Disney Cruise Line

Disney Cruise Line
Disney Cruise Line logo.png
Location Disney Cruise Line,
Port Canaveral, Florida
United States
Theme Cruise ships
Owner The Walt Disney Company
Operated by Walt Disney Parks and Resorts
Opened July 30, 1998 (July 30, 1998)
Website Disney Cruise Line homepage

Disney Cruise Line is an American cruise line company owned and operated by Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, a division of The Walt Disney Company and is headquartered in Celebration, Florida.[1] The business is run by President Karl Holz.[2] Disney Cruise Line operates the Disney Cruise Line Terminal, which homeports the Disney Dream and the Disney Fantasy. The Disney Magic is homeported in New York City and Galveston , while the Disney Wonder is homeported in Los Angeles,Seattle,Vancouver,and Miami, Florida. In 2012, it is estimated Disney Cruise Lines will own nearly 3% share of the worldwide cruise market.[3]

Overview

Disney Magic in port at St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
Disney Wonder in Port Canaveral
Disney Dream at Castaway Cay

Disney Cruise Line was created in 1995 when the company commissioned its two ships at Fincantieri in Italy, ending an arrangement with Premier Cruise Line for the maritime segment of its vacation packages.[4] Disney had contracted Premier Cruise Line to provide cruise vacations in the 1980s, also sailing from Port Canaveral. The ships were similarly marketed as family vacations and featured costumed Disney Characters.[5]

The Disney Magic began operation July 30, 1998.[6] The Disney Wonder began operation August 15, 1999. The ships each contain 900 staterooms[7] 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, Europe,Hawaii,Pacific Coast, and the Mexican Rivera.

Disney Cruise Line currently operates four ships: the Disney Magic, the Disney Wonder, the Disney Dream, and the Disney Fantasy.[8] Disney also owns Castaway Cay, a private island in the Bahamas designed as an exclusive port of call for Disney's ships.[9]

In 2007, Disney announced the creation of two new cruise ships.[10] The two vessels, Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy were ordered to help to expand the cruise line's fleet. Disney Dream set sail in 2011, while Disney Fantasy set sail in March 2012 .[8][11][12] Disney also has the contract options with Meyer Werft to build 2 additional "Dream Class" ships.

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.[13] The line's two new ships expand on these tunes to include: "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes" (Cinderella), "Be Our Guest" (Beauty and the Beast), "Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life for Me)" (Pirates of the Caribbean), "Hi-Diddle-Dee-Dee (An Actor's Life for Me)" (Pinocchio), and "It's a Small World".[14]

The Disney Cruise Line offers a variety of destinations including; Europe, Panama Canal, Caribbean, Alaska & Pacific Coast, Bahamas, Mexican Riviera, Hawaii, and Transatlantic destinations.[15]

Fleet

Current

Ship Passenger capacity Entered service Godmother Homeport Gross Tonnage Notes
Disney Magic 2,400 1998 Patricia Disney Port Canaveral, FL 83,000 GT The Disney Magic and its stern was built in two different shipyards and then welded together.
Disney Wonder 2,400 1999 Tinker Bell Los Angeles, CA 83,000 GT The Disney Wonder is currently based at the Port of Los Angeles and Miami in 2012.
Disney Dream 4,000 2011 Jennifer Hudson Port Canaveral, FL 128,000 GT Maiden Voyage was on January 26, 2011.
Disney Fantasy 4,000 2012 Mariah Carey Port Canaveral, FL 128,000 GT Maiden Voyage was on March 31, 2012.

Future

Disney Fantasy on the River Ems before sea trials

Disney Cruise Lines announced on February 22, 2007 that two new ships were to be added in 2011 and 2012, which entered service in 2011).[16] The ships are being built by Meyer Werft shipyard, based in Papenburg, Germany; the first steel cut, made in March 2009, was for a portion of the scrollwork that will decorate the exterior of the vessels.[17] Later that same month, the ships were officially named: Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy.[17] They will be 340 m (1,120 ft) long and 37 m (121 ft) wide. These newest 128,000-ton ships will be 2 decks taller than the Disney Magic and Disney Wonder and will have 1,250 staterooms each.[18]

Disney Cruise Line has negotiated with the Port Canaveral port authority and has extended their contract for 15 more years, through 2022.[19] As part of this contract, the port authority will expand and upgrade 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 finally a parking garage will be built by 2011.[20]

Both new ships are planned to depart from Port Canaveral until at least 2014.[17] With the arrival of the Disney Dream in 2011, the Disney Wonder has been relocated to Los Angeles.[21] The arrangement will be for two years, with a potential extension for three additional years.[21] Additionally, the Disney Magic will be temporarily assigned to New York City starting in May of 2012 [22] and later Galveston, Texas, starting in September 2012.[23] The Disney Wonder is to change homeports from Los Angeles to the Port of Miami in Miami, Florida at the end of 2012.[24]

