Bids requested for new Ship

[niteobsrvr]

Orlando Sentinel article 8/25/03

Magic, Wonder to get company

Disney Cruise Line's long-awaited effort to add a third boat to its fleet appears to be on track after sitting on the back burner for nearly two years after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Talk on the street is that Disney has put out requests for bids to build a sister ship to go with Magic and Wonder, both of which were launched in the late '90s. No word on who the leading contender might be for the project. The home port for the next ship also is yet to be determined. Port Canaveral folks seem ready to woo Disney with an attractive deal. Disney officials would not confirm or deny the "speculation."

 

[da1070]

They are very well and stay booked months in advice of other cruise lines. So I agree with you.

 

[VacationMan]

It does appear that people who are opposed to this idea, simply are ignoring this thread, so I'll cap my discussion in this thread with this.....

What will Disney be in the future? Will they be a cruise line, a World Class Resort Destination, a Six Flags destination (or worse (See www.miceage.com for Disney's California Adventure)Touchstone films, Miramax Films (Rumor has it soon to be disbanded, after numerous "Statue" nominations, due to internal Disney funding problems), a 4th Rate Broadcast outlet (See ABC), a closed (in the process) Chain of Mall Stores (See Disney Stores), Maybe Disney will be a Division of Pixar ......Just what will they be.... Because I've watched this all come together, and it isn't working presently....

Now look at Disney over the years, and take a honest hard look at the track they are in...I.E. -> one of the WORST ratings on Corporate Boards there is!!!

Will the next step be Disney "importing" cheap foreign labor to run the parks... Hey, its cheaper, we'd all still have fun there.... who would care if it wasn't US citizens prepping the food, cleaning the parks, etc. Oh, yeah...... that did not use to be Disney.... but it is Disney on their boats!

Now take a close look at the Disney cruise lines, the capital outlay, what is achieves, and its competitors....

Now, the thread is "Bids Requested for New Ship".... and all I really see is "Boy I had a great time on the ship", or "Thats Great", and thats what I'd expect from John Q. Public.

All I'm saying is that in a different perspective ON THIS THREAD... THIS IDEAD... THIS CONCEPT..... This is simply another Nail in Disney's big pair of Yellow Shoes. A Large Conglomerate that is simply happy to expand, without focusing on its core.

No My fellow magic members... this is a sad day to be sure...watching a company that 'use to be' focused on what they do, simply pour a whole bunch of money into another floating piece of steel, while they still don't can't see a mouse in the sea of accounting desks...... (For reference see the 1+ Billion investiment in ABC Family Channel).

Hey... Thanks for taking the time to actually read a dissenting view! If anything, I'm glad there is a forum for a dissention.

Happy Sailing.

 

[wdwfan65]

Way to go Disney,another cruise ship.I think this is great that Disney has one of the very best cruise lines in the world with 2 ships now.Yes everything Disney touches doesent always turn into gold like it did in the 80s and early 90s .If it where not for Mr Eisners vision Disney would be dead.Yes some of the decisions have been wrong ones but thank God most have been great.If you are upset that they have foreign labor on the ships look all around you everyday Americans dont do that kind of labor anymore,its very sad so they have to fill those positions somehow,to keep your prices down.

 

[disneyfan1313]

<i> It does appear that people who are opposed to this idea, simply are ignoring this thread, so I'll cap my discussion in this thread with this..... </i>

Or could it be that no one here is opposed to this idea..

<i>What will Disney be in the future? Will they be a cruise line, a World Class Resort Destination, a Six Flags destination (or worse (See www.horriblybiased site.com for Disney's California Adventure)Touchstone films, Miramax Films (Rumor has it soon to be disbanded, after numerous "Statue" nominations, due to internal Disney funding problems), a 4th Rate Broadcast outlet (See ABC), a closed (in the process) Chain of Mall Stores (See Disney Stores), Maybe Disney will be a Division of Pixar ......Just what will they be.... Because I've watched this all come together, and it isn't working presently.... </i>

Uh... Actually what makes Disney great is the coming of all of these things together.. A Cruise line is a great fit for the theme parks and ends up attracting tons of folks to the cruise industry who have never cruised before because of a cruise ship image from years ago. And please.. Bashing of DCA.. Have you even been there? It really is a very fun park and quite well themed.. It is growing more and more as time goes on and i'm sure after it has 50 years like DL it will be just as good. BTW.. the disney is falling apart mentallity is soooooo 2 years ago.. We are on an upswing now...

