On July 1, the Marriott hotel group plans to launch a new campaign to encourage families with young children to stay in more than 2,000 of its hotels over the summer holidays. The campaign will feature popular cartoon characters such as Dora the Explorer and SpongeBob Square Pants. The promotion is in conjunction with popular children’s channel, Nickelodeon.

Marriot already offers families with children the chance to meet their cartoon heroes at a number of resorts such as the JW Marriott Desert Ridge in Phoenix and the Harbor Beach Marriott in Fort Lauderdale. The special two-night packages include live shows in which kids get covered in goo and a Nickelodeon breakfast hosted by SpongeBob and Dora.

A spokeswoman for Marriott said that although the final plans were still a secret, the packages would be available in the US and Canada at Marriott brands such as JW Marriott, TownePlace Suites, Courtyard, Fairfield Inn, SpringHill Suites and Residence Inn. Marriott and Nickelodeon also have plans to develop resorts with characters from the cable network as the central theme.

A three-year agreement has also recently been signed between Nickelodeon and Norwegian Cruise Line. Last month, characters from the channel began to appear on the Norwegian Jewel. Early next year the Jewel is set to cruise from New York to the Bahamas and said that it will be offering families total immersion into the Nickelodeon world. Later in the year, the Norwegian Epic will be serving up screenings, game shows, meet-and-greets and themed breakfasts for Nickelodeon fans travelling around the Mediterranean.