Concerts At Sea-beginning of paying for Entertainment

[Phlybice]

Yes, you go, Girl! Boycott a sold out show. That will show them!

 

The reality is people are paying huge money for music cruises with big profits going to the middle man. This simply makes it affordable for fans to see their favorite artist at sea. It's really a smart play if they don't screw up simple concert promotion and venue management.

 

Obviously, you are not the target market for this promotion, so your absence will not be noticed.

 

It will only be noticed if it's collective.

 

Not sure how many will book a ship based on entertainment, but they may find the ship already sold out for other reasons. Unless these entertainers are being placed on ships that don't sell well. ANd then if they do start selling well, supply and demand will kick in, making these sailings more expensive.

 

But, if a bunch of Spring breakers find themselves on a ship offering Chicago, Styx, or Kansas (whom I always loved yet everyone I knew hated), the venue may actually be empty.

[jimbo5544]

Each of us has the right to put their own take on things.

 

As for the Splendor theater only having 300 people in it, I guess that confirms what a lot of people are saying about the entertainment. It has gone way down.

 

I will wait and see what options are available on the ships that have the concerts before passing judgement.

 

The fee for concerts are fine with me if they have other options for entertainment that night.

 

And as others have mentioned I would just book a different cruise if I wasn't interested in the concert.:)

 

Bill

We don't go a see a lot of the "shows" anymore. If I read here that a particular show is really good, then we might do it. Walking through that night (on the Splndor) was an eye opener for me. I cannot even recall what it was (the entertainment, although it was not one of the big shows) to put a flavor on it's worth.

 

Cruising as we know it is changing, not so dramatically, but in ways more subtle than hard hitting. It started with dress code changes (like them or not), a la carte restaurants and free style dining and now entertainment. Broadway shows are certainly more common place (NCL and Royal - as you know) and more and more ships are being chartered for this and that and some of those entertainment reasons.

 

Carnival is attempting to make the Fantasy class of ships more viable through this entertainment option (my guess is by adding the Breeze they want to see the viability on their larger ships). They obviuosly are not going to play catch up in the new builds department anytime soon. We will see what happens.

[walty]

It will only be noticed if it's collective.

 

Not sure how many will book a ship based on entertainment, but they may find the ship already sold out for other reasons. Unless these entertainers are being placed on ships that don't sell well. ANd then if they do start selling well, supply and demand will kick in, making these sailings more expensive.

 

But, if a bunch of Spring breakers find themselves on a ship offering Chicago, Styx, or Kansas (whom I always loved yet everyone I knew hated), the venue may actually be empty.

 

As a concert promoter I guarantee you the venue WILL NOT be empty. In fact, I fear it will be oversold causing some big problems for Carnival. Lady Antebellum can probably fill a ship with just their fan club which probably has close to 250,000 paid members.

 

As I said, entire ships are currently being fill on chartered music cruises for 5 times the "normal" cruise fares, so fans seeing their favorite artist for "normal" fares would be a no-brainer.

 

It's just another evening in port which I think is an added bonus. I'm not a gambler so I just don't understand their whining about the casino not being open. I'm sure there will be plenty of opportunities on other days for them to donate their money to Carnival.

Edited January 27, 2014 by walty

[Phlybice]

As a concert promoter I guarantee you the venue WILL NOT be empty. In fact, I fear it will be oversold causing some big problems for Carnival. Lady Antebellum can probably fill a ship with just their fan club which probably has close to 250,000 paid members.

 

As I said, entire ships are currently being fill on chartered music cruises for 5 times the "normal" cruise fares, so fans seeing their favorite artist for "normal" fares would be a no-brainer.

 

It's just another evening in port which I think is an added bonus. I'm not a gambler so I just don't understand their whining about the casino not being open. I'm sure there will be plenty of opportunities on other days for them to donate their money to Carnival.

 

Being it's only offered to those sailing on the ship, you can't guarantee anything. This is clearly different than a charter.

[jimbo5544]

Being it's only offered to those sailing on the ship, you can't guarantee anything. This is clearly different than a charter.

Actually I disagree. What you can guarantee is how many tickets they sell for the venue - on the high side and it is safe to sassume of our "expert" tells us, that selling out is a near certainty. Sounds like a win win to me. I would agree that its much better than a charter. Are we winning you over?;)

[Thommy_Boy]

As a concert promoter I guarantee you the venue WILL NOT be empty. In fact, I fear it will be oversold causing some big problems for Carnival. Lady Antebellum can probably fill a ship with just their fan club which probably has close to 250,000 paid members.

 

As I said, entire ships are currently being fill on chartered music cruises for 5 times the "normal" cruise fares, so fans seeing their favorite artist for "normal" fares would be a no-brainer.

 

It's just another evening in port which I think is an added bonus. I'm not a gambler so I just don't understand their whining about the casino not being open. I'm sure there will be plenty of opportunities on other days for them to donate their money to Carnival.

