New ship rumors afloat & well!!

[Diva of Dragons]

Hi All!!!
This is my first post on this forum! I went to my TA at AAA today to pay off our cruise. WOO HOOOOO!! While I was there, I asked her some questions about Alaska cruises (for future reference) and mentioned that I felt so spoiled by DCL that it would be tough not to spend a lot of the time comparing the ships etc...

Her response was..."I know. You have it really good on Disney. You know they're sending one of the ships out here don't you?"

I said, "Well, I know there have been rumors".

Her: "When the Disney rep was here, he said that they were beginning construction on a new ship (due in 2004) and that when it's done, one of their ships will be on the West coast. Thank goodness, because we TA's have been telling them for awhile that if they did that, the ship would always be full!"

Anyway, that's the gist of the conversation! If true, how awesome!!!! I just hope she hasn't been misinformed

 

[Mop]

I don't mean to rain on anyone's parade, but let's take this rumor with a grain of salt (along with all other DCL rumors). On my last DCL cruise, last September, out table stewart actually told us that crews were already training on "the new ship". Yeah, right. I don't know where all these rumors get started.

This is what we know for sure:

DCL has examined the possibility of a new ship. Last I heard, they were weighing two designs. A smaller ship (similar to the Magic and Wonder) or a larger ship (longer and wider with a 4th guest pool). The drawback of the larger ship is that it could not pass through the Panama Canal if they ever wanted to bring it to the West Coast (not a major drawback since it would probably only make this trip once as it is eventually downgraded and replaced by future ships).

It could be that plans are now in the works. It's possible because even though there has been a sustained downturn in travel and tourism, DCL ships are still constantly maintaining a high occupancy rate. At a time of cost cutting at Disney, a new cruise ship, as expensive as that proposition might be, is still a viable proposition.

BUT! I have been keeping an eye on the websites of all the major European shipbuilders and none of them report work on a new ship for Disney Cruise Line (and all their current projects are assigned to specific cruise lines, not "shell companies"). It's a difficult task that requires understanding of French, German and Italian, but so far I have found absolutely no work projects involving DCL in Europe. If work has begun on a new ship, it's in the extremely early stages.

I assure when, the DCL is ready to start construction on a new ship, it won't be a secret for very long.

Raul/Mop

 

[TeensMom]

What would be possible itinerarys on West Coast? Being from south & east, I'm not sure about distances on that "other coast". If a ship were homed in LA could it do 7-days to Baja, west coast Mexico, etc.? Could it also do 7-days to Alaska? Would they alternate like the eastern/western Carribbean?

 

[Werner Weiss]

Originally posted by TeensMom
What would be possible itinerarys on West Coast? Being from south & east, I'm not sure about distances on that "other coast". If a ship were homed in LA could it do 7-days to Baja, west coast Mexico, etc.? Could it also do 7-days to Alaska? Would they alternate like the eastern/western Carribbean?

From Southern California (ports of San Diego, Long Beach and Los Angeles), 3- and 4-night cruises typically go to Ensenada, Mexico, and sometimes also to Catalina Island, California. 7-night cruises go to the "Mexican Riviera" -- typically Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas.

Alaska cruises leave from Vancouver, BC, or Seattle, Washington. Some make roundtrips in 7 nights. Typical Alaska ports include Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchikan. Other cruises go one way between Vancouver, BC, and Seward, Alaska, in 7 nights.

The problem with Disney Cruise Line offering Alaska cruises would be that they could not be combined with Disneyland Resort stays. Alaska is just too far from Southern California. But Disney could provide seasonal Alaska cruises from Seattle or Vancounver to serve the family market.

What about such obvious cruise itineraries as Los Angeles to San Francisco? The cruise lines can't do it. The Passenger Services Act of 1886 would require that such an itinerary use a US-built, US-registered, US-crewed ship. But all the cruise lines that we think of as US cruise lines -- including Disney, Carnival and RCL -- use foreign-built, foreign-registered, foreign-crewed ships.

 

[WebmasterPete]

I don't want to rain on the parade either, but I can assure you that even if they put in the order for a new ship today, there is no way that it would be ready by 2004. I've heard from VERY reliable sources within DCL that they are seriously considering another ship, but that no order has been given to start building. The possibility that the ship will be west coast based is VERY good, as Disneyland needs all the help it can get right now, but I would not bank on an Alaska cruise by 2004 (unless Disney buys an existing ship and retro-fits it).

