New Disney cruise ship to set sail from Singapore from 2025

[Jocelynaus]

As a Singaporean who has never been on a cruise (looks like DCL might be my first in 2 years from now!), my two cents on a couple of things in this thread...

Currencies - I just had a quick look at the Royal Caribbean website for cruises out of Singapore and they are quoting me fares in SGD (though I have no idea if the payment processor is located in Singapore, as if not then there is still going to be a 1% DCC charge by Singaporean credit cards to book these). I'd hope that a Disney ship home ported in Singapore would be able to quote/charge me fares in SGD too, especially since this seems to be in collaboration with the Singapore Tourism Board...

Tipping - oh goodness I have no idea if tips are expected on cruises out of Singapore, I'd have to check with friends/family who have been on cruises! Tipping isn't usually part of our culture though so never even thought about this!

Edit - a very brief search of a travel chat group seems to say that the Genting Dream ship out of Singapore charges in SGD but the Royal Caribbean ships charge in USD. Not sure how accurate/etc this is though!

DCL showed AUD and charges USD in Australian, whereas in Australia Royal Caribbean charges AUD for booking & extras before you sail, but charges USD onboard. (Not that you have to pay for much)

That's usually still determined by pay is it not?

Doesn't matter what culture you are on a ship (and usually there's quite a lot represented) but if you're paid with the expectations that tipping will boost that's all that matters. So I assume it will be more based on the wording DCL uses with what they expect any passengers to do.

FWIW on Seabourn all tips are included, no one ever needs to tip anyone. That said you can tip (even the Australians tip) or you can donate to the crew fund (which goes towards many more people and is used slightly differently). Speaking for Seabourn most common people that get tips are the room hosts and steward (for Seabourn there are 2 people for each room each with different tasks) and your bartenders. But there is no expectation for tips no automatic gratuities. You're not looked at any differently if you don't tip.

The main difference in tipping culture is that in the U.S. there are a ton more categories and cultural norms surrounding just who gets a tip and just how much is generally expected. DCL sails all over including into Europe where tipping is much less utilized. Can anyone report on the European cruises if the tipping expectation has been modified?

I agree the Asian culture is a big shift however I don't think it's a cut and dried thing. Cruises sail all over the world with people from many different nationalities, expectations don't tend to shift like that. Either the cruise line itself sets up that people will have automatic gratuities and word it like tips are welcomed for xyz people or they will just leave it as automatic gratuities and those in extreme non-tipping cultures just won't be the ones tipping like it is for any other cruise line.

The Australian sailing DCL & Royal cruises have non-optional gratuities. The DCL sailings are also marked up by more than the exchange rate compared to similar length sailings, that may because it’s so far, port fees (some are higher than others too) but I wondered if it included some gratuities.

 

[shaycamp21]

I would sail the new DCL ship in a heartbeat, wish it was sailing sooner! We are booked on the July 31st RCCL Spectrum of the Seas Sailing out of Singapore. We are very excited about the itinerary-- a one way 12 night cruise from Singapore to Tokyo ports are Nha Trang Vietnam, Hong Kong (2 days in port here), Taipei Taiwan, Kobe Japan, Mt. Fuji Japan ending in Tokyo. Though the cruise does cater to an Asian market from the cruise groups I belong to there are a number of cruisers from the US, Australia, Europe and Canada (we are Canadian) on this sailing. As far as gratuities go you are expected to pay them and there is the option to prepay when booking.

We are crossing off our Disney bucket list and are planning an excursion to Hong Kong Disneyland for our first day in port there and are staying at Tokyo Disneyland for 3 nights post cruise as well as a few other nights in Tokyo to explore the city as well. We only have Shanghai left to visit but alas that will have to wait for another trip, maybe one day on the new DCL ship.

 

[slg]

Any thoughts on when we might get more information on bookings?

 

[longboard55]

When on our last cruise the staff mentioned they must stay in Asia. Not sure why.

 

[Chipmunkmaniac]

If they offer actual cruises with destinations (7n+) Ill def book? I love Asia. BUTTT if its gonna be the type of cruises as the Australia cruises: short itineraries with like 1 stop: no thanks

 

[slg]

I was so excited for Australia and New Zealand but the itineraries are awful. Slightly better for 2024 but sadly I can only go early December and they are all nowhere cruises. I am hopeful the Singapore ship will have exciting ports!

 

[holula]

If they offer actual cruises with destinations (7n+) Ill def book? I love Asia. BUTTT if its gonna be the type of cruises as the Australia cruises: short itineraries with like 1 stop: no thanks

I’ll book either way as I have a friend in Singapore but I’m REALLY hoping for stops. I’ve had a look at Royal and they offer 5 nights to Thailand and Malaysia so I am hoping for something similar.

 

[slg]

When will the ship come out? I really want to see that part of the world and like the comfort of a cruise ship. I hope it will keep Disney vibe.

 

[sky13]

I’ll book either way as I have a friend in Singapore but I’m REALLY hoping for stops. I’ve had a look at Royal and they offer 5 nights to Thailand and Malaysia so I am hoping for something similar.

