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

[Tink1987]

That would be very convenient, and the itineraries could do New England, Canada, and Bermuda, which I haven't done but would like to. But when will they retire the ship?

That’s what I’m interested in, we are at what, 25/26 years now for the Magic and Wonder?

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

That’s what I’m interested in, we are at what, 25/26 years now for the Magic and Wonder?

Google says average age at time of retirement is 25-30 years. So could be any minute, or could still be a few years

 

[HokieRaven5]

That would be very convenient, and the itineraries could do New England, Canada, and Bermuda, which I haven't done but would like to. But when will they retire the ship?

That’s what I’m interested in, we are at what, 25/26 years now for the Magic and Wonder?

I would think they’d want to get another 5-10 years out of the ship. They only just recently converted the Promenade Lounge to Soul Cat on the Magic.

 

[auntlynne]

That’s what I’m interested in, we are at what, 25/26 years now for the Magic and Wonder?

Yes, 26 and 25 years

Maiden Voyages

Magic - July 30, 1998
Wonder - August 15, 1999

 

[holula]

I would think they’d want to get another 5-10 years out of the ship. They only just recently converted the Promenade Lounge to Soul Cat on the Magic.

Agree. I think we’ll know when they look at retirement when they Alaska-fit another ship/build a ship purely for Alaska.

 

[tee11]

I suspect it’ll do a hodgepodge number of itineraries to the Bahamas and Carribean from Fort Laudale.

That would be too bad. I’ve just started looking seriously at the European offerings and am realizing how woefully underrepresented and under utilized DCL’s European sailings are compared to what all other cruise lines are offering; most significantly that there are far too few itineraries… and that there are no ships in Europe over Spring break or later in fall (weather would be great, not as hot as summer) and that it’s either Northern Europe OR Mediterranean, because it’s only a single ship for a few months.

 

[peder]

That would be too bad. I’ve just started looking seriously at the European offerings and am realizing how woefully underrepresented and under utilized DCL’s European sailings are compared to what all other cruise lines are offering; most significantly that there are far too few itineraries… and that there are no ships in Europe over Spring break or later in fall (weather would be great, not as hot as summer) and that it’s either Northern Europe OR Mediterranean, because it’s only a single ship for a few months.

This is another reason why DCL won't be retiring their original ships anytime soon. They have a ton of itineraries they could be offering much more frequently, and there are likely a bunch of routes they've never even run before. Even with 8 ships, there'll be plenty of itineraries they do not run.

 

[tee11]

True. But it's still a DCL ship. So it's odd that they're calling one of their ships the "Adventure" and then using "adventure" (including a theme song) for a completely different ship not called "Adventure." Seems if they wanted to use the adventure theme they could have still done so for the Treasure and given what is now being called Adventure a different name.

Different theming or no, it's still odd to me that DCL is highlighting a theme on one ship and using the same term as the name for another ship.

They should have called the ship that will be completely different with the casino and had a weird life history “Destiny” like it was the poor ships destiny to become a Disney ship, and the “true” to the line DCL ships should be Adventure and Treasure.

 

[Flossbolna]

That would be too bad. I’ve just started looking seriously at the European offerings and am realizing how woefully underrepresented and under utilized DCL’s European sailings are compared to what all other cruise lines are offering; most significantly that there are far too few itineraries… and that there are no ships in Europe over Spring break or later in fall (weather would be great, not as hot as summer) and that it’s either Northern Europe OR Mediterranean, because it’s only a single ship for a few months.

I always thought with the new ships they would bring two ships over: one for Northern Europe, one for the Med.

I wonder if this got shelved with the war in Ukraine as the Baltic cruises became so much less interesting (St Petersburg was the main draw on these).

 

[Flossbolna]

They should have called the ship that will be completely different with the casino and had a weird life history “Destiny” like it was the poor ships destiny to become a Disney ship, and the “true” to the line DCL ships should be Adventure and Treasure.

I totally agree with this!!!

 

[HokieRaven5]

First reaction to the name though:

 

[LAS2AMS]

That would be too bad. I’ve just started looking seriously at the European offerings and am realizing how woefully underrepresented and under utilized DCL’s European sailings are compared to what all other cruise lines are offering; most significantly that there are far too few itineraries… and that there are no ships in Europe over Spring break or later in fall (weather would be great, not as hot as summer) and that it’s either Northern Europe OR Mediterranean, because it’s only a single ship for a few months.

