Disney Cruise Line

Magical Cruise Company Limited
Disney Cruise Line
Formerly
 Disney Vacation Cruises
Devonson Cruise Company, Limited
Subsidiary of a public corporation
Industry Hospitality, tourism
Founded May 3, 1995 (1995-05-03)
Headquarters Celebration, Florida, US
Number of locations
 3
Areas served
 Alaska and the Pacific Coast, the Bahamas, the Caribbean, Europe
Key people
 Jeff Vahle (President, Disney Signature Experiences)
Services Cruise line
Parent Disney Signature Experiences
(Walt Disney Parks, Experiences and Consumer Products)
Website Official website

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[1] and is domiciled in London, England, with their operational headquarters located in Celebration, Florida.[2]

Disney Cruise Line currently operates four ships: Disney Magic, Disney Wonder, Disney Dream, and Disney Fantasy.[3] Three as-yet-unnamed ships will join the fleet in 2021, 2022, and 2023. On July 15, 2017, it was announced at the 2017 D23 Expo that a seventh unnamed ship will join the fleet.[4][5] Disney Cruise Line also owns Castaway Cay, a private island in the Bahamas designed as an exclusive port of call for Disney's ships.[6] Disney Cruise Line operates the Disney Cruise Line Terminal in Port Canaveral, Florida.

In 2018, Disney Cruise Lines had 2.3 percent of the worldwide cruise market by passenger and 2.2 percent by revenue.[7] In 2015, Disney Cruise Lines had 2.8 percent of the worldwide cruise market by passenger and 2.4 percent by revenue,[8] while in 2011, the company held a 1.95 percent market share.[9]

The line pioneered the rotational dining concept, in which guest would rotate with their wait staff through three different main dining rooms.[10]

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 the Disney character license for a license for Warner Brothers 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.[11]

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.[12] 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[13] tentatively called Disney Vacation Cruises.[14] Disney Cruise Line in 1995 commissioned Disney Magic and Disney Wonder from Fincantieri in Italy.[10] 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.[15] The cruise line cost as much as a theme park to start up.[16] 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.[10]

The Disney Magic's first cruise was postponed twice which was originally scheduled for March 1998[17] while the Disney Wonder was scheduled for December 1998.[18] On July 30, 1998, with the first voyage of Magic, the Disney Cruise Line was operational.[10] Also, a 10-year contract was signed with Port Canaveral for its home terminal.[19] With the August 31, 1999, resignation of Rodney as cruise line president, senior operating officer Matt Ouimet was named as his replacement in July.[20] By 2002, the line added seven-day cruises and western Caribbean cruises.[21]

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.[19] A ship was transferred to the Mediterranean for an extended stay in 2007 to reviewers' acclaim.[22] In 2007, Disney announced the building of two new cruise ships.[23] Disney Dream set sail in Jan 2011, followed closely by Disney Fantasy in 2012.[3][24][25] Meyer Werft shipyard, based in Papenburg, Germany, built the new ships.[10] 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.[26] 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.[22]

With the arrival of Disney Dream in 2011, Disney Wonder was relocated to Los Angeles.[27] 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.[28]

At the February 2016 Cruise Critic Cruisers' Choice Awards, three of Disney's ships won 11 category awards. On March 3, 2016, at the company annual meeting, Walt Disney Company Chairman Bob Iger announced that two new ships were planned to be built larger than the previous two ships. These ships are expected to join the line in 2021 and 2023.[29]

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.[5] 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.[30] Soon after a March 2018 conglomerate wide reorganization that formed Walt Disney Parks, Experiences and Consumer Products segment division, Disney Cruise Line and New Vacation Operations was renamed Disney Signature Experiences along with a new president, Jeff Vahle.[31]

Fleet

Current

Disney Wonder in Port Canaveral
Disney Dream at Castaway Cay

Disney Magic began operation July 30, 1998.[17] Disney Wonder began operation on August 1999 and were both made at Fincantieri ship yard, Italy. They are964 ft (294 m) long and 106 ft (32 m) wide. The ships each contain 875 staterooms[10] 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 routes are Alaska, Bahamas, 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 parents and children. Unlike most ships of their type, they do not include casinos. Disney ships also feature ship's horns which play the opening seven-note theme When You Wish Upon a Star from Disney's Pinocchio, in addition to the traditional horn. Other horns include Do You Want to Build a Snowman?,[32] It's a small world, and several other tunes. [33][34]

Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy entered service in January 2011 and March 2012, respectively. These ships were made at Meyer Werft shipyard, 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 Disney Magic and Disney Wonder and have 1,250 staterooms each.[35] Dream was the first ship to have a water coaster, the AquaDuck.[36]

ShipPassenger capacityEntered serviceGodmotherHomeport[lower-alpha 1]Gross TonnageNotesImage
Disney Magic2,400July 30, 1998Patricia DisneyCopenhagen, Denmark / Dover, England / Miami / Barcelona, Spain / New York / San Juan, Puerto Rico / Port Canaveral / Rome, Italy83,338 GT
Disney Wonder2,400August 15, 1999Tinker BellVancouver, Canada / San Diego / Galveston / San Juan, Puerto Rico / Port Canaveral85,000 GT
Disney Dream4,000January 26, 2011Jennifer HudsonPort Canaveral129,690 GT
Disney Fantasy4,000March 31, 2012Mariah CareyPort Canaveral129,690 GT

Future

In 2016 the line announced it would acquire three ships, as yet unnamed, are described as larger than Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy but with an equivalent number of staterooms.[37]

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[38] and will accommodate at least 2,500 guests.[39]

ShipStateroomsIn-service dateGross TonnageNotesShipyard[37]
TBA 1,250 2021 140,000 GT Announced March 3, 2016 Meyer Werft
TBA 1,250 2022 140,000 GT Announced July 15, 2017 Meyer Werft
TBA 1,250 2023 140,000 GT Announced March 3, 2016 Meyer Werft

