Best cruise line entertainment

[lenquixote66]

Any opinions as to which cruise lines offer the best entertainment ? In my opinion it is RCI.

[George C]

Not even close rccl has the best the larger the ship the better the entertainment. Have cruised most of the major lines. 

[ontheweb]

Going by the cruises we have been on, I'd say Norwegian. (Unfortunately,  I'd rate them low on everything else.)

 

Note we have been on RCCL, but not their largest ships.

[Aquahound]

This isn't even close.  The entertainment on RCI's newer ships is the best I've seen at sea.  By best, I don't only mean the quality of their main production shows; I also mean the variety of live entertainment options. 

[FlyerTalker]

Completely depends on the definition of "best".  If you mean flashiest, that's one thing.  If you mean quality of the performers, that's another.  And many other characteristics that fit each individual cruiser.

 

I highly disagree with "the larger the ship, the better the entertainment" assessment.  I suspect this is from someone who wants flash and glitz, and lots of venues.  Not my definition of "best" by a long shot.

 

YMMV.

.

 

[lenquixote66]

I just finished a cruise on Anthem Of The Seas.Their production of We Will Rock You was amazing.They had Rookie,the number one Tribute band in Toronto and they were great.Another great band was The Royal Swedes.

The only talent on Norwegian ships that I truly enjoyed was Leo Jostol,a singer guitar player.

l

[Tapi]

I agree that Royal’s entertainment on Oasis class ships is some of the best at sea. Not only in terms of quality, professionalism and wow factor,  but also in quantity. We couldn’t even attend everything on our list. We ran out of time! Too much to see and do in one week. 
 

We also sailed on Disney Fantasy and considered their stage productions, specially Aladdin, to be top notch. Last year we sailed on MSC Meraviglia, and while the regular theatre performances were nothing special, the Cirque du Soleil shows at the dedicated Carousel Lounge were phenomenal, like Cirque shows on land. But you do have to pay a fee for those. Still, we considered it money well spent. 

Edited December 24, 2019 by Tapi

[Hlitner]

So here is the dilemma for an old very long time cruiser.  When we were young (under 40) a 7 day RCI cruise was wonderful and fun.  If there had been the Oasis Class, at that time, we would have been among the first to give it a try.  And yes, the entertainment on the huge megaships is generally the because the economies of scale make it a reasonable investment for cruise lines.  But now, we are much older and a lot more adventurous.  A 7 day cruise to the Caribbean no longer is satisfying and we would prefer a 4 week cruise across the Pacific (and South Pacific Islands) or a month cruising Europe (preferably smaller ports on a smaller ship).   So what is a good compromise?  When it comes to entertainment a compromise does not exist.  Once you move away from the huge mega ships the quality of entertainment quickly degrades.  For those of us who want to travel the world (on cruise ships) we must accept inferior entertainment.  In fact, the entertainment can be so bad that most cruisers go to their cabins before 10pm!  HAL has even eliminated all Production Shows from their cruises (at least for now).  

 

So folks, what are we old folks to do?  Personally we love when ships have overnights in Europe (or elsewhere) so we can go ashore and find good local entertainment.  In Lisbon we can go to Fado shows, ports in Spain may have Flamenco, etc.  But that is the exception rather then the rule so we learn to internalize excuses and accept the cards we are dealt.  On the other hand, given a choice between a great RCI show on a cruise to Jamaica, or lousy entertainment as we cruise the Society Islands (Tahiti, Bora Bora, etc) I guess we must opt for the latter :).

 

Hank

[lenquixote66]

13 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

So here is the dilemma for an old very long time cruiser.  When we were young (under 40) a 7 day RCI cruise was wonderful and fun.  If there had been the Oasis Class, at that time, we would have been among the first to give it a try.  And yes, the entertainment on the huge megaships is generally the because the economies of scale make it a reasonable investment for cruise lines.  But now, we are much older and a lot more adventurous.  A 7 day cruise to the Caribbean no longer is satisfying and we would prefer a 4 week cruise across the Pacific (and South Pacific Islands) or a month cruising Europe (preferably smaller ports on a smaller ship).   So what is a good compromise?  When it comes to entertainment a compromise does not exist.  Once you move away from the huge mega ships the quality of entertainment quickly degrades.  For those of us who want to travel the world (on cruise ships) we must accept inferior entertainment.  In fact, the entertainment can be so bad that most cruisers go to their cabins before 10pm!  HAL has even eliminated all Production Shows from their cruises (at least for now).  

 

So folks, what are we old folks to do?  Personally we love when ships have overnights in Europe (or elsewhere) so we can go ashore and find good local entertainment.  In Lisbon we can go to Fado shows, ports in Spain may have Flamenco, etc.  But that is the exception rather then the rule so we learn to internalize excuses and accept the cards we are dealt.  On the other hand, given a choice between a great RCI show on a cruise to Jamaica, or lousy entertainment as we cruise the Society Islands (Tahiti, Bora Bora, etc) I guess we must opt for the latter :).

 

Hank

You are speaking for yourself ,you realize.Not everyone has the same feelings.I am unable to cruise to anywhere except the Caribbean and only barely able to do that.Therefore,for me it is RCI or Norwegian.I wish that I was physically able to travel to all the wonderful places that you can go to.

[George C]

While as the said rccl has the best entertainment in general, we now do music charters that have amazing entertainment, live music from 2pm to 2am. My better half loves 70’s music so we do rock and romance charter. Last year we saw America, Micheal McDonald, B J Thomas etc , this year Boz Scaggs , in two months we see America again, Jefferson starship, Rita Coolidge , Steven Bishop , Randy Bachman, Todd Rundgren and many others . You do pay extra but we love the music, same company has 50’s , 60’s ,80’s , soul, disco, country etc cruises. Fun to meet artist listen to there stories and get autographs if you want . 

