No Nickelodeon stuff on Escape

[bangzoom6877]

Any line tied with Minions?:D

 

Are the minions Dreamworks? I believe RCI has Dreamworks.

[bangzoom6877]

My kids enjoyed the Nick themed activities a few years ago when we sailed on the Jewel. They were 4 and 6 at the time, perfect ages for it. They're 8 and 10 now, and while they still get a kick out of the fact that there will be Nick themed activities on our a Breakaway cruise this month, it wouldn't be a deal breaker for us. We've always considered it a nice perk, that's all.

[Freckle53]

I think Minions are Universal Studio.

[hansolosmom]

I totally freaked at the email heading too for our trip on Breakaway in March.

 

We did the very first Nick cruise which was on RCCL Freedom of the Seas when my boys were 8 & 10. So I'm a little sad to see it go, but the boys (who are now 17 & 19) aren't even coming with me on this trip & I don't think my mom will care :)

 

However if I were a parent I think I'd be a little disappointed if I booked the cruise expecting to see Nick characters

[sesameking]

Just got notification of this. Going on the Breakaway in May with our 5 year old daughter, so I was disappointed.

[wrcjr98]

Not that we based our cruise decision on the Nickelodeon characters, but, our grandkids sure were looking forward to Pajama Jam breakfast with SpongeBob and playing mini golf on the Ninja Turtle course. Ugh. Hoping they announce a replacement soon, so that we can act like it's an even better choice for them!

[coldflame]

They'll paint them all one color and just call them "Sponge".

 

Put a Mexican Hat on it. Esponja Roberto y Patricio!

[cruzincouple_808]

I am booked in the Jewel in Jan of 2016, they just sent me an email today that as of the end of 2015, NICK will no longer be part of the Jewel...

[AlwaysNeedSun]

We are booked in Jan on the Getaway... My 7y/o didn't really care for the Nick stuff this past Dec on the Gem. But, I'm curious of this is going to effect the kids area while we are on the ship. As long as everything is up and running... I will be fine. He did like the Dream Works on RCI though.

[andriamay]

I am kinda bummed by this more the fact that there is no alternative. I wonder if they were trying to keep Nick and just couldn't come to an agreement, why else would they have had the Escape all Nick-Themed. I would LOVE minions, we're not much Nickelodeon people but my almost four year old was looking forward to seeing Dora. I checked out the mini golf they posted on Escape looks kinda lame, but I guess it's hard to totally redo this late in the game. We're booked the Escape in January...should be interesting. Lucky for us it's our kids first cruise so they won't miss the Nick-themed events.

[Planefixer]

It just could be the cost for renewing the license was too expensive and not cost effective. I'm sure it was in the millions.

 

Who really knows what goes on behind the scenes in these big business deals.

 

There will be lots of disappointed little ones. But, at least I won't have to listen to looped repeats of Dora anymore on NCL[emoji120]

[cantthinkofanythingfun]

Minions would be awesome. I could probably save a ton of money and substitute an NCL cruise for the Disney Cruise I promised my son next year.

 

I'm sure NCL tried to renegotiate the Nick deal, and probably thought it would happen. Nick probably just wouldn't budge.

 

If I were NCL I would go big and try to cut a deal with Warner Brothers. That would give them the whole Bugs Bunny thing, but more importantly, DC Comics. That will make them competitive with Disney that in addition to the kid's characters, also offers Marvel Comics and I'm assuming Star Wars as well.

[maywell]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/cruiselog/2015/07/01/norwegian-cruise-line-nickelodeon-characters/29568417/

 

 

Guess it makes it more official now. Personally, was never a fan of cartoon / product tie-ins - its seems so force down the throat at times...

[Planefixer]

Minions would be awesome. I could probably save a ton of money and substitute an NCL cruise for the Disney Cruise I promised my son next year.

 

 

 

I'm sure NCL tried to renegotiate the Nick deal, and probably thought it would happen. Nick probably just wouldn't budge.

 

 

 

If I were NCL I would go big and try to cut a deal with Warner Brothers. That would give them the whole Bugs Bunny thing, but more importantly, DC Comics. That will make them competitive with Disney that in addition to the kid's characters, also offers Marvel Comics and I'm assuming Star Wars as well.

 

 

Six flags has exclusive rights to WB and DC characters

Comcast owns NBC/Universal. Harry Potter, Despicable Me (minions) part of Fox Broadcasting, so the Simpsons are out due to licensing with Comcast.

Disney owns, EVERYTHING ELSE[emoji4]

 

What is left? Someone mentioned Hanna Barbera. But those characters are not popular anymore.

[icem86]

My boys age 5 and 8 would love a Mindcraft tie in.

[mitsugirly]

and the older boys have really gotten into Mindcraft.

 

I'm curious as to what they're going to replace the TMNT mini golf course with on the Escape.

 

My 7 year old is really into Mindcraft...she would completely freak out if they had something like that on the ship. I can only imagine! :D

 

Any line tied with Minions?:D

 

Minions would be so cool too!!!

