The Disney Magic arrived in Cadiz late Sunday, and made her way into Navantia’s dry dock at their Puerto Real shipyard. According a post on Navantia’s Facebook page (update: the post has been deleted) the Disney Magic will spend the next four weeks undergoing maintenance and modernization that will include important work on the hull, paint, plumbing and mechanical work on propulsion systems and machines. This massive undertaking will requiring all hands on deck at the shipyard with all necessary support in terms of general services and logistics. By now I am sure everyone is well aware of the fact that the Disney Magic is being transformed into what accounts for an all new Disney Cruise Line ship, if not, here is a great place to start catching up with all the changes.
Work on the Disney Magic began as soon as she arrived in Barcelona over the weekend. Contractors were boarding the ship in place of passengers and cargo containers were be loaded onto the upper decks. Staterooms were being cleaned out instead of being turned over for the next cruise.
A Magical Look for Navantia
Early this morning I woke up to a surprise in my Twitter timeline. Navantia posted a photo of the Disney Magic in their dry dock which was still full of water.
Navantia posted a similar photo was posted on Facebook showing the stern of the Disney Magic, which will not look the same in a few weeks once work begins.
Previously we mentioned that the Disney Magic will be extend from 964 feet to 984 feet and gain 1,000 gross tons which appears to be from an addition to the stern in the form of a ducktail. There is more information on the purpose of a ducktail in the previous link.
The local newspaper in Cadiz, Diario de Cádiz, had another photo of the Disney Magic by Joaquín Pino.
Another Cadiz news outlet, La Voz Digital published the following set of photos earlier today with their article. Make sure to click over to their article for the full photo gallery.
In this photo you can see some of the storage containers that have been put on the decks.
The Disney Magic looks much different already without her signature Mickey Mouse yellow life boats.
Navantia’s Puerto Real Shipyard Location
If you live in the are of Cadiz, Spain it looks like there some many public roads around the shipyard that could provide a decent view of the Disney Magic during her transformation. Navantia even offers directions to the Puerto Real shipyard, but it is unclear how close you can actual drive up to the shipyard.
If you live in the area and have any photos or videos you would like to share you can [EmailMe] them along with how you would like to be attributed.
It never ceases to amaze me that we (the USA) can build the finest naval ships in the world but none of the worlds cruise ships are built here. I suppose it has to do with labor cost. It sure would be neat to go and see one of these monsters being constructed though.
I don’t think it’s just labor costs – Germany and Italy, for example, are probably even more expensive due in part to higher social costs. However, the US suffers from restrictive practices, horrifically complex multi-jurisdiction regulatory requirements and, of course, one of the most intimidating and hostile legal systems in the world. The sheer amount of bureaucracy and the constant threat of frivilous law-suites are enough to put anyone off from building a cruise ship in the US. Remember, US naval ships are built for the Government – which rarely seems to worry about how much of our money it spends 🙂
On the contrary, the costs in America are lower than in Europe. I work for the ship owner company and several years back we pondered to build 56.000 DWT bulk carrier in America. In respect to Italy the ship was 35% cheaper. But we were stunned with the regulations, bureaucratic procedures and governmental paperwork (icluding hundreds of various inspections). Also, the contacted shipyards were absolutely vague on production schedule. In addition we had to engage a lawyer that followed even this initial negotiation stage because we were aware that we can face lawsuits for literally everything. The conclusion could be only one and the job went to the yard in Croatia. Don’t forget that the construction of a cruiser requires a lot of experienced craftmen, all trades, which you in America have long lost. And as lemoncat correctly says, building ships for the Navy is completely different story where money and timing are not the problem. For commerical shipping those two are essential.
Por favor, CONTROLEN a los trabajadores del crucero…. Las borracheras que cogen son espectaculares y el espectaculo que dan en la calle es lamentable
A las 10h de la mañana no es hora de que los trabajadores de este crucero esten dando gritos y borrachos por las calles.
Por favor, controles a sus trabajadores