New Disney Ships: News, Rumors, Speculation.....and Names!

[cgolf]

I just couldn't see children on them screaming at their friends down below being something that would be ok with anyone and yet that would happen ALL the time. Or the kids would find something to play ball with. I have a kid that would do just that.

They could do what they did on the freedom class and have them with a glassed off view of the interior with a bench to sit on, which protects against this, but they would probably have to sell those rooms cheaper? Time will tell, but I am not for it even though we really liked the freedom class ships.

 

[MissDaisyofTexas]

Port Canaveral has said in an official announcement they expect them late in 2021. They could just be hedging their bets in case there are issues. DCL has, in the past, started sailing the new ships in the Spring. It all depends on when they get started with them, how long it takes to finish them and if there are any issues found during sea trials, the trip across the Atlantic, etc... that have to be addressed.

Thank you. I'm cruising this November, and I hope that my 2-year placeholder will enable me to sail on the new ship.

 

[FigmentSpark]

Isn't one of the selling features of those interior room on RCCL that they are open to the sky? You're getting daylight in your room? Unless they open up the entire area to the top, that won't be the case on the DCL ships. And opening it up would change it's overall silhouette.

We do know there are some bump-out rooms, so, to me, that's the only place you're getting extra room in the middle of the ship, too. So maybe those rooms won't be bigger or bigger balconies, just bumped out to make more room in the middle?

 

[RedSox68]

I agree. As a dedicated balcony lover, I would never book an inside facing one. I don't see the point. The whole allure of the balcony is the sea view (and air) for me. I really don't have any desire to look out over the atrium and deal with the noise. Then, as you pointed out - it pretty much ruins the whole feel of the atrium. That is one of my favorite things about a Disney ship.

100% agree with your points. If I pay the premium of a balcony, I want a view of the ocean and the ports. The ONLY advantage I could see families wanting with an inside balcony is to see the activities in the atrium, the characters, photo sessions, etc. But that can also be accomplished by simply walking to the atrium I think it would be a detriment to the beauty of the atrium and the aesthetics of the inside of the ship.

 

[RedSox68]

Well, this is a bummer. One place the Disney ships won't be going in the future is Glacier Bay. NPS just issued their new 10 year contracts for the park:

https://www.nps.gov/glba/learn/news/glacier-bay-issues-new-contracts-for-cruise-ship-services.htm

I wonder if Disney even tried for one this time around? I recall a story about the last time NPS issued these contracts that Disney had withdrawn their application at some point during the process. That was years ago and I have no clue if it was even true, but I definitely remember hearing that story when we were planning our first Alaskan cruise back in 2012.

This is why we chose to cruise with HAL that year -- wanted to see Glacier Bay and knew Disney wasn't going there anytime soon. I wonder if it has something to do with ship structure requirements that the Wonder doesn't have.

 

[scgustafson]

Do we know what month in 2021 the new ship will start sailing? Any guesses?

Educated speculation is that it would be no earlier than November of 2021 for the Maiden Voyage.

 

[dcassetta]

This is why we chose to cruise with HAL that year -- wanted to see Glacier Bay and knew Disney wasn't going there anytime soon. I wonder if it has something to do with ship structure requirements that the Wonder doesn't have.

I think it has more to do with the limits on how many ships can visit in a day, due to both concern for the environment and the number of park rangers available. Also, the Carnival Corporation, which owns 4 of the lines granted licenses, probably gets some advantage because they have been sailing to Alaska for so many years.

 

[RedSox68]

Educated speculation is that it would be no earlier than November of 2021 for the Maiden Voyage.

Wow, that's really late. And don't they usually do a sailing from the shipyard to the U.S. dock with the crew and special guests? It seems like November might produce some not so great sailing conditions across the Atlantic.

[added said speculation to page one]

 

[cgolf]

Isn't one of the selling features of those interior room on RCCL that they are open to the sky? You're getting daylight in your room? Unless they open up the entire area to the top, that won't be the case on the DCL ships. And opening it up would change it's overall silhouette.

We do know there are some bump-out rooms, so, to me, that's the only place you're getting extra room in the middle of the ship, too. So maybe those rooms won't be bigger or bigger balconies, just bumped out to make more room in the middle?

It depends, on the freedom, the inside rooms view the internal promenade so no outside view and they are a window cabins. On the Oasis class they are verandas with an open air view.

Unless I missed something, I thought the DCL ships were going to be midsized? Would they be big enough to be open in the middle like the Oasis class and have an open air veranda, or will it be like the freedom class and have an open air view of an inside area?

 

[RedSox68]

It depends, on the freedom, the inside rooms view the internal promenade so no outside view and they are a window cabins. On the Oasis class they are verandas with an open air view.

Unless I missed something, I thought the DCL ships were going to be midsized? Would they be big enough to be open in the middle like the Oasis class and have an open air veranda, or will it be like the freedom class and have an open air view of an inside area?

Good question. I think they advertised them as being slightly larger than the Fantasy and Dream, but I cannot picture them being big enough for inside facing rooms either.

