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Royal Caribbean International is ending its onboard entertainment partnership with DreamWorks Studios in April.
The DreamWorks characters, such as Shrek and the animals from the Madagascar series, are now on nine of Royal Caribbean’s 25 ships.
In a message to travel partners and guests, Royal Caribbean cited the addition of new family features as a factor in the decision, including glow-in-the-dark laser tag and the Sky Pad virtual reality trampoline.
“And we’re taking our family flagships to a whole new level when Oasis of the Seas gets amplified later this year,” Royal Caribbean said.
The phase-out will come a month before Royal Caribbean cuts the ribbon on its water park at CocoCay, which it is calling the “ultimate family vacation destination.”
Royal Caribbean will replace ice shows and parades that feature the DreamWorks characters with in-house programming.
The DreamWorks partnership was launched in 2010. The Symphony of the Seas (delivered last April) was the first ship to debut since then without the DreamWorks Experience onboard.
The ships that currently feature DreamWorks are the Allure, Oasis and Harmony of the Seas, plus the Freedom, Liberty, Anthem, Ovation, Quantum and Voyager of the Seas.
Norwegian Cruise Line ended a partnership with Nickelodeon in 2015 that put characters like SpongeBob SquarePants on its ships.
Lines that still have partnerships featuring animated characters include Carnival Cruise Line, which has a partnership with Dr. Seuss, and Disney Cruise Line.
Source: travelweekly.com