IMO, DCL is a niche cruise line that will maximize its revenues by maintaining a small fleet that provides a Disney-experience. It's clear on this forum that people place value in flying into Orlando, riding Disney busses with Disney entertainment (obviously not the case status quo) to the port, traveling through a Disneyfied cruise terminal and visiting Disney-created ports.

European cruises generally sell at a strong premium (compared to those in the USA). They also cost the cruise lines significantly more to operate, and that's especially true of Disney which doesn't have the privilege of bulk procurement. Yet Disney's European cruises sell for roughly the same as their Florida counterparts (even on the Magic and Dream next summer). Not a market I'd look for additional capacity anytime soon.

 

[HokieRaven5]

Keel Laying Ceremony of the Destiny from Meyer Werft with the Treasure in the background (3rd photo in Instagram post)

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[peder]

Keel Laying Ceremony of the Destiny from Meyer Werft with the Treasure in the background (3rd photo in Instagram post)

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Ah, so it's exactly the same size, meaning we should expect it to be structurally a carbon copy of the Wish and Treasure.

 

[HokieRaven5]

Ah, so it's exactly the same size, meaning we should expect it to be structurally a carbon copy of the Wish and Treasure.

Yeah that wasn’t going to be any different. My comment was more on the space utilization of the interior decks (Decks 3-5 specifically) and if they’ll make any changes to that or continue to be a copy of the Wish/Treasure layout.

 

[peder]

IMO, DCL is a niche cruise line that will maximize its revenues by maintaining a small fleet that provides a Disney-experience. It's clear on this forum that people place value in flying into Orlando, riding Disney busses with Disney entertainment (obviously not the case status quo) to the port, traveling through a Disneyfied cruise terminal and visiting Disney-created ports.

European cruises generally sell at a strong premium (compared to those in the USA). They also cost the cruise lines significantly more to operate, and that's especially true of Disney which doesn't have the privilege of bulk procurement. Yet Disney's European cruises sell for roughly the same as their Florida counterparts (even on the Magic and Dream next summer). Not a market I'd look for additional capacity anytime soon.

Agreed, but I don't think DCL thinks they are a niche cruise line, because their expansion to Singapore with the Adventure suggests a totally new line of strategic thinking about their product. DCL obviously can't create the Disney bubble in Singapore, they don't even have a park there. I think it's likely DCL is going to at least test the waters as a mainstream (albeit higher end) cruise line. Maybe the Disney equivalent of Celebrity in a tier above Royal, but no longer a niche player?

Yeah that wasn’t going to be any different. My comment was more on the space utilization of the interior decks (Decks 3-5 specifically) and if they’ll make any changes to that or continue to be a copy of the Wish/Treasure layout.

I was hoping they'd sneak in a size change like NCL did with the Aqua or MSC did with the Seashore/Seascape; in both situations the lines expanded upon the original design a bit with their 3rd ships in the class. In this case, I wouldn't expect but very minor changes over the Wish and Treasure, otherwise we probably would have seen a change in tonnage, even if slight.

 

[Garyjames220]

When do people think the magic/wonder will retire?

I’m hoping to do a 7 day Caribean cruise on the treasure in 2026 as I really like the theming. A wee bit worried they have the destiny take over by then and that won’t be a option now

 

[LAS2AMS]

Agreed, but I don't think DCL thinks they are a niche cruise line, because their expansion to Singapore with the Adventure suggests a totally new line of strategic thinking about their product. DCL obviously can't create the Disney bubble in Singapore, they don't even have a park there. I think it's likely DCL is going to at least test the waters as a mainstream (albeit higher end) cruise line. Maybe the Disney equivalent of Celebrity in a tier above Royal, but no longer a niche player?

The Disney concept is inherently niche. You really, really have to be a Disney fan if you're willing to pay the going rate and endure a Disney experience. Let's be frank -- most people cruise because they're looking for a good time; drinks, relaxation, etc. For many, Disney is not going to be their top choice.

 

[enzy65]

Not thrilled with the name destiny and the heroes/villains theme. When I heard villains it reminded me of the oogie boogie villains bash they had one night on the wish, it was awful.

 

[bayri]

I'm excited for who the stern character(s) will be! I mentioned this in a different thread, but it'd be fun to have a villain...