Why won't Disney build another cruise ship?

[tstobb]

Remember that Michael Eisner is largely responsible for the birth of DCL and envisioned a fleet of at least ten ships from the start so I don't believe that he is to blame for any lack of pending construction.

Any discussion of revenue from DCL is absolute speculation as the figures are not broken out separately in any financial reports - they are lumped in with the Parks & Resorts category.

Until things settle down in the world, I would be against DCL repositioning for a Med cruise but the Panama Canal and/or west coast would be great - can you say "7 day land-and-sea with Disneyland"!

 

[MFan]

Originally posted by MarkRG
-Neither the Magic or Wonder are under consideration of a West Coast reposition for one plain fact, neither ship is capable of operating in cold weather properly. There is virtually no place for easy public inside observation in cold weather.

You're right, but that doesn't apply to the southern routes. Almost all sailings out of LA (Long Beach) or San Diego go to Mexico, which doesn't get much cooler than Bahamas. If DCL is going to reposition a ship (or locate a new one), I'd think LA, with its proximity to Disneyland, would be the most likely home port.

 

[WDWLVR]

Originally posted by MFan
You're right, but that doesn't apply to the southern routes. Almost all sailings out of LA (Long Beach) or San Diego go to Mexico, which doesn't get much cooler than Bahamas. If DCL is going to reposition a ship (or locate a new one), I'd think LA, with its proximity to Disneyland, would be the most likely home port.

I agree about the Mexican ports being similar to the Bahamas. I would however think that if Disney was going to have a ship out west that they would have it do the Alaska route in the summer and the Mexican route the rest of the year.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Originally posted by MarkRG
-Neither the Magic or Wonder are under consideration of a West Coast reposition for one plain fact, neither ship is capable of operating in cold weather properly. There is virtually no place for easy public inside observation in cold weather. And all the outside areas are unheated and open with no way to easily enclose them. Think about that one, the only place you have a public window to the outside from inside the ship is on deck three next to Lumiere's/Tritons and the clubs.

On first reading, that sounds right and makes sense. But if you think about, that's not a valid point after all.

First, Alaska cruises from Vancouver or Seattle are not "cold weather" cruises. Cruise lines such as Princess, Celebrity, NCL, and Holland America operate Alaska cruises in the warm months only. Daytime temperatures are typically somewhere around 60°F, and can be much warmer. Yeah, that's colder than Cozumel at the same time of the year, but it's not like an Atlantic crossing in January. It's more like a Caribbean cruise in January.

Next, the other cruise lines operate ships that are more-or-less similar to the Disney ships. (But they don't look as good.) The newer ships have lots of verandahs. Passengers love to book verandah staterooms because the view is so great. Some of the ships have a retractable glass canopy over the pool. (But the lack of such a canopy would not disqualify the ship from service in Alaska waters). In fact the same ships are used for LA-to-Mexico cruises or Caribbean cruises during the colder months.

If there's another reason why "neither ship is capable of operating" Alaska cruises, I don't know what it is.

 

[starwood]

And put it in NY harbor please!!!!

 

[MFan]

Originally posted by WDWLVR
I agree about the Mexican ports being similar to the Bahamas. I would however think that if Disney was going to have a ship out west that they would have it do the Alaska route in the summer and the Mexican route the rest of the year.

They could, but that would mean DCL will have to reposition it away from their parks (Disneyland & California Adventure) to somewhere far north like Vancouver for the summer. That would seem counter to their strategy of drawing incremental park gate receipts from cruisers, and vice versa, especially given summer is their peak season.

But, these are all speculations. My personal first preference is the Mediteranean...

 

[kajohn]

I agree with MarkRG that the Magic and Wonder would not be good ships in Alaska. Yes, it is possible for them to do it, but most ships that sail there do have the large, indoor pool areas, and much more glass that looks out from the public areas of the ship.

I sailed the Radiance of the Seas, and that ship was designed for Alaska (yes it sails the carribean in the winter, but the original brochure sent out before it set sail showed the ship in Alaska). There is so much glass, you can see outside in almost all public areas. Even the main elevator bank, is glass to the outside.

Also food is an issue. Topsiders, depends on outdoor seeting to sit everyone, which is just not practical in Alaska. We travelled there in what was considered perfect weather, it was sunny and in the upper 60's and low 70's, and it was still too chilly to swim outside, and too windy and chilly to eat outside. All of the magic's extra food, i.e. Plutos, Scoops etc. are all outside.

 

[Mojomanny]

I was wondering how long it would take for people to bring in the park part of the DCL equation.

Disney is in the entertainment business and one key to that is their parks. I doubt they will do any cruises which are not coordinated with the ability to stay at a park as part of the vacation. (3/4 and 4/3 options the Winder provides).

Disney hopefully learned a lesson with DVC when they built Hilton Head and Vero Beach. Just as you will never see another DVC outside of the park area, I do not beleive you will see a DCL without a natural tie to the park.

DCL and DL or DCL and WDW creates a wonderful and natural synergy. They help add to each others sales (in the case of DCL would it be Sails?). That is what it is designed to do.

Make no mistake about it, Disney is not in the cruise line business. They are in the entertainment business and as such will not add ships or ports which do not allow it to build on their primary business.

That being said, I can see a 3rd ship going out from LA since they could recreate the Orlando/Canaveral synergy. I can almost even see a Tampa/Orlando possibility just for variety. I doubt this would be a viable option since they already have the terminal and infrastructure in place in Canaveral.

I can also see them varying ports for the 3,4, and 7 day cruises out of Canaveral to ensure they are creating a fresh and interesting product. I do not think they will let DCL and its itineraries get stale. As evidence of this, the addition of the Western 7 day and the variation between 3,4 and 7 day ports.

Anyway, thats my 2 cents

 

[MarkRG]

Originally posted by Horace Horsecollar
On first reading, that sounds right and makes sense. But if you think about, that's not a valid point after all.

It's not a point, it was a statement made directly by the command crew of the Magic. Neither of the current ships will be considered for a west coast itinerary, for the reasons listed above.

IF they go Alaska it will be with a new ship.

 

[WDWLVR]

Originally posted by Mojomanny
I was wondering how long it would take for people to bring in the park part of the DCL equation.

Disney is in the entertainment business and one key to that is their parks. I doubt they will do any cruises which are not coordinated with the ability to stay at a park as part of the vacation. (3/4 and 4/3 options the Winder provides).

Disney hopefully learned a lesson with DVC when they built Hilton Head and Vero Beach. Just as you will never see another DVC outside of the park area, I do not beleive you will see a DCL without a natural tie to the park.

While I agree that the parks played a big part in the kick-off of DCL I don't think that will hold true for the future. Now that DCL has many more repeat cruisers those cruisers are looking for new ports. That's why they have done survey's for the Mediteranean.

I think DCL knows that they have people wanting to go to Alaska, they also know that they can fill the parks during the summer - they have lots of annual passholders. The other months of the year it would make sense that they do tie-ins with Disneyland and California Adventure.

 

[WDWLVR]

Originally posted by starwood
And put it in NY harbor please!!!!

From what I've heard they have looked into it but way too much $$$$$

 

[budwmn]

I agree that they would be most likely to try and tie in a new cruise route with a park. But don't forget that California isn't the only place with a park. Paris has one and it would be a great tie in to visit the best of Europe with a land and sea package!

 

[starwood]

Originally posted by WDWLVR
From what I've heard they have looked into it but way too much $$$$$

When we returned from our last cruise I got a survey from them about 4-5 new itineraries. All of them were leaving from NY harbor. I got so excited.