New Disney Cruise Ship

[tecdavidt]

I always like to read these threads. I do know this, when DCL decides to build another ship it won't be a secret since the other two were not a secret. I always check up on the cruise news on Cruisecritic and that was when I read they decided to go out for bids and designs but nothing more than that.

I suspect it is the exchange rate and the fact that Euro Disney is not doing well financially for Disney corp. Then again maybe Euro Disney has no effect. Who knows. I do hope they add a ship someday for the west coast. It makes economic sense to have a ship that will be linked to Disney Land. I would think DCL would have no problem filling two ships for the west coast and two ships for the east coast.

Kathy

 

[hawkrn]

Kathy, "hi" from one Disney Addict in Iowa (Bettendorf) to another!

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Originally posted by ThreeCircles
This was posted on the Walt Disney World News & Rumors page of <a href="http://www.screamscape.com/html/walt_disney_world.html">Screamscape</a> on 11/24/03:

The latest info from the SpyNet claim that Disney may already be putting the plans for a 3rd ship in motion. If the rumors are true the craft has already been designed and they are currently searching bidding it out to the shipyards to get the best price. Once complete, the third ship is expected to be even larger than the previous two and may be used initially for a new 10 day cruise.

Given the demand for the 10-day holiday cruise next year it would seem that this could be a possibility. That way, the Disney Magic could continue the 7-day itineraries, the Wonder could continue the 3/4 day, and the new ship could be used for a new 10-day itinerary.

Thanks for posting the rumor!

Allow me to offer a few thoughts about the idea of regularly scheduled 10-night Disney cruises...

For a schedule of 10-night cruises to work, the 10-night cruises would have to alternate with 11-night or 4-night cruises. That way, the 10-night cruise would always leave on the same day of the week (possibly Friday), and the alternating cruises would always leave on the same day (possibly Monday) -- two days when the TCL terminal is not already in use. And these cruises could call on Castaway Cay on days when there's not already another ship there. On the other hand, a schedule of back-to-back 10-night cruises would quickly run into scheduling conflicts at the terminal and Castaway Cay.

Personally, I don't think that 10-night cruises and DCL are a good match. Occasional 10-night cruises, like the 2004 holiday cruise, are a great idea. But, in general, 10-night cruises on other lines tend not to attract the family market that is the core of DCL's customer base. It's often hard for families to get away for more than a week, especially during the school year, when breaks are usually only one week long.

I'm more willing to believe the rumors that if there's just one new ship, it will replace the Magic, and the Magic will go to the West Coast for all-year cruises to Mexico out of a harbor near Disneyland, such as Long Beach. And if there are two new ships, the fourth ship will be optimized for Alaska, possibly doing Alaska cruises during the warm months, Caribbean cruises the rest of the year, with two Panama Canal repositioning cruises each year.

Again, ThreeCircles, thanks for posting.

 

[ThreeCircles]

Good points about the possibility of 10-day cruises. It is probably true that many people would be reluctant or unable to secure more than a week away from work or school to commit to a 10-day vacation. And scheduling the terminal and Castaway Cay would seem to pose a problem as well.

With that said, I think a third ship could easily work a new 7-day cruise out of Port Canaveral. I know that many suggest that a third ship will either be stationed on the West coast or one of the existing ships will be moved to the West coast, but I just don't see that in the future for DCL.

With the popularity of DCL as it now stands, it would make little sense for them to expand to the West. They are filling the ships easily, have invested heavily in Castaway Cay and the DCL terminal, and have popular Caribbean itineraries. I don't see DCL, or I should say the Walt Disney Company (as that's who will really make the decision) giving up those benefits and others to reposition a ship. Even with the 50th Anniversary of the Disneyland Resort, I can't see it happening. Especially if they will just have the two ships in 2005, as it seems they will.

Just my humble opinion!

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Originally posted by ThreeCircles
With the popularity of DCL as it now stands, it would make little sense for them to expand to the West. They are filling the ships easily, have invested heavily in Castaway Cay and the DCL terminal, and have popular Caribbean itineraries.

Yes, Castaway Cay and the DCL terminal are each only used three pays per week., and they're valuable DCL assets. So, I could also see another ship operating from Port Canaveral.

By offering a new ship with a new "pesonaility" -- different dining rooms, different clubs, different decor -- and new 7-night itineraries, DCL could attract return guests and new guests. For example, consider a new Western itinerary including some of the following ports:
-- Mahahual on Costa Maya, Mexico
-- Isla Roatan, Honduras
-- Belize City, Belize

I'd like to see seven different dining rooms on the new, larger ship, so you and your servers rotate to a different dining room each night.

Now, having said that, I wouldn't write off the West Coast so quickly. In fact, I believe the rumor that the Magic will spend part of 2005 in California, even if DCL doesn't go ahead with a fleet expansion. It will allow DCL to "test the waters." It will increase awareness of DCL by the people of the most populous state. And will allow DCL to sell staterooms at top dollar through a "6 months only and then the opportunity will be gone forever" marketing campaign. (And then a DCL ship can return to California a year or two later "due to overwhelming demand.")