Disney Cruise Line introduced a brand new ship coming to Southeast Asia for the primary time, with the seventh addition to the DCL fleet being based mostly out of a house port in Singapore beginning in 2025. This publish shares the announcement from the corporate, plus our commentary about this ship, whether or not it’ll have a on line casino, and extra!
This seventh ship within the DCL fleet was revealed by Disney Parks, Experiences and Products Chairman Josh D’Amaro and Singapore’s Minister for Transport and Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations, S. Iswaran. The new ship is presently unnamed, and can be part of the prevailing 5 ships plus the Disney Treasure after that units sail beginning in 2024.
Under a not too long ago signed Memorandum of Understanding, Disney Cruise Line and Singapore Tourism Board agreed to collaborate to homeport a brand-new Disney cruise ship completely in Singapore for at the least 5 years starting in 2025. More particulars concerning the maiden voyage, itineraries and onboard experiences will probably be introduced at a later date.
“This is a very exciting year for The Walt Disney Company — 2023 marks our 100th anniversary,” D’Amaro stated. “As part of this, Disney Cruise Line is currently undergoing an ambitious expansion with new ships and new destinations around the world. We are incredibly excited to make Singapore the home port to our seventh-launched ship, which will sail from here year-round starting in 2025.”
“We look forward to welcoming the magic of Disney Cruise Line to Singapore in 2025,” stated Keith Tan, Chief Executive, Singapore Tourism Board (STB). “This is an important milestone for STB and reflects Disney Cruise Line’s strong confidence in Singapore and Southeast Asia. The new Disney cruise ship will be an attraction itself and is expected to boost the tourism sector in Singapore for many years to come.”
Singapore’s strategic location, world-class air connectivity, and port infrastructure make it a thriving cruise hub in Southeast Asia, a various area that’s residence to over 40 UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
The addition of a Disney Cruise Line ship in Singapore has the potential so as to add hundreds of thousands of native and overseas cruise passengers throughout the five-year interval, together with fly-cruise passengers who arrive in Singapore by air. It can also be anticipated to result in vital spillover advantages for the broader economic system. These embody higher demand for port and ship-related companies, in addition to on-ground spending in Singapore for the approach to life and hospitality sectors.
The new ship will function revolutionary Disney Cruise Line experiences together with the dazzling leisure, world-class eating, and legendary visitor service that set DCL other than the competitors. Guests of all ages will discover devoted areas and actions designed only for them, and households will create unforgettable reminiscences with beloved characters akin to Captain Mickey Mouse and Captain Minnie Mouse, Disney Princesses, Marvel Super Heroes and extra.
Disney Cruise Line estimates the passenger capability of the 208,000-gross-ton ship to be roughly 6,000 with round 2,300 crew members. It is predicted to be among the many first within the cruise business to be fueled by inexperienced methanol, one of many lowest emission fuels obtainable.
Construction is projected to be accomplished on the MV Werften shipyard in Wismar, Germany, beneath the administration of Meyer Werft, the Papenburg-based firm that constructed the Disney Dream, Disney Fantasy and Disney Wish and is developing two further Wish-class ships.
In phrases of commentary, we’ll begin by addressing the plain however unspoken: that is the previous Global Dream ship.
Back when Disney introduced that it had acquired this partially-finished ship, the press launch acknowledged that Disney Cruise Line was in a position “to secure [Global Dream] at a favorable price and within the capital expenditure guidance the Walt Disney Company provided on its recent earnings call.” At the time, we thought that was noteworthy as a result of that’s not the kind of language that will normally be included in Disney’s sometimes-overly-flowery press releases.
Well, we discovered why a number of weeks later. According to reporting on the time that was later confirmed by regulatory filings, the Walt Disney Company about $40 million for the Global Dream, which is particularly staggering provided that the $2 billion ship was roughly 75% full when Disney acquired it.
The Global Dream’s earlier proprietor filed for chapter earlier than finishing the vessel, and Disney was rumored to be the one purchaser after negotiations with two different events failed. This gave Disney full leverage, with the insolvency supervisor’s selections being Disney or promoting the ship for scrap metallic. There was reportedly resistance to the latter route, because it harm morale on the shipyard.
Disney Cruise Line thus acquired the ship for a tiny fraction of its unique price ticket and even worth as partially-built. However, that got here with the asterisk that Disney would take over with out guarantee claims and would wish to spend significantly sums modifying and “reimagining” vital points of the ship with the experience of Walt Disney Imagineering. Reported estimates put Disney Cruise Line’s prices with the ship as almost $1 billion to complete and redesign the Global Dream to show it right into a Disney Cruise Line vessel.
Still, this has gotta be categorized as a uncommon Chapek win. At the time of the announcement, this appeared fully out of left area, and impulsive, very a lot inconsistent with Disney’s regular methodical and risk-averse approach of doing enterprise.
