Disney adding two new ships?

[deanimal]

I wonder if this is a reference to replacing the classic ships. Yes, they are beautiful and in great shape, but they are getting older by industry standards. And if they started building new ships this year, it would still be a few years before the new ships were launched, so current dry docks for the old ships would just be part of routine maintenance. The old ships aren't the money cows for the company that the new ships are. Almost all the discounts are on the older ships and the company seems to be juggling them around to try to get maximum dollar from them. All they seem to need to do is keep the two new ships running on the same loops from Port Canaveral and they mostly fill up for big money. We just sailed on the Dream for the first time and my husband and I agreed that it would be hard to go back to the Wonder or Magic after experiencing the new ships, especially for the same price. So for Disney, I could see them wanting a fleet of all new ships.

 

[Zandy595]

Maybe on some of the Magic and Wonder sailings they have discounts. What kind of offers have you seen on the Dream and Fantasy?

There were amazing FL rates for our Dream cruise last November.

 

[disprincess4ever]

In 5 years the magic will be 20 years old and the Wonder 19. At that time I could see Disney having new ships to replace them. But at the current time I think their just looking into their future and planning.

 

[Evil Queen 2]

I hope that if/when Disney builds more ships they will go with the classic line to replace the Magic/Wonder. Personally I prefer the smaller, less crowded feel of the original ships. But I agree that it probably still very much in the "sometime in the future" talk stages.

 

[Husurdady]

DLC need to come out with the Walmart policy....."we will match prices".........don't you think?

 

[Zandy595]

In 5 years the magic will be 20 years old and the Wonder 19. At that time I could see Disney having new ships to replace them. But at the current time I think their just looking into their future and planning.

How old are cruise ships when they are retired? The 23 year old Carnival Fantasy is still sailing.

 

[MouseMomx2]

Personally, I don't see DCL replacing the classic ships until they are closer to 30 years old.

 

[OrcaPotter]

I saw on a TV special about cruise ships that the average lifespan of a cruise ship is expected to be 30 years of regular service. With all the investment that goes into building these things, I'd doubt they'd want them replaceable in only 20 years. I sincerely doubt the Magic and Wonder are going to be sold or retired any time soon.

As for new ships, it'd be silly to think that they haven't already begun the planning stages for future ships. You can plan a ship without purchasing one, I'm sure. A previous poster mentioned that the original plan was for 10 ships. Frankly, if Disney wants to keep their repeat cruisers, they need to begin offering more--which I see plenty of threads on these boards calling out for. With more ships, I'm sure they could offer more options. As for troubles filling them--I certainly do not notice this problem. The discounts generally are only found in the off-season, which all cruise lines offer. Since Disney is targeted primarily at families, of course the off-season itineraries would have a hard time being sold due to the school year.

My issue is that the prices are just astronomical. Yes, the service, amenities, and atmosphere are high-quality... but for the same basic itineraries, it's crazy how much they're upcharging for the new ships. I just priced a June Fantasy cruise for next year and it's more money for an inside than what I paid for an outside Alaskan trip on the Wonder for this year. However, I also checked RCCL for the same time for the same itinerary, and the prices aren't much different at all--for their newer ships. Of course Disney would probably want to continue that demand for "new" by introducing another ship in the next several years.

This article talks about RCCL's upcoming new ships--smaller than the Oasis class--which took 3 years to design. They'll be coming out in the next 2 years. Their latest ship, Allure, debuted in 2010. That's a new ship, at their current rate, of every 4-5 years. The Dream debuted in 2011. If DCL follows the same model, it wouldn't be surprising to see another new ship in 2016.

I'm sure the big fleets can fill their ships because of the competitive pricing and the variety of itineraries. If DCL has any problem filling their ships, it's because of they lack both of those. Their "new" itineraries tend to be limited and only offered at off-season times. That excludes many families, and those of us with limited time off. I say that more ships for DCL is a good idea.

 

[SnowWhite2]

On our NYE cruise, our tablemates who had sailed quite a bit and had friends high up in Guest services said they were told there were 2 new ships to be built soon. They were unable to get anyone else to confirm so they dropped it. I thought it was just someone repeating a "wish" but maybe there is something to it.

