Carnival Cruiser tries Princess - Comparisons

[DallasGuy75219]

14 minutes ago, cruisinqt said:

They just need to let go of the playlist productions. 

That would require them to pay for more than a cast of 8 and hire people with actual talent. 

 

Unless they can find a way to monetize production shows, they'll continue to cut entertainment to the bone and recycle the same tired shows just like anything other function that's a cost center and not a profit center. 

[BlerkOne]

1 hour ago, cruisinqt said:

 They just need to let go of the playlist productions. 

Why? People still attend. Not everyone is a critic.

[staceyglow]

19 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

Why? People still attend. Not everyone is a critic.

I am a Carnival fan and I think they stink.  By far the weakest entertainment that Carnival provides.

 

And as far as "people still attend", every Playlist Production show I have attended in the past couple of years have been at the most half full.  I would rather they put the comedians in the main theater.  Their shows in the comedy club are often standing room only.

[BlerkOne]

22 minutes ago, staceyglow said:

I am a Carnival fan and I think they stink.  By far the weakest entertainment that Carnival provides.

 

And as far as "people still attend", every Playlist Production show I have attended in the past couple of years have been at the most half full.  I would rather they put the comedians in the main theater.  Their shows in the comedy club are often standing room only.

Put a comedian in a half empty venue and it will impact their performance. They are best in an intimate venue.

 

Neither one directly generates revenue for Carnival.

[cruisinqt]

4 hours ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

That would require them to pay for more than a cast of 8 and hire people with actual talent. 

 

Unless they can find a way to monetize production shows, they'll continue to cut entertainment to the bone and recycle the same tired shows just like anything other function that's a cost center and not a profit center. 

The Mardi Gras had an amazing illusionist that put on several really good shows throughout the cruise. And the Celebration has a big top circus act with flying acrobats and tents. Neither were cheap productions and are reminiscent of shows they used to put on. I’m hoping that they continue this trend. It was very refreshing. 

[cruisinqt]

3 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

Why? People still attend. Not everyone is a critic.

People that never saw the big production shows with live bands have no idea how it used to be so I imagine they’re ok with it because they haven’t been around long enough to compare or know what they’re missing out on. But I know they’d love the shows even more if it was produced the way it used to be. I loved the variety they used to have too like the illusionists, ventriloquists, and other unique shows. Playlist Productions would be ok if it was just on one or two nights on a cruise then some other unique shows on the other nights. But with it being every night it gets repetitive. I used to never miss the main show in the evening. Now I only go if I hear it’s really good. 

[cruisinqt]

3 hours ago, staceyglow said:

I am a Carnival fan and I think they stink.  By far the weakest entertainment that Carnival provides.

 

And as far as "people still attend", every Playlist Production show I have attended in the past couple of years have been at the most half full.  I would rather they put the comedians in the main theater.  Their shows in the comedy club are often standing room only.

Exactly. I think the people that attend are new cruisers that have no idea what it’s like and want to check it out. I miss the live bands and unique shows with ventriloquists, illusionists, etc. It was exciting having something different every night. Now it’s the same thing every night, a musical with lots of pre recorded background music with the same people singing and dancing. The only difference is that they change costumes and sing different songs each night. I like singing and dancing just as much as the next person. But watching people sing and dance to pre recorded music every night gets a bit old. 

[DallasGuy75219]

2 hours ago, cruisinqt said:

The Mardi Gras had an amazing illusionist that put on several really good shows throughout the cruise. And the Celebration has a big top circus act with flying acrobats and tents. Neither were cheap productions and are reminiscent of shows they used to put on. I’m hoping that they continue this trend. It was very refreshing. 

I'm booked on Mardi Gras in September and am hoping for something other than the same tired Playlist shows Carnival has been recycling for the last 10 years.  Yes I could watch 80s Pop to the Max on every cruise, but watching someone get made over with a bolt of lame fabric in Divas gets old.  

 

However Carnival apoears to have no plans to innovate entertainment on the remaining 90%+ of the fleet, so I'll let them continue filling those ships at rock-bottom prices for a uncompetitive product that is at best mediocre compared to its competitors.

[DallasGuy75219]

2 hours ago, cruisinqt said:

Exactly. I think the people that attend are new cruisers that have no idea what it’s like and want to check it out. I miss the live bands and unique shows with ventriloquists, illusionists, etc. 

