On Board Entertainment...Come on Now!

[Mary49]

Just got off Splendor July 31st and you will be happy to know Music Asia was there! They are fabulous and can play anything! They were outside casino and I "think" the lounge.

 

Thanks mamaty. I can't wait to see them. It's a shame where Carnival puts these bands. They deserve to be in a lounge. Not outside in a hallway.... But I guess we should be glad that we have them for now at least.

[Mary49]

Between this and the tiny room they do the comedy club in the Sunshine is not for me.

 

Live in a small town and entertainment available on the ship is huge for us. We are starting to go to other cruise lines and this will continue.

 

Hi golfadj. I don't think you will be alone in trying other cruise lines. I think I will be doing the same when the bands are let go.

[euro cruiser]

They could kill the shows and lower the price for everyone. Then put in some good entertainment and charge admission to those who wanted to see what they are offering. Pay as you go...just like the restaurants, excursions, etc. I think many go because they feel they already paid for it. Already starting it with the concerts I guess.

I think this is the way the industry is headed ... someone just has to be the first to offer it, just as someone had to be first with the "pay extra" restaurants on board.

 

Some free entertainment in other areas of the ship, with the showroom reserved for a "for pay" act, is what I expect to see in the not too distant future. The cruise lines have a lot of expensive real estate tied up in these big showrooms so they need to find a way to make it pay.

[DonnaK]

It seems this thread started off on the Carnival boards and was moved to this forum.

 

My experience is not with Carnival, but we truly enjoy the entertainment each night on the ship. Some ships have better (more talented) performance troupes than others, and the quality of the individual shows can vary even on the same ship, but they are always entertaining and make me happy. My kids (who are in their 20s now) always seemed to enjoy them too.

 

As someone else said, it's a step up from what we see and do after dinner at home, which is general nothing.

 

And, I would go and see a similar production performed locally if it were free.

[Badfinger]

It seems this thread started off on the Carnival boards and was moved to this forum.

 

My experience is not with Carnival, but we truly enjoy the entertainment each night on the ship. Some ships have better (more talented) performance troupes than others, and the quality of the individual shows can vary even on the same ship, but they are always entertaining and make me happy. My kids (who are in their 20s now) always seemed to enjoy them too.

 

As someone else said, it's a step up from what we see and do after dinner at home, which is general nothing.

 

And, I would go and see a similar production performed locally if it were free.

 

Would you pay to see it locally? And if so, how much? Understand you are paying for it on a cruise even if you do not attend.

[NMLady]

Okay so the typical show I have seen on a cruise ship is a live band, some singers, dancers and actors.

 

If these types and quality of shows were being shown on the local park for free...I would not go. My family would not go. My co-workers would not go. My neighbors would not go. I do not know anyone who would go.

 

So what makes these such a big attraction on a cruise ship? I mean people wait in line and run into the theatre when the doors open (I know..we got caught up in this one our first cruise.....never again). Is it the captive audience syndrome? Or limited seating means it must be good? I don't get it.

 

How many here go to these types of shows on a regular basis when not on a cruise..even if they were better than what you see on a cruise? Would you pay for it?

 

Just curious.

 

I do like the comedians in the lounge though.

 

We go to these shows because we enjoy them. There is no free entertainment like this in our area.

 

If you don't like them, don't go. But don't make the rest of us sound dumb for going.

[Badfinger]

We go to these shows because we enjoy them. There is no free entertainment like this in our area.

 

If you don't like them, don't go. But don't make the rest of us sound dumb for going.

 

I did not question anyone's intelligence in any of my posts above.

 

Sorry if I hit a nerve.

[floridafish]

I usually see a show or two simply because there's not much else to do and it gives me a break from the casino.

 

Like a lot of other things on cruise ships, food as an example, I try to lower my expectations somewhat.

 

I must say that the ice skating shows on RCI are pretty entertaining.

 

The best entertainment I've see has been on the Epic. The Cirque show was quite good.

[Warm Breezes]

We go to the shows for evening entertainment. We've seen some great shows and some not so great shows. Even the not so great shows give us entertainment and something to talk about. DD is a competitive dancer so we are used to seeing dancing, sometimes at a much better level than we see on the ships, but when we hit a great show with great choreography we can really appreciate it. The not so great shows give DD experience critiquing what they did wrong so she can learn from it. We don't go to production shows in our area. Don't know why but that just isn't the type of entertainment we look for at home. We know going in that Carnival's shows are not the best. We don't sail them for the shows, but we do enjoy the entertainment they offer. We don't expect them to up to the same level as the shows we saw on the Disney ships or Epic....but sometimes we are pleasantly surprised.

Edited August 8, 2014 by Warm Breezes

[Cruisin' Chick]

We often go to the shows. We preferred when there was musicians performing the instrumental accompanying live but at least we're not paying out extra money for tickets. Some shows are better than others (we felt "Motor City" and "The British Invasion" that we saw a couple of cruises ago were good enough to see the shows again on our last cruise).

 

I come from a musical family (an uncle sang at the dance marathons in Chicago in the 30s; my father was in both chorus and band in high school and a major marching band in college, and could pick up any instrument we took home from school to try out and play it on the spot; my siblings and I were in various music groups in high school; my daughter has learned piano, voice, percussion, flute == self taught, and plans to learn saxophone this year at school). So we do enjoy seeing what the ship's producer and talent come up with. We also try to catch the lounge acts and go listen to the bands, up on deck (yes, on Princess there's still live deck bands) and in the lounges.

