Go sailing with Dora, Spongebob, and company!

In late January, Viacom released a press release announcing the channel and company, Nickelodeon, is taking to Sea! (release found here on CNN.com) Following the steps of company's such as Disney, Nickelodeon is launching its own family cruise this August. The cruise will feature Nickelodeon themed things for kids such as live game shows, wandering characters, minature golf, rock climbing, oh and don't forget the iceskating rink (who doesn't love to ice skate on cruise ships?) But like any other family cruise, Nickelodeon is making sure to keep the parentals happy too. Adults can look foward to the usual spas, bars, and resturaunts as well as the fact that the ship will stop in locations such as "Cozumel, Mexico; George Town, Grand Cayman; Ocho Rios, Jamaica; and a special stop at Royal Caribbean's private beach destination, Labadee, which will be Nickelodeon-themed".


What a marvelous way this is for Nickelodeon to get their name back out there, in a very cliche and tacky way. I mean, what does this really have to do with fostering creativity and fun for the everyday child? (something Nickelodeon used to do amazingly!) Personally I think Nickelodeon is far far away (in a bad way) from the brilliance that it used to be. When I was a kid Nickelodeon was THE channel. Every show was somewhat different in a spunky way, it was king of programming. Now all the channel has is shows that target the tween age group in a very cliche way..by making tweens feel like theyre teenagers. Maybe it's just my aging mind's perspective, but really Nick should be using its power to help change the youth! (I know that's a huuuuge demand, but hey, Nick used to be able to do anything!)

President of Nick, Cyma Zarghami states, "taking to the seas with our first- ever family cruise with Royal Caribbean was the natural next step for us. Combined with the ground-breaking of our first Marriott Hotel and the opening of the biggest indoor theme park in the country at the Mall of America, Nickelodeon will be offering more family experiences this year than ever before."

That's great Cyma, but I'd take it step by step. Maybe the first step should be making the programming on Nick more diverse and creative. You know, like Geraldine Laybourne, did..

(Vacation packages for the "Nickelodeon Family Cruise" go on-sale to the public beginning Jan. 28.)

what do you think about current Nickelodeon as opposed to its past?