quote:

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Disney Cruise Lines has no plans for 3rd ship
May 30, 2005

DESPITE burgeoning demand and a rising dollar, Disney Cruise Lines president Tom McAlpin said on Friday that the Walt Disney Co., has no immediate plans to build a third ship.

Shipping News

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There maybe no plans *right now*, but tomorrow is another day!

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Originally posted by mec1:
I hope that is a myth - even compared to Carnival's ghastliness, who wants a third ersatz liner with horrible food, lousy children's programmes and saccharine entertainment.

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You think the Disney ships are that bad? Frankly I think the interiors look stunning, not to mention the excellent cabin designs. Lot's of wood, steamer trunks, etc. These are VERY nice ships with an extremely high quality of finish work. So much so that shipyard Fincantieri admitted never building a more complicated cruise ship, or having such a demanding client as Disney.

I can't speak for the food, but after a rough start I hear food and service are very good these days. As for entertainment, it's hard to top a Disney production. They know more about entertainment than any cruise line I know of.

I'm not sure where you come off saying "lousy children's programs". I can assure you it's quite the opposite. Even if you hate kids one can't deny Disney has the best children's programs afloat. From what I read they also do a damn good job of keeping the children separated from the adults, much more so than a typical line like Princess or Royal Caribbean.

I think the Disney ships are winners, and I would sail on them were it not for the fact I don't want to sail with hundreds of kids. This is no different then my feelings of any other line which is why I generally don't cruise during the Summer months. Someday I will try Disney during the off season.

I might also add Disney receives the highest per diems in the 7-day and 3-4 day Caribbean market. Prices are EXPENSIVE and there is very little discounting. Even so, the ships go out full every sailing. If there was ever a product that deserved more ships (based on performance), it's Disney Cruise Line. I have no doubt they could easily fill 3-4 more ships in their fleet and give Carnival and RCI a run for their money. Unfortunately, parent company Disney is very cautious when it comes to capital expenditures these days.

Being a 17 years old teen, I wouldn't mind going on Disney if I had the chance! The ships are marvelous inside and out!

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Originally posted by Keitaro:

I am afraid that if Disney expands too quickly and too much, the demand will be lower and prices will drop. I hope this won't happen.

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Wayne,
I don't think you need to worry about that, considering how cautious DCL has been about expanding thus far.

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Originally posted by mec1:
ernie

have you sailed with Disney?

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No, but that doesn't change the way I feel about how the ships look, how successful they are, how the cabins are laid out, and how good the children's program and entertainment is. I don't need to sail the ship to come to those conclusions. I have also been to WDW and DL in CA many, many times. I know exactly how Disney operates, how good they are with kids, and what type of entertainment they offer.

As I said before, the only thing I can't comment on is how the food and service is. That is subjective anyway.

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Originally posted by mec1:
ernie

have you sailed with Disney?

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Originally posted by eroller:
I might also add Disney receives the highest per diems in the 7-day and 3-4 day Caribbean market. Prices are EXPENSIVE and there is very little discounting. Even so, the ships go out full every sailing.

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I was quite surprised recently to discover how young you are as I had always assumed from your responses that you were an old fart. Please private message me to continue this particular thread.

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Originally posted by mec1:
eroller

I was quite surprised recently to discover how young you are as I had always assumed from your responses that you were an old fart. Please private message me to continue this particular thread.

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Originally posted by mec1:
eroller

Anyway, yes I have sailed with Disney and yes I have sailed with them with children. Yes the cabins are quite nice. No the entertainment is not very good - the shows are lacklustre and the special events like Wendy Darling's tea (extra $20 charge)are crap. The food - when you can see them loading prepacked shrimp dinners and tv portioned filet mignon - is simply awful. The kids programmes compared to P&O, Cunard or NCL are complete tripe - and you can ask the kids I have sailed with to vouch for this. The ships interiors are theoretically stylish but actually quite sterile and the facilities for adults are so limited as to be ridiculous. The only reason they get away with their ludicrous price advantage is the Disney name and it is an atrocious abuse of the brand to charge so much and give back so little.

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Maybe the kids program is more successful with American kids? I don't know, but you are honestly the first person I have ever heard say Disney's kids program is crap.

I can understand issues with food and even service ... I've heard complaints about these before although I know it's greatly improved. I am surprised to hear your dissatisfaction with the entertainment, the ships themselves, and the kids program. These aspects are universally applauded by almost every review I have ever read. Again, I'm wondering if there is a cultural difference and possibly Disney is more of an American product?

I do know from what I have seen of the ships, they look stunning and extremely well fitted out. The cabins are some of the most attractive I have ever seen.

You are correct in that people are willing to pay for the the Disney name. This didn't happen overnight. The Disney name is associated with quality, although it doesn't come at a cheap price. People are willing to pay more, but they also expect more. From most reviews I have read, and judging by how constantly full the Disney ships are, I would say the satisfaction level is very high.

