New Ship??

[srobin]

Hi everyone, I just remembered something from our 5/18 cruise on the Magic. I went to one of the navigator series and it was a question and answer session with the captain and several other senior crew members. I believe someone ask about Disney building a third cruise ship and whether or not they were going to add California as a home port.

The captain said he believed that a third ship was being built and that it would be named the Disney Dream (can anyone confirm)? he had to get the name from some source. He also said survey's were being mailed out in the very near future to get opinions about adding more destinations to the cruise line. He said Disney was looking at growing the cruise line.

On a different topic someone ask about the fire on the Magic and what caused it. Once again they quickly changed the subject and avoided answering the question. The capain we had said he was not aboard on that particular cruise.

[albiats]

I haven't been able to find any press releases or announcements from any source at all. Can't even find anything that says they have indeed decided to build a ship and have signed a contract with a ship builder.

Also no confirmation that they have selected a name, but Disney Dreams sounds like a good choice.

Without any written confirmation, I'm surprised that the Captain would have made any reference to it at all.

The only thing that I remember being confirmed is that DCL had formed a steering committee and was looking into the possibility of another ship and what features the new ship should incorporate, if it was approved.

It takes years for a cruise ship to be built even after a company starts building it, so we should be able to hear something when it is finalized.

If anyone has any references, please post them so we can read about it.

hth

[Horace Horsecollar]

I was on the 3/23/02 cruise. At a Navigator Series session, a passenger asked a question to Captain Hans Mateboer regarding new destinations and new ships. I don't remember Captain Mateboer's exact words, but here's how I recall his answers: Regarding new destinations, the Captain talked about the Disney Magic's new Western Caribbean intinerary (which began earlier this month, alternating with the Eastern intinerary). Regarding another ship, the captain explained that about a year earlier, DCL put together a team of people to plan another ship; although the events on 9/11 put any fleet expansion on hold, he still expected a new ship to be announced within a year (or was it within the year, meaning within 2002?).

Almost two months have passed between the 3/23/02 cruise and the 5/18/02 cruise, and Henry Andersson, not Hans Mataboer, is serving as Master of the Disney Magic. So time has passed, and a different captain may have a different perspective.

It's extremely unlikely that Disney has contracted with a shipyard in the interim, and that a new ship is now under construction. When a cruise line signs a $350-400 million contract with a shipyard, it's not a secret. Thus I'm surprised that "the captain said he believed that a third ship was being built." Is it possible that Captain Andersson said, "he believed that a third ship would be built?"

Or perhaps Captain Andersson is looking at the end-to-end process of designing and building a ship. If so, it may indeed be correct to say that a new ship is being built -- but that they're still in the design phase of the project.

I'll remain a skeptic about another ship until there's a public announcement of a contract with a shipyard.

Even if DCL management is firmly committed to building a new ship, and is willing to spend big bucks on designs, a new ship will require really big bucks from the executive management of The Walt Disney Company. Is corporate Disney willing to make the huge captal investment in a new ship and to take on the business risk of operating a new ship at a time when the cruise industry has so many new ships and a glut of stateroom capacity?

[starwood]

After our August cruise last year I received an e-mail survey about new proposed itineraries and they were all leaving out of New York harbor.

[cruisedad]

On our May 12 Wonder cruise our server told us on the last day that a new ship (Disney Dreams) was going to be built and that the decision was just recently made.:bounce: :Pinkbounc :jester:

[GinaAnn]

On the disembarkation talk that runs all night the last night on the tv. They said that they are looking to cruise to alaska and the meditarian(sp) in the near future because of the success of their cruises. We were on the 5/23 wonder.

[JeffV71]

Get rid of Nassau and Freeport as ports of call!! Most people stay on the ship anyways;filth,beggars and thieves don't measure up to a pleasurable Disney experience, IMO. Hopefully, Disney will see the light...

[Horace Horsecollar]

Originally posted by JeffV71
Get rid of Nassau and Freeport as ports of call!! Most people stay on the ship anyways;filth,beggars and thieves don't measure up to a pleasurable Disney experience, IMO. Hopefully, Disney will see the light...
What other port(s) could the Disney Wonder go to (besides Castaway Cay) on 3- and 4-night cruises? There's not enough time to make it Caribbean ports and back.