Captain Tom did talk about the cruise line going to Asia and more Hawaii trips. But I agree that Disney will need to figure out how to be more competitive in pricing before building a bigger fleet. I feel they have tapped out the upper middle income segment for their cruises and need to appeal to a broader middle income segment before expanding.

 

[jlemieu1]

For the two classic ships, one will end up in Europe and the other in Asia. Both of those markets are used to older ships.

 

[truck1]

Back in 2000 DCL had announced internally that they were building 2 new ships. Right after 911 the idea was scrapped. The plans still exist. The Dream class is a hybrid of the Magic class and the unnamed class. The inbetween un named class was to be bigger then the Magic but smaller then the Dream . DCL also has options to build 2 more add on ships of the Dream class. This came from Joe Lacisero who actually designed the Dream class and spoke on the inaugural of the Fantasy. Bob Iger was also there and during the qa basically said no new ships until they get a feel for the market and how DCL as a whole is doing. I wouldn't expect any new DCL ships for at least another year or two. At least the annoucement.

 

[disneyholic family]

i've only been on the Dream once, but it felt much less stable to me than the Wonder....
did anyone else have that experience?

for the above reason, i'd be happy to see them take a bit off the height of any new ships they build (or make it even wider to more offset the height)...

 

[Meghatron]

I hope that if/when Disney builds more ships they will go with the classic line to replace the Magic/Wonder. Personally I prefer the smaller, less crowded feel of the original ships.

I'm with you. If DCL ever "improves" themselves out of having Magic class or similar size/quality ships, they've lost my business. I can get the crowds, lines, and general chaos of an amusement park at Disneyland for much cheaper than what they ask for on the Dream and Fantasy, plus no airfare costs.

 

[truck1]

i've only been on the Dream once, but it felt much less stable to me than the Wonder....
did anyone else have that experience?

for the above reason, i'd be happy to see them take a bit off the height of any new ships they build (or make it even wider to more offset the height)...

Having been on both the Magic class ships and the Fantasy I don't see any real difference in stability. What will make things seem different is the sea state and how the ships are orientated to it.

 

[Buckeye218]

DLC need to come out with the Walmart policy....."we will match prices".........don't you think?

Absolutely Not!! AT the risk of sounding elitist, keeping the prices where they are helps to ensure that the stereotypical booze cruise value crowd keeps to other lower-priced lines. I prefer the more refined, family-friendly clientele I usually see on DCL.

 

[PaceFamily]

We're just off of the Magic yesterday. On the last evening of our cruise, Austin told our party that Disney had given the OK to crew members to confirm the rumors that Disney is adding two new ships to her fleet. I hadn't heard this rumor. Does anyone know more about this? I asked Austin what the timeline was or if he knew where they might be placed, and he couldn't say for sure. I'd heard nothing about this prior to talking to him, but I'm sure someone on here could shed some light...?

I did some research and I believe this rumor is true. They say that the new ships will be named... (wait for it)... Dream and Fantasy. LOL

 

[dgmommie]

Having met Austin and talked to him on our cruise a couple of weeks ago, I would say his confirming a rumor could be true, or it could be him just teasing. He has a really dry sense of humor when you talk with him. Only once did I get him to say something to me in a serious tone, and even then I wasn't sure if he was truly serious or just kidding.

 

[Yokelridesagain]

i've only been on the Dream once, but it felt much less stable to me than the Wonder....

Same route, or different? The crossing of the Gulf stream out of Port Canaveral is one of the 'rougher' rides in the normal cruise rotations...obviously it's nothing to compare to something like the Drake Passage, but if you compare Dream out of Orlando to an Inside Passage route to Alaska on Wonder, the 'feel' of Dream is going to be less stable. That's not the ship, though, it's the route.

 

[MND]

I asked Austin what the timeline was or if he knew where they might be placed, and he couldn't say for sure.

Omaha!

 

[shrinkingmoody]

Absolutely Not!! AT the risk of sounding elitist, keeping the prices where they are helps to ensure that the stereotypical booze cruise value crowd keeps to other lower-priced lines. I prefer the more refined, family-friendly clientele I usually see on DCL.

Elitist or not - this is exactly why we chose DCL for our very first cruise - we are cruising with our three year old and didn't want a party ship. I know other cruise lines offer kids activities too but when it came down to it we figured this would be the better for for us.

PS - sailing in the Dream in May but looking forward to trying an older ship based on the love for them expressed here.