Size of Disney ships compared to other cruise lines

[johare]

Hmmm, maybe.Uh, not really. Voyager of the Seas was announced in 1996 (as "Eagle 1"), with a Gross tonnage of 138,000, long before the Disney ships were announced.

Yeah, I don't ever recall anyone saying that the Disney ships were ever the largest out there...or even that that was a goal of theirs. I know they were pretty close to the top though.

 

[bicker]

Sorry... I thought you were expressing an order of things, when you said: "But soon other cruise lines were ordering even larger ships." When in reality, other cruise lines had announced larger ships before Disney announced their ships.

Sorry I misunderstood.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

In 1994, the Walt Disney Company announced plans to start the Disney Cruise Line with two new 83,000 GRT ships.

According to this list (which includes ships that have not yet been launched), the Disney Magic and Disney Wonder are now ranked at #56 and #57 in gross tonnage.

 

[tvguy]

When the Disney ships were first announced, they were larger than any cruise ship in operation at the time. But soon other cruise lines were ordering even larger ships.

Most cruise ships built in the past ten years fall in one of two categories:

• Those that are at or near the maximum size to fit through the Panama Canal ("Panamax" sized). Such ships tend to have a volume of 70-90 thousand GRT.
• Those that are too big to fit though the Panama Canal. Such ships tend to have a volume of 110-150 thousand GRT.

Panamax sized ships have essentially the same width and length as the Wonder and Magic. Some newer Panamax sized ships have more staterooms and interior volume than the Disney ships. For example, RCCL's Radiance of the Seas has a volume of 90,090 GRT compared to the Disney Magic's volume of 83,000 GRT. (GRT is a measure of volume, not weight.)

In another recent thread, I assembled a comparison of one of HAL's Vista Class ships to the Disney Wonder. (The same numbers would apply to other HAL Vista Class ships and to the Disney Magic.)

Ship ................................... ms Zuiderdam .......... Disney Wonder
Line ................................... Holland America Line .. Disney Cruise Line
Ship's Registry ........................ The Netherlands ....... The Bahamas
Year of delivery ....................... 2002 .................. 1999
Staterooms ............................. 924 ................... 875
Passenger capacity at double occupancy . 1,848 ................. 1,750
Maximum passenger capacity ............. not published ......... 2,400
Crew members ........................... 800 ................... 945
Gross tonnage .......................... 85,000 grt ............ 83,000 grt
Length ................................. 951 feet .............. 964 feet
Beam ................................... 105.8 feet ............ 106 feet
Maximum speed .......................... 24 knots .............. 24 knots

Don't know where the numbers came from, but the official Disney brochure lists passenger capacity at 2600. The Norway, for example is/was longer at 1035 feet.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Don't know where the numbers came from, but the official Disney brochure lists passenger capacity at 2600. The Norway, for example is/was longer at 1035 feet.

I just looked at several official Disney Cruse Line brochures. The most recent was the 2003-2005 brochure. They all said 2,400. What is the year on your brochure?

Yes, NCL Norway, which is no longer operating after a tragic boiler accident, is 1,035 ft. in length. The Norway was built as an ocean liner (originally the S.S. France, 1962) and has different proportions than contemporary cruise ships. The Norway is "only" 76,049 GRT, which is a smaller capacity than the approx. 83,000 GRT Disney ships.

 

[Disneyland55]

In one of our ports we were next to a Carnival boat and it looked alittle bigger than the Disney ship.

 

[tvguy]

I just looked at several official Disney Cruse Line brochures. The most recent was the 2003-2005 brochure. They all said 2,400. What is the year on your brochure?

Yes, NCL Norway, which is no longer operating after a tragic boiler accident, is 1,035 ft. in length. The Norway was built as an ocean liner (originally the S.S. France, 1962) and has different proportions than contemporary cruise ships. The Norway is "only" 76,049 GRT, which is a smaller capacity than the approx. 83,000 GRT Disney ships.

My catalog is the 2003-2004 one, page 63. A search of non-Disney sites does however, list capacity at 2400.

 

[TheWog]

We were on the Magic and then The Enchantment of the Seas... RCI's Vision class of ships. The ships were very similar in length, tonnage and space. I would put them about the same class for comparison purposes. Enchantment, too, has added a water park as mentioned for the FOTS above.

 

[DancingBear]

At the times we sailed the Norway was known for featuring known entertainers on board, Norm Crosby, Jack Jones were the entertainers on our first cruise, The Fifth Dimension and Shields and Yarnell on our second.

Did Jones sing the "Love Boat" theme?

 

[mickey2000]

 

[pogopossum]

here's a picture from cozumel, with the caribbean princess berthed directly across from the magic. i think they had about two more decks than the magic, but maybe only 10% larger overall, by my estimate.