Change In Show Times?

[1aCruise4wks]

Just back from cruising on the Nieuw Amsterdam. Each days shows in the show lounge (cast shows and solo performers) were scheduled for 7 pm and 9 pm instead of the usual 8 pm and 10 pm. Is this happening on all the HAL ships or was this something that is just being done by the Cruise Director on the Nieuw Amsterdam?

[English_in_Spain]

When we were on a B2B2B on the Noordam (2 Caribbean cruises followed by a transatlantic crossing) the show times were 8pm and 10pm for the 2 Caribbean cruises but were changed to 7pm and 9pm for the transatlantic.

 

I don't know why they go for earlier show times on a TA. I would have thought later times would have been preferred as there is no rush to get up so early for shore visits.

 

 

[KirkNC]

I saw that in your review, I assume that creates havoc with fixed seating people?

[Krazy Kruizers]

HAL tried this a few years ago. Not many people liked it.

It meant that the 8 PM fixed sitting diners had their show at 7 and the 5:45 diners had their show at 9. Those in Open Seating went according to their chosen dinning time.

[GAJE]

For those of us who are not late-nighters and who have fixed early dining, the show times of 7 and 9 were quite problematic! We either rushed through our dinners (with the assistance of WONDERFUL dining stewards) to make the 7 pm shows or just did not go to the shows at all.

 

We wondered whether the adjusted times were done, in part, to increase the sales for the beverage manager. We are very unhappy with the 7 and 9 show times!!!!!

[brainyblonde]

DH and I loved the TA showtimes. (See another post). We do fixed dining, late seating, table for two. 7:00 PM showtime was ideal. We saw many of the other late seating diners. It may have something to do with the number of traditonal diners and when they dine. I suspect that on the longer cruises there are more fixed and less AWYW. Having the same waiter, same table, appeals to more leisurely travelers.

 

brainyblonde

[Krazy Kruizers]

For those of us who are not late-nighters and who have fixed early dining, the show times of 7 and 9 were quite problematic! We either rushed through our dinners (with the assistance of WONDERFUL dining stewards) to make the 7 pm shows or just did not go to the shows at all.

 

We wondered whether the adjusted times were done, in part, to increase the sales for the beverage manager. We are very unhappy with the 7 and 9 show times!!!!!

 

When HAL did this on a some ships a few years ago, we found that we were done by 7:15 - 7:30 with dinner. Then we had to wait until 9 PM for a show.

There was nothing for us to do for nearly 1 1/2 hours. We do not gamble, we do not shop on the ships, nor are we going to sit around in a bar/lounge. Too often we just went back to the cabin and read.

[Hlitner]

When HAL did this on a some ships a few years ago, we found that we were done by 7:15 - 7:30 with dinner. Then we had to wait until 9 PM for a show.

There was nothing for us to do for nearly 1 1/2 hours. We do not gamble, we do not shop on the ships, nor are we going to sit around in a bar/lounge. Too often we just went back to the cabin and read.

 

I think you have put your finger on a trait oft seen on HA cruises. Many folks go to an early dinner (some will be waiting by 5) and go back to their cabins by 7! On our Prinsendam cruises the ship was generally like a morgue by 10. We just returned from 25 days on the Celebrity Silhouette and it was a real change (and lots of fun) to see a ship alive and full of life until around midnight. IMHO the problem with HA in the evening is more a function of their customers rather then the scheduling. DW also recalls another cruise on a smaller Celebrity ship where they had a late night (midnight) adult comedy show and passengers were lined-up to get into the theater by 11:30 (the venue was SRO). But, on HA ships many "adults" tend to keep "children's" hours. We wonder when HA will try scheduling the early seating show at 3:30 pm during sea days :)

 

Hank

P.S. Before we get flamed, we should mention that we are 4 Star Mariners and are soon leaving for another 14 days on HA. My comments are not meant to be negative but rather a statement of fact.

