Will Disney will add any new ship to Alaska?

[tvguy]

Ah, right.

I've seen some other lines pull into Victoria for just a few hours in the morning, though. They make it work.

My last cruise to Alaska, I think we arrived in Victoria at 6 pm and left at 11 pm.

 

[Scalemaster34]

Like AgentMama said they would have to change the departure port from Vancouver to the west coast because cruise ships sailing from Vancouver pass under the Lions Gate Bridge. The bridge has a clearance of 61 meters at high tide, and while it can accommodate many cruise ships, it does pose a restriction for the larger vessels. I believe the Dream class ships are 66 meters tall as it is.

Think the Bridge of Americas along the Panama Canal is also and issue... Cost to retro fit the ships (if possible) might be too costly for just a seasonal visit. 61M must be the magic number that Bridge designers used?

 

[happycamper47]

Aren’t there size limits at some of the Alaska ports and/or viewing areas like Glacier Bay or Icy Strait? I thought I had read that once as a reason why the Dream class ships are not used for Alaska.

The Star Princess is larger, so the Dream and Fantasy wouldn't be an issue at those ports.

 

[PsylockeSmythe]

The Star Princess is larger, so the Dream and Fantasy wouldn't be an issue at those ports.

The Dream and Fantasy wouldn't be too large for Glacier Bay or Icy Strait, but they would be for the Lion's Gate Bridge so sailing out of Vancouver. From what I can find the Star Princess is roughly 19 feet longer and 34 feet wider than the Dream, but the Dream looks to be about 16 to 17 feet taller than the Star Princess (200 feet to 216 feet). As WDWLODGE stated, the Lion's Gate Bridge has a clearance of 200 feet (61M) at high tide. The Star Princess will fit under the bridge, but the Dream and Wish class, will not, since they are taller.

It would mean that Disney would have to sail out of Seattle with a stop at Victoria to if they were using the Dream or Fantasy.

Psy

 

[ljhayes]

If you take the draft height into account the Dream is under 200 ft, as is the Wish.

 

[jimmymc]

Aren’t there size limits at some of the Alaska ports and/or viewing areas like Glacier Bay or Icy Strait? I thought I had read that once as a reason why the Dream class ships are not used for Alaska.

Royal Caribbean sends larger ships to Alaska than the Dream.

Glacier Bay is limited because they only allow 2 cruise ships in per day, and HAL and Princess own most of those permits. We docked at Icy Strait Point in the NCL Encore.

Getting in and out of Vancouver would be the only size concern. I don't know what the actual height or depth limits are.

 

[AquaDame]

The Dream and Fantasy wouldn't be too large for Glacier Bay or Icy Strait, but they would be for the Lion's Gate Bridge so sailing out of Vancouver. From what I can find the Star Princess is roughly 19 feet longer and 34 feet wider than the Dream, but the Dream looks to be about 16 to 17 feet taller than the Star Princess (200 feet to 216 feet). As WDWLODGE stated, the Lion's Gate Bridge has a clearance of 200 feet (61M) at high tide. The Star Princess will fit under the bridge, but the Dream and Wish class, will not, since they are taller.

It would mean that Disney would have to sail out of Seattle with a stop at Victoria to if they were using the Dream or Fantasy.

Psy

Which might be a draw, honestly. Best of both worlds... those who don't want to go to Canada to board could sail from Seattle and vice versa as travel into the US slows. That would make logistics easier for us - we could drive in same day. They already have ships in clusters in Florida, worth a shot trying it in the PNW too imo.