 

For a gambler who gambles every evening, it would be a big change. Since these are primarily on 3 and 4 night cruises. Removing 1 night is taking away 1/4 to 1/3 of their normal entertainment.

 

Once again if they book after the cruise was designated as a concert cruise, too bad you knew what you was getting. If they booked before, then they have a legitimate complaint.

 

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[jimbo5544]

For a gambler who gambles every evening, it would be a big change. Since these are primarily on 3 and 4 night cruises. Removing 1 night is taking away 1/4 to 1/3 of their normal entertainment.

 

Once again if they book after the cruise was designated as a concert cruise, too bad you knew what you was getting. If they booked before, then they have a legitimate complaint.

 

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Interesting points. I wonder how they will deal with that.

[Pine Bluff]

As a concert promoter I guarantee you the venue WILL NOT be empty. In fact, I fear it will be oversold causing some big problems for Carnival. Lady Antebellum can probably fill a ship with just their fan club which probably has close to 250,000 paid members.

 

As I said, entire ships are currently being fill on chartered music cruises for 5 times the "normal" cruise fares, so fans seeing their favorite artist for "normal" fares would be a no-brainer.

 

It's just another evening in port which I think is an added bonus. I'm not a gambler so I just don't understand their whining about the casino not being open. I'm sure there will be plenty of opportunities on other days for them to donate their money to Carnival.

 

Tthere are going to be a large percentage of people that booked their cruise knowing nothing about this. And there will be a large percentage of people that will balk about paying for an act they may or may not have known. I would tend to think the opposite will happen, that they will have a hard time filling uo these rooms unless its the Sunshine, being they did away with one entire floor.

[PROCRUISE]

Not really crazy about this Concerts At Sea idea. Sounds like a way to start charging everyone for their entertainment on board. Pretty soon it will be a cover charge for any entertainment that is worthwhile. I have a tentative booking with Carnival and, if I go ahead, will definitely boycott the Concert at Sea. Really hope this does not spread to the other lines. Getting tired of the pay extra for everything.

 

Concert at Sea is just a musical revenue attempt. While indeed it is true that no one has to attend, don't forget that there are other cruise lines who still offer actual live music and good production shows. As an example: just cruised on The NCL Sun 1/1/14 where there was LIVE music everywhere on the ship, including poolside and production shows with 10 dancers and 8 singers and real sets unlike the pathetic shows we saw on The Breeze. Not a put down of CCL but just sayin.... :)

[jimbo5544]

Concert at Sea is just a musical revenue attempt. While indeed it is true that no one has to attend, don't forget that there are other cruise lines who still offer actual live music and good production shows. As an example: just cruised on The NCL Sun 1/1/14 where there was LIVE music everywhere on the ship, including poolside and production shows with 10 dancers and 8 singers and real sets unlike the pathetic shows we saw on The Breeze. Not a put down of CCL but just sayin.... :)

Sure sounds that way....just sayin:cool:

 

Carnival still has live music in different venues on these ships as well. You make it sound like this the only thing when in fact, it is not.

[walty]

Concert at Sea is just a musical revenue attempt. While indeed it is true that no one has to attend, don't forget that there are other cruise lines who still offer actual live music and good production shows. As an example: just cruised on The NCL Sun 1/1/14 where there was LIVE music everywhere on the ship, including poolside and production shows with 10 dancers and 8 singers and real sets unlike the pathetic shows we saw on The Breeze. Not a put down of CCL but just sayin.... :)

 

If I'm a Lady Antebellum or Martina McBride fan why would a bunch of singers and dancers that can't hack it on Broadway appeal to me?

[walty]

Being it's only offered to those sailing on the ship, you can't guarantee anything. This is clearly different than a charter.

 

Carnival is selling tickets to the show in advance once you've booked the cruise. I'll bet you a dollar to donut the shows will be sold out before they sail.

[EZ4]

This is Carnival testing the waters to see how successful pay entertainment is. If it's successful, they will keep pushing the boundaries until eventually any and all entertainment may be pay venues. It's a trojan horse. And I'd pay $5 to see Brett Butler. She's funny as hell. I bet she could crack some sarcastic jokes about David Brenner.

Edited January 27, 2014 by EZ4

[Almost Packed]

I look at this way, if carnival does not increase revenue with ideas such as this, then they will raise the price of my cruise. I am fine with people going to these concerts and helping Carnival increase revenue so my cruise price can stay low

 

My thoughts exactly!

 

If others want to purchase these add ons and i do not, it only keeps me from paying more.

[Tapi]

I prefer that Carnival charges me $399 for a cruise and I get to CHOOSE whether I spend $20 extra on a concert, $35 extra at the steakhouse, $100 extra for a spa pass, $200 extra for a drink package, etc, instead of charging me a flat cruise fare of $754 with all these things included.

 

I think people should be thankful that cruise pricing these days is unbundled, giving them the chance to truly choose what they want to pay for, instead of being forced to pay for things that they may not care for.

