William Shatner Tells 'Star Trek'-Themed Cruise to End Dolphin Swims

Captain Kirk and an animal rights group raised the cruelty alarm over Norwegian Cruise Line's "swim with dolphins" experiences for Trekkies on an upcoming voyage.

William Shatner and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals have urged a popular cruise line to stop offering "swim with dolphins" experiences on their upcoming Star Trek: The Cruise voyage.

PETA on Thursday released a letter to Norwegian Cruise Line in which Shatner, who hosted an earlier Star Trek cruise on the Norwegian Jade, asked the shipping company to end Trekkies boldly swimming with dolphins.

"Aboard the USS Enterprise, it was Captain Kirk's duty 'to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations' in order to advance and diversify our own," Shatner wrote Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings CEO Frank J. Del Rio. "The exploitation of any species for profit and entertainment would have violated the Prime Directive," he added.

The next Star Trek: The Cruise, this time not hosted by Shatner, will set sail in January 2018 from Miami and make stops in Honduras, Belize and Mexico. Shatner argued he's "happy" his fans can sail on the themed Norwegian Jade voyage but insisted that condemning captive animals to a "lifetime of suffering" for entertainment cannot be justified.

"Surely, Star Trek fans would appreciate the decision to allow dolphins to remain in the wild — and prosper," he urged.

Norwegian Cruise Line could not be reached for comment.