Disney confirms purchase of Global Dream cruise ship

[jiminyC_fan]

No thanks. Not for me. I'll pass.

 

[bigAWL]

It's funny how people have this perception...I have been on the Dream with 3,500+ people and on Oasis ships with close to 6,000 and have felt that the Oasis ships feel WAY less crowded than a full Disney ship. The ships size and design lend a lot to that. Yes there are more people, but the ship is MUCH bigger, and (at least on the Royal Ships) they do a great job with their neighborhood design to make sure people are spread around the ship. Any time you get everyone on the ship in one place at the same time, any cruise ship will feel crowded.

Just because this ship is big and has 6000 people doesn't automatically mean it will be more crowded. I personally would love to sail on an Oasis-sized DCL ship. They have so much more room to work with. A common complaint of the Wish is venues are so small, people can't get into Palo, the trivia venues get overflowed, hallways are too narrow.

If anyone has been in Mickey's Mainsail on the Wish, you know what I am taking about. Making the ship wider can fix a lot of issues with space in common areas.

Doing some simple math to see how the ships may compare at max capacity. Not a perfect comparison for predicting how busy a ship feels due to different use of space. But it's interesting to me, anyway.

Guests per 1000 gross tonnage:
Disney Wish = 27.8
Disney "Global" = 28.8 (would have been 43.2 at 9000 capacity)
Oasis of the Seas = 29.9
Disney Dream/Fantasy = 30.8
Disney Magic/Wonder = 32.1

 

[DLgal]

Wonder if Disney will keep the escalators? And the casino (you know it has one).

 

[insureman]

Nope. Way too many passengers for us.

 

[insureman]

6,000 passengers is almost half of the population of my small town!

 

[tvguy]

Wonder if Disney will keep the escalators? And the casino (you know it has one).

The casino question is a good one. I suspect at this point of construction they could re-purpose the area for something else. But if it truly is being built for the Asian market, I suspect those passengers will expect a casino.

 

[Flossbolna]

Interesting that we've seen information indicating that it was originally designed for 9000 guests. But in the video posted above, it says "Accommodating over 5000 passengers."

In German media they reported that the ship was expected to regularly sail with 5000 (double occupancy per cabin), but that for highly popular vacation times it could have a capacity of up to 9500.

 

[jrapps]

The casino question is a good one. I suspect at this point of construction they could re-purpose the area for something else. But if it truly is being built for the Asian market, I suspect those passengers will expect a casino.

If they truly intend for this to be a DCL ship with the same family experiences as the current fleet, then the casino would be ripped out and replaces with the Oceaneer Club. Disney allocates far more space to kids clubs than other lines.

Remains to be seen if this is what they do, but that is where my money is placed. (Ah, now look at me gambling! LOL)

 

[Flossbolna]

If they truly intend for this to be a DCL ship with the same family experiences as the current fleet, then the casino would be ripped out and replaces with the Oceaneer Club. Disney allocates far more space to kids clubs than other lines.

Remains to be seen if this is what they do, but that is where my money is placed. (Ah, now look at me gambling! LOL)

Every German media report (based on sources at the shipyard) mentions that Disney will remove the casino.

 

[Flossbolna]

By the way, anyone thinking of ship spotting: Wismar is in Northern Germany, supposedly a beautiful town, the old town is a world heritage site.

According to German media, they have the big building dock until end of 2023 (the site has already been sold to another company who intends to use it for building submarines). And then they have rented the outdoor pier of the yard for the year of 2024. So most likely in 2024 you can see the ship while it’s being finished.

So, this could be a neat little trip. Maybe not from the USA, unless you are in the area anyway.

 

[DLgal]

Every German media report (based on sources at the shipyard) mentions that Disney will remove the casino.

They will have a REALLY tough time in the Asian cruise market without a casino. They don't value spaces for kids to play as highly as we do here.

 

[jrapps]

They will have a REALLY tough time in the Asian cruise market without a casino. They don't value spaces for kids to play as highly as we do here.

Which is why I'm not counting out Disney bringing this ship to the US or Europe at some point in the future.

