Disney stock is down by more than 7% since the start of 2026, and with the company posting a $2.3 billion loss in cash flow in the first quarter, the entertainment giant needs new ways to seek out revenue and grow its portfolio.

Following a period of expansion over the last half-decade, Disney Cruise Lines has been one of the main profit drivers for the wider company as both theme park visitors and streaming subscriptions slump. Driven by higher guest spending, the cruise branch of the conglomerate brought in more than $10 billion in operating income for the 2025 fiscal year.

But the biggest setback to making cruises a bigger part of The Walt Disney Company brand is the lack of ships. After the Disney Destiny set sail in 2025, the fleet now sits at seven ships sailing on key routes in the Caribbean, Alaska, and Europe.

“There is a big ship shortage”: Cramer says Disney should buy Norwegian Cruise Line

Investing personality Jim Cramer speculated about the benefits of a potential purchase of Norwegian Cruise Line, speaking on his CNBC “Mad Money” show Feb. 27.

Yet the fourth-largest cruise line in the world has had serious financial troubles of its own.

In the most recent earnings report released on Monday, March 2, Norwegian saw income that dropped dramatically to $14.3 million from $254.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2024.

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Profit guidance for 2026 also missed analyst expectations. The cruise line blamed its financial situation on too-rapid expansion in the Caribbean that failed to bring in enough traffic, given rising trip costs, low consumer sentiment, and geopolitical tensions in the region.

Even with net income up, Norwegian stock plunged by more than 11% on Monday morning, March 2, upon the release.

“Disney should buy Norwegian Cruise,” Cramer, who is known for his provocative financial advice, said in his show before the earnings were released.

“There’s a big ship shortage.”

Norwegian has a fleet of 20 ships.

Image source: Norwegian Cruise Line

“They would have to raise prices dramatically, and that would alienate the Norwegian customer base”

Norwegian, meanwhile, has a fleet of 20 ships ranging from small cruisers to megaships with capacity for thousands of passengers.

The combination of Disney’s needs for ships, while Norwegian has more than enough but needs to generate funds, appears to make some sense on the surface. Still, it would completely upend the cruise line industry, given that cruises are just one part of Disney’s very large portfolio.

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Even with a planned expansion of its cruise portfolio, a billion-dollar deal that also takes on more than $20 billion in debt owed by Norwegian is also unlikely to be even remotely economically sound for Disney at a time when it is also on uncertain ground.

“While Norwegian has suffered from some management struggles recently, I don’t think its clientele, pricing, or fleet meets Disney’s needs,” TravelHost’s Come Cruise With Me Editor in Chief Daniel Kline commented.

“If they remodeled the ships, which is cheaper than building, they would have to raise prices dramatically, and that would alienate the Norwegian customer base.”

Running it as an independent brand owned by Disney makes limited sense, added Kline, who also serves as co-editor-in-chief of TheStreet.

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