Anyone Else Harassed by Ship's Entertainers?

[Merion_Mom]

Anyone Else Harassed by Ship's Entertainers?

 

Yes.

 

The NELSONS are stalking me.

 

Every time I book a cruise, I find out about a month out that they are coming on my cruise!

 

I can't believe that Royal Caribbean gives them access to the passengers' reservations so that they can stalk me like this!!!!!! :eek:

[skeezix]

Have to chime in here, I agree you should not have to participate if you don't want to. The entertainer was WRONG to continue to try and get you to. I am on your side here!! I have a husband who will not attend a show rather than get pulled into doing something he doesn't want to do. He does ask if a performance is audience participation before choosing a seat or going in. If it had been him in your place I'm afraid he would not have been so nice about it. One time we did ask about a show in Vegas, we were told no , no participation so we took the front seats offered. This was a burlesque (sp) show. Wouldn't you know , one of the solo numbers the woman singing honed in on my husband in the front row to sing to. I could see it in his face, if that woman had so much as made a move off the stage toward him or reached for him he was prepared to get out of his seat and leave the show. It was bad enough that she was singing to him, but there was a large group of men begging her to sing to them. If you are a sizable man you are going to be a target. I think my husband gets looked at because of his size, he's easy to see. Sorry you had to deal with a rude entertainer, I do feel your pain.

[niko40]

I think the op should be on the stage this is the funniest thing i have read on here in a long time thank you for making me laugh :D:D:D:D:rolleyes:

[Esmerelda]

In the famous words of Sgt. Hulka "lighten up Carmine".....

 

I certainly would not label this as harrassment in any way.

[Cahroozer]

Obviously you're not married or haven't been married long enough!

 

On topic: Harassment is directed personally at a particular person deliberately on a continuing basis. Two instances does not constitute continual. You were not targeted on a personal basis. You just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. The performers can't read your mind. To think that the dancers who are in the background would purposely pick you out on a personal basis in a dark theater is too much of a stretch.

 

Of course if Charo was performing that night it would be different. She goes after some guy sitting in front and takes his shirt off in a sultry manner while singing "Sexy, Sexy, Sexy". Often she drags him on the stage and goes a lot further than that. Is that harassment according to you? I doubt it.

 

Sorry not in your corner on this one. Even if you were a little uncomfortable. On the other hand, maybe you should get 1/2 off your next cruise as credit for your suffering.

 

You actually spoke to point. It was the persistence to be intrusive and embarrassing that I found so objectionable, his refusal to take a clear "no" for an answer. And the secondary intrusion by his co-worker was rude.

[Cahroozer]

I dont think people are beating up on the OP because they dont enjoy the attention .. its because the OP used the word harrassement, which seems to me to be a overused word this day and age. .. at least thats why I reacted.

 

True, Harassment may be overused. However, since this involved a repeated attempt to get me to participate in his entertainment despite very clear signals that I didn't want to attend, it is certainly more than just an unfortunate misunderstanding.

 

And the second intrusion by the other entertainer also was inappropriate.

[shaggyofwv]

Just when you thought you had heard everything.....Come on...I can't believe you are serious. In the unlikely event you are, you should inquire before each show on whether there is audience participation. If yes, then you need to seek other entertainment options for the evening or sit in the first row of the theaters second deck. Using the term Harrassment for an audience participation show is way out there......and I am not talking about Saturn or Pluto..I am talking about another solar system.

 

I agree. I just roll my eyes at threads like this. LOL

[Cahroozer]

Did you try saying "NO!!" or "I do not want to participate"?

 

If I did that and truly did not want to participate, I would have gotten up and complained to the entertainment director after the show.

 

I personally think that you overreacted but you also should have the right to sit anywhere you want to in the showroom and also not to participate in the show if that is your choice.

 

DON

 

That's a good point, Don. But believe it or not I was trying to turn him down without making a big deal of it. In other words: just move on, please, and don't make me shout out "No, go away".

 

A performer working the audience has some power. In my profession I have power over my clients and there is a responsibility to be appropriate in such a position.

