New Disney Ships: News, Rumors, Speculation.....and Names!

[WDW&DCLADDICT]

I've always thought that the reason they didn't do the southern Caribbean from the mainland was more about the length of the cruise because of the distances to be covered. I realize that DCL and other lines do longer cruises from time to time, I wonder if there is enough interest in a 10-night (or longer) Southern cruise to make that an ongoing thing. I see two "problems" with the longer cruises, vacation time and $$$.

Well if they are worried about vacation time they could always do 8-9 night southern and eastern Caribbean cruises like carnival.

 

[DynamicDisneyDuo]

It earns 2% and we still put in what ever the calculator from Disney said for the total I put in for.

2% for a savings account? That's pretty generous these days. We are doing the same thing but only getting about 1% with our bank.

 

[KashasMom]

One thing is certain. Currently Disney has the worst cruise itineraries. You don't look at a Disney cruise for the itinerary!

 

[mmmears]

I wouldn't say conservative. Maybe lack of imagination.

When I used the word conservative I was thinking about how they are running the business. Not growing too quickly, not jumping into new markets, etc. But yeah it does lead to a lack a creativity (ironic compared to the company as a whole) and options.

 

[OKW Lover]

One thing is certain. Currently Disney has the worst cruise itineraries. You don't look at a Disney cruise for the itinerary!

Worst cruise itineraries? I don't follow. Worse that what other lines? How so?

 

[KashasMom]

Worst cruise itineraries? I don't follow. Worse that what other lines? How so?

Worse than every other cruise line. Very few itineraries. Same places over and over. No South America. No Asia. No Australia. No Hawaii. Limited Southern Carib. Limited Europe. Etc.

 

[OKW Lover]

Worse than every other cruise line. Very few itineraries. Same places over and over. No South America. No Asia. No Australia. No Hawaii. Limited Southern Carib. Limited Europe. Etc.

Ahh, now I understand. I was confused because the itineraries they do sail are pretty much the same as several other cruise lines so I couldn't figure out what made them worse.

 

[DynamicDisneyDuo]

Worse than every other cruise line. Very few itineraries. Same places over and over. No South America. No Asia. No Australia. No Hawaii. Limited Southern Carib. Limited Europe. Etc.

This is probably a result mainly of their fleet size. Hopefully once the fleet has expanded, they will get a little more adventurous. For now, they are likely to stick with their tried and true itineraries.

 

[tinkerone]

Past practice has the new ships replacing the existing ships in PC. Main reason is those ships are cash cows and will pay themselves off early. I'd expect to see 3 at PC, 1 west coast 1 Europe and probably NY 1 in Miami with the Magic doing test runs anywhere DCL might want to go. Galveston might be a 50/50 shot.

This has only happened once for each ship (Magic and Wonder) so technically it is a past practice however I'm not sure once would be an indicator of what will happen in the future. You could be right however I would not be at all surprised if DCL had other thoughts in mind. Guess we will find out in a few years. It will be interesting.

 

[KashasMom]

This is probably a result mainly of their fleet size. Hopefully once the fleet has expanded, they will get a little more adventurous. For now, they are likely to stick with their tried and true itineraries.

Personally, I don't think they're going to expand to the extent of most other cruise lines. Only time will tell.

 

[DynamicDisneyDuo]

Personally, I don't think they're going to expand to the extent of most other cruise lines. Only time will tell.

Definitely not. But they are expanding it some so that makes room for a little trial & error on other itineraries.

 

[Intr3pid]

One of the reasons behind DCL's low-risk approach is the operating cost of running their ships - which is higher than average. They have to price the cruises higher, and if a particular market isn't ready for it, you may be looking at steep losses.

I don't expect DCL to add any major capacity to the Caribbeans with the new ships - maybe temporarily before Asia is tested. The likes of MSC are entering the Caribbeans in a big way, and it's basically now a race to the bottom. DCL itself now ends up showering discounts for their Caribbean itineraries outside of the three school holiday months.

