Disney Wonder to be homeported in Los Angeles

[RedSox68]

Also I do not see anyone speculating on cruises for 10/11 nights to Acapulco, and only one post on a North-wards Pacific coast trip from LA.

Blech -- we'd do the cruise, but stay on the ship in Acapulco. We all hated that port! Would love to (finally) go to Cabo since we had to pass it by in 2005 due to a hurricane on our way to Panama Canal.

Trips to the far east would be amazing. I'd love to do that on Disney since their Med cruises were so awesome.

If they do go to Alaska, wouldn't they have to install retractable roofs for the pools and outside dining areas of Topsider?

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

Blech -- we'd do the cruise, but stay on the ship in Acapulco. We all hated that port! Would love to (finally) go to Cabo since we had to pass it by in 2005 due to a hurricane on our way to Panama Canal.

Trips to the far east would be amazing. I'd love to do that on Disney since their Med cruises were so awesome.

If they do go to Alaska, wouldn't they have to install retractable roofs for the pools and outside dining areas of Topsider?

It would be for comfort only not a requirement.

 

[kaseyC]

Also I do not see anyone speculating on cruises for 10/11 nights to Acapulco, and only one post on a North-wards Pacific coast trip from LA.

Maybe a possibility in the summer months but not during the school year. DCL had to heavily discount the 10/11 night fall Southern Caribbean cruises they offered on the Wonder a few years ago. I'm sure schools being in session was a major reason.

I posted about the Pacific Costal cruises, I think that would be a great itinerary for DCL to try.

 

[NancyIL]

I purposely did not say Host Mick at CC because we already did the castaway cay CC vs. cruise critic CC thing! The DS (Dark Side) thing comes from ShoreGuy & Cruise Travel Talk...

I knew that YOU knew what I meant by "Host Mick at CC"!

 

[aan1701]

Well, that's a good question. Can they really announce the Wonder's schedule on the West Coast before they know when the Wonder will get to the West Coast, and can they know that without knowing when the Dream is going to arrive in Port Canaveral? How much lead time do they need on the arrival time for that boat? So far as anyone can tell, it could be anytime roughly in the first quarter of 2011, no?

Oh they know when they are arriving here. Like Andrew said, DCL needs to get a gaurented slot to go through the Canal in day light. And givin the fact that they also had to negotate a contractwith the Port, I woud say that they have a very good idea when this will all start in 2011.

 

[awoltoday]

Take a look at the latitude given for these cruise ports, including the ports likely to be on an Alaskan itinerary, which I've sorted into most northerly to most southerly...

Helsinki, Finland 60°10'15"N
Seward,USA 60°7'28.22"N
Oslo,Norway 59°56'58"N
St. Petersburg,Russia 59°56'0"N
Skagway,USA 59°28'7"N
Stockholm,Sweden 59°21'0"N
Juneau,USA 58°18'6.97"N
Copenhagen,Denmark 55°40'30"N
Ketchikan,USA 55°20'51.61"N
Dover,England 51°7'46.2"N
Vancouver,Canada 49°15'0"N
Seattle,USA 47°36'36"N

Blech -- we'd do the cruise, but stay on the ship in Acapulco. We all hated that port! Would love to (finally) go to Cabo since we had to pass it by in 2005 due to a hurricane on our way to Panama Canal.

Trips to the far east would be amazing. I'd love to do that on Disney since their Med cruises were so awesome.

If they do go to Alaska, wouldn't they have to install retractable roofs for the pools and outside dining areas of Topsider?

It would be for comfort only not a requirement.

Maybe a possibility in the summer months but not during the school year. DCL had to heavily discount the 10/11 night fall Southern Caribbean cruises they offered on the Wonder a few years ago. I'm sure schools being in session was a major reason.

I posted about the Pacific Costal cruises, I think that would be a great itinerary for DCL to try.

I think that Pacific Costal cruise would be a lot like the first/last night sailing into LA that Andrew talked about... but for 3-5 days. Ick. The ports & scenery are not bad, though.

I knew that YOU knew what I meant by "Host Mick at CC"!

 

[smeecanada]

Hey, and you can drive out to Astoria and wave as she sails to Vancouver! well, if she goes to Alaska, or does a Pacific coastal.