[Esri]

I think you have put your finger on a trait oft seen on HA cruises. Many folks go to an early dinner (some will be waiting by 5) and go back to their cabins by 7! On our Prinsendam cruises the ship was generally like a morgue by 10. We just returned from 25 days on the Celebrity Silhouette and it was a real change (and lots of fun) to see a ship alive and full of life until around midnight. IMHO the problem with HA in the evening is more a function of their customers rather then the scheduling. DW also recalls another cruise on a smaller Celebrity ship where they had a late night (midnight) adult comedy show and passengers were lined-up to get into the theater by 11:30 (the venue was SRO). But, on HA ships many "adults" tend to keep "children's" hours. We wonder when HA will try scheduling the early seating show at 3:30 pm during sea days :)

 

Hank

P.S. Before we get flamed, we should mention that we are 4 Star Mariners and are soon leaving for another 14 days on HA. My comments are not meant to be negative but rather a statement of fact.

 

So, going to bed early makes you not an "adult" in your view? I did not know that staying up all night was a requirement for maturity.... It is hard to discern tone in written comments, but your use of quotes around the word "adults" certainly makes it sound like those who go to bed early are worthy of disdain.

[Hlitner]

So, going to bed early makes you not an "adult" in your view? I did not know that staying up all night was a requirement for maturity.... It is hard to discern tone in written comments, but your use of quotes around the word "adults" certainly makes it sound like those who go to bed early are worthy of disdain.

 

I am trying to get my thinking around the idea that staying up past 8pm is "staying up all night." :) There is a reason why most "adult" TV entertainment is reserved for the hours after 8.

[lcand1923]

For most of my work life, I had to arise at 4:30am to get to work on time. To be functional at work, I needed to get to bed by 10pm. Eventhough I am no longer working, my "body clock" tends to still function at those hours. I wouldn't classify anyone as adult or child based upon the time that they go to bed. Among the folks I know, their bed times reflect the time they needed to go to bed to be able to be productive at work. (Let's face it, if we didn't work we wouldn't have money and wouldn't be able to cruise on HAL or any other line!)

[Krazy Kruizers]

For most of my work life, I had to arise at 4:30am to get to work on time. To be functional at work, I needed to get to bed by 10pm. Eventhough I am no longer working, my "body clock" tends to still function at those hours. I wouldn't classify anyone as adult or child based upon the time that they go to bed. Among the folks I know, their bed times reflect the time they needed to go to bed to be able to be productive at work. (Let's face it, if we didn't work we wouldn't have money and wouldn't be able to cruise on HAL or any other line!)

 

Exactly -- we were both up at 4:30 every morning of our working lives. DH was on the road at 5:30 and I hit the road at 6:30.

Now that we are retired -- we still get up early -- and usually around 4:30. DH is on the road at 5 to go to his athletic club nearly 5 days a week.

We just can't get out of that early riser habit. We don't even need alarm clocks to wake up early any more. It just comes naturally.

[JRT5000]

I think you have put your finger on a trait oft seen on HA cruises. Many folks go to an early dinner (some will be waiting by 5) and go back to their cabins by 7! On our Prinsendam cruises the ship was generally like a morgue by 10. We just returned from 25 days on the Celebrity Silhouette and it was a real change (and lots of fun) to see a ship alive and full of life until around midnight. IMHO the problem with HA in the evening is more a function of their customers rather then the scheduling. DW also recalls another cruise on a smaller Celebrity ship where they had a late night (midnight) adult comedy show and passengers were lined-up to get into the theater by 11:30 (the venue was SRO). But, on HA ships many "adults" tend to keep "children's" hours. We wonder when HA will try scheduling the early seating show at 3:30 pm during sea days :)

 

Hank

P.S. Before we get flamed, we should mention that we are 4 Star Mariners and are soon leaving for another 14 days on HA. My comments are not meant to be negative but rather a statement of fact.

 

 

That's funny (and a little worrisome). We normally sail Princess and Celebrity. Princess when we want to have fun....Celebrity when we want rest and a quiet atmosphere.

 

Celebrity ships close down at 10pm. We feel they are extremely boring ships for nightlife. My last 2 cruises on the Solstice had the late dinner show at 7pm. The problem when you move the 10pm late show to 7pm for the late fixed diners.... is that after dinner there is absolutely nothing to do if you don't gamble.

