Order for new cruise ship -- not Disney

[Werner Weiss]

Carnival Corporation has ordered a new 116,000-ton cruise ship to join the fleet of its recently acquired Princess Cruises in May 2006. For the full press release, see Sister Ship to Caribbean Princess Ordered for 2006 Delivery.

Can anyone think of another cruise line that ought to consider moving forward with plans for another ship?

 

[nacnac22]

darn we are wishing for new disney ship on west coast, then we could get some california specials.

 

[disneyholic family]

since i won't have anything to do with any cruise line owned by the Arison family, i'm entirely limited in my selection...
no matter...who could possibly improve on DCL anyway.....if only they would come to my side of the atlantic...

 

[TnRobin]

Still waiting for my Disney Hawaii Cruise Lilo and Stitch could be your Cruise Directors.

 

[budwmn]

I spoke with a crew member on my Wonder cruise last week. She said that they've had plans to build a third ship for some time, but that those plans were put on hold after 9/11. Her boss thought that if things settle down in the Middle East and travel picks up again, that they'll go ahead and build it (it takes 2 years to build).

She did mention that there were several dates on her calendar that had destinations still to be announced. She said that Disney's planning on testing some new destinations.

 

[randytenn]

I recently spoke with a friend who owns a Cruise Only travel agency. He said that of all the cruise lines, Disney is the only one who has not discounted their cruises in the past few months. Why??? Supply vs. Demand. With only two ships, they are assured of having a limited availablility of cabins for the people who want to cruise, and therefore, they can charge more. With only one ship doing 7 day cruises, supply vs. demand is even more important.

I believe that Disney will continue this way for a while, maximizing profits, until Disney (corporate) gets into a bit better financial shape.

(I sure would love a 3rd ship, though!)

 

[scott62]

Granted that this is hearsay, but...

When we were on the 4/26 Magic, my wife and I decided to book our next cruise. I asked the person who was booking the cruise for us about additional ships (she said that she has been with Disney for something like 12 years and with DCL since they started sailing). According to her, the third ship has been designed and is "complete on paper." DCL is working to determine who should get the contract to build the ship, and they are estimating that it would take 2 years to complete. The committee is also to determine the itinerary. She acknowledged that there is a LOT of demand for a Pacific cruise. She mentioned a western seaboard route including Alaska.

She made it sound like the Wonder and Magic are almost always close to fully booked, so the demand appears to be out there.

In any case, it looks like we will have to wait 2+ years!

Scott

 

[budwmn]

A Pacific/Alaskan cruise would be wonderful!

The source I spoke with also mentioned that the Mediterranean was being considered. What a great way to see Europe with a family!

 

[jgalecpa]

While it's only my two cents, I would worry that a DCL ship in the Med. would be too tempting a target for the bad-guys of the world.

I think a DCL west coast would be great. Southern itenrary and northern, too.

 

[disneyholic family]

i don't know....personally i'm not willing to get on any cruise ship until SARS is either eradicated or brought under control....
everyone here was so upset about the norwalk virus or whatever it was called...
i suppose that's rather amusing in the light of the SARS outbreak....the moment even one cruise ship is hit, all the other ships can kiss their fully booked sailings goodbye...

 

[Werner Weiss]

Originally posted by scott62
According to her, the third ship has been designed and is "complete on paper." DCL is working to determine who should get the contract to build the ship, and they are estimating that it would take 2 years to complete.

I absolutely do not doubt that the plans have been drawn up, and that all that's needed now is to contract with a shipyard. But the delay in going ahead with such a contract isn't that DCL is still "working to determine who should get the contract." I think Disney executive management is reluctant to commit $400 million or so per ship at this time, and the plans are on hold.

I think that if Disney finally decides to go ahead with one or two new ships, they'll be designed for 7-night cruises, with seven rotation restaurants and a ship's library where passengers can check out books for days at sea. Either the Magic or the Wonder will move to the West Coast. But that's just a guess.

Unfortunately, it's also possible that the plans that are "complete on paper" will never leave the paper.

Originally posted by disneyholic family
i don't know....personally i'm not willing to get on any cruise ship until SARS is either eradicated or brought under control....

I agree that SARS is scary, but SARS is not a good reason to delay awarding a contract for a DCL fleet expansion to a shipyard. By the time another Disney ship is put into service, it's likely to be 2006. Whatever happens with SARS in the next year or two (and let's hope that means successful control and treatment), it's likely to be over by 2006.