More details about Disney's plans to expand its cruise line into Asia have emerged with an announcement about the entertainment onboard its new ship which will have its home in Singapore when it comes on stream next year.
Named the Disney Adventure, the 208,000-ton ship will carry around 6,700 passengers making it the world's third-biggest cruise liner by capacity. Disney reportedly bought it for just $44 million in 2022 after its previous owner, Hong Kong-based Genting Cruise Lines, fell into administration. Instead of sailing it to the United States to join the six other ships in its fleet, Disney decided to make the Adventure its first cruise liner with a home port in Asia.
As part of a collaboration between Disney Cruise Line and Singapore Tourism Board, the mega-ship will sail for at least five years from the Marina Bay Cruise Center just a 12 minute drive from Universal Studios Singapore. The location seems like a no-brainer as it brings the fight to the doorstep of Disney's biggest rival but actually Mickey may be charting the wrong course.
Disney's ships are designed in an Art Deco style to reflect the golden age of cruising but inside they are awash with the kind of fairytale trappings that guests find in its theme parks. Photo opps with cuddly characters are de rigueur, as are Broadway-style extravaganzas based on classic Disney cartoons.
MORE FROMFORBES ADVISOR
Its latest ship, the Disney Wish, is also home to an interactive dinner show featuring scenes specially-shot by the actors of the wildly-popular Avengers super hero movies. On its top deck there is even an innovative water slide with screens set into the side of the tubes which tell a story about Mickey Mouse whilst riders rocket past on rafts propelled by powerful jets of water.
The Disney Adventure is set to make an even bigger splash as it will have an entire street themed to 2014's animated Oscar-winner Big Hero 6 which was a huge hit in Asia. A poolside retreat will be inspired by another animated favorite – Moana – while shops and restaurants will be based on classic Disney cartoons like The Little Mermaid and Lilo & Stitch. The Avengers will have their own hub.
"We're bringing the magic of Disney Cruise Line to Asia for the first time ever, and we want to give our guests the cruise relaxation and Disney fun they can only experience aboard one of our ships," said Sharon Siskie, senior vice president and general manager of Disney Cruise Line. "When they set sail on the Disney Adventure, guests will find incredible, immersive areas that bring the worlds of Disney, Pixar and Marvel to life in ways like never before – and these uniquely Disney experiences will inspire families to reconnect, recharge and make unforgettable memories that they'll cherish forever."
They are the same kind of sentiments that Disney says guests will get from a visit to its theme parks and it's no coincidence. Disney's ships are almost the equivalent of mini theme parks which makes them ideal for locations where the media giant doesn't have an entertainment complex. Unlike Universal, Disney has repeatedly rejected the opportunity to build inner city Family Entertainment Centers, instead choosing to focus on fewer, much larger, resorts scattered around the world.
There are only six Disney theme park resorts and although this is one more than Universal, its rival is expected to overtake it in the coming years with new outposts in Texas and the United Kingdom. Disney's theme park strategy leaves it under-exposed in a number of major markets including India, Australia, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates which is one of the wealthiest untapped areas as we have reported.
In fall last year Disney launched its first cruises in Australia where its closest park is a nine and a half hour flight away from the country's biggest city, Sydney. It may seem like the Adventure ship is plugging a similar gap as Disney doesn't have a park in Singapore. However, Asia is dripping with them. With parks in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo, Disney has more resorts in Asia than in the Americas. All three are within a seven-hour flight from Singapore with Hong Kong less than four hours away which is no bad thing at all.
As we recently reported, when Disney launched its cruise line in 1998, it opened its Castaway Cay private island in the Bahamas at the same time. This enabled it to sell twin-center breaks where stays at Walt Disney World in Orlando are combined with a cruise to Castaway Cay. It sets off from Port Canaveral, just 50 minutes by car from Orlando, with transportation laid on by Disney to make the two destinations seem like they are part of the same vacation.
Thanks to their immersive theming, Disney's cruises are popular with mega-fans as well as families. Many of the former have the biggest budgets and therefore give Disney the greatest gains. So much so indeed that in 2022 its Adventures By Disney tour operator launched a 24-day package visiting every Disney park by private jet for the princely price of $110,000 per person. Despite being in the midst of the pandemic, it sold out so fast that the tour returned the following year at the increased price of $115,000. Yet again it sold out so it is taking place for a third time in 2024.
With three Disney resorts within striking distance of Singapore it seems like a no-brainer to schedule a cruise that takes them all in but, remarkably, this doesn't seem to be on the cards. Disney's announcement makes it clear that the Adventure will sail on cruises for three and four nights from Singapore which is just about enough time to get to Hong Kong but not back. It certainly isn't enough time to take in all three of Disney's Asian resorts which are widely seen to be the jewels in its crown as we have reported.
It isn't currently even possible to book any Disney cruises to or from Hong Kong, Shanghai or Tokyo despite all three being port cities with the theme parks in the latter located just a 22 minute drive from the terminal. A tour to these parks by ship would take several weeks though people would be prepared to pay a premium as Adventures By Disney has shown.
Disney could claim that this would defeat the object of the Adventure as it wouldn't be visiting untapped areas. However, if that is the driving force behind its location then Singapore isn't the ideal place for its home port as so many Disney parks are within a such a small catchment area.
Just last month, Disney's chief financial officer Hugh Johnston said that "the cruise business, frankly, is one that has an enormous number of opportunities for us" and it seems it hasn't plumbed the depths of all of them yet. The lack of a cruise which takes in all of the Asian resorts is another example of Disney leaving money on the table and it hasn't escaped the attention of other operators.
Testimony to this, cruising giant Holland America Line operates a voyage which visits the cities where all three resorts are located and it has been travelled with this benefit in mind by Disney mega-fans.
As we recently reported, the media giant has also been left in the wake of luxury operator Princess which was the first operator to introduce an on-board wireless guest recognition system even though Disney developed its own technology years earlier for its theme parks.
Likewise, as we also reported, earlier this year Princess swung open the doors to by far the most immersive entertainment experience at sea. Its spooky Spellbound nightspot is the first permanent outpost of Hollywood's exclusive Magic Castle club and it is packed with high-tech trickery. The venue has emerged ahead of a lounge based on Disney's Haunted Mansion theme park attraction which is due to debut on its new Treasure ship in December.
Industry giant Royal Caribbean has also cruised into Disney's waters with ships which are laden with attractions. In January it launched Icon of the Seas, the world's largest cruise liner which is also home to the Thrill Island water park, the largest at sea. Of course, other operators don't have Disney's characters and theme parks to keep them afloat and that's all the more reason why the Mouse should make the most of them.
