Here is an thought about Possible ship retirement plans. With a poll.

[JM_97]

Wasn’t Mariah Carey named Godmother of the Fantasy? Why wouldn’t they have done a traditional christening?

IIRC, it had something to do with Mariah being in the lobby where the ceremony was. She didn't want to be out in the wind so Nick Cannon was the one who smashed the champagne while she was basically the MC in the Fantasy's atrium. The theory was that this went against cruising tradition and explains why the Fantasy has apparently had more mechanical issues than the other three

I'm not saying I believe that, but it's what I read. I've never been on the Fantasy so I can't speak from experience about what it's like. And unfortunately, I might be a while until I get a chance...

 

[JM23457]

Cut off the "fake funnel" (the non operational one), Paint the ship white, paint the life boats the "standard" color, rip out the kids club and put in a casino, and remove the Disney decor and presto change-o it's the NCL Jade / Pearl / Gem or most any other ship of it's era and size.

Can't really do anything with the sweeping bow or "squaring up" the aft, so the profile still will be better looking than most ships. Oh yea, I also forgot that the staterooms are WAY TOO Big for other cruise lines.

But yea, she will head to the breakers yard at the end of her life.

Yikes. That sounds like a horror movie.

 

[TortoiseTaughtUs]

I said to someone that making Mariah Carey the Fairy Godmother doomed the ship from the get go. The ship seems to have mimicked her career...

Mariah Carey is the top female solo artist of all time according to Billboard. DCL writ large has yet to achieve her level of success.

 

[MillauFr]

I'd rather watch Golden Mickeys or Disney Dreams for the 25th time.

Agreed those shows never get old...

 

[MillauFr]

Not sure why Disney hasn't increased capacity faster. Sure they would probably have to lower prices to keep the ships full but even then they would probably still have a higher profit margin than other cruise lines. Plus they could add new itineraries which would help keep the ships full.

 

[jrabbit]

Not sure why Disney hasn't increased capacity faster. Sure they would probably have to lower prices to keep the ships full but even then they would probably still have a higher profit margin than other cruise lines. Plus they could add new itineraries which would help keep the ships full.

some "history" - and my opinion on the timing of events

• The first time they tried to expand the fleet, 9/11 happened. That "sunk" those plans.
• The next time, was just before the financial meltdown / crisis of 2008/09 and we got the Dream and Fantasy because they couldn't back out the order for the ships by then. But hey, they had access to tons of near interest free money to help pay for them.
• This time it's the pandemic and the entire cruise industry shutting down ... but I don't think they can back out now for the Wish for sure, but the next two ships might be in jeopardy (I doubt it). The new ship(s) on the way ... they wouldn't have to complete the interiors and move them into service if they felt the timing was wrong. But the ships themselves are "set in steel"

 

[MillauFr]

I think there is so much bent up demand for Disney Cruises and Parks that even a short recession will do little to impact it. It might take some froth off of the top but that is about it. Plus with the federal reserve flooding the economy with cash it has to get spent somewhere. Real estate and the stock market can't suck up all of the cash.

 

[a1tinkfans]

Wouldn’t it be cool for a decommissioned ship to be at a Disney’s island.... some kind of ( uncharged of course) Amazing Entertainment and dining venue lol.

 

[tvguy]

I don't think it would be sold to another company because there's too many things inside that make it obvious it's Disney. I think the Magic and Wonder will be around for a while but I could see them somehow using parts of the ship and incorporating it into a resort at Disney World. Either at a current one (Beach/Yacht Club makes the most sense) or make a totally new one

The Disney touches would be no big deal to remove. I just watched a video on the conversion of the France into the Norway and they basically did a "to the studs" renovation, converting a transatlantic liner into a Caribbean cruise ship. It took months, but little inside remained the same. Knock off the fake stack, repaint the ship and life boats, new carpet and ginger bread, and the Disney touches are done.
I think there is a pretty good chance a number of cruise ships will be put up for sale, and that may create a glut which means many will just go the scrap yard.