 

[DLgal]

Which is why I'm not counting out Disney bringing this ship to the US or Europe at some point in the future.

I agree. I think this one will stay in the Pacific.

 

[nikem3]

They will have a REALLY tough time in the Asian cruise market without a casino. They don't value spaces for kids to play as highly as we do here.

I think this is a little bit deceiving. Asian market is certainly different, but places like Tokyo Disney and Shanghai Disney do great with crowds. I think with this being a company like Disney, expectations will be different and the lack of a casino won't negatively effect them as much as an RCL ship doing it. People understand the Disney brand. The bigger issues will be that Asia prefers shorts 3 to 4 day cruises. It will be interesting to see how they price it to stay competitive and keep filling up that ship.

 

[DLgal]

I think this is a little bit deceiving. Asian market is certainly different, but places like Tokyo Disney and Shanghai Disney do great with crowds. I think with this being a company like Disney, expectations will be different and the lack of a casino won't negatively effect them as much as an RCL ship doing it. People understand the Disney brand. The bigger issues will be that Asia prefers shorts 3 to 4 day cruises. It will be interesting to see how they price it to stay competitive and keep filling up that ship.

I'm talking specifically about the cruise market and more specifically, about Chinese cruisers, who make up the bulk of this market in Asia.

 

[Jocelynaus]

There’s a 13 page thread about this already (albeit with a long and in accurate title - does Disney have plans to buy an abandoned ship)

 

[Karin1984]

This blogger expects the Asian/Chinese cruise market to grow immensely the coming decade. That explains a thing or two

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/analysis-cruise-industry-market-asian-newcomer-india-mathews

This study has explored what Chinese cruisers like or might like. The summary is on page 61.

What Chinese cruisers want: An analysis of product preferences - Purdue e-Pubs https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1652&context=open_access_theses

It mentions that male cruisers might be more interested in video games, gambling (incl Mahjong), karaoke and shopping. For women and highly educatie cruisers the family bonding aspect is important. Also there is a preference for ports with a lot of natural beauty.

The videogames is an interesting one I hadnt really thought of. If this is for the Asian market and it includes Japan, they love arcades and claw machines.

I think we can suspect games and area similar to the teen clubs but then meant for adults.

 

[AvidDisReader]

This blogger expects the Asian/Chinese cruise market to grow immensely the coming decade. That explains a thing or two

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/analysis-cruise-industry-market-asian-newcomer-india-mathews

This study has explored what Chinese cruisers like or might like. The summary is on page 61.

What Chinese cruisers want: An analysis of product preferences - Purdue e-Pubs https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1652&context=open_access_theses

It mentions that male cruisers might be more interested in video games, gambling (incl Mahjong), karaoke and shopping. For women and highly educatie cruisers the family bonding aspect is important. Also there is a preference for ports with a lot of natural beauty.

The videogames is an interesting one I hadnt really thought of. If this is for the Asian market and it includes Japan, they love arcades and claw machines.

I think we can suspect games and area similar to the teen clubs but then meant for adults.

The original design mention one and a half decks for the casino. I could see them re configuring some of that space but still keeping a casino. Until Disney specifically states it will remove all of the casino, call me a skeptic.

 

[Karin1984]

The original design mention one and a half decks for the casino. I could see them re configuring some of that space but still keeping a casino. Until Disney specifically states it will remove all of the casino, call me a skeptic.

If it's meant for the Chinese market, I am sure there will be some sort of gambling opportunity..

Disney also tried to keep the alcohol out of Disneyland Paris, because it didn't fit their vision of a themepark. However, French culture thought differently.
Disneyland Paris taught the Disney company some hard lessons about that not everything can be copied one on one from one country/culture to the next.

 

[nmoody1]

I've not seen this many experts on the Asian Market since Shanghai Disneyland was announced!!

As for the comments about beds being smaller for Asian guests..... I'm 6"3' and travel to China and Hong Kong regularly (in normal times at least) and my teet have never hung out of the end of the bed.

The only problem I see Disney encountering is the fact that Asia hotels provide way more amenities - slippers, robes (although DCL have addressed this with the Wish), toothbrushes and razors etc.