Disney to sail between Seatle and Alaska in 2012
SEATTLE - Disney Cruise Line will bring its floating theme parks to Seattle next year when it plans to launch seven-night roundtrip cruises to Alaska.
Fourteen sailings, starting in May, 2012, and going through August, will be aboard the Disney Wonder, a massive red, white and blue 2,400-passenger ship, with three pools and 10 decks. Ports of call will include Skagway; Juneau; Tracy Arm, a fjord near Juneau; Ketchikan; and Victoria, B.C.
The cruises will replace some of 18 sailings Disney plans this year from Vancouver, its first foray into Alaskan market. "There will still be cruises departing Vancouver in 2012, but they will be greatly outnumbered by the Seattle cruises," said Disney spokesman John McClintock.
Disney’s decision to call out of Vancouver this year was controversial, said Carolyn Spencer Brown, editor of CruiseCritic.com, because most Americans find getting to Seattle cheaper and more convenient.
Disney’s trips are geared toward first-time cruisers, especially families with children, and Alaska "is a classic first-timers cruise destination," she said.
The ships are unique in that they don’t have casinos, and the cabins are larger than usual, with some big enough to sleep five instead of four. Floor shows are "G-rated," and "load factors," the number of passengers onboard each ship, are the highest in the industry, due to the number of children on board, according to CruiseCritic’s research.
With elaborate shore excursions and Disney characters roaming the ships, Disney cruises also tend to be more expensive than others, according to Spencer Brown. Disney said Seattle departures would start at $917 per person for a standard stateroom, based on two persons in a room. Prices start at $569 per person on Norwegian Cruise Line’s 2012 Seattle/Alaska trips, and $624 on Princess Cruises, according to information posted on their websites.
Disney will be the sixth major cruise line to sail between Seattle and Alaska. Others are Holland America, Norwegian, Princess, Royal Caribbean and Carnival.
The Port of Seattle expects 800,000 passengers on 195 sailings this year, down from a record 931,698 passengers and 223 sailings last year. The decline is due to a decision by Holland and Princess to move one ship each to Europe. |
發表於 2011-4-18 08:01
|