Disney announces new European cruise tours

[Grumpy]

Jason Garcia | Sentinel Staff Writer


Disney is sending its cruise ships farther afield than ever before.

The company announced this afternoon that it will send the 2,700-passenger Disney Magic cruise ship overseas for five months in 2010, for a series of sailings that will take it from Russia to Northern Africa. The April-through-September schedule will mark the longest stretch that a Disney cruise ship has yet spent away from its home port at Port Canaveral.

Disney's schedule includes eight 10- and 11-night tours through the Mediterranean, where the Magic spent the summer of 2007. But it will also feature the company's first sailings in Northern Europe, with four 12-night voyages that will take the ship from Dover, England, to St. Petersburg, Russia, with stops in half a dozen other countries.

"We had a huge success when we went to the Med the first time. And there were a lot of guests who, frankly, didn't have an opportunity to go," said Tom McAlpin, president of the Celebration-based Disney Cruise Line. McAlpin personally toured Northern European ports in June. "Now we're going back for an extended season."

In addition, while it has one ship overseas, Disney plans to shift its second ship, the Disney Wonder, to slightly longer sailings out of Port Canaveral. Instead of three- and four-night Caribbean trips, the Wonder will offer four- and five-night voyages with new stops in Key West and an extra stop at Castaway Cay, Disney's private island in the Bahamas.

McAlpin said the shift is designed to accommodate families clamoring for longer Caribbean cruises in the summer, when children are out of school. "People just want a little more time," McAlpin said.

Disney's return trip to Europe comes as it is having two 4,000-passenger cruise ships built in Germany. While the company has committed to basing the new vessels at Port Canaveral for the first few years after they arrive in 2011 and 2012, Disney has been silent about where it plans to send the existing ships.

Some analysts have speculated that California and Europe are the most likely destinations. And Disney's scheduling so far -- it has twice sent the Magic to California, for the summers of 2005 and 2008, and has now announced its second stint in Europe -- suggests that both are strong possibilities.

McAlpin cautioned against drawing conclusions from the moves.

"I think you can read into it that we're exploring new waters and testing the levels of demand," he said. "But there are a lot more new frontiers."

McAlpin said Disney expects to reveal its 2011 plans for the Magic and Wonder in the latter half of next year.

Disney's 2010 schedule calls for the Magic to begin and end the season in the Mediterranean. Many of the ports Disney will visit remain the same from 2007 -- including the gateways to Rome, Florence and Nice, France -- but Disney has also added stops at the island nation of Malta; the French island of Corsica; and Tunis, the capital of Tunisia on the North African coast.

The Northern European sailings will be sandwiched in between, in June and July. Sailing out of England, each voyage will include stops in Oslo, Copenhagen, and the gateway port to Berlin, as well as either Helsinki, Finland, or Tallinn, Estonia. Each trip will also include an overnight stop in St. Petersburg, Russia, giving passengers an extended window to explore the storied city or plan a day trip to Moscow. McAlpin called the St. Petersburg stop "the gem of the itinerary."

Disney will also offer a pair of 14-night, one-way "repositioning" cruises that will take the Magic from Port Canaveral to Barcelona and back. McAlpin said Disney is studying special themes for the transatlantic voyages in hopes of boosting their appeal.

Beyond catering to Americans looking to visit Europe, the new overseas sailings will offer Disney a chance to begin marketing its cruise line directly to European travelers. Earlier this year, Disney Cruise Line opened an office in London with about 20 employees, in part to help the company better tap into the European cruise market.

"We're looking to explore marketing in Europe," McAlpin said. "That's not a primary focus. But it's certainly an opportunity."

[Grumpy]

12-Night Northern European Capitals Cruise

Depart and arrive from the seaside village of Dover. In between, travel to Oslo and Copenhagen, followed by the Baltic Sea ports of Warnemünde (Berlin), St. Petersburg, Helsinki or Tallinn, and Stockholm. Each port is sure to be memorable.


11-Night Mediterranean Cruise in Europe

Experience the grandeur of historic European destinations like Naples, Rome, Barcelona and the French Riviera and immerse yourself in a land of seaside towns and cosmopolitan cities where fine food, picturesque sights and rich cultures converge.



10-Night Mediterranean Cruise in Europe

Travel through time and surround yourself in the ageless charms of the sun-kissed Mediterranean as you rendezvous with captivating locales such as Barcelona, Rome, Marseilles and the French Riviera.


7-Night Barcelona to Dover

Weigh anchor in Barcelona and sail on the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, stopping to explore the exotic ports of Gibraltar, Cadiz and Lisbon. After two enchanting days at sea, arrive in merry ol' England, greeted by the majestic White Cliffs of Dover.


8-Night Dover to Barcelona

From Dover, sail across the English Channel to Cherbourg and then journey south, on the Atlantic for a day toward the Mediterranean. Stop off at Vigo, Lisbon, Cadiz, Gibraltar, and after another enjoyable day at sea, arrive at lively Barcelona.


14-Night Transatlantic Cruise - Eastbound

Depart on a majestic journey across the Atlantic reminiscent of the golden era of cruising and make waves at exotic ports in the Canary Islands, Gibraltar, Barcelona and Disney's own Castaway Cay.


14-Night Transatlantic Cruise- Westbound

Return back across the Atlantic and experience the adventure of a lifetime with a westbound cruise from the Mediterranean where alluring destinations like Barcelona, Cadiz and Tenerife are only the beginning.

[TravelinGal]

This would be an ideal way for us to see the Med, but I'm sure the prices will keep us from going on DCL. In every other market we've compared them with, we could book a 1 bedroom suite (not Jr ste - a full suite) for the same - or even less! - than DCL's standard balcony cabin.