OK, it had been a busy morning, but Captain Greybeard should have pulled his trousers up before posing with two of Nickelodeon’s biggest stars on stage aboard the cruise ship Norwegian Gem.
I met SpongeBob SquarePants and Dora the Explorer in New York yesterday, at the announcement of a new partnership which will take them and other popular cartoon stars to sea on the Norwegian Jewel from April, and on the soon-to-be-launched Norwegian Epic from July.
As popular as SpongeBob and his pals will be – and they will be in demand for character breakfasts for which mum and dad will have to pay extra – the most exciting part of the deal for many cruising children will be the opportunity to get drenched in green slime.
There will be Nickelodeon-themed poolside activities, interactive shows and dance parties to keep the kids amused while mum and dad indulge themselves elsewhere on the ships. Some lucky children could even find themselves being tucked into bed at night by Bob or Dora.
As well as providing new facilities for their youngest passengers, NCL also announced a move which will be popular among single travellers.
Norwegian Epic’s 128 studio apartments, which until now had been marketed at couples, are instead to be devoted to solo cruisers. The cabins, a modest 100 square ft in size, share a communal lounge and bar, a perfect venue for making new friends away from the other 4,200 passengers on board the 153,000-ton vessel.
There have been single cabins on board other cruise ships, of course, but never so many. P&O’s Azura, to be launched in April, will have 18 single cabins tucked away by the Exchange Bar; refurbishments being carried out to Saga Pearl II include the provision of 60 single cabins, and Fred Olsen’s ships also cater for passengers travelling alone. On most mainstream ships singles are faced with prohibitively expensive supplements in order to have a double cabin to themselves.
Fares for the Epic solo cabins will start at £599 for a seven-day cruise in the Caribbean (flights extra).
Incidentally, at the start of proceedings yesterday on the Norwegian Gem, NCL chief executive Kevin Sheehan welcomed 350 travel agents and journalists aboard the line’s first icebreaker – the water of the Hudson River between the Manhattan piers was completely frozen over.
I have a feeling that the plans for Nickelodeon and the solo cabins will get a much warmer reception.
Nice pic – but who’s who?
dora and spongebob meat what a good idea my sis loves it lol…