Disney Cruise Line Terminal

Disney Cruise Line Terminal
A photo of the Disney Cruise Line Terminal from the Disney Wonder.
Official name Cruise Terminal 8
Locale Port Canaveral
Owner Canaveral Port Authority
Operator Disney 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.[40] 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.[41]

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.[42] The terminal was designed loosely on the old Ocean Terminal in Southampton.[10]

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 and the Disney Fantasy have departed from Port Canaveral.[22]

In late 2012, Disney Magic and Disney Wonder began sailing cruises out of Galveston, Texas[43] and Miami, Florida,[44] respectively. In 2013, Disney Magic relocated to Barcelona, Spain[43] and Disney Wonder relocated to Vancouver, British Columbia.[45] In Fall 2013, Magic and Wonder returned to the United States but switched home ports, with the Magic leaving out of Miami and Wonder leaving out of Galveston.[43][46] In January 2014, Wonder took over for Magic in Miami and Magic joined 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][47]

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."[48]

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. 1 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. 1 2 "Disney Fantasy". Cruise Critic. Archived from the original on April 30, 2009. Retrieved April 5, 2010.
  4. ↑ "CONFIRMED: Seventh cruise ship announced for Disney Cruise Line". We Love Orlando. July 16, 2017. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
  5. 1 2 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.
  6. ↑ "The Kingdom on the Sea". Time. August 10, 1998. Archived from the original on November 7, 2012.
  7. ↑ "2018 World Wide Market Share". Cruise Market Watch.
  8. ↑ "2015 World Wide Market Share". Cruise Market Watch. Archived from the original on September 27, 2016.
  9. ↑ "2011 World Wide Cruise Market Share". Cruise Market Watch. Archived from the original on September 24, 2016. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 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.
  11. ↑ Fritscher, Lisa. "How Disney Cruises Started". USA Today. Gannett. Demand Media. Archived from the original on October 19, 2015. Retrieved October 8, 2015.
  12. ↑ 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.
  13. ↑ "Company News; Disney to Start its Own Cruise Line by 1998". New York Times. May 4, 1994. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  14. ↑ "Disney Cruises Now Official". Cruise Industry News. May 18, 1994. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  15. ↑ "Magical Cruise Company Limited". companieshouse.gov.uk. Companies House (United Kingdom Government). Archived from the original on April 26, 2016. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
  16. ↑ 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.
  17. 1 2 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.
  18. ↑ 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.
  19. 1 2 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.
  20. ↑ "New Disney Cruise Line President". Cruise Industry News. July 16, 1999. Archived from the original on September 24, 2016. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  21. ↑ Aronson, Tara (September 25, 2002). "Disney Magic grows up". Christian Science Monitor. Archived from the original on March 28, 2016. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  22. 1 2 3 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.
  23. ↑ "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
  24. ↑ "Disney Dream cruise ship to launch in 2011". Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on November 17, 2009. Retrieved April 5, 2010.
  25. ↑ "Disney Dream cruise ship begins to take shape". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved April 5, 2010.
  26. ↑ 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.
  27. ↑ 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.
  28. ↑ 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.
  29. ↑ Hetter, Katia (March 4, 2016). "Disney to add two cruise ships". CNN. Archived from the original on April 13, 2016. Retrieved April 13, 2016.
  30. ↑ Staff, CIN (2017-04-07). "Anthony Connelly to Take Top Spot at Disney Cruise Line". Retrieved 2017-10-02.
  31. ↑ Tribou, Richard (April 20, 2018). "New president named for Disney Cruise Line, Vacation Club and more". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
  32. ↑ "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.
  33. ↑ Aronson, Tara. (September 25, 2002). "Disney Magic grows up". Christian Science Monitor. Archived from the original on September 6, 2008. Retrieved November 1, 2009.
  34. ↑ "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.
  35. ↑ 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.
  36. ↑ Golden, Fran (November 5, 2010). AOL Travel https://www.aol.com/2010/11/05/disney-dream-aquaduck-water-coaster-at-sea/. Retrieved April 11, 2018. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  37. 1 2 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.
  38. ↑ Frontado, Jonathan (March 8, 2018). "First Look at Disney's Next Ships". Disney Parks Blog.
  39. ↑ Staff, CIN (2018-03-08). "Disney Releases First Rendering of New Ships". Retrieved 2018-03-09.
  40. ↑ "Port Canaveral Cruise Terminals". Cruisecanaveral. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
  41. ↑ "Port Canaveral 2014 Interactive Cruise Guide". Port Canaveral. p. 28. Archived from the original on September 29, 2014. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
  42. ↑ "Cruising Terminals". Port Canaveral. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
  43. 1 2 3 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.
  44. ↑ Gale, Kevin (January 13, 2012). "Disney Wonder expected at Port of Miami". Archived from the original on January 15, 2012.
  45. ↑ "Disney Cruise Line Unveils New Itineraries and Ports for 2013". Disney Cruise Line. January 24, 2012. Retrieved January 25, 2012.
  46. ↑ "Fall 2013 Sailings for Disney Magic and Disney Wonder Now Available". Travel on a Dream. Archived from the original on August 17, 2012. Retrieved October 22, 2012.
  47. ↑ "Disney Cruise Line Unveils Itineraries and Ports for 2014". Disney Cruise Line News. Disney. Archived from the original on January 24, 2013. Retrieved December 4, 2012.
  48. ↑ "Port Canaveral plans: More Disney cruise ships and upgrade to Disney cruise terminal". Florida Today. Retrieved 2018-06-29.
  1. ↑ All ships officially registered to Nassau, Bahamas
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