Tag Archives: Disney Magic

Disney Cruise Line’s enviable kid clout

Posted on by
Reply

By Tom Stieghorst

Almost without exception, you can tell which cruise lines are serious about attracting families by whether there are animated characters prowling the pool deck.

Whether it is Smurfs, Cinderella, Kung-Fu Panda or SpongeBob SquarePants, they generally signify which lines have a year-round business attracting kids and which don’t.

Some lines make no claim to providing characters or attracting children, including Oceania Cruises, Azamara Club Cruises and, soon, Viking Ocean Cruises.  Others don’t do a lot of family business during the school year, often because of longer itineraries.

Of the lines that do provide characters, one stands above the rest. Disney Cruise Line’s advantage is almost unfair, its roster of characters so deep and historic, that if characters are a primary consideration, it has to be tops on the list.

And the line isn’t content to rest on its laurels. Its animation factory just keeps turning out the hits.

On Sunday night, Disney took home an Oscar for its movie “Big Hero 6,” featuring Marvel Comics superheroes, who are also present on Disney Cruise Line ships. That comes on top of last year’s Oscar for “Frozen,” the top-grossing animated movie of all time.

“Big Hero 6” topped DreamWorks Studios’ entrant in the Oscars derby, “How To Train Your Dragon 2.” DreamWorks characters such as Shrek are exclusive to Royal Caribbean International ships.

Of course, popular films emerge from other studios besides Disney. The DreamWorks stable includes notable franchises such as Kung Fu Panda and Madagascar.

But Disney’s four ships have so many characters to pick from. This summer it will feature characters from “Frozen” on cruises to Norway and Iceland. Next year it will have “Star Wars Day at Sea” on eight selected sailings, featuring characters from the Star Wars movies.

The ownership of Disney Cruise Line by entertainment powerhouse Walt Disney Co., of course, gives it access to these properties. And it kind of puts the success of the cruise industry in perspective. When you ask which cruise company has the biggest investor value, it isn’t Carnival Corp, valued at $34 billion. It is Walt Disney, valued at $178 billion.

Land of ‘Frozen’ coming to Disney Cruise Line

Posted on by
Reply

Disney Cruise Line will offer experiences inspired by the animated hit ‘Frozen’ beginning in summer 2015. They include a deck party, a three-song stage show production number, opportunities to meet characters and storybook adventures ashore. A new addition is planned for Castaway Cay, too.

The experiences will debut on select Disney Magic and Disney Wonder sailings to Europe and Alaska.

One one day the ship will transform into a winter wonderland, culminating with an extravagant celebration with friends from the Kingdom of Arendelle. Passengers will awake to discover a magical freeze has overtaken the atrium lobby with sparkling icicles adorning the grand staircase, resembling the mountaintop ice palace of Queen Elsa.

Activities for the entire family throughout the day include new character meetings and themed experiences such as moments with

Anna, Elsa and, ‘for the first time in forever,’ Kristoff and Olaf. There will be an ‘Anna’s Chase for the Chocolate’ scavenger hunt for with a surprise for finishing the game and a ‘Do You Want to Build a Snowman’ activity where kids take on Elsa’s magical powers to make snow and ice.

‘The Maypole Swirl and Twirl’ gives families the chance to learn a traditional Scandinavian dance, spinning and braiding giant ribbons.

A ‘Frozen’-themed dining experience includes a menu inspired by traditional Nordic fare and dishes inspired by the film.

The evening fun kicks off with ‘Freezing the Night Away with Anna, Elsa and Friends,’ a family-friendly interactive deck party featuring the royal sisters of Arendelle and their Nordic companions. By now, the freeze has spread to the upper decks of the ship, with giant snowflakes, icicles and snow-covered rocks.

The celebration begins with a line dance set to the movie’s ice cutting scene, featuring the arrival of Kristoff, twirling his ice picks, and Princess Anna.

The evening concludes with more family dancing on the pool deck, followed by fun just for adults in the nightclub featuring dance performances and frozen specialty drinks.

This summer, friends from ‘Frozen’ will make their stage show debut at sea in the Walt Disney Theatre aboard Disney Magic. In the original production, ‘Disney Dreams … An Enchanted Classic,’ Anna, Elsa and Olaf join the line up of Disney characters who together teach a young girl the power of her dreams.