 

[cgolf]

Good question. I think they advertised them as being slightly larger than the Fantasy and Dream, but I cannot picture them being big enough for inside facing rooms either.

Like some said if it is an open air view into an inside area, it could get loud if people started yelling down from the balconies. My hunch though is that it would be a rare occurrence, but one never knows.

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

Like some said if it is an open air view into an inside area, it could get loud if people started yelling down from the balconies. My hunch though is that it would be a rare occurrence, but one never knows.

I don’t see DCL incorporating this design feature for 2 reasons.
1 - too much of a revenue loss in losing inside rooms. The retail price of inside to balcony that DCL charges is way more than an other cruise line, they’re not going to give that up.
2 - they want to have new features to promote, not hey spend way more on a ship that we copied the design feature of RCCL.

 

[cgolf]

I don’t see DCL incorporating this design feature for 2 reasons.
1 - too much of a revenue loss in losing inside rooms. The retail price of inside to balcony that DCL charges is way more than an other cruise line, they’re not going to give that up.
2 - they want to have new features to promote, not hey spend way more on a ship that we copied the design feature of RCCL.

They might, as I do remember the Dream seemed to have very few inside rooms compared to the Magic or Wonder. If they did this, the insides would just be converted to some sort of inside facing Veranda, which they could sell for more money. They could market it is getting your own personal atrium view to watch any of the character shows they do in the atrium, not quite outside veranda money, but would guess more than oceanview.

 

[RedSox68]

They might, as I do remember the Dream seemed to have very few inside rooms compared to the Magic or Wonder. If they did this, the insides would just be converted to some sort of inside facing Veranda, which they could sell for more money. They could market it is getting your own personal atrium view to watch any of the character shows they do in the atrium, not quite outside veranda money, but would guess more than oceanview.

IF they did this, I would vote for a glass enclosed view and not a balcony. I do think there would be a lot of shouting and embarrassing moments and would cheapen the ambiance of the atrium -- and would certainly take away from a place to sit and relax and enjoy the goings on if there were a lot of shouting all the time. After our horrendous experience with teens throwing things off the ship through the locks in Panama, I can certainly see things being thrown off inside balconies!

 

[lklgoodman]

IF they did this, I would vote for a glass enclosed view and not a balcony. I do think there would be a lot of shouting and embarrassing moments and would cheapen the ambiance of the atrium -- and would certainly take away from a place to sit and relax and enjoy the goings on if there were a lot of shouting all the time. After our horrendous experience with teens throwing things off the ship through the locks in Panama, I can certainly see things being thrown off inside balconies!

Or worse, someone either being drunk/seasick not being able to get into their cabin in time and they upchuck over the railing!

 

[RedSox68]

Or worse, someone either being drunk/seasick not being able to get into their cabin in time and they upchuck over the railing!

 

[FigmentSpark]

I was thinking about a question that came up on this board... do you have to wear clothes on your verandah? Presumably, if they were interior facing, most (if not all) people would wear clothes. What about the one or two that don't? Especially, if it's glass enclosed.

When the hotel with rooms facing the baseball stadium in Toronto opened, most people were thinking they'd just rent a room to watch the game. But there were plenty who rented the room to have more intimate encounters... while the stadium watched. I think they may have thought people couldn't see in, but the whole world did, in fact see in.

With a glass enclosure, this could be a problem on a family ship.

 

[darnheather]

I was thinking about a question that came up on this board... do you have to wear clothes on your verandah? Presumably, if they were interior facing, most (if not all) people would wear clothes. What about the one or two that don't? Especially, if it's glass enclosed.

When the hotel with rooms facing the baseball stadium in Toronto opened, most people were thinking they'd just rent a room to watch the game. But there were plenty who rented the room to have more intimate encounters... while the stadium watched. I think they may have thought people couldn't see in, but the whole world did, in fact see in.

With a glass enclosure, this could be a problem on a family ship.

I've said what I thought about that before in the confessions thread. Let's just hope that the "I heard it from a crew member" carries as much weight as "I heard it from a bus driver" and that none of this has a possibility of being true. After all at least on the classic ships there aren't even rooms that boarder the atrium currently.

 

[Quellman]

Just off the Fantasy and was told this by a Cast Member. First, the pools on the next three ships will be larger. Second, they will remove some of the internal lobby structures so that some of the rooms will have balconys that face inward. This is a FWIW.

Nope. Not going to book one of those rooms. The amount of times I change clothes during a trip, I don't want to have to worry about closing the curtains as part of this too!

 

[ChicosWife]

Port Canaveral has said in an official announcement they expect them late in 2021. They could just be hedging their bets in case there are issues. DCL has, in the past, started sailing the new ships in the Spring. It all depends on when they get started with them, how long it takes to finish them and if there are any issues found during sea trials, the trip across the Atlantic, etc... that have to be addressed.

Wow, that's really late. And don't they usually do a sailing from the shipyard to the U.S. dock with the crew and special guests? It seems like November might produce some not so great sailing conditions across the Atlantic.

[added said speculation to page one]

I hope it is earlier in 2021. We go in September, and our 2-year placeholder will put us in 2021.