Disney Announces Ninth Ship to be Based in Tokyo

[Darren1969]

I guess this is a win/win for Disney. Seems there are lots of Japanese visitors on all the cruises we have been on. Will they travel over here with something closer available to them? So loss of business there but opens it up to a lot more who are now able to cruise who can't travel the long distance to get on a mickey ship in the U.S. Though they won't get the same share of the sale, less of a risk.

From my experience the Japanese love going on DLC but mostly the longer, more special cruises such as Hawaii and the TAs.

 

[Agent 86]

Also wonder how character meet & greets are on these ships, and how long the lines for characters will be, especially on shorter cruises.

As the Japanese seem to prefer just taking a photo of the character by themselves, as opposed to posing with the character, it will be interesting to see what happens.

And will the face characters speak Japanese or only English? They don’t seem to be as popular with the Japanese as the non-face characters.

They’re no strangers to waiting in long lines for hours, so the wait times could be as bad as those on the inaugural Aussie cruises (3+ hours).

 

[auntlynne]

I can't believe no one has mentioned this yet, but the cruise has incredible potential to be a dream vacation for those who want to visit every Disney park in the world. Imagine Tokyo-Shanghai-Hong Kong. Shanghai and Hong Kong Disney parks are only a 30 minute drive from the closest cruise terminal.

My first thought was a variation on this. But I didn’t realize how many days sailing Tokyo was from Shanghai. The cruise length from Singapore seemed prohibitive.

But DCL started with those 3- and 4-night cruises to bundle with WDW. And now, no bundle, but while you are so close, why not do both? Could work in Japan, too. If nothing else, DLT and Disney Sea are still options?

So do a cruise from Tokyo then fly to Shanghai or Hong Kong. Since you have done the long haul flight already. And it’s closer than getting to Singapore (from North America).

 

[auntlynne]

Gotta say, I didn’t see this one coming!

I’m not in the loop. Thanks, @Royal Consort, for News of the Day.

 

[MalvernPa]

Maybe the Magic will be going to Japan after its 2026 Panama Canal cruise.

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

Maybe the Magic will be going to Japan after its 2026 Panama Canal cruise.

You mean in addition to the new ship that was announced? I doubt it

 

[MalvernPa]

You mean in addition to the new ship that was announced? I doubt it

No, maybe it will head to Japan for few months. Similar to the Wonder does with Australia.

The Magic does not have any itineraries listed after its PC cruise in 2026. Hopefully something exciting.

 

[European]

If it’s a partnership with the OLC, would it count for Castaway Club status?

 

[Royal Consort]

No, maybe it will head to Japan for few months. Similar to the Wonder does with Australia.

The Magic does not have any itineraries listed after its PC cruise in 2026. Hopefully something exciting.

I believe the Magic may replace the Wonder in Australia in 2026.

 

[Royal Consort]

If it’s a partnership with the OLC, would it count for Castaway Club status?

Not unless they enter an agreement with Disney Cruise Line. Otherwise this will be a separate company.

 

[RivShore]

Not unless they enter an agreement with Disney Cruise Line. Otherwise this will be a separate company.

Looks like it is a partnership at a minimum, and the fact the money for it is coming out of Disney's announced $60B expansion, should mean that it will be considered a full part of DCL:

The new ship, to be modelled after the Wish that is the largest vessel in the group, is a partnership with Oriental Land Company (OLC), the operator of Tokyo Disneyland. It is part of a 10-year, $60 billion expansion of Disney's theme parks and cruise business.

 

[peder]

I don't think we can say with much certainty how everything will work. I wouldn't be surprised if the partnership included IT / systems support but via different channels / different website / different loyalty programs. They could basically take a fork of the DCL website and rebrand it for the OCL partnership.

 

[Flossbolna]

I figured out what one adjustment for the Japanese audience will be for sure: Japanese toilets. They have these washlet toilets everywhere, even in train stations. I am sure they are a necessity on a cruise ship for that market!

 

[Darren1969]

The 3 things the Japanese market will want

Character Meet & Greets. The more the better with appropriate backgrounds and theming.
Duffy and Friends. Especially if there was a new, cruise exclusive friend and exclusive merch.
Shows. Lots of shows.

No casino needed. At most, a Pachinko room. Hopefully down on deck 1, well away from anywhere else.

