Diamond Princess Production show - 29 minutes long!!

[PrincessPete]

We returned last week after a fantastic Far East cruise on “Diamond Princess” with hotel stays in Beijing before and Singapore after the cruise.

 

I will be posting a review in the not too distant future which will be extremely favourable – the whole cruise was excellent and the itinerary absolutely amazing. The food was variable though – fortunately it only varied from being very good to exceptionally good!!

 

There was one issue we had about which we would welcome other comments and that is the production shows. We are big theatre goers in the West End so always eagerly await the production shows on any cruise.

 

We saw “Words and Music” which, as many of you will know, is a compilation of Broadway and West End hits – and was therefore right up our street.

 

Purely by chance I looked at my watch the moment the show started – it was great but was all over so quickly. I checked and it had lasted 29 minutes. Is that not ridiculously short? On all the production shows we have seen on P&O and other lines, including Princess previously, they have been at least 45 minutes, sometimes longer. Due to other entertainment we only saw one other production show on the cruise and that was just a few minutes longer but not much.

 

Anyone else think that 29 minutes was disappointingly short?

 

Kind regards.

 

Peter and Beverley

[aquilegia]

I don't go to the production shows, but I'm sure I've read on this site that they have all been cut to 30 minutes now.

[pablo222]

There was one issue we had about which we would welcome other comments and that is the production shows. We are big theatre goers in the West End so always eagerly await the production shows on any cruise.

 

We saw “Words and Music” which, as many of you will know, is a compilation of Broadway and West End hits – and was therefore right up our street.

 

Purely by chance I looked at my watch the moment the show started – it was great but was all over so quickly. I checked and it had lasted 29 minutes. Is that not ridiculously short?

 

 

Princess shortened the production shows from about 45 minutes

to about 30 minutes, so they could squeeze in three reps per night.

This was really the only solution on the super-grand-class ships,

where the number of pax greatly exceeded the show lounge capacity.

 

What is sad -- if you have seen one of the full-length shows, and then

you see the shortened show, you are left asking "What happened to..."

So many disconnects, now...

[skynight]

 

Anyone else think that 29 minutes was disappointingly short?

Kind regards.

Peter and Beverley

 

Yes, totally agree with you. I have rated the shows 1 or 2 on the post cruise survey since Princess went to this short format. Short shows have no build up, no ending, they are just 30 mins of flat singing and dancing. Princess really needs to look at this. Someone really made a miscalculation here. I've also noted that the ratio of pre show wait time is out of step with the length of the show, more wait time than show time.

 

I have also heard not so happy on stage comments from guest entertainers indicating they were forced to shorten their normal show to fit the 30 min model.

 

The only way I see to change this way of thinking is for passengers to consistently rate entertainment shows at the 1 or 2 level. Enough comments and they will listen.

[Coral]

On the Sapphire, this was changed in May of 2012 while we were on the ship. It was incredibly disappointing.

 

I believe the change was made because of the problems on the Crown, Ruby, Emerald, etc... with people not being able to get to the shows. The bad thing was that they implemented this fleet wide.

[koikat]

I was just on the short coastal cruise on Golden Princess in Oct. I didn't even notice how long the show "British Invasion" lasted. Is this true on all ships, that the shows are condensed to 30 minutes??!! This was my first cruise back on Princess after a five year absence. I was sailing Royal and Carnival. I will be very disappointed if this is their new model. Can anyone else shed some light on this?

I have to book a 7 day cruise next year and this would be a bummer if the shows are cut short.:confused:

 

Thanks!

[icat2000]

Why don't they have a matinee if they need to get three shows in. They could have the final rehersal in the morning.

[caribill]

I was just on the short coastal cruise on Golden Princess in Oct. I didn't even notice how long the show "British Invasion" lasted. Is this true on all ships, that the shows are condensed to 30 minutes??!!

 

Yes, this is on all Princess ships.

 

The problem with getting it changed is:

a) Some experienced Princess cruisers actually like the shorter shows.

b) New Princess cruisers do not know what they are missing and will often rate the shows highly.

