Tag Archives: disney

Disney Cruise Line Fun Facts!

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– The Disney ships are painted in Mickey Mouse-inspired colors – black hull, white superstructure, yellow trim and two giant red funnels, each with the Disney Cruise Line Mickey Mouse logo.

– Disney Cruise Line was the first cruise line to have yellow lifeboats, instead of the traditional regulation orange. Disney was granted special permission from the U.S. Coast Guard to paint the lifeboats yellow, to keep with the special color theming of the ship.

– The Disney Magic was built in two halves… one hundred miles apart! Part of the ship was constructed in Ancona, Italy then towed 100 miles to meet the stern in Marghera (just outside Venice) to be perfectly joined and welded together.

– Disney Cruise Line ships use the iconic first seven notes of the “When You Wish Upon a Star” song melody as their horn signals.

– Disney ships are the only cruise ships to have four captains – the ship’s captain, Captain Mickey, Captain Hook and Captain Jack Sparrow.

– Measuring 964 feet in length, the Disney Magic and Disney Wonder are each longer than Main Street U.S.A at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World.

– The anchor on the Disney Magic weighs 28,200 pounds – about the same as three full-grown elephants. Each ship weighs 90 million pounds.

– Taking place every cruise onboard the Disney Magic and Disney Wonder, the “Pirates IN the Caribbean” deck party features the only fireworks display at sea.

Guest Experience
– Seventy-five percent of staterooms on the Disney Magic and Disney Wonder are outside, ocean view cabins. Of those, nearly half offer a private verandah.

– In a cruise industry first, most staterooms on Disney Cruise Line ships feature a split “bath-and-a-half” design, providing families the added convenience of a sink and tub/shower in one room and a sink and toilet in a separate room.

– Onboard each Disney Cruise Line ship, there are about 950 crew members representing more than 60 different nationalities. That is approximately one crew member for every three guests.

– Disney Cruise Line was named the top large cruise ship experience by the readers of Condé Nast Traveler magazine in the ninth annual “Reader’s Cruise Poll.” In fact, Disney Cruise Line has won more than 50 different awards and accolades since launching in 1998.

Dining
– On an average seven-night Disney Cruise Line voyage, the following food items are consumed:
• Beef – 5,000 pounds
• Chicken – 10,000 pounds
• Salmon – 1,200 pounds
• Shrimp – 1,300 pounds
• Lobster Tail – 1,000 pounds
• Melon – 12,800 pounds
• Pineapple – 3,300 pounds
• Individual Eggs – 71,500
• Coffee – 57,820 cups
• Soda – 3,125 gallons
• Beer – 12,385 bottles/cans
• Wine and Champagne – 2,700 bottles

– In a single day, each Disney Cruise Line ship uses:
• 10,000 forks
• 5,000 cloth napkins
• 800 tablecloths

– Disney Cruise Line dining room Cast members represent, on average, 60 different nationalities.

– The décor and food of the Palo restaurant are inspired by Italy, the birthplace of both the Disney Magic and Disney Wonder.

– Palo takes its name from the poles that line the canals of Venice. Palo’s extensive reserve wine list features selections that hail from some of the most mature vineyards in the world and highlight some of the greatest Super Tuscans like Sassicaia, Ornellaia and Tignanello.

Onboard Features
– The Disney Magic interior is in the art deco style, characterized by geometric designs and bold, solid colors. The interior on the Disney Wonder is in the art nouveau style, which is characterized by organic influences and curved patterns.

– A bronze statue of Helmsman Mickey adorns the lobby of the Disney Magic and was inspired by the famous “Man at the Wheel” statue in Gloucester, Mass. On the Disney Wonder, a bronze statue of Ariel from Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” graces the lobby.

– The main atrium chandeliers on both the Disney Magic and Disney Wonder are each one-of-a-kind commissioned pieces created by celebrated glass artist Dale Chihuly. To meet cruise line safety standards, Chihuly worked within a new medium and fashioned the vibrant chandeliers out of acrylic plastic.

– The décor of the Buena Vista Theatre on both the Disney Magic and Disney Wonder was designed to emulate the elegant movie houses of the 1920s and 1930s, the period when Walt Disney was producing the first Mickey Mouse animated films.

– The main showplace for entertainment onboard Disney Cruise Line ships, the Walt Disney Theatre spans three decks and can seat 977 guests.

– A leader in family entertainment, Disney is the only cruise line to feature first run films from the Walt Disney Pictures film banners, with movies premiering exclusively at sea on the same day that they are released in US theaters. Disney Cruise Line is also the industry leader in onboard enhanced digital entertainment with advanced Disney Digital 3-D technology in all shipboard theaters.

