City to be new port for Disney cruise ship

On April 6, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced that Disney Cruise Line will be calling New York City its newest homeport. Beginning in May 2012, the Disney Magic will sail 20 cruises that will depart from the Manhattan Cruise Terminal, with destinations that include the Bahamas and Canada.

The 20 calls scheduled for 2012 will bring approximately 45,000 additional embarking passengers into the city, resulting in an estimated $11 million in direct spending. As the fifth largest industry in the city, the cruise ship industry continues to play an increasingly important role in boosting the city’s tourism and overall economy.

Last year, cruise passengers and crew spent more than $144 million while ashore, contributing to the record-breaking 48.7 million tourists who visited the city in 2010. Disney is the sixth major cruise line to make the city its homeport, joining Carnival Cruise Line, Norwegian Cruise Line, and Holland America at the Manhattan Cruise Terminal, along with Cunard and Princess at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal.

“Disney joining the city’s roster of cruise operators further cements our standing as a top cruise destination and will help us to exceed the record-breaking tourism numbers that are critical to supporting the city’s economy,” Bloomberg said. “Our efforts to keep the city’s tourism industry growing is one of the reasons the city is emerging from the national recession faster than the rest of the country. Disney’s commitment will help increase the $31 billion spent last year by out-of-town visitors, which supported hundreds of thousands of jobs in our restaurants, shops, hotels and cultural institutions.”

The 2012 New York City Disney cruise schedule is comprised of a total of 20 cruises including eight eight-night cruises to the Bahamas, nine five-night cruises along the New England coast to Canada, along with three two-night cruises that will give a sampling of the Disney Cruise Line experience over a weekend at sea.