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."

 

[Sherm00]

I would love to see a disney cruise from new york to florida. take right off from manhattan for a 3 day cruise to florida then 3 days at the parks with choce of hotel then either opt for a return voyage to new york. sorry to throw in a tangent but i am dreaming again.

 

[kal1484]

Originally posted by Sherm00
I would love to see a disney cruise from new york to florida. take right off from manhattan for a 3 day cruise to florida then 3 days at the parks with choce of hotel then either opt for a return voyage to new york. sorry to throw in a tangent but i am dreaming again.

That'd be cool, but how about Chicago instead. LOL

 

[Mr. Tom Morrow]

Here is part of my cruise report from our 7 day cruise on the Magic in early April, this year.....

After brunch at 1 p.m. we took in the “Disney’s Navigator Series: The Making of the Disney Magic” at the Rockin’ Bar D. Following a short video which showed the design and construction of the ship we were able to ask some of the crew questions about the ship. This is when we first learned that Disney has approved the building of a third ship. Currently tenders are out with the various ship building companies. The new ship will be slightly bigger, same number of staterooms but with larger public areas and an extra engine. The name of the ship and the ports of call have not yet been determined but possible locations are Panama, South America, the Mediterranean, the Far East and Alaska. We were also cautioned that the actual construction would probably begin only after the economy begins to improve, but the project has been approved. This information was repeated at least three more times during the cruise by different crew and cast members at various presentations.

 

[Michael72688]

yes! its about time

 

[VacationMan]

Boy.... Isn't there soooo much Disney could fix with that money BEFORE building another ship? I mean... I'm sure the accountants love it.... It serves "very few" people, and makes tons of money, and it remains to be seen if the proffits will actually impact my shares of disney, but it seems that the Disney corporation keeps loosing focus of its core business.....

I have one better, how about Disney MUST register the ships with the UNITED STATES rather than other "third world type" countries, so that they have to ensure their existing ships are the safest on the seas??????

 

[ThreeCircles]

Originally posted by VacationMan
Boy.... Isn't there soooo much Disney could fix with that money BEFORE building another ship? I mean... I'm sure the accountants love it.... It serves "very few" people, and makes tons of money, and it remains to be seen if the proffits will actually impact my shares of disney, but it seems that the Disney corporation keeps loosing focus of its core business.....

I have one better, how about Disney MUST register the ships with the UNITED STATES rather than other "third world type" countries, so that they have to ensure their existing ships are the safest on the seas??????

I have a news flash for you, NO cruise lines register their ships in the US.

And, as someone who's been on the Magic four times, the ships are exceedingly safe, clean, and beautiful.

 

[s25843]

Originally posted by VacationMan

I have one better, how about Disney MUST register the ships with the UNITED STATES rather than other "third world type" countries, so that they have to ensure their existing ships are the safest on the seas??????

Where a cruise line registers their Ships does not compromise on their saftey. Cruise lines do that for cheaper taxes, lower wages for workers etc... The US Coast Guard as well as a few other Orgs continually check the saftey of ships and such...

 

[da1070]

DISNEY SHIPS

disney spending money on a cruise ship is great. they do enough business that they help the parks not take money away. also not eveybody always wants the parks and they are a nice change and still disney

 

[VacationMan]

Originally posted by s25843
Where a cruise line registers their Ships does not compromise on their saftey. Cruise lines do that for cheaper taxes, lower wages for workers etc... The US Coast Guard as well as a few other Orgs continually check the saftey of ships and such...

I Guess you Haven't seen the specials on TLC and A&E ... They are not held to US Standards.... Coast guard only polices things like "Fire Extinguishers", etc.... common sense items.

I bet you also did not have a relative who's elevators fell 3 stories on one of the Disney Cruise lines either....as I did.

Disney is not required to have an M.D. (Doctor) on board, is not required to have certain medications, etc. etc.

There is a HUGE difference between a US Flagged vessle and those flagged in Third world contries.....

Needless to say, Disney is one of the many cruise lines my family will NOT sail on.

 

[VacationMan]

Re: DISNEY SHIPS

Originally posted by da1070
disney spending money on a cruise ship is great. they do enough business that they help the parks not take money away. also not eveybody always wants the parks and they are a nice change and still disney

I have a relative in upper management who would highly disagree with you....

Anyone care to comment on Downtown Disneys' shop personel going throught a 40 down to a 35 hour workweek, while the part timers were increased in their hours....

 

[s25843]

Originally posted by VacationMan

I Guess you Haven't seen the specials on TLC and A&E ... They are not held to US Standards.... Coast guard only polices things like "Fire Extinguishers", etc.... common sense items.

You are Right I have not...

I bet you also did not have a relative who's elevators fell 3 stories on one of the Disney Cruise lines either....as I did..

You are right again, I have not... However an Elevator can suddenly fail anywhere, no matter if its on a Cruise Ship or the Empire State Buliding

Needless to say, Disney is one of the many cruise lines my family will NOT sail on.

Ok, I guess you are not planning on Sailing on any cruises, I dont know one Company that has their ships registered in the US

 

[Michael72688]

Re: Re: DISNEY SHIPS

Originally posted by VacationMan
I have a relative in upper management who would highly disagree with you....

