Fully-branded Cartoon Network cruise ship to debut in Asia

The undisclosed vessel will be named Cartoon Network Wave and is the result of a partnership between Asia Pacific cruise management company Oceanic Group and Turner, the global media giant behind Cartoon Network.

Set to make its maiden voyage from its homeport of Singapore in late 2018, the 11-guest-deck, 2,000-passenger Cartoon Network Wave will be a haven for Toon-loving travellers.

Daniel Chui, chief executive of Oceanic Group told Seatrade, ‘We are not disclosing the name of the ship now. We can only [say ] a ship is engaged for the CN Wave, in excess of 50,000gt and carrying over 2,000 passengers.’

A signing ceremony to announce the start-up took place in Singapore Thursday, attended by Christina Siaw, ceo, Singapore Cruise Centre; Ricky Ow, president of Turner Asia Pacific; Oceanic Group’s Chui and Yap Chin Siang, assistant chief executive (policy planning group), Singapore Tourism Board.

Chui said the partnership represents the company’s commitment to capitalise on Asia’s growing cruise travel market. ‘A homegrown cruise project, Cartoon Network Wave heralds the start of a new vacation experience for cruise-goers in Asia where cruise travel meets personalised journeys through experiential story-telling. With Singapore’s position as a cruise hub in Asia, we believe it is only fitting that we dive right in and ride the surging tide of this passenger cruise wave.

‘Cartoon Network Wave will revolutionise cruise travel in the Asia- Pacific region and create and curate new cruise experiences for holiday makers, cruise goers and generations of pop culture fans,’ he added.

‘Turner is always looking at new ways to bring our characters to life, and Cartoon Network Wave will be their home on the high seas. The ship has remarkable potential to offer our existing fans a truly unique immersive experience, as well as create new ones. We couldn’t be more excited by the partnership with Oceanic Group in jointly creating a world first,’ said Ow.

While there are many existing projects by Turner’s location-based entertainment team including Cartoon Network-branded restaurants, theme parks, waterparks around the world – and even planes and trains – this is the first time a cruise ship has undergone a full Cartoon Network transformation.

The theming and entire on-board experience of Cartoon Network Wave is inspired by Cartoon Network’s universe of characters from shows such as Adventure Time, Ben 10, The Powerpuff Girls and We Bare Bears. This includes a variety of diverse entertainment, activity and recreation features, as well as retail and food and beverage options.

Cartoon Network Wave will homeport at the Singapore Cruise Centre and sail to 13 destinations in the Asia Pacific region including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, China, Taiwan, South Korea, Australia and Japan.

Dates and itineraries for its routes around Asia Pacific will be announced in the coming months.

Click here for a sneak preview.