2 New Ships Coming To DCL!?!?

[The Sasquatch]

I would love to see casinos on DCL, but I doubt we'll ever see it.

Others on here, particularly those who live in FL, would know a heck of a lot more about it than I do, but isn't Disney putting up a tremendous fight against casinos in FL? Even for a company like Disney, with all their resources, that contradiction would be a difficult PR situation to overcome - to block casinos in FLorida, but install them on their ships?

I have often suggested a good idea for DCL would be a 'Dave & Busters' type space. It can be open to everyone during the day (thus generating revenue at all times), but become adults-only at night that stays open until 3 or 4am. This would provide adults with a nighttime "play" area after the late dinner seating and the show for the main dinner folks. It can generate a lot of revenue - probably not as much as a casino, but a fair amount still. I believe the lack of fun, late night, activities really hurts DCL with the non-parents crowd.

I would have to agree. A Dave and Busters type place would be fantastic. I really do think the evening activities are lacking unless I just havent found the right ones.

 

[jlemieu1]

I would have to agree. A Dave and Busters type place would be fantastic. I really do think the evening activities are lacking unless I just havent found the right ones.

I think it is kind of funny that "Dave and Busters" is brought up in this discussion. The reason why is because my co-worker used to work for D&B before they were bought out. D&B used to rent out a whole ship to take the corporate staff out on a cruise.

I think DCL could keep a ship in Asia year round and have zero problems filling it.

 

[sabrecmc]

I would love to see itineraries from Asia. On our Wonder Alaska cruise back in 2011, several CMs said that was in the works, but of course, that didn't happen.

Being ignorant of geography in general, would a cruise from say, Japan, be able to go to Aulani or something along those lines? I know they've had trouble selling Aulani points, so maybe some increased traffic. I have no idea.

NYC makes sense. Weren't those cruises really successful? We really liked combining a NYC trip with a cruise. That was great fun.

 

[NancyIL]

I would love to see itineraries from Asia. On our Wonder Alaska cruise back in 2011, several CMs said that was in the works, but of course, that didn't happen.

Being ignorant of geography in general, would a cruise from say, Japan, be able to go to Aulani or something along those lines? I know they've had trouble selling Aulani points, so maybe some increased traffic. I have no idea.

NYC makes sense. Weren't those cruises really successful? We really liked combining a NYC trip with a cruise. That was great fun.

Yes, on a long repositioning cruise. DCL is doing two one-way cruises between Vancouver and Honolulu in Sept. 2015, and there is still plenty of availability left.

 

[reimero]

I don't see DCL putting casinos on any new ships. Part of it has to do with wanting to maintain a "family-friendly" atmosphere (apparently, bingo for cash is fine, but no slot machines!) The other thing is, not having on-board casinos is a form of marketing in its own right: all the other major lines have casinos, so for people who strongly object to casinos, DCL has a rather powerful marketing tool of its own.

Frankly, I would think DCL could almost start going the other direction. We routinely compare DCL to Carnival, Norwegian and Royal Caribbean. I'm no expert, but I think they're occupying that space in between the large market cruise lines and the luxury lines. They're not in a position to compete with, say, Crystal or Celebrity, but I don't think it'd be much of a stretch for them to get there. Like the luxury lines, DCL sells excellent service and a "more inclusive" experience (e.g. steak and lobster are included, as are soft drinks). Unlike the pure luxury lines, DCL is more relaxed and family-friendly.

 

[NancyIL]

I don't see DCL putting casinos on any new ships. Part of it has to do with wanting to maintain a "family-friendly" atmosphere (apparently, bingo for cash is fine, but no slot machines!) The other thing is, not having on-board casinos is a form of marketing in its own right: all the other major lines have casinos, so for people who strongly object to casinos, DCL has a rather powerful marketing tool of its own.

Frankly, I would think DCL could almost start going the other direction. We routinely compare DCL to Carnival, Norwegian and Royal Caribbean. I'm no expert, but I think they're occupying that space in between the large market cruise lines and the luxury lines. They're not in a position to compete with, say, Crystal or Celebrity, but I don't think it'd be much of a stretch for them to get there. Like the luxury lines, DCL sells excellent service and a "more inclusive" experience (e.g. steak and lobster are included, as are soft drinks). Unlike the pure luxury lines, DCL is more relaxed and family-friendly.

