Cruise Line Expansion

[TP2000]

Sort of answering my own question, but over on one of the Disneyland websites some "insiders" are stating they have heard the following about the new ships...

One new ship will be dedicated to the West Coast, based out of SoCal. The West Coast will be getting one of the new ships because the Alaska and Canada itineraries will require different weatherproofing plus domed pools and deck facilities that the two current ships don't have. The new ships are going to be built specifically to accomodate colder climes during summer cruises, such as Alaska and Northern Europe.

The other new ship will be based out of Florida, but also be used for the European itineraries much of the year.

The two original, older ships will remain on their current Caribbean routes.

 

[mpaul32001]

The Associated Press

Disney to add 2 ships to cruise line

LOS ANGELES

As expected, The Walt Disney Co. is expanding its fleet of cruise ships, more than doubling the capacity of what has proven to be a highly popular -- and profitable -- business.

Disney said Thursday it has signed a letter of intent with Meyer Werft shipyard of Papenburg, Germany, to negotiate a contract to build two 122,000-ton cruise liners.

The ships will each be two decks taller than the two existing Disney cruise ships, Disney Magic and Disney Wonder. Each ship will have 1,250 staterooms and are expected to be ready by 2011 and 2012.

The company has not yet determined where the ships will be docked or what routes they will travel. Its current ships are based in Florida and offer three, four and seven-night Caribbean cruises.

The offerings have expanded in recent years to include trips to the Mediterranean and to Mexico from a temporary home in California. The West Coast cruises, some of which include passage through the Panama Canal, typically sell out in a matter of days.

"With a larger fleet, we'll have greater flexibility to offer a variety of itineraries," Jay Rasulo, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, said in a statement.

Disney Cruise Lines have been wildly popular since they began in 1998. Almost immediately, the company began talking about expanding, but foreign exchange rates had made the cost of building new ships prohibitive.

Disney chief executive Robert Iger said the cruise line is one of the most profitable parts of the media conglomerate's businesses.

 

[Champion]

Disney chief executive Robert Iger said the cruise line is one of the most profitable parts of the media conglomerate's businesses.

Interesting quote ... I wonder how much of that is based on the business that splits a vacation between a Disney cruise and WDW.

 

[hokielutz]

The thing is the Disney cruise business started out with only 3 and 4 day excursions, which could be shoehorned in with a stay at one of the disney properties during the second half of the week. I think the company wasn't confident it knew their cruise venture would, excue the pun.. "sink or swim."

But as we see they have a growing demand for more from the cruise line. demands for more diverse itineraries, demands for longer cruises, more rooms, more operation dates... etc...

This just seems to be a natural next step.

 

[ToTBellHop]

Interesting quote ... I wonder how much of that is based on the business that splits a vacation between a Disney cruise and WDW.

The DCL was designed to be like that in the beginning--these combined Land&Sea packages, but they are now learning that people view the ships as a fantastic stand-alone vacation...for example, these Mediterranean cruises this summer sound incredible--all those gorgeous cities on one of the best ships that sails? No wonder they can charge a fortune for these cruises and book solid.

 

[Champion]

The DCL was designed to be like that in the beginning--these combined Land&Sea packages, but they are now learning that people view the ships as a fantastic stand-alone vacation...for example, these Mediterranean cruises this summer sound incredible--all those gorgeous cities on one of the best ships that sails? No wonder they can charge a fortune for these cruises and book solid.

I understand that, but those types of cruises are available (and are cheaper) elsewhere.

I get the Disney magic, and yes its monetary value should also be accounted for, but I don't know how many people will take Disney cruises without at least part of the vacation spent at WDW/DLR.

You will get the frequent visitors to do it, but you won't get people that have never been to a park to go on a DCL ship right out of the gate.
Then again, thats probably not the goal anyway.

 

[Red Line]

Something else along the lines of DCL expanding...has anyone seen the new busses? I have only seen one on the road so far, but I've heard they should have a whole new fleet in 6-8 months.

 

[hokielutz]

I understand that, but those types of cruises are available (and are cheaper) elsewhere.
.

A Couple of thoughts:

Disney Cruise lines are lacking one thing that most of the other ships have... a casino. The Casino revenues offset a huge part of the operational costs for some of these monster liner companies like Royal Carribbean, Carnival, etc...
Also you supposedly get better accomodations state rooms on Disney than you do on other ships.

I mean its almost cheaper for a family of 4 to stay at a moderate/deluxe resort with park hoppers, but its a different type of vacation

Besides... wouldn't parents who want to go on a cruise as a family, pay a little bit more for a family oriented experience?


I hope I didn't just sound like a cheesy salesman there. :lookaroun

 

[mpaul32001]

I hope I didn't just sound like a cheesy salesman there. :lookaroun

Oh but you DID :ROFLOL:

You should work for Disney!