She could be sailing to Victoria. We get about 240 cruise ships a year. Great port. I would love to go down and visit her.

 

[cindy18]

Oh they know when they are arriving here. Like Andrew said, DCL needs to get a gaurented slot to go through the Canal in day light. And givin the fact that they also had to negotate a contractwith the Port, I woud say that they have a very good idea when this will all start in 2011.

I hear you, but unless they are prepared to repo the Wonder before Dream has arrived in Florida, don't they have to be REALLY sure about Dream's arrival date in Port Canaveral?

 

[Grandma4ever]

I hear you, but unless they are prepared to repo the Wonder before Dream has arrived in Florida, don't they have to be REALLY sure about Dream's arrival date in Port Canaveral?

It could be that or they are prepared to have three ships at PC for a short period of time before they make the move to the west coast. For example doing the Repo in the spring so families can plan to travel during spring break. It is just a thought.

 

[acourtwdw]

I was just thinking that when the Dream is done, I wonder if they will pull the Wonder out for dry dock for a full refresh before she heads out west. It would be very likely.

 

[smeecanada]

It could be that or they are prepared to have three ships at PC for a short period of time before they make the move to the west coast. For example doing the Repo in the spring so families can plan to travel during spring break. It is just a thought.

They've had just one ship in PC quite a few times - so that shouldn't be an issue. I think the schedule for when the Wonder will go through the canal has already been determined and will most likely have allowed for a possible delay in the arrival of the Dream. It's hard to determine when Spring Break is anymore as the school system is all over the map.

 

[KayR]

Is there anyway to find out when DCL have booked the Panama Canal? (Like someone found out about one of the Baltic ports before it was announced)

-K

 

[Pluto 2]

I was just thinking that when the Dream is done, I wonder if they will pull the Wonder out for dry dock for a full refresh before she heads out west. It would be very likely.

the wonder will be in drydock in oct 09. i wouldnt think they will put the wonder in drydock in again that soon. theres places in the west coast that can handle a drydock. drydock costs lots of $$$$$.

 

[Grandma4ever]

the wonder will be in drydock in oct 09. i wouldnt think they will put the wonder in drydock in again that soon. theres places in the west coast that can handle a drydock. drydock costs lots of $$$$$.

Unless they plan to take the ship back thru the canal on a regular basis I could see a short dry dock once on the west coast to repair any damage from the trip through the canal. But you are right it is lots and lots of money.

 

[awoltoday]

It looks to me like Disney does intend to do 7 day cruises out of San Pedro (SORRY Nancy!). The Port of LA contract only gives Disney preferential right to the berth on Sundays. If they were planning to start with 3 & 4 day trips, I would think they would have added a preference for the middle of the week as well. Just further confirmation to what we have been hearing.

Vessels operated by the Permitees listed below shall the preferential right to assignment at various berths, per the days indicated below:
BERTHS 90-92
ROYAL CARIBBEAN CRUISES, LTD. - Sunday, Berths 90-92
NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINE - Saturday, Berths 90-92

BERTHS 93A/93B
PRINCESS CRUISE LINES - Wednesday, Berths 93A/93B
PRINCESS CRUISE LINES - Saturday, Berths 93A/93B
DISNEY CRUISE LINE - Sunday, Berths 93A/93B

No evidence of Magic
BTW, I also did some comparison & quick calculations from the new contract and the previous contract. I can not see how the wording of the contracts is different enough where it would suggest the Magic being homeported in LA as well, as was suggested (well, just questioned, really) in a previous post. The only real differences is the addition of Berth 90, which is not presently attached to any terminal building and gets the lucky passengers boarded through a nifty little tent (See my siggie for how I know that one!). Berth 90 is immediately adjacent to Berth 91 & 92.

2008 contract

Nonexclusive preferential or secondary use, as the case may be, of approximately 2,800 lineal feet of wharf and associated water area at Berths 91-93B.

2011 contract

Non-exclusive preferential use of approximately 2,800 lineal feet of wharf and associated water area at Berths 93A/93B; and non-exclusive secondary use of Berths 90-92.