We overtly questioned whether or not Disney Cruise Line was betting too boldly on the way forward for cruising, particularly with a number of ships already beneath development. Even with this crusing completely in Asia and have little-to-no overlap with the present DCL ships, it felt like a giant leap. (Especially because it stood to purpose that one of many present ships can be relocated to Asia as soon as the Wish-class is accomplished.)
Upon studying the worth that Disney Cruise Line had paid, all of it made full sense. It was too good of a deal to go up, with minimal draw back danger and a considerably decrease whole price even after retrofits and ending than Disney Cruise Line would pay to construct a comparably-sized ship from the bottom up.
The rumored value (and subsequent affirmation) got here proper as Chapek was being proven the door at Disney, however he and D’Amaro undoubtedly deserve kudos for pulling off this deal. Like me on the Disney Character Warehouse Outlet taking a look at 90% off costs, it was a “buy now, figure out the purpose later” kinda state of affairs.
Beyond that, I’ll be curious to see what’s lower and what’s stored. The Asian market may be very totally different from the home one, each with cruising preferences and data or expectations of the Disney model. Most attention-grabbing to us is that the Global Dream was designed by its unique house owners to have appreciable on line casino area.
That’s not likely distinctive to the Asian cruising market, though it does appear extra pronounced there. Obviously, Disney has resisted the temptation so as to add playing to its fleet; the corporate as an entire has been keen to go away cash on the desk by avoiding sports activities betting, regardless of flirting with the thought repeatedly beneath Chapek.
Casinos are extremely profitable for cruise ships. By not having them, Disney Cruise Line has taken the monetary hit to keep away from taking the reputational one. Even within the United States, the tides are turning on that when it comes to shopper expectations and preferences. And quick!
I bear in mind a time when sports activities betting was verboten, and in only a few quick years, it turned completely normalized and actively promoted by the networks and leagues. ESPN finally embracing the identical appears inevitable–the larger query is who will personal the model when that occurs?
Maybe Global Dream would be the Walt Disney Company’s first foray into playing on a big scale. Given that the area is already there, the Asian market has totally different expectations and brand-knowledge of Disney, and that this ship will fly beneath the radar of most American audiences, it appears to me extra possible than not that the reimagined and renamed Global Dream may have on line casino area.
It actually comes right down to how strongly Bob Iger feels about Disney’s affiliation with playing, the monetary upside to together with casinos, and whether or not it’ll harm the model. Personally, I’d wager on it occurring…and I don’t even gamble!
Ultimately, I’m actually intrigued by all of this. Singapore has been on our journey bucket record for years as the subsequent new-to-us place we wish to go to in Asia. It was by no means beforehand on our radar as a cruise vacation spot–extra a stopover for a number of days en path to or getting back from Japan–however plans can change. Between my need to go to Singapore and Sarah’s love for Disney Cruise Line, we’ll undoubtedly be checking this out in 2025.
I even have an incredible quantity of curiosity about how this ship will probably be reimagined from the Global Dream, and particularly designed to enchantment to the Asian market. That’s one of many issues that I discovered most attention-grabbing about Shanghai Disneyland, which is Disney’s first actually focused park in Asia. (As a lot as we love them, the parks in Tokyo and Hong Kong are largely Americanized.)
Even although I don’t gamble, I don’t actually care by hook or by crook whether or not the ship has a on line casino. (It’s not an ethical aversion, extra recognition that the home all the time wins. We’ve visited Las Vegas, Macau, and Monaco–I like the power round casinos, simply not the “losing money” half.) It’ll be fascinating to listen to the thought course of behind that call by hook or by crook, see what else is constructed and not noted, and a lot extra.
Shanghai Disneyland is concurrently just like however very totally different from the opposite citadel parks, and I’m anticipating the identical familiar-but-unique vibes from Disney Cruise Line’s seventh ship. As a lot as I’m wanting ahead to the Disney Treasure, I’m actually wanting ahead to this!
Planning to set sail aboard one of many DCL ships? Read our complete Disney Cruise Line Guide to arrange on your voyage, plus plan leisure, actions & excursions, and study what to anticipate out of your Disney cruise! For personalised planning & suggestions, click on right here to get a cruise quote from a no-fee Authorized Disney Vacation Planner. They can discover you the entire present reductions, and aid you plan the main points of your cruise!
YOUR THOUGHTS
Thoughts on Disney Cruise Line’s seventh ship being based mostly out of Singapore? What do you concentrate on the corporate buying the partially-completed Global Dream ship? Think this can be a good addition to the fleet or at-odds with the prevailing ships? Confident that Imagineering can rework this right into a ‘Distinctly Disney’ (Cruise Line) ship, or suppose it’ll stand proud of the remainder? Thoughts on DCL’s plans for development and growth? Do you agree or disagree with our assessments? Any questions? Hearing suggestions about your experiences is each attention-grabbing to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas under within the feedback!