New ship rumors afloat & well!!!

[Diva of Dragons]

Hi All!!!
I went to my TA at AAA today to pay off our cruise. WOO HOOOOO!! :Pinkbounc While I was there, I asked her some questions about Alaska cruises (for future reference) and mentioned that I felt so spoiled by DCL that it would be tough not to spend a lot of the time comparing the ships etc...

Her response was..."I know. You have it really good on Disney. You know they're sending one of the ships out here don't you?"

I said, "Well, I know there have been rumors".

Her: "When the Disney rep was here, he said that they were beginning construction on a new ship (due in 2004) and that when it's done, one of their ships will be on the West coast. Thank goodness, because we TA's have been telling them for awhile that if they did that, the ship would always be full!"

Anyway, that's the gist of the conversation! If true, how awesome!!!! I just hope she hasn't been misinformed :teeth:

[Diva of Dragons]

:)

[akterrye]

I hope it stops in Seward. I would definately take a trip down there just to see a Disney Ship (and stop off at the SeaLife Center)! :)

[fireplug]

I hope this comes true some day. I wish they would tell us soon.

Steve

[Kimber1963]

I would love a Disney Alaska cruise!!!!!!!!! Who wouldn't????

[tezb]

I hope it;s on the West Coast. It is so much more expensive for us on the West Coast to travel to the EAst coast for a disney cruise. For a family of 5 it adds on about 2000.00 more dollars to the cruise!

[akterrye]

Hi, All. I just emailed the Alaska Dept. of Tourism to find out if Disney Cruise Lines has applied for a permit to sail in Alaskan waters. As soon as I hear anything, I'll post their response here. :)

[albiats]

I'd like to see another Disney ship built soon, and it makes sense that one of their ships would then be stationed on the West Coast.

It would be great if it did cruise to Alaska, and I'd be curious to see Captain Mickey in a Snow Parka for those early May and late September trips. ;)

It also makes a lot of sense to me if it would be stationed close to DisneyLand. It would be a great addition and it would be a good choice to offer the Land and Sea combination, which has been very popular on the East Coast.

[DisneySlave]

It also makes a lot of sense to me if it would be stationed close to DisneyLand. It would be a great addition and it would be a good choice to offer the Land and Sea combination, which has been very popular on the East Coast.

They would have to make it a 13 day for a land and sea cruise because it takes a full 7 from Seattle to do a Alaska trip.Thats ok,the money and time I would save in air fare and flight time alone would make up the difference.:bounce: :Pinkbounc :bounce:

[PiperG]

What would be the trick to getting on the maiden voyage?:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

[albiats]

Originally posted by DisneySlave


They would have to make it a 13 day for a land and sea cruise because it takes a full 7 from Seattle to do a Alaska trip.Thats ok,the money and time I would save in air fare and flight time alone would make up the difference.:bounce: :Pinkbounc :bounce:

Sorry if I made it sound ambiguous.

I meant that it would make more sense to me if they did not do an Alaska trip and just did the standard 3 and 4 day cruises out of a Port that was near Anaheim and if they offered the Land portion with it, like they do from the East Coast now with the Disney Wonder.

[Pugdog007]

Rumor from CM's on the 5/25/02 sailing was that the new ship would be named DREAMS and would sail out of Port Canaveral, and that the MAGIC would be moved to CA.

Sounds good to me :)

[SDAngel101]

I would rather have it be a Disney Mexican Riviera Cruise, that goes down to baja Cali.. like to puerto viarta and everything. PLUS it would be all nice and warm all year long, won't have to worry about those iceburgs ;););)

[Diva of Dragons]

Hmm, the TA didn't mention any specific itinerary. It would make the most sense to leave from Los Angeles and do the Mexican "Riviera", in order to include DL in packages. But, maybe they could do Mexico in the winter and Alaska in the summer. Who knows? I just know that it will be great if they do bring a ship out here because then sooo many more of you DISers would travel this direction!!! I'l let you know if we hear anything new :D

[akterrye]

While I was there, I asked her some questions about Alaska cruises (for future reference) and mentioned that I felt so spoiled by DCL that it would be tough not to spend a lot of the time comparing the ships etc... Her response was..."I know. You have it really good on Disney. You know they're sending one of the ships out here don't you?"

I must have misunderstood...I thought your conversation with the TA implied an Alaskan cruise....sorry about that.

It would make sense to do Mexico in the winter and Alaska in the summer.

