Disney Cruise Line

Disney Cruise Line is a cruise line operation that is a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. The company was incorporated in 1996 as Magical Cruise Company Limited, through the first vessel, Disney Magic[1] and is domiciled in London, England, with their operational headquarters located in Celebration, Florida.[2]

Magical Cruise Company Limited
Disney Cruise Line
Formerly
Disney Vacation Cruises
Devonson Cruise Company, Limited
Subsidiary of a public corporation
IndustryHospitality, tourism
Founded1996 (1996)
Headquarters
Celebration, Florida
,
U.S.
Number of locations
3
Areas served
Alaska and the Pacific Coast, the Bahamas, the Caribbean, Europe, Canada
Key people
Thomas Mazloum (President, Disney Signature Experiences)
ServicesCruise line
ParentDisney Signature Experiences
(Disney Parks, Experiences and Products)
WebsiteOfficial website

Disney Cruise Line currently operates four ships: Disney Magic, Disney Wonder, Disney Dream, and Disney Fantasy.[3] Three ships will join the fleet in 2021, 2022, and 2023. The first ship was revealed to be named ‘Disney Wish’.[4] Disney Cruise Line also owns Castaway Cay, a private island in the Bahamas designed as an exclusive port of call for Disney's ships.[5] A second private destination, Lighthouse Point, Bahamas, a 700-acre property on the southern end of Eleuthera, Bahamas is in the works to open as early as 2021. Disney Cruise Line operates the Disney Cruise Line Terminal (Terminal 8) in Port Canaveral, Florida.

The cruise line has experienced some growth over the past several years. In 2011, the company held a 1.95 percent market share[6] and by 2015, Disney Cruise Lines had 2.8 percent of the worldwide cruise market by passenger and 2.4 percent by revenue.[7] However, in 2018, Disney Cruise Lines declined to 2.3 percent of the worldwide cruise market by passenger and 2.2 percent by revenue.[8]

The line pioneered the rotational dining concept, in which guest would rotate with their wait staff through three different main dining rooms.[9]

Background

In 1985, Premier Cruise Line became the licensed partner cruise line with Disney. This allowed Disney characters on their ships and combined cruise, hotel and theme park packages. In 1993, Premier ended their relationship with Disney and signed a new one with Warner Brothers, utilizing the Looney Tunes characters. Premier continued to offer Disney land and sea packages while adding Universal Studios as an option. Thus Disney approached both Carnival and Royal Caribbean cruise lines to replace Premier as an exclusive sea partner.[10]

History

When Disney's negotiations with two major cruise lines, Carnival and Royal Caribbean, did not produce results, Disney had cruise ship designs drawn up by February 1994. Meanwhile, Walt Disney Travel Company started signing up other cruise lines to offer packages that included Disney hotels and resorts.[11] On May 3, 1994, Disney announced that they intended to start their own cruise line with operations starting in 1998. Arthur Rodney was selected to serve as the first president of the cruise line[12] tentatively called Disney Vacation Cruises.[13] Disney Cruise Line in 1995 commissioned Disney Magic and Disney Wonder from Fincantieri in Italy.[9] The cruise line was incorporated as Devonson Cruise Company, Limited on February 6, 1996, in the United Kingdom, but soon was renamed Magical Cruise Company Limited on October 1, 1996.[14] The cruise line cost as much as a theme park to start up.[15] In 1996, Magical Cruise Company purchased Gorda Cay as the line's private island. The company spent $25 million over 18 months on the island and renamed it Castaway Cay.[9]

The Disney Magic's first cruise was postponed twice which was originally scheduled for March 1998[16] while the Disney Wonder was scheduled for December 1998.[17] On July 30, 1998, with the first voyage of Magic, the Disney Cruise Line was operational.[9] Also, a 10-year contract was signed with Port Canaveral for its home terminal.[18] With the August 31, 1999, resignation of Rodney as cruise line president, senior operating officer Matt Ouimet was named as his replacement in July.[19] By 2002, the line added seven-day cruises and western Caribbean cruises.[20]

In June 2005, Disney Magic moved its port for the summer cruise season to the Port of Los Angeles. This was temporary for the company's 50th-anniversary celebration of Disneyland and as a test for California expansion. The transfer cruise sold out quicker than expected. Bookings from first time Disney cruisers were up for these cruises by at least 60%. While Disney has wanted additional ships, shipbuilding cost have increased by at least 33% since it built its first two ships.[18] The Disney Magic was transferred to the Mediterranean for an extended stay in 2007.[21] In 2007, Disney announced the building of two new cruise ships.[22] Disney Dream set sail in Jan 2011, followed closely by Disney Fantasy in 2012.[3][23][24] Meyer Werft shipyard, based in Papenburg, Germany, built the new ships.[9]

