The Walt Disney Co. joined the cruise industry in 1998 with the debut of its first ship, Disney Magic. Last month, the Magic returned from a two-week drydock in Spain after its biggest refurbishment ever. The ship got a lighter, fresher color scheme, an expanded buffet restaurant and new water slides and kids' attractions. Leading Disney Cruise Line is Karl Holz, who is also president of new vacation opportunities at Disney Parks and Resorts. Holz spoke about the Magic and other things Disney with cruise editor Tom Stieghorst.
Q: What are some of the most surprising elements passengers will find on the renovated Disney Magic?
A: For many people, especially our repeaters, walking into the atrium is a different experience. The Chihuly chandelier was a great piece of art; we're taking that back to the Chihuly museum in Seattle. The brightness, the reinvention of the atrium strikes people the moment they walk in.
Clearly the upper decks, the Aqua Lab and the Aqua Dunk are wows. I've got tons of people telling me "I love it." The number of kids that were in the Aqua Lab yesterday told me I think we did something right there. The "Drawn to Magic" show in Animator's Palate. As we got into it, we totally redid the walls, we've got totally new sound systems, totally new lighting. The combination of those things come together.
Q: What is changed on the Disney Magic that people might not notice so much?
A: Cabanas. We're not going to go out and talk about Cabanas; it's a buffet restaurant. But it represents a commitment by Disney to doing things right, expanding a facility that needed to be expanded.
Q: What is Disney doing to get agents' attention and make sure they know that you care about them?
A: Communicating with agents couldn't be more important to us. Making sure they're part of the family of what we're selling here, that they're in the know, couldn't be more important. Making sure they have the opportunity to see the product couldn't be more important. For us there's always a balance between the direct business and the trade business, and we're committed to it.
Q: Why did Disney cancel the Magic's first sailing after coming out of drydock?
A: The biggest reason is, I'm not going to put a product in front of guests that's not ready to be there. ... You have a standard for this business. I don't care where we go, what we do; we have a standard of operations that our guests expect, and it's our responsibility to exceed that.
Q: Have you been happy with the reception for the six weeks of "Halloween on the High Seas" on the Disney Dream?
A: Here's the feedback I got: "This is really precious, and I love how it builds from Day 1 to Day 2 and so on." Other guests have said, "I love the sing-along." It is our intent to expand that to the entire fleet and continue to build on the Halloween season. What we're doing is a family Halloween, something the adults will enjoy and the kids will enjoy.
Q: Do you see it raising your rates at that time of year?
A: You know, if it raises rates, that would be a beautiful thing. But there are certain expectations at certain times of the year. We've always done the trick-or-treat and those kind of things. We thought that fall was a natural opportunity to do an overlay that guests would appreciate. I don't think we did much from a rate perspective, really. We wanted to see the reaction to it more than anything else. Guests had asked for more from Halloween, so we said, "Let's blow it out, let's exceed those expectations."
Follow Tom Stieghorst on Twitter @tstravelweekly.