Will Magic Ever Come Back to West Coast??

[tezb]

My sister just took her FIRST DCL cruise (6/18) from the West Coast. She finally got to try DCL because she won't fly and they were able to drive to LA from SF area. They had such a great time that she wanted me to find out if anyone knows about plans for the Magic to come back. She asked some of the crew and they did not know of any plans..as of yet. I thought I heard soemthing about 2007? anyone know?

Also, she loved the DVD they took of her kids' club graduations. Is there any way she can purchase that DVD? She didn't see the opportunity while on the ship.

Thanks ....

 

[ivanova]

as of right now, nobody knows. there is speculation that when they announce the 2007 itineraries, there might be a repositioning of one of the two ships back to CA for a short period of time again. but until they announce the 2007 itineraries, we don't know, and we don't even know when they'll announce the 2007 itineraries. it could be July, it could be November, it could be any time inbetween. heck, it could be later.

 

[GenieDana]

The West Coast repositioning was for a one-time special event. Unless Disney made a lot more $$$ on the repositioning than they would have leaving the ship in Florida, I would doubt another repositioning until there is a fleet expansion (for economic reasons).

I don't have any numbers to confirm my suspicions, but I would believe revenues were down for the period of repositioning (I base my suspicions simply on the numbers of reported available cabins / cancellations for all West Coast cruises).

It also costs a lot of $$$ to transit the Canal, which digs deep into the revenue on the transition sailings. Not to mention higher personnel and labor costs, fuel costs, provisioning costs, and renting a terminal facility on the West Coast they don't have to at PC.

I would be interesting reading if anyone can come up with the revenue numbers for the period of repositioning, versus last years summer (Magic) or this years Wonder's revenue for the same time period.

 

[tvguy]

The West Coast repositioning was for a one-time special event. Unless Disney made a lot more $$$ on the repositioning than they would have leaving the ship in Florida, I would doubt another repositioning until there is a fleet expansion (for economic reasons).

I don't have any numbers to confirm my suspicions, but I would believe revenues were down for the period of repositioning (I base my suspicions simply on the numbers of reported available cabins / cancellations for all West Coast cruises).

.

Nothing announced, but I think the above is wrong if you consider the higher rates being charged.

 

[Lloyd Dobler]

I tend to agree with tyguy. My take on the west coast "experiment" is that it was really more of a cash grab than some kind of test to see how well the ship would sell out here. I think they know their clientele well enough and knew they what they could get away with charging.

Case in point, when we booked our June 4 cruise on the day the west coast bookings opened, they were charging $2100 per person for a category 7. The prices shot through several tiers on the first day, and I never saw them even that low again. In contrast, our Sept. 10 cruise will cost us less, including airfare for three from CA to FL. For what we paid for a cat. 7 on DCL, we could have gotten the most expensive room on the Carnival ship which sailed the same itinerary, leaving the next day.

It seemed to me that the low-end prices for the west coast cruises were up near the high-end prices for the Caribbean cruises. In addition, respositioning cruises are usually among the best deals around, but DCL charged full fare for theirs.

 

[CM_Mom]

My guess is that DCL will wait to make a decision about whether to move a ship to the West coast again until this fall AFTER they have time to review the guest evaluations for this summer. They DO pay attention to the evals.

 

[challada]

I read a recent article on the West Coast cruises and even Disney is surprised by how fully booked they are as well as the numbers of first time cruisers they are getting on these boats (I saw estimates of about 60%) which is a whole new market for them. (raising my hand as a first timer on the first west coast cruise!). I believe DCL is not dumb...if they can figure out how to do this once, they can figure out how to do this again!

 

[tvguy]

As my screen name suggests I work in TV and deal with the Disneyland PR folks all the time. They tell me more West Coast cruisers go to DL and CA than Orlando cruisers are to go to DW before or after their cruise.
And the West Coast cruisers stay longer at the parks. All adds up to more profit for Disney.
I spent last week at DL, and MAN have they jacked up prices on EVERYTHING this year. That means a lot of profit for Disney. I paid $68 for dinner for 4 at the French Market, that's cafetria style folks. In contrast, dinner for 4, with alcohol for the 2 adults, and tip at the ESPN Zone only cost $80. Yikes.

 

[Mickbee]

FUN FACT: It costs $215,000 for the Magic to pass through the Panama Canal EACH WAY!!

The total Distance traveled from Port Canaveral to Port LA was 5006 miles.

Oh yeah, it was a LOT of fun!!!