 

I was on an RCCL cruise this spring. The production shows were near an hour in length. Individual entertainer shows were the same length and if they ran over, they were allowed to. A much better esperience than on Princess.

 

By the way, the props/set on new Princess production shows tend to be minimal. On RCCL they were impressive.

Edited November 4, 2013 by caribill

[roomba920]

Wouldn't it make more sense if Princess started the first showing at 6:00 pm instead of at 7:00 pm in order to squeeze in three showings?

That way they could keep the 45 minutes length.

Edited November 4, 2013 by roomba920

[bdjam]

Production shows used to be a big draw for me on Princess - I greatly enjoy them and find the 30 minute format to be a great disappointment - and I've commented on it on every end of cruise survey since.

The last couple of cruises I've been on, the shows have lasted about 45 minutes, but it's only because the CD has taken the show off and then done 15 minutes of stand up - he's not bad, but I would prefer a full length show.

[Nebr.cruiser]

We hate the new shorter shows--hardly worth getting to the theater before they are over.

 

I do not think it will change, but I always comment negatively on the show times on my comment card.

 

Production values are also much, much deteriorated in almost every way.

[hillslife]

Just off the Emerald...same 30 minute shows there.....I like the three in a night option, but our CD started booking prime shows at 8 and 930p so late fixed dining was out of luck for either one. When I expressed my concern, the CD told me to change my dining time....really! Why don't you schedule more effectively.....

 

I think they are trying to squeeze out fixed dining all together and make anytime the standard!! :(

[caribill]

Wouldn't it make more sense if Princess started the first showing at 6:00 pm instead of at 7:00 pm in order to squeeze in three showings?

That way they could keep the 45 minutes length.

 

Old way: 2 45 minute shows = 90 minutes by the performers

 

New way: 3 30 minute shows = 90 minutes by the performers

 

I do not think you can ask the performers to perform more than that in one evening.

[dianef]

Was on the Sapphire a couple of weeks ago and they did shorten the shows to 30 minutes and only had two shows,one at 8:15 and one at 10:15.They did away with the 7:00 show and you had to get to the 8:15 show by 7:40 to get seats.One nigh we got there at 745 and stood standing to see the show. I asked someone on the production staff why they did away with 7:00 show and he said not enough people attended and it is not good for a performer not to have an audience. I think Princess show have made larger theatres to accommodate more people.

[Potstech]

I caught the a cruise when they first switched to the 30 minute format. People were standing in line from the theater to the lounge areas past the piazza. It was a mess. One elderly lady even passed out. This went on the entire cruise and people just quit going. The CD said they had the waiting time fixed because no one was standing in line anymore. I agree a 45 minute show three times a day with a matinee would be the way to go. You had to get in line as soon as the previous show opened to get a seat in the next show. Totally unorganized and not worth the hassle to go see a sub standard show. But that is just my thoughts.

[freetocruise]

I love the new 30 minute format with 3 shows nightly. We are long time late traditional diners and the only alternative for us used to be the 10:30pm show. This was too late for us and as a result, we hadn't attended a show in years. On the recent Royal TA, we attended 3 production shows at 6:45pm before our dinner. That time was well attended, not full but certainly not so empty as to "discourage" the performers.

 

I have commented to Princess on our inability to watch a show after each cruise. I'm glad to say that they've finally realized that there are many people like me where 8:30 is in the middle of dinner and 10:30 is too late.

[geoherb]

I hate the short shows. If it weren't for DH, I'd probably skip them all. But he still likes to go. And at least Princess (on our Sapphire cruise last year) hasn't started skimping on singers and dancers like our recent HAL cruises.

[caribill]

I love the new 30 minute format with 3 shows nightly.

 

One poster has said on their recent cuise it was only two 30-minute shows an evening, the 7 PM one being dropped from the schedule.

 

Hope you find one of the two remaining times convenient if this spreads to other ships.

[mr green]

I don't see why all Princess cruisers should suffer, simply because the company made theatres on her latest ships too small.

 

john