Remember when every ship had a live band that played for the production shows, and dedicated singers and dancers who could actually sing and dance?  Now the shows are to prerecorded music and feature a smaller cast of singers/dancers, most of whom sing and dance but can't do both well.  Especially the pitchy and screeching lead female "vocalists" who are better cast in a 1990s Britney buggle gum music production. 

[cruisinqt]

9 hours ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

Remember when every ship had a live band that played for the production shows, and dedicated singers and dancers who could actually sing and dance?  Now the shows are to prerecorded music and feature a smaller cast of singers/dancers, most of whom sing and dance but can't do both well.  Especially the pitchy and screeching lead female "vocalists" who are better cast in a 1990s Britney buggle gum music production. 

I loved those live bands, they rocked! There was so much more variety back then too. Now it’s just musicals every night and they all seem similar. I definitely miss the old days. 

[BlerkOne]

11 hours ago, cruisinqt said:

People that never saw the big production shows with live bands have no idea how it used to be so I imagine they’re ok with it because they haven’t been around long enough to compare or know what they’re missing out on. But I know they’d love the shows even more if it was produced the way it used to be. I loved the variety they used to have too like the illusionists, ventriloquists, and other unique shows. Playlist Productions would be ok if it was just on one or two nights on a cruise then some other unique shows on the other nights. But with it being every night it gets repetitive. I used to never miss the main show in the evening. Now I only go if I hear it’s really good. 

People can say much the same about every cruise line. The good old days were better.

 

You can't live in the past - or afford to.

[cruisinqt]

6 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

People can say much the same about every cruise line. The good old days were better.

 

You can't live in the past - or afford to.

I don’t believe “the good old days were better.” There’s lots of great improvements on these newer ships that I like better than the past. I love all of the specialty dining restaurants, the soda fountains on the Excel class, the Deal or No Deal show, the Family Feud, the microbreweries, the thermal suites in the spa, etc. But when it comes to Playlist Productions and the main evening shows, Carnivals changes weren’t an improvement in my (and many others) opinion. I voice these opinions, not to complain or be a downer, but to bring it to the attention of Carnival as it’s a well known fact that they have people that read these boards. They monitor these boards to keep tabs on what is a big hit and what was a miss. When there was a huge backlash on these boards about not being able to order bottles of alcohol online before your cruise, Carnival swiftly changed that rule. I know it’s not all 100% to do with these boards but I know we have a big impact here. That’s why I will always voice my opinion about Playlist Productions. But at the same time I praise Carnival for what they’re doing right too. I want them to keep these great changes and improvements they’ve made. But I’d also love to have some of those great changes to be directed to the evening shows in the main lounge. 

[BlerkOne]

8 minutes ago, cruisinqt said:

I don’t believe “the good old days were better.” There’s lots of great improvements on these newer ships that I like better than the past. I love all of the specialty dining restaurants, the soda fountains on the Excel class, the Deal or No Deal show, the Family Feud, the microbreweries, the thermal suites in the spa, etc. But when it comes to Playlist Productions and the main evening shows, Carnivals changes weren’t an improvement in my (and many others) opinion. I voice these opinions, not to complain or be a downer, but to bring it to the attention of Carnival as it’s a well known fact that they have people that read these boards. They monitor these boards to keep tabs on what is a big hit and what was a miss. When there was a huge backlash on these boards about not being able to order bottles of alcohol online before your cruise, Carnival swiftly changed that rule. I know it’s not all 100% to do with these boards but I know we have a big impact here. That’s why I will always voice my opinion about Playlist Productions. But at the same time I praise Carnival for what they’re doing right too. I want them to keep these great changes and improvements they’ve made. But I’d also love to have some of those great changes to be directed to the evening shows in the main lounge. 

Playlist Productions are nothing new. One improvement was that expensive sets no longer had to be built. In the past, shows might live on a ship for years. And at least you don't have to make reservations like some cruise lines. On the Excel ships they are no longer the primary entertainment, but an alternative. But to be fair, some Playlist shows are excellent - for example, Celestial Strings, and the main lounge is shared with variety entertainment.

