Are we headed toward paying for entertainment??

[curley23]

Check fares for these two ships on various dates throughout the year and you will find occasions when they are not anywhere near as astronomical as some would have you believe. Even with these ships, the law of supply and demand still applies.:)

 

I don't believe I mentioned anything being astronomical. Yes there are some weeks where the pricing is lower. I have yet to see where a week on the Freedom or Liberty in the same time frame is commanding a higher price than the Oasis or Allure. Even if the difference is small, it is still a difference. Multiply that by the number of Pax and it will add up. The demand for these 2 ships has been created, and they are doing quite well. RC has done a good job in marketing and planning and I am sure this is just what they had in mind.

If RC wants to bring pay entertainment, I say fine with me. The more choices pax have to spend /or not spend their money on is a good thing.

[Paul65]

I don't believe I mentioned anything being astronomical. Yes there are some weeks where the pricing is lower. I have yet to see where a week on the Freedom or Liberty in the same time frame is commanding a higher price than the Oasis or Allure. Even if the difference is small, it is still a difference. Multiply that by the number of Pax and it will add up. The demand for these 2 ships has been created, and they are doing quite well. RC has done a good job in marketing and planning and I am sure this is just what they had in mind.

If RC wants to bring pay entertainment, I say fine with me. The more choices pax have to spend /or not spend their money on is a good thing.

 

The higher prices on the Oasis and Allure are because they are the newest ships. When Freedom and Liberty were brand-new ships, they commanded higher prices than any of the others. That cycle has been around for a long time and will continue.

[lardan]

If ever they were going to charge extra for entertainment, the best time to have done so would have been when they introduced Hairspray and Chicago on Oasis and Allure. Now they are adding 3D to their movie offerings and Liberty will be adding Saturday Night Fever, the Musical to her entertainment offerings. The fact that they haven't already added an entertainment fee for premium entertainment seriously damages your hypothesis and I really can't see wasting time worrying about something that has only a remote chance of happening

Certainly cruise lines are always looking for ways to generate more revenue but based on their actions to date, those ways don't seem to include charging for premium entertainment.

 

Hypothesis??? Did I have a hypothesis in my original post?? Did I say anything about worrying that they may charge for this?? Nope, I only wondered if we might be heading that way. But thanks for putting words in my post.

[triplej2484]

I don't see enough people willing to pay for entertainment for that to happen. It's free now and I don't bother with much of it. They also make a ton of bar revenue at the shows.

 

As for specialty dining, what was free then remains free today. It's not as if they started charging for the WJ or MDR.

 

I guess free is the wrong word..should be saying "included."

[negc]

Hypothesis??? Did I have a hypothesis in my original post?? Did I say anything about worrying that they may charge for this?? Nope, I only wondered if we might be heading that way. But thanks for putting words in my post.

 

Perhaps I used too big a word for you, but your wondering "if we might be heading that way" is what many would call a "hypothesis". (an assumption made for the sake of argument).;)

[Paul65]

Hypothesis??? Did I have a hypothesis in my original post?? Did I say anything about worrying that they may charge for this?? Nope, I only wondered if we might be heading that way. But thanks for putting words in my post.

 

Seems a little touchy. I guess we should only respond to you using the exact words that you used? (At least that's my hypothesis, based on your overreaction to the use of the word hypothesis.) :p

[Longtimecruiser#2]

I think you're right...and as long as folks are willing to pay for "extras", they will add more and more of them! See, if when they introduced the "specialty" restaurant no one used them, they would have been gone in a flash!

 

Folks who are just beginning to cruise don't remember how it used to be....so to them, this is all just a natural part of cruising.

I agree fully. I've never eaten in a specialty restaurant and don't plan to start now.

[megacruiser]

Yes I think there could be attempts to charge for some upmarket entertainment, especially on larger ships, but not sure it would work for many shows or performers. I do think there is an ongoing trend towards trying to extract extra revenue in all sorts of ways. I posted the following April Fool on the NCL board on April 1st 2006. It went down like a lead balloon (British sense of humour). Perhaps some will find it amusing but in any case it was trying to make some serious points. By today's standards, any all inclusive option would probably be double what I suggested then. Still believe some of it could happen.

 

NCL announces Ultimate Freestyle Cruising in travel journal today

Norwegian Cruise Line is delighted to announce the introduction of Ultimate Freestyle Cruising which will further enhance dining options, allowing passengers the freedom to choose the style of dining that best suits their needs.

 

Cruise lines face an enormous challenge in catering to the quite diverse culinary tastes of its guests, which range from simple home-style cooking right through to sophisticated gourmet cuisine. Further, an increasing number of our guests prefer the convenience of self-serve dining to the formality of waiter service.

 

Research has also shown that there is potential for significant market growth by offering a more informal cruise vacation at a rock bottom price. At present, cruise fares include the cost of luxury food items such as lobster, veal, steak and shrimp, which many of our guests neither want nor appreciate.