[JeffV71]

Quite honestly, I don't have an answer to that. I think some real changes need to be made, however. Anybody have any suggestions?? :(

[ErinC]

We were on the May 19th wonder and our cruise director made comments as well to a possible Alaskan cruise being possible in the future. I thought it was strange that they would throw these things out without some sort of real possibility of it happening.

[Lori1035]

At the Castaway Club party on the 5/18 Magic, the captain announced that there is a feasibility study being done concerning new ports and new ships. He said that the study would be complete in July and DCL would then make a decision in this area.

Lori

[BeanoC]

I would love to see Disney go the way of many other cruise lines, who build new ships and send their older ones out here to California!

I would love it if the Magic or Wonder came here to do 3 and 4 day Mexican cruises out of Los Angeles.

NCL did that, and a few years after DW and I cruised the Caribbean on one of their ships, we can now go on that same ship here in L.A.

C'mon Disney, bring the Magic home to Beano!!! ;)

[DVCinderella]

Originally posted by JeffV71
Get rid of Nassau and Freeport as ports of call!! Most people stay on the ship anyways;filth,beggars and thieves don't measure up to a pleasurable Disney experience, IMO. Hopefully, Disney will see the light...

Is it true that the Disney ships must dock at Nassau because the ships are registered there? I do agree with you, though...I could do without Nassau and Freeport.

[Horace Horsecollar]

Originally posted by DVCinderella
Is it true that the Disney ships must dock at Nassau because the ships are registered there? I do agree with you, though...I could do without Nassau and Freeport.
Actually, the Disney Magic doesn't dock in Nassau on either of its 7-night itineraries, although it docks at other non-US ports.

The Magic and Wonder are both registered in the Bahamas, and both ships call on Castaway Cay, which is part of the Bahamas. But there are plenty of cruise ships (other lines) registered in places such as Panama or Liberia which never call on those countries.

There is an obscure Federal law from 1886 that pretty much forces 3- and 4-night cruises out of Port Canaveral to call on the Bahamas. The Passenger Services Act prevents foreign-registered ships from transporting passengers from one US port to another. The passenger's journey has to end at the same US port where it started or at a distant foreign port. The ship may call on other US ports as long as it also goes to a foreign port.

You couldn't legally have a 4-night cruise out of Port Canaveral that only has ports of call in, let's say, Miami and Key West. Other foreign ports are too far away for a 3- or 4-night cruise (at least until travel restrictions on Cuba are lifted). So that leaves the Bahamas. Welcome to Nassau and Freeport!

I don't know if Castaway Cay counts as a foreign port for purposes of compliance with the Passeneger Services Act, even though it's in the Bahamas. There was an interesting thread over on the Disney News and Rumors board where this issue was discussed. See http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=193741

[gdimanzo]

I also went to the 5/18 Navigator's Series Q&A with the Captain and what he said was that they where conducting a survey and that they were going to have the results in a month.
Also he mention no ships where under construction.
Anyway, Captain Henry has to say what Captain Mickey let him say. For example, when someone asked about why the Magic is registered in the Bahamas he said that was because of Castaway Cay, the itinerary to the Bahamas and because their office in London was next door with the registery office. That could be half true. Most ships with Panama, Bahamas and Liberia flags are registered in those countries because the laws of those countries applies to those ships including taxes and human resources.

[BethC1952]

I cruised in May of last year, and sometime after October (I know that because my computer crashed while I was away and didn't get fixed until then!), I received an email survey from Disney regarding proposed departure points and itineraries for a new cruise. It focused on New York as the departure point, with possible stops in Bermuda.

I wondered at that time if they might be targeting people by their nearby ports...for example, I was questioned about New York because I'm very close. Did people on the west coast receive a different questionnaire?

