Universal Cruise Line

[edpride]

The Disney Cruise Line is such a great companion to the Disney Parks hands down, and nothing like a Disney Cruise to go along with a Walt Disney World vacation. If Disney can have a cruise line to companion the Disney Parks, then I want a Universal Cruise Line to companion the Universal Theme Parks. Now would be a great time for Universal to launch a cruise line, especially with Epic Universe under construction that is set to open in 2025. I would do anything to see a Universal Cruise Line, imagine a Harry Potter fan day at sea, a Dreamworks fan day at sea, a Despicable Me/Minions day at sea and this is the biggest reason why I want a Universal Cruise Line, I want a Nintendo fan day at sea which would be so awesome, with Super Nintendo World that just opened at Universal Studios Hollywood and The Super Mario Bros. movie that will be in theaters about six weeks from now, a Universal Cruise Line would give Nintendo franchises alot more than movies, and attractions. Also throw in franchises like E.T., Back To The Future, Jurassic Park and such, and the Universal Cruise Line would really give the Disney Cruise Line a run for their money. What would you guys think? I hope this happens.

 

[donsullivan]

One thing to keep in mind on this one is that Universal does not own or operate any resorts- they are all operated by Lowe’s. Unlike Disney, they have no direct expertise operate hotels.

 

[edpride]

One thing to keep in mind on this one is that Universal does not own or operate any resorts- they are all operated by Lowe’s. Unlike Disney, they have no direct expertise operate hotels.

Actually Universal does own the hotels at their theme parks, Loews is under contract to run the hotels for Universal. That doesn't mean that Universal can't run a successful cruise line. I know that Universal partnered with Royal Caribbean for a Land and Sea package which bundles a Universal Orlando vacation with a Royal Caribbean cruise, maybe it's a sign that Universal is testing out the waters about launching a Universal Cruise Line.

 

[CJR]

With the way ships are getting more efficient and cruise rates are rising, I could see it. Very few companies would be able to enter the market, but Comcast has the ability, I think.

If they didn't want a new build, they could also buy an existing line if they wanted to, but it depends how far they'd want to go with ship transformations, in that case. There's a few lines that are really struggling, some owned by the Carnival Corporation specifically. Some of the ships aren't that old either. I've also heard Virgin has had a hard time, launching during the pandemic.

 

[vsmoscruceros]

If Universal was going to do this, I would want to see them with a private island/destination ready to go when their first ship enters service. Having rights to use major IPs like Harry Potter at sea is a must.

Even if Universal announces this Monday, they might be looking at 2030 before actually launching given the timeline for ship construction. It might be quicker to try a hostile takeover of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings. They can work IP-based entertainment in fairly quickly, and do large-scale renovations as ships come up for drydock every 2.5 to 5 years. This might mean operating Norwegian as a separate brand for a while, but after about six years Universal Cruise Line would likely be the fourth-largest cruise line in the world by number of ships behind only Royal Caribbean, Carnival, and MSC.