I'd be very surprised if they didn't have stops in Malaysia and Thailand at least, since most short cruises out of Singapore seem to have some variation of stops in Malaysia and/or Thailand. The alternative for short cruises out of Singapore is a cruise to nowhere (which were running during the pandemic) which seem to have gone out of vogue since borders reopened last year. Indonesia is also nearby but don't really hear of cruises making stops in Indonesia.

Wonder if they'll have longer cruises and if so what destinations they might have though.

When will the ship come out? I really want to see that part of the world and like the comfort of a cruise ship. I hope it will keep Disney vibe.

2025. I'm hoping for earlier in 2025 rather than later but no information about when exactly!

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

We've done a 3 day from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur and Penang, places we probably would never have gone on our own but both very interesting and educational.

 

[DisneyConvert]

This ship will be Orient'd to Chinese market as Disney's recent parks and many of their films are. China is a huge market for Disney, expanding middle class, strong government oversight. This board's, and other North American interest in this ship is insignificant vs. the 5,000+ Chinese (from China and other countries) that will fill this ship. CM's will speak English and Mandarin or Cantonese. My guess is no gambling and limited smoking, consistent with their parks in Hong Kong and Shanghai.

 

[Kwami]

If they were so concerned with Chinese guests, then they could have chosen Shanghai as the home port instead of Singapore. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the cast members speak Mandarin or Cantonese, but I doubt that they all will or even that a majority will.

 

[darnheather]

If they were so concerned with Chinese guests, then they could have chosen Shanghai as the home port instead of Singapore. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the cast members speak Mandarin or Cantonese, but I doubt that they all will or even that a majority will.

I would have been happier with Shanghai being the home port. I will probably end up doing Holland America which has a Shanghai-Hong Kong-Tokyo cruise.

 

[Kwami]

I would have been happier with Shanghai being the home port. I will probably end up doing Holland America which has a Shanghai-Hong Kong-Tokyo cruise.

Shanghai is far away from everything other than Japan and Korea, though. From Singapore, it's easy to do shorter cruises to Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, India, and elsewhere. Disney doesn't do a lot of long cruises, so itineraries from Shanghai would probably be more limited.

On a more personal level, I don't need a visa to visit Singapore, but I do need one for China. Also, I can fly nonstop to Singapore on any day of the week, but there are only direct flights to Shanghai twice per week. So, the overall logistics are better for me.

(Shorter cruises are 7 nights or fewer. Disney only exceeds that length for repositioning cruises (Hawaii, South Pacific, Panama Canal, Transatlantic) and for a handful of other itineraries each year. Almost all Disney cruises are 7 nights or fewer. I don't expect that to change any time soon.)

 

[darnheather]

Shanghai is far away from everything other than Japan and Korea, though. From Singapore, it's easy to do shorter cruises to Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, India, and elsewhere. Disney doesn't do a lot of long cruises, so itineraries from Shanghai would probably be more limited.

On a more personal level, I don't need a visa to visit Singapore, but I do need one for China. Also, I can fly nonstop to Singapore on any day of the week, but there are only direct flights to Shanghai twice per week. So, the overall logistics are better for me.

(Shorter cruises are 7 nights or fewer. Disney only exceeds that length for repositioning cruises (Hawaii, South Pacific, Panama Canal, Transatlantic) and for a handful of other itineraries each year. Almost all Disney cruises are 7 nights or fewer. I don't expect that to change any time soon.)

Except that all three location of Disney parks could be reach from Shanghai. That was my point.

 

[Kwami]

Except that all three location of Disney parks could be reach from Shanghai. That was my point.

Which is precisely one interesting itinerary if you enjoy partial days at theme parks. I'd much rather have a variety of cruise itineraries. I'm not even sure that you can actually do a closed loop from Shanghai to Hong Kong to Tokyo and back again in 7 days.

 

[darnheather]

Which is precisely one interesting itinerary if you enjoy partial days at theme parks. I'd much rather have a variety of cruise itineraries. I'm not even sure that you can actually do a closed loop from Shanghai to Hong Kong to Tokyo and back again in 7 days.

Not a closed loop and again that is not what I am looking for. I think a lot of people would be into this one way cruise that stops at the three Asian park locations. Traveling that far for an American means fitting as much in as possible. But if they are going to cater to Chinese families then it will be different stops/itineraries.

 

[Kwami]

Not a closed loop and again that is not what I am looking for. I think a lot of people would be into this one way cruise that stops at the three Asian park locations. Traveling that far for an American means fitting as much in as possible. But if they are going to cater to Chinese families then it will be different stops/itineraries.

But that's not the Disney pattern. Almost all Disney cruises are closed loop and seven nights or fewer. Only repositioning and once-per-year cruises break that pattern.

 

[darnheather]

But that's not the Disney pattern. Almost all Disney cruises are closed loop and seven nights or fewer. Only repositioning and once-per-year cruises break that pattern.

And having a ship permanently in Asia is not the DCL pattern.

 

[Kwami]

And having a ship permanently in Asia is not the DCL pattern.

There's really no point in arguing about this. They already chose Singapore instead of Shanghai and there's no changing that. As a bonus, we don't have to deal with Chinese government nonsense.