<i>Will the next step be Disney "importing" cheap foreign labor to run the parks... Hey, its cheaper, we'd all still have fun there.... who would care if it wasn't US citizens prepping the food, cleaning the parks, etc. Oh, yeah...... that did not use to be Disney.... but it is Disney on their boats! </i>

Ahhh... My one of my favorite types of trolls.. the unreasonable one. Your argument can't even be fought because it is not possible. If Disney flagged its ships in the USA the rates (which are already some of the highest for a non-premium line in the business) would go so high that no one would sail and the ship would shut down. Disney already has a thinner slice of revenue than most lines due to less alcohol sales due to it beeing mostly familys and no casinos.. Flagging it USA is not possible. And plus.. WHO CARES. We live in a GLOBAL ECONOMY.. Everyone uses things from all around the world that are made by folks who are making much less than minimum wage.. that is NOT going to change.. Consumers demand it... companies fill that demand.

<i>A Large Conglomerate that is simply happy to expand, without focusing on its core. </i>

Last I checked the theme park business (which the cruise line falls under and helps to support..(BTW..cruises were one of the most popular forms of vacation during the economy downturn) ) is part of the core of the company. Even then asking a company not to expand (within reason) in this day and age is corprate suicide.. do you not realize the demands that stockholders put on the companies.. they want profit hand over fist.. who cares where it comes from.

I for one am VERY happy that we are building another ship.. I've enjoyed 3 magical cruises on the other 2 and hope to enjoy many many more.. It's one of the most enjoying, relaxing forms of vacation and also a great value. When you get all the other lines to flag their ships in the USA and have reasonable rates.. then come talk to me.

 

[da1070]

There are a few people that are very negative about DCL. I wanted to know have you every been on it? Have you ever been on another cruise line and seen how far Disney takes it over the others. Ask my 11 year old daughter she can explain it 2 you. there is no reason to be negative unless you've seen the product and how it compairs. As far as money, Disney cruise cost more and are completly booked every cruise so it making money not losing any.

 

[jordanyosh]

To address the OP, I am very happy that they are building a 3rd ship or looking into a 3rd ship. I hope for a few things: 1) that there will be a few more hands on experiences like a rock climbing wall and 2) the ship's base will be on the West Coast.

To Vacation Man: I am glad you have a forum to vent your unhappiness with Disney's decision to look into a 3rd ship. It's always nice to see viewpoints so opposite from my own. It keeps my own viewpoints so much more balanced because I have to challenge them whenever someone opposes them.

 

[celticdog]

It's good that Disney is making a third ship. The first two have the carribean well coverd. Now Disney has the opportunity to tap into a west coast/Pacific Ocean market. It would work so well: a 3 day stay at Dsineyland and a 4 day cruise to Hawaii. Or maybe a "Love Baot" like cruise to Porta Viarda (spelling?, sorry).

I've already done a 3 day land/4 day sea Disney cruise. I would be willing to take cross county trip for a west coast 3 day land/4 day sea adventure.

 

[Michael72688]

I think this is one of the best choices disney has recently made!

 

[SamatBCV]

Vacation Man,

I do understand your point, but I have a couple of questions...

1) If you aren't satisfied with the way Disney runs the company, why don't you sell the stock? You can be a Disney fan and still sell the stock.

2) If cruises aren't entertainment, then what are they? WDW is a vacation getaway... so are the cruises. I don't see how that is not part of the core business. I know Disney has done some things that haven't been good for the core business (ABC), but it is also wise to diversify your business around the core which the cruise line does. People who go on cruises were previously an untapped market by Disney. Furthermore, the demand is there. Bookings on Disney cruises have gone up over the years. We live in a market economy and disney is just trying to match supply to the demand.

3) You obviously want Disney to be a good competitor, so doesn't it make sense for them to NOT be US flagged ships? While I wouldn't say that US flagged cruise ships are safer (cause I can't think of even one major cruise line that has any ships flagged in the US) I do agree that it is tragic that no lines register in the US. However, that is the fault of US fees for flaggin a ship in the US, not the company.

