How Often do the shows / entertainment change?

[cjdcmf32]

We just returned from the Magic after a cruise over Thanksgiving. The entertainment was top notch and we loved the shows and music. My question is - I'm looking at a cruise now over July 4 and trying to decide between an 8 day on the Magic again or a 6 day on the Horizon. I'm leaning toward the Magic, but will all the entertainment we exactly the same? We really enjoy music, so we hit several small shows and the big shows too. How would you lean between the two ships? 

Thanks.

[mz-s]

The comedians/cruise director/piano player/guitarist etc will change. The Playlist production shows in the main lounge may be the same.

 

In the past they only changed the Playlist shows out during drydocks, but now that they're basically just screensavers they can be changed out more often.

 

Given the choice I'd always go on a longer cruise vs a shorter one 🙂 sure the playlist shows may or may not be the same but there's plenty more to do onboard during the showtimes, assuming you don't want to see them again.

 

Often for longer cruises like  8 day, Carnival will bring on a variety show as well - a one man band, ventriloquist, etc, for one or more nights of entertainment since there are only so many different Playlist Production shows the dancers onboard can perform.

[five.]

We had a behind the fun tour last week and our guide was one of the singers / dancers. She is on Horizon and has been with Carnival for 8 years. She said that many of the shows are still going from when she started and two of them (one was Celestial Strings) were created for Horizon when it was built and is still going. She explained that there is a stateside stage where all the singers / dancers are trained and it's a duplicate set to the ships and that is the main reason there is not more variety or changes to the shows. And most of this information was given in response to someone asking the question, "when can we expect new shows?" I wish I could remember more detail about her answer, I know she went into a bit more detail about what shows are on what ships, but I can't remember.

 

I remember one detail from the explanation is that all of the training is done stateside and you are expected to hit the ground running when you get to the ship.

[jam19872016]

I sailed the Magic for the first time in 2018.

 

The shows are the same this week they were back then.

 

That is just for the theater, the other entertainment will vary and I agree, longer is always better go for the eight day unless the theater shows are very important to you.

[nybumpkin]

We first saw Playlist shows in 2014; to be honest, I didn't care much for them. However, one of the "backstage" shows explained that Playlist was much cheaper to produce and easier to change. (I assume it's even cheaper not to change them often.😉) The live-action shows they produced "back in the old days" were much harder to change. And over the years, I've really enjoyed some Playlist shows; my favorite has to be "Celestial Strings."

[DukeASUGirl]

3 hours ago, mz-s said:

In the past they only changed the Playlist shows out during drydocks, but now that they're basically just screensavers they can be changed out more often.

 

What do you mean by "basically just screensavers"?

[dlphn501]

I was on 3 cruises in 9 months in 2019/2020, and the Playlist Productions were all the same.  By the time we got to cruise #3, we didn't even watch the Welcome Aboard Show.  We are cruising on Horizon in March, and I expect all the Playlist shows to be the same as we saw in June of this year on Elation lol.  However, the comedians do change fairly regularly, as well as the piano bar host.  As others have already said, when given a choice, always a longer cruise.

Have a great time!!

[Butterbean1000]

We've seen the show Flick twice on two different cruises.  The last time we cruised was in 2019 before the lock down.  I see they are still showing Flick on current cruises.  Time for a change.

[mz-s]

15 hours ago, DukeASUGirl said:

 

What do you mean by "basically just screensavers"?

 

The shows are now basically karaoke in front of a big screen playing a screensaver. There are very few props or set pieces that would be difficult to change out if they wanted to change out shows outside of a drydock.

 

 

13 hours ago, Butterbean1000 said:

We've seen the show Flick twice on two different cruises.  The last time we cruised was in 2019 before the lock down.  I see they are still showing Flick on current cruises.  Time for a change.

 

Yes and they're still doing the "premiere" schtick before the show in the atrium too  😆

[ABQrobin]

The Playlist Performers are a group that sticks together thru a contract on a ship, doing the 4 shows they have been trained to do.  There are a lot of different shows, on different ships, but if you do the same ship over and over you might be seeing the same group of people do the same shows.  That's how it works out.  Yes, in 15 Carnival cruises on many different ships large and small, we have seen some of the same shows multiple times, some we like and some we LOVE.  We'll be on the Jubilee coming up soon so we'll have all new shows.  

 

[Elaine5715]

They change ship home ports instead of changing shows

[groundloop]

We've been on 20 cruises with Carnival and it's been several years since we've seen a show that was new to us.

 

I have talked to a couple of different cruse directors and performers about the shows, so far there's no indication that Carnival will be changing out any of them.  Now we rarely go to the shows unless we're cruising with newbies.  I really really really wish they'd come up with some new ones. 

 

This is one of the reasons I'm booking future cruises on other lines.  (John Heald, are you listening?)

[mz-s]

As we see with Excel class, Carnival cut too deep with the Playlist productions and regrets it because RCCL in particular is eating their lunch with their live entertainment these days.

[DukeASUGirl]

On 12/8/2023 at 5:42 AM, mz-s said:

 

The shows are now basically karaoke in front of a big screen playing a screensaver. There are very few props or set pieces that would be difficult to change out if they wanted to change out shows outside of a drydock.

 

 

Oh, okay. Got it. I thought you meant that there were no more live performers, and I was like "Oh man, I knew it had been a while since I've cruised Carnival, but seriously?!"

[staceyglow]

22 minutes ago, DukeASUGirl said:

 

Oh, okay. Got it. I thought you meant that there were no more live performers, and I was like "Oh man, I knew it had been a while since I've cruised Carnival, but seriously?!"

mz-s is a big fan of using hyperbole.

