Does Disney Cruise Line Have Plans to Purchase Abandoned Cruise Ship?

[Kennywood]

Does Disney Cruise Line Have Plans to Purchase Abandoned Cruise Ship?
by Jackie Gailey



According to an article written on NDR, a German news website, Disney Cruise Line could possibly be taking over a giant cruise ship that was originally being built to serve the cruise market in Asia.

The article says that the ship – called “Golden Dream” – was being constructed by MV Shipyards and is approximately 75% complete. MV Shipyards reportedly filed for bankruptcy earlier this year and the construction was halted. The ship is huge – 340 meters long and can hold 9,000 passengers in addition to over 2,000 crew members. For reference, the Disney Dream, Disney Fantasy, and Disney Wish can each hold 4,000 passengers respectively

There is no information available on what the purchase price might be, but NDR did state that “2024 is under discussion as a possible delivery date.” Minister of Economics Reinhard Meyer (SPD) “did not want to comment on the purchase negotiations with Disney Cruise Line; he spoke of ‘confidential negotiations’ when he was asked.”

Source: https://dclfan.com/news/does-disney-cruise-line-have-plans-to-purchase-abandoned-cruise-ship/

 

[happycamper47]

I think somebody messed up on capacity. I'll bet it's 9,000 passengers and crew. It is slightly shorter than RCL's Wonder of the Seas which is currently the largest ship serving the Cruise Industry and it maxes out at 9,200 passengers and crew.

 

[CaseyCruiser]

That is very interesting

 

[insureman]

9,000 passenger???? DCL would be crazy buying that. They had enough issues with 1500 passengers on Magic's transatlantic we just did. That number of passengers is mind boggling. Not for us!

 

[insureman]

Here is the info on the ship from 2019. Looks like it is designed for up to 9500 passengers. Yikes!
https://www.mv-werften.com/de/news-...iten-kreuzfahrtschiffes-der-global-class.html

MV WERFTEN BEGINS CONSTRUCTION OF THE SECOND GLOBAL CLASS CRUISE SHIP​

Genting Hong Kong's Chairman and CEO, Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, personally gave the go-ahead for the first flame cut. The 342 meter long and 208,000 GT Global 2 will be among the largest and most technologically advanced cruise ships in the world.
Wismar, September 10, 2019 | Rostock, September 10, 2019 | Almost exactly a year after the keel-laying of the Global Class flagship, MV WERFTEN in Rostock-Warnemünde started manufacturing the second ship in the series today. Genting Hong Kong's Chairman and CEO Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay triggered the first flame cut for the 342 meter long, 46 meter wide and 208,000 GT ship with the push of a button.

"We are very pleased that our extensive investments at the three locations are bearing fruit and that we can already celebrate the start of production of another technologically advanced cruise ship for our shipping company Dream Cruises," says Tan Sri Lim , offer our guests an unforgettable, modern and highly comfortable travel experience.”

Global 2 is structurally identical to her sister ship Global 1, which will set sail in 2021 under the name "Global Dream". The new ship with the construction number 126 is produced in a split way at all three locations of MV WERFTEN. For example, up to 30 large sections are manufactured in Stralsund. Final assembly takes place in Wismar. A specially purchased 125 meter high crane is currently being installed on the equipment quay there. The ship's keel-laying is scheduled for December of this year, and delivery is scheduled for 2022.

MV WERFTEN's CEO Peter Fetten said: "The construction of these highly technological and sophisticated ships is a challenge, but above all a huge opportunity for us. We would like to thank all colleagues and partners for their great work during the design and construction phase and look forward to starting production now.”