I think there will be limited demand from the Chinese market due to no casino, no smoking (other than the usual places) and historical tensions.
Hong Kong. Islanders will love it,
Else where in Asia, Koreans will go button sure about any other countries.

Run a cruise between Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong and it'll be sold out on opening day.

I can also see a dedicated terminal being built near Tokyo Disney Resort with a spur off the monorail.

 

[Kwami]

I can also see a dedicated terminal being built near Tokyo Disney Resort with a spur off the monorail.

The cruise terminal is already only 30 minutes from TDR by train, though the journey does require a change of trains at Shin-Kiba station.

It's hard to imagine that Tokyo or the small city Urayasu is willing to build a new cruise terminal just for one ship.

 

[Mommb]

Run a cruise between Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong and it'll be sold out on opening day.

Yes, a one-time cruise like this (or two-time, once in each direction) might sell out. But that the new ship is partly funded by Oriental Land Company, which owns and operates Tokyo Disneyland, and it's highly unlikely OLC would want to run frequent cruises away from Tokyo and toward parks in other countries.

The project overview in the initial press release says "mainly short distance departing from and arriving at ports around the Tokyo metropolitan area." Anything is possible, but I would expect that the vast majority of cruises, at least for the first few years, will fit this description.

 

[Dug720]

I've seen Tokyo-HK cruises with a Shanghai stop at about 12 days. And that's with 8 total stops, two of which (Osaka/Shanghai) stop for two days.

If it was more Disney-focused (Tokyo-Shanghai-Hong Kong) they could probably shave it down to 8 days. Still long for a Disney cruise but much more reasonable.

Shanghai-Tokyo is about two days at sea. Shanghai-Hong Kong is 2 days at sea (these are estimates based on other cruise lines, so time may vary depending on ship size I suppose).

An itinerary may look like:
Day 1 - Tokyo (Yokohama)
Day 2 - At Sea
Day 3 - At Sea
Day 4 - Shanghai
Day 5 - Shanghai
Day 6 - Cruising
Day 7 - Cruising
Day 8 - Hong Kong

Then simply run the itinerary in reverse for the next cruise. Obviously. this type of cruise would have pretty specific appeal to Disney fans. With a ship that size the bigger question would likely be could they fill it with folks who are pretty much only booking the cruise to hit up all the Asian parks in one week

Are the parks in Shanghai and Hong Kong also operated by OLC? If not, I don't see them doing this since the ship is OLC.

 

[StarCruzer]

Are the parks in Shanghai and Hong Kong also operated by OLC? If not, I don't see them doing this since the ship is OLC.

Fair enough point! My only counter is that Shanghai and Honk Kong are pretty popular cruise ports for many Japan-focused cruises anyway--although most that start in Japan tend to be far more Japan-focused (as in, 4-6 stops in Japan, one in China, one in South Korea, and occasionally Singapore and Hong Kong.)

Others have speculated that unlike US cruises, an OLC might be focused more on the on-ship entertainment then necessarily the ports. I'm not informed enough to even guess and the travel taste of a Japanese audience. I just figured many Japanese Disney fans are pretty die hard, so the opportunity to go on a Disney cruise, to multiple Disney parks, would be pretty appealing.

Edit to add: I've cruised non-Disney lines (Norwegian and RC) that had stops in FL with day trips to WDW. So OLC owning the cruise line would not necessarily be an obstacle for that sort of thing. Now whether or not OLC wants to offer that sort of excursion, or even stop at those ports, is a different story.

 

[Royal Consort]

Are the parks in Shanghai and Hong Kong also operated by OLC? If not, I don't see them doing this since the ship is OLC.

Hong Kong and Shanghai are majority owned by their respective governments.

 

[DCLMP]

Highly doubtful. This will be run and operated by the Oriental Land Company under license who will act as a local operator for the Japanese culture and language. This will be a non-English speaking ship predominantly.

I think there will be a Land/Sea package but it will be marketed for Japanese guests almost exclusively. Just like vacation packages at Tokyo Disney Resort operate now with a second rate English portal that offers a fraction of the Japanese offerings. OLC do not go out of their way to accommodate international guests booking.

I think I'd rather just cruise on Princess, NCL, or celebrity if that's the case.