– With ships purpose built for family cruising, both the Disney Magic and Disney Wonder boast nearly an entire deck of space dedicated to age-specific children’s activities.

– Don’t worry about getting a chill! The swimming pools on Disney ships are heated when the water temperature drops below 75 degrees.

– A room with a view! 73% of staterooms onboard Disney ships have ocean views. Of those outside facing rooms, 60% boast private verandahs.

– Stay connected, even at sea! Disney ships feature Wi-Fi service in staterooms and public spaces, allowing guests to surf the web at sea from their wireless-ready personal laptop computers.

Castaway Cay


– Castaway Cay is the only private island in the cruise industry where the ship docks alongside so guests do not have to tender to land.

– Visitors to Disney’s private island, Castaway Cay, can catch a glimpse of the ghost ship Flying Dutchman – the actual, full-size studio prop from the Disney film Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest moored in the waters just offshore.

– Guests can mail a special souvenir message to family and friends back home by using the Castaway Cay Post Office. All postcards, letters and packages shipped from the island display an exclusive Castaway Cay postmark.

– Water is procured in Port Canaveral and delivered to Castaway Cay by the ships to an 80,000 gallon fresh water storage tank on the island.

– Feels like home? Approximately 60 Disney Cruise Line crew members live and work full-time on Castaway Cay.

Environmental Programs
– Each Disney ship has an onboard Environmental Officer dedicated to overseeing all environmental systems and procedures, along with shipboard recycling, waste minimization and water reclamation efforts.

– While cruising, Disney ships can convert sea water to fresh water for use onboard. An onboard desalinization plant produces nearly 500,000 gallons of fresh water every day.

– Disney Cruise Line made history by being the first cruise line to utilize an innovative hull coating that is both 100 percent non-toxic and effective in increasing fuel efficiency. The coating helps reduce the ships’ surface resistance in the water, decreasing the need for propulsion power as the ship glides through the sea.

– On Castaway Cay, an innovative recycling program repurposes used cooking oil from the ships’ galleys and combines it with diesel fuel to power machinery on the island. The program reduces waste and carbon dioxide emissions, saving up to 8,000 gallons of traditional fuel each year.

– Shipboard recycling systems help divert more than 405 tons of aluminum, plastics, paper and non-traditional recyclables from conventional waste streams each year. That’s the equivalent of over 27 school buses or 12 humpback whales.

– Researchers at Castaway Cay are helping to restore the health of coral reefs through a unique research project transplanting native sea urchins in The Bahamas. The urchins help to control harmful algae levels that can choke out corals, and the project is providing vital research for rebuilding coral reef systems that serve as homes for tropical fish and marine life.

Disney hikes NCFs for cruises, drops air commission on tours

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By Tom Stieghorst
Disney Cruise Line on Aug. 18 is changing the structure of its non-commissionable fare (NCF), which will raise the amount of fare exempt from commission on most cruises.

Also starting Aug. 18, tour operator Adventures by Disney will no longer pay commission on the air portion of packages. It will continue to book air arrangements.

The new NCF system creates a sliding scale based on cruise length.

Currently, the NCF is a flat $20 per person, per day. Starting next week, the line will deduct $25 per person, per day on voyages of six days or less, and $30 per person, per day on trips between seven and 10 days.

Disney is leaving the amount at $20 for cruises of 11 days or more.

Also at Adventures by Disney, pre- and post-tour stays at non-Disney branded hotels will not be commissionable.

Disney said commissions will be paid on Disney resorts for pre- and post-tour stays related to itineraries in Southern California, China, England and France.

Interview: Jo Rzymowska on her first six months at Celebrity Cruises

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By Sophie Griffiths

The line’s new UK chief talks to TTG about how the brand has evolved, why prices could soon be on the rise and shopping with agents in Borough Market

Celebrity Cruises UK&Ireland managing director Jo Rzymowska outside the O2 Arena

Jo Rzymowska must be one of the cruise industry’s most recognised figures in the trade. From beginning her career at International Leisure Group in 1982, she has spent the past 30 years climbing the travel ladder, working in sales-related roles for a variety of well-known names – Thomas Cook, Disney and Universal Studios to name a few – strengthening and developing her relationship with agents.

It is perhaps no surprise then that six months into her new role as the UK head of Celebrity Cruises, Rzymowska is just as passionate about the trade, and keen to explain why – now more than ever – agents remain so integral to Celebrity and the cruise industry at large.

“We want to do as much as we can with our partners. We want them to experience the brand and understand what Celebrity is about,” she says.

This renewed focus on the trade has of course been aided by RCL Cruises Ltd’s decision to market three of its lines, Royal Caribbean International, Azamara and Celebrity, separately – a move that came into force in January.