 

[JM_97]

some "history" - and my opinion on the timing of events

• The first time they tried to expand the fleet, 9/11 happened. That "sunk" those plans.
• The next time, was just before the financial meltdown / crisis of 2008/09 and we got the Dream and Fantasy because they couldn't back out the order for the ships by then. But hey, they had access to tons of near interest free money to help pay for them.
• This time it's the pandemic and the entire cruise industry shutting down ... but I don't think they can back out now for the Wish for sure, but the next two ships might be in jeopardy (I doubt it). The new ship(s) on the way ... they wouldn't have to complete the interiors and move them into service if they felt the timing was wrong. But the ships themselves are "set in steel"

While all of those events are way more important as a whole than a luxury cruise ship, Disney really has had some bad luck with expansion.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Wouldn’t it be cool for a decommissioned ship to be at a Disney’s island.... some kind of ( uncharged of course) Amazing Entertainment and dining venue lol.

So you'd take a cruise to Castaway Cay just to get on another (non sailing) ship for a show or dinner?

 

[BartmanLA]

Wow so much hurry to get rid of such beautiful ships. I am surprised that many of you aren't expressing pride and joy that Disney is building new ships, growing the fleet, not for competition's sake because they're always top rated, but just means more ships to give more guests that Disney Magic at sea. I just find the idea of scrapping any of these vessels horrifying and uncalled for.

 

[Snowwhyt]

Wow so much hurry to get rid of such beautiful ships. I am surprised that many of you aren't expressing pride and joy that Disney is building new ships, growing the fleet, not for competition's sake because they're always top rated, but just means more ships to give more guests that Disney Magic at sea. I just find the idea of scrapping any of these vessels horrifying and uncalled for.

I don’t think they feel that way. (Well except for maybe the Fantasy, I didn’t realize people saw her as the “red headed step child“ of the bunch).
And there already is a thread for the building of the 3 new ships.
This thread was intended to find out the When, Who, Why, Where, and What.
For example, I expected the majority of people to have the “Let her ride!” Forever mentality. With a few people who prefer to avoid older ships.
10 years ago a few people were saying how they didn’t want to cruise on the Magic because they found rust all over and a mold smell. I had such terror getting ready for my very first cruise back then because my husband was coming with and complaining about going on a cruise in the first place. He also explained it was no place to take a child because people were going to be drunk everywhere. He also said there would be nothing to do. We went for a week he read 7 novels that he brought with, and 4 more that he found in the ship library/Coffee shop. I personally never found any rust and was constantly busy. But found that the bathrooms did smell as reported.
But back to the intended purpose of the thread. As they say all good things must come to an end. And with that in mind I wanted to find out what people thought the end would be. Pretty much the only options are sell it, scrap it, sink it, or make it a hotel.
With Disney‘s earth conscious approach to problems, I suspect sink it or make hotel. But only once she’s too old to safely sail anymore.
So I’m still curious, what is your “happy ending” for a well loved, much much older, decommissioned ship?

 

[TestingH2O]

Wow so much hurry to get rid of such beautiful ships. I am surprised that many of you aren't expressing pride and joy that Disney is building new ships, growing the fleet, not for competition's sake because they're always top rated, but just means more ships to give more guests that Disney Magic at sea. I just find the idea of scrapping any of these vessels horrifying and uncalled for.

The poll was about retiring the Magic. I was merely suggesting that they should not retire a beautiful ship that runs well. (And I prefer the Classics.) I don't dislike the Fantasy, but it does have a history of mechanical issues so, if DCL decides they have to reduce the size of the fleet, it seems to make more sense to keep the ships that perform well as opposed to the one that has issues. To the best of my knowledge, all 4 existing ships are already paid off so financing isn't the issue.

 

[Snowwhyt]

Okay, I have always had the poll so a person could pick 2 options. But I added a Fantasy option. I didn’t know some people felt so strong about her.