- Chris
Delays to Disney Wish and Cruise Cancellations
In an investor call, Disney CFO Christine McCarthy told investors that the Disney Wish, a new ship under construction is delayed, and earlier this week, Disney cancelled all Disney Cruise Line sailings of its existing fleet until at least December 6th.
Sadly, these extensions are likely to be extended as signs point to a second wave of COVID-19 seems to be on the horizon.
Until there is a vaccine, cruise sailings are likely to be on hiatus, since the risk of uncontrollable spread is so as high as we've seen earlier this year.
This has resulted in other cruise lines having financial difficulties to the point of them selling their ships. This unprecedented action by the cruise industry and the uncertainty of what is to come will forever change the high seas. It may also mean that Disney will purchase and retrofit older ships from other cruise lines as opposed to building new ships.
What we do know is that for at least the near future, Disney plans to resume sailings once it is 100% safe to do so, which may be well into 2021 at this point and the question starts with a "when" and not "if".
Disney will not want an outbreak on any of its ships which is something that would be very public if it were to occur. They also do not want to run sailings at a drastically reduced capacity since the costs would be too burdensome to pay themselves or pass on to consumers for things such as fuel.
Much like much of our lives these days, it appears as though this is one of those things we'll just need to patiently wait for its eventual return.
