VENICE, Italy -- Seven hundred invited guests witnessed the
delivery of Disney Cruise Line's first vessel, the $350 million
Disney Magic, from the Fincantieri shipyard here.
Art Rodney, chairman of Disney Cruise Line, told the guests, who
were mostly Italian, that Disney Magic was one of the "most highly
anticipated" passenger vessels in many years.
And Corrado Antonini, chairman of Fincantieri, said the ship was
one of the most demanding vessels he had ever built.
He said that, for the first time, he used an outside
designer.
What neither man noted was that the ship is almost five months
late and that Disney had canceled 40 cruises at considerable
expense.
The line's second ship, Disney Wonder, also has been delayed. It
originally was scheduled to debut in December, and now is due next
spring.
Although no inaugural date has been set, the line is taking
bookings for cruises beginning March 14 and after.
The Fincantieri shipyard was told by Disney to keep the handover
a low-key affair, preserving the naming ceremony in the U.S. as the
main event.
(Mickey Mouse was on hand but did not dominate proceedings.)
As a result, the ceremony was mostly covered by the Italian
media, although a few foreign trade journalists managed to slip
in.
The ship was open to guests, but access was limited in some
areas.
The ship will enter service on July 30, offering three- and
four-day cruises from Port Canaveral, Fla., linked to a land
break.
Until then it will undertake a series of short shakedown cruises
not open to the public.
No date had been given for its transatlantic positioning voyage,
which is expected to depart in early July.