Booking entertainment on board is now permanent

[cruisegal40]

17 hours ago, molly361 said:

I'm going to guess that picking a boarding time will also be permanent not that it really makes much of a difference I guess since it seems to be enforced  not too often

It was enforced recently on our SOS sailing. Anyone that came early were directed to a seating room to wait their turn.

[cruisegal40]

When we got on SOS recently. We headed to Bolero's in the back nice and quiet and made our show reservations. Then did our dinner reservations at one of the counters.  Did not like having to feel rushed to book.

 

and remember... when booking there is an extra step when you choose your shows that you have to agree to their terms.  Then the show is actually saved in your planner. We missed a couple of those "save" checked box and had to go back and re do them.

 

 

[Biker19]

3 hours ago, jamon said:

Was wondering if Pinnacles need reservations?

Yes.

[Merion_Mom]

11 hours ago, CRUISEFOUR said:

I am wondering what time on turn around day of a B2B one can start making reservations for shows. 

 

4 hours ago, orville99 said:

They usually don't start putting staff in place at the kiosks until ~15 minutes before general boarding begins, and we usually are back on board prior to that.

 

The app doesn't go live either until general boarding begins.

 

The app goes live as soon as the VOOM guy reboots the system for the new cruise.  If you want to know when that happens, go sit near the VOOM desk on your ship.  🙂 

[steveru621]

10 hours ago, ChC said:

Oh dear, I can see charging for shows is coming. Reserve in the app or box office for free now, charge $1 tomorrow and eventually be $20 per show in 3 months time.

 

It's been a lot of years (2009) that reservations have been required for shows on Quantum and Oasis classes. There were lots of posts about charging, which never happened.  Since the theater seating is  limited, it was all about crowd control.  Especially 270 and comedy club seating is very limited for shows.

 

It's built into your cruise price... so far.

[Baron Barracuda]

Would bet the never-ending IT issues are behind this.  A few years back on Anthem they weren't taking advance reservations.  Tried using app in terminal but no good.  Once aboard was directed to 270 where entertainment staff had laptops set up.  Straightforward, process but still took a while and of course we had to modify some dining reservations as well.  Much better to allow guests to book in advance. 

[KansasK]

On the Allure last July, there was a huge line of people to get entertainment scheduled in the Promenade.  It reminded me of when we started cruising in 1999 and had to schedule all excursions after we boarded. We all waited in a long line then. 

 

I will do this on the app, but I wish we could do it on the web site.  I don't see why vaccinated people can't since we don't have to prove we tested negative for Covid.  It would be one less thing to do after boarding, and wifi is available at home.  

[smokeybandit]

This is a good thing as it limits the number of people booking in advance that never show up

[John&LaLa]

On 9/28/2022 at 7:00 AM, A&L_Ont said:

I disagree.

 

Yea, can't understand the correlation between shows and bingo. Quite a stretch

[John&LaLa]

On 9/28/2022 at 8:22 AM, ChC said:

 

In my experience, when a company take away previous free items, it is always implementing the fee-based system by phases. Especially with RCL's IT infrastructure, it will take time to perfect the implementation. 

 

My guess is that they do not want to process payment onshore, they want to make sure the payment is processed onboard so each sale goes to the individual ship/show etc. Easy to cancel and refund before payment is final.

 

Also if you look at Icon of the Seas new design for the dive show, it has been moved from the back end of the ship to some new location (according to the Icon of the Seas thread), assuming public viewing will be restricted from new location. I would not be surprised that some shows will get charged going forward. As you said we shall agree to disagree. So let us come back in one to two years time to see what happens by then. Cheers. 

 

Even in the current location on Oasis ships, public access is restricted for the most part

[TheHawk1]

On 9/27/2022 at 6:00 PM, Ourusualbeach said:

It won't.  The concierge will still be able to get you your reservations ahead of time

What a relief that all the suite passengers will still be taken care of.  Too bad for the rest of us.

[Another_Critic]

1 minute ago, TheHawk1 said:

What a relief that all the suite passengers will still be taken care of.  Too bad for the rest of us.