Beth

[Pugdog007]

We just returned from the 5/25 Magic and we learned about the new ship in a rather unconventional way... one of our tablemates is Deputy Editor of Parents Magazine and was on the cruise to
"check it out." One night instead of our regular dining, she and the other representatives there from Parents Mag (apparently there were quite a few) went to a press dinner together with Capt Henry.

The next night, she told us that they were told a new ship is being built named Disney Dreams. The new ship will take over the Magic's itineraries out of Port Canaveral, and the Magic will be sent to CA for a new itinerary.

Pretty cool, IMO.

[Dave_from_Marietta]

Originally posted by Pugdog007

she... went to a press dinner together with Capt Henry. ...they were told a new ship is being built named Disney Dreams. The new ship will take over the Magic's itineraries out of Port Canaveral, and the Magic will be sent to CA for a new itinerary.

Interesting. Did she mention if any expected launch dates were discussed?

[Pugdog007]

No unfortunately Sasha started distracting us with all the food he was bringing out and I just started really thinking about it again when we arrived home.

I have her email address though so I think I'll send her a "welcome home" email and pry for more info. She lives in NY.

I do remember her saying that the Capt discussed with them the fact that DCL has just "broken the tip of the iceberg" in the cruise industry and feels they could do so much more. Then she started talking about how many ships the competitors have (the Capt or someone at the dinner obviously rattled off all these stats... she was no cruise expert IMO - she asked us a lot of questions throughout the week).

I will keep the board updated with any more info I get from her... I'd also like to find out when we may see a review in Parents!

I'd love to cruise on a brand new Disney Dreams ship :)

Ginger, aka Pugdog

[tap & dap]

This is listed in the Maritime Matters Ship Industry Magazine

So Cal to get Disney ships?
August 27: Industry rumours have Disney in talks with shipbuilders Fincantieri, Chantiers, Kvaerner and Meyer Werft for two new ships (even larger than the current DISNEY MAGIC and DISNEY WONDER) which could be ready for deployment in Southern California as early as 2005

http://www.maritimematters.com/shipnews2001b.html

:Pinkbounc :Pinkbounc

[Señor Ferrari]

That report was dated August 27, 2001. I would suspect that plans changed shortly after that date, as no announcement has been made that a shipyard has a new contract with Disney to build a ship.

[Dave_from_Marietta]

Originally posted by tap & dap

August 27: Industry rumours have Disney in talks with shipbuilders Fincantieri, Chantiers, Kvaerner and Meyer Werft for two new ships

Yes, but notice the date. Disney was indeed in talks with shipbuilders prior to 9/11, but it seems that they have tabled those talks since 9/11.

[TheTexasKid]

No references, just scuttlebutt from the inaugural Western Caribbean cruise. I wanted to post it at the rumor section of this board, but I might as well post it here. It has already been posted at another Disney message board, but I'll post it here as well, w/ a few addenda added.
"Disney Dreams" out of Port Canaveral bound for Los Angeles via the Panama Canal. 10- to 14-day itinerary.
Same size in length and width, so it can get through the canal locks, but 1 to 5 more decks.
"Build it, and they will come." Not only have the Imagineers finished the artistic renderings of what it will look like, but, that they have already started to build it.
This will be the 3rd Disny cruise ship. The 4th cruise ship will go to Asia, and the 5th cruise ship will go to Europe.
By "go to Asia," I mean that it will be homeported in Asia to tie in with Tokyo Disneyland, Hong Kong Disneyland, or both. But, a cruise between L.A. and Asia, with a stop in Hawaii, is not unseeable.
The 5th ship for Europe, supposedly will be homeported in southern France to tie in with Disneyland Paris, and it will cruise the Mediterranean. But, being of northern European descent, I rarther see it homeported in southern England, so it could cruise the waters of northern Europe. It still would tie in with Disneyland Paris, though.
As for a Disney cruise to Alaska . . . Alaska is such a hot area for cruising, a cruise from L.A. to Alaska, and back again, is seeable on a 14-day itinerary.
As for building it now, like many people, I think this is the wrong time to build one, but, on the other hand . . . It may be the right time. With so much shipyard space laying vacant, one can probably get it built cheaper and faster, then when shipyard space was at a premium.
As there being an excess number of cruise ships, the answer to that one lies in something Daniel Webster said, when he was asked why he wanted to be a lawyer, when there was an excess of lawyers already. He said: There is always room at the top." I presume the same thing could be said about Disney.
Enjoy all the rumors!

