Gabrielle Russon
The Disney Wish — the first addition to Disney Cruise Line’s fleet in a decade — set sail on her maiden voyage with paying customers in July.
The ship, by all accounts, is a massive beauty, weighing 144,000 gross tons. Some called it a castle on the sea.
But the process of getting the ship sea-ready to hold up to 4,000 passengers faced delays and forced Disney Cruise Line to push the Wish’s maiden voyage back from June 9 to July 14. A newly released U.S. Coast Guard inspection report gives details into the behind-the-scenes efforts before the maiden voyage.
Disney Cruise Line declined to comment on the inspection report for this story. But in February, the company was open about the shipyard delays from the ongoing pandemic.
“The Meyer Werft shipyard has notified Disney Cruise Line that despite their very best efforts, they will need more time to finish the Disney Wish, due in part to the pandemic and particularly the arrival of the Omicron variant in Germany at a critical point in the production process,” according to Disney’s statement at the time.
To be allowed to embark with passengers from a U.S. port, the Disney Wish went through a series of critical tests and inspections. For the sailings to begin, the ship needed a Certificate of Compliance, or COC. That meant the ship met the standards set in the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, which is an international maritime treaty for merchant ships that the United States joined, according to the Coast Guard inspection report that Florida Politics obtained through a public records request.
On May 31, the boat was docked at port in the Netherlands for an overseas initial certification compliance exam before the ship arrived in Port Canaveral.
The exam was extensive.
Inspectors tested steering “from all locations in all configurations” on the bridge and made sure the fire pumps and GPS were working as well as the aircraft radio.
They examined the flares and deployed the lifeboats. They walked around the ship making sure there was enough life-saving equipment and everything was properly stowed for part of their checklist.
They visited the engine room and walked through the entire ship from the laundry room to the incinerator.
Other systems and areas were checked too.
“Noted discrepancies were added to the work list,” the Coast Guard report said.
By the end of the process, the Wish’s work item list grew to 25 items. plus a separate attachment for transitional power-related items, the report noted.
Coast Guard Commander Jason Kling said it is common for a new cruise ship to have a list of work items with 20 to 40 items at this time. The transitional power attachment likely added a longer list with more minor tasks, such as replacing a lightbulb, he said.
Modern cruise ships are complex, Kling said.
“There’s so many components,” added Kling, a Fort Lauderdale-based detachment chief from the Coast Guard’s Cruise Ship National Center of Expertise, which governs cruise compliance in the United States. “So things can go wrong sometimes, so they end up on the work list.”
On June 21, the Coast Guard’s inspection ruled there were deficiencies in the ship during the ICOC first port exam. The report noted the complexity of the ongoing situation.
“Upon arrival it was clear to the exam team that the vessel had a great deal of ongoing work that was impeding elements of the exam,” U.S. Coast Guard report said.
“DCL representatives explained that due to immigration laws, the (contractors) on board were unable to continue any work once the vessel was in U.S. waters as they did not have work visas. Following a discussion with the Captain and DCL representatives … the amount of and nature of the ongoing work, DCL requested that the Wish be allowed to depart Port Canaveral (U.S. Waters) in order to complete the work and then upon return, continue the ICOC exam.”
Kling said the finding wasn’t unusual, again pointing to ships with such intricate systems.
“Cruise ships are so big with many complex systems, so it is common for a cruise ship to have a documented deficiency on the record,” Kling said.
With work still ongoing, Disney Cruise Line promised it would not take passengers and only allow crew or contractors on board.
Disney canceled two test cruises scheduled for June 21 and June 24, according to the Disney blog site, WDW News Today.
On June 21, Disney Cruise Line published a blog entry entitled “Our Newest Ship is Here! Disney Wish Arrives in Port Canaveral for First Time.”
“Just yesterday, the fifth and newest ship in our Disney Cruise Line fleet arrived at Port Canaveral in Florida after traveling nearly 4,768 nautical miles across the Atlantic Ocean from Bremerhaven, Germany,” the blog went on to say.
A week later, the Disney Wish got the clearance it needed. The ship and the crew passed the inspections satisfactorily. There were no more deficiencies. The ship was issued a certificate of compliance June 27, according to the Coast Guard report.
Two days later, Disney christened the boat in typical Disney fashion with performers and nautically themed Mickey and Minnie Mouse during a livestreamed celebration.
The Disney Wish was ready to set sail with passengers.
Looking at the delayed maiden voyage and the canceled test cruises, Kling said similar issues arose with other new cruises coming online during the pandemic.
“In this case, it’s not an outlier in the operation of cruise ships,” Kling said of the Wish. “Because with the public health regime that was going on, there was just a lot of moving parts.”
For the Disney Wish customers impacted by the delayed maiden voyage, Disney offered to help them adjust their vacation plans and offered 50% off on a future cruise departing by December 2023. For cast members supposed to go on the test cruises, they also got rebooked.
Disney issued everyone an apology in February when the maiden voyage date was delayed.
“We know how much our guests are looking forward to sailing on the Disney Wish, and we understand the disappointment and inconvenience this will cause. We treasure the relationship we have with those who sail and make memories with us, and we will work closely with those affected to welcome them aboard in the future,” said Thomas Mazloum, president of Disney Cruise Line, at the time.
“Despite this unavoidable adjustment to our plans, our team at Disney Cruise Line has never been more optimistic about the future and cannot wait to welcome families aboard the magnificent Disney Wish.”
