As the Disney Treasure prepares for its maiden voyage, we had the opportunity to speak with Disney Cruise Line Senior Vice President and General Manager Sharon Siskie about this milestone, the decision to make the Disney Treasure distinct, and the global reach of Disney Cruise Line.
Laughing Place: First of all, congratulations on this beautiful ship. It's obviously a lot of years in planning and what's it like to have real guests on board in just a couple weeks?
Sharon Siskie: It's actually so emotional and it's interesting you ask it because even last night when we were watching the Tale of Moana and we've been on the journey with the show from the very beginning, it was hard not to cry, actually, because we're so proud. The journey to get from the ideas about what the experiences are going to be and then to see them come to life. And then know that we're having guests in a very short period of time. It's an emotional level of excitement that's really almost hard to describe because the magnitude of what the team has delivered and we're so proud of it and all of these experiences onboard. So, it's really pretty special. It's a career high when something like this happens.
LP: Speaking of the team, you not only lead the cruise line business, but you're also one of many godparents of this ship. What was it like to be in New York where Bob Iger christened the ship on behalf of you and your team and everyone at The Walt Disney Company?
SS: It's just that immense feeling of pride. You almost have to pinch yourself to say, “I can't believe I'm part of something this special.” It almost takes your breath away, because I've been with the company 30 years and I've had a lot of really special experiences over those 30 years. But to be able to stand there and have Bob speaking with such pride about what our team does it is very emotional. There's a true love of Disney for those of us that work here. The feeling of something that really touches you, really reaches in your heart. This is really like something I'll remember for the rest of my life.
LP: This is the third time we've launched a second ship in a class of ships, but unlike the the Wonder or the Fantasy, this ship and it has its own identity, which is very distinct from the Wish. What's it like to make that decision to have it not just be slightly different or this space is different but have a really unique theme?
SS: Well, I have to give a lot of credit to our Imagineering team because they came forward and said, “wouldn't it be interesting if you could create a bit of a unique personality for each of these ships? And you could really design around it, you could have this organizing principle that everything could kind of roll up under.” And we sort of steered away from using the term theme because a theme is very overt.
There are things that as you look around, they kind of have a nod to, but you have that sense of adventure throughout everything. But as we design, we also need to make sure that all the stories we want to tell can fit within that motif. So to your point, I think it was a very interesting approach that we took. We're really pleased with the decision and how it is coming to life. And as you know, guests are saying, “wow” when I step on board the ship, it has a feel that is all of its own, very unique.
I get that adventure feel. I feel it. I see it in the, you know, the color palette and the designs and the choices of the stories that are being told, whether it's Moana or those that we pulled in from the theme parks — which is another very unique, interesting, and different approach.
So it was a lot of fun thinking all of that through, and the way that it has actually turned out, we couldn't be happier.
LP: Obviously we are in the midst of a huge expansion of the Disney Cruise Line, even beyond what we thought we knew about six months ago. And in Brazil, Josh D’Amaro talked about how Disney Cruise Line allows you to bring Disney magic to places that may not have a Disney theme park. What is it like to be able to bring Disney magic to new places?
SS: I think a really good example was when we made the decision to take the Wonder seasonally to Australia. That was the first time where we thought to ourselves, “This is an opportunity.” We have guests who travel from Australia to Disneyland, but that's a bit of a journey. And there's a lot of passion for Disney there, and we thought, “Wouldn't it be terrific to be able to bring that experience to them and really reach just a lot more guests that are not realistically gonna make a trip to Disneyland?” So that was sort of our foray into it.
We had an extremely successful first season there and we're back for our second season. But most of those guests are new guests that haven't been either to a Disney park or on a Disney cruise before. Singapore will be our second. I think that's how we're just starting to think about how even in Europe, when we have Europe sailings we have a certain mix of guests that come from the U.S. but we also pull from all the European markets as well. So it's a unique opportunity because they're movable assets to your point and if there's a lot of demand it works really well and that's perfect. And if we decide we want to do something else, we can do that too. So, it actually works great for guests and for us.
LP: Even as you've expanded the fleet dramatically, you still find amazing crew members. What's it mean to them to be able to launch this ship?
SS: It's really special for them as well. On the crossing, we had an event for the crew up on deck where we addressed them and thanked them. The energy and the cheering and you could just feel with them, they were just so proud and we said to them, “You should be so proud of everything that you've done and what you're about to do in terms of being able to begin serving guests.”… It's just so authentic and so special because these projects take a long time. When you reach that moment, it really is like cresting a hill.
You could just feel it with the team. Everybody was going around saying, “This is just such a great moment for us.” I think we all just wanted to bask in it, you don't want to let these moments go, because it's so amazing. As you've talked to a lot of the team members, they're just so excited and they're so proud. You mentioned how obviously we hire a lot of crew. Just like we draw guests from all around the world, crew and potential crew who want to come to work for us, come from all around the world too, and the one thing that they share is that love and passion of wanting to be part of something that's that special, and and you feel it. It's amazing,
LP: That we can be united by the beauty of the stories that you tell here, it makes all this sort of division that happens on land seem so trivial.
SS: Absolutely. I think that is really something that resonates with a lot of our guests, too. You come here and this truly is a laughing place. it's the place you come and you just really leave it all behind and you come here and just enjoy it and you enjoy the care that the team so much enjoys giving.