Second Terminal for DCL in the works

The Port Canaveral Authority has greenlighted expansion of the existing DCL terminal and modifying Terminal 10 (the one that the bow of the DCL ships face when docked at the present terminal) to be shared by DCL and Norwegian. Details at https://disneycruiselineblog.com/2018/06/disney-cruise-line-to-utilize-cruise-terminal-10-when-fleet-expands-plus-cruise-terminal-8-enhancements/

That's actually sad. With 7 ships total in the next few years, I'd much rather see DCL branch out to new itineraries rather than home port a third ship at Port Canaveral. Oh well, they must be confident of lots of new passengers to fill it.

Even with 7 total ships, its unlikely they'll all be based in PC full time, Miami has become a 2nd home to the Magic when it's CONUS based after the European trips in the summer. I have NO clue about what DCL is going to do with all the ships once they finally are commissioned, but I would imagine they're already looking at other home port locations for a few of them. I am sure they'll try to make use of as much of the Caribbean for continued cruising as long as they can fill the ships, so it makes sense to expand the main port facility they have to accommodate more than one ship in port at a time. Also sharing it with Norwegian will probably be more cost effective for DCL so they don't have to build an entirely new structure.

Having cruised in Japan and Korea, it just seems to me that DCL would have a HUGE market in Asia. People there are crazy about Disney and about cruising in general. Seriously, if they were excited by a big white hulk of a Princess ship, I can barely imagine the response to a DCL ship. And, of course, there are park tie ins with Tokyo, Hong Kong, etc.

There is a whole lot of world that DCL isn't reaching. PC is "safe," but has a lot of the "been there, done that" factor. I have no ideal what their long term plans might include, but hope there will be some serious itinerary changes when the new ships come on line.

The first season for each new ship will be huge as people want to see the "new" one. After that, DCL needs to decide where it wants to place itself in the cruise market. I don't see Alaska and Europe in the summers and Caribbean/Bahamas year round as an exciting or innovative position.

If I recall correctly, when Dream and Fantasy were announced the agreement between DCL and Port Canaveral stipulated that DCL had to home port the new ships at PC for "X" number of years (I think it was 4 years, but I'm not certain). The same stipulation may be coming into play with regard to all or some of the three new ships. I suppose time will tell.

If I recall correctly, when Dream and Fantasy were announced the agreement between DCL and Port Canaveral stipulated that DCL had to home port the new ships at PC for "X" number of years (I think it was 4 years, but I'm not certain). The same stipulation may be coming into play with regard to all or some of the three new ships. I suppose time will tell.

Correct, and the reason for the stipulation was the expansion of the terminal at PC. If they were not opening a new terminal, there would be no requirement to dock the new ship at PC. The new ships are about the same size as the Dream and Fantasy, so size should not be a concern. DCL could put a third ship at PC on an un-used day without requiring a second terminal.

Bottom line...they have made the decision to "home port" one or more of the new ships at PC and feel they need a second terminal to make this work. They have not chosen to move one or more ships to a different part of the world when the new ones come out. But obviously, it is their choice to determine where and how they will generate the most return for their efforts....and clearly they are not suffering from a lack of cruisers out of PC.

We haven’t been on a Disney cruise yet. If you are leaving on a cruise from port Canaveral where is the best place to fly into? Is it Orlando or somewhere else?

With the higher number of ships, the need to have a alternate "Disneyfied" terminal is more necessary, in addition while I'm not saying this is going to be the absolute case, but they could use the 2nd location for expanded or more frequent Sea/Park trips where a ship would overnight in PC while the passengers go to the parks. Since it's won't be used exclusively for DCL, the opportunities for them to do something like this is easier logistically. As for Asia, sure there's a HUGE market there, but many utilize cruises there because of the availability to gamble, and unless DCL is going to configure one ship solely for that market and install a casino, it might not prove to be as desirable as they think, also it's unlikely they'll create itineraries that involve sailing from the US to Asia, (or even Hawaii to Asia) so the people here in the US and Canada would need to fly 12-16 hours just to get on a ship, and cost factor would make that pretty pricey vacation alternative for many.

We haven’t been on a Disney cruise yet. If you are leaving on a cruise from port Canaveral where is the best place to fly into? Is it Orlando or somewhere else?

Orlando is your best bet, although there is a smaller airport nearer by in Melbourne.

We haven’t been on a Disney cruise yet. If you are leaving on a cruise from port Canaveral where is the best place to fly into? Is it Orlando or somewhere else?

It depends on your airline, your departure airport, etc. MCO is the only airport that is supported by DCL transportation...so if you want to ride a DCL bus, that's where you go. On the other hand, my sis finds that flying into Sanford and renting a car works better for them because they can get a direct flight from their smaller local airport saving them a drive into the big city, arranging either a ride to that big city airport or parking there, and then taking a flight which might connect thru Atlanta. They rent a car in Sanford and drive to Canaveral or WDW. BUT....that is clearly based only on her home airport situation.

Melbourne is another option.

For me, the planes all go into MCO from my home airport, so that's what we do.

Orlando is 40 minutes! Take Disney transportation and your bags are taken care of!

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Orlando is 40 minutes! Take Disney transportation and your bags are taken care of!

 

 

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We fly into MCO. There are good and bad things about using DCL transportation. In general, it is the most expensive transportation available at $35 per person per leg. On the other hand, on your return trip, IF you are on a participating airline, the on board airline check in service is lovely. Unfortunately, Southwest is not a participating airline. Luggage service on the way to port is nice, but not amazing. Again, depending on the number of people involved and your with to make a store stop on the way to port or some similar plans, other means of transportation can cost less. However, DCL transportation is the most convenient.

There are many Caribbean itineraries that the other cruise lines offer that Disney doesn't. With the Caribbean as the number 1 cruise destination in the world, I imagine DCL thinks there are many more bookings to make.

I know that I'm not likely to be on a DCL ship again just to repeat an itinerary I've done several times. Even with cost difference, as long as I can afford it, I would stay with DCL for new Caribbean routes. It might even reduce the cost of some of the itineraries once they are offered more often.

As for sharing a terminal with NCL - lucky NCL guests! They get to board in a terminal that passes Disney's design and crowd management standards. :)

Dirk