Disney Cruise Line to launch sailings out of Miami
By Gene Sloan, USA TODAY
(8:50 AM) -- Watch out, Carnival and
Royal Caribbean. Entertainment giant Disney is moving in on your turf.
The
Disney Cruise Line today will announce its first voyages out of Miami -- a cruise hub long dominated by locally-based Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line.
Disney plans to offer more than two dozen winter sailings out of the city starting in December, even as it cuts back on cruises on the West Coast. The trips will take place aboard the 1,754-passenger Disney Wonder, which is re-locating to Miami from Los Angeles and no longer will operate itineraries to the West Coast of Mexico.
"We've been pleased with the itineraries in Mexico, but guests are looking for more," Disney President Karl Holz tells USA TODAY in an exclusive interview. "It was time to explore other options."
Disney's move comes as cruise lines struggle to fill voyages to the West Coast of Mexico -- a fact executives blame on negative perceptions of the region in the wake of recent violence. Many lines, including Disney, have cancelled stops in the Western Mexico port of Mazatlan over the past year due to security concerns while continuing to call at Puerto Vallarta and Cabo San Lucas.
Miami will become Disney's second home port in Florida, joining longtime hub Port Canaveral, where the line began in 1998. Port Canaveral will remain home to the line's two newest ships, the one-year-old Disney Dream and soon-to-debut Disney Fantasy.
"We're very happy with Port Canaveral," Holz notes.
The Disney Wonder's new sailings out of Miami will kick off on Dec. 23 with one six-night and one seven-night trip to the Caribbean. The ship then will operate two dozen four- and five-night Bahamas and Western Caribbean cruises in early 2012 on three different routes:
-- A five-night itinerary with stops in Cozumel, Mexico and
Castaway Cay, Disney's private island in the Bahamas (Departure dates: Jan. 5 and 19; Feb. 2 and 16; March 2, 16 and 30; April 13 and 27).
-- A five-night itinerary with stops in Grand Cayman and Cozumel (Departure dates: Jan. 14 and 28; Feb. 11 and 25; March 11 and 25; April 8 and 22).
-- A four-night itinerary with stops in Key West, Fla.; Nassau, Bahamas; and Castaway Cay (Departure dates: Jan. 10 and 24; Feb. 7 and 21; March 7 and 21; April 4 and 18; and May 2).
Holz says Miami is appealing as a home port for several reasons, including its location near top Caribbean ports.
"The proximity of Miami to a number of destinations gives you a cruise product that has a lot of richness in a four- or five-day itinerary," he says. Compared to Port Canaveral, "it's that much closer to Grand Cayman and Cozumel."
Disney also expects the new Miami sailings to appeal to the local South Florida drive-in market, and to vacationers from Latin America who have easy access to the city by air, says Holz.
"Our goal is certainly to exploit the Latin America market to a more significant level," he says, noting that Brazilians, in particular, already are big fans of Disney's theme parks on land.
In addition to the new Miami sailings, Disney today also will announce plans for more Caribbean cruises out of Galveston, Texas.
Disney will extend the inaugural season of the 1,754-passenger Disney Magic out of Galveston, which begins this fall, through May 2013, with additional six- and eight-night voyages to the Western Caribbean. The six-night cruises will include port calls in Grand Cayman and Cozumel. The eight-night sailings will include calls in Key West, Grand Cayman, Costa Maya and Cozumel.
Disney today also will announce
plans to return to Europe in 2013 after skipping the region this year. In other changes, the line also plans to operate its Alaska cruises in 2013 out of Vancouver instead of Seattle
If money was no option I would go anywhere 