Anyone care to comment on Downtown Disneys' shop personel going throught a 40 down to a 35 hour workweek, while the part timers were increased in their hours....

Now tell me something, Disney cruise Line is one of the most popular cruise lines out there, I've been on it three times, all times have safe, fun, clean, and it was probably one of the best cruises I have been on. DCL takes pride in their saftey efforts, in my opinion the safety on their ships is better then on other cruise lines, even the terminal in my opinion is safer. Disney has too much to loose by sailing unsafe ships. The ships are booked on a weekly basis, as it is the same for many other family brand cruise lines (carnival, Royal Caribbean) Believe me I know a lot about cruising, and cruise ships and Disney's ships are among the best at sea, so my question is what could Disney spend money on that would be better than a ship, maybe do something to theme parks, which arent doing well, at least with this you'll know guests will book. Finally I'm very sorry that your family is going to miss out on one of the best vacation experiences out there right now!

oh, btw, Each time I've been on DCL the coast guard made sure the ship was safe to sail, infact the ship was held in Port Canaveral 30 mins late because the coast guard had to complete there inspections, so in many ways they are held to U.S. regulations

 

[CaptChris]

In regards to cruise ship safety, the US Coast Guard has certain criteria that require cruise ships to maintain a series of minimum safety requirements. These are known as SOLAS or Safety of Life at Sea.

Some cruise ships that have been sailing caribbean itineraries from US ports have recently been flagged for violations of these. One of the most recent is Norweigan Cruise Lines SS Norway. In 1996, this ship required a major overall to meet a minimum safety requirement. As a ship ages, the requirements increase. Just like any other mechanism with a human element, things will break. It is bound to happen! That is the life we live.

 

[Michael72688]

Originally posted by CaptChris
In regards to cruise ship safety, the US Coast Guard has certain criteria that require cruise ships to maintain a series of minimum safety requirements. These are known as SOLAS or Safety of Life at Sea.

Some cruise ships that have been sailing caribbean itineraries from US ports have recently been flagged for violations of these. One of the most recent is Norweigan Cruise Lines SS Norway. In 1996, this ship required a major overall to meet a minimum safety requirement. As a ship ages, the requirements increase. Just like any other mechanism with a human element, things will break. It is bound to happen! That is the life we live.

yea, and the Norway is currently out of service due to an explosion onboard

 

[VacationMan]

Yup... Everyone has had good points, but mine is that another ship for disney is simply a bad investment, out of its main focus as an entertainment company, and simply a loosing investment to us shareholders.

Its frankly pittiful, that Disney, a "Champion" of an American company, an American Icon, does not flag its ships as a USA Vessel.

From what I personally hear and see, from both outside the company, and inside, things at Disney are simply spiraling out of control.... Accountants are now in charge, and many good talented, creative people are being lost, and from what I can tell, employess are becoming less and less happy working for the "Happiest Place on Earth". Shipbuilding is saddly just another large capital expense, ______________ up major capital.

a Multi-hundred million dollar ship, that does not sail under an american flag, employ's "behind the scenes employees... I shudder to say CMs" for significantly less wages than what would be required for a US flagged vessel, and for the money spent on a single vessel that will touch only a fraction of vacationers, is a waste of money and effort, when so many things "Disney" are considerably lacking in attention and financial needs.

Two ships aren't good enough, huh.... Maybe Disney should close the parks and simply offer just cruises? Of course until the next ship borne illness breaks out.

No... from this Disney afficianado, and stock holder, I believe this is a tremdous waste of resources..... As I did when I heard of the initial ships being built. Its a shame Disney did not issue tracking stocks on the Cruiselines, breaking it off from the common shares, so that we could see what the cruiseships are "really" making or loosing on their own.

Don't get me wrong, I do hope people taking a Disney trip have a WONDERFULL time... and sincerely hope you NEVER have to find out what your real rights are aboard a Disney ship.

 

[Michael72688]

wow, get over the fact that they will never register a ship under the US flag, its way to expensive, and by the way two ships in the cruise industry is not enough

 

[da1070]

first people should be happy that cruise ship are not U.S. flagged this saves all passengers alot of money. As far as the crew on the ship all ships use people from around the world there is nothing strange about that. i'm willing to bet that the 2 cruise ships have put more money in shareholders pockets then WDW has over the last couple of years, maybe not dollar wise but percentage wise. If disney can do something to their standards that people like and bring in a good bottom line there is nothing wrong with that

 

[919Florida]

Hmmmm, not sure where you are getting your facts at. Before I left on my cruise I called the CDC to find out some info on cruising to see how safe it was. They told me that the cruise Ships are kept at higher standards then the restaurants that you at in your city. THey also told me that Disney Cruise Line rated 99pts out of 100 on there latest safety and health check. That sounds really bad to me. All I know is my cruise was perfect and I was never worried about safety once. I am all for a third boat to come out.

:sohappy:

 

[niteobsrvr]

You know, sometimes I am sorry I bother to post things here. Instead of a discussion about the CruiseLine doing very well, we end up with a discussion about why ships aren't flagged in the US and how Disney Can't manage their own business.

Given the size and complexity, Disney does very well over all while committing their fair share of mistakes and successes. Ships don't detract from the parks anymore than the parks detract from the ships. You invest your Money where you get the greatest return and apparently the return on DCL is good.