Ready, Shrek, Go!

Once upon a time, there was a little cruise line. And the little cruise line had a Big Red Boat. And on the Big Red Boat were Disney characters. And all the little children on the Big Red Boat were happy.

Then Disney started its own Cruise Line and all their characters jumped ship, leaving the Big Red Boat to struggle along with Loony Tune characters....

But, in the big wide world of cruise ship marketing, a major trend had been started, and everyone took notice. While Disney Cruise Line officially set sail in 1998, 'Fun Ship Freddy' joined Carnival Cruises in 2002 and a trend had become a major onboard entertainment feature.

Then, earlier this year, NCL announced a major tie-up with Nickelodeon to use their characters aboard the forthcoming Norwegian Epic. And now comes another move in this direction as Royal Caribbean staged a major press conference yesterday to unveil a marketing alliance with DreamWorks Animation.

The details - which add the likes of Shrek and Donkey; Kung Fu Panda; the characters from the Madagascar series (notably the hysterically funny penguins); and an Ice Show based on the recent film 'How To Train Your Dragon' - reveal that Royal Caribbean believe they need to not only acknowledge this trend but take it to a whole new level.

To that end, the new Allure of the Seas - due to sail this December - will be the line's trailblazer for this new tie-up between one of the world's biggest cruise lines and one of the most successful animated film studios.

The alliance will see a whole raft of new children's programming and activities (naturally enough) for a cruise line that already boasts a fantastic option for families with their Adventure Ocean kids areas (for 3 to 11-year-olds), but DreamWorks boss Jeffrey Katzenberg made it clear they really wanted to push the possibilities with this deal, and that has led to some interesting additions to Allure's onboard entertainment quotient.

As well as the themed Ice Show, there will be DreamWorks characters added to the AquaTheater show in the ship's signature after show area; there will be a new 3-D film capapbility in the main theatre, so passengers can see the latest movies in 3-D as well as past DreamWorks favourites.

Add in character breakfasts, parades, special events and other photo opportunities (weith the DreamWorks options also being added to Oasis, Freedom and Liberty of the Seas after Allure) and you have an amazing new package - and a whole new style - of cruising from Royal Caribbean, and just one more reason to consider taking a holiday with them next year.

Whether you have kids or not!

Time Spent at Sea has moved and can now be found at World of Cruising. You can follow World of Cruising on Twitter and Facebook for the very latest in cruise news.

If you haven't already, subscribe to the World of Cruising magazine today.