Disney Cruise Line

Disney Cruise Line
Disney Cruise Line
Industry Hospitality, Tourism
Founded 1998
Headquarters Celebration, Florida, United States and London, England, United Kingdom
Area served
 Alaska and the Pacific Coast, the Bahamas, the Caribbean, Europe
Key people
 Karl Holz, President
Services Cruise line
Parent The Walt Disney Company
Website Disney Cruise Line
Footnotes / references
[1]

Disney Cruise Line is the trading name of Magical Cruise Company Limited,[2] which operates as a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. The company was incorporated in 1996 and is domiciled in London, UK, with their operational headquarters located in Celebration, Florida, USA.[1][3] The President is Karl Holz.[4]

Disney Cruise Line currently operates four ships: Disney Magic, Disney Wonder, Disney Dream, and Disney Fantasy.[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, which homeports Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy. Disney Magic is homeported in Galveston, Texas, Barcelona, Spain, and Miami, Florida, while Disney Wonder is homeported in Vancouver, and Miami, Florida. In 2012, it is estimated Disney Cruise Lines will own nearly 3% share of the worldwide cruise market.[7]

Disney Cruise Line offers a variety of destinations including; Europe, Panama Canal, Caribbean, Alaska & Pacific Coast, Bahamas, and Transatlantic destinations.[8]

History

Disney Cruise Line was created in 1995 when the company commissioned its two ships at Fincantieri in Italy, ending the Walt Disney Company's arrangement with Premier Cruise Line for the maritime segment of its vacation packages.[9] 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.[10]

In 2007, Disney announced the building of two new cruise ships.[11] Disney Fantasy set sail in 2012, while Disney Dream set sail in Jan 2011.[5][12][13] The ships were built by Meyer Werft shipyard, based in Papenburg, Germany.[14]

Fleet

Current

Ship Passenger capacity Entered service Godmother Homeport Gross Tonnage Notes
Disney Magic 2,400 July 30, 1998 Patricia Disney Port Canaveral, FL 83,338 GT Currently sailing out of Port Canaveral on various Bahamas itineraries.
Disney Wonder 2,400 August 15, 1999 Tinker Bell Miami, FL 85,000 GT Currently sailing out of Miami on various Caribbean and Bahamas itineraries. Sails Alaskan cruises from May to September.
Disney Dream 4,100 January 26, 2011 Jennifer Hudson Port Canaveral, FL 129,690 GT 3-, 4-, and occasional 5- Night Bahamas Cruises
Disney Fantasy 4,100 March 31, 2012 Mariah Carey Port Canaveral, FL 129,690 GT Alternating 7-Night Eastern & Western Caribbean Cruises
Disney Wonder in Port Canaveral
Disney Dream at Castaway Cay

Disney Magic began operation July 30, 1998.[15] Disney Wonder began operation August 15, 1999. They are 294 m (965 ft) long and 32.22 m (105.7 ft) wide. The ships each contain 875 staterooms[16] 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.[17] 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".[18]

Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy entered service in January 2011 and March 2012, respectively. These new 129,690-ton ships are 339.5 m (1,114 ft) long and 36.8 m (121 ft) wide. They are 2 decks taller than Disney Magic and Disney Wonder and have 1,250 staterooms each.[19]

With the arrival of Disney Dream in 2011, Disney Wonder was relocated to Los Angeles,[20] and 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.[21]

Future Operations

Disney Cruise Line has negotiated with the Port Canaveral port authority and has extended their contract for 15 more years, through 2023.[22] 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.[23] Both Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy have departed from Port Canaveral.[14]

In late 2012, Disney Magic and Disney Wonder began sailing cruises out of Galveston, Texas and Miami, Florida, respectively.[24][25] In Summer 2013, Disney Magic will relocate to Barcelona, Spain[24] and Disney Wonder will relocate to Vancouver, British Columbia.[26] In Fall 2013, Magic and Wonder will return to the United States of America but switch home ports, with the Magic leaving out of Miami and Wonder leaving out of Galveston.[24][27] In January 2014, Wonder will take over for Magic in Miami and Magic will join Dream and Fantasy in Port Canaveral, placing all four ships in the state of Florida for the first time.[3][28]

Executive Management

Current

Position Name Notes
President of Disney Cruise Line Karl Holz Also oversees Disney Vacation Club, Adventures by Disney, and Aulani. Previously served as president of Disney Cruise Line 2003-2004 and as Chairman and CEO of Euro Disney SCA 2004-2009.
Senior Vice President of Operations Anthony Connelly Former Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Disney Parks and Resorts. Effective Feb. 1, 2013, Anthony replaced Tom Wolber as "COO" of cruise line.
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 Finance Jim Woodhouse
Director of Purchasing and Logistics Tony Wills