30 cruises per year
Putting together a few pieces of publicly available information, I think I can approximate how many cruises Disney expects to make out of LA. In 2008, Disney made 12 Mexican Riviera cruises out of LA. They guaranteed $285,025 from the $6.25 passenger fee, which they count at BOTH embarkation AND disembarkation. This gets you a Minimum Annual Passenger Guarantee (MAPG)
of 22802 passengers. Remembering we have to count passengers at BOTH embarkation AND disembarkation, we'll have to count 26 times (twice for each Mexico cruise and once for each repo). This gets us to an estimated 1754 passengers per count. This is pretty close to 75% of 2400 passengers that was stated as the estimate for the 2011 contract during the Port of LA commission meeting last night (Yes, the DCL contract was approved!). So, if you take the 2011 contract numbers ($1,262,880, $12 PF, 52620 MAPG) and do a little simple math, you get an estimated 30 cruises out of LA in 2010. That is just about the number of weeks covering the non-summer season (Jan-Apr & Oct-Dec). To get the minimum number of LA Port stops, using 7 day cruises in consecutive weeks, Disney must have the Wonder in LA for a Sunday, June 05, 2011 cruise (they would get to count passengers from the repo & passengers boarding on Sunday, December 25, 2011).

 

[Eeyore'sthebest]

30 cruises per year
Putting together a few pieces of publicly available information, I think I can approximate how many cruises Disney expects to make out of LA. In 2008, Disney made 12 Mexican Riviera cruises out of LA. They guaranteed $285,025 from the $6.25 passenger fee, which they count at BOTH embarkation AND disembarkation. This gets you a Minimum Annual Passenger Guarantee (MAPG)
of 22802 passengers. Remembering we have to count passengers at BOTH embarkation AND disembarkation, we'll have to count 26 times (twice for each Mexico cruise and once for each repo). This gets us to an estimated 1754 passengers per count. This is pretty close to 75% of 2400 passengers that was stated as the estimate for the 2011 contract during the Port of LA commission meeting last night (Yes, the DCL contract was approved!). So, if you take the 2011 contract numbers ($1,262,880, $12 PF, 52620 MAPG) and do a little simple math, you get an estimated 30 cruises out of LA in 2010. That is just about the number of weeks covering the non-summer season (Jan-Apr & Oct-Dec). To get the minimum number of LA Port stops, using 7 day cruises in consecutive weeks, Disney must have the Wonder in LA for a Sunday, June 05, 2011 cruise (they would get to count passengers from the repo & passengers boarding on Sunday, December 25, 2011).

This just gave me a headache! So to sum up, the Wonder HAS TO BE in LA by June 5, 2011. Did I get that right? It's a dreary Friday and my brain is fried.

 

[KayR]

This just gave me a headache! So to sum up, the Wonder HAS TO BE in LA by June 5, 2011. Did I get that right? It's a dreary Friday and my brain is fried.

and reading backwards, assuming a 14 day cruise the Wonder would have to leave PC on May 22nd 2011

Works for me

 

[awoltoday]

This just gave me a headache! So to sum up, the Wonder HAS TO BE in LA by June 5, 2011. Did I get that right? It's a dreary Friday and my brain is fried.

LOL! Sorry! But, Sort of! I think it is more like Disney EXPECTS it to be there BEFORE that date. And, the dates and number of weeks perfectly matching a winter schedule for 2012 *MIGHT* suggest Alaska cruises in the plans for summer months...

Be glad I didn't post the spreadsheet I was using with my calculations!

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

LOL! Sorry! But, Sort of! I think it is more like Disney EXPECTS it to be there BEFORE that date. And, the dates and number of weeks perfectly matching a winter schedule for 2012 *MIGHT* suggest Alaska cruises in the plans for summer months...

Be glad I didn't post the spreadsheet I was using with my calculations!

Chris thanks for all the hard work number crunching and it seems to confirm what I was saying its 7 night cruises, the same as before, I understand your thinking on the latest date it can get there.

I think it will go far earlier, the schedule may look like the Magic summer 2010*, with an early repo, some Mexican cruises, then go away, come back and then do more Mexican cruises, before, gong back through Panama.

A Mexican sandwich!

* 2010 Repo>Med 10/11:repo>Baltic>repo>Med 10/11>back home.

 

[cindy18]

Andrew, I was following along with the crazy math and everything but your last post really confused me. Are you saying that the Wonder is going to do a repo to go to LA and then do another repo after some Mexican cruises to come back?