New Vacation Operation unit

In February 2009, Tom McAlpin left the Disney Cruise Line presidency and was replaced by Karl Holz as president of Disney Cruise Line and New Vacation Operations.[25] In early 2009, Disney and Canaveral Port Authority extended their agreement to 2022 with expansion to the terminal to handle the new class of ships. A re-posting of the Disney Magic to Europe in 2010 adding DCL's first North European cruises with Mediterranean cruises.[21]

With the arrival of Disney Dream in 2011, Disney Wonder was relocated to Los Angeles.[26] With the arrival of Disney Fantasy in 2012, Disney Magic was relocated to New York City in May 2012 for only the Summer season, before relocating to Galveston, Texas.[27]

In late 2012, Disney Wonder began sailing cruises out of Miami, Florida,[28] respectively. In 2013, the Disney Magic relocated to Barcelona, Spain[29] and the Disney Wonder relocated to Vancouver, British Columbia.[30] for the summer season. In Autumn 2013, the Magic and the Wonder returned to the United States but switched home ports, with the Magic leaving out of Miami and the Wonder leaving out of Galveston.[29] In January 2014, the Wonder took over for the Magic in Miami and the Magic joined the Dream and Fantasy in Port Canaveral, placing all four ships in the state of Florida for the first time. Since then, the Magic and the Wonder have once again switched places.[2]

At the February 2016 Cruise Critic Cruisers' Choice Awards, three of Disney's ships won 11 category awards.[31] The company ordered three ships of a new class of ship, Triton, in 2016 and 2017.[32] At the company annual meeting on March 3, 2016, Walt Disney Company Chairman Bob Iger announced the first two new ships of the new line which are planned to be built larger than the previous two ships. These ships are expected to join the line in 2021 and 2023.[31] On July 15, 2017, Bob Chapek, President of Walt Disney Parks & Resorts, announced at the D23 Expo that a seventh unnamed ship will join the fleet.[4]

In 2016, the cruise line was looking to buy Egg Island, Eleuthera, Bahamas as another destination for the additional cruise ships. However, opposition from nearby island residents and potential damage to the islands' reefs stops plans from going forward.[33]

In April 2017, it was announced that Karl Holz would retire as president of Disney Cruise Line on February 15, 2018 and Anthony Connelly would assumed the role of president on October 1, 2017.[34] The Canaveral Port Authority Board of Commissioners in January 2019 approved work for Disney's Terminal 8 and adjacent Terminal 10, which would handle more ships when the new class arrives.[35]

With the October 6, 2017 cruise of Disney Magic from New York to the Bahamas, the cruise line held its first Marvel Day at Sea.[36] In October 2018, the cruise line began showing Disney at Sea with D23, a 30 minute entertainment news show that covers the many Disney subsidiaries with input from D23, starting with the Disney Wonder ship.[37]

Disney Signature Experiences unit

Soon after a March 2018 conglomerate wide reorganization that formed Disney Parks, Experiences and Products segment division, Disney Cruise Line and New Vacation Operations was renamed Disney Signature Experiences along with a new president, Jeff Vahle.[38]

Disney Cruise Line purchased in early March 2019 another Bahamas destination, Lighthouse Point property on the island of Eleuthera from the Bahamas Government. The cruise line was looking for another Bahamas location since the announcement of the third ship expansion in 2016.[39]

In February 2020, Disney Wonder moved its home port to New Orleans.[40] From March 14 until further notice, Disney Cruise Line ships have suspended operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[41]

Fleet

Current
Disney Wonder in Port Canaveral
Disney Dream at Castaway Cay

All of Disney Cruise Line's ships are officially registered with the Bahamas.[42] Disney Magic began operation July 30, 1998.[16] Disney Wonder began operation on August 1999 and were both built at Fincantieri ship yard, Italy. These approximately 84000-ton (the weights of the two differ slightly) ships are 964 ft (294 m) long and 106 ft (32 m) wide. The ships each contain 875 staterooms[9] and are not identical in their design, with a lot of variations in interior design, restaurants, and entertainment venues. Both contain areas designed exclusively for various age groups, including children, teenagers, and adults. Current itineraries go to Alaska, the Bahamas, the Caribbean, and Europe, depending on the ship.

