Animated Characters in Royal Caribbean Cruise

Royal Caribbean is to team up with DreamWorks Animation to offer themed cruise experiences, the company announced.

The alliance with DreamWorks, which produced the Shrek, Madagascar and Kung Fu Panda films, will allow Royal Caribbean to compete with the extensive film based entertainment found onboard Disney Cruise Line ships.

The deal means that consumers will be able to watch separate shows featuring DreamWorks characters in the Aqua Theatre and on the ice rink onboard the Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas, which is set to launch later this year. The companies said there will be parades and on-board entertainment featuring the characters as well as 3D movie screenings aboard certain ships.

Royal Caribbean will also install 3D screens on the ships to allow guests to watch a catalogue of DreamWorks films in 3D during their cruise. Characters from How to Train Your Dragon will perform in ice shows on shipboard ice-skating rinks, characters from Madagascar will splash into an aquatics show in the outdoor Aqua Theater, and DreamWorks movies will be screened in 3D in the ships theaters.

The move will pitch Royal Caribbean directly against the Disney Cruise Line, which offers entertainment featuring characters from Toy Story, Finding Nemo and Monsters Inc., as well as traditional Disney characters Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse and Donald Duck.

Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas liner, which will be the first of the fleet to welcome DreamWorks characters, will launch in December, only one month before Disney Cruise Line's latest ship the Disney Dream.