DISNEY Cruise Line’s ultra-large cruise ship Disney Adventure, on February 2, set a record as the largest cruise ship to transit the Panama Canal as she resumed her repositioning cruise to Asia.
She became the largest cruise ship by gross tonnage and capacity, as well as the first 200, 000-plus gross ton cruise ship to make the transit.
At 208,100 gross tons, the Panama Canal Authority highlights that the Disney Adventure is 24 per cent larger (40,000 gross tons) than the Norwegian Bliss (168,000 gross tons), which had previously held the distinction as the largest cruise ship to make the transit.
At 342 metres (1,122 feet) in length and 46.4 metres (152 feet) in beam, the Panama Canal Authority highlights her transit required extensive multidisciplinary coordination.
The Neopanamax Locks have a maximum capability of handling vessels that are 370 metres (1,215 feet) in length and a beam of 51.25 metres (168 feet), meaning the Disney Adventure had just eight feet of clearance on each side while in the locks.
While Disney is the third cruise line to have ships over the 200,000 gross ton threshold, she is the first to make the transit.
The cruise ship had made a stopover in Port Canaveral, Florida, reportedly for crew familiarisation and training coordinated with Disney World while she is on her repositioning trip from her builders in Germany to her homeport in Singapore.