”We’ve gone from a small team of five people to 100, who wake up every morning and think ‘Celebrity’ all day”

“The key benefit now is that it has allowed us to go narrower and deeper,” Rzymowska explains. “We’ve gone from a small team of five people to 100, who wake up every morning and think ‘Celebrity’ all day, and we have a dedicated sales team of 20 who are out there on the road.”

It is, Rzymowska adds, all part of a strategy to grow the Celebrity brand in the UK, which, she concedes, still remains “relatively unknown in Britain”.

One way of achieving this is by dividing the sales team up to focus on three distinct areas: “We have one dedicated team working with the consortia, one with Thomas Cook and Tui, and one for the cruise specialists. The needs for these three audiences are different, but they are all very important groups.”

In particular, Rzymowska believes it is pivotal that agents – and customers – fully understand what Celebrity has to offer, and the elements that keep it unique from other lines. Which explains why Celebrity has been cropping up in a number of surprising locations recently – and why head of sales Michael English was to be found recently food shopping with agents in London’s famous Borough Market.

“We don’t want to be a mass-market brand. We’ve created a dedicated team specifically focused on London and the south-east – the most affluent area in the UK – because we want to be targeting the right customer to travel with us, and we’re doing a lot of work with our key travel partners to build on this.”

Spreading the word

This work includes huge advertising campaigns in commuter spaces such as Waterloo station, and sponsoring “experiential events”, such as the recent Polo in the Park, with the line’s travel partners invited as well.

“We’re also sponsoring Kew the Music 2014 and are the official cruise partner for the O2, which allows us to have competitions for agents to come and see acts such as Michael Buble,” Rzymowska adds. “It’s about bringing the brand to the consumer, and telling them what we’re about.”

”If people want to book with us direct, of course we’ll take those bookings, but more than 80% of our business comes through the trade”

It’s also about bringing the brand to the agents: “Michael [English] took agents to Borough Market so they could taste food which had a relevance to Celebrity’s restaurants. From the 12 agents who attended the session, within a week eight had made a booking with us.”

So is Rzymowska against growing the line’s direct business then?

“It’s about having a choice,” she says. “People know I genuinely believe the trade is a great distribution channel, but we will be wherever the consumer wants us to be.

“If people want to book with us direct, of course we’ll take those bookings, but more than 80% of our business comes through the trade. This balance may change,” she concedes, “but I think the trade will always be the largest distribution channel. Especially if you’re talking about purchases that people are doing for the first time – they want that independent advice.”

Celebrity Cruises UK boss Jo Rzymowska goes 'back to the floor' at a Kuoni branch in London

Jo Rzymowska goes ‘back to the floor’ at a Kuoni branch in John Lewis, London

Beat the competition

Like a number of other lines, it seems Celebrity is also conscious of the growing number of companies looking to capitalise on the lucrative world of shore excursions, with several firms, including Attraction World, now offering commission to agents to sell separate excursions to those offered by the cruise lines.

Rzymowska admits it is an area that the Celebrity team is assessing: “We’re constantly looking at how we work with travel agents… there are opportunities we can look at,” she concedes before adding: “We have no immediate plans but we are continually evaluating.”

With the trade remaining so pivotal to sales, and so much new capacity flooding on to the market next year, such as the introduction of Royal Caribbean’s 4,180-passenger Quantum of the Seas and P&O’s 3,600-passenger Britannia, I question whether Ryzmowska is concerned the discounting wars of 2011 could again raise their ugly head.

“If we felt that the brand was being underrepresented or damaged by the way in which people were representing it, we would have that conversation,” she admits.

“But we generally get great support from our partners, and we have regular meetings with them about how we market the brand.”

Price hike plans

In fact, far from worrying about discounting, Rzymowska is more focused on how the line can start raising prices. “We want to work together to look at increasing the rate that people pay,” she says.

“It’s in both of our interests to sell the holidays at a price based on what the brand offers. We also want to look at upping the price so that it is relative to just how much we invest into the product.”

This is perhaps understandable – these “investments” are numerous, and include improvements to the line’s “suite class”, introducing dedicated dining rooms and lounges for guests in this class from April 2015 as well as providing individual butlers.

There is also a new “wellness” programme, which was launched in April this year, as part of a new partnership with the US award-winning spa Canyon Ranch, with a specific restaurant offering healthy platters “which are still tasty”, Rzymowska assures.

The line also has a target audience in mind for its cruises – affluent couples and families, and the LGBT market, with Celebrity often being awarded in the US for its gay-friendly approach. “It’s about attitude rather than age,” Rzymowska explains.

“We have got plans to grow in the UK but it’s more about making sure we get the right guest onboard the right ship and that we work with our travel partners to achieve this.”

Looks like agents can expect many more trips to Borough Market and Michael Buble concerts yet.