Show time poll....8:15-8:30-9:00-9:30

[AWED23]

For many reasons we are not both able, as a couple, to stay up until 9:30 PM for the main lounge shows to start. We have asked many others their feeling on this and in our experience they are almost 100% in agreement that if there is only one show then it should start by 8:30 PM.....What say you ?????

[gdlamberth]

While I agree with the desire to have the show start earlier, I'm not sure that can be managed without:

1. Starting Dinner service an hour earlier
   
2. Significantly speeding up (some will read: "Hurrying up") dinner service in CR; or
   
3. Having a "defacto policy" that if you are not seated in the dining venue of your choice by 1845, do not expect to be able to see the show.
   

At the end of the day, any of these options might irritate more folks than keeping the later start for the show:o. I'm not sure there is a "win-win" here:(.

[newlondon]

gd, Couldn't agree more. We would vote for as early as possible because we like to do morning excursions. Problem is that would change the whole ambience of dinner- we love opening the dining room-RSSC or SS- and enjoying our meal with a service team of our choice in a preferred location, but one has to be reasonable about everyone else.

[nana541]

I would 8:30 but could live with 9:00 :(

[Responder]

For many reasons we are not both able, as a couple, to stay up until 9:30 PM for the main lounge shows to start. We have asked many others their feeling on this and in our experience they are almost 100% in agreement that if there is only one show then it should start by 8:30 PM.....What say you ?????

 

Hey, Rob....

 

You posed a difficult question. I agree that for us, as for you, starting to watch a show at 9:30 is virtually impossible.

 

You will remember in the past and still with some lines, they had the show before for the late seating and after for the early seating.

Problem for us is if they have 2 seatings, dining early is too early and late is too late.

 

In most instances in modern times for us, many of the shows aren't worth watching early or late. Personally I enjoy enrichment lectures during the day and find for us it's more important to have dinner at our convenience.

That's been the highlight of open dining for us.

 

So I agree with your assessment that if going to a show, 8:30 sounds like the right time.

 

burris

[Travelcat2]

We don't want to rush dinner and rarely go to the shows so 9:30 p.m. works for us. We do enjoy Krew Kapers starting early -- before dinner. While there may be many votes, it would be nice if people were honest about whether they would actually go to at least 50% of the shows if the time changed.

[Patti22]

We would love to see more shows, but after early a.m. tours we often choose to eat early (as we do at home, say 7:00) and then we enjoy a relaxing dinner and we are tired. Shows begin too late for us but I also understand the logistics of changing the time.

[OrpingtonT]

Like others, we have problems going to a show after 8.30 or so but we do enjoy those occasions when there is a cabaret or some sort of show around 6 pm. I cannot vote for any time as we probably wouldn't go even at the earliest time stated.

[AWED23]

I would 8:30 but could live with 9:00 :(

NANA541...I think I should have included 9:00 PM as a choice.

[AWED23]

While I agree with the desire to have the show start earlier, I'm not sure that can be managed without:

1. Starting Dinner service an hour earlier
   
2. Significantly speeding up (some will read: "Hurrying up") dinner service in CR; or
   
3. Having a "defacto policy" that if you are not seated in the dining venue of your choice by 1845, do not expect to be able to see the show.
   

At the end of the day, any of these options might irritate more folks than keeping the later start for the show:o. I'm not sure there is a "win-win" here:(.

I believe you are correct in that with only one show there may not be a win/win here....

[AWED23]

Hey, Rob....

 

You posed a difficult question. I agree that for us, as for you, starting to watch a show at 9:30 is virtually impossible.

 

You will remember in the past and still with some lines, they had the show before for the late seating and after for the early seating.

Problem for us is if they have 2 seatings, dining early is too early and late is too late.

 

In most instances in modern times for us, many of the shows aren't worth watching early or late. Personally I enjoy enrichment lectures during the day and find for us it's more important to have dinner at our convenience.

That's been the highlight of open dining for us.

 

So I agree with your assessment that if going to a show, 8:30 sounds like the right time.

 

burris

:cool:Burris, maybe 8:45 would work..??? How do you feel about Cabaret shows in the Stars lounge?...Rob.

