Showing up late to the party, and booking entertainment after boarding

[zzdoug]

Hey gang. We're not really into the rat race and since we have not been to Miami in many years, we had planned to take a leisurely morning to enjoy brunch and some sunshine and possibly visit a friend who lives there, and then get to the port in the early afternoon to board.  In the past, we had shown up early and ended up stuck in a waiting room for a while, whereas we seem to be able to walk right onboard when we show up later.  

 

If we board around 1 or 2pm, meaning we are some of the last people to board, what are the chances the non-production shows that are not available to be booked online will still have reservations available?  I'm talking about the clubs: Comedy, Supper, etc.  We are flexible with showtimes but would probably prefer the later shows for grownups.

 

For reference this is the Escape April 30 sailing from Miami, in Steerage.

 

Cheers!

 

Edited April 13, 2023 by zzdoug

[Seas2mountains]

I’m not sure if the comedy show or supper club reservations will still be available when you board at 1pm or 2pm, but I know we have been successful at getting into many comedy shows on standby.  If you want to see Choir of Man, you can book it online at 21 days or earlier depending on your Latitudes level. 
 

I do have one request, will you please post the dailies and any other info you can share? We will be getting on the Escape three weeks after you disembark. Thank you! 

[zzdoug]

2 hours ago, Seas2mountains said:

I’m not sure if the comedy show or supper club reservations will still be available when you board at 1pm or 2pm, but I know we have been successful at getting into many comedy shows on standby.  If you want to see Choir of Man, you can book it online at 21 days or earlier depending on your Latitudes level. 
 

I do have one request, will you please post the dailies and any other info you can share? We will be getting on the Escape three weeks after you disembark. Thank you! 

Thanks.  My phone is not great for documents but I'll try.  We apparently have an oddball one-off itinerary that stops in Puerto Rico instead of the BVI.  Meanwhile, if you haven't seen it @hallux posted some crystal-clear dailies from a recent cruise here.

[hallux]

@zzdoug grabbing the dailies is easy, if the app is working.  Once you open the PDF from the app, choose to save it.  Mission accomplished!  Once I saved it I re-named them as they would all have been the same name.  Maybe it's easier on my Android phone?  I don't know...

[zzdoug]

Are there any veteran cruisers that know the answer to my question???  Please?

[Vagabond Knight]

We usually cruise on Celebrity, but are considering trying Norwegian.  Are you saying that you need to make reservations to attend the shows on Norwegian???

[hallux]

12 minutes ago, Vagabond Knight said:

We usually cruise on Celebrity, but are considering trying Norwegian.  Are you saying that you need to make reservations to attend the shows on Norwegian???

On the larger ships (Breakaway and Breakaway+ classes), yes.  900-seat theater, 4,000+ guests, only 4 shows.  You do the math.  Now, not everyone wants to see the theater shows, but they're assuming they will.  It really doesn't matter A LOT, there are usually some empty seats anyway, even after standby gets in.

 

Comedy shows in the comedy club or Headliners, which seats maybe 200 people (depending on the ship), would need reservations, but even then they still have room for some standby.  In fact - the only show on my last cruise that really SHOULD have had reservations didn't offer them!!

Edited April 14, 2023 by hallux

[Oceansaway17]

On 4/12/2023 at 8:35 PM, zzdoug said:

Hey gang. We're not really into the rat race and since we have not been to Miami in many years, we had planned to take a leisurely morning to enjoy brunch and some sunshine and possibly visit a friend who lives there, and then get to the port in the early afternoon to board.  In the past, we had shown up early and ended up stuck in a waiting room for a while, whereas we seem to be able to walk right onboard when we show up later.  

 

If we board around 1 or 2pm, meaning we are some of the last people to board, what are the chances the non-production shows that are not available to be booked online will still have reservations available?  I'm talking about the clubs: Comedy, Supper, etc.  We are flexible with showtimes but would probably prefer the later shows for grownups.

 

on most cruise lines it is the comedy clubs that book up the most.

Then again, sometimes they do shows in the big theaters as well.  Standby for big shows usually works and one can usually find a few seats in balcony after the show starts.

 

Then again I see folks leaving about 15 minutes into a show, so look for those seats as well.

[HappyTvlr]

16 hours ago, Vagabond Knight said:

We usually cruise on Celebrity, but are considering trying Norwegian.  Are you saying that you need to make reservations to attend the shows on Norwegian???

Really appreciate your question because I have been wondering the same thing.  I've only been on Celebrity, but I recently booked my first NCL cruise because I found a great deal.  We always went to the shows on Celebrity with no issues getting seats.  I'm on the Getaway in May and will post a review and include the show experience.

[Seekup]

We're in the same boat! Booked last week for the April 30 Escape sailing and nothing is available to pre-book online besides Choir of Man (specialty restaurants and theater shows).

Wondering if we should make a mad dash for reservations?

[cruisekitty22]

Choir of Man still have seats available for all shows and can be booked on line.  I dont know about the other shows on board. We want to see a magic show if they have one.  Anyone know? This is for the Escape April 30.

[hallux]

@cruisekitty22 when I was on Escape a month ago the 'magic' show was more of a comedy performance.

[DrUrsula]

On 4/13/2023 at 7:50 PM, zzdoug said:

Are there any veteran cruisers that know the answer to my question???  Please?

It CAN'T be answered with accuracy because it depends on how many people get to the reservation area before you who want the same shows. 

 

Miami can be quite chaotic - when we boarded Bliss in February I thought some brawls were going to break out in the terminal. We were in the first group after Haven and wheelchairs and booked everything we wanted. It got quite busy by 11:30 am .

 

You have to decide if leisure in the morning is worth more to you than a seat at the comedy show. 

 

 

 

[DrUrsula]

On 4/15/2023 at 7:52 PM, Seekup said:

We're in the same boat! Booked last week for the April 30 Escape sailing and nothing is available to pre-book online besides Choir of Man (specialty restaurants and theater shows).

Wondering if we should make a mad dash for reservations?

Yes.

[zzdoug]

42 minutes ago, DrUrsula said:

It CAN'T be answered with accuracy because it depends on how many people get to the reservation area before you who want the same shows. 

 

Miami can be quite chaotic - when we boarded Bliss in February I thought some brawls were going to break out in the terminal. We were in the first group after Haven and wheelchairs and booked everything we wanted. It got quite busy by 11:30 am .

 

You have to decide if leisure in the morning is worth more to you than a seat at the comedy show. 

 

 

 

Thanks, that is useful information. I understand that nobody knows for sure; was just looking for some anecdotes from some folks who have experience boarding cruises at the port of Miami. 

 

Brawls!?!? Yikes.