Disney Magic, Mickey Mouse’s first ship / GALLERY

[[(MediaPublishingQueue2014v1) Galleria ]]

Trieste - The Disney Cruise Line adventure started in 1998 with the inauguration of the Disney Magic, the company’s first iconic ship, which sprung from the pen of Gianfranco Bertaglia, who was a Fincantieri designer at the time. The shipowner commissioned two units from the Trieste-based company in 1995 which were to retrace the tradition of the ocean liners of the 1930s, like the mythic Normandie. Thus an original project was born that besides creating a sleek line to the ship, called for a black hull, two smokestacks (the forward one being a fake) and a façade structure that was meant to remind one of Goofy’s hat. Even the interior decoration was inspired by the ships of that period, and so Art Deco was chosen as the dominant style of the hotel areas, which are chock full of the magical world of the Disney characters. And once again, Magic will return to the Mediterranean this year, where it will offer its guests seven-night cruises boarding at Barcelona and disembarking in Naples, Civitavecchia, Livorno and Villafranca Marittima (the itineraries in the Eastern Mediterranean, on the other hand, have been cancelled because of the Turkish crisis).

However, the ship that we will see in Italy’s ports will be a bit different from the one that left Fincantieri’s Marghera plant 18 years ago. In fact, in 2013, it underwent an intensive refitting at Navantia’s plant in Cadiz, where several of its interior areas were redecorated and the ship was modified to add a “ducktail” to its stern to improve its seakeeping. After these modifications, the ship’s gross tonnage is 83,696 tonnes and its interior spaces have been modernised, of course preserving its original fairy-tale appeal. We mustn’t forget that Disney is a premium company for families, and there is neither a nightclub nor a casino on the Magic, these spaces being given over to large areas for children separated by age group. This ship will always be remembered for being the first to play a melody, “When You Wish Upon a Star”, from the seven trumpets, corresponding to seven nights, on its smokestack.