The ships are the first in the industry to be designed and built from the keel up as family cruise liners, with the goal of accommodating and equally satisfying adults and children. Unlike most ships of their type, they do not include casinos. Disney ships also feature ship's horns, affectionately known as the "Mickey horn", which play the opening seven-note theme of "When You Wish Upon a Star" from Disney's Pinocchio, in addition to the traditional horn. The Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy include other tunes on their horn not heard on the Disney Magic and the Disney Wonder, such as "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?",[43] "It's a Small World", and an elongated version of "When You Wish Upon a Star".[44][45]

The Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy entered service in January 2011 and March 2012, respectively. These ships were built at Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany. These new 129,690-ton ships are 339.5 m (1,114 ft) long and 36.8 m (121 ft) wide. They are two decks taller than the Disney Magic and Disney Wonder and have 1,250 staterooms each.[46] The Disney Dream was the first ship to have a water coaster, the AquaDuck.[47]

ShipClassPassenger capacityStateroomsEntered serviceHome port[40]ShipyardGross tonnageImage
Disney Magic Magic 2,700875July 30, 1998Miami Fincantieri 83,969 GT
Disney Wonder2,700875August 15, 1999New Orleans84,130 GT
Disney Dream Dream 4,0001,250January 26, 2011 Port Canaveral Terminal 8 Meyer Werft 129,690 GT
Disney Fantasy4,0001,250March 31, 2012129,690 GT

Future

In early 2019, the company placed an order for a new class of ship, named in public documents as the Triton class.[32] In 2016 the line announced it would acquire two ships, as yet unnamed, are described as larger than Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy but with an equivalent number of staterooms.[48] A third ship of the class was announced on July 15, 2017 at the D23 Expo.[4]

In March 2018, Disney Cruise Line released the 1st rendering of its new generation of cruise ships. The 140,000-ton cruise liners will be LNG-powered and will accommodate at least 2,500 guests.[49]

ShipClassStateroomsIn-service dateGross tonnageNotesShipyard
Disney Wish Triton[32] 1,250 January 2022[50] 144,000 GT[51] Announced March 3, 2016 Meyer Werft[48]
TBA 1,250 March 2022 Announced March 3, 2016
TBA 1,250 May 2023 Announced July 15, 2017

Disney Cruise Line Terminal
Disney Cruise Line Terminal
Disney Cruise Line Terminal as seen from the Disney Wonder.
Official nameCruise Terminal 8
LocalePort Canaveral
OwnerCanaveral Port Authority
OperatorDisney Cruise Line
A Disney Cruise Line bus which takes guest to and from the terminal from Orlando International Airport; as well as around Walt Disney World.

The Disney Cruise Line Terminal, or Port Canaveral's Cruise Terminal 8, is located in Port Canaveral in Cape Canaveral, Florida, United States.[52] It is used to transport passengers on and off of the Disney Cruise Line ships the Disney Magic, the Disney Wonder, the Disney Dream, and the Disney Fantasy.[53]

The port, located in Port Canaveral, at cruise terminal A, is a large building, owned by Port Canaveral, and operated by the Walt Disney Company. At 70,000 square feet (6,500 m2), this massive building includes the base for Disney Cruise Line check-in, security, and boarding.[54] The terminal was designed loosely on the old Ocean Terminal in Southampton.[9]

Disney Cruise Line has negotiated with the Port Canaveral port authority and early 2009 has extended their contract until 2022. As part of this contract, the port authority expanded and upgraded the dock in order to accommodate the new ships (both of which will be home-ported there), the terminal will be enlarged to accommodate more passengers and luggage, and a parking garage was built. The Disney Dream, the Disney Wonder, the Disney Magic and the Disney Fantasy have departed from Port Canaveral.[21]

In June 2018, Port Canaveral officials approved pursuing a study about how to best upgrade Disney's Terminal 8 and other nearby terminals. With the Disney fleet expected to expand from four to seven ships, Port Canaveral Chief Executive Officer John Murray stated that, without expansion, "we'll have more activity than Terminal 8 can handle."[55] The Canaveral Port Authority Board of Commissioners in January 2019 approved work for Disney's Terminal 8 and adjacent Terminal 10, which would handle more ships when the new class arrives. The upgrades would allow Disney to base three ships year round at the port.[35]

Lighthouse Point

Lighthouse Point is Disney Cruise Line's second private destination located on the southern end of Eleuthera, Bahamas and is in the works to open as early as 2021.

