Cruise Critic Exclusive: Royal Caribbean to Debut New Show Aboard Odyssey of the Seas

(2:15 p.m. EST) -- Royal Caribbean will debut a new show aboard Odyssey of the Seas when it sets sail next spring -- one involving performers in tanks of water with various aquatic sea life.Dubbed "Oceanides", Nick Weir, Royal Caribbean's senior vice president of entertainment told U.K. Managing Editor Adam Coulter exclusively during a

Cruise Critic Live

broadcast.  "Every time we bring out a new ship, it is the best entertainment," Weir

said

. "Chairman and CEO of Royal Caribbean Group Richard Fain... loved 'Dance in a Box' and he challenged me and said, 'What are you going to do to top it?' ""So I said, why don't we do the same thing but instead of having an empty box, let's fill it with water."{#widget:image|decorators:article_image|image:18790310|title:"Oceanides" on Odyssey of the Seas (Photo: Royal Caribbean)|description:"Oceanides" on Odyssey of the Seas (Photo: Royal Caribbean)#}Royal Caribbean's hit "Dance in a Box" show debuted on Quantum of the Seas in 2014. In it, performers in giant green screen boxes rotated on gimbals were filmed, then digitally composited onto a series of 8-foot high screens mounted on robotic arms onboard."This is exclusive," Weir said. "No one's seen this stuff before. We did a couple of pilots down in China, where we knew no one was watching. We measured the video screen, we built a tank of the same dimensions, we put a computer-controlled camera in front of it, and we captured the content."{#widget:image|decorators:article_image|image:18790309|title:"Oceanides" on Odyssey of the Seas (Photo: Royal Caribbean)|description:"Oceanides" on Odyssey of the Seas (Photo: Royal Caribbean)#}Adding water to the filming process provided another layer of complexity."That young performer is locked in that box. She cannot get out," Weir said while showing photos of the process. "We (filmed) in 40-second chunks of time. She had to trust us."Adding to the complexity of the shoots: Each tank was filled with a variety of aquatic sea life, from fish -- to an alligator.{#widget:image|decorators:article_image|image:18790308|title:"Oceanides" on Odyssey of the Seas (Photo: Royal Caribbean)|description:"Oceanides" on Odyssey of the Seas (Photo: Royal Caribbean)#}"Yes, for those of you with a keen eye, that is an alligator there," Weir said. "I can't tell you how expensive this thing was. Who knew that an alligator needs a different temperature of water from a carp fish? I didn't."Weir notes the spectacular production process was safe for both performers and animals."I had to have experts for all these animals. None of them were harmed, by the way."{#widget:image|decorators:article_image|image:18790311|title:"Oceanides" on Odyssey of the Seas (Photo: Royal Caribbean)|description:"Oceanides" on Odyssey of the Seas (Photo: Royal Caribbean)#}"We did six performances; we marry them all together (digitally), and we will show these six videos at the same time, rotating in space. "The new show will debut aboard Odyssey of the Seas in Two70, Royal Caribbean's innovative, high-tech multipurpose theater space located at the stern of the ship. Originally introduced in 2014 aboard Quantum of the Seas, this Quantum-class innovation paved the way for elaborate, interactive, high-tech productions at sea in a way that had rarely been seen before.It will feature a 135-foot wide, 12K digital screen, complimented by a series of 8-foot-tall, 4-foot-wide robotic screens.When the pre-filmed composited images are displayed aboard the six rotating screens, it will look as though performers are moving through actual tanks of water right onboard the ship, even though this footage was filmed in specially designed soundstages months prior.{#widget:image|decorators:article_image|image:18790306|title:"Oceanides" on Odyssey of the Seas (Photo: Royal Caribbean)|description:"Oceanides" on Odyssey of the Seas (Photo: Royal Caribbean)#}"It's going to be awesome, and it's going to be exclusive on Odyssey," Weir said.Odyssey of the Seas is scheduled to set sail in April 2021.{#widget:youtube|embed:ZLhd7MH7TD0#}