new DCL ships?

[hawkrn]

I was on the 12/20 Magic. During the Castaway Club reception, the captain told us there were "plans" for 2 more ships and he wanted to know where the people would like the itineraries to be. Hawaii, the Meditterenean and I think Southern Caribbean were mentioned by the audience. Then the captain asked "how about Alaska or Bermuda?" He also said that we should "watch for 2005, we will have new itineraries, whole new areas"! Since a DL/DCL land and sea interest us, we went and talked to the DCL booking agent on board and asked her if the rumors are true about California. She said that while they were definitely rumors, she could not verify them! Darn! The DCL survery you are given also asked about future itineraries and California was on the list. So I think California is a strong possibility, whether temporarily in 2005 or permanent in a few years

 

[Thumpersmom]

We are sooooo ready to book a West Coast DCL trip, the rumors are getting stronger so I guess we will just wait until Feb. for the announcement. Nothing better then a Disneyland/DCL trip!!!

 

[KYCruiseCrazy]

BUMP!

 

[WIcruizer]

Disney is clearly "missing the boat" on this one. Eisner should be ashamed that he identify DCL as a huge success after 9/11 when bookings have actually gone up since then, not down. DCL could EASILY put two more ships in the Carribean. This is a priority, before a West Coast itinerary. 3 ships in the Carribean- East, West, South, then the Wonder for 3-4 day cruises. Talk about a no-brainer!

 

[Luckymommyx2]

I think it would be great to have a ship on the west coast but that means a new terminal, possibly a new private island and just those two things alone will take a lot of time and money.

If they do move the Magic to California for the summer months of 2005 then those that want to have a seven day cruise out of Port Canaveral will have to do a back to back on the Wonder. Hum, I 'wonder' if they'll give any incentives to book that!?!

 

[Gupsmom]

The rumor I heard...keeping in mind that my sources are not great...is that the Magic will stay in Florida but they are working on some new ports for the summer of 2005.

It's pretty much a win-win scenerio for us. We were thinking of California (DL, san diego zoo, Legoland etc) in 2005. If they move the Magic out there we might work that in. On the other hand, if they add some interesting new ports to the Florida 7 day, then maybe we'll do that and put California off until 2006.

Anyone hear anything (from a better source than mine) about new ports?

Jess

 

[WIcruizer]

I see no reason for DCL to worry about a CA port right now. Their two ships are booked months in advance, and they could use another ship or two in the Carribean before they even think about CA. Who knows, maybe they have a few cruises from there for publicity, but I just don't see a permanent port until they add 2 or 3 more ships.

 

[highflyer747b]

On my last Disney Cruise I attended a Q&A session with a Dutch officer present. Someone asked about plans to launch a new ship and he replied that he was actually involved in the planning! As far as I can remember he mentioned there would be three more passenger decks - different & more restaurants and a larger adults only area.
He told us the plans had already been drawn up! I guess they're just waiting for the right price? Having said that, shouldn't they anticipate the improving market conditions? I mean, if it takes two years (wild guess) to build this thing, with more people going on cruises year by year, surely there is a demand for more capacity!
Then again, I'm sure Disney know what they're doing
(Maybe I should reconcider that after Pixar)

Philip

 

[Cap]

On Thursday, at a Member Update, we were told that one of the ships WILL be on the west coast for three months in 2005. The briefer said that the repositioning cruise might not be available to the general public. He would not give dates.

 

[Werner Weiss]

We've got two different issues going in this thread:

• If or when DCL will expand the fleet
• If the Disney Magic will be temporarily repositioned to Southern California in summer 2005.

Regarding the first issue, it seems safe to say that Disney has invested in plans, but that Disney has not actually contracted with a shipyard. There are undoubtedly many people in DCL who would love to see DCL go ahead with the construction of two new ships — but until Disney and a shipyard agree on a price that the senior executives in Burbank are willing to pay, the fleet expansion will exist only in the form of the marine architect's drawings.

Over the years, Disney has developed plans for attractions that were never built, invested in movie rights and scripts that were never filmed, and even withdrawn plans for announced projects. It remains to be seen whether the DCL fleet expansion becomes a reality or joins the list of "planned but not carried out" projects. I hope it becomes a reality.

Regarding the second issue, I think there's a strong possibility that the Magic will offer a repositioning cruise through the Panama Canal to Southern California in May 2005, a series of 3- and 4-night or 7-night cruises (or a combination) to Mexico, and a repositioning cruise back to Post Canaveral in the fall. If so, Disney may just be waiting for the right time to make an announcement.

Not only would such cruises be likely to sell out at top prices, but Disney could use the famed Disney PR skill to get significant media attention for DCL and Disneyland. Keep in mind that July 17, 2005, will be the 50th anniversary of the opening of Disneyland.

There have been many posts on the DIS Cruise Board discussing that all 2005 dates have been announced for the Disney Wonder, but that the Disney Magic cruises are only listed through May 2005. That, however, is really not strong evidence, given that the other major cruise lines also haven't announced 7-night cruises beyond May 2005.