 

By eliminating these costs from the basic cruise fare and providing enhanced buffet dining options as an alternative to waiter service, Ultimate Freestyle Cruising will open up cruising to a new market for whom greater informality and low cost are all-important.

 

The majority of our guests already choose to eat breakfast and lunch buffet-style. We will convert one of our main restaurants on each of our ships to provide further buffet dining options, including dinner. There will be no required dress code in these buffet restaurants.

 

For those who prefer waiter service, we aim to have a choice of at least four full service restaurants open for dinner. The menus will be revised and upgraded to offer a wider choice than ever. Charges for dinner in these restaurants will start from as little as $15.

 

Our new enhanced menus are being created by French master chef Olof L’Apri and will be designed to appeal to even the most discerning palate. L’Apri will personally oversee the onboard training and will visit each ship regularly to ensure his exacting standards are being maintained.

 

Based on customer feedback we also feel the time is right to completely overhaul our Room Service operation. We will offer a greatly expanded menu of quality dishes, all at affordable prices.

 

In line with our “Freestyle” principles we want to give our guests the freedom to choose the little luxuries that are important to them. If guests choose to have a hot beverage, these will available for a nominal charge of $1.95 for coffee and $1.25 for tea. An all-inclusive hot beverage package will be available for $6 a day but must be taken for the whole cruise. Tap water will continue to be free with Evian bottled water available to those who prefer at a competitive cost of only $4.50 per 500ml bottle.

 

We will also be offering an all inclusive drinks package to include draft beers and house spirits which we believe will be attractive to many within our targeted growth market. The cost is likely to be around $40 a day. To minimise trouble caused through overindulgence, more security personnel will be deployed. They will be trained in martial arts and equipped with pepper spray and Tasers to deal with any obstreperous guests. The ships’ brigs will be enlarged to provide increased capacity.

 

 

We plan to introduce these changes in January 2007. Those passengers already booked for cruises in 2007 will receive an onboard credit in lieu of the changed dining arrangements.

 

 

We believe that our new Ultimate Freestyle Cruising will give our guests even greater freedom to choose the style of dining they prefer and to dine whenever, wherever and with whomever they wish; choose what they want to wear, and enjoy a relaxed, resort-like environment, allowing them to personalize every aspect of their cruise experience to make it exactly what they want it to be.

__________________

QM2 Three Continents Cruise

[hooper1960]

I have not been on Oasis or Allure but I can say outright that the production shows suck big time on NOS and EOS.

 

I would never pay an extra nickel to see a bunch of 25 year olds prance around the stage with no singing ability.

 

Anyone that enjoys these shows must be from the midwest of the U.S. where they are not exposed to the level of entertainment that we enjoy on Broadway.

 

My first post and the reason for joining this forum was to get the "feel" for cruising, me and my wife have booked Liberty in Sept so that we will get the oppertunity to see our daughter dance in her first ever job since graduating at the Royal northern Ballet School, the show "Saturday night Fever" now, comments such as the above and "Summer Stock Performers" i reckon is a tad childish, i myself have seen many shows, both in the theatre and amatuer and by all counts this show (as with others mentioned) are very much a professional act.

[jaybird1]

This is very misleading to people that haven't cruised before.

 

Some of the performers would have appeared in the chorus line at best in the West End. Certainly not all. And plucky as they are, none of the main singers I have seen on any ship have had any sort of career headlining anywhere other than on a cruise ship.

 

Chicago was also half the length of the 'proper' show.

 

As for Oceanaria; yes, some may be Olympic medallists, but in what discipline, and how many of them, and for what countries? Oh, and I did not consider that it was at sea - it was a show, not a gimmick, I fully expected it to not expect any caveats.

 

Enjoy these shows, we all want to, but please don't mislead people to the quality. If they were anywhere near the standard of West End shows, the directors would be as rich as Andrew Lloyd Webber and the performers would only last a couple of cruises before they were snapped up by stage and screen all over the world.

 

I have enjoyed many shows at sea, and some are pretty good, but have never kidded myself to the quality.

 

compman9 you are the most negative person on CC,

how do you sleep at night? I have been going through your posts and you are a horrible little man. I would really hate to be at your dinner table. How do your table mates put up with you.

I bet you are the "know it all" at your table...............lol

 

Do you ever have anything good to say about anything? why do you cruise?

 

[jaybird1]

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and I find yours most amusing. I thought it was more like a performance I would see in a village hall. As for the diving show - I was incredibly disappointed, it was was just the trampoline staff. The Oceanaria advertising sign was grossly misleading - I was expecting a ballet in the sky and sea (water) etc., it was just a few people jumping off the boards - I think two were able to do some twists etc.

 

Oh, and to the OP - oh, yes, it really is a matter of time before RCI charge for entertainment.

 

Passengers, especially loyalists, compare cruiselines, while cruiselines compare their product to land based holiday costs.

 

more of your negativity!!!!!!! you should really change your name to Mr Negativity or Mr Whinger