 

 

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Edited January 27, 2014 by Tapi

[jimbo5544]

I prefer that Carnival charges me $399 for a cruise and I get to CHOOSE whether I spend $20 extra on a concert, $35 extra at the steakhouse, $100 extra for a spa pass, $200 extra for a drink package, etc, instead of charging me a flat cruise fare of $754 with all these things included.

 

I think people should be thankful that cruise pricing these days is unbundled, giving them the chance to truly choose what they want to pay for, instead of being forced to pay for things that they may not care for.

 

 

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Exactly, it is about options.

[jimbo5544]

This is Carnival testing the waters to see how successful pay entertainment is. If it's successful, they will keep pushing the boundaries until eventually any and all entertainment may be pay venues. It's a trojan horse. And I'd pay $5 to see Brett Butler. She's funny as hell. I bet she could crack some sarcastic jokes about David Brenner.

 

How do you know this? You being so objective and all.....

[EZ4]

How do you know this? You being so objective and all.....

 

C'mon, it's a balanced comment. I cast suspicion on Carnival's intentions, but also gave props to Brett. ;)

[jimbo5544]

C'mon, it's a balanced comment. I cast suspicion on Carnival's intentions, but also gave props to Brett. ;)

 

very funny;)

[Vitamin_Sea]

I love the title of this thread..

 

"Beginning of paying for entertainment"

 

hahaha..Figures they would start to charge. After all, they got people to "pay for the restaurants"

 

 

So, lets not forget about the .... "paying for the restaurants"..which likely started it all!

 

Something I will never do!

 

Eventually, we will be saying..." I remember enterainment and food was included in the price of the cruise"

 

THose were the good ole days.

Edited January 28, 2014 by limoguy1

[nitro2448]

People just need to realize everything CCL does is not targeted at or against anyone specific. I couldn't care less about Dr Seuss, but it doesn't bother me they are doing it now. I couldn't care less about the casino, but I don't care they have them, while one person might be upset they lose a few hours of gambling, another person will be happy they get to see a concert they like. Hairy chest, don't care, mixologist, don't care, bingo, don't care. Everything is not for everybody, so if it's not for you, don't do it. But it is for somebody.

[BenjiRodney]

I like this idea, I see it as an additional shore excursion. Carnival is not forcing anyone to pay for this, it's optional, the FTTF program is optional, eating at the Steakhouse is optional.

[hattack]

Another way to look at it...let's say you are a really big fan of Tiny Tim (or you fill in the name of your favorite artist)...on your way home from work you hear on the radio he's coming to your town 6 months from now...you purchase tickets, plan to have dinner at a nice place, wash and fill up your car, pay for parking, hire a babysitter and have drinks after the show...you most likely will not get to meet him after the show because it's late and you have to get up early for work

 

You are planning your Carnival Cruise 6 months from now..Tiny Tim is on a ship that you like going to he ports you want to go to,,,looks like a real bargin now, doesn't it

 

The reason why the private charter Jazz Cruises sail full with cruisers paying twice the rack rate year after year is because at twice the cost it's the best value for our $$$$

 

Because alot of these full charter music cruises are on Carnival ships, Carnival knows that

by making it an excursion, they can control the process..if the excursion sells out 6 months in advance, add a 2nd show, if it is slow selling, move it to a smaller venue onboard and plan something else in the main showroom..not a big deal

 

To say one would boycott based on this one option, puzzles me

[John Reid]

I understand your perspective in this since it seems not a day goes by where another fee is being levied on us to live.

 

But, one of the great things about living in a free-society is you get to choose what you want to do. So, if you don't want to do the concert-at-sea, don't. But for the people who do, let them enjoy it without having to bash them. If they choose to pay the extra money, it is not affecting you in any way. And if you don't like Carnival for having this option, there are other cruise companies to choose from.

 

It didn't seem that the poster bashed people who chose to attend; the poster had issues with the Concert at Sea program. Big difference.

And it does have an impact on everyone who chooses not to go. First, it eliminates what was once a free offering that would have been in the theatre, the largest entertainment venue, that night. That cuts the choices considerably. If a theatre held 800 capacity, with two shows 1,600 passengers would get to use it that evening. With the single concert, it would be only 800. The smaller venues on ship will still be open but it is already difficult to find seats in some already. The casino may be closed depending upon the port. And having the extra hours to roam Cozumel and Nassau at night are not attractive alternatives.

[Tapi]

And it does have an impact on everyone who chooses not to go. First, it eliminates what was once a free offering that would have been in the theatre, the largest entertainment venue, that night. That cuts the choices considerably.

 

I wouldn't consider the elimination of a passenger participation silly game a considerable cut. That's what's most likely being eliminated, if anything. Remember that currently, there's NO professional entertainment every night. The main theater is actually underutilized under the current entertainment lineup. These concerts are actually ADDING ON, even if it's for an additional fee.