Disney Cruise Line Tops Travel + Leisure 2026 Large-Ship Rankings
Travel + Leisure said Disney drew reader praise for family-friendliness, entertainment and character meet-and-greets in a category for ships with 800 to 1,399 cabins.
Disney Cruise Line has been voted No. 1 Large-Ship Ocean Cruise Line in Travel + Leisure’s 2026 World’s Best Awards, scoring 86.79 in the reader rankings. Holland America Line placed second. Disney also led the category in 2025 after ranking second in 2024.
The category is one of six cruise groupings in the World’s Best program and is defined by ships with 800 to 1,399 cabins.
How readers scored the category
The World’s Best Awards, now in their 31st year, drew about 661,000 votes across travel categories including cruise lines, hotels, airlines and destinations. In the cruise rankings, readers rated individual ships on accommodations and facilities, food, service, itineraries and destinations, shore excursions and activities, and overall value before those results were combined into cruise line scores.
Travel + Leisure’s large-ship table put Disney at 86.79, ahead of Holland America Line at 84.79, Celebrity Cruises at 83.58, Cunard at 83.41 and MSC Cruises at 80.42. The publication said Disney drew reader praise for family-friendliness, entertainment and character meet-and-greets.
Disney’s onboard product includes rotational dining, Broadway-style productions, character experiences, themed activities and programming for children, teens and adults. The line also operates two private Bahamian destinations used exclusively by Disney ships: Castaway Cay and Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point.
Disney is expanding toward a larger fleet
Disney Cruise Line currently sails eight ships: Disney Magic, Disney Wonder, Disney Dream, Disney Fantasy, Disney Wish, Disney Treasure, Disney Destiny and Disney Adventure. The fleet began with Disney Magic in 1998 and Disney Wonder in 1999, then added Disney Dream in 2011, Disney Fantasy in 2012, Disney Wish in 2022, Disney Treasure in 2024 and Disney Destiny in 2025.
Disney Wish, the first Wish-class ship, has 1,254 staterooms. Disney has identified Disney Believe as another Wish-class ship, with a theme built around “promise and possibilities” and character franchises including Encanto, Frozen, Snow White, Moana and The Little Mermaid named so far.
Another Wish-class ship is planned for Tokyo in 2029 and will be operated by Oriental Land Company, owner and operator of Tokyo Disney Resort. Three additional Disney ships are scheduled for 2029, 2030 and 2031 as a new smaller class, and Meyer Werft has assigned hull numbers to the upcoming vessels. If the current schedule holds and Disney Magic and Disney Wonder are not retired early, Disney Cruise Line would have 13 ships sailing by 2031.
Additional Disney Believe details are expected in October, with a performance by upcoming Disney Legend Susan Egan. Oriental Land Company has also signaled a possible second ship and recently established Disney Cruise Line Japan.
Compare Disney Cruise Line sailings by price on Cruise Lookup.
