Disney Cruise Line is buying the half-finished huge cruise ship that was built as Golden Dream, and will “Disneyfy” it before sending it out on cruises. It will be based at an as yet unnamed foreign port.
The ship, which was built to carry up to 9,000 passengers for Dream Cruises, will be reconfigured to hold fewer passengers and will likely undergo other changes as well, including likely replacing the original casino with family-friendly attractions.
Golden Dream was one of two huge cruise ships ordered by Dream, a subsidiary of the Hong-Kong-based Genting, which went out of business along with several subsidiaries including Crystal Cruises and the shipyard that was building the two ships, MV Werften. The other ship, which had much less work completed, was sold for scrap earlier this year.
The 9,000-passenger total was based on a large number of 4-person family cabins, and some slightly-smaller cabins than are found on most ships. Even at 6,000 passengers, it will carry 50% more than its current largest ship.
The modifications and completion work will be carried out at Meyer Werft in Germany, one of the two largest builders of cruise ships.
