New Private Island?

[SJMajor67]

Posted in the News Round up thread in the News and Rumor section, but rumor has it that Disney is looking to get a second private island like Castaway Cay...

http://disneyatwork.com/2016/06/disney-buying-new-island/

 

[asamklove]

Oooo! That's exciting

 

[truck1]

Id be cautious in using this to confirm or deny a rumor. Theres 2 different issues in the article that jumped out. First is DCL never has 2 ships dock at CC together. 1 ship may be berthed there, and another or 2 may do a sail by, but not 2 berthed or even tendered together at the same time. Second is 1 of distance. CC is just about the max distance from Port Canaveral for the ships to make it home for turn around. When Gorda Cay now Castaway Cay was scouted, it had to be less then 225 miles from PC. Its right there on the line. Egg, is a little further out, and may be out of reach. Another thing is that CC is not being used fully. Currently there are only 3 regularly scheduled stops there, and occasionally a 4th is added. That still leaves 3 days at least for additional stops.

And btw, MSC Cruises, just bought an island in Dec to turn into a cruise destination.

 

[anricat]

I hear what you're saying about not having 2 ships at CC right now, but with 2 new ships on the horizon...

 

[Maggie'sMom]

I hear what you're saying about not having 2 ships at CC right now, but with 2 new ships on the horizon...

With the two new ships, I would expect one of the classic ships (probably the Wonder) to be permanently located on the West Coast. Or they will move the Dream or Fantasy out of PC. I don't see them running all the ships on Bahamas and Caribbean routes out of PC. There just isn't a need for another island.

I'd definitely take the source for this rumor with a grain of salt given the glaring error about 2 ships docking at CC at the same time.

 

[jdb in AZ]

With the two new ships, I would expect one of the classic ships (probably the Wonder) to be permanently located on the West Coast. Or they will move the Dream or Fantasy out of PC. I don't see them running all the ships on Bahamas and Caribbean routes out of PC. There just isn't a need for another island.

I'd definitely take the source for this rumor with a grain of salt given the glaring error about 2 ships docking at CC at the same time.

Agreed. DCL already has two ships in the Caribbean full time. They don't need two more there.

 

[apple9117]

Wow exciting!

 

[squirk]

I have no evidence to support this, but I have a hunch that at least one of these new ships will be sent to Asia, specifically Shanghai, just like RCCL did with the Quantum.

 

[jdb in AZ]

I have no evidence to support this, but I have a hunch that at least one of these new ships will be sent to Asia, specifically Shanghai, just like RCCL did with the Quantum.

I hope DCL does open up the Asian market but DCL is more likely to send one of its older ships there, and keep the newest ships in the lucrative Port Canaveral area.

 

[squirk]

I hope DCL does open up the Asian market but DCL is more likely to send one of its older ships there, and keep the newest ships in the lucrative Port Canaveral area.

But the booming Asian market has clearly become a point of focus for Parks & Resorts. Would DCL really introduce its cruise line there with a +20-year old ship? Again, there is a good reason RCCL sent its newest namesake flagship to Shanghai full time.

I could see one new ship there, one new ship here in PC, and maybe keep the Magic permanently in Europe?

 

[Flossbolna]

maybe keep the Magic permanently in Europe?

That does not sound very viable at all. Winter is pretty cold everywhere in Europe, also in the Med. I think nearly all (if not all) cruise ships leave Europe for the winter season. Many leave in November and come back in March, so the European season is longer than what DCL does currently. The cruise ships either go the Caribbean, South America or the Arab Gulf region during the winter.

My personal opinion is that the "second Castaway Cay" rumour is the DCL version of the "fifth theme park at WDW" rumour. Comes up regularly, but is only wishful thinking by fans, no basis in reality. I agree with @truck1 that there is no need for a second island and why would they invest in something pricey that is not needed?

 

[squirk]

That does not sound very viable at all. Winter is pretty cold everywhere in Europe, also in the Med. I think nearly all (if not all) cruise ships leave Europe for the winter season. Many leave in November and come back in March, so the European season is longer than what DCL does currently. The cruise ships either go the Caribbean, South America or the Arab Gulf region during the winter.

My personal opinion is that the "second Castaway Cay" rumour is the DCL version of the "fifth theme park at WDW" rumour. Comes up regularly, but is only wishful thinking by fans, no basis in reality. I agree with @truck1 that there is no need for a second island and why would they invest in something pricey that is not needed?

I was just spitballing on the Magic thing. My thought is that the U.S. will get at least one of the new ships. I would think that ship would sail out of PC, being DCL's "flagship" port where both the Dream and Fantasy debuted as well.

If that is accurate, then I'd have to wonder if PC and the Caribbean/Bahamian itineraries really need three ships, or if one of the Dream-class ships gets bumped somewhere else.

 

[Flossbolna]

I was just spitballing on the Magic thing. My thought is that the U.S. will get at least one of the new ships. I would think that ship would sail out of PC, being DCL's "flagship" port where both the Dream and Fantasy debuted as well.

If that is accurate, then I'd have to wonder if PC and the Caribbean/Bahamian itineraries really need three ships, or if one of the Dream-class ships gets bumped somewhere else.