[Hlitner]

2 hours ago, George C said:

While as the said rccl has the best entertainment in general, we now do music charters that have amazing entertainment, live music from 2pm to 2am. My better half loves 70’s music so we do rock and romance charter. Last year we saw America, Micheal McDonald, B J Thomas etc , this year Boz Scaggs , in two months we see America again, Jefferson starship, Rita Coolidge , Steven Bishop , Randy Bachman, Todd Rundgren and many others . You do pay extra but we love the music, same company has 50’s , 60’s ,80’s , soul, disco, country etc cruises. Fun to meet artist listen to there stories and get autographs if you want . 

We have looked at some of those music-based cruises (I am especially interested in the Smooth Jazz Cruise).  But they are all relatively short cruises in the Caribbean for which we have little interest.  We still like to cruise once a year in the Caribbean (between Thanksgiving and Christmas) but otherwise, prefer longer cruises (and related land travel) in other places of the world.

 

Hank

[George C]

10 hours ago, Hlitner said:

We have looked at some of those music-based cruises (I am especially interested in the Smooth Jazz Cruise).  But they are all relatively short cruises in the Caribbean for which we have little interest.  We still like to cruise once a year in the Caribbean (between Thanksgiving and Christmas) but otherwise, prefer longer cruises (and related land travel) in other places of the world.

 

Hank

Our music cruise this year was 5 days which is definitely to short so we did a back to back to extend the vacation 

[caribsun]

We like the Piano Bar and Comedy Club on Carnival, Royal for live bands and Production shows. Norwegian for music around the pool and their late night White Party. Princess and MSC just plan boring. 

 

[TNcruising02]

I think Royal has the best all around entertainment, although the best theater show I saw was on Norwegian.  Carnival beats them all when it comes to comedy.  When people ask me about going on their first cruise, I recommend Royal because I think the  variety of entertainment will more than likely appeal to people.  However, I prefer Carnival's comedy shows and live music so we usually cruise on Carnival.

For cruising with young children, Disney tops them all.  

Edited December 24, 2019 by TNcruising02

[ducklite]

This question has no answer, because it depends on the type of entertainment you seek as well as your standards. 

 

There is no on board entertainment on any ship that will be as good as that show on the West End, Broadway, Las Vegas, etc.  If that is what you want, you'd be better off just visiting those places directly.

[lenquixote66]

In my opinion as a former playwright with productions appearing in Manhattan I have to say that the Royal production of We Will Rock You was better than any I could imagine on Broadway or the West End.

[Aquahound]

Gotta love Cruise Critic.  As always, people seem to look way too much in to the question.  😁

[cb at sea]

Depends what you like!  Some LOVE productions shows....some hate that.  Some like string quartets...some HATE that. Some love jazz...some hate that!  Same with every sort of music/comedy/theater.....

 

Research each line...pick what suits YOU best!

 

[George C]

2 hours ago, cb at sea said:

Depends what you like!  Some LOVE productions shows....some hate that.  Some like string quartets...some HATE that. Some love jazz...some hate that!  Same with every sort of music/comedy/theater.....

 

Research each line...pick what suits YOU best!

 

Ships like the oasis has all the above 

[donaldsc]

Your question is totally unanswerable until you define what you expect in entertainment.  That said, we went on one cruise where the best entertainment was a cocktail bar type piano player.  He was wonderful and his venue was packed every night.  Also, HAL has the Lincoln Center Stage - https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/onboard-activities/cruise-entertainment/lincoln-center-stage.html - on some ships.  Also very good.  

 

DON

[ducklite]

19 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

In my opinion as a former playwright with productions appearing in Manhattan I have to say that the Royal production of We Will Rock You was better than any I could imagine on Broadway or the West End.

We Will Rock You never made it to Broadway.

[Bizmark'sMom]

I'm solidly in Hank's camp on this. Given the choice between fantastic shows, and a fantastic itinerary... I choose the itinerary and know that means quieter evenings playing cards, or reading a book, or going through the day's photos.

 

Plus, I prefer port intensive cruises. After getting up at 6 am and spending all day in port seeing and doing as much as I can, I'm ready for a quiet cocktail as the sun sets and an early bed. 

[lenquixote66]

4 hours ago, ducklite said:

We Will Rock You never made it to Broadway.

That is correct,it only appeared Off Broadway in NYC as well as other US cities .

 

[calliopecruiser]

On 12/23/2019 at 9:51 PM, Hlitner said:

So what is a good compromise?  When it comes to entertainment a compromise does not exist.  Once you move away from the huge mega ships the quality of entertainment quickly degrades. 

Consider Crystal - smaller (but not small) ships with some excellent entertainment options. 

 

Of course, what is "good" entertainment will vary by personal preference.  Stage-show type performances are only one option on Crystal - there's also various soloists/small groups in their various lounges, and sometimes there's even a soloist in their main showroom instead of a big production.  

[Hlitner]

51 minutes ago, calliopecruiser said:

Consider Crystal - smaller (but not small) ships with some excellent entertainment options. 

 

Of course, what is "good" entertainment will vary by personal preference.  Stage-show type performances are only one option on Crystal - there's also various soloists/small groups in their various lounges, and sometimes there's even a soloist in their main showroom instead of a big production.  

We have cruised on Crystal and were quite happy with the product.  But those who might be seeking the type shows and variety they find on the mega ships (primarily RCI and NCL) would probably be disappointed on Crystal.  And you would likely find that many of the folks that go on those mega ships for entertainment would not be happy to pay the price of Crystal.  Just saying.  

 

Hank