Former

Position Name Notes
President of Disney Cruise Line 2004-2009 Tom McAlpin Previously director of corporate and financial planning for Royal Caribbean International.
President of Disney Cruise Line 2003-2004 Karl Holz Current president of Disney Cruise Line and New Vacation Operations, which includes Disney Vacation Club, Adventures by Disney, and Aulani. Chairman and CEO of Euro Disney SCA from 2004-2009.
President of Disney Cruise Line 1999-2003 Matt Ouimet President of the Disneyland Resort 2003-2006. Current president and CEO of Cedar Fair Entertainment Company.
President of Disney Cruise Line 1994-1999 Arthur Rodney Founder and former president of Crystal Cruises from 1987-1994.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Magical Cruise Limited - Company Profile by Insideview". Insideview.com. 2013-03-23. Retrieved 2013-03-29.
  2. ↑ "Magical Cruise Company Limited: Private Company Information". Investing.businessweek.com. 2012-05-25. Retrieved 2013-03-29.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Orben, Bill. "Disney to base 3 ships at Port Canaveral for 2014". Orlando Business Journal (American City Business Journals). Retrieved 4 December 2012.
  4. ↑ "Familiar face takes Disney Cruise Line helm: Karl Holz". Orlando Sentinel.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Disney Fantasy". Cruise Critic. Retrieved 2010-04-05.
  6. ↑ "The Kingdom on the Sea". Time. 1998-08-10.
  7. ↑ "2012 World Wide Market Share". Cruise Market Watch. 2011-11-20.
  8. ↑ "Disney Cruise Destinations". Disneycruise.disney.go.com. Retrieved 2013-03-29.
  9. ↑ Harrington, Jeff. (September 16, 2000). "Passengers sort through Premier Cruise's demise". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved November 1, 2009.
  10. ↑ "Compromising With Mickey". Washington Post. October 29, 1995. Retrieved 2009-03-11.
  11. ↑ "Disney cruise line: Disney to spread cruise ships around the world". Orlando Sentinel. 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
  12. ↑ "Disney Dream cruise ship to launch in 2011". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2010-04-05.
  13. ↑ "Disney Dream cruise ship begins to take shape". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 2010-04-05.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Disney Announces Names for New Cruise Ships". 2009-03-10. Retrieved 2010-10-11.
  15. ↑ Alesandro, Jody. (October 4, 1998). "FALL AND WINTER CRUISES; A Family-Size Mouseboat". The New York Times. Retrieved November 1, 2009.
  16. ↑ "Disney Cruise Line FAQ".
  17. ↑ Aronson, Tara. (September 25, 2002). "Disney Magic grows up". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved November 1, 2009.
  18. ↑ "Disney Dream Horn Playlist – 6 Songs in All". LaughingPlace.com.
  19. ↑ Niemelä, Teijo (2009-03-10). "Disney names its new ships". Cruise Business Online. Cruise Media Oy Ltd. Retrieved 2009-03-10.
  20. ↑ Jason Garcia (2009-03-30). "Disney will homeport a ship in Los Angeles". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 2009-03-30.
  21. ↑ Bissett, Kevin (2012-01-31). "Cruise passengers turning to Eastern Canada for new thrills". The Star (Toronto).
  22. ↑ Coffman, Linda (2008-03-20). "Cruise Diva: Disney Cruise Line Extend Its Agreement with Port Canaveral". Cruisediva.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2013-03-29.
  23. ↑ "Disney Cruise Line to Extend Agreement with Port Canaveral".
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 Sloan, Gene (2012-09-24). "Disney kicks off first cruises from Texas". USA Today Travel (USA Today). Retrieved 22 October 2012.
  25. ↑ Gale, Kevin (2012-01-13). "Disney Wonder expected at Port of Miami".
  26. ↑ "Disney Cruise Line Unveils New Itineraries and Ports for 2013". Disney Cruise Line. 2012-01-24. Retrieved 2012-01-25.
  27. ↑ "Fall 2013 Sailings for Disney Magic and Disney Wonder Now Available". Travel on a Dream. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
  28. ↑ "Disney Cruise Line Unveils Itineraries and Ports for 2014". Disney Cruise Line News. Disney. Retrieved 4 December 2012.

External links