Tag Archives: Disney Magic

River cruises a big hit, so Disney adds sailings

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Adventures by Disney river cruises will be operated by AmaWaterways.

After announcing last month that it is launching river cruises through a partnership with AmaWaterways, Adventures by Disney has already added two more departures “due to popularity and mass interest in the program.”

Originally, Disney’s tour operator arm said it would offer four sailings along the Danube River during summer 2016, and one holiday-themed sailing in December 2016. There will now be five sailings in the summer, as well as two sailings in December of 2016. The itineraries will travel through Germany, Austria, Slovakia and Hungary.

Adventures by Disney will charter the 170-passenger AmaViola, a ship that is launching in 2016 and is being custom-built to cater to families. Family-friendly features on the AmaViola will be six sets of connecting staterooms, as well as some rooms and suites that can accommodate families of three or four people.

There will be wine tastings, fine dining, music, dancing and an onboard fitness center geared toward adults, and movies, karaoke, relay games, chess lessons on an oversized board, video games and themed nights for young children and teens.

There will be eight Adventures by Disney guides on each sailing in addition to the AmaWaterways crew.

The Adventures by Disney sailings will take place July 7, 14, 21, 28, Aug. 4, Dec. 15 and 22.

Adventures by Disney, which launched in 2005, offers 30 guided vacations on six continents.

The Disney distinction

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The Christening of the Disney Dream

Walt Disney Co. and its cruise line are on a roll.

The entertainment and media giant reported earnings rose 10% for the second quarter of this year with the fastest growth at its Parks and Resorts unit (which includes Disney Cruise Line), where operating income grew 24%.

What is Disney doing right?

First and most directly, it is raising prices. Disney said its earnings growth at parks and resorts was “primarily due to increases in average ticket prices at our theme parks and cruise line,” along with more spending on food and merchandise and higher average hotel rates.

Single-day tickets at Walt Disney World in Orlando cracked the $100 barrier last year.  And Disney Cruise Line prices are generally much higher than competitors on similar routes.

Tom Stieghorst
Tom Stieghorst

A random comparison shows a balcony cabin on a 7-day Eastern Caribbean cruise departing Port Canaveral on Dec. 5 listed at $1,814 per person on Disney’s website and $912.50 on Carnival Cruise Line’s site.

Several things that underlie Disney’s pricing power are qualities that other cruise lines are also trying to achieve.

One is brand strength.  On a 2014 ranking compiled by Interbrand, a unit of ad giant Omnicom, Disney held the 13th strongest global brand, just behind Intel and just ahead of Cisco Systems. Interbrand said Disney’s power as a brand stems from its “use of technology and data to understand what customers want and personalize their experiences.”

A second pillar of pricing power is capacity control.  Disney has resisted the temptation to expand its fleet of four ships, the last of which was delivered three years ago. Unlike many lines, Disney has no ships on order.  That helps keep supply scarce and drives demand.

But that doesn’t mean Disney gets stale. It frequently upgrades the experience, especially with new entertainment including shows from hit movies like Frozen and Tangled.

And Disney has a pipeline to first-time cruisers through its theme parks, where much of the programming on a Disney ship can be experienced.  Disney cruise customers know what they’re getting even if they’ve never been on a cruise ship before.Of course, we don’t know exactly how Disney’s higher pricing translates into profits, as those vital numbers are buried in the results of the overall parks and resorts division.
My guess is that Disney Cruise Line makes a solid contribution.

Disney Magic to Visit Dublin Port next year

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By Jack Quinn

The longest ship to ever call at the port arrived today

Dublin Port has cruised into the history books with the arrival of the 333m long MSC Splendida cruise liner today – the longest ship to ever call at the port.

She is one of 83 cruise calls confirmed for the port this year, which will see a total of 140,000 passengers arriving.

Currently ranked as the 11th longest cruise ship in the world, the arrival has pushed the boundaries of the port’s operational limits.

The ship’s 4,600 passengers and crew were greeted this morning by a Celtic-inspired welcome on the quayside – featuring a live ceili band, Irish drummers, dancers and entertainment – before passengers departed for the city’s shops and attractions.

But in a further boost for cruise tourism to the city, Dublin Port Company has confirmed it will become the first Irish port to welcome Disney Cruise Line with ‘Disney Magic’ calling to Dublin in 2016.

The 300m long Disney Magic will make her maiden call to Dublin Port on May 26th 2016 as part of a transatlantic cruise starting in Port Canaveral, Florida and finishing in Dover, England.

Disney Magic will visit Dublin again on June 13th 2016 as part of a 12-night cruise around Britain – with Dublin selected as the only destination in Ireland.

It will bring 2,700 passengers and a complement of 950 cast and crew to the city each time.

While Dublin Port Company and Dublin City Council will also jointly host the Cruise Europe Conference in Dublin in 2016.

The three-day event attracts over 200 delegates from leading cruise destinations throughout Europe, from all the major cruise lines and service suppliers to the cruise industry worldwide.