Gotta pay to play (aka, skip the line)

[TheHawk1]

19 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

This is a good thing as it limits the number of people booking in advance that never show up

The people who book at the start of their cruise can be just as much of a no-show as those who previously booked weeks/months in advance.  Hardly an argument for not going back to the way show bookings used to be handled.

[Tree_skier]

5 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Yea, can't understand the correlation between shows and bingo. Quite a stretch

The performers are paid based on the number of bingo cards that are sold.  🙂 

[Tricia28]

On 9/28/2022 at 9:33 AM, long4acruise said:

Agree!  I'm definitely an organized logistical person and prefer to book dinner and shows while I'm relaxing at home or pass time while watching sports in TV.

When I board the ship just want to relax, go to my cabin once open and hang my dressy clothes, put my packing cubes & toiletries away, read my CAS mail & invites, then explore the ship. 

I try to avoid long lines and folks already complaining about something the minute they board!

 

I agree. We are a group of 16 on the Christmas sailing of Allure. We want to see some shows together. Waiting until we are on board will make this very difficult if nit impossible.

[little britain]

I have absolutely no issues with booking shows when on board. Gives you something to do whilst waiting for the cabins to be ready. 

[little britain]

11 minutes ago, Tricia28 said:

I agree. We are a group of 16 on the Christmas sailing of Allure. We want to see some shows together. Waiting until we are on board will make this very difficult if nit impossible.

Why? You add their name and details when booking the first show and then they are there when booking subsequent shows. Simples. 

[Chiliburn]

On 9/28/2022 at 7:31 AM, Ourusualbeach said:

As we continue to shape the future of cruising, a few experiences may look a bit different to some of your clients. With this, we will no longer be accepting pre-bookings for onboard entertainment. All guests who would like to attend our entertainment onboard must book these at the Box Office or on the App once onboard.

What about activities Ken?

People here are wondering why they can’t book activities on Ovation yet.

[Ourusualbeach]

2 minutes ago, Chiliburn said:

What about activities Ken?

People here are wondering why they can’t book activities on Ovation yet.

They did not specifically mention that and I am n ot sure how that worked before Covid but I thought the free activities always had to be booked on board.

[gc]

18 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

They did not specifically mention that and I am n ot sure how that worked before Covid but I thought the free activities always had to be booked on board.

Prior to COVID North Star and I Fly which were 1 time anytime complimentary had to be reserved.( On board) All the other sporting activities did not require an booking reservation.   

Edited September 30, 2022 by gc

[Chiliburn]

20 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

They did not specifically mention that and I am n ot sure how that worked before Covid but I thought the free activities always had to be booked on board.

We could book IFly,Northstar and flowrider but doesn’t seem the case now.

The only show to book was on Ovation,that was Pixals  in 270.
They might be going to upcharge,Carnival charge for everything here in Oz.

 

[Ourusualbeach]

4 minutes ago, Chiliburn said:

We could book IFly,Northstar and flowrider but doesn’t seem the case now.

The only show to book was on Ovation,that was Pixals  in 270.
They might be going to upcharge,Carnival charge for everything here in Oz.

 

Sorry, not very familiar with Australian bookings

[gc]

25 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

They did not specifically mention that and I am n ot sure how that worked before Covid but I thought the free activities always had to be booked on board.

Sorry Ken for not explaining this well!

In the past you could book I Fly and NorthStar from your booking profile usually 30 days before sailing but this started to change after 2018...most of the time you had to wait until you boarded the ship  

[BlairsvilleCruiseGirl]

On 9/30/2022 at 9:30 AM, little britain said:

Why? You add their name and details when booking the first show and then they are there when booking subsequent shows. Simples. 

We're a party of 8 in 4 cabins.  When we get onboard, can just 1 person book all 8 of us in the App for the shows or does each cabin have to book individually?  And if 1 can book all, what info would they need?  Full names and all 4 cabin numbers or booking numbers or ?   Thanks!

[Donsyb]

Can you please post a link to this announcement? Someone on my roll call called RC and was told we’ll be able to book 48 hours before boarding! So I want to refer them to this.