Luxury Cruising Editorial

It’s Cyber Monday, and it feels like every company on the planet is sending out emails and blasting their discounts and specials across every app and square inch of screen space.

And it’s no different for cruise lines.  You can check out the latest cruise deals for Cyber Monday here.

But a certain ad campaign from Carnival has been catching people by surprise. 

If you’ve watched TV or seen any online videos lately, you’ve probably done a double-take at the Carnival Cruise Line commercial.  “Is that Ron Swanson from Parks and Rec?”  you might have asked.   

The beloved character, known for his woodworking skills, hatred of paying taxes, and love for eating red meat, began showing up in Carnival ads in mid-November.

And here’s why Carnival hiring the world’s most serious-minded woodworker is a pretty savvy move the company hopes will turn into future cruise passengers.

It’s Not Nick Offerman After All. It Really Is Ron Swanson

Here’s the weird truth about these commercials.  Nick Offerman is the actor who played Ron Swanson in Parks and Recreation.  But Carnival didn’t hire “Nick” perse.  They wanted Swanson.

They even brought in Offerman’s writing team from Parks and Recreation to co-write the ads.  Keep in mind that this show ran for 7 seasons (ending in 2015) and was very successful in its own right.

So, when fans of the show see these commercials, they connect right away with the character they watched and rewatched.

That’s why the humor lands so perfectly. It’s not a generic celebrity plug. It feels like an extended and interesting side-story where Ron Swanson is forced to acknowledge the existence of fun.  

When his character breaks down and escapes to the deck of a cruise ship in the ads, it’s more like a snippet from an 8^th season of the show than an advertisement.

The commercials are like sketches from a creative team that knows the character and exactly how he would react in certain situations.

The “Anti-Fun” Guy Sells Fun

The whole campaign is called “Find Your Fun Again,” and it’s built on the idea that Americans are burnt out, stuck on their phones, and generally miserable.

Now, who is the last person you’d expect to lead a campaign about easy, adventurous, organized fun? Exactly. Nick Offerman—cough, cough, I mean Ron Swanson.

The ads literally start with Offerman smashing his phone because the digital noise is too much. His escape isn’t to a remote cabin. But it is to a Carnival cruise.

The message is clear and compelling.  If the guy who gives advice on building your own canoe thinks a cruise is a great way to detox and get out, then maybe it really is the answer to “what should we do for a vacation this year?”.

And of course, these commercials carry the same humor we expect from Ron Swanson, with witty lines like “heights are afraid of me.”.

They’re Changing Who They Talk To

Carnival knows their history. They’ve had high-energy spokespeople like Shaq, and they are well-known for being the “Fun Ship.” But those things can also come with a certain stereotype.

Hiring Offerman is a savvy way to talk to people who might be a little cynical about cruising.  It’s going after the ones who think it’s too cheesy, too loud, or too commercial.

Carnival is banking on the fact that when you see Ron Swanson enjoying a buffet, the irony is so perfect, you can’t help but pay attention.  And you’ll probably laugh a little too.

The genius of ads like this are that they are very shareable.  When a company gets people who watch their commercials to want to show their friends what “Swanson” was doing on a cruise ship, they get free eyeballs.

“We believe Nick Offerman is the best person to be our ‘unlikely hero of fun.’ His signature blend of wry humor and credibility is the perfect way to deliver our message,” said Amy Martin Ziegenfuss, chief marketing officer of Carnival Cruise Line. “Nick’s personal mission, which aims to get kids off their screens and start creating projects, aligns with our vision of encouraging people to get out, reconnect and find their fun again, with Carnival.”

Adult-only areas are supposed to be just that.  And it’s nothing against kids.  It’s just that on a cruise ship, nothing is more annoying to passengers who want some peace and quiet than parents who ignore the rules and let their kids “roam wild”.

A recent Thanksgiving cruise led to frustration for one passenger after a child was allowed into what was supposed to be the adult-only spa area. 

In a social media post entitled “No Kids must not mean MY kid!”, a cruiser came to Reddit to vent about a situation in which another passenger brought a child “somewhere between 5 and 7 years old” into the spa.

This irked the passenger who had paid an extra $600 for access to the adults only spa for herself and her husband for the week. She noticed the presumed father, who was “lying on a lounger sleeping (or just ignoring the kid),” while the child was restless: “jumping and squirming around.”

The child was clearly bored in an area meant for quiet relaxation.

This kind of situation is a common frustration for cruisers, although more cruise lines are trying to crack down on the problem of parents ignoring signs and rules for their children.

As one commenter pointed out, “No kids’ isn’t a suggestion, it’s literally the rule. Paying extra for peace and quiet isn’t a flex, it’s a right.”

When parents ignore that rule, they are taking away the experience other people paid for.

Deflecting Responsibility

Thankfully, the staff on the ship noticed the child and weren’t going to let the rules get bent any longer. A spa attendant “nicely and quietly explained that the spa was for adults only and to please take the child out.”

The mother then showed up and said to her child: “Oh, honey, THEY don’t want you in here, so now we all have to leave.”

Cruisers React to the Situation

It was a line that definitely fired up the comments on Reddit, as the post quickly racked up over 130 comments in just a few hours.

The online reaction focused on how quickly the parent shifted the blame. Instead of saying, “We made a mistake,” she made the child the reason for their removal. One comment stated that the mother “said it to put the responsibility on the spa attendant and not the idiot father that brought the child.”

Many felt this was unfair to the child. As one user wrote, “That poor kid… Not being wanted is a different level of hurt than just about everything else.”

A Lack of Options Was Not the Problem

What makes the parent’s actions especially unforgivable to some is the number of child-friendly alternatives available on the ship. While the exact ship or cruise line was not named, the original poster noted the ship was “extremely child friendly and had an arcade, a ‘kid’s zone’, TWO water slides and bumper cars?!”

The parents ignored many better, age-appropriate choices, or even using the cruise ship’s kid’s program for a while.  One interesting comment stated it well: “Kids don’t ruin everything, adults doing nothing while ignoring their kid do.”

It was also mentioned that the parents did not need to make a group exit. “Both parents were present – one could have taken the kid and left while the other got their spa time in, then trade off,” one comment reacted.   

What About the Money?

Beyond the noise and ruined peace, other cruisers pointed out the extra money that was paid for the thermal suite access. One said it plainly: “Hey lady. I paid $600 to enjoy my day without your child bothering me. Please take your child from the adult only area. Or pay me back the $600 you are wasting on me.”

Cruise lines that charge extra for thermal suite access only allow so many people to access it throughout the week.  Once that allotted number is sold, you can’t get in.  And for those who do have access it’s all about utilizing that time wisely.

Some comments pointed out that the “It’s for the kids!” mantra is often used to excuse bad behavior, referencing parents who tell their children “to help themselves to buffets they haven’t paid for, [or] sending your kids unsupervised to the pool so you can scroll your phone in peace…”

Bottom Line

Some of today’s cruise ships are huge.  They can accommodate thousands of passengers at one time, with some having a max capacity of over 7,000.  Whenever you have that many people on one ship, you are bound to have some bad apples.  But as long as cruise lines are enforcing the rules equally, it helps to make sure everyone can have the vacation they’ve been dreaming of. 

The key here is this: Don’t be the passenger that ends up messing up someone else’s vacation just because you think you’re the exception to the rule. The golden rule still applies.