Celebrity isn't a luxury cruise line. It's Royal Caribbean's upscale sister, but it's still less luxurious than its other sister - Azamara Club Cruises.

 

[tstobb]

With the cost of a new ship in the area of a billion (yes, billion with a b) dollars, Disney isn't likely to expand the fleet anytime soon with Avitar land just breaking ground and a just promised expansion of the Star Wars franchise in the parks. While I would love to see new ships, Disney is filling their ships (this is the 1st time in years that all of the September cruises haven't had FL resident rates) so they don't have to discount them to fill the ships. There have been some slips in new destinations (Galveston and NY were a bad financial move as many cruises were discounted) becoming more permanent home ports so DCL is concentrating where they make money - Florida, & Alaska with some side trips. That being said, I do agree that if they sent a ship to Japan, they would fill it year round and wouldn't be completely surprised if that was a "test" destination in the near future for the Wonder.

 

[reimero]

With the cost of a new ship in the area of a billion (yes, billion with a b) dollars, Disney isn't likely to expand the fleet anytime soon with Avitar land just breaking ground and a just promised expansion of the Star Wars franchise in the parks. While I would love to see new ships, Disney is filling their ships (this is the 1st time in years that all of the September cruises haven't had FL resident rates) so they don't have to discount them to fill the ships. There have been some slips in new destinations (Galveston and NY were a bad financial move as many cruises were discounted) becoming more permanent home ports so DCL is concentrating where they make money - Florida, & Alaska with some side trips. That being said, I do agree that if they sent a ship to Japan, they would fill it year round and wouldn't be completely surprised if that was a "test" destination in the near future for the Wonder.

I'm curious about the Wonder as well. Last I heard, she's due for a major overhaul in 2016. The question is, will she still be able to traverse the Panama Canal after she's renovated? One of the DCL staff told me that ship length isn't a problem, it's the width. I'm wondering if the addition of the Aquadunk on the Magic is what made it too wide.

 

[Sur]

One of the DCL staff told me that ship length isn't a problem, it's the width.

Figures!

 

[mcd2745]

With the cost of a new ship in the area of a billion (yes, billion with a b) dollars, Disney isn't likely to expand the fleet anytime soon with Avitar land just breaking ground and a just promised expansion of the Star Wars franchise in the parks. While I would love to see new ships, Disney is filling their ships (this is the 1st time in years that all of the September cruises haven't had FL resident rates) so they don't have to discount them to fill the ships. There have been some slips in new destinations (Galveston and NY were a bad financial move as many cruises were discounted) becoming more permanent home ports so DCL is concentrating where they make money - Florida, & Alaska with some side trips. That being said, I do agree that if they sent a ship to Japan, they would fill it year round and wouldn't be completely surprised if that was a "test" destination in the near future for the Wonder.

Galveston and Miami certainly were problematic for DCL with reagrds to filling those sailings. However, for NYC, that was far from the case. The NY sailings were all sold out - and at prices significantly higher than their normal high prices they charge for sailings out of FL. So it's been kind of a mystery as to why they do not have plans to come back. Could they easily sell out year-round from NYC? Probably not. But in the summer...no doubt about it.

 

[wcw57]

Figures!

just so you know, the ribaldry wasn't lost on me....well done

 

[sabrecmc]

The not going back to NYC does seem odd, given how popular those cruises were. The combination of Disney World and the cruise with the PC stop seems like a no-brainer.

I'd love to see them do some additional itineraries out of NYC, like a New England/Canada cruise or a longer cruise like this one:

Day 1 New York, New York
Day 2 At Sea
Day 3 At Sea
Day 4 At Sea
Day 5 San Juan, Puerto Rico
Day 6 St. Thomas, Virgin Islands
Day 7 Philipsburg (St. Maarten), Netherlands Antilles
Day 8 Basseterre, St. Kitts, Saint Kitts and Nevis
Day 9 Tortola, British Virgin Islands
Day 10 At Sea
Day 11 At Sea
Day 12 New York, New York

I would be all over that.

 

[NancyIL]

Galveston and Miami certainly were problematic for DCL with reagrds to filling those sailings. However, for NYC, that was far from the case. The NY sailings were all sold out - and at prices significantly higher than their normal high prices they charge for sailings out of FL. So it's been kind of a mystery as to why they do not have plans to come back. Could they easily sell out year-round from NYC? Probably not. But in the summer...no doubt about it.