[AWED23]

Like others, we have problems going to a show after 8.30 or so but we do enjoy those occasions when there is a cabaret or some sort of show around 6 pm. I cannot vote for any time as we probably wouldn't go even at the earliest time stated.

...I will wager Tom that there will be many many more people expressing a desire for 8:30 start time than for the present 9:30 start.....I agree with you that cabaret entertainment might be a viable alternate for us older (Riper?) passengers....all the best Tom, Rob M.

[Threechicks]

I love being able to dine whenever I feel like it so will gladly miss the shows so I can enjoy my dinner. I agree with Responder that many of the shows aren't worth watching, early or late. If I see something I might like I take a seat at the back so I can leave without disturbing anyone if it fails to impress. I do understand the feelings of those who choose to dine early and want to retire early so I'm happy with whatever is decided - as long as I am not forced into an early dinner. I cruised for several years with a tour group that always had to eat at 6 pm no matter how late we returned to the ship from an excursion. Now that I cruise with Regent being able to choose to eat early or late is such a luxury and I do not want to give up that privilege.

[purpleally]

I much prefer getting up at 6am than attending a show at 930pm

[Travelcat2]

:cool:Burris, maybe 8:45 would work..??? How do you feel about Cabaret shows in the Stars lounge?...Rob.

 

As you may recall, the Voyager doesn't have a Stars Lounge, the one on the Navigator is outside of the theater....... the only one that would work is on the Mariner. If they kept it as a partial smoking venue, I doubt if many people would attend.

 

I'm assuming by the responses on this thread that everyone dines at 6:30 p.m. Otherwise, it would be difficult to make a show by 8:15 or 8:30 p.m. Dining at 6:30 p.m. conflicts with both the Captain's Reception and the Seven Seas Society cocktail party.

 

Back to the drawing board:confused:

[Responder]

 

Dining at 6:30 p.m. conflicts with both the Captain's Reception and the Seven Seas Society cocktail party.

 

Back to the drawing board:confused:

 

This is not meant to be personal, but we have been to so many Captain's and Society events that we sort of group them in with the same feeling about going to all the shows.

Nothing new or exciting for us at these receptions. For some, I suppose the exclusivity might be important.

[Responder]

:cool:Burris, maybe 8:45 would work..??? How do you feel about Cabaret shows in the Stars lounge?...Rob.

 

Rob....

 

So long as we could have our before dinner drinks and sit in a comfortable seat with no smoke hovering around, this might be a really good idea.

 

burris

[AWED23]

Rob....

 

So long as we could have our before dinner drinks and sit in a comfortable seat with no smoke hovering around, this might be a really good idea.

 

burris

...Burris, the whole entertainment part of Regent needs to be broken down and examined closely for areas and methods of improvement. I understand the one show per night policy because of passenger count but there should be a compromise in the starting times that better fits the demographics of the passengers. It might be different for different itineraries. I do believe that the addition of a Cabaret venue could be a really big plus for Regent to explore...The shows might only be 45 minute gigs but could offer different singers, comics ,jugglers etc. to be seen at a different time than the full showroom shows....When I buy the line it will be considered...PS.....We will need a senior clarinetest.....R.

 

 

:D

[Aloha 1]

...Burris, the whole entertainment part of Regent needs to be broken down and examined closely for areas and methods of improvement. I understand the one show per night policy because of passenger count but there should be a compromise in the starting times that better fits the demographics of the passengers. It might be different for different itineraries. I do believe that the addition of a Cabaret venue could be a really big plus for Regent to explore...The shows might only be 45 minute gigs but could offer different singers, comics ,jugglers etc. to be seen at a different time than the full showroom shows....When I buy the line it will be considered...PS.....We will need a senior clarinetest.....R.:D

 

I don't buy the passenger count theory as we just sailed the Pacific Princess (one of the R ships) with 680 passengers and there were two shows nightly. Regent can do this and agreed they need to rethink the entire show scenario. Personally, we would prefer a show starting around 8:15-8:30.