[Pugdog007]

Hey Tex... are you calling me scuttlebutt?

:)

[Kaa]

I had a lengthy conversation with a DCL employee at WDW last week and she said the keel is being laid for the third ship, but did not divulge the name. Plans are for the ship to sail in 2006. We didn't discuss the itinerary, but she mentioned that the ship will be larger, but accommodate the same number of passengers. The additional space will be utilized by the children's programming (enlarging the club and lab - possibly Flounder's Reef). She also mentioned that the ship was designed to pass through the Panama Canal. Maybe the West Coast will be getting a ship at last?

[Michelle]

I definitely believe the West Coast is next. :)

But it will be several years. :)

[TheTexasKid]

No, Pugdog007. Unless you were in Cozumel on the inaugural Western Caribbean, as that is where I heard most of the scuttlebutt.
I would think that Flounder's Reef is the area most likely due for an expansion, as it was put in as something of an oversight, but, is still well used.
For personal reasons, I am still hoping for a proper library with music listening stations. That would also be a good area for the Internet Cafe, as opposed to wherever they got it now.
The cruise I would like to see is a Disney cruise around the world. Either Los Angeles to Los Angeles or Port Canaveral to Port Canaveral. Book a stateroom for the entire cruise or for one or more segments of the cruise.
Enjoy!

[Señor Ferrari]

Originally posted by Kaa
I had a lengthy conversation with a DCL employee at WDW last week and she said the keel is being laid for the third ship, but did not divulge the name. Plans are for the ship to sail in 2006.

I find this very hard to believe (as much as I would like to). As has been mentioned in this thread and others, no shipyard has announced a contract with Disney, much less that they have actually begun to lay the keel of a ship. Also, if the keel is currently being laid, the ship will be ready long before 2006. It takes a while to build a cruise ship, but not four years.

For example, the Cunard line announced a contract with Chantiers de L'Atlantique in early 2000 for the Queen Mary 2, which will be the largest cruise ship ever built at over 150,000 tons, and it is scheduled to be in service in late 2003. The March 2000 date was just the announcement of the contract. The keel isn't actually scheduled to be laid until next month.

If the keel has been laid for the so-called Disney Dream, it will be in service sooner than 2006.

Again, I'd love to see a Disney ship in service out of Los Angeles or San Diego sooner rather than later, but I'm very skeptical when I hear information like this and would just like to (try to) add a bit of perspective.

[AnnMorin]

Couldn't someone just ask DCL for a strait answer? Maybe I am naiive but I would think if a new ship was being built they would acknowledge it if asked?

[Horace Horsecollar]

Originally posted by AnnMorin
Couldn't someone just ask DCL for a strait answer? Maybe I am naiive but I would think if a new ship was being built they would acknowledge it if asked?
It really depends on whom you ask.

Please take a look at the third note on page 1 of this thread, in which I paraphrase how Captain Hans answered this question during the 3/23/02 cruise. In short, his answer was that he expected an announcement within the year. (But there has not yet been an announcement.)

Some DCL cast members on the ship like to repeat the rumor that a new ship is already under construction and that it will be called the Disney Dream or the Disney Dreams. That rumor has been posted repeatedly on this board for over a year.

But it's extremely unlikely that a new ship is actually already under construction. Typically cruise lines have private negotiations with shipyards. When they sign a contract, there's a public announcement. Some months later (depending on when the shipyard has the production capacity and resources), construction begins. Even if a publicly held corporation and a major shipyard (typically a government owned or subsidized shipyard in Europe) wanted to keep a $350-500 million contract a secret, its unlikely they could do so. There are legal reporting issues, not to mention how impractical it would be to swear thousands of workers at the shipyard and its subcontractors to absolute secrecy. The press would find out, and it would be worldwide maritime news.