opportunity to assist you in rescheduling your sailing around the same timeframe."
Disney Fantasy, which is homeported from Port Canaveral, Florida, is scheduled to move to Europe for the summer sailing season in mid-May. After offering a variety of sailings from Barcelona, Rome, and Southampton, the ship was to have entered dry dock on September 29, 2025.
Following the dry dock refreshment and update, Disney Fantasy was to have returned to service on October 20, 2025 with a 13-night westbound transatlantic sailing from Southampton back to Port Canaveral. At that time, she would have resumed her 4- and 5-night Bahamian itineraries.
Guests on the now-cancelled sailings are receiving a full refund back to their original form of payment. In addition, Disney Cruise Line is offering a 20% discount on a future booking.
Blackout dates do apply and the discount may not be used on maiden voyages for upcoming Disney ships, including Disney Destiny from Fort Lauderdale in November.
The 129,750-gross-ton, Dream-class Disney Fantasy entered service in 2012. The ship can welcome 2,500 guests aboard at double occupancy, or as many as 4,000 travelers when fully booked.
Also onboard are more than 1,400 international crew members who work to ensure that all guests' cruise vacation fantasies come true.
Disney Cruise Line has already stated that a revised 13-night Disney Fantasy westbound transatlantic sailing will be available for booking beginning on Thursday, February 6, 2025. As yet, there is no departure date for that cruise, nor have any ports of call been confirmed.
The cancelled post-dry-dock transatlantic sailing was to have visited La Coruna and Vigo in Spain as well as Ponta Delgada in the Azores. It is likely that the revised cruise will have similar ports of call as the ship returns to Port Canaveral.
At this time, it is unknown whether or not new Disney Fantasy sailings will be offered in Europe prior to the dry dock, as it appears the dates have been shifted to slightly later than originally planned. This might mean the ship can offer extra European cruises before entering dry dock.
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Another possibility is that the ship's dry dock will need to be longer than initially anticipated either due to extra work that needs to be done or labor challenges at the shipyard that might impact work schedules. This would mean the ship needs the additional time to remain in dry dock longer than expected.
While the dry dock itself is not unplanned - all cruise ships undergo maintenance and refurbishment every few years - the date change is sure to be a surprise to booked guests.
Dry dock delays do occasionally happen, and it is not unheard of for a ship's first post-dry-dock sailing to be impacted. What is unusual in this case is that four cruises are impacted, for a total of 27 days.
Fortunately, travelers will not be out of any investment for their cruise fare and will have a pleasant discount for rebooking a new sailing of their choice.