Shrek, Mickey: Which characters make you want to book?

[melissa@cruisecritic]

At a press conference today, Royal Caribbean announced that it has inked a partnership with DreamWorks Animation, the powerhouse entertainment studio responsible for films including "Kung Fu Panda," "Madagascar" and -- of course -- all three flicks in the growing "Shrek" enterprise (a fourth is on the way). Animation-themed activities and amenities will debut with Allure of the Seas, due out in December 2010, and eventually roll out to Oasis of the Seas, Freedom of the Seas and Liberty of the Seas. Learn more about it in Cruise Critic News!

This comes only a few months after Norwegian Cruise Line announced it's partnership with Nickelodeon -- and of course, Disney's offered character breakfasts, sailaway parties and themed entertainment for what seems like forever.

So we want to know -- are there characters that make you more likely to book a family cruise or go with a certain line? Vote in the poll and be sure to post your opinions below!

[boulders]

I just got back from a Disney cruise. The characters were nice, but two of my 3 kids have a mistrust of people in costume. So, the characters added something, but not a tremendous amount.

We had booked Allure of the Seas for this coming December about a month ago. I love Shrek, definitely more than the Disney characters, so I'm much more likely to keep the reservation than I was before I read this news.

[youngestof9]

I wish they'd stop with the bombardment of marketing. I want to go on vacation free from the constant barrage of marketing to our kids. What happened to going on a cruise for tours of new places, sandy beaches and down time not being overstimulated by characters?

I love LOVE Disney and expect the barrage of that theme in WDW and their cruiselines. I can't wait to cruise Disney someday. But I would like to not have a theme on any other cruiseline. I wouldn't expect to book NCL, RCI, CCL, etc. because they have characters.

But that's just me

[crusinmama06]

Another choice, we make our decision based on SHIP first, then itinerary and price. If the characters are there, its a bonus. But we won't want to pay more just to cruise with a character.

We were planning to sail on Allure in 2011. The prices for 3/4 rate are really high though so its a really tough call for us.

The September 3/4 prices for Allure are $700 for the KIDS. EACH! In September. And that's not including the port fees/taxes/tips or spending money.

So yes, we love RCI. And yes, we love Shrek and Madagascar. But paying $1,000 for a 6 year old to see a 6 ft penguin Yeahhhhh -- it's going to be hard to swallow.

[Cruzin 1025]

So I picked Mickey because it's all about the Mouse and I love anything Disney. With that said, in most cases we prefer Carnival over Disney. Disney has beautiful ships and an incredible private island, but hands down Carnival wins in price. That plus once you reach Platinum with a cruiseline it's hard to switch to someone else. Although we cruising with Sponge Bob on the Epic in 3 months, but that's all about the ship and the other entertainment (Blue Man, Cirque, Second City, etc.), and not about the characters (we booked before NCL announced the connection with Nickelodeon).

[mommyto2kids]

We are hug disney fans and are well prepared to pay the cost of a Disney resort stay, but I just can not justify the inflated cruise cost when Carnival offers cruises at half the price.

One day we would love to do a Disney cruise, but I would rather cruise carnival and do a Disney Land Vacation on opposite years.

[PattyW]

The characters would only be one factor, and probably a very SMALL factor when choosing which line on which to book.

That said, my kids love all three groups of characters, but my favorite by far is Shrek (followed by Mickey, with Spongebob a very distant third), so all things being equal, if it were my decision, I'd choose the ogre.

[Purpleprincess4]

As time goes by and the interests of my children change so do our choices in vacations. 3 years ago it was all about the mouse. Now we are choosing vacations and cruises based on destination and other factors. Those factors include teen/kids programs and price.

[lauritagoddess]

I would pick all three choices. We love all things Disney and would cruise DCL more often if it wasn't for the prices. We're book on NCL Jewel in August and one of the major draws was Nickelodeon since my son is Nick nut too. We were already booked for Allure for next year, but the Dreamworks characters will be like icing on the cake.

[Onessa]

Characters have never been important -- DD was always a bit freaked out by them when she was very young, and was then bored with most afterward.

[marci22]

My kids are teens and not interested in characters anymore; they are more interested in the ports at this stage. I would avoid a character-themed cruise on any line, not just Royal. (I have done a Disney cruise and it was great but my kids were much younger then.)

[Julienatul]

My kids are a bit chracter shy and love Funship Freddy just as much as Mickey Mouse (me muck and goopy as my 1 yr old calls them) from our recent Disney cruise. We are frequent family cruisers and like characters but my kids actually have more fun on the Carnival cruise with Funship Freddy so characters are not really a selling point to us. We cruise at least twice a year so price it what makes the cruise for us. I wouldnt pay more just to have characters there. There is so much fun to be had on a cruise, I dont feel they add to the cruising environment all that much.

[ShannonSto]

My kids are only interested in the Sesame Street characters, particularly Elmo. But I don't really need charcaters on board anyway.