Pete

 

[YoHo]

Cruise ships from Seattle and Portland Or. (used to be some, but 9/11 squashed it pretty good) are usually US Flag shps too. I'm not sure that there is any reason Disney COULDN'T do a US Flag ship after all, I doubt a Southern route would maintain a bahamainian flag as the current ships do.

More importantly a GOOD Alaskan cruise ship has a covered top Deck (Royal Carribbean does this) where the cover retracts (think Seattle Mariners New home, or Milwaukee's Miller park) that is so the pools can still be used during the cold alaskan nights. So it would have to be a special ship.

 

[Mr D]

A Disney operated cruise ship would be a VERY good idea, up where I live (guess where? ) there is a strong love of Disney vacations during winter but not so much during the summer. We have too many things to do in the short summer months. Also the cruise ships would only sail during the late spring-summer months when there is over 18 hours of daylight and its not all that cold. It would be a viable business venture to also combine this as a ferry so the passengers can take their cars/SUV/RV's with them possibly to see Alaska all the way as far as Anchorage for a port. Combined with the popular Princess or even competing would be a good idea as I for one can see all the tourists trains passing by Wasilla in the summer packed to the gills.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Originally posted by YoHo
Cruise ships from Seattle and Portland Or. (used to be some, but 9/11 squashed it pretty good) are usually US Flag shps too. I'm not sure that there is any reason Disney COULDN'T do a US Flag ship after all, I doubt a Southern route would maintain a bahamainian flag as the current ships do.

Excuse me, YoHo. Could you please name one US-flagged cruise ship operating from Seattle? I can't. (I'm asking about cruise ships, not ferries.)

The reason that DCL can't operate a US-flagged ship is economic. There is probably no way to compete successfully with foreign-flagged ships in the same market. It's not just a matter of what flag you fly. A US-flagged ship would need to be built in a US shipyard and operated by a US crew.

There's no reason why a Disney ship operating on the West Coast (I'm not sure what YoHo means by a "Southern route") could not be registered in the Bahamas. The major cruise lines have their ships registered in Liberia and Panama, regardless of where the ships operate.

Disney needs to decide whether they want DCL to be a niche cruise line serving the family and Disney-fan market with two ships out of Port Canaveral, or whether they want to expand to become a bigger force and take on the major, mainstream cruise lines.

 

[Mop]

Just for the record, the report I have says that *IF* a new ship were to be built, it would be used to replace one of the current east coast ships and one of those ships would then be transfered to the west coast (probably the Magic since it's the oldest).

It makes sense the east coast cruises are established and extremely popular. A new (bigger) ship could easily be filled on the east coast, permitting for one of the smaller older ships to be transfered to the west coast to "test the waters", so to speak. I have no doubt that a west coast cruise would be successful. But to dive head first into it is not something that makes a lot of sense.

Thank you,
Raul/Mop

 

[Werner Weiss]

Originally posted by Horace Horsecollar
Excuse me, YoHo. Could you please name one US-flagged cruise ship operating from Seattle? I can't. (I'm asking about cruise ships, not ferries.)

The Port of Seattle schedule shows frequent dapartures by various cruise ships from Holland America Line (HAL), Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), and Royal Caribbean International (RCI). But none of these ships were built in the United States, and none is US-flagged. The port is also visited less frequently by other cruise ships, including one that was built in the United States, the ss Universe Explorer -- but even it is Panamanian-flagged.

 

[Buschfan]

DCL seems to have already decided to be a niche player with only 2 ships. The other lines keep announcing newbuilds even during a tough economy while Disney can only circulate rumors that they will expand someday. They can't seem to compete on price with the other majors and that is a big disadvantage in a weak economy. Disney could of bought the partially finished Project America ship with the option on a second if they wanted a quick avenue to expansion. NCL just bought it and will finish the first ship in Europe so they can add another new ship in 2004. Disney's cruise market share is sinking compared to the other lines. I don't see it changing anytime soon as they are 'all talk and no action' in regards to expansion.

I really look for Disney to be forced to enter a marketing agreement (like they had with Premier) with another major line if they are serious about expanding their fleet. It is very expensive to market and manage a fleet of 2 ships. A larger fleet allows a much greater cost savings.