Last year Royal Caribbean aligned with DreamWorks, a major rival of Disney for animated movies. The line now also has 3-D movie theaters and “character experiences” with popular DreamWorks characters, such as Shrek, Kung Fu Panda and Puss ‘n Boots. The line also created new stage shows featuring these characters.
But Royal Caribbean didn’t stop with DreamWorks characters. It was the first cruise line to acquire the rights to the book versions of certain hit Broadway shows like “Hairspray,” “Chicago” and “Saturday Night Fever.” But this is just the latest entertainment innovation for Royal Caribbean. The line started building ice skating rinks on its ships back in 1999, which most people just considered a new activity for cruisers. But the real payoff was the new “Ice Capades” style shows they created. Today these shows are excellent shipboard entertainment with Olympic-class skaters from around the world.
A few of the loveable characters from the hit Movie “Madagascar” The Allure Seas Captain Hernan Zini and producer Jeffrey Katzenberger discuss the many “kid friendly” entertainment options provided by Royal Caribbean
The newest (largest ship in the world) Oasis-class ships added another proven entertainment genre. “AquaTheater” shows featuring water and aerial-based productions already proven popular in Las Vegas. The Oasis shows require the custom-built AquaTheater venue with 60-foot high dives, trampolines, underwater cameras and trapeze mechanisms. These shows resemble proven Vegas hits like “O” by Cirque D’ Soliel (a play on the French word “eau” for water) and “Le Reve,” a $100-million production at the new Wynn Hotel. The Oasis-class also has a new acrobatic stage show “Come Fly With Me,” using some of the performers from the AquaTheater shows. It features the flying stage-craft now in vogue in Vegas and on Broadway. These shows were created with a producer new to cruise ships, Suzanne Childers, who came with many of the people who worked on “Le Reve” in Las Vegas. Childers is now also working with Silversea Cruises.
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