Disney Adventure Sets Record on Panama Canal

On Monday, the Disney Adventure cruise ship became the largest passenger vessel in terms of capacity and gross tonnage to transit the Panama Canal, marking a milestone, according to the administration of the waterway through which 3% to 6% of world trade passes. The transit of this enormous cruise ship, with a gross tonnage of 208,000 tons and a capacity for about 6,700 passengers, belonging to the Disney Cruise Line, took place as part of its positioning voyage, the controlling entity for the navigable passage said in a statement. The Canal Administrator, Ricaurte Vásquez, presented a plaque of recognition to the Disney Adventure during its passage through the Agua Clara locks, in the Caribbean province of Colón, which is part of the expansion of the channel put into service in mid-2016 at a cost of over $5 billion. The Disney Adventure is one of five cruise ships making their inaugural transit during the current 2025-2026 cruise season, which also includes the ships Aidaiva, Brilliant Lady, Celebrity Ascent, and Star Seeker. Incorporated into the Disney Cruise Line fleet in 2025, the Disney Adventure was built at the Meyer Werft shipyards in Germany and has its home port in Singapore, from where it operates three and four-night itineraries with sea days. The crossing operation of this giant, which is 342 meters long and 46.4 meters wide, 'demonstrated the Canal's capacity to manage high-capacity transits with precision and reliability,' the official information stated. The Disney Adventure 'marks a milestone as it breaks the previous record' held by the Norwegian Bliss, as it surpasses it by 40,000 tons, said Canal Market Analysis and Forecast Specialist Albano Aguilar. For fiscal year 2026, more than 40 neopanamax-type cruise transits are anticipated—vessels that cross the expansion and have more than triple the capacity of those that transit the century-old locks.