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Originally posted by eroller:

You are correct in that people are willing to pay for the the Disney name. This didn't happen overnight. The Disney name is associated with quality, although it doesn't come at a cheap price. People are willing to pay more, but they also expect more. From most reviews I have read, and judging by how constantly full the Disney ships are, I would say the satisfaction level is very high.

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mec1: im with you on that one and im a kid.

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Originally posted by cruisintoday14:

mec1: im with you on that one and im a kid.

Jonathan

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Have you ever sailed Disney? Something tells me you are not a typical 14 year old kid considering your interest in ships. I know I wasn't typical at 14!

They've also sailed on Cunard and HAL and enjoyed the activities on those lines as well. Quite frankly, it's tough to find a young kid who doesn't come back raving about a cruise on any cruise line. What's not to like?

From an adult perspective, food and service wasn't the best on Disney but our kids loved it and every other kid I have talked to about it also had a great time. Cabins were the best for the price.

I am sure there are kids who have come back from a Disney cruise unhappy but they are the exception. The program is very good and they wouldn't be able to charge the premium prices if it wasn't.

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Originally posted by Keitaro:

Ernie or anyone else, did Premier Cruises/Disney charged alot for their "Big Red Boat" and Disney environment on the BRBs? I am just curious whether they demanded a premium on the "hand me down"/second hand tonnages.

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Wayne,
From what I recall the prices on the "Big Red Boat" were nothing compared to what Disney charges. I think there is a big different being "affiliated" with Disney, and actually being Disney.

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Originally posted by Cruisincorey13:
When I was 10 I sailed on Disney. It was horrible. We paged my parents to come get us from the kids program when she was in Nassau. Missed Castaway Cay because of bad weather. I loved the kids programs until I sailed on Disney.

-COREY H.

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What exactly was so bad about it? This is honestly the first I've heard of any kid not liking Disney. Maybe things have changed, but when I was a kid I LOVED Disney. I was so excited to go to Disney World and Disneyland and I would have jumped at the chance to sail on a Disney ship. Actually, I still do love Disney but I'm not big on kids anymore. If Disney scheduled an adults only cruise, I would be all over it!

It seems like you and cruisintoday14 are the exception to the rule. I go over to Cruise Critic and read nothing but accolades about DCL and the kids program.

I just can't fatham any kid thinking Disney was "horrible". It's kind of sad.

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Disney Cruise Lines has no plans for 3rd ship
May 30, 2005

(LOS ANGELES) Despite burgeoning demand and a rising dollar, Disney Cruise Lines president Tom McAlpin said on Friday that the Walt Disney Co has no immediate plans to build a third ship.

The company's flagship, Disney Magic, has left its Florida home port for the summer to sail to California, where it will spend the season carrying tourists on Disney's first-ever West Coast cruises.

Disney Magic's inaugural West Coast voyage began on Saturday with a lavish send-off at the Port of Los Angeles.

The 12 cruises from the Port of Los Angeles to Mexico's Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas were arranged to mark Disneyland's 50th anniversary, and have proved popular.

'We haven't had to do a lot of marketing. We relied on past guests and the response has been fantastic,' Mr McAlpin said. 'We are listening to our guests. They want to go to California - we know there is demand out there.'

Although the US dollar's position against the euro has improved this year, McAlpin said exchange rates were still not favourable enough to justify the company ordering a new ship from European builders.

'We will move the ship around before we expand,' he said.

He also said Disney did not plan to add California cruises to its 2006 itineraries, but added: 'We haven't yet announced our itinerary for 2007.'

He said the cruise sales for Disney's two-ship fleet had proved resilient through the American tourism downturn spurred by the 9/11 terrorist attacks of 2001, and had returned to pre-attack levels.

Reuters

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Forgot who above this post said about Disney being very demanding on the Italian shipbuilders. Well, this is very true, They were.

They specifically wanted to design a ship that looked more classic ocean liner than apartment block. Actually, the half of the ship was built at one shipyard, and the other half was built at another shipyard, as Fincantieri has a number of shipyards actually. The designer and a few other notables made mention it was the funniest thing watching half a ship sailing through the ocean to meet the other half only to be joined with absolute laser precision. They had live video of this. It was quite funny to watch actually. But jaw--dropping.

They also broke (well, bent) a few rules. Look at some detailed pix of the ship. Her exterior colors are exclusively Mickey Mouses colors. Now, this includes the lifeboats. I want to say they got permission from ?SOLAS? to change the bright orange colors to whatever color they are now.

I called disney to ask if they had any plans to repo on of the twins to New York, the response was no, not right now, "but we didn't think we'd move one to CA either, so we never know "

Anyhow, these ships in my eyes are sexy. I love the classic lines. I'd love to sail one of them one day, From what I've seen they are higher than their competition as you are paying for a Disney Experience actually.

[ 05-31-2005: Message edited by: Hi Seas ]