New Disney Cruise Ship

[Beachball]

I've heard that Disney has bids out for building a new ship.

Does anyone have any information on this?

 

[ThreeCircles]

No one really has a firm answer one way or the other.

Many insist that Disney is already in the contracting stage for a third (and maybe fourth) ship and others insist that no plans for any additional ships are being made at this time.

At the very least, I'm sure we can assume that Disney has (and/or) is considering additional ship(s).

 

[FLeisure]

Disney is definately looking at its options and it's no secret that they are looking at a 3rd ship to operate in 2005/6. Obviously details are sketchy at this point in time as Disney is playing dumb on the subject.

 

[Masonpips]

Our server in Palo (11/1 cruise - Praeglon sp?) mentioned this and the Cruise Sales guy discussed it with dh as well. DCL does want to build a 3rd ship (for the West Coast per both sources) but the EuroDollar is holding them back from going out for bids.

 

[dclwdwlover]

When we were on the Wonder 2 wks ago one of the CM's - I was sworn to secrecy on who it was I was speaking to - said DCL is DEFINITELY building a ship & is looking at a west coast sailing. He rambled on something about "in conjunction with Disneyland's 'something year' celebration" but I didn't get everything he was saying. He had overheard me talking to my husb. & interrupted asking "Where did you hear that?????!!!!!" & "Who told you that?" It was like something out of a spy movie. His voice got low & he told us that the CM's have been told & it's "not for public information". It was funny - to us at least. He began rambling on & on with information. At first I thought he was joking, but after several occasions in his presence over the next few days I heard a lot of gossiping from him about other things so I took it that he just can't keep quiet with information he knows. So..............

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

For a recent rumors about two new ships, see http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=988 at the Cruise Critic site.

When there's actually a contract for a new ship, it won't be a secret.

The service employees on the ships don't know any more about the true status of any negotiations with shipyards than you or I do.

DCL could reposition the Disney Magic to California in the Summer of 2005 for Disneyland's 50th anniversary, even if there's not a new ship by then. And, given how long it takes to build a cruise ship, there won't be a new DCL ship sailing in Summer 2005 -- even if DCL and a shipyard sign a contract today.

Yes, I think there will be a DCL fleet expansion one of these days. But it's not a "done deal," and there certainly is not a new DCL ship currently under construction.

 

[ThreeCircles]

I would maintain that if Disney is in the early stages of contracting for a ship at this time, very few people would know about it.

While Cast Members may be more connected than any of us, they still play small parts in the grand play of the Walt Disney Company. I'm not saying that what the CM told you is incorrect or false or that he was attempting to mislead you, it's just that most people would probably not know about future plans for DCL. Now, if a ship were being built, I'm sure that most CMs along with most of the industry would know about it.

Being a regular at Disney World, I overhear and directly hear a lot of stuff about Disney from CMs. I have learned to disregard almost all of it.

Here is an example:
In July Travis and I were at Disney-MGM having lunch at the Sci-fi Dine in Theater. I overheard a waiter telling another family about the new attractions that were going to be built. (This was prior to the official Disney announcement about the new attractions.) He said that they were adding a "wild west stunt show" to Disney-MGM. Well, as we all know now, this was only partly correct. Disney is in the process of adding a stunt show to Disney-MGM but an auto stunt show rather than a wild west one.

I am sure that there is a lot of speculation as to when Disney will build additional ship(s). And I'm sure that there is more speculation as to where the ships will be stationed and where they will sail. For the former, I'm close to 100% positive that Disney will expand the fleet at some point in the future and I'm sure that the CMs are correct in stating the same. As for the latter, I would have serious doubts that anyone, even some of the top individuals in the Walt Disney Company, would be able to tell you where the ship was going to be stationed, where the ship was going to sail, and when (specifically) it was going to be built. (Let's keep in mind the degree to which Mr. Eisner micro-manages the WDC! I mean, he even designed the uniforms for the Disney Store CMs when the chain first debuted!)

 

[DisneyGator01]

With rumors as they are... I would suspect the announcement of a new ship would be more likely in the begining of '05 (figuring they'd make the announcement in conjuction with the Disneyland celebration begining... to begin sailing sometime '06.

Past few years Disney has been pouring money into the parks.. (Mission Space, Pop Century, Philharmagic, Saratoga Springs, redesign of NY Street, New Stunt Show, Everest, Soaring over FL). That's going to keep them pretty busy all this year.


It's going to happen, it's just a matter of when.

 

[HooKooDooKu]

Our server in Palo (11/1 cruise - Praeglon sp?) mentioned this and the Cruise Sales guy discussed it with dh as well. DCL does want to build a 3rd ship (for the West Coast per both sources) but the EuroDollar is holding them back from going out for bids.