 

As CC is at best a small percentage of cruisers, and complainers are much more vocal than satisfied cruisers, I wouldn't read too much into CCs influence on Carnival decisions.

 

Carnival knows they can't please everyone, but they do have something for everyone.

[cruisinqt]

Just to clarify:

Playlist Productions may be  “nothing new” to some cruisers, but to us seasoned long time cruisers we remember when it was brought onboard to replace a very popular well liked production show with live bands. So we will always compare the original entertainment on Carnival to the “new” Playlist Productions regardless of how long it has been in operation. 
 

As to cruise critics influence on Carnival, John Heald as well as current and former Carnival employees have confirmed that Carnival IS influenced by these boards. They monitor these boards to: a) See how cruisers are responding to certain changes recently instituted, b) Make changes in areas that cruisers say need improvement, c) Get ideas on what cruisers would like to see added on to newer ships. They monitor these boards (and others similar to it) for the same reason they send out surveys after cruises. They want to make our cruise a better experience but they need our input to do that. Do these boards have a huge influence? Probably not. It’s more likely just a slight influence at best. But we still might have an impact on their future decisions even if it’s just a tiny bit of influence. So I’ll always voice my opinions on what I feel is a great idea or one that was bad and needs to go. 

[BlerkOne]

27 minutes ago, cruisinqt said:

 

 

As to cruise critics influence on Carnival, John Heald as well as current and former Carnival employees have confirmed that Carnival IS influenced by these boards. They monitor these boards to: a) See how cruisers are responding to certain changes recently instituted, b) Make changes in areas that cruisers say need improvement, c) Get ideas on what cruisers would like to see added on to newer ships. They monitor these boards (and others similar to it) for the same reason they send out surveys after cruises. They want to make our cruise a better experience but they need our input to do that. Do these boards have a huge influence? Probably not. It’s more likely just a slight influence at best. But we still might have an impact on their future decisions even if it’s just a tiny bit of influence. So I’ll always voice my opinions on what I feel is a great idea or one that was bad and needs to go. 

Cheap marketing research is a primary reason for John Heald being on FB, Instagram, etc. Carnival does email surveys of various kinds to verified Carnival cruisers vs anonymous internet posters.

 

No doubt Carnival does notice internet chatter, but they receive their funding from Corporate who is interested in ROI.

[KmomChicago]

On 1/1/2023 at 2:37 AM, DallasGuy75219 said:

I'm booked on Mardi Gras in September and am hoping for something other than the same tired Playlist shows Carnival has been recycling for the last 10 years.  Yes I could watch 80s Pop to the Max on every cruise, but watching someone get made over with a bolt of lame fabric in Divas gets old.  

 

However Carnival apoears to have no plans to innovate entertainment on the remaining 90%+ of the fleet, so I'll let them continue filling those ships at rock-bottom prices for a uncompetitive product that is at best mediocre compared to its competitors.

 

We also were getting disappointed with Playlist - having sailed Triumph when they were one of the last Carnival ships with the live orchestra and more elaborate production shows, the smaller cast and recorded music just didn't compare.  I felt on Mardi Gras in 2021 that the performers were competent but the costumes and backdrops and the shows themselves were dull and flat. 

 

However, on our three most recent Carnival cruises, I did see improvement. They have added some live musicians - i.e. like a guitarist and a drummer, not a full orchestra, but it did add to the show - and some interesting little lighted drones, along with more creativity overall in the themes of what they were providing.   On the other hand, I am pretty much done with the Punchliner.  I'm finding the material just not very funny / maybe I am an old grump and just don't get the jokes. 🙂

[Pellaz]

On 12/31/2022 at 8:25 PM, DallasGuy75219 said:

That would require them to pay for more than a cast of 8 and hire people with actual talent. 

 

Careful you don't get cut on that edge.... 

 

Maybe I'm an outlier, maybe I've been spoiled - and my hearing ruined -- by loud rock and metal concerts, but I've found the singers/dancers in the shows to be at least competent, and sometimes downright great.   

 

I DO remember a guitar soloist on one of our cruises 6+ years ago who was TERRIBLE, but that wasn't a Playlist thing.  When my sister and I walked onto the central Lido area, we thought we were hearing bad karaoke until we realized the perpetrator was actually being PAID.  😄