 

I suspect that most performers can read the audience very quickly and figure out who wants to participate. In fact, they probably know that people like me would also be terrible participants, unlike the people here who say they would eagerly jump in.

 

Some of them may be so used to performing, and soaking up the attention, that they can't countenance someone wishing to just watch the show and not be the center of attention, someone who really doesn't want to stand up and sing about his name in front of several hundred people.

 

I suspect then that this was unusual in RCI ships, as no one else has had such an experience. I was inclined to agree with my friend to not complain because I think that could have had consequences for the performer that I didn't want to see.

 

By the way, my name is not Chuck, and that's a good joke. I've seen it used by performers themselves in their acts.

[catlady27]

In the famous words of Sgt. Hulka "lighten up Carmine".....

 

I certainly would not label this as harrassment in any way.

 

Actually, it was "lighten up Francis" :D Stripes, one of my fav movies :)

[LisaH]

I ate some of a Blueman's Captain Crunch in Orlando! He was pretty freaked out that I ate off of the same spoon as him. He also let me hold his flashlight. It was fun.

 

And when we went to the Blue Man Group in Vegas for the first time, we were in the row just behind the rows that had ponchos. My question was, and why do they need ponchos and we don't one row back?

 

Once I saw the show I knew why BUT we remained food and gunk free. :)

[Older Party]

LOL -- My thoughts exactly! A few years back, DH and I were in Vegas, waiting for Mystere! to begin. One of the roaming performers started coming toward our seats, and DH broke out into a cold sweat. Fortunately, they "selected" the young man in the row directly behind us. :p

 

To the OP -- so sorry that you were made to feel uncomfortable. But, your polite protestations may have made you look like the perfect "straight man" to the over-eager performer. :o

 

Cirque trains their clowns in the technique of spotting the person in the audience who will enjoy participating in pre show animation. It is RARE someone they 'pick on' is offended.

[kembo]

My DH would have had the same reaction as you OP. He loves to watch the show, but never, ever ask him to participate! He is a very tall and formidable looking man and seems to draw attention naturally, which has always been uncomfortable for him. This experience would have probably put a huge damper on his cruise as he would have felt that people were talking about him after the show. Sometimes performers will pick on the ones who clearly do not want to participate because they feel it makes the show funnier. I can see how you felt singled out after two times.

 

BTW I was really scratching my head on the Chuck thing. I thought it was an inside joke, then I sang it to myself and the light bulb went off! That would have been a great response!

[ehfl]

I would recommend that you not attend any shows. Clearly, they put on audience participation shows to get people involved. If you don't want to participate, then just don't go to the show. But going and then being a bad sport about it doesn't really make any sense.

[srlafleur]

I would recommend that you not attend any shows. Clearly, they put on audience participation shows to get people involved. If you don't want to participate, then just don't go to the show. But going and then being a bad sport about it doesn't really make any sense.

 

Obviously, you have no performance phobia or stage fright. I know it's hard to understand how someone might feel otherwise, just as non-smokers might not understand how hard it is to quit or someone who has never had motionsickness might have difficulty understanding how totally miserable that is. (personal experience: my mother thought I threw up on car trips as a kid because I "thought about it too much" :confused: Yup, just to piss you off, mom!) sorry - tangent. Anyway.

Most of the cruise ship shows, while sometimes including a little audience participation, aren't audience-centric shows. The performers should be aware enough to not pick on people who might be uncomfortable participating. It's usually pretty obvious and it is NOT funny to intentionally select someone who doesn't want to be the center of attention. Lord knows there are enough other people willing to jump in.

I sometimes have a hard time with "stage-fright", even in work-related meetings when called upon for something as simple as to give my name and a brief description of my job. Hence my reason for sitting in the mezz. at most shows. (magic and comedy shows for sure!)

[smoosh21]

I appreciate your advice that I should not sit near the stage but I don't think this should be a consideration. Harassment is making someone do something they do not wish to do.

 

As you indicate, that is something you enjoy and I'm happy for you. Why should anyone be forced to engage in public displays against their will?

 

I don't like participating, so I avoid Aisle seats up front. A look of terror might work better than a surly look at keeping them away from you. Anytime it seems that there might be audience participation, this is a good rule to follow.