[Señor Ferrari]

I'm going to remain skeptical about a new Disney ship actually being built right now. I would love to be proven wrong, but I keep a pretty close eye on the cruise industry, and I cannot find any shipyard going on record, or any report of a contract for a newbuild for Disney.

Now, they may be in negotiations to lease a ship. Maybe one of Renaissance's old ships, but I haven't heard anything about this, either.

I would also love to see a Disney ship on the west coast year-round. They could position it in Alaska from May-October, and in LA or San Diego the rest of the year for Mexican Riviera cruises. I'd love to be able to drive to the Port of LA for a cruise rather than flying across the country.

[CRB#33]

When we were on our Wonder cruise in June, Cruise Director Rick made a specific comment about how wonderful these cruises are and how people like us make DCL grow and wouldn't it be terrific to see, maybe an Alaskan cruise in the near future?

Just a FYI.

[albiats]

Originally posted by Señor Ferrari
I'm going to remain skeptical about a new Disney ship actually being built right now. I would love to be proven wrong, but I keep a pretty close eye on the cruise industry, and I cannot find any shipyard going on record, or any report of a contract for a newbuild for Disney.

Now, they may be in negotiations to lease a ship. Maybe one of Renaissance's old ships, but I haven't heard anything about this, either.


The theory of using a Renaissance Ship is one that I used to believe was a good idea too. But on Monday, I started a new thread about Renaissance Cruise Lines after I received an email announcment about the line starting back up again.

Here's a link to that thread: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=244258


hth

[Señor Ferrari]

Originally posted by albiats


The theory of using a Renaissance Ship is one that I used to believe was a good idea too. But on Monday, I started a new thread about Renaissance Cruise Lines after I received an email announcment about the line starting back up again.



I was interested in that thread and did a little research. Cruise News Daily reported that the name was purchased by a former CEO of Renaissance, but that no ships were actually attached to it as yet.

The ships they did own were seized by the banks holding the notes on them, and any equity the line had in them was gone as a result of the liquidation. As I noted in that thread, two of them are still in Tahiti, impounded by the local authorities due to a huge debt to that port Authority. The others are in France, I believe.

I personally don't think that Disney would lease an existing ship. From what I understand, they are very particular about the design of their ships (as Fincantieri shipyard can attest!), so I don't know that they would feel that an existing ship would fit their needs, especially one of Renaissance's ships, since they were designed to go to exotic ports of call and didn't really cater to the family cruise market.

[el_tigre]

Being an Angeleno, I have been hoping for some time that Disney would move a ship out here, although I think that could be deadly on my finances. I was on the Wonder last month but I just don't see our family going to Florida every year. Then again, we loved it so much we've booked a 7-day next August, so I might be hooked.

While I love reading these rumors of a new ship on the West Coast, I too will believe it when it's announced. That said, I also gotta think it's much more logical for cuises to go out of Los Angeles than Alaska. On the flip side, maybe Disney doesn't care about logic. Here are the reasons:

1. I think the demographic most likely to go on an Alaskan cruise is a more elderly couple that probably has no or grown children. Disney's largest demographic, families with children, would probably more likely be attracted to beach and tropical locations. Might be completely wrong here, but I've always had that impression.

2. Disney loves the land/sea packages with WDW. You couldn't do that in Alaska but it's a snap to do that in L.A. with Disneyland.

3. The local support you'd get from an L.A. based cruise is much greater than it would be in Alaska. Heck, the city of Los Angeles alone has a population ten times greater than all of Alaska. It seemed that on the Wonder, a large percentage of people were from Florida; Californians would very like have a greater presence on a Mexican cruise just because of ease of travel. For an Alaskan cruise, everyone travels.

Obviously, I know as little as everyone else, but I think Disney would probably base a ship in L.A. before trying other locations on the West Coast. Speaking for myself, the lure of Disney in Alaska would get me there eventually, but I could see myself trying it once and then favoring the Caribbean from then on. With a 7-day Mexican Riviera cruise, I guarantee I would be on that boat at least once a year.

Just my 2 cents.

[Mjasp]

Hey, WHAT ABOUT US???????? Can't we share and do NY to Bermuda in the summer and CA. the other months. PLEEEEZE

Joanna

[Cheryl Loyless]

Hey guys
We were on the Magic for the Eastern cruise just this past June and while we were on board we booked again for the following June (2003), Western itenerary. The cast member that booked us told us that is was definately in the works for 2 ships to be sent out to the west coast but they were having a hard time finding a shipyard to build the ships. This reason being that neither the Magic or the Wonder was finished on time with the shipyards they used to build them. I for one hope they can find a good shipyard and start building. I live on the east coast but would love to go the the west coast and see a little part of that side of the world. And what better way to do that than on a Disney cruise!

