Disney Cruise Line

[Magic Feather]

I know they were well into construction on the Wish, but do you know if they had even started 6 and 7?

No. I believe it’s a matter of “when one stops construction the next one starts”

 

[Happytycho]

No. I believe it’s a matter of “when one stops construction the next one starts”

This is true in a general sense but they build multiple at a time so it when construction starts on a specific ship depends on the build order and how many are being built at once. It's further complicated by there being multiple shipyards involved, as Neptun Werft builds the floating engine room units for large ships at both Meyer Werft and Meyer Turku.

Royal Caribbean's Odyssey of the Seas was recently floated out of Meyer Werft's hall 6, which means that construction of the first Disney Wish mega block can soon begin. The Wish floating engine room unit is now visible on Meyer Werft's webcams.

Hopefully Disney will release more information about the ship's unique features and initial itineraries in the next few months. The (fleetwide) deployments could be quite interesting because
DCL is now overcommitted to ports for 2023-2024 following the delay of the 6th and 7th ships.

 

[Magic Feather]

This is true in a general sense but they build multiple at a time so it when construction starts on a specific ship depends on the build order and how many are being built at once. It's further complicated by there being multiple shipyards involved, as Neptun Werft builds the floating engine room units for large ships at both Meyer Werft and Meyer Turku.

Royal Caribbean's Odyssey of the Seas was recently floated out of Meyer Werft's hall 6, which means that construction of the first Disney Wish mega block can soon begin. The Wish floating engine room unit is now visible on Meyer Werft's webcams.

Hopefully Disney will release more information about the ship's unique features and initial itineraries in the next few months. The (fleetwide) deployments could be quite interesting because
DCL is now overcommitted to ports for 2023-2024 following the delay of the 6th and 7th ships.

It's definitely an interesting process.

Also, in a sans-covid world, I'm under the impression that we would have already had our first major info dump on the Triton Class's unique features. Blue Sky for these ships was absolutely crazy, so I'm interested to see how much was cut to make the final product.

 

[Happytycho]

It's definitely an interesting process.

Also, in a sans-covid world, I'm under the impression that we would have already had our first major info dump on the Triton Class's unique features. Blue Sky for these ships was absolutely crazy, so I'm interested to see how much was cut to make the final product.

Yeah, if it was launching in January 2022 then I would expect the maiden voyages to already be on sale and presumably the first info dump needs to happen before that. Now, with the delay to summer 2022, we're probably looking at sometime in the first half of next year for the initial info release.

I haven't followed speculation very closely, but I'm definitely curious to see how the new ships compare to the dream class. I know there's been stuff said about how they're similar in size, so it will be interesting to see how much is really the same. The few released concept images suggest that the biggest changes could be to common areas - the top decks and some lower decks (deck 5?). I'm sure part of that is just having more concierge rooms, but hopefully there's also some new and innovative stuff to help keep Disney a level above the other large cruise lines rather than just being a copycat.

 

[HandsomePete]

hopefully there's also some new and innovative stuff to help keep Disney a level above the other large cruise lines rather than just being a copycat

Technology out the wazoo, yes.

 

[joelbryant11]

 

[Happytycho]

The first large section of the Disney Wish is now being assembled in the back of Meyer Werft's hall 6, but little progress can be publicly seen because the Wish was removed from Meyer Werft's webcams shortly after discernible elements started becoming visible.

I still think that Disney will need to release more information about the ship soon because I believe that their current intent is to have the maiden voyage in the first half of June 2022.

 

[Nick]

 

[BigHouseFootball]

Sometimes listening to Imagineers speak is a little too much even for me. They have to justify everything as part of the story. Like, sometimes a door handle is just a damn door handle!

 

[Nick]

Introducing the AquaMouse - the First Disney Attraction at Sea

Walt Disney World news, photos, and reviews! We provide you with daily news from the Walt Disney World theme parks and beyond

blogmickey.com

 

[joelbryant11]

They made a lot of bold changes. I never expected them to go full IP with the MDRs, but I’m here for it. Especially the MCU-based one. The Star Wars bar/lounge is a great idea. I dislike how they decimated the size of the adults-only pool deck in favor of a larger concierge pool deck

 

[Jerroddragon]

Question....for those who cruise a lot is this the cheapest time to get on a Disney Cruise?

 

[Nick]

So, just wanted to mention that Disney seems to really be doubling down on Boarding Groups as they've brought them to the Cruise Line. I have not been on a Disney sailing yet, but seeing videos and posts of people who were on the first sailing back out with paying guests, they are making you book a BG to get off the ship at Castaway Cay.

The Dream is running at extremely limited capacity currently from what i've seen and supposedly the BGs aren't really needed much right now, but I can only imagine once there are 4000+ guests on the ship and they have the BG system in place how much of a nightmare that will be as it will truly piss people off. Disney isn't even really leading the cruise market as far as i'm concerned when it comes to family cruising (I think Royal takes the cake on that), so Disney needs to be careful with how far they push it because there are a lot of other options out there on the cruise market. Disney has sort of gotten guests used to a WDW vacation being difficult and they get away with it, but a cruise is meant to be relaxing and having to book reservations to leave the ship is not what i'd call relaxing.

 

[Stryker]

What's a cheaper way to get to Port Canaveral from MCO? Disney Magical Express is $39 one-way. For 5 of us, that's almost $200 each way which is insane. Uber/Lyft? Shuttle? If shuttle, any links to a reliable company?

