New Ship For Dcl

[TiggerInNY]

I just heard something that I'm not sure is true or not and thought if I posted it here, I'll find out.

Is DCL coming out with a new ship in 2006? Just curious because I'm planning on a DCL cruise in 2006 and don't know if I should wait or book now on one of the existing ships.

Someone out there has to know this.

THANKS....

TiggerInNY
Maria

 

[DCLgodess]

yes they are. They have it designed, but they have not started construction. They have no set date planned for the start of construction as DCL is waiting for the Euro and the Dollar to even out. The market is very bad for the coversion rates right now. Hope that helps.

 

[TiggerInNY]

Thanks. I knew someone on here would know the scoop. I don't know what to do now. I wonder if it's for the East coast or West coast sailings?

How long does it take to build a ship?

Thanks again.

TiggerInNY
Maria

 

[GenieDana]

There are no construction plans for a new DCL ship. What I mean by construction plans are the actual design documents used for the fabrication of the ship by the shipyard. Construction plans are engineered, and developed with the shipyard contracted to construct the vessel. Disney does not design the vessel, the shipyard does for vessels of that scale. Disney may have engaged an independednt naval architect (who knows?) to develop preliminary designs for estimating purposes, as what has been reported from various sources is they want the new vessels in at about $500 million US.

All Disney has now are conceptual ideas for a new ship that they have been shopping around with various shipyards for a finished/delivered price proposal. Public knowledge is that the developemnt of a new ship is conditional on the (Dollar/Euro) exchange rate. Once an agreement (contract) is reached (which we will know withing days of the signing, as Disney is a US publicly traded corporation) it will take no less than a year and a half for design, construction and fitting out. So the likelyhood of a delivery in 2006 is getting tight (unless of course Disney buys an existing hull).

For example, the RCCL "Ultra Voyager" or Freedom of the seas has been under contract for about a year now, the keel laying has just happened, and the delivery of the ship is expected in April 2006.

The future deliveries can be seen here:

http://www.cruisenewsdaily.com/newships.html

P.S. - They could also build a sister ship to Magic / Wonder with the existing design. But that means the original shipyard might likely have to be involved, unless Disney owns exclusive rights to the vessel design, which they might given their intellectual property history?

 

[Bmwdsny]

Well i heard that when they built a new ship, it will go over to Port Canaveral. The "Magic" will go over to the West Coast permantly. Of course, this could all be speculation.

 

[DCLgodess]

Wow. You must like be really involved with the team to know that. I talked to someone really really really high up in the company, but he didn't tell us that much.

 

[Donalds_best_pal]

I am personally friends with the old DCL President Karl and the new one Tom McAlpin. He told me all the ships details have been preliminary designed. He said the euro rate is the biggest problem. I am told it will be slightly bigger then the magic, still be panamax. Also he told me it will probably sail magic's current route and magic will to somewere else. He said california is possible if all goes well this summer. But said dont expect a new ship until at least late 2007 or early 2008. He did tell the plan is to build two identical ships delivered a year apart. But he said no contract has been formally signed. But it will happen its just when. Hope that helps. Thats info from about as high as you can go in DCL

Matt

 

[tvguy]

I have no information on plans, but wouldn't be surprised if they exist.

I do know from reading Cruise Travel that there are a backlog of orders for ships, and all the shipyards are tied up so that if an order were placed today, it would be 2007 before the ship was completed.

 

[alexandrew]

I hope the new ship will be spectacular...I'm surprised that it will be only slightly larger than the Magic....

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

I hope the new ship will be spectacular...I'm surprised that it will be only slightly larger than the Magic....

Announcing the launch of the Disney Spectacular, joining the Disney Magic and the Disney Wonder... I like the sound of that!

As far as being only "slightly larger," the reason is that the new ships must have essentially the same width and length as the Wonder and Magic to be able to fit through the Panama Canal. It's likely the new ships will have stubbier bow and an additional deck of verandah staterooms, without becoming top-heavy. As a result, the new ships may look somewhat more like standard cruise ships than sleek, classic ocean liners. (I also wonder if the new ships will have any non-plexiglass vernadahs.)

As has already been written in this thread, DCL has not signed a contract with any shipyard to build new ships. I'd guess that there's a 60% chance that there will be a contract within two years and new ships before the end of the decade -- and a 40% chance that it won't happen.

 

[rcostello1]

Oh good lord, here is what was shared with cast members last month:

On expanding Disney Cruise Line:

Bob [Iger, COO]: The good news is we have a third ship fully designed. It is beautiful. It’s larger, but it maintains all the aesthetics of the first two in terms of look... We have not figured out how to have another ship built in the United States... Because the exchange rate between the dollar and the Euro is what it is, to build a ship would cost us about 25 percent more...