There were three 5-night cruises from NY to Canada in September 2012, and those ended up being deeply discounted. DCL's cruises are popular and high-priced during the summer, Christmas holidays, and spring breaks. Except for the occasional new itinerary during the school year - DCL has trouble filling its ships without discounting.

 

[n2mm]

Would love to see a disney cruise out of Baltimore. That would be great. Right now only carnival and royal Carib sail out. A girl can only wish. I'm sure we would be out of control.

 

[smootenloopers]

... of casinos, but maybe DCL needs to rethink that if they hope to entice more adult-only cruisers to sail with them.

I'm an adult-only cruiser and one of the major reasons I sail DCL is because they don't have a casino.

 

[n2mm]

I'm an adult-only cruiser and one of the major reasons I sail DCL is because they don't have a casino.

I agree!

 

[jdb in AZ]

I'm curious about the Wonder as well. Last I heard, she's due for a major overhaul in 2016. The question is, will she still be able to traverse the Panama Canal after she's renovated? One of the DCL staff told me that ship length isn't a problem, it's the width. I'm wondering if the addition of the Aquadunk on the Magic is what made it too wide.

Panama is building a new set of locks that will allow larger ships to go through the Canal. DCL has waited to renovate the Wonder until the new Canal locks are a done deal. There have been so many delays, it's rather sad. Hopefully the Wonder can do the overhaul in 2016 but if there's another lengthy delay on the Canal, the Wonder will wait.

As for the Magic, it's her new rear end that prevents her from going through the current locks.

 

[scgustafson]

I'm curious about the Wonder as well. Last I heard, she's due for a major overhaul in 2016. The question is, will she still be able to traverse the Panama Canal after she's renovated? One of the DCL staff told me that ship length isn't a problem, it's the width. I'm wondering if the addition of the Aquadunk on the Magic is what made it too wide.

From my June 12-night on Disney Magic, Scott, the Assistant Cruise Director was doing a Q&A while Bingo Betty was being fixed. During the Q&A, he explained that it is the overall length of the Disney Magic that prevents it from transiting the Panama Canal. When the ship was reimagined, the amount of materials added to the upper decks of the ship caused the ship's center of gravity to move upward. To combat this, a duck tail, an extra portion of hull at the stern of the ship but mostly below the waterline, was added to shift the center of gravity back to a more stable point. The additional length of this duck tail makes the ship no longer fit in the current Panama Canal locks. Until the Panama Canal locks are upgraded, which is in the works right now, the Disney Wonder will not go through her reimagining so that she can still be used on the West Coast and in Alaska during the summer. The length issue of Disney Magic for the Panama Canal was also confirmed in one of the Disney Magic Reimagining specials. Nowhere in any of these discussions have I ever heard anything about the beam of the ship being to wide for the existing Panama Canal.

 

[scgustafson]

Panama is building a new set of locks that will allow larger ships to go through the Canal. DCL has waited to renovate the Wonder until the new Canal locks are a done deal. There have been so many delays, it's rather sad. Hopefully the Wonder can do the overhaul in 2016 but if there's another lengthy delay on the Canal, the Wonder will wait.

As for the Magic, it's her new rear end that prevents her from going through the current locks.

Sorry jdb for stepping on your post. I had started mine but got sidetracked and ended up submitting it before I had seen yours.

 

[Overflow]

From my June 12-night on Disney Magic, Scott, the Assistant Cruise Director was doing a Q&A while Bingo Betty was being fixed. During the Q&A, he explained that it is the overall length of the Disney Magic that prevents it from transiting the Panama Canal. When the ship was reimagined, the amount of materials added to the upper decks of the ship caused the ship's center of gravity to move upward. To combat this, a duck tail, an extra portion of hull at the stern of the ship but mostly below the waterline, was added to shift the center of gravity back to a more stable point. The additional length of this duck tail makes the ship no longer fit in the current Panama Canal locks. Until the Panama Canal locks are upgraded, which is in the works right now, the Disney Wonder will not go through her reimagining so that she can still be used on the West Coast and in Alaska during the summer. The length issue of Disney Magic for the Panama Canal was also confirmed in one of the Disney Magic Reimagining specials. Nowhere in any of these discussions have I ever heard anything about the beam of the ship being to wide for the existing Panama Canal.

Very interesting. Thanks for posting this. Hopefully they're be able to update the Wonder in 2016..