Executive Management

Current

Position Name Notes
President of Disney Cruise Line Karl Holz
Senior Vice President of Operations Tom Wolber
Vice President of Hotel Operations Ozer Balli
Manager of Island Recreation and Shore Excursions Larry Stauffer
Director of Marine and Security Operations Russel Daya
Vice President of Marine and Technical Operations Bert Swets
Director of Purchasing and Logistics Tony Wills

Former

Position Name Notes
President of Disney Cruise Line 2004-2009 Tom McAlpin
President of Disney Cruise Line 2003-2004 Karl Holz
President of Disney Cruise Line 1999-2003 Matt Ouimet
President of Disney Cruise Line 1994-1999 Arthur Rodney
Senior Vice President of Operations Tom McAlpin

References

  1. ^ "Disney Cruise Line will open overseas office in London". Orlando Sentinel. http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/business_tourism_aviation/2008/04/disney-cruise-l-5.html. Retrieved 2010-02-02. 
  2. ^ http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/orl-dizcruise1409feb14,0,2526063.story
  3. ^ "2012 World Wide Market Share". Cruise Market Watch. 2011-11-20. http://www.cruisemarketwatch.com/blog1/market-share/. 
  4. ^ Harrington, Jeff. (September 16, 2000). "Passengers sort through Premier Cruise's demise". St. Petersburg Times. http://www.sptimes.com/News/091600/Business/Passengers_sort_throu.shtml. Retrieved November 1, 2009. 
  5. ^ "Compromising With Mickey". Washington Post. October 29, 1995. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-863720.html. Retrieved 2009-03-11. 
  6. ^ Alesandro, Jody. (October 4, 1998). "FALL AND WINTER CRUISES; A Family-Size Mouseboat". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1998/10/04/travel/fall-and-winter-cruises-a-family-size-mouseboat.html. Retrieved November 1, 2009. 
  7. ^ "Disney Cruise Line FAQ". http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/ships-activities/ships/. 
  8. ^ a b "Disney Fantasy". Cruise Critic. http://www.cruisecritic.com/reviews/review.cfm?ShipID=549. Retrieved 2010-04-05. 
  9. ^ "The Kingdom on the Sea". Time. 1998-08-10. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,988878-2,00.html. 
  10. ^ "Disney cruise line: Disney to spread cruise ships around the world". Orlando Sentinel. http://www.orlandosentinel.com/travel/destinations/cruises/orl-bk-disney-cruise-line-091109,0,1483287.story. Retrieved 2010-04-05. "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" 
  11. ^ "Disney Dream cruise ship to launch in 2011". Baltimore Sun. http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/business/consuminginterests/blog/2009/11/disney_dream_cruise_ship_to_la_1.html. Retrieved 2010-04-05. 
  12. ^ "Disney Dream cruise ship begins to take shape". Orlando Sentinel. http://www.orlandosentinel.com/travel/destinations/cruises/orl-travel-disney-dream-cruise-update-083109,0,7989416.story. Retrieved 2010-04-05. 
  13. ^ Aronson, Tara. (September 25, 2002). "Disney Magic grows up". Christian Science Monitor. http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0925/p12s01-altr.html. Retrieved November 1, 2009. 
  14. ^ Disney Dream Horn Playlist - 6 Songs in Total
  15. ^ http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/cruises-destinations/
  16. ^ "Disney Cruise Line Press Release". http://dclnews.com/PressReleaseDetail.aspx?PressReleaseID=106126. 
  17. ^ a b c "Disney Announces Names for New Cruise Ships". 2009-03-10. http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/whats-new/disney-announces-names-for-new-cruise-ships/. Retrieved 2010-10-11. 
  18. ^ Niemelä, Teijo (2009-03-10). "Disney names its new ships". Cruise Business Online. Cruise Media Oy Ltd. http://cruisebusiness.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=278:disney-names-its-new-ships&catid=43:latest-news-catecory&Itemid=115. Retrieved 2009-03-10. 
  19. ^ http://cruisediva.blogspot.com/2008/03/disney-cruise-line-extend-its-agreement.html
  20. ^ "Disney Cruise Line to Extend Agreement with Port Canaveral". http://dclnews.com/PressReleaseDetail.aspx?PressReleaseID=109427. 
  21. ^ a b Jason Garcia (2009-03-30). "Disney will homeport a ship in Los Angeles". Orlando Sentinel. http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/business_tourism_aviation/2009/03/disney-will-homeport-a-ship-in-los-angeles.html. Retrieved 2009-03-30. 
  22. ^ Bissett, Kevin (2012-01-31). "Cruise passengers turning to Eastern Canada for new thrills". The Star (Toronto). http://www.thestar.com/travel/northamerica/article/1124066--cruise-passengers-turning-to-eastern-canada-for-new-thrills. 
  23. ^ http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/7506462.html
  24. ^ Gale, Kevin (2012-01-13). "Disney Wonder expected at Port of Miami". http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/news/2012/01/13/disney-wonder-expected-in-miami.html. 

External links

Disneyland Resort
Walt Disney World Resort
Tokyo Disney Resort
Disneyland Paris
Hong Kong Disneyland Resort
Shanghai Disney Resort
Disney Cruise Line
Other
Disney Cruise Line fleet
Current fleet