What's the average cruise ship lifespan?

[Dallas_Lady]

Forgive me if this has been discussed in all the NEW SHIPS!!! threads, but I'm curious... how long do cruise ships stay in service before being decommissioned? I see a lot of people concluding that the new ships will increase Disney's fleet, but by the time they are done the Magic and the Wonder will be nearing 25 years old. My concern is that these will end up being more like replacements than additions.

 

[su_A_ve]

Can be as old as 30 years. With the recent dry dock and Wonder's upcoming one, I would expect at least being pushed out to another 10 years each. Which means, in 5 years, they'll announce two new ones being built to replace the Magic and Wonder.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Forgive me if this has been discussed in all the NEW SHIPS!!! threads, but I'm curious... how long do cruise ships stay in service before being decommissioned? I see a lot of people concluding that the new ships will increase Disney's fleet, but by the time they are done the Magic and the Wonder will be nearing 25 years old. My concern is that these will end up being more like replacements than additions.

Well, according to Frommer's, a run-of-the mill ship's first life is about 25-30 years. And then it's generally sold to a second company for an additional 5-15 years. Depending on how well it's been maintained, it could last quite a while.
http://www.frommers.com/deals/cruise/how-old-is-your-cruiseship-does-it-matter

I would hope, if they were replacing the Magic & Wonder, they would do so with similarly sized ships. We like the smaller ships more than the floating city concept.

 

[truck1]

Usually 40-50 years with the proper care aND conditons. What will kill a ships service life is a change in SOLAS regs. In that case a 20 year old ship.may be retired because it's cheaper to build a new ship then to retrofit an older ship to meet the new standards. The QE2 for example was 38 when she was retired due to SOLAS changes. She still had another 10 or so years left in her.

 

[dclpluto]

Disney keeps things a lot longer than other places. So if a ship first life is 25-30 years as posted above with Disney it probably be 35-40 years. Just my guess

 

[scgustafson]

The original Pacific Princess of Love Boat fame was in service from 1971-2013 under four different names and just as many operators. The pictures of her at the end of those 42 years showed that she had not been well taken care of.

 

[truck1]

Also, keep this in mind. Lines like Carnival, RCCL, NCL etc, all have subsidiary lines, they can transfer ships to. RCCL for example is transferring the Sovereign class ships to Pullmantur which is one of its lesser lines for lack of a better term. Disney doesn't have that. At least not yet. Plus there is a lot of proprietary things built into DCL ships that would have to come out before any sale. All of the hidden Mickeys, all of the screens and associated equipment for Animators, just to name a few.

 

[tvguy]

First ship I sailed on was the MS Mermoz in 1980, and it was in service from 1956 to 2008 52 years.
Second ship I sailed on was the SS Norway and it was in service for 42 years until a boiler explosion. NCL took a year to decide to not repair the ship, so it clearly had the potential for going 50 years.

So the Magic and Wonder are just hitting their halfway point in my opinion. And look at Disneyland, they keep things up and remodel, but after 60 years it is Disney's business model to not retire many things.

 

[C6PT7]

Also, keep this in mind. Lines like Carnival, RCCL, NCL etc, all have subsidiary lines, they can transfer ships to. RCCL for example is transferring the Sovereign class ships to Pullmantur which is one of its lesser lines for lack of a better term. Disney doesn't have that. At least not yet. Plus there is a lot of proprietary things built into DCL ships that would have to come out before any sale. All of the hidden Mickeys, all of the screens and associated equipment for Animators, just to name a few.

I would think that on sale of the ship, like any ship, that the areas would be re-modelled and re styled by the new owner during a refurbishment?
Animators pallet is just some screens, some lights and a sound system, and yes dcl would probably remove them so they could not be used for the same purpose again. Hidden mickeys are mostly just decorative, not structural. The only place I can think of a non decor "hidden" mickey is the cut out on the bow, but that could easily be filled in.
So I would be interested i your further thoughts on why a dcl ship could not be stripped out and renovated, much like other lines do when selling or passing down older ships?
Possibly the re styling of the forward smoke stack so that it does not match the lines of the aft smoke stack?

 

[truck1]

I would think that on sale of the ship, like any ship, that the areas would be re-modelled and re styled by the new owner during a refurbishment?
Animators pallet is just some screens, some lights and a sound system, and yes dcl would probably remove them so they could not be used for the same purpose again. Hidden mickeys are mostly just decorative, not structural. The only place I can think of a non decor "hidden" mickey is the cut out on the bow, but that could easily be filled in.
So I would be interested i your further thoughts on why a dcl ship could not be stripped out and renovated, much like other lines do when selling or passing down older ships?
Possibly the re styling of the forward smoke stack so that it does not match the lines of the aft smoke stack?

