Dark Magic And Murky Waters: The Untold Story Of Disney Cruises
The Happiest Place On The Seas
Disney Cruises attract hundreds of thousands of passengers per year, staking their place in the top 10 most profitable cruise lines. But behind all that are some wild insider tips and dark secrets—and it all began with a brutal betrayal.
The Golden Age
The Disney Cruise Line was born in the megaship era of cruising, which came about in the 1990s, after an initial boom in the 70s and 80s sparked by, strangely enough, a TV show—The Love Boat.
Considering the popularity of Disney’s theme parks, an expansion into cruises just made sense, but they entered the market in a roundabout way.
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The Premier Years
The operating costs for cruise lines are wildly exorbitant, and Disney made a wise choice by starting their cruises as part of a deal with Premier Cruise Line, rather than dealing with those expenses themselves. And for a while, it was a partnership that thrived.
Mix And Match
Disney’s partnership with Premier Cruise Line, which began in 1985, meant that Premier could feature Disney characters and entertainment on their ships, and could offer packages that would mix and match cruises, hotel stays, and theme park tickets.
But then Premier did something surprising.
The Switch-Up
In 1993, Premier ended their deal with Disney and instead introduced Looney Tunes characters on their ships—while still offering combined Disney packages that also included Universal Studios theme park tickets.
That’s when Disney turned around and approached the two biggest cruise lines in the world to replace Premier as their partner.
The Next Step
For a while, Disney was in negotiations with both Royal Caribbean and Carnival cruise lines to start their next exclusive partnership—but when those options fell through, they had to go back to the drawing board. Is it any surprise that what they came up with was as spectacular as any of their theme parks?