[Señor Ferrari]

I wonder where some of these CM's get their information. I can't believe that the shipyard is the reason they haven't signed a contract yet. Fincantieri is one of the most respected shipyards in the world. They are currently building, or have contracted to build, 5 ships for Holland America, 4 for Carnival, 2 for Costa, and one each for Princess and Cunard.

Building and delivering a ship on time isn't an exact science. Fincantieri even built the Magic in two pieces in order to speed up the process.

[shmoogrrrl]

My husband and I support an itenary that goes from Disney World (Port Canaveral) to Disney Land Then a different sailing could go the other way. :)

I also vote that new ship be called "The Hundred Acre Boat" and that we have Captian Tigger!

Kathy

[albiats]

Originally posted by Señor Ferrari

Building and delivering a ship on time isn't an exact science. Fincantieri even built the Magic in two pieces in order to speed up the process.

Senor Ferrari -
You seem to be at least as interested in ship building as I am.

I'm curious if you noticed the info that is discussed on the Port Canaveral Website about the possibility that they could be involved in building cruise ships in the U.S. - as part of building a huge ship in several different places. The ship(s) would qualify to sail under the U.S. Flag, which is also interesting.

I found the article under the 'future plans' heading. The name of the corporation is 'The World City Corporation' and the first ship is to be called 'The America World City'. The ship will be 250,000 gross tons and have 6,200 passengers.

Here's the link to the Port Canaveral announcement: http://www.portcanaveral.org/news/future.htm

It will not be a new Disney Ship, it's just an interesting idea.

[akterrye]

A reply from the AK Dept. of Tourism:

"Hello Terrye,

I had not heard that news-- but we'd love the Disney Cruiselines to sail Alaskan waters. You would need to contact the following to ask about permitting.

Division of community & Business Development
Diane Hunt, Admin Manager
907-269-4535
Diane_Hunt@dced.state.ak.us


Jane Dial
Alaska Travel Industry Assoc.
Visitor Information Center
Phone: (907) 929-2200
Fax: (907) 561-5727
Email: jdial@alaskatia.org
Website: www.travelalaska.com"

I emailed Ms. Hunt and hope to have a response from her soon. Again, I'll post as soon as I hear anything.

[Boomerwon]

My family is going to be sailing with the Imagineer, the man who designed the Oceaneer's Lab and Club, in the next couple of weeks. His DD is friends with my DN since they met on the Magic last year. We'll have to grill him on the possibilities of new ships and itineraries!!! LOL:p

[mmouse37]

Don't go getting your hopes up for a new Disney ship just yet. I am onboard the Magic now and someone again asked that very question in the Captain Corner's talk and Captain Tom said they would love to expand the fleet, but just not now.

They are still waiting to see how the economy and tourisum trade will hold up in the near future.

He did say that as of last August, things were almost finalized and plans were being drawn, but everything was put on hold since 9/11.

Anyway, we are having a blast and I can't believe it is almost over already.

Check out my thread about the excitement we had onboard last night!!!

MJ

[disneyholic family]

no no no...
if they are building another ship i hope they sail it in Europe/the Mediterranean........
then i'd only have to travel a little bit to get to it....
only problem.....chances are it would be full of europeans, meaning no one would stand in line......(imagine the times you have to stand in line onboard and then imagine it with people who are missing the gene for line standing......not a pleasant thought)....

so my ultimate dream would be a disney ship in europe filled with american passengers......probably not in the cards....

[TnRobin]

If they do build another ship and If the Magic then goes to CA, I want to be on the Panama Canal passage trip from Port Canaveral to LA.

[akterrye]

Would the Magic even fit through the Panama Canal?

[TnRobin]

yes that was a question asked at out Captain's discussion. She was designed to ensure she would fit (Barely) through the Panama Canal

[triple7]

Just got off the Wonder yesterday.

Much "rumor" talk by CMs of the new ship.

Some of the things they said:

Announcement of new ship to come in October time frame.

New ship will be about as long as the Magic/Wonder, but might be 1 1/2 decks taller.

New ship will do the Carribean routes, while the Wonder or Magic will switch to a new route.

West coast, Alaska, Japan and Med were all mentioned.

This seems to be the general concensus of what I heard.

[Señor Ferrari]

Originally posted by albiats


Senor Ferrari -
You seem to be at least as interested in ship building as I am.



