Earlier this week, Christine McCarthy, Chief Financial Officer for The Walt Disney Company, spent time teleconferencing with investors from Citi and Bank of America to update them on the business, including Disney Cruise Line. In addition to confirming that delivery of the Disney Wish would be delayed, McCarthy reiterated that DCL would probably be the last segment of the business to come back online.
The full webcast of McCarthy’s interview can be found on the investor relations page of The Walt Disney Company’s website.
During the interview, McCarthy circled back on something that was hinted at by CEO Bob Chapek back in May during an earnings call connected to the 2nd quarter report. McCarthy said:
One of the businesses that I just want to mention is probably the last to come back for us will be the cruise business, and that has to do with just the nature of cruising, and when we do get back in there will be social distancing, whatever is required at that time, but also the booking period tends to be longer, so that’s probably the one that will be the last business to resume for us.
McCarthy also confirmed that construction on the Disney Wish, which was scheduled to set sail in January 2022, has been delayed.
Well the cruise ships…you know COVID has had an impact on lots and lots of businesses and lots and lots of supply chains and the shipyard we utilize for our cruise ships, Meyer Werft, was impacted and we encountered a delay. We’re in negotiations and discussions with the shipyard to finalize dates, but as soon as we have those we’ll make an announcement when we expect the fifth ship, which is the first of the three, to be delivered, but it is delayed from what we had originally anticipated. Â
In addition to the Disney Cruise Line information, McCarthy shared updates on some of the construction projects happening in the theme parks.
Disney Cruise Line has cancelled sailings through at least October, including several November sailings. DCL is not accepting new bookings for remaining November and early December cruises.
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