 

 

 

My daughter will be bummed to learn there's no more Sponge Bob characters. She loved the meet & greets, dance party with them and autographs. :(

[Swan0299]

I am really disappointed there is not a replacement ready to go.

Our 6 year old fell in love with Spongebob on our last cruise! He is going to be so disappointed, and I have no "replacement" character to offer now.

I am not personally a big fan of Nick, but selling the kids on a Nick cruise (vs Disney) last spring made sailing NCL fun for all.

For all ages in our group, I was already concerned about the entertainment quality aboard Escape (vs Epic with Blue Man and Cirque). The loss of Nick may be the last straw. Since we are cruising spring break, our options to switch lines are limited at this point, but I will be shopping around!

[legion3]

Six flags has exclusive rights to WB and DC characters

Comcast owns NBC/Universal. Harry Potter, Despicable Me (minions) part of Fox Broadcasting, so the Simpsons are out due to licensing with Comcast.

Disney owns, EVERYTHING ELSE[emoji4]

 

What is left? Someone mentioned Hanna Barbera. But those characters are not popular anymore.

 

Scooby Doo still is.

 

And to some extent Tom and Jerry as well.

 

Both are still making new shows and movies often.

Edited July 2, 2015 by legion3

[jenseib]

Universal has partnered with RCCL for cruise/park combo vacations. I almost expect to see Universal go with their own line eventually. If that is the case we may see these characters on their line. Universal has a lot of different characters in their parks, including Dora, Sponge Bob, Minions and the Dream Work characters.

A minecraft cruise would be super popular right now, but I am not sure how they would do it.

[mpcaruth]

I received an email yesterday titled, "Important Information from Norwegian Cruise Line for Reservation #######". The email stated that Nickelodeon will not be available on the Getaway for our January cruise. "We are always looking at new ways to further enhance the onboard experience and bring new ideas to our guests." Eliminating a program without a replacement in no way appears to "further enhance the onboard experience" to me.

 

Last year we cruised on the Jewel. The ship didn't have many children amenities, but since it had Nick, we thought our children would enjoy. They were soooo excited to see (and possibly be in) the Nick Slime Time Live show. Unfortunately, the staff never scheduled the Slime Time show during our cruise. When I asked why, I was informed that there were not enough youth onboard (only around 120). My kids were very disappointed.

 

My kids are older now and the Getaway has so much for them to do, that the lack of Nickelodeon experience will not even be noticed. However, I suspect the smaller ships that had Nick will not be as appealing to families now.

[Jenjer]

RCCl has X Box rooms on Quantum and Anthem. They where very very busy. My Son loved it, me not so much. I look forward to him getting away from the x box and outside. On that same token he made friends in those rooms and still plays with them now.

 

Not a fan of the new rooftop mini golf it looks pretty junky.

 

At first when I read the email I thought "so what, doesn't matter" but after seeing the new mini golf pictures. I now see how the characters add to the décor.

[legion3]

RCCl has X Box rooms on Quantum and Anthem. They where very very busy. My Son loved it, me not so much. I look forward to him getting away from the x box and outside. On that same token he made friends in those rooms and still plays with them now.

 

Not a fan of the new rooftop mini golf it looks pretty junky.

 

At first when I read the email I thought "so what, doesn't matter" but after seeing the new mini golf pictures. I now see how the characters add to the décor.

 

Yep looks like mini golf in a junk yard but without the TMNT (who I am somewhat indifferent to anyway) cleverness.

 

A Mad Max post-apocalyptic putt-putt golf course in a run down part of a big city.

Edited July 2, 2015 by legion3

[LrgPizza]

The theming on these ships was so minor that I honestly can't imagine anyone missing it. I mean, on my Getaway cruise, I don't know if I would have even known there was a Nickoledeon partnership if I hadn't read it.

 

As for the miniature golf - I thought that was a disaster anyway, and the space would be better utilized for something else. It's so windy that the balls just blow all over. Also, any time we tried, there were always kids just walking up and dropping there ball right in front of us to play random holes. There weren't any cruise staff monitoring the golf in any way, so it was completely without order. We wouldn't do it again regardless of whether or not there is a turtle statue standing there.

 

By the way. it's Minecraft, not Mindcraft. My son is a big fan, so I made an effort to pay attention to the name of his hobby.

Edited July 2, 2015 by LrgPizza

[Cel_cruise]

I think that there might be some opportunities to look at toys instead of TV/video medium...imagine Lego? Cabbage patch? American Girl? Monopoly? Barbie? Matchbox?

 

I think Lego would be awesome...its age and gender friendly and colorful and easily morphed to support any theming needed.

[Freckle53]

Lego would be really good. Especially now that they are marketing more to girls with the Lego Friends stuff (not that girls cannot play with toys that aren't pink and purple...). Duplos for the toddlers, Lego video games, etc.