 

(BTW, when we've met performers on Carnival and Princess, none of them "served" meals, but they did help with activities and one dancer we talked to would supervised checking out library items)

[cruiseryyc]

In 15 cruises I have never been to a production show; spent lots of hours in a lounge listening to the 3 piece bands playing; used to go to the British Pub night on Princess but they did away with that. My after dinner entertainment is to take a glass of something outside to the Promenade Deck and sit listening to the water going by.

[Mary49]

In 15 cruises I have never been to a production show; spent lots of hours in a lounge listening to the 3 piece bands playing; used to go to the British Pub night on Princess but they did away with that. My after dinner entertainment is to take a glass of something outside to the Promenade Deck and sit listening to the water going by.

 

Yep, that's what I like to do as well. Find a good cover band and spend lots of time listening to them. That usually does it for me for night life.

[fla_momuv3]

Music Boardwalk, the cover band on Liberty this summer absolutely MADE our cruise. Went to see them every night they were so good...

 

 

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[JimAOk1945]

We go to the production shows sometimes. I like them but my wife says they're boring.

 

On the other hand, we both enjoy the ice skating productions on the RCI ships that have them. It's amazing what they can do on such a small scale. Very entertaining.

[hubofhockey]

Interesting thread. The Oasis/Allure has entertainment that you can look forward to. We also like the tribute bands, good cover bands, and comedians. Princess now does 35 minute shows, which is all they are worth.

[Velvetwater]

We purposely avoided all of the production shows on our Carnival cruise last year with the exception of Justin illusion but I love an illusionist stuff wherever it is....he was fantastic. I like the fact Carnival has nightly comedy so we went to that which is more my kind of thing. We also went to the audience participation shows which were a bit bonkers but you have a lower expectation of those.

 

I love the theatre back home as some of my friends and family are heavily involved in that scene and I dont think ships will ever have any Pinter or Beckett but one can dream. I also love most musicals but I have been spoilt by the west end productions of those.

[navybankerteacher]

The production shows are generally loud and tedious, but specialty acts like illusionists, comics, hypnotists, etc. are usually worth the time.

[iheartbda]

The production shows are generally loud and tedious, but specialty acts like illusionists, comics, hypnotists, etc. are usually worth the time.

It's just like food, some will love it and others say it's inedible.;)

 

For all the people who say they never go to the production shows, there seem to be lots going and there have actually been fights over seats.:D

[Mary49]

Music Boardwalk, the cover band on Liberty this summer absolutely MADE our cruise. Went to see them every night they were so good...

 

 

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I am soo glad that they have their own FB page. I try to cruise with them where ever they are. My favorite cover band.

[Calgon1]

Some shows are good. Some shows are bad.

While the OP can certainly speak for him/herself. I honestly doubt that they can speak for others "My family would not go. My co-workers would not go. My neighbors would not go. I do not know anyone who would go."

Additionally, No one forces anyone to go in the first place. Or, if you do attend, you're not obligated to remain if you find you don't like it.

However, opinions do matter. I would ask, did you bring your disaffection to the cruise line's attention? Not the onboard Cruise Director, but the cruise line's home office. If they get enough bad reviews, they will change. Their goal is to provide entertainment of sufficient quality as to attract customers, not repell them.

They can't fix it if they don't know about it. Tell them, not anonymous forum members. Give them specifics, Not just "it was bad", but what was bad.

[Badfinger]

Some shows are good. Some shows are bad.

While the OP can certainly speak for him/herself. I honestly doubt that they can speak for others "My family would not go. My co-workers would not go. My neighbors would not go. I do not know anyone who would go."

Additionally, No one forces anyone to go in the first place. Or, if you do attend, you're not obligated to remain if you find you don't like it.

However, opinions do matter. I would ask, did you bring your disaffection to the cruise line's attention? Not the onboard Cruise Director, but the cruise line's home office. If they get enough bad reviews, they will change. Their goal is to provide entertainment of sufficient quality as to attract customers, not repell them.

They can't fix it if they don't know about it. Tell them, not anonymous forum members. Give them specifics, Not just "it was bad", but what was bad.

 

I have a couple neighbors and three coworkers who cruise frequently. They do not go to these variety/musical type shows on the cruise. I know my family well enough to know they would not go. So yeah, I stand behind this statement. I do not PERSONALLY know anyone.

 

In my OP, I did ask who would actually pay to go to these types of show when not on a cruise. And by that I do mean shows of the same "production quality"...not a top notch broadway show. Of all the responses, only one said they would. One said they do go to broadway shows..which are not the same IMO. Others said they would go if free. So there you have it.

[NMLady]

We go to the shows for evening entertainment. We've seen some great shows and some not so great shows. Even the not so great shows give us entertainment and something to talk about. ... sometimes we are pleasantly surprised.

 

This is the way I feel.

[Badfinger]

This is the way I feel.

 

Would you PAY to go see that same show locally if you were not on a cruise?

[Warm Breezes]

Would you PAY to go see that same show locally if you were not on a cruise?

 

 

I would....but only if my DD(17) were dancing in it ;):D:p. But that doesn't stop me from taking in the included entertainment while on the ship. Like I said in my previous post, we've seen some great shows and some not so great shows. Either way it entertains us (the bad ones are amuse us and give us something to talk about later) and we enjoy going to them while we are cruising. I have no need for this type of entertainment at home (unless of course DD is dancing in it) so I would have no reason to pay for it.

Edited August 11, 2014 by Warm Breezes

[skeetns]

I just stumbled across this thread and had to write about what was probably the worst act I have seen in any ship's main show theatre.

 

The featured performer one night was a fellow on stage , with a bright light shining on his hands, forming shadow puppets on a screen.

 

As far as shadow puppets go he might be the best in the world - who knows, but I really could not believe that a cruiseline would book him into the main theatre to perform both an early and late show.