BarryFromBoston

You're assuming this is the case. It isn't. Guests sing ALONG, not on microphone. With a good piano bar, the guest chooses their experience, from ambient entertainment to very inclusive, by where they sit. What happens off mic around the piano is a whole second level that guests on the other side of the rooom don't hear. The main difference is that at its heart, the dueling show as done on HAL was meant to be scripted, carefully timed material, so the screens would project trivia about what they're hearing. Solo piano bars may have a theme, but are ready to re-shape the evening, on a dime. Please note that there are dueling shows on other brands that are not scripted, and are nearly all requests. I do those, and very happily so, aboard NCL. Some great dueling is launching on RCCL. It's all what's right for the demographic present. In fact, on Day 1 of a new cruise, the stage manager or production manager would break down the cruise by age, location, and how many of each level of loyalty level are on board. This didn't affect most acts. But I would say, "Let's swap out Best & Worst of the 70's with Best of Broadway, and since we have so many Europeana, let's scratch TV themes and add in..." (and so forth).

I think so.

Okay, so here's my story about Freebird. I personally am never the guy who gets snippy when people want Piano Man or Sweet Caroline. When I started on RCCL, people walking through the Schooner Bar would yell, "Freebird!". (Google "Why people yell Freebird".) Being a 9 minute song (14 in concert) they're usually just goofing on me. So, I started a running joke that if someone came in and yelled, Freebird", I would say "sure, right after this request". Often, the regulars had been prompted that if someone yelled it, and I agreed to do it "right after this song", if the person tried to leave, the whole room would go, "Ut Ut! Your song is coming!", all while I was doing the longest, slowest version of "Send In The Clowns" ever. So, if I asked you to choose again, either I'd already done the bit, or the audience immediately turned to me as if to ask, "Are you gonna do the bit?". It assuredly wasn't personal.

Exactly, Hank. So, now say you're cruising the African Coast, and the cruise is 3 months long. Any good tuners in Zembabwe?

I doubt it's penny punching. Billboard On Board is an entertainment product that is purchased for a given time, for a total $ figure. This is the same as the production shows ("Jukebox"), and BB King. Perhaps this is the end of 5 years? There have been times I'm purposely not specifying where pretty much everyone thought something was a turkey at final dress rehearsal, and then ya just have to make it work. With BoB, they have adapted the product best as they can. The same outsource is brining in the players, so there are really no losers in this story.

sometimes, especially with the case of pop music or dueling pianos, the shells are custom-made, and the digital keyboards inside are not inexpensive. They never require tuning, which is important because other instruments tune to the piano, and lining up tuners on a long or nonrepeating itinerary can be a big job. It is also easier to contain the sound to where you want it, and not to where you don't. They also have flexibility to color to the arrangement with strings, or add a bass.

I'm guessing it was a stop and go sign, for "Best & Worst Of The 1970's", or signs for Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer. To stay up on Stryker, you can use this link: https://www.facebook.com/StrykerFanClub

That was a concept video. That vid is not on a ship, they are not really playing, and the lids on the piano wouldn't be. It was a slow roll out. I was still playing solo in 2020 on the ships that all wound up being sold in May of that year, which were Veemdam, Maasdam, Volendam, and Rotterdam. It was outaourced. I'm guessing what happened is that it underperformed, but they paid a flat rate for x number of years. The same can be said of the jukebox production shows and Lincoln Center.

My remembrance of crew training is that the ship casino is bound by the laws of the flag country, I.e the Netherlands.

Dueling pianos has been a popular format, and is currently on NCL, RCCL's newest ships, and many others. Served up in a larger, less intimate space than a traditional piano bar, the players aremeant to alternate songs, but support each other throughout, on piano, leading the audience, or playing hand percussion.

It would be thriled to be back for VOV. We'll see if the new people in the chairs remember me.

LOL! I played for Wayne Newton's show a few months ago.

I definitely had groupies. The two that had all manner of signs, and people who skipped the MainStage to get a seat in what I called "The Ring of Fire" were myself, and Stryker. IMG_0019.MOV

I did dueling with her on NCL. Shr's a great performer, and a fun person.

Thanks, Miss G. I do over 2000 songs for memory, and write new comedy material every day. Hope they make an offer I can accept. It was airways my favorite gig, for over a decade.