 

I didn't think being quieter than Celebrity was possible.:eek:

[HamburgAvonLady]

We recently returned from 30 days on the wonderful Westerdam --- the show times were 7 and 9 pm. We had late seating ("As you wish dining" was a ZOO !) and would do the show first and then dinner. We liked having the same wait staff and our tablemates were a delightful couple. We really enjoyed not being rushed to finish our meal and conversations. 8 pm was rather late for dinner but we made it work.

[Cruising-along]

Exactly -- we were both up at 4:30 every morning of our working lives. DH was on the road at 5:30 and I hit the road at 6:30.

 

Now that we are retired -- we still get up early -- and usually around 4:30. DH is on the road at 5 to go to his athletic club nearly 5 days a week.

 

We just can't get out of that early riser habit. We don't even need alarm clocks to wake up early any more. It just comes naturally.

 

We're newly retired (me last month, DH next week) and much the same way. DH is on the road by 5:15 am, I was on the road by 6:30.

 

We also like itineraries with lots of ports, so besides just waking up naturally anyway, we want to be up early to make the most of our time. That means being in bed by 11 to get a full night's sleep. We never go to the 10pm shows for that reason, and sometimes it's a challenge to combine dinner and a show.

[Hlitner]

That's funny (and a little worrisome). We normally sail Princess and Celebrity. Princess when we want to have fun....Celebrity when we want rest and a quiet atmosphere.

 

Celebrity ships close down at 10pm. We feel they are extremely boring ships for nightlife. My last 2 cruises on the Solstice had the late dinner show at 7pm. The problem when you move the 10pm late show to 7pm for the late fixed diners.... is that after dinner there is absolutely nothing to do if you don't gamble.

 

I didn't think being quieter than Celebrity was possible.:eek:

 

Trust me that Celebrity is like a wild 3 ring circus when compared to many HA cruises. On our Silhouette cruise (just returned last Saturday) the formal night shows were at 8:30 and 10:45 and on non formal nights they were generally at 7 and 9 (or 9:30). The 10:45 shows were well attended although certainly not as crowded as the earlier show. On formal nights the ship would still be awake at 11:30 (after the show). Last spring when we cruised on the Prinsendam I would often spend later evening times (we are talking after 10:00 up in the Crows Nest where there would usually be no more then a dozen folks (half of whom were officers) awake. There were probably another 1 or 2 dozen awake in the other open bar which means that nearly 600 were in bed by 10 :) On that HA cruise the last entertainment stopped at midnight (the piano player in the Crows Nest).

 

Hank

[igraf]

Speak for yourself! We liked it a lot. We are traditional late-seating diners and the early show was perfect for filling in the otherwise dead time between 6pm and our 8pm dinner. After dinner we were then able to enjoy the live music performances, instead of having to choose between music and the show.

 

igraf

 

 

 

HAL tried this a few years ago. Not many people liked it.

 

It meant that the 8 PM fixed sitting diners had their show at 7 and the 5:45 diners had their show at 9. Those in Open Seating went according to their chosen dinning time.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Speak for yourself! We liked it a lot. We are traditional late-seating diners and the early show was perfect for filling in the otherwise dead time between 6pm and our 8pm dinner. After dinner we were then able to enjoy the live music performances, instead of having to choose between music and the show.

 

igraf

 

Things are changing on many ships.

Most ships no longer have the Rosario or Adiago Strings.

On our last cruises the Ocean Bar didn't have music until 8 PM.

Ships that have the MIX -- you have a quitarest from 4 (or 5) - 9 PM.

[1aCruise4wks]

Yes, people were really confused about which show was for them. The CD came on the PA System several times trying to explain it and even talked about it on the Morning Show on HAL TV. Because we had seen most of the shows on the TA cruise, on the Carib. cruise, we would sit in the Ocean Bar before 2nd Seating Dinner and watch the people from the 1st Seating almost run through the halls trying to get to the 7 pm show. This mad dash usually started around 7:15 pm so these folks were already missing much of the show.

[cruising cockroach]

The recent Prinsendam TATL voyage had shows at 8p and 10p nightly except for one night when it was 7p and 9p to accommodate a student group providing the show at Lisbon (they got off immediately after the show as the ship was scheduled to sail shortly after 10p) and one of the last nights of the cruise.

[fivechip]

Just off the Eurodam (B2B) and the shows were 8pm & 10pm.The cast of 14 singers and dancers were outstanding