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Escape Entertainment Changing?

JamesIlsley

By JamesIlsley,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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Warm Breezes

Warm Breezes

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Not threatened in the least.

 

All I know is that I see the same thing. It may be a system glitch, but the screen shot the previous poster put up is accurate. I see the same thing. (The dimensions of the screen are different because I was looking at a full size monitor, but the information is the same.)

 

If it's a system problem, there's no way for me to know it. It our first NCL cruise.

 

If you click to select the one with the charge you get a screen which states that the dinner experience ends after 4/9/16. It appears NCL has not updated there selections in quite a while to still be showing this...so it is basically "old" information.

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LrgPizza

LrgPizza

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Is it unusual or normal for them to change out both major shows at the same time? Or would both major shows just be getting new casts at the same time?

On our last Escape cruise (June) they had a great 'extra' show performed by members of After Midnight. They did Motown songs in the Atrium and they were fantastic. Very talented group!

It is normal, since the contracts for shows are 6 months long and the shows began at the same time (when the ship first sailed.)

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JamesIlsley

JamesIlsley

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It looks like whatever change is happening is happening the week of the 30th. I have seen change over weeks before have a non production show, but I am hoping for the best. Would love to hear from someone on one of the October sailings what they see once their 90 days hits.

 

Either way - it will be an awesome time. I'm not too picky but I am very curious.

 

I had no problem booking the free show for our Sept 23 cruise.
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LrgPizza

LrgPizza

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same here on the 9/30 sailing and found it odd that you can't book ANY of the entertainment options period! didn't make any sense.

 

I didn't even see option to book the Levity Entertainment or Headliner's Comedy Club. Is THIS Normal???

Yeah, no one has been able to prebook comedy for a long time, at least on Breakaway, Escape, and Getaway.

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rfendt

rfendt

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Thanks for the confirmation Pizza! bummer..

I had no problem at all booking the Comedy Shows that I wanted to see when I got on the ship (March '17). Just make sure you do it right away when you first get to the terminal. Also, during the week, even the shows that were "sold out" opened up and were available to book.

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Sand and Seas

Sand and Seas

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Im on the 7 October sailing and see "Escape the Big Top" as an option. Im 93 days out, so no reservations for anything yet.

 

Please come back and let us know in three days.

 

Or perhaps there will be someone who is in Haven for that cruise and can book already?

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Skylark741

Skylark741

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That is OLD info you just posted. This show has been complimentary in the main theater for over a year now.

 

I think that the show is free (as seen on the bottom of the pic) but the dinner (banquet) and/or special seating is what costs $24...

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Sand and Seas

Sand and Seas

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I think that the show is free (as seen on the bottom of the pic) but the dinner (banquet) and/or special seating is what costs $24...

 

The Brat Pack was moved to the main Theater and hasn't been in the Supper Club for our last three cruises. Our first cruise on Escape we were signed up to see it in the Supper Club but one of the dancers was injured and they had to cancel. The Supper Club has since been utilized for different free shows with a set meal and sometimes a special entertainer for a fee. We've enjoyed seeing 'Oh What A Night' and 'Company Men' in that venue. Nice place for a good show and a 45 minute set dinner.

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SquishTheWhale

SquishTheWhale

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I'm on the 14th October sailing, and I see the following options although it says 'reservations are not offered' next to them, with the exception of Supper Club and Wine Lovers which say 'too early to book' (which we are).

 

After midnight

Escape the Big top

For the record: banquet ($24.99)

For the record: floor ($29.99)

Headliners comedy club

Howl

Levity

Supper club ($35.34)

Wine lovers

 

I don't know why both For The Records are showing a fee?! Shouldn't one be free? We are in the Haven booking period as of today so surely this should be correct by now? Something weird going on with the Entertainment on the Escape for sure.

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JamesIlsley

JamesIlsley

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It appears and what you (and I) are seeing is the placeholder page. If you look at the For the Record detail page, they note it isn't available as a paid activity and is moving to the main stage and free after a date that is over a year ago. I think they flip a switch at the right number of days for you and that page is replaced with the proper pages to order.

 

 

I'm on the 14th October sailing, and I see the following options although it says 'reservations are not offered' next to them, with the exception of Supper Club and Wine Lovers which say 'too early to book' (which we are).

 

After midnight

Escape the Big top

For the record: banquet ($24.99)

For the record: floor ($29.99)

Headliners comedy club

Howl

Levity

Supper club ($35.34)

Wine lovers

 

I don't know why both For The Records are showing a fee?! Shouldn't one be free? We are in the Haven booking period as of today so surely this should be correct by now? Something weird going on with the Entertainment on the Escape for sure.

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Skylark741

Skylark741

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The Brat Pack was moved to the main Theater and hasn't been in the Supper Club for our last three cruises. Our first cruise on Escape we were signed up to see it in the Supper Club but one of the dancers was injured and they had to cancel. The Supper Club has since been utilized for different free shows with a set meal and sometimes a special entertainer for a fee. We've enjoyed seeing 'Oh What A Night' and 'Company Men' in that venue. Nice place for a good show and a 45 minute set dinner.