[Travelcat2]

Interesting thread. Posters want shows during dinner and Cabarets in venues that either not exist or is the entrance to the theater (also during dinner). And, in the venue that does exist, there should be no smoking.

 

I am a non-smoker and would be quite upset if Stars Lounge became non-smoking and another lounge became smoking. We don't even like walking by Stars lounge on the Mariner late at night as the smoke is wafting into the hallways. On the Voyager, we avoid the Voyager Lounge completely. Their "smoking section" not only wafts into the hallways but upstairs into the computer room. And, as a reminder, there is entertainment in the Voyager Lounge, Observation Lounge, Horizon Lounge and Stars Lounge already -- just at a later time. Having the entertainment in the lounges begin at 8:30 p.m. to see if anyone shows up would be a good indicator as to how early shows would work.

 

I am puzzled why passengers would attend a show during dinner. When you dine with officers, they set up the meal for 7:15 p.m. (generally) and do not leave the table until after 9:00 p.m. Officers do have to attend some shows and definitely need to attend Seven Seas Society events, the Captain's Reception, etc. While I understand some passengers being tired of it, it is always very well attended. Additionally, the event for Gold and above Seven Seas Society members is sometimes held during the early opening hours of dining venues.

 

On a serious note...... I'm not trying to make fun of this poll. I enjoy polls and it was polls that brought the current dress code to Regent. Also, the "voice" of CruiseCritic is heard at the top levels of Regent/PCH. IMO, this idea needs more work. Proposed solutions to the many issues that would be affected by this change would be a good start.

[ChatKat in Ca.]

It is my recollection they had several cabaret shows on Regent in the Horizon Lounge. One was on my last Alaska Cruise where the CD, John Barron did a whole lounge act and it was fabulous. They also had a "Beatles" show last year in the Horizon Lounge on Mariner that was very well attended.

 

I like coming back to the ship after a day out, having cocktails before dinner, a leisurely dinner and then the show. Even 9:45 start we have missed the show having dinner at 8.

 

I am often the last person up onboard in the Casino or a lounge because everyone else is in bed by 11 pm. One of the few perks of being on the mass market lines is having other night owls to have fun with

[cruiseej]

I'm in the late camp with ChatKat.

 

I'm not up at 6 a.m. on vacation, unless absolutely necessary for an early excursion. We get back from a morning excursion, often after noon, and enjoy a nice lunch -- which usually results in us not being ready to eat again when the dining room first opens. Plus we like to have time for a cocktail before dinner, and then enjoy a relaxing dinner. And during summertime (or where/when sunset is later), I love to watch (and photograph) sunset while sipping that pre-dinner drink. We typically hustle from dinner just in time to catch the start of the show. I'm afraid we would never see a show again if the showtime were moved to 8:30!

 

I'm not sure why Regent couldn't do two shows a night -- perhaps shortened very slightly to 45 minutes, like 8:15 to 9:00 and 9:30-10:15 -- at least some nights if not all, to satisfy those of us who dine early and those who dine late. (Regent shows aren't full-scale Broadway-style productions, and we could lose a few of the frenetic costume changes without missing a beat!)

 

-- Eric

[JACKHAWK]

How about having the production show(s) on sea days during the day or late afternoon (a matinee) then it wouldn't compete with dinner or excursions? Nobody would have to get up early after a late night. I bet they'd pack the theater. I realize some cruises are too port intensive for this but it should work on some of the longer cruises.

[Travelcat2]

Late afternoon is trivia which packs the Horizon Lounge. On sea days they are guest speakers in the morning and afternoon as well as other events. If entertainment is really going to be that well attended (which would be a first) perhaps they should do a lunch event with entertainment in the largest lounge on the ship (Horizon Lounge - Voyager, Stars Lounge - Mariner and Galileo Lounge - Navigator). On the other hand, according to the poll, passenger preferences indicate 9:15 - 9:30 p.m. show times.

[mrlevin]

What happened to 9:45 as a choice? That is supposed to be the current time although many seem to start at 9:30. They ran Name that Tune at 8:45 the other day; how is anyone expected to show up that early?

 

Marc