Disney Cruise Line officially announced the acquisition of the partially completed GLOBAL DREAM cruise ship yesterday and provided a single early conceptual rendering of the exterior.
In this article, we will take a closer look at the original, pre-Disney, renderings for the ship as posted by the builder MV WERFTEN.
Construction of the mega liner began March 8, 2018 with a steel cutting ceremony.
The keel laying ceremony for the Global-Class flagship took place at MV WERFTEN’s Rostock shipyard on September 11, 2018. The video of the ceremony is embedded below, but at the time of publication can only be watched on YouTube.
The first section measuring 22 meters long, 26 meters wide and weighing 410 tons, about half of the full keel, marked the start of construction of the largest cruise ship ever built in Germany.
MV WERFTEN Keel Laying Press Release (PDF)
While the look and overall design will undoubtedly be uniquely Disney, here is a look at this mega liner which was tailor-made for Dream Cruises (originally ordered by Star Cruises). Original plan for the ship was to homeport in Shanghai.
The vessel was specifically designed for the booming Asian cruise market, the Global Class ship can accommodate about 5,000 passengers in 2,500 cabins based on a twin share basis – and up to 9,500 passengers during holiday peak season. In Disney’s announcement they stated maximum passenger capacity would be 6,000.
At 342 metres long and 46.4 metres wide with 20 decks, travellers can expect a wide range of exciting entertainment novelties. Whether in the shopping mall, the Asian spa, theme park or Cineplex, both action enthusiasts and those seeking tranquillity will more than get their money’s worth.
The brand-new fleet of the 208,000 GT ships guarantees world class ocean travel and will establish Dream Cruises as the most luxurious and innovative cruise line in Asia: Artificial intelligence systems will be installed on board, making the Global Class the most technologically advanced cruise ships in the world. With facial recognition, there will be minimal queuing for boarding, disembarkation and payments.
MV WEFTEN GLOBAL CLASS SUMMARY
GLOBAL DREAM, the flagship of the Global series was originally set to leave the MV WERFTEN Wismar shipyard in 2021. There was a second sister ship under construction as well, but that was sold for scrap.
Below is the original press release from MV WERFTEN from March 8, 2018.
MV WERFTEN Starts Construction on the first 204,000 Gross Ton Global Class Ship the Largest Cruise Ship to be Built in Germany
The first steel cut for the most technologically advanced cruise ship in the world with artificial intelligence was made by Genting Hong Kong’s CEO and Chairman Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay today.
Wismar, March 8, 2018 | Accompanied by the sound of ships’ horns, construction work began on the first Global Class ship today. The Minister President of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Manuela Schwesig, and the Chairman and CEO of Genting Hong Kong, Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, launched the flame cutter for the first steel cut in the Wismar yard of MV WERFTEN. Just a few minutes later, first steel was cut in the Rostock yard. Both sites will be needed to manufacture the 204,000 gross ton Global Class ship, the largest to be built in Germany.
Production will take place in parallel in Wismar and Rostock, with final assembly to be carried out in the Wismar yard. The first Global Class ship is to be delivered at the end of 2020. Approximately 600 companies are involved in the construction process.
“After designing the Global Class ships for the last three years and investing over 210 million euros to make MV WERFTEN the-state-of-the-art cruise shipbuilding yard in the last two years, we are very pleased to finally start construction on the first Global cruise ship today,” said Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay. “These ships are not only the largest cruise ships to be built in Germany; they are also the most technologically advanced with artificial intelligence. The Global Class ships will follow the embrace of Asians of artificial intelligence in their daily lives, with facial and voice recognition for most services onboard and robots to perform mundane tasks, allowing the crew to focus on service delivery”, he added.
The Global Class ships are designed specifically for the rapidly growing Asian cruise market with popular features such as a Cineplex, theme park, Asian spa, authentic multiple Asian dining experiences including fast food alternatives and affordable shopping facilities in addition to luxury shopping facilities.
The Global Class ships will be 342 meters long and 46.40 meters wide with a draft of 9.50 meters. With a capacity of 204,000 gross tons (GT), the ship can accommodate about 5,000 passengers in 2,500 cabins based on a twin share basis. However, the cabins are uniquely designed for the Asian family and can comfortably sleep two, three or four persons with split (two) bathrooms, allowing for a wider price point for the Asian market. With total life-saving capacity of up to 9,500 passengers, the Global Class ships can cater for the extremely high peak holiday periods in Asia. In addition to the usual 28 large elevators, the Global Class will also have eight sets of escalators connecting the public areas, the first cruise ship to
have escalators. With facial recognition, there will be minimal queuing for boarding, disembarkation and payments; contextual marketing to even out demand on ship facilities and other artificial intelligent systems.
Jarmo Laakso, CEO of MV WERFTEN, said: “We are manning up to the major challenge to build these magnificent ships and we will use all our skills and expertise to promote ‘Shipbuilding made in MV’ worldwide as a trademark of quality. We would like to thank our employees and partners for their excellent work during the design and planning phase. This achievement must now be carried forward in the construction phase.”