Oh, just wanted to point out why this idea might not work so well.

I think there are plenty of possibilities for what happens when the new ships come. And I am guessing that the current deployments of Magic and Wonder could be indicators for that.

First, I agree with you that the two new ships will take over the Dream's and the Fantasy's itineraries. Most likely in this order (ship 5 to replace Dream and ship 6 to replace Fantasy). During the summer they can then send two ships over to Europe, one for the Med cruises and one for the Northern European cruises. Most likely the Med ship will stay in Europe for a longer time (the March to November timeframe other ships do). One ship will go to Alaska during the summer and one ship will be based in New York. In the winter the Alaska ship will stay in California and do Mexican Riviera cruises. This was already the plan way back when the Dream and Fantasy came. They even cancelled a whole winter of Mexican Riviera cruises because they were not selling well enough due to the security problems in Mexico at that time. This seems to have improved, so they go back to the original plan. One ship might do an extended stay in San Juan for Souther Caribean cruises and we certainly will see ships "wintering" in Miami and Galveston again.

I would be surprised if they would really send one ship to Asia permanently. They might send a ship there for a short time to explore a little, but it is so far away and the transitioning cruises are long and for the typical DCL clientel not really that attractive. I think as a niche cruise line they will continue to focus on the market which they know how to play: American families.

 

[squirk]

I would be surprised if they would really send one ship to Asia permanently. They might send a ship there for a short time to explore a little, but it is so far away and the transitioning cruises are long and for the typical DCL clientel not really that attractive. I think as a niche cruise line they will continue to focus on the market which they know how to play: American families.

I hear what you are saying, and you make an excellent point about transpacific repositioning times, but still - P&R just spent anywhere between $3.5 billion and $5.5 billion dollars on Shanghai Disney (depending on what you read), so they are clearly making a big play for Chinese families. Shanghai is a port city, with about 15 million people in it. Again, RCCL sent the Quantum there. I wouldn't bet the farm that one of the new ships goes there, but I might bet a few acres.

And I think permanently basing a ship out of New York as you mentioned makes a lot more sense in terms of re-shuffling the ships when the two new ones arrive.

Sorry for the hijack. I'll stop now.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

During the summer they can then send two ships over to Europe, one for the Med cruises and one for the Northern European cruises. Most likely the Med ship will stay in Europe for a longer time (the March to November timeframe other ships do).

Do the European cruises sell well enough to justify two ships there?

 

[Barbydoll8]

I was on the Magic this past March when they announced the two new ships. We were told on that sailing the two new ships would be for the Asian market. I doubt they'll come to the US and if they did, maybe on the west coast.
Of course things change and not all information is 100% until it's 100%.

And as of this morning, the web site article will not launch for me so it looks like someone took it down or I can't access it anyway.

And ships go to CC that sail from Miami too not just PC. I doubt there will be another private island in the caribbean but just note that PC isn't the only place DCL ships sail from that dock at CC.

 

[Quellman]

There are some things in the article that do not seem to make common sense to me.
Nassau is pretty much the port for Disney, since the ships are registered in the Bahamas. I can't imagine that the Bahamas would want to lease another island for 99 years if Disney is planning to use it instead of Nassau (as mentioned in point 3).
.

Id be cautious in using this to confirm or deny a rumor. Theres 2 different issues in the article that jumped out. First is DCL never has 2 ships dock at CC together. 1 ship may be berthed there, and another or 2 may do a sail by, but not 2 berthed or even tendered together at the same time. Second is 1 of distance. CC is just about the max distance from Port Canaveral for the ships to make it home for turn around. When Gorda Cay now Castaway Cay was scouted, it had to be less then 225 miles from PC. Its right there on the line. Egg, is a little further out, and may be out of reach. Another thing is that CC is not being used fully. Currently there are only 3 regularly scheduled stops there, and occasionally a 4th is added. That still leaves 3 days at least for additional stops.

And btw, MSC Cruises, just bought an island in Dec to turn into a cruise destination.

Do you think it would be possible to rearrange the itinerary a little? Or adjust the schedules? Do the private island first, and then Nassau? Or leave Egg Island earlier and arrive in Port Canaveral a little later, or depart an hour later from Port Canaveral? It would allow them to still meet schedule and their berthing times at the pier would still be the same. But instead of 530am-4PM it would be 630am-5PM. Just a thought.


For those curious, this is the LINK to the MSC island. Looks swanky.

 

[DisneyPups]

I'm happy to welcome a ship to Baltimore, if they so choose.... And then THAT ship can go to Bermuda, which was discussed in another thread...

No? Wishful thinking? Ok, nevermind...

 

[moremouse]

I know nothing about anything. LOL I would love to be able to travel from California to Oahu to spend a night or a day at Aulani. Just in my mind. Obviously not reality.

They can have as many sea days as they want. I'll take a month off.

 

[Maddle]

Of course this is all speculation...but other cruise lines are building new ships with intention of having them launched and permanently berthed in Asia. This is a very very lucrative market, and I would not be surprised if the "new" ship went straight to Asia (after maybe a few cruises on the way past the USA.)

I just want one little ship from each main stream line on the West Coast, please. We need some variety out here.