Yes all the stuff can be removed but at what price? It's kind of like when SOLAS update comes out. Is it cheaper to just retire the ship or spend millions to strip the ship on top of what they are selling for. It comes down to what the ship is worth vs the remodeling that needs to be done. Using the Costa Concordia as an extreme example, she was delivered in 2006 for 570 million and totaled in 2012. The value of the totaled ship was like 200 some odd million if I remember correctly.


Just found what they paid for the Magic. It was 400 million per copy. Wonder what the depreciation is on the ship.

 

[C6PT7]

Yes all the stuff can be removed but at what price? It's kind of like when SOLAS update comes out. Is it cheaper to just retire the ship or spend millions to strip the ship on top of what they are selling for. It comes down to what the ship is worth vs the remodeling that needs to be done. Using the Costa Concordia as an extreme example, she was delivered in 2006 for 570 million and totaled in 2012. The value of the totaled ship was like 200 some odd million if I remember correctly.


Just found what they paid for the Magic. It was 400 million per copy. Wonder what the depreciation is on the ship.

But neither wonder or magic would be totalled like the concordia that was sold as scrap. So they hold a residual value regardless of the rate of depreciation, much like a new car depreciates quickly in the first few years, but when you sell it 10 years after, if it has been cared for, maintained and is still running it still has a resale value, regardless of the few scratches, little dinks here and there, and obvious wear on the interior and motor.
These are cosmetic changes. Changes to the banisters, decorative metal work, or wood work. Interior finishes, carpets etc get changed on a regular basis even during a dry dock. Look at how beat street is now after hours? Ok Key's retains some of the original disneyfication, but fathoms or the pub are generic interiors.
Replace some of the decor in Carioaca's and which cruise line? Replace the light fittings, carpet, furniture obviously and the mural wall in tritons or luminaries and which line? The round portholes would be indicative of being a dcl ship, but would you really know which line, or care?

 

[C6PT7]

When you actually think about it, the magic was quite undisneyfied when they re imagineered it.
The mickey shaped pool disappearing in favor of just a generic round pool, moving the helmsman mickey off to the side and if it wasn't there would you notice?
Hmmmm.

 

[LiseG]

When you actually think about it, the magic was quite undisneyfied when they re imagineered it.
The mickey shaped pool disappearing in favor of just a generic round pool, moving the helmsman mickey off to the side and if it wasn't there would you notice?
Hmmmm.

Sad! But here we are in 2022 with Magic and Wonder still in service.

 

[JM_97]

Depends on the upkeep, which Disney has done a fantastic job with. The Magic and Wonder will be around for a long time.

I have a feeling that the Magic and Wonder will slowly be phased out of the Caribbean/Bahamas itineraries, as those will get assigned to the bigger, newer ships. The Magic and Wonder will focus on the more "exotic" itineraries.

 

[scgustafson]

Sad! But here we are in 2022 with Magic and Wonder still in service.

As long as the height limit to pass under the Bridge of the Americas keeps Disney Dream, Disney Fantasy, Disney Wish, Disney Treasure, and Disney TBD from transiting the Panama Canal, there will always be a place for Disney Magic and Disney Wonder for those sailings, as well as the West Coast, Alaska, and Pacific (unless DCL is going to commit to send one of the newer ships around Cape Horn to get them to the Pacific).

 

[Winston Wolf]

I still think this will remain a fleet of 5. Magic and Wonder (while well maintained) already have very outdated tech and become more difficult every year to maintain. I think within the year, we start to hear about Magic's "final sailings" somewhere around the time Treasure debuts. Then Wonder will follow.

 

[Jocelynaus]

I think Disney will keep them for their serviceable life, being careful with maintainance

 

[DCLCruiseFan09]

As long as the height limit to pass under the Bridge of the Americas keeps Disney Dream, Disney Fantasy, Disney Wish, Disney Treasure, and Disney TBD from transiting the Panama Canal, there will always be a place for Disney Magic and Disney Wonder for those sailings, as well as the West Coast, Alaska, and Pacific (unless DCL is going to commit to send one of the newer ships around Cape Horn to get them to the Pacific).

The Norwegian Bliss Went through the Panama Canal. Surely the Dream/Fantasy/Wish could also?

 

[dwg]

With the current crop of Disney executives who knows. I wouldn't have believed that Disney would take over the building of a 9000 passenger cruise ship just to get into the Asian market. disney-cruise-line-potential-buyer-9000-passenger-mega-ship.

A couple of years ago on the magic I had a conversation with a crew member about this very subject. His thoughts were that Disney would never sell the ship to another cruise line because of the cost to remove all things Disney before selling. These days if the cost to remove all things Disney made sense as apposed to salvage I can see the executives going for it. Back when I had the conversation with the CM I agreed with what he said because I didn't see Disney Company following the dollar at all costs the way I see them doing that now.

 

[Snowwhyt]

I’m looking forward to the 25 year DCL Anniversary. And the 50, I hope to be there. I’ll be in a wheelchair at age 84 I’m sure, but I still want to sail on her then.