New scenes featuring ‘Frozen’ characters include renditions of ‘Let it Go,’ ‘For the First Time in Forever’ and ‘In Summer.’ Special effects include a snowfall throughout the theatre and the transformation of the young girl’s room into her own ice palace.

Children and families will have the opportunity to meet and take photographs with their favorite ‘Frozen’ friends on Disney Fantasy, Disney Dream, Disney Wonder and Disney Magic.

Passengers on Disney Magic in Norway, the land that inspired Arendelle from ‘Frozen,’ will have the opportunity to join new excursions that bring this fairytale setting to life. One signature adventure ashore in Å̊lesund, created exclusively for Disney Cruise Line, will immerse participants in a storybook village with the help of Elsa and Anna.

Other shore excursions highlight natural wonders, architecture and the Scandinavian culture depicted in the film.

Seven and nine-night voyages begin June 6, sailing through Norwegian fjords and calling on ports including Stavanger, Ålesund, Geiranger, Molde, Olden and Bergen.

Meanwhile, in the Bahamas, Disney will cool down Castaway Cay with the addition of Olaf’s Summertime Freeze bar, serving non-alcoholic specialty frozen drinks in souvenir cups. The bar opens summer 2015 near the Pelican Point tram stop by Castaway Cay Family Beach.

Disney cruise stages dramatic rescue

Posted on by
Reply

Disney cruise stages dramatic rescue of passenger who fell overboard from passing Royal Caribbean liner after holidaymakers spot him in water

  • 22-year-old had been a guest on Royal Caribbean ship Oasis of the Seas
  • Spotted in the water by crew aboard Disney Magic vessel later in the day
  • A lifeboat was dispatch to rescue the passenger near Cozumel, Mexico
  • Questions raised over cruise ship passenger detection technology

A passenger who went overboard during a luxury cruise was rescued by a passing Disney liner.

The 22-year-old, who had been a guest on Royal Caribbean ship Oasis of the Seas, was only spotted in the water by the eagle-eyed passengers and crew of the Disney Magic vessel as it passed by later in the day.

The incident happened on Thursday morning as the Magic was approaching Cozumel off the coast of Mexico.

The passenger can be seen on the far left of the picture as the rescue vessel approaches

It is not yet known how the passenger came to be in the water.

However, the incident is raising questions over whether cruise ships have the proper technology to detect when someone goes overboard.

Disney has credited a combination of passengers and crew from the Magic with spotting the man in the water, lowering a lifeboat, and getting him aboard the Magic.

Below is the Video of the Rescue.

The rescue mission was launched by Disney Magic after passengers and crew spotted someone bobbing in the water

The rescue mission was launched by Disney Magic after passengers and crew spotted someone bobbing in the water

The man was immediately transported to shore for treatment.

In a statement, Royal Caribbean said the ‘22-year-old male guest from Oasis of the Seas went overboard near Cozumel, Mexico.

‘He was spotted by a crew member from another cruise ship, and picked up. We are grateful for the other ship’s assistance.’

Royal Caribbean spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez said the cruise line has not yet provided additional comment, beyond its statement.

Scott Sanders, founder of The Disney Cruise Line Blog, said such a rescue at sea by the Magic crew is unusual.

The rescue mission was launched by Disney Magic after passengers and crew spotted someone bobbing in the water

‘It’s pretty darn fortunate that they were sailing in the vicinity,’ said Sanders, whose blog is not affiliated with Disney.

Jim Walker, a maritime attorney who reported on the incident on his Cruise Law News website, said the case points out the need for cruise ships to have better monitoring systems for detecting when someone falls off or jumps from a ship.

He said systems he would support include motion sensors and thermal detection systems that would indicate if someone goes overboard.

He also favours linking such systems to an alarm notification for crew so that an immediate search-and-rescue operation could begin.

The Oasis of the Seas is the world’s largest cruise ship, with a capacity of 6,360. The ship — which is based at Port Everglades, near Fort Lauderdale — was on a seven-night cruise to the Western Caribbean when the incident occurred.

The vessel has the capacity to house 5,400 passengers and 2,394 crew. It cost £800m and took three years to build in Turku, Finland before it was launched in 2009.

At 1,187ft, the Oasis of the Seas is longer than the Shard and wider than Boeing 747.