[FlaTransplant]

On 12/9/2023 at 5:23 AM, groundloop said:

We've been on 20 cruises with Carnival and it's been several years since we've seen a show that was new to us.

 

 

Your 20 cruises with Carnival, are they all on the same ship?

 

I have sailed on Carnival a bit.  Different ships, more so on the newer ships have different shows, focused around the ship and theme.  The bigger ships also have more than one stage where shows are put in.  They need that to accommodate the larger number of passengers on board.

 

Mardi Gras has the best shows in my opinion.  In particular the Voodoo show.  Taken the ship 5 times and have seen different quality performers each time.  

The Celebration shows were good, but not as good.  Only took that ship once, and the performers seemed rather green (aka not that good).  

 

Cruised Vista when it was first launched (2016) out of Barcelona.  The shows were awesome.  Cruised Vista in November of 2023 out of Port Canaveral, shows were not good.  Seemed a lot of staff were at the end of the tour or just starting it, perhaps the performers were doing the same.  I will get another chance in October.  

 

The bulk of my cruises have been on the Paradise.  4 Day cruises out of Tampa are ideal for me.  A day and a half off from work is a nice little escape from the grind.  Been on the ship 10 times and the shows have been the same for years.  I haven't taken the ship since it got out of drydock this past fall.  I hope the shows have been refreshed, but not counting on it.  I will find out in a few weeks when back on board.  

 

My wife and I still go to the shows.  There are always a singer or two that shines brightly, but often some of the performers are not so good and has us laughing.  We make jokes among ourselves, but acknowledge it is hard work.  However, there is one show that we have seen on multiple ships where the performers all sit in a line of barstools.  There is no dancing or movement, just singing.  We find that kind of show boring and skip it.

 

There are lots of other things to do on the ship besides the production shows.  The comedians are often pretty good, although very crowded.  The bigger ships have comedians at two locations at the same time, and that helps thin the crowds out a little.  

I particularly like the outdoor theater on some of the boats.  Vista has a great option.  You can sit up by the water works.  More comfortable chairs up there.  Shame they are no longer giving away free popcorn.  They are charging for it because people were taking it and making a mess with it (throwing it around).  I guess if you are paying 3 bucks for a small bag of popcorn, you might use it as intended.  

 

The class of people cruising has changed in the past few decades and not necessarily for the better.  There are so many rude and obnoxious people on board.  You will find more on shorter cruises, maybe because they are more affordable.  We have seen so many inappropriately dress people at the pools.  Ever see a wildebeest stuffed in a thong?  That is an entirely different kind of show.  Scary and comedy at the same time.  They should have the Carnival photographers circling and taking picture to pick up at the Portrait Studios.  

 

A different class of people can also make the newlywed show more entering.  The newlyweds on on cruise, married the day before the cruise departed.  He was in his mid 70s, she was in her young 20s.  Their answers were interesting to say the least.  They met at a fine gentlemen's establishment and it was love at first sight.  He fell for her looks, she fell for his wallet.  Those were their comments...  

 

Anyway... I am not going to stop cruising on Carnival.  I am plenty entertained, plenty to see on board.

 

____________________

I have sailed 28 Carnival cruises, have 5 booked for 2024 and 2 booked for 2025.  I swear l will reach diamond before I die.  But I anticipate Carnival will come up with a new status level the cruise before I can reach it.

[notscb]

On 12/9/2023 at 9:09 AM, mz-s said:

As we see with Excel class, Carnival cut too deep with the Playlist productions

 

Can you expand on this? From what I've read around these boards, people seem to enjoy the shows

on the excel ships- especially given that they involve aerial stunts. My impression was that people didn't like the venue (Grand Central).

 

RCL is definitely doing better with their productions- they still have live accompaniment.

[80sGal]

Here is a fairly recent link to which shows are on which ship, courtesy of Saint Greg.   

 

https://www.saintgregtravel.com/playlist-productions/

[mz-s]

30 minutes ago, notscb said:

 

Can you expand on this? From what I've read around these boards, people seem to enjoy the shows

on the excel ships- especially given that they involve aerial stunts. My impression was that people didn't like the venue (Grand Central).

 

RCL is definitely doing better with their productions- they still have live accompaniment.

 

What I mean is the Excel class is an admission that Carnival cut too deep with the Playlist shows on their other ships. Watching karaoke in front of a screensaver isn't entertainment. They added better entertainment with the newest class of ships to better compete against RCL in particular.

[Elaine5715]

37 minutes ago, notscb said:

 

Can you expand on this? From what I've read around these boards, people seem to enjoy the shows

on the excel ships- especially given that they involve aerial stunts. My impression was that people didn't like the venue (Grand Central).

 

RCL is definitely doing better with their productions- they still have live accompaniment.

Just because there is standing room only at shows, doesn't mean people like them apparently 

[VentureMan_2000]

... deleted

Edited February 7 by VentureMan_2000

[JimmyTheSaint]

On 12/7/2023 at 6:00 PM, cjdcmf32 said:

We just returned from the Magic after a cruise over Thanksgiving. The entertainment was top notch and we loved the shows and music. My question is - I'm looking at a cruise now over July 4 and trying to decide between an 8 day on the Magic again or a 6 day on the Horizon. I'm leaning toward the Magic, but will all the entertainment we exactly the same? We really enjoy music, so we hit several small shows and the big shows too. How would you lean between the two ships? 

Thanks.

Based on how you cruise I would lean towards Magic. We enjoy going to the