Also, would it be better to spend the night before the cruise near MCO or near Port Canaveral?

Any tips are greatly appreciated.

 

[MrRoamer]

What's a cheaper way to get to Port Canaveral from MCO? Disney Magical Express is $39 one-way. For 5 of us, that's almost $200 each way which is insane. Uber/Lyft? Shuttle? If shuttle, any links to a reliable company?

Also, would it be better to spend the night before the cruise near MCO or near Port Canaveral?

Any tips are greatly appreciated.

Honestly $39 sounds pretty cheap for how far that is with tolls and everything

 

[SeventyOne]

What's a cheaper way to get to Port Canaveral from MCO? Disney Magical Express is $39 one-way. For 5 of us, that's almost $200 each way which is insane. Uber/Lyft? Shuttle? If shuttle, any links to a reliable company?

Also, would it be better to spend the night before the cruise near MCO or near Port Canaveral?

Any tips are greatly appreciated.

Uber XL probably cheaper. An old-fashioned car service might be worth looking into, as well, a lot around here specialize in trips to the port. Unfortunately I can't recommend any from personal experience.

I suggest MCO just because you'll probably get a better rate. It's less than an hour even from Convention Center area, so might get lucky with a cheap rate, should have no issue at all getting there with time to spare.

 

[Stryker]

Uber XL probably cheaper. An old-fashioned car service might be worth looking into, as well, a lot around here specialize in trips to the port. Unfortunately I can't recommend any from personal experience.

I suggest MCO just because you'll probably get a better rate. It's less than an hour even from Convention Center area, so might get lucky with a cheap rate, should have no issue at all getting there with time to spare.

Thanks! After some more research, I should be able to get an UberXL for less than $100. The cheapest shuttle service I could find is $25 per person one way. If it's true that Disney transportation might get me an earlier port arrival time, that might be worth paying extra for.

 

[Stryker]

Just got back recently from a 7-night Western Caribbean cruise on the Fantasy. Will share my thoughts on that later but wanted to drop this here for now.

New Disney Cruise Line Island Destination at Lighthouse Point in The Bahamas to Welcome Guests in Summer 2024 | Disney Parks Blog (go.com)

With the next two Triton class ships entering service in 2024 and 2025, they need another exclusive port badly. Looking forward to checking it out some day.

 

[Stryker]

Been meaning to post this sooner but after 2 months, here it is.

Did the Feb 25th 7-Night Western Carribean cruise on the Fantasy. Went with my wife and our three kids (13 yo son, 11 yo daughter and 9 yo son) celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary. This was my third Disney cruise, seventh overall and first cruise in over 10 years.

We took advantage of the Disney+ 3rd & 4th guests sail free offer. From one of the biggest Disney fans I know IRL, this hasn't been offered in over a decade.

The entire check-in process in done entirely online now. It's no longer done at the cruise terminal. Thirty days before your sail date at 12am ET, you have to upload a headshot, photo of your passport, passport number and any pre/post cruise travel info. You choose your Port Arrival Time (PAT) and they'll assign your Boarding Group number. You can then start booking excursions and on-board experiences. This was an entire mess as their servers kept crashing for hours. I gave up and just did it in the morning without a hiccup. Got a 12:30pm PAT and BG 15.

Pre-Cruise Travel

We were scheduled to arrive the night before the cruise and stay at an MCO area hotel. Received an alert that morning that our 10:30am flight was delayed until 2:00pm but was advised to show up at the airport for the original departure time in case there's no longer a delay so we arrived at LAX at 8:30am.

Around 11:00am, our flight got delayed again until 5:00pm so I asked for food vouchers and was given one for $60. Even with the ridiculous price gouging at the airport, we managed to get 4 poke bowls without having to pay extra out of pocket and it was enough to feed us all.

Around 3:00pm, our flight was now cancelled and I started suffering major anxiety about possibly missing the cruise (we did not have travel insurance). They managed to get us on a 6:00pm flight to JFK arriving around 1:30am with a 7:00am from JFK arriving 10:00am at MCO. This was cutting it really close but that was the only option we had. We could still miss the cruise if the 7:00am flight got delayed.

The 6:00pm LAX-JFK was on time and we arrived at 1:30am. There wasn't really enough time to get a hotel for possibly a couple hours of sleep so we spent the night at the JFK terminal where none of us got any real sleep. The emergency exit alarm went off sporadically several times. By 4:00, the snack stand near us was getting restocked so that created a bit of noise. By 5:00, people were slowing entering the terminal which caused more noise.

Couldn't use the MCO hotel we booked but they were gracious enough to give us a full refund less $25 processing fee (~$250) so not too bad considering it was technically too late to cancel. Not the most ideal start to the vacation, but there were no further delays. Our 7:00am flight was on time and we arrived at MCO before 10:00am and our Lyft arrived at 10:30am. Stopped by a local Wawa for some grab-n-go breakfast and 4 wine bottles to take on board the ship and got to the port by 12:30pm. (They let you bring onboard 2 bottles of wine or 6 bottles of beer per 21+ adult per port.)

A huge sigh of relief as we didn't miss our cruise and boarded the ship at 1:00pm.

- to be continued at a later date -

 

[BigHouseFootball]

Lord. I would have been a nervous wreck about missing the ship! Glad everything worked out!