Ok. Thanks for the info.

 

Sent from my SM-G955U using Forums mobile app

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SquishTheWhale

SquishTheWhale

Posted
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It appears and what you (and I) are seeing is the placeholder page. If you look at the For the Record detail page, they note it isn't available as a paid activity and is moving to the main stage and free after a date that is over a year ago. I think they flip a switch at the right number of days for you and that page is replaced with the proper pages to order.

 

Aha I hope you are right! We have a couple of people on our roll call in the Haven so able to book now but they haven't come back to report their success.

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BirdTravels "Live from...." Rare

BirdTravels

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Posted (edited)
Is it unusual or normal for them to change out both major shows at the same time? Or would both major shows just be getting new casts at the same time? On our last Escape cruise (June) they had a great 'extra' show performed by members of After Midnight. They did Motown songs in the Atrium and they were fantastic. Very talented group!

 

Hard to say how the cast members rotate. Lead performers like Braxton sign short contracts and rotate on/off the ship. Dance troupe members and band members probably can sign 6 month or longer contracts. Last time we were on the Escape, they were rotating some dancers off due to chronic injuries. I kinda feel sorry for the dancers, the male dancers do continuous jump-splits in After Midnight and they say it can really mess up your legs. They could tone down the choreography without impacting the show.

 

We were just on the Breakaway,,,, Rock of Ages rotates on and off as a complete cast. Rehearsals in Tampa and rotate on with no overlap with the departing cast. Burn the Floor rotates couples on and off (you always hear the introductions as Sam and Sally from South Africa,,, they actually sign contracts as a pair). While we were on, 2 of the 5 BTF couple were doing their last show and were being replaced for the next sailing.

 

Back to the OP's question. I we have had our main show dates changed in the main theater to accommodate new guest performers and the contracts they are signing for the ship (e.g., a guest performer who flies in, boards, does their show twice on one night, disembarked and flies home). On the Jewel, we talked to the illusionist who said that he was going to be shifting his performances around because his new water torture illusion was taking too long to setup, rehearse, perform, and tear down on the current schedule (we talked to him as he pumped water through a garden hose all the way up the steps of the theater to empty the chamber).

Edited by BirdTravels
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raea416

raea416

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I'm on the 10/7 cruise and my window opened today. I was unable to book entertainment as well. Same issue as all others reported

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

 

 

Yours opened because you should be at 90 days. We are less than that and some of us are still unable to book.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

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POA1 "Live from...." Rare

POA1

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It looks like the error that was reported earlier has been replaced by a new and exciting - yet somehow similar error. Again, this is for the 10/7 Escape sailing and the show is "For the Record." (For the record (get it?) I don't know if this happens to the "After Midnight" show, but I can only hope*.

 

When attempting to make a reservation, it allows you to select the date, the show time, and check the guests for whom you would like to make a reservation. Upon clicking the Add to Cart button, you get an error message telling you that there is a problem with your request and that you should log out and try again. This is the start of NCL's practical joke loop in the code, because when you log out and log back in, you'll get an error that tells you to log out and try again later.

 

Naturally, this is also part of the practical joke loop, because waiting and trying later doesn't work either. Ah... those merry NCL pranksters!

 

The solution is to call the reservations support number, where the peasant representative will tell you that your error comes from trying to book two things into the same time slot. It turns out that I didn't have anything booked that would conflict. Actually didn't have any shows or dinners booked within 4 hours of my desired reservation slot. (You'd think that if it was truly a reservation conflict error, the error message would be to that effect. But, I guess that would cut down on the rip-roaring humor in the practical joke loop.)

 

After the pleasant representative checked to confirm that there was, indeed, no conflict, he pleasantly informed me that he had to contact a supervisor to override the problem. He apologized and pleasantly told me that I would be placed on a brief hold while they took care of the situation. The brief hold wound up being 32 minutes according to the timer on my phone. However, the pleasant representative checked back in every few minutes to assure me that NCL hadn't forgotten about me. He pleasantly apologized each time.

 

Not one to be out-pleasanted, I made sure that I always called him Sir and thanked him for checking back in with me. I may have overdone it a bit because after about 15 minutes, my wife said, "Dial it back, sunshine." Did I dial it back? Heck no! I cranked it up from cordial to genial to jovial. I was so sickeningly sweet that I began to worry that I was giving myself cavities.

 

The great thing about being on hold with NCL is that you get to hear a snippet of Pitbull's "Freedom" over and over again. If you don't live in South Florida, you really can't appreciate how much we get to hear Mister 305. It makes me long for olden times when they overplayed Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine.

 

Anyway...

 

We wound up getting our reservations, which is nice. I commend NCL on building a system that ties up a customer service representative, a supervisor, and the guest for a half hour to make a simple (and free!) show reservation. That kind of automation efficiency is hard to come by nowadays.

 

I was curious as to why you could only reserve one show before your cruise. Now I know. You'd be back home before you could make a week's worth of reservations.

 

*The same exciting error happens with the Cotton Club show, "After Midnight**."

 

**The show "After Midnight" is offered at 7:30pm & 10:00pm on select days. Never ever after 12:00mn.

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