Like her sister ship, Global 2 is also designed for the fast-growing Asian market. With 2,500 passenger cabins for up to 9,500 people and a crew of 2,200, the "Global Dream" and Global 2 are the first ships in the world to carry more than 10,000 people on board - making them the largest in the world in terms of passenger capacity. In terms of gross tonnage, too, they are the largest passenger ships ever built in Germany. With their extensive range of state-of-the-art digital technology, such as face and voice recognition or climate control and mood lighting via app, they are ideally geared to the progressive technical preferences of the Asian market. The passenger cabins are also the most spacious in the industry:

The ship's 2,503 passenger and 836 crew cabins are built as completely pre-equipped modules at MV WERFTEN Ready-Made Modules in Wismar. A total of over 600 companies are involved in the construction of the Global 2. More than half of the partner companies come from Germany, a fifth from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

Photos

© MV WERFTEN

MVW_ Global2_BB_1 (from left to right): At the buzzer: Harry Glawe (Mecklenburg-West Pomerania Minister of Economic Affairs), Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay (CEO and Chairman of the Board of Management Genting Hong Kong), Peter Fetten (CEO MV WERFTEN), Colin Au (Group President Genting Hong Kong). Also in the picture is project manager Rainer Schott (MVW).
MVW_ Global2_BB_2: There was a small souvenir for the guests present - representatives of the country, the class and Gentings.

MVW_ Global2_BB_3: Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay presents Minister Glawe with a silhouette of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

 

[insureman]

A translated document from German to English

MV WERFTEN begins construction of second cruise ship

Global Class ship

Genting Hong Kong's Chairman and CEO, Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, personally gave the go-ahead for the first flame cut. The 342 meter long and 208,000 GT Global 2 will be among the largest and most technologically advanced cruise ships in the world.

Rostock, September 10, 2019 I Almost exactly one year after the keel-laying of the flagship of the Global Class, production of the second ship in the series started today at MV WERFTEN in Rostock-Warnemunde. Genting Hong Kong's Chairman and CEO Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay triggered the first flame cut for the 342 meter long, 46 meter wide and 208,000 GT ship by pressing a button.

"We are very pleased that our extensive investments at the three locations are bearing fruit and that we can already celebrate the start of production of another technologically advanced cruise ship for our shipping company Dream Cruises," says Tan Sri Lim , offer our guests an unforgettable, modern and highly comfortable travel experience."

Global 2 is structurally identical to her sister ship Global 1, which will set sail in 2021 under the name "Global Dream". The new ship with hull number 126 will be produced in a split manner at all three MV WERFTEN locations. For example, up to 30 large sections were manufactured in Stralsund. Final assembly will take place in Wismar. A specially purchased, 125 meter high crane is currently being assembled on the equipment quay there. The keel-laying of the ship is scheduled for December of this year, and delivery is planned for 2022.

MV WERFTEN's CEO Peter Fetten said: "The construction of these highly technological and sophisticated ships is a challenge, but above all a huge opportunity for us. We would like to thank all colleagues and partners for their great work during the design and construction phase and look forward to starting production now."

Like her sister ship, Global 2 is also designed for the rapidly growing Asian market. With 2,500 passenger cabins for up to 9,500 people and a crew of 2,200, the "Global Dream" and Global 2 are the first ships in the world for more than 10,000 people on board - and thus the largest in the world in terms of passenger capacity. Also in terms of gross tonnage They are the largest passenger ships ever built in Germany. With their high level of equipment in the latest digital technology, such as face and voice recognition or climate control and mood lighting via app, they are optimally geared to the progressive technical preferences of the Asian market. The passenger cabins are also the most spacious in the industry: at 20 square meters, they are around 15% larger than the standard cabins on other ships.

The ship's 2,503 passenger and 836 crew cabins are built as completely pre-equipped modules at MV WERFTEN Ready-Made Modules in Wismar. A total of over 600 companies are involved in the construction of the Global 2.

Uber the HaRe of the partner companies comes from Germany, one Rinftel from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

Ober MV WERFTEN

MV WERFTEN consists of three shipyards in Wismar, Rostock and Stralsund in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (MV), has 2,900 employees and some of the largest docks and covered manufacturing facilities in Europe. The shipyards have an excellent transport and logistics infrastructure and direct access to the Baltic Sea. Further investments in a laser thin plate welding line, cabin construction, state-of-the-art software and other automations were made to make MV WERFTEN one of the most efficient cruise ship builders in the world.

In their 70-year history, the three shipyards have designed, produced and equipped around 2,500 new ships, including two AIDA cruise ships, Premicon river cruise ships and Stena Line ships. MV WERFTEN, based in Wismar, continuously invests in innovations and new technologies as well as employee training to ensure excellent quality "Made in MV".