 

[celticdog]

Originally posted by celticdog
It's good that Disney is making a third ship. The first two have the carribean well coverd. Now Disney has the opportunity to tap into a west coast/Pacific Ocean market. It would work so well: a 3 day stay at Dsineyland and a 4 day cruise to Hawaii. Or maybe a "Love Baot" like cruise to Porta Viarda (spelling?, sorry).

I've already done a 3 day land/4 day sea Disney cruise. I would be willing to take cross county trip for a west coast 3 day land/4 day sea adventure.

God!! My spelling and typing suck. What was i thinking?:lol: :lol:

 

[Michael72688]

Well, Port Canaveral, where Magic and Wonder are homeported will try hard to get all three ships to dock here, just helping to push Port Canaveral over Miami as the top cruise port.

 

[WendyOkada]

All I can say is...

ALASKA ALASKA ALASKA ALASKA!!!

Please come to the west coast so we SoCal folks can cruise w/ Disney without having to fly to FL (not that it's so bad, mind you, because then it means we get to go to WDW).

But it WOULD be nice to just drive down to the port and sail away on Disney...

And I agree that cruising is "entertainment" and a "resort destination" just the same as WDW. I expect the same service and enjoyment from my time at the resort as I do on the cruise and I get it. And personally, having sailed DCL several times as well as other cruise lines, I think DCL has a great mix of entertainment for kids, teens and adults whether you're a single, couple, family or senior citizen. Many of the other cruise lines excel in one area or another (e.g., party ships for singles, high-end luxury for older folks, etc.) but DCL has a nice blend for all involved. Granted it doesn't have everything for everyone (what ship could?) but it's a great mix with sufficient options for all to enjoy themselves.

Looking forward to our 9/21 sailing in a few weeks... ahhhhhh.

 

[Mission: SPACE]

Well I for one am glad to see that Disney is looking for a third ship... I suspected something when I saw that DCL would be running a 10 night cruise around Christmas 2005... I'm personally glad to see that this ship is on the way, because DCL is definately one of the most popular cruise lines out there, and without a doubt the most family oriented cruise line... ANYWHERE... As for VacationMan's experiences... I've never heard anything like this, so maybe you jus had a bad trip...

I'd like to see a DCL ship leave from Port Manatee, on Tampa Bay, just a little south of Tampa... Of course, this is just because the ship would only be a 30 minute drive from my house, but DCL did look into Port Manatee as a 'safty port' in the case of a hurricane hitting on the East Coast. It would be very possible for DCL to take one of the older ships (Magic or Wonder) and offer Panama Canal cruises, going from Port Manatee to San Diego, or somewhere else in California (sorry... I don't know the major ports in Cali!!!)

As for being a bad investment, there's no way that this is not a good investment... I know that I've been on three DCL cruises, and planning on a forth over Thanksgiving this year, and I have never seen anything wrong in any aspect of DCL (Port Canaveral, either one of the ships, or Castaway Cay). DCL is definately a good investment, probably making just as money if not more than WDW in the past few years...


(Sorry for any spelling errors... I'm taking some pretty potent drugs, b/c I had my wisdom teeth pulled yesterday... :hurl: )

 

[djmatthews]

WOW, I did not realise that there was such opposition to this debate, its great that we can share our views and opinions.

My view - as we have mentioned Disney easily fills its ships on each trip, one could say that the demand was exceeding the supply right now if people are not able to get a holiday on the ships, so the answer is to build another ship - a great business idea. Disney are certainly not stupid - if it was a bad investment, or lost money - they wouldn't do it - simple as that.

Disney is a business, its not there for the hell of it, America and the whole world are built of capitalist companies - Disney being one of them. Registering the ships in a different country is just part of it, it saves money, thus creating larger profit margin, thus keeping shareholders happy.

As for standards, with safety, service and cleanliness - Disney wrote the book. They look at the standard, and then take it to a new level. So just because the ship isn't registered in the US, doesn't mean that the standards are poor.

I for one cannot wait until I can afford a Disney Cruise; however, I think once I have done it, I'll never want to go on any other companies cruise line.

 

[da1070]

Been on cruises and nothing compared to the last 2 on Disney ships. They take care of the people like no other and they take care of the chrildren like nobody can but Disney. It is worth every penny.