"Characters Welcome?"

[Bazzito]

I’ve been following the “I Don’t want Shrek” thread with some interest.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1213450

 

(322 replied in 5 days! My 2-cents is on about page 16, or so.)

 

My wife and I were discussing the Shrek characters on RCI ships this morning and I told her that, “Before they lay down at night, I’ll bet that every cruise line CEO says a little prayer thanking Premier Cruise Lines (remember the Big Red Boat?) for inventing the family cruise industry. I bet they even light a little candle on the day the Royale went down.” (Dec. 17, 2000)

 

I’ll argue that, 1) Disney never would have added a cruise line if Premier hadn’t been successful with the Disney characters on the BRB ships and 2) the latest ships, with their many activities and features, wouldn’t exist if Premier hadn’t enticed families to cruise with their kids.

 

Those of us in Florida remember when Premier was the “Official Cruise Line of Walt Disney World.” They’d book package tours to Orlando and tack a cruise out of Port Canaveral as part of a full week in Florida. It was a brilliant strategy and started families cruising together rather than just hearing about their elderly parents’ cruises on some ship with a Dutch-sounding name. Families that were coming to WDW, anyway, ended up cruising, thus nurturing a generation of life-long cruisers. Later, when it was obvious that this was a huge money-maker, Disney started their own cruise line, leaving Premier with the Looney Tunes characters for families with small kids. Making cruising family-friendly has built the industry in the past 2 decades and they have Premier to thank for that, IMHO.

 

I’d love to hear from some CC members who took their first cruise with their parents on a trip to Disney World. I’ll bet there are plenty.

 

Now, I realize that Disney has about a 2% market share but witness the explosion in mega-ships on every line.

 

The ships of every cruse line have been getting bigger and bigger. (Oasis-class ships cruise with a 5,400 passenger capacity. Do you think they’re going to fill a ship like that with retired couples every week?) And they have more and more fantastic features with every new addition. Before the advent of families cruising, there was little to distinguish the features of a liner from the early 1900’s from one put into service in 1975.

 

Fast forward to today. Here’s a list of the just some of the things on Oasis that families and adult cruisers can take advantage of:

 

youth spa (Not to mention adult spas)

158 state-of-the-art cardio and resistance machines

pilates, kickboxing, yoga and spinning classes

H2O Zone aqua park for kids

4 pools and 10 whirlpools

2 Flowriders®, sports courts, mini-golf and Zip line

Studio B, featuring ice shows

Blaze Nightclub, Jazz on 4, Comedy Live

Dazzles, featuring musical spectacles ranging from big band to disco

Play - open gym and activity area

Adventure Ocean Theater and Science Lab

Royal Babies & Royal Tots - nursery service

Teen Areas including Fuel disco, The Living Room lounge, the Back Deck

 

Every one of those features caters to 40-year-olds and youger. That’s a solid family demographic. Do you think for a minute that these things would exist if families didn’t cruise together? I doubt it. They’d only need to offer bridge-playing seminars and fox-trot lessons, like in the old days.

 

Now, my wife and I don’t use most of those features, but lots of people do. If they didn’t, the cruise lines wouldn’t keep coming up with them. We realize that by offering numerous entertainment options to families, all of the cruise lines can continually upgrade their ships and make cruise vacations a terrific value to passengers with wide ranging tastes. We have been fortunate enough to have been able to take our kids on cruises when they were little, and still do, now that they’re adults (although with less frequency).

 

So, before we turn our backs on Shrek and his wise-cracking, flatulent friends, let’s raise a Bahama Mamma and toast The Big Red Boat, the sunken Royale, Yosemite Sam, Tweety Bird and the old Premier Line for setting the foundation for the modern cruise industry.

 

“Characters Welcome?”

 

Put me down as a “Yes.”

[Bakincakes]

After 322 replies on the "other" thread you thought it was necessary to start yet another one about whether the characters would be welcome?:confused:

[foxesden1]

meh I like his post! :p

[Bazzito]

After 322 replies on the "other" thread you thought it was necessary to start yet another one about whether the characters would be welcome?:confused:

 

No. I was just thinking about what place Premier had in the industry and sharing my thoughts with other cruisers.

 

HEY!! Made ya' look!! ;)

[BecciBoo]

My brother and his family took the Big Red Boat on their first cruise many years ago and it was the worst vacation of their lives...or so they say. They never cruised again and to this day, my brother will absolutely never listen to my sales pitch to cruise. If it had that kind of lasting impression, could it have been all that great?

[Bakincakes]

No. I was just thinking about what place Premier had in the industry and sharing my thoughts with other cruisers.

 

HEY!! Made ya' look!! ;)

 

 

Premier...OK..I'll go...sailed on the Oceanic exclusively for Premier...I remember the MDR being quite dark..they had the characters roaming about at dinner the they had "themed" evenings for the menu..French..American..Italian...that kind of thing.

 

I will say the service was pretty well done and the meals were from very good to excellent.

 

They had the Gilligans Island gang waiting for the tenders on their private island..they would also do a treasure hunt with the kids...bar-b-q on the island wasn't fabulous and they had a reggae group playing there...

 

So yes..Premier or rather Disney can be thanked for introducing families to cruising.

 

Characters welcome? Yes..on a Disney cruise.;)

[Bakincakes]

My brother and his family took the Big Red Boat on their first cruise many years ago and it was the worst vacation of their lives...or so they say. They never cruised again and to this day, my brother will absolutely never listen to my sales pitch to cruise. If it had that kind of lasting impression, could it have been all that great?

 

 

depends on what ship he went on..the Oceanic was the biggest one....I will have to try and find photos of those cruises but recall the MDR dark..cabins were..well..cabins...port holes..:p I don't recall much rocking and rolling going on...it had a small casino...didn't go to the bars so don't know about those...the kids program seemed pretty nice..kids seemed to have a good time at any rate.

 

But the ships were nothing like what we have now.

 

I will tell you that everyone dressed every night for dinner...;)

[traveling1969]

After 322 replies on the "other" thread you thought it was necessary to start yet another one about whether the characters would be welcome?:confused:

 

Gee, I understood why the OP started this thread. Gist is completely different; sort of a historical take on "characters". Actually, your reply was on the mark if one takes into account the title of this thread:rolleyes:.

[ccruisequeen]

They have "family" cruise lines, they have "sophisticated" cruise lines, they have a cross between them. I'm glad Carnival hasn't gone the character route yet (although the family theme is leaning that way). I think that RCCL is more Carnival that HAL, so if anyone is going that way, RCCL fits the mold. I just wish it was something other than Shreik!

[Shooraq]

I actually did the Big Red Boat when I was in grade school. (I think?) Note how it's not listed in my signature? That's because it was the worst cruise experience I ever had! (Thank goodness my family chose to try RCCL years later, hooked on cruising ever since!)

 

I do remember everyone making a big deal about the Big Red Boat and its Disney ties.

 

I don't think tying in characters to a ship, or hotel, or amusement park is a bad thing. This is a business, cruise lines need to find a way to entice new customers to try out cruising. I always saw Royal Caribbean as a family cruiseline. Even though I am 31, I still like the energy of this cruiseline. I think it would be cute to see Shrek and all the other characters because I love animated movies. But at least they are giving it a try on a few ships. Everything is about testing the waters. Just like pulling out of West Coast, if something doesn't work profits wise, they will adjust and stop the character connections.

 

Innovation can yield results... I'm willing to see what happens here.