Disney Cruise Line purchased in early March 2019 another Bahamas destination, Lighthouse Point property on the island of Eleuthera from the Bahamas Government. The cruise line was looking for another Bahamas location since the announcement of the third ship expansion in 2016. Disney is expected to spend between $250 million and $400 million on developing the 700-acre property, incorporating Bahamian themes, and donate 190 acres including the southern most tip to the government for a national park. Disney also agreed to hire Bahamians for construction and employment and offer entrepreneurial training for its Bahamian employees. Also, Bahamians are to be given preference as vendors. The agreement also requires increases in calls on Bahamian ports, Nassau and Freeport, of 30 to 40 percent over 2018 calls. The location is expect to be taking visitors between 2021 and 2023.[39] Imagineer Joe Rohde was assigned to oversee the ports' development with his previous project led being the development of Disney’s Animal Kingdom and the Hawaiian DVC resort.[56]

References
  1. "Magical Cruise Company Limited: Private Company Information". Investing.businessweek.com. May 25, 2012. Archived from the original on September 18, 2010. Retrieved March 29, 2013.
  2. Orben, Bill. "Disney to base 3 ships at Port Canaveral for 2014". Orlando Business Journal. American City Business Journals. Archived from the original on December 7, 2012. Retrieved December 4, 2012.
  3. "Disney Fantasy". Cruise Critic. Archived from the original on April 30, 2009. Retrieved April 5, 2010.
  4. Bevil, Dewayne. "Coming to Disney World: Tron, Guardians of the Galaxy ride, 'Star Wars' hotel". OrlandoSentinel.com. Archived from the original on July 16, 2017. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
  5. "The Kingdom on the Sea". Time. August 10, 1998. Archived from the original on November 7, 2012.
  6. "2011 World Wide Cruise Market Share". Cruise Market Watch. Archived from the original on September 24, 2016. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  7. "2015 World Wide Market Share". Cruise Market Watch. Archived from the original on September 27, 2016.
  8. "2018 World Wide Market Share". Cruise Market Watch.
  9. Saunders, Aaron (October 1, 2013). Giants of the Seas: The Ships that Transformed Modern Cruising. Seaforth Publishing. pp. 76–78, 179. ISBN 1848321724. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  10. Fritscher, Lisa. "How Disney Cruises Started". USA Today. Gannett. Demand Media. Archived from the original on October 19, 2015. Retrieved October 8, 2015.
  11. Dezern, Craig (February 20, 1994). "Disney Contemplating Creation Of Cruise Line". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on June 2, 2016. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  12. "Company News; Disney to Start its Own Cruise Line by 1998". New York Times. May 4, 1994. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  13. "Disney Cruises Now Official". Cruise Industry News. May 18, 1994. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  14. "Magical Cruise Company Limited". companieshouse.gov.uk. Companies House (United Kingdom Government). Archived from the original on April 26, 2016. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
  15. Shenot, Christine (April 7, 1996). "Disney To Make Mark On Cruising". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on June 2, 2016. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  16. Alesandro, Jody. (October 4, 1998). "Fall and Winter Cruises; A Family-Size Mouseboat". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 24, 2014. Retrieved November 1, 2009.
  17. Iovine, Julie V. (January 16, 1997). "Now It's Heigh-Ho, Off to Sea We Go". New York Times. Nytimes.com. Archived from the original on January 16, 2014. Retrieved December 30, 2013.
  18. Jackson, Jerry W. (June 13, 2005). "Disney ship line on cruise control". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on April 25, 2016. Retrieved April 13, 2016.
  19. "New Disney Cruise Line President". Cruise Industry News. July 16, 1999. Archived from the original on September 24, 2016. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  20. Aronson, Tara (September 25, 2002). "Disney Magic grows up". Christian Science Monitor. Archived from the original on March 28, 2016. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  21. Schmidt, Chuck (April 4, 2009). "Disney Cruise Line: A good idea gets better". Staten Island Advance. Staten Island Media Group. Archived from the original on June 4, 2016. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  22. "Disney cruise line: Disney to spread cruise ships around the world". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved April 5, 2010. With a larger new ship arriving at Port Canaveral in 2011, Disney Cruise Line sent the Disney Wonder to the West Coast and the Disney Magic to Europe
  23. "Disney Dream cruise ship to launch in 2011". Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on November 17, 2009. Retrieved April 5, 2010.
  24. "Disney Dream cruise ship begins to take shape". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved April 5, 2010.
  25. Garcia, Jason (February 14, 2009). "Familiar Face Takes Disney Cruise Line Helm: Karl Holz". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on January 8, 2016. Retrieved January 25, 2016.