Yes, I am very interested in all things nautical. I have Disney Cruise Line to thank for that, for the most part. I try to keep on top of the cruise industry in general. There are all kinds of great itineraries and cruises out there (and so little time!). I'll have to take a look at the article you cite.

It sounds like something I saw on the Travel Channel the other night. It was a special on shipbuilding, dealing mostly with the building of RCI's Voyager of the Seas. They did have a note about the group trying to gather capital to build a huge "city at sea". It may be the same thing.

I hope that passenger ship building does revive in the US. I liked the idea of building two ships for Hawaii in Pascagoula, MS for American Classic Voyages, but that project failed miserably when the line went bankrupt. I'd love to see a US flag ship do cruises in Hawaii. The NCL ship that is there must spend almost half the week going to and from Fanning Island in order to comply with the Passenger Services Act requirement of stopping at a foreign port.

Thanks for the link!

[TnRobin]

I too was sadden to hear about the Hawaiian ships being cancelled. We were looking at cruising Hawaii on their new ships once they were built.

[Dave_from_Marietta]

The Panama Canal can accommodate ships up 1000 feet in length and up to 110 feet wide. The Magic and Wonder are 964 feet long and something like 105 feet wide. If you check the dimensions on most of the cruise liners in the Caribbean, you'll find that they almost all are just barely under the 110x1000 dimensions.

[Hopkins]

The actual term is PanaMax ships. Ships that are built to the maximum and still be able to fit thru the Panama Canal. I read or heard that somewhere, but not sure if the spelling is all in capitals or what.

Tina

[Señor Ferrari]

The Canal's Website (http://www.pancanal.com) lists the maximum dimensions for ships as:

Length - 965 ft.
Beam - 106 ft.
Draft - 39.5 ft

The Magic and Wonder just do make the first two requirements. I can't remember what the draft (depth of the keel) of the ships is, but I recall that it is much less than 40 ft.

The locks themselves are 1000 ft. long, 110 ft. wide, and 83 ft. deep.

They are actually researching the idea of improving the canal to accomadate bigger ships (called post-PanaMax ships). There's an article on the canal's website here (http://www.pancanal.com/eng/cgi-bin/news/boletin.cgi?submit=Consulta&item=63).

Anyone interested should check out this website. It's got a lot of cool information on the canal and an animated view of how a transit works.

[taswira]

The Magic and Wonder are
Length - 964 ft.
Beam - 106 ft.
Draft - 25

[randytenn]

Here is my question / observation. If the Magic were sent to the west coast for an alaskan cruise, a large part of the ship is swimming pools. Do you spend a lot of time swimming on an Alaskan cruise??? Seems like in the winter, alot of the ship would go unused. Additionally, do they have a way to heat the ship? Just curious.

I'm up for as many different Disney cruise ships as possible! Gives us more places to go.

[Señor Ferrari]

Cruise ships are generally only in Alaska from May until September, but the on the early and late cruises, it can be pretty cold, highs in the 40's, maybe. Many ships that spend time in Alaska have a retractable roof to cover the pool. During the summer, it does get hot enough to swim, but you're right, overall it's a different kind of cruise. Most every ship which sails in Alaska during the summer repositions in the fall, which is when alot of the trans-canal sailings happen. You'll also see a lot of Vancouver-to-Hawaii sailings, followed by Hawaii-to-LA (via Ensenada) as the ships reposition to the south and/or to the Caribbean.

[taswira]

They could also use the pool areas for other activities - like when they make a deck cover for the Sailaway Party, etc. Just because people might not be swimming doesn't mean the pool areas can't be utilized.

[Dave_from_Marietta]

Originally posted by Hopkins

The actual term is PanaMax ships. Ships that are built to the maximum and still be able to fit thru the Panama Canal. I read or heard that somewhere, but not sure if the spelling is all in capitals or what.Thanks, Hopkins. I learned something new today. The point I was making was that the Magic, Wonder, and <i>most</i> of the cruise ships currently in operation are <b><i>PanaMax</i></b> (using the term I just learned).

Originally posted by Señor Ferrari

The Canal's Website (http://www.pancanal.com) lists the maximum dimensions for ships as:

Length - 965 ft.
Beam - 106 ft.
Draft - 39.5 ft

...the locks themselves are 1000 ft. long, 110 ft. wide, and 83 ft. deep.That's the site I got the lock dimensions from, and I erroneously assumed that the maximum vessel dimensions equaled the minimum lock dimensions. Gracias for the clarification, Señor.