The first two new ships (or their replacements from the current fleet) should add to Alaska and Europe. One Alaskan ship returns to the Caribbeans for the winter, while the other stays on the west coast. Either both European ships return to the east coast/Caribbeans in the winter, or one stays back in the Med/Canaries.

 

[Intr3pid]

The last ship should be the most interesting. For Asia, they need to push through 4 or 5 more years of movies (Marvel, Star Wars, Frozen, etc.) for branding, and build up their ABD itineraries for supply chain. The three parks will do the rest. It's still a long game, and what they might do is have this ship start in Alaska/on the west coast in the summer, do a repositioning through Hawaii, and spend the winter in Asia.

 

[tinkerone]

I don't expect DCL to add any major capacity to the Caribbeans with the new ships - maybe temporarily before Asia is tested. The likes of MSC are entering the Caribbeans in a big way, and it's basically now a race to the bottom. DCL itself now ends up showering discounts for their Caribbean itineraries outside of the three school holiday months.

What? Where are you seeing discounts being showered by DCL? I certainly have not seen anything that resembles a showering of discounts and believe me, I look. What am I missing?

 

[RedSox68]

It's a fool's wish I know -- but it would be amazing if Disney could lock down permanent residency in Hawaii like NCL has -- with their hotel there, and the opportunity to tie that in with Hawaiian island cruises, and trips to Asia from Hawaii, that would be a big draw for my family for sure!

 

[RedSox68]

Ahh, now I understand. I was confused because the itineraries they do sail are pretty much the same as several other cruise lines so I couldn't figure out what made them worse.

Because over the past 18 years, Disney has made very few changes to their itineraries for ships leaving from the States. Granted, they have really gotten in the game with the European itineraries, but their Caribbean ones are woefully old. When they added San Juan and Jamaica, they were already late in the game. All the cruise lines I've researched and cruised change up their ports from year to year, sometimes season to season. There are so many ports Disney hasn't even touched upon that other cruise lines have done for years. They really need to jump in the playing field

 

[Intr3pid]

What? Where are you seeing discounts being showered by DCL? I certainly have not seen anything that resembles a showering of discounts and believe me, I look. What am I missing?

Take a look at the itineraries listed on this page:
https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/special-offers/

 

[truck1]

I've always thought that the reason they didn't do the southern Caribbean from the mainland was more about the length of the cruise because of the distances to be covered. I realize that DCL and other lines do longer cruises from time to time, I wonder if there is enough interest in a 10-night (or longer) Southern cruise to make that an ongoing thing. I see two "problems" with the longer cruises, vacation time and $$$.

That was there excuse. Carnival, Princess and Royal all can do 7/8 day trips to the southern Caribbean on a regular basis from Miami and Ft Lauderdale. When the Wonder and the Magic were in Miami it would have been the perfect time to try them. DCL dropped the ball but time on that.

 

[BippityBoppity]

One thing is certain. Currently Disney has the worst cruise itineraries. You don't look at a Disney cruise for the itinerary!

AMEN!!!!

 

[truck1]

This has only happened once for each ship (Magic and Wonder) so technically it is a past practice however I'm not sure once would be an indicator of what will happen in the future. You could be right however I would not be at all surprised if DCL had other thoughts in mind. Guess we will find out in a few years. It will be interesting.

That by itself isn't but PC is getting very close to the current port operators. Oh you want yerminal 1 rebuilt? Well do that give us a Oasis class ship. You need a garage? Give us your 2 new ships. The port is currently expanding terminal 8 and now 10 for Disney. Guess what's going to be available I 2021. You got it LnG. I'll bet there is a behind the scenes agreement for at least 1 of not more new ships. Especially withthe contract coming up in 2022 I think. The other thing and this came out when the Fantasy came home is that the PC ships tend to have a higher return and make more money and have the advantage of being played off early. I want to say instead of 5 years it took DCL 2 or 3 out of PC to completely pay offthe ships. So when you look at all of the indicators, I'd be willing to bet at least 1 of not 2 of the newships will call PC home.