Some of us with grandchildren are going to be troubled with the news that Norwegian and Nickelodeon are getting a divorce. Okay, the grandchildren are going to be troubled.
It’s been five years that people have been getting ”slimed” on Norwegian ships, starting with the Epic…five years of having breakfast with Dora The Explorer, her buddy Diego and SpongeBob SquarePants. And now it’s over…or it’s going to be, finally and officially, at 
the beginning of January.
Happy New Year. Oh darn.
On one of the Epic’s voyages — the partnership also spread to older ships Jewel and Gem and newer ships Breakaway and Getaway — we had breakfast with Nickelodeon, along with 200 of our closest friends who seemed to be enjoying it more than us. Even thought a couple with two kids would pay $50 for the event, it was clearly a popular promotion but, like everything else, it had a life.
At another Nickelodeon event, also three times on a weekly cruise, passengers would get “slimed” with, well, slime…green stuff that looked yucky and probably felt like it, too. Those days are also over.
Sigh.
In recent months, Norwegian has started to change direction under new CEO Frank Del Rio, obviously hoping to become a little more upscale without sacrificing its family motif. Dora and friends will no longer be part of it, although the cruise line promises to “continue to raise the bar on family entertainment at sea.”
While the announcement comes without explanation, if Norwegian plans to climb the luxury ladder of cruise lines…getting slimed is a bad fit.
In the news…
• Silversea adding ninth ship to fleet, Silver Muse, in 2017
• Weather webcams installed eight years where Alaska plane crashed
Today at portsandbows.com: Mighty Mount McKinley
Grand Princess
7 nights
August 8, 2015
Anchorage, Hubbard Glacier, Glacier Bay, Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan
Inside: $449
Cost per day: $64
www.princess.com