“The shipyards have a long tradition in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. They are important employers in our state. The building of cruise ships is a new challenge and the great chance to prove that shipbuilding in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania has a future,” said the Prime Minister of Mecklenburg- Western Pomerania, Manuela Schwesig.
“The start of construction is an important step for the maritime industry in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania,” explained Harry Glawe, Minister of Economics, Employment and Health. “With the onset of the construction of the Global Class cruise ship, MV WERFTEN continues to implement its strategy for the future of our country, supporting the construction of ships with the involvement of domestic suppliers and service providers. The outstanding orders will ensure the creation of important industrial jobs here in Germany.”
“Today is a truly historic day,” said Wismar’s mayor, Thomas Beyer. “The construction of the largest ship ever to be built in Wismar will now begin. We share in MV WERFTEN’s celebration and wish them great success and a productive and accident-free construction process.”
MV WERFTEN’s order book includes six more ships, to be completed by 2021; the “Crystal Ravel” will be handed over in April. The company began construction on the first of three expedition mega yachts in Stralsund this past January with the first delivery at the end of 2019. Construction on the second Global Class ship will begin in early 2019 for delivery at the end of 2021.
About MV WERFTEN
MV WERFTEN comprises of three shipyards in Wismar, Rostock and Stralsund in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (MV) and has some of the largest docks and covered fabrication facilities in Europe. The yards are located in a region with an excellent transportation and logistics infrastructure and have direct access to the Baltic Sea. Further investments in a laser thin-plate welding line, cabin manufacturing, state-of-the-art software and other automation are being made to make MV WERFTEN one of the most efficient cruise ship builders in the world.
In their 70-year history, the three shipyards have designed, produced and fitted out around 2,500 sea-going newbuilds, including two AIDA cruise vessels, Premicon river cruise vessels and Stena Line ferries. MV WERFTEN, headquartered in Wismar, is constantly investing in innovation and new technologies as well as employee training to guarantee excellent “made in MV” quality.
Disney bought a ship that is 75% built. Not one Disney Imagineer has touched this ship. Disney bought a ship built by a shipbuilder that went bankrupt, building a ship for a cruise line that went bankrupt. A ship that the new owners of the bankrupt line, Resorts World Cruises apparently did not want. I am sure there were cost cutting measures on this ship. DIsney Cruise line is known for high quality and attention to detail at every stage of a DCL ship build. That is what makes them special. That moment when a guest board the ship and enters the grand Atrium of the ship is amazing and a truly magical moment. I checked out the sister ship, ironically ,“The Dream”, of the new acquisition, passengers board to a promenade deck then enter through a random hallway. Their rooms are TINY, even the ones with balconies. There are no split baths, the one bath is tiny. Disney is known for well appointed and roomy staterooms. Slapping Monica Blue Paint on an artist Rendering does not make it a Disney Ship. If I am going to pay DCL rates I don’t want Carnival type accommodations. I will pass on booking passage on this ship. I don’t know what it will be named officially, I shall be calling it “The Disney Mistake”.
Hi Virginia.
I think you have checked a wrong ship for comparison.
The Global Dream that DCL has bought has no sister ship and was the first of its class. To be more precise there was a sister ship often reffered has The Global Dream 2, that started construction after The Global Dream but was cancelled and sold for scrap because of COVID.
If you look at the video in this article you will see that the staterooms of The Global Dream has split bathroom, maybe one of the reason DCL decided to buy it.
Like you I’m not to sure how this ship will turn out but there is almost more construction time left for the modification than to build the Disney Treasure fully.
Lets wait and see !
Thank you for the information.
HI Dyn, I looked at it. Still not sold, we shall see. But I appreciate the corrected info, thank you.
Wonder if there will be enough space in the rooms to accommodate Disney’s 5 person deluxe family configuration. I know it won’t be USA based but be interested to see if that holds true in where I assume this will be in Asia.
Massive ship to say the least. Since it was started from Hong Kong, thats the give-away the ship will stay in the Asia. I wonder how much DCL with keep and how much will change? Most likely the first (and only) DCL to have a casino for the Asian market. Interesting to see how they intergrate the family into what was surely a ship made for adult passengers.
A bit premature perhaps, but welcome to the Fleet- Disney Adventure??
I just came off a Disney Fantasy cruise and they were talking about this ship. The people I talked to told me that the casino would be the first thing to go.
I love the classic size ships the most with the Wonder being my favorite. Having said that, I will say after looking at the two videos, this ship seems much nicer than the Wish. Hope it works out well for DCL.
Ok people quite bashing Disney for doing this, they obviously did research and it’s a good fit. Also think Disney might keep it in the Asia market as that would be a smart move.
Safety is my most concern. Remember, you cannot stretch time.
Evacuating 6000 passengers instead of 4000 passengers could become a nightmare.
I will only sail on smaller ships.
Good point!!!
I was wondering if the reason the ship was going to be based in Asia was because the bathrooms were made with Asian “squatty potties” or Western toilets and it would be too expensive to modify all the rooms to be western toilets?