Walt Disney Cruise Lines - Definition and Overview

The Disney Cruise Line is a cruise line owned by the Walt Disney Company. It operates two cruise ships, the Disney Magic and the Disney Wonder along with Castaway Cay, a private island in the Bahamas, designed as an exclusive port of call for these ships. The line was born in 1995 when the Walt Disney Company decided it wanted to cease to rely on Premier Cruises for the maritime segment of its vacation packages, and placed an order for two ships at Fincantieri in Italy.

The two ships are the first vessels to be designed and built, from the keel up, as family cruise liners, with the precise goal of accommodating parents and small children.

The ships leave from Port Canaveral in Florida. Apart from the stop at Castaway Cay, the cruises offer standard routes through the Caribbean, with some of them having the combination of a stay at Walt Disney World Resort along with the sea voyage.

Most of the cruises last 4 to 7 nights, with the exception of the Panama Canal cruises which run from Florida to California, or vice versa. In 2005, the Cruise Line will dispatch the Disney Magic to California as part of the 18-month Happiest Homecoming on Earth celebration.

On February 2, 2005, it was announced that Disney has a third ship under construction.

Reference

• Durand, Jean-François. Autour du Monde Paquebots. Cruise ships around the world. Editions marines, 1996. [bilingual text]

External link

• Disney Cruise Line homepage (http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/disneycruiseline/index)
• The Disneyland Report - The latest Disney Cruise Line and Disney news (http://www.disneylandreport.com/)