3rd Ship for Disney Cruise Line Closer to Reality!

[eroller]

Source: Florida Today
==============================
The Walt Disney Co. plans to build a third cruise ship when the dollar gets stronger in relation to the euro, Disney Chief Executive Officer Michael Eisner said Tuesday.

"We do have plans to build that third ship, but we're waiting until we can get a better price for it," Eisner said during the company's third-quarter earnings conference call with stock analysts and investors.

Most cruise ships are built in Europe, so the key, Eisner said, is for the dollar to gain strength vs. the euro.

He did not discuss where that third ship might be based. Disney's two current ships -- the Magic and the Wonder -- sail out of Port Canaveral.

Eisner said Disney Cruise Line has played an important role in the resurgence of attendance at Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando.

"We launched the Disney Cruise Line six years ago, and we have quickly become an industry leader," Eisner said.

Eisner said the cruise line has benefited the theme parks by adding "an incremental number of guests attending theme parks and resorts."

He noted that, to date, more than 2 million guests have sailed on Disney vessels.

The Disney Magic is expected to dock today in Puerto Rico, the first time the Magic has been scheduled to sail there.

Next year, the ship will be relocated to California for 12 weeks starting in May, and will sail from Los Angeles to Mexico.

"Eisner said the company would stick by its theory of three: Emphasis on earnings growth, return on invested capital and cash flow.


Ernie

[Druke I]

Long rumored - and hope it comes to pass.

It will be interesting to see where the ships will be deployed, as the fleet grows.

Europe would probably be very popular, although I think Asia might also be a big draw.

Michael

[Chloe Girl]

eroller:

Wow, great news!

Hope it really does come to fruition...was on the Wonder and really enjoyed it...would go back in a heartbeat!

V&M

[karebear50]

What are they gonna name it?? I heard rumors of the Disney Dream. Anyone else heard anything??

[JanetMarie]

This is nice to hear because the ships are a few years old now, and I think they could really use another to add to their small fleet. Good news. ;)

[Pixie Dust II]

I have always heard the name Disney Dreams for a third ship, but time will tell. On our last cruise, which ended September 24 the talk was Alaska and based on west coast. It takes nearly two years to build a ship, but with the secrets of Disney who says the building in not underway in secret. I had heard over a year ago that it was being build when there was talk of Europe for Disney cruises.

[Just_Cruising]

Because of what Eisner said you can bet the new boat will be based where one of their resorts it. My guess would be that they might keep one on the west coast (during the summer at least) and have two boats serving Port Canaveral.

[a1moty]

I would love it if Disney had a cruise going out of southern CA all of the time---
It is so expensive to fly cross country. I am sure that they would have no
trouble filling a ship on this side of the US. It could go north to Alaska in the summer and south to Mexico in the winter.....it would certainly make a family cruise more affordable.

:)

[Host Mick]

It's nearly impossible and mostly counterproductive to build a ship in secret. Not even the Glomar Explorer was kept secret. her mission was secret, but not her construction.
After the ship is designed, the design is put out to bid to several shipyards. When a shipyard wins the bid, it's a big deal. Press-releases, a party, handshakes in front of cameras, the works. The line and the shipyard want the publicity. The line wants to build the excitement of anticipation, the shipyard gets a boost in share price. There's no up-side to keeping it a secret.

[Host Mick]

Darn,
Now I'm watching the Euro exchange rate, rooting for the Dollar.
Let's go Dollar, everyone buy American, let's get that dollar going and get that ship built!

"LONDON (AP) - The U.S. dollar sank to another record low against the euro in European trading Wednesday morning. Gold prices rose. "

"The euro hit a record high of $1.3167 in morning trading, then eased to $1.3150, up from $1.3085 late Tuesday. The 12-nation European currency's previous peak was $1.3105 reached Tuesday. "

Source: Florida Today
==============================
The Walt Disney Co. plans to build a third cruise ship when the dollar gets stronger in relation to the euro, Disney Chief Executive Officer Michael Eisner said Tuesday.

"We do have plans to build that third ship, but we're waiting until we can get a better price for it," Eisner said during the company's third-quarter earnings conference call with stock analysts and investors.

Most cruise ships are built in Europe, so the key, Eisner said, is for the dollar to gain strength vs. the euro.

Ernie

[Lani]

It will be interesting to see where the ships will be deployed, as the fleet grows.

Europe would probably be very popular, although I think Asia might also be a big draw.Keep in mind all this is unofficial, based on information from various sources we can't attribute to... and with Disney, you never know how they change their plans.

The current buzz is that the third ship (the new one) will be berthed in Port Canaveral. One of the current ships (either the Magic or Wonder) will get permanently relocated to the West Coast; at this point Long Beach is the prime candidate. It's close enough to Anaheim that they can do a Land/Sea package with the Disneyland Resort.

Eventually, pie in the sky stuff might include Alaska and Asia, but those would be far far far far off in the future.

[bryanwal]

The Euro is nearing $1.35, a record high, so I wouldn't start planning vacation time on the new Disney ship. This is many years away if it's tied to the exchange rate.