Having delivered celebrity chef restaurants, water slides and revolutionary technology, cruise lines are now looking at popular culture on the small screen to entice travellers to holiday at sea.
Cruising and Hollywood have always had somewhat of a close relationship, with ships featuring in a number of hit TV shows and movies throughout the years. Remember ‘The Love Boat’?
And while it seemed like their close ties may have simmered in the early 2000s, cruise lines like Holland America, Princess Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line are tapping back into that relationship to offer travellers familiar entertainment onboard.
Norwegian Cruise Line kicked off the trend last month, with the announcement that Norwegian Pearl would host thousands of zombie (sorry, walker) fans during the first-ever Walking Dead cruise.
The ‘Walker Stalker Cruise‘ will be held aboard Norwegian Pearl in January next year, giving viewers of the hit show access to exclusive parties and themed events.
Cruisers will also have the chance to meet and greet favourite characters from the show.
According to the cruise’s website, bringing the hit TV show onboard has helped sell beds, with all rooms now booked out.
Hoping to tap into the same demand, Princess Cruises revealed this week that its ships will host their very own version of popular singing competition ‘The Voice‘.
‘The Voice of the Ocean’ will debut on Regal Princess in October and will see talented cruisers paired up with ‘mentors’ who will train them throughout the cruise for a live final performance on the last night of the cruise.
Princess Cruises Vice President of Entertainment, Adrian Fischer, said bringing the show onboard will allow guests to feel like they are part of the popular TV show.
After debuting on Regal Princess, the competition will be taken onboard Royal Princess and Caribbean Princess in November.
Eight additional ships will offer ‘The Voice of the Ocean’ rolling out between January and May 2016.
Meanwhile, Holland America is getting ready another ‘Dancing with the Stars: At Sea’ cruise departing Florida on 10 January.
The cruise line has been running the popular themed- cruises since 2014.
Due to overwhelming demand, the line has added new sailings over the years while rotating talent onboard.
In the next themed-cruise professional dancers from the series will show off their dancing skills to thousands of fans while sailing to the Caribbean.
Running over seven-days, four fan favourites will take the stage to perform routines from the show as well as new choreographed dances.
Orlando Ashford, President of Holland America Line said the partnership between Holland America and Dancing with the Stars has been ‘wonderful’.
“The program added an engaging element to our cruises that many guests embraced with passion and dedication.”
Orlando Ashford, Holland America Line President
“We are thankful to Dancing with the Stars and BBC Worldwide for an amazing run.”