Michael [Ei$ner, CEO]: When we finished the design before Sept. 11, 2001, we had $15 billion debt... We were coming out of a recession, tourism was hurting, debt capacity at its height... It would have been irresponsible to put the company in jeopardy by spending more capital... We’ve now paid five billion down on that debt... Now we just have to figure out how to use our capital wisely, and certainly one of the areas we’re looking at is how to expand this very strong business.

It's all about money folks...

 

[Donalds_best_pal]

Right if it was more then slightly bigger it wouldnt fit through the panama canal. And my friend(dcl president) says for now at least its a must that they fit through. He said they dont want to ever be as big as RCCL or Carnival but in 10-15 years they could have as many as 6-8 ships. He said it all depends on money and how the cruise industry is going and sucess of ships 3 and 4. He said new ship slightly bigger will probably have 12 full decks and like stack sorta deck for deck 13. Also said more oceanview probably and around 90,000 tons. I will be happy with whatever it is. I cant wait. He just says dont expect it any sooner then 2007.

Matt

Last poster is right, it all comes down to money

 

[budwmn]

Donalds_best_pal-

Can you tell your friend that there are many anxious cruisers waiting daily for the announcement of a new ship (and hopefully new ports like Alaska and the Mediterranean). Forget about corporate responsibility! DCL is MAKING money for Disney. If they want to make more $$$, they have to spend more $$$. (Okay, I know that's ****, but it sounds good. Please, I really want a new ship!)

 

[ivanova]

CLIA (Cruise Lines International Association) is predicting a booming cruise industry in the years to come ... DCL just has to bite the bullet (maybe ousting Ei$ner will help???) and order up a ship (or two or three or four)

 

[GenieDana]

Bob [Iger, COO]: The good news is we have a third ship fully designed

Do they have a design (the shop drawings for every nut, bolt weld, bulhead, machinery part, etc...)? Or, do they have conceptual drawings? If they have a design, then the shipyard is already involved.

Most likely what he is referring to is they have ideas, sketches, etc. (Imagineering) for the public areas of the ship, the basic architecture and the styling. Conceptual plans are not the same thing as an engineering design. Engineering design must also take into account the staging of construction, which is unique to every different shipyard. Also the technology (life safety, propulsion, and the other infrastructure) is proprietary to the shipyard.

Sort of like going to Home Depot and looking at a house plans book - the book has an artist's renditions of an elevation or two, and a basic floorplan printed so you get an idea of what to expect. But you still have to order the construction plans to get the details. I suspect Disney only has the former, and that is what is being mentioned as a "design" for public consumption.

 

[WDWLVR]

One thing we heard on our May '03 cruise which makes the most sense to me is that the new ship would not go to Port Canaveral but instead to the West Coast. The reason is that any new ship would be designed to be able to go to Alaska in the summer. That isn't practical with the Magic and Wonder right now. Most ships that sail Alaska have a lot of covered or retractable areas (like over the pools).

I think one thing is for sure - when Disney does sign the contract we'll all know it!

 

[whnim64]

One thing we heard on our May '03 cruise which makes the most sense to me is that the new ship would not go to Port Canaveral but instead to the West Coast. The reason is that any new ship would be designed to be able to go to Alaska in the summer. That isn't practical with the Magic and Wonder right now. Most ships that sail Alaska have a lot of covered or retractable areas (like over the pools).

I think one thing is for sure - when Disney does sign the contract we'll all know it!

DH and I are planning an Alaska cruise in 2008. Sure would be great if we could go on DCL! And he thought that I was crazy for booking 2006 as soon as the rates came out...

 

[Donalds_best_pal]

I am a litte confused about my friend saying magic would go to california and new ship sail out of florida. I asked my friend, Tom again about that in email. He said depending what happens. The magic could be possiby modified to server that area better.

Matt

 

[MarkRG]

And that's what's so baffling about that.

The kind of modification needed to make the Magic a truly capable Alaska ship would be extensive.

Sure it could go there right now as is.
BUT.
There are very few fully enclosed areas that view the outside. That's very important as going to Alaska is all about the view. The only good area really is the deck 4 Promenade. Deck 9 would become mostly useless, as none of it is fully enclosed or heated except for the pools. You want to go to the beverage station in below zero weather? Deck 10 entirely useless, the reason, icing. They would have to remove the decking to install some kind of heating system to prevent it.

And for DCL to do Mexico only cruises out of the west coast isn't going to be enough. Sure they are doing well right now in a limited timeframe but once the novelty wears off that won't continue.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Deck 9 would become mostly useless, as none of it is fully enclosed or heated except for the pools. You want to go to the beverage station in below zero weather?

Please keep in mind that Alaska cruises are summer cruises out of Seattle or Vancouver through the inside passage to ports in Alaska (and Canada if the ship departs from Seattle). Even as you get further north, you'll still find daytime highs around 60 degrees F and nightime lows around 50 degrees F. You won't find any below zero weather on such cruises.

I agree that the Disney Magic is currently not as well suited as most other ships that cruise in the waters of Alaska. And even with some modifications, it's hard to think that the Magic would be as well suited as the Radiance of the Seas.