Disney ships may drift away from Brevard port

CanadianCruiser · July 24, 2007

Disney ships may drift away from Brevard port (Orlando Sentinel)

Nearly a decade after first setting sail, Disney Cruise Line executives are considering moving some of their operations away from Port Canaveral

The company's inaugural contract with the Canaveral Port Authority is set to expire next summer, meaning its two ships, the Disney Magic and the Disney Wonder, could become free agents.

Representatives on both sides say they have begun negotiating a possible extension.

"We are having some discussions about the longer term," said Stan Payne, Port Canaveral's chief executive officer.

Disney officials say they have been pleased with their tenure at the Brevard County port, which sits just 60 miles from Walt Disney World and where the company waded into the industry by packaging three- and four-night Caribbean cruises with stays at its mega-resort.

But with fuel prices surging and the company planning to double the size of its fleet to four ships by 2012, they say Canaveral is no longer the only port that makes sense for their growing cruise line.

Tom Wolber, Disney Cruise Line's senior vice president of operations, said competing ports in Miami and Fort Lauderdale "are obviously other alternatives to be considered."

"As we are in negotiations, we look at all the potential opportunities that are out there. And our business model has changed over time," Wolber said. "There are pros and cons to each one."

Disney's flexibility

Disney's original deal with Port Canaveral included a number of perks.

Agreed to in May 1995, the terms required Port Canaveral to build a $26.2 million terminal to Disney's exact specifications -- Disney representatives had the right to inspect and order changes to blueprints at multiple points throughout the design stage.

Disney paid about $7.5 million last year to the port in dockage, parking and other fees. Port officials also say Disney and other big cruise lines bring millions in related spending, creating everything from concession sales to jobs.

What's more, the contract also gives Disney exclusive access to the terminal provided its ships make at least 150 calls a year, an obligation it has so far met. That prevents rival cruise ships that call on Canaveral from using Disney's terminal. It's the only time Port Canaveral has made such made an arrangement with a multiday cruise line.

Disney is likely to seek similar concessions as it discusses new terms with the port.

Payne said preliminary talks have focused on what improvements Canaveral must make to accommodate the company's two new ships -- 122,000-ton liners that will each be two decks taller and about 45 percent larger than the Magic and the Wonder.

The work will almost certainly entail millions of dollars' worth of upgrades around Disney's terminal, Payne said, from widening gangways to expanding parking lots.

"It's just a matter of planning both shoreside for a larger ship and landside for more passengers," Payne said.

Payne also expects Disney to seek a lower number of minimum visits its ships must make in order to maintain its exclusive terminal access and give the company more flexibility.

Disney appears in no rush to announce its plans. Its current deal with Port Canaveral includes options -- at Disney's sole discretion -- to extend by one year for each of the next 40 years. And the company has tacitly signaled its plans to extend at least once by accepting bookings for cruises out of Canaveral throughout 2008.

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