In June 2019, MV WERFTEN received the TOP 100 Innovator Award, making it one of the most innovative medium-sized companies in Germany

 

[Kidguile]

If DCL can get it cheap enough and expand, why not? I doubt the other cruise lines would want to when they're deeply in debt vs the deeper pockets of Disney.

 

[Kwami]

I can't imagine Disney putting that ship with the others. If they buy it, I bet it'll be limited to Asian sailings, mostly for Chinese customers. That seems to have been the goal of the original design, anyway.

 

[Kennywood]

What would Disney do with a ship this large?? Station it in Europe / Asia?

 

[happycamper47]

They must not have planned on much open space. It is 42 M shorter and the GT is 28,000 less than RCL's Wonder of the Seas. In order to add another 2,000 passengers it has to be almost all cabins. Since it is only 75% complete, if DCL would buy it they could reconfigure it much cheaper than building new.

 

[csmith1004]

If they plan on keeping it in Asia I think it could make sense. Personally, I am not interested in cruising on a ship that big.

 

[scrappinginontario]

I agree with @cssmith1004 that if it stays in Asia and services the Asian community, a ship that size could probably be justified.

 

[dwg]

Here is a link to another article from Crew-Center.com:

https://crew-center.com/disney-cruise-line-potential-buyer-9000-passenger-mega-ship

"The unfinished mega cruise ship Global Dream, set to be the world’s biggest by capacity could be joining Disney Cruise Line. The German news agency NDR, reports that Disney Cruise Line has tied up a deal to buy the vessel, however, there has been no official confirmation."

"The Global Dream, differs fundamentally from other Disney Cruise Line ships. The latest Disney ship has a maximum capacity of 4000 guests and is significantly smaller than the Global Dream which can accommodate up to 9000 guests. Some industry sources say that DCL might use the vessel for entry into the Asian cruise market."

Certainly seems like if true will only be available to the Asian market. As others have mentioned because of it's size it is not something we would be interested in. We have no interest in sailing on any cruise line mega ship.

 

[OKW Lover]

I can't see DCL being interested in this ship, no matter how cheap they could get it. DCL already has 2 more Wish class ships in the pipeline. Why would they also want to buy another hull - especially one that wasn't designed, built or fitted out to Disney standards.

 

[CamColt]

I don't know what to make of this one. It will be interesting to see what becomes (or doesn't ) of this.

Personally, neither a ship that big, or visiting Asia sound appealing to me.

 

[Kwami]

I can't see DCL being interested in this ship, no matter how cheap they could get it. DCL already has 2 more Wish class ships in the pipeline. Why would they also want to buy another hull - especially one that wasn't designed, built or fitted out to Disney standards.

Because the Chinese market is huge and they can have a ship that targets that audience and stays in Asia. Refitting everything to be up to Disney standards might still be cheaper than building another ship from scratch, right? I guess part of the calculation is how much of the mechanical stuff would need to be swapped out.

 

[SnowWhite2]

9000 people and 2000 crew doesn't add up for me.

 

[ScooterScott44]

9000 people and 2000 crew doesn't add up for me.

If the article is correct and DCL is interested there are two things to factor into those numbers.

- First thing to consider is what the ship was designed for by the original investor. If the intention was for a market out side the US the stateroom space and the staff to guest ratio could intentionally be very different from what we in the US would consider normal. If DCL is interested in keeping the ship and using it in the Pacific/Asia area that may still be close even after DCL does some changes.

- If DCL just wants the main structure and they feel they could do interior changes, it still might be cheaper and faster to get one more ship into the fleet to get more "Heads in Beds" even if a new interior design decreases the number of guests and increases the staffing. As mentioned earlier in this thread, the other cruise lines took on debt during the pandemic that DCL avoided because of the parent company. Taking market share quickly could help the line.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Personally, neither a ship that big, or visiting Asia sound appealing to me.

For me, personally a ship that big just isn't appealing to me. Asia? I can take it or leave it. If the price was right (and the ship smaller) I'd consider it.

 

[jiminyC_fan]

I wouldn't even contemplate cruising on a ship that large even if it was DCL. No thanks!