Trent Hitchcock Named Opening Cruise Director for Disney Believe

Disney Cruise Line has named Trent Hitchcock opening cruise director for Disney Believe, the Wish-class ship scheduled to debut on December 18, 2027. He will lead an entertainment and guest-experience operation involving more than 200 crew members.

Hitchcock has spent nearly two decades with Disney Cruise Line, including 10 years as a cruise director, and helped open Disney Destiny in November 2025. He has worked aboard every ship in the fleet except the Singapore-based Disney Adventure.

His responsibilities will span youth programming, recreation, onboard events and Port Adventures shore excursions. The role also covers the ship’s Broadway-style productions in the Walt Disney Theatre and its pirate deck party, including fireworks at sea.

Hitchcock said this is the earliest he has become involved in a new ship’s development. “Initial conversations for me begin around a year out when we start talking and developing from an entertainment perspective,” he said.

Entertainment planned for the opening season

Hitchcock also helped lead Disney’s October 7 presentation aboard Disney Wish, where the line revealed the new ship’s entertainment. The theater lineup includes Disney Encanto, which songwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda announced as the film’s first stage adaptation.

That production will follow Mirabel’s efforts to save her family and their home, incorporating Colombian culture into costumes, scenery and choreography. Songs will include “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” and “Surface Pressure.”

Tangled: The Musical, already performed aboard Disney Magic, will receive new sets and special effects developed for the new vessel. Disney Seas the Adventure, a production presented across the Wish class, completes the announced mainstage lineup.

Beyond the theater, the Zootopia-inspired Gazelle venue will offer family trivia, games and character encounters during the day, followed by adults-only entertainment, silent discos and variety acts at night. A new interactive family show will feature Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde, and guests will help the characters solve a case.

Oaken’s Table: A Frozen Family Feast, a dinner show, will feature Oaken’s cousins performing new arrangements of songs from the Frozen films, with appearances by Anna and Kristoff.

From Papenburg to Port Everglades

Disney Believe will be the fourth Wish-class vessel, following Disney Wish, Disney Treasure and Disney Destiny. It will operate four- and five-night Bahamas and Caribbean cruises from Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, with itineraries visiting Disney Castaway Cay and Disney Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point.

General bookings open October 19, 2026. Castaway Club members will receive earlier access according to loyalty status, beginning with Pearl members on October 12.

The ship, whose keel was laid in September 2026, is under construction at Meyer Werft in Papenburg, Germany. Hitchcock will join the crew there in 2027 and remain aboard for the maiden voyage and inaugural season.

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