Dolly Parton has made a surprise spring announcement that she has partnered with Royal Caribbean to launch a brand new faith-based cruise ship to be called “Parton of the Seas.” Representatives from both companies are very excited to bring something completely new to the Caribbean with Dolly’s mix of faith and southern hospitality that has made her Smoky Mountain attractions so popular over the years. We have gathered as many details as possible about this exciting new cruise ship to share below!
Why Dolly Parton?
Royal Caribbean is known for naming their ships in such as way that all end with “of the Seas” such as “Allure of the Seas”, “Symphony of the Seas”, “Harmony of the Seas”, etc. As the team began preparing to name their next cruise ship, they started seeing a trend in their names with “Harmony”, “Symphony”, “Radiance”, “Allure”, “Serenade”, “Endurance”, etc. and began brainstorming around the idea that these words could actually describe a single person. Veteran Royal Caribbean cruise director, Marc Walker, chimed in with his experience at Dollywood and being blow away with the southern hospitality at her attractions. The “wink” in his facebook post was apparently a huge clue that we missed years ago!
The team emphatically agreed that Dolly Parton was the perfect person to partner with on their next cruise ship…they internally referred to it as a PARTONership.
Why “Parton of the Seas”?
When asked about Dolly’s reaction when initially contacted by Royal Caribbean, she replied in only the way we would expect Dolly to respond: “I was shocked! I mean, I shouldn’t be, really…because people always joke about how buoyant I am, so I guess you could say it was meant to be!”
Dolly went on to describe how the name was chosen by saying, “My faith has always been a big part of everything I do and every attraction that I am involved with. When I was a little girl, I would hear the story of Moses and the parting of the seas, but growing up in the Smoky Mountains we didn’t pronounce it ‘parting’. It sounded like more like ‘partin of the seas’ which is exactly what came to mind when they asked me to put my name on a ship! And so it all made perfect sense for our faith-based cruise ship to be named ‘Parton of the Seas’ with Moses leading the way…but if he cause us to run aground, he’s fired!” as Dolly chuckled.
Entertainment on Parton of the Seas
Dolly is bringing her Smoky Mountain style of entertainment to the Caribbean complete with the music of gospel, bluegrass, and country along with broadway quality dancing, acting, lighting, and hair. The featured show will be her incredibly popular “Coat of Many Colors” which they claim will not be shown during formal nights on the ship due to the excessive tear-jerking moments and running of makeup that is sure to ruin formal night photos.
Throughout the ship, there will also be numerous bands and performers playing tunes of the Smokies. Who knows, you might even turn a corner and find Dolly and Kenny singing “Islands in the Stream!”
Food on Parton of the Seas
Executive Chef, April Fultz, described dining on Parton of the Seas by saying, “When we surveyed past guests on our Royal Caribbean cruises, many of them described confusion with fancy meals such as Spaghetti Arriabbata, Burrata, Pappardelle, Salmon Gravlax, and more. So we decided to make our main dining room feature a family-style southern meal because everyone knows what fried chicken, green beans, mashed potatoes, gravy, and banana pudding are…if they don’t, then they’re on the wrong ship! We’ll also have unlimited champagne of the south…otherwise known as sweet tea.”
What we are most excited about, though, is possibly the sweetest thing to ever hit the Caribbean…Dollywood’s cinnamon bread! There will be numerous concession stands throughout the ship offering fresh loaves of this amazing, sugary, sticky, goodness. It was voted as quite possibly the best thing to eat at any theme park in the nation…and possibly now the Caribbean! The only thing we’re wondering is if it will be available through room service…24/7…we’re asking for a friend of course.
Parton of the Seas Pool Deck
In the category of “why didn’t someone think of this sooner”, Parton of the Seas will feature a lazy river on the pool deck! This will allow guests to lazily float the entire length of the ship. Research shows that typical pools on ships are filled with people just sitting or floating along the edge and not really “swimming,” so the lazy river is perfect for those that just want to be lazy!
Putting the “cabin” back in Cabins
Staterooms on cruise ships are often referred to as “cabins”, and so Dolly personally requested to put some “cabin” back into cabins! Each cabin will be themed like a Smoky Mountain cabin with an ample amount of wood and even a fireplace for those chilly Caribbean nights that dip into the 80’s! The closet door also serves as a floatation device big enough for Rose AND Jack…because Dolly prefers happy endings.
When will Parton of the Seas set sail?
As much as we wish Parton of the Seas would set sail soon, sadly she won’t make it beyond this blog post…because it’s our annual April Fool’s joke! 🙂 Did you have fun along with us dreaming of a Dolly Dreamliner? Be sure to share with your friends on facebook to spread the fun and laughs today! And who knows…maybe a cruise line will pick up on some of these ideas and let southern hospitality set sail someday! Happy April Fool’s day and happy Easter from all of us at Pigeon Forge TN Guide!
Click below to share on facebook and leave us a comment below to let us know what you think about Parton of the Seas!
If you want to stay in a real cabin and experience true southern hospitality with many of the wonderful things in this article, click here to find the perfect Smoky Mountain cabin! Also, to get the best coupons for the best shows in Pigeon Forge, visit https://www.pigeonforgetnguide.com/things-to-do/shows/ and check out our guide on the fun stuff to do in town.