I think the question came up during our recent cruise during the reception for returning guests. I think is was the captain who said that Disney wants to build the 3rd ship now, but because the ships are built in Italy, the bottom line cost to Disney changes as the value of the Euro changes relative to the dollar. The Euro is currently up (used to be about 1 Euro = 0.90 dollars, but now is about 1 Euro = 1.10 dollars) and he claimed that Disney is waiting on a more favorable exchange rate.

 

[cindy21494]

I heard somewhere that Disney wants to eventually have 10 ships going. (Imagine the possibilities!!) Has anyone else heard this? Also, if The next ship is on the West coast what ports of call do you think they will have? Hawaii maybe?

 

[NYGiantsRule!]

Captain John on the Wonder told us at last week's Castaway CLub party that the 3rd ship is still in the planning stages and also the exchange rate issues.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Originally posted by cindy21494
I heard somewhere that Disney wants to eventually have 10 ships going. (Imagine the possibilities!!) Has anyone else heard this? Also, if The next ship is on the West coast what ports of call do you think they will have? Hawaii maybe?

The story about eventually wanting 10 ships goes back to when Disney Cruise Line first started. I'm sure there are people within DCL who would still love to see their fleet grow to ten ships. But the real issue is what Disney's corporate executives are willing to fund. Such a fleet expansion would require billions of dollars.

DCL is a niche cruise line. DCL has been very successful with families and Disney fans -- and especially with Disney fan families. But I'm not sure that DCL is really in position to take on Carnival (and its various brands such as HAL and Princess), RCCL (which includes Celebrity), and NCL.

I would be happy to see one or two new ships.

Regarding West Coast itineraries...

Typical West Coast 3- and 4-night cruises go from Los Angeles, Long Beach, or San Diego to Ensenada, Mexico, and a possible day at Catalina Island, California.

Typical West Coast 7-night cruises go from Los Angeles, Long Beach, or San Diego to the Mexican Riviera (Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, Cabo San Lucas).

In the summer, cruise lines reposition most of their West Coast ships (and some of their Caribbean ships) to provide Alaska cruises, usually from Vancouver or Seattle.

Hawaii is unlikely. A foreign-built, foreign registered, internationally-crewed ship like those operated by DCL cannot operate entirely within the Hawaiian Islands, due to the Passenger Services Act of 1886. When cruise lines operate Hawaii cruises, they generally provide very long (such as 12 nights) one-way cruises to/from the West Coast, either starting/ending at a foreign port such as Vancouver or Ensenada, or starting/ending in Southern California and calling on a foreign port such as Ensenada. Or they offer even longer (15-18 nights) roundtrips from the West Coast to Hawaii). NCL is an exception, beacuse they're investing in US-registered ships.

 

[ThreeCircles]

Originally posted by Horace Horsecollar
The story about eventually wanting 10 ships goes back to when Disney Cruise Line first started. I'm sure there are people within DCL who would still love to see their fleet grow to ten ships. But the real issue is what Disney's corporate executives are willing to fund. Such a fleet expansion would require billions of dollars.

The 10 ship idea was actually given voice by Mr. Eisner. Given the success of the cruise line thus far, I wouldn't doubt that it will reach that nuber at some point.

As far as Disney being a "niche" cruise line, I don't see that at all.

 

[Minnesota]

Hawaii might be an option though, may parents went on a 7 day hawaiian cruise, 5 days on different hawaiian isalnds and to fill the "foreign port" requirement they sailed to fanning island which is much closer to hawaii than mexico. Soooo... disney could have foreign registered ships and still do a 7 day cruise in Hawaii. All speculation anyway.
Minnesota

 

[HooKooDooKu]

I was excited to see that, based on the questions DCL is currently asking on their on-board survey, Disney is at least thinking of the possiblility of an Alaskan.

As soon as we saw the question, DW and I both said we're on that DCL cruise if it ever happens.


As for DCL ever having 10 ships; it could happen, but I think that it is decades away. If they did have 10 of them, where would they all cruise:
Two Carribien
Two Western
One Hawiian
One Alaskan
Two Mediteranian
where else?

 

[dclwdwlover]

I agree, ThreeCircles & Horace.

I'm still holding out for a DCL ship for my Alaskan cruise. Hope they decide to do one in the next few years!

 

[jlawall]

hey DCL, JUST DO IT!!!

 

[DisneyGator01]

oh wow, would I LOVE a DCL Alaskan cruise!!! I went there on a HAL cruise and Alaska is truely AMAZING.. I have always wanted to go back and doing it DCL would just be too good to be true. Well, with Disney, one can always dream!!

 

[DMS_cruisers04]

Mickey, Minnie and Donald in parkas. Wouldn't that be great?

 

[disneystyle]

In August our captain made a great announcement that there was a third ship in the making..........
and it's name is RUMOR.

I thought it was a cute way to keep the questions at bay..