Tag Archives: disney dream

Navigator of the Seas to get virtual balconies

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Navigator of the Seas to get virtual balconies

By Tom Stieghorst
Quantum's Virtual BalconyNot content to wait for them to appear on Quantum of the Seas, Royal Caribbean will install its first virtual balconies on Navigator of the Seas when it undergoes revitalization early next year.

Royal Caribbean International CEO Adam Goldstein said the virtual balconies — an 80-inch LED projection screen that shows exterior images — will change how interior cabins are viewed.

“It’s going to bring a completely different feel to the experience,” Goldstein said at Royal Caribbean’s media conference on Tuesday toreveal some of the features of Quantum.

Disney Cruise Line introduced outside views from inside cabins in 2011, with the launch of Magical Portholes on the Disney Dream.

The 4,100-passenger Quantum is under construction and is expected to enter service in November 2014.

The 3,100-passenger Navigator, which entered service in 2002, will go into drydock next January to get the Royal Advantage upgrade package. It is scheduled to sail from Galveston when the upgrades are complete.

Virtual balconies were one of the new features rolled out for Quantum, along with bumper cars, a sky diving attraction and a large observation pod on a mechanical arm.

Goldstein said there will not be a specific surcharge for interior cabins with virtual balconies, but added that he hopes they will bring higher yields.

“The whole experience will be more valuable to our guests and we expect that to be reflected in the ticket price,” he said.

Disney gives sneak peek of new cruise ship

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Disney gives sneak peek of new cruise ship

By Robert Jenkins
Disney Fantasy pool deckPAPENBURG, Germany — New features on the Disney Fantasy were on display during a preview walkthrough of the partially-finished ship this week at the Meyer Werft shipyard. The ship makes its first revenue sailing on March 31. (View a slideshow of some of the new spaces here or by clicking on the photo.)

Planners were motivated by traffic-flow and usage studies done on the Disney Dream, a sister ship that entered service a year ago. Among the major changes:

• A pool deck bar has been replaced by the AquaLab, an interactive splash park that squirts or drenches kids. There are two, 10-foot-long “leaky walls”; as a kid covers the water squirting from one hole, another gushes.

• The bars in the adults-only lounge area, Europa, will be set up in a hub-and-spoke fashion. At the center will be a circular entry bar whose lighting will evoke a carousel’s motion. The four themed bars will be slightly larger than the bars in the District, the adults’ entertainment area on the Dream.

• In the Animator’s Palate dining room, diners will be given placemats bearing the outline of a human figure. Each diner creates a sketch within this outline. The placemats are collected and scanned, and a computer places three of the figures in a clever animation that matches them to Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Pinocchio and others. In unison, they march and dance on the dining room monitors. Each of the nine dining room areas sees only the amateur sketches created by its diners.

Final bow section placed on Disney Fantasy

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Final bow section placed on Disney Fantasy

By Donna Tunney
Disney FantasyThe final building block has been placed on the Disney Fantasy, a ship under construction at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Germany.

Builders placed a 265-ton portion of the ship’s bow, complete with the signature Disney Cruise Line golden filigree.

The 4,000-passenger vessel, a sister ship to the Disney Dream, is scheduled to launch in March 2012.

Some of the new features on the Disney Fantasy include Europa, a nighttime entertainment district exclusively for guests 18 and older; a new show at the Animator’s Palate restaurant, where diners will serve as guest animators; the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, a salon where kids receive the “full fairy tale treatment with pixie-dusted and piratical makeovers”; and a Broadway-style show called “Disney’s Aladdin — A Musical Spectacular.”

The Disney Fantasy will sail seven-night Caribbean cruises. The maiden voyage is scheduled for March 31.