  26. Jason Garcia (March 30, 2009). "Disney will homeport a ship in Los Angeles". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on May 24, 2011. Retrieved March 30, 2009.
  27. Bissett, Kevin (January 31, 2012). "Cruise passengers turning to Eastern Canada for new thrills". The Star. Toronto. Archived from the original on February 3, 2012.
  28. Gale, Kevin (January 13, 2012). "Disney Wonder expected at Port of Miami". Archived from the original on January 15, 2012.
  29. Sloan, Gene (September 24, 2012). "Disney kicks off first cruises from Texas". USA Today Travel. USA Today. Archived from the original on September 29, 2012. Retrieved October 22, 2012.
  30. "Disney Cruise Line Unveils New Itineraries and Ports for 2013". Disney Cruise Line (Press release). January 24, 2012. Retrieved January 25, 2012.
  31. Hetter, Katia (March 4, 2016). "Disney to add two cruise ships". CNN. Archived from the original on April 13, 2016. Retrieved April 13, 2016.
  32. Tribou, Richard (January 22, 2019). "Port Canaveral documents label new cruise ship Disney Triton". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
  33. Staletovich, Jenny (July 22, 2016). "Disney backs off cruise port on pristine Bahamas island". Miami Herald. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  34. "Anthony Connelly to Take Top Spot at Disney Cruise Line". Cruise Industry News. April 7, 2017. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
  35. Tribou, Richard (January 23, 2019). "Port Canaveral officials approve pursuing $46.5 million of work to refurb Disney Cruise Line terminals". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
  36. "Disney Cruise Line announces Marvel Day at Sea on select 2017 Disney Magic sailings". Attractions Magazine. October 21, 2016. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  37. Tuttle, Brittani (October 16, 2018). "Disney Cruise Line debuts new live news show, 'Disney at Sea with D23'". Attractions Magazine. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  38. Tribou, Richard (April 20, 2018). "New president named for Disney Cruise Line, Vacation Club and more". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
  39. Tribou, Richard (March 11, 2019). "Disney Cruise Line completes land purchase, enters agreement for second Bahamas destination". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
  40. Sangalang, Jennifer; Berma, Dave (September 27, 2018). "Disney Cruise Line unveils cruises, destinations in 2020: Hawaii, New Orleans, Caribbean". Florida Today. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  41. Barnes, Brooks (March 12, 2020). "Disney Parks and Cruise Line Will Close in Response to Coronavirus". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  42. "Inquiry call over vanished cruise woman". BBC. October 30, 2015. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
  43. "Disney Dream Horn: Do You Want To Build A Snowman (Frozen) Video & Ringtone Downloads • The Disney Cruise Line Blog". The Disney Cruise Line Blog. November 5, 2015. Archived from the original on November 30, 2016. Retrieved November 30, 2016.
  44. Aronson, Tara. (September 25, 2002). "Disney Magic grows up". Christian Science Monitor. Archived from the original on September 6, 2008. Retrieved November 1, 2009.
  45. "It's All in the Details: The Horns of the Disney Fantasy • The Disney Cruise Line Blog". The Disney Cruise Line Blog. July 1, 2012. Archived from the original on November 30, 2016. Retrieved November 30, 2016.
  46. Niemelä, Teijo (March 10, 2009). "Disney names its new ships". Cruise Business Online. Cruise Media Oy Ltd. Archived from the original on August 30, 2009. Retrieved March 10, 2009.
  47. Golden, Fran (November 5, 2010). "Disney Dream AquaDuck Water Coaster at Sea". AOL Travel. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
  48. Sloan, Gene (March 3, 2016). "Disney to expand cruise line with two more ships". USA Today. Gannett. Archived from the original on May 5, 2016. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
  49. Staff, CIN (March 8, 2018). "Disney Releases First Rendering of New Ships". Retrieved March 9, 2018.
  50. Haring, Bruce (August 25, 2019). "New Disney Theme Park Attractions, Restaurants And Parade Outlined At D23". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  51. Frontado, Jonathan (August 25, 2019). "Get a First Look at the Next Disney Cruise Line Ship and New Disney Island Destination". Disney Parks Blog (Press release). Disney. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  52. "Port Canaveral Cruise Terminals". Cruisecanaveral. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
  53. "Port Canaveral 2014 Interactive Cruise Guide". Port Canaveral. p. 28. Archived from the original on September 29, 2014. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
  54. "Cruising Terminals". Port Canaveral. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
  55. "Port Canaveral plans: More Disney cruise ships and upgrade to Disney cruise terminal". Florida Today. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
  56. Storey, Ken (February 11, 2020). "Disney Cruise Line gives new details on its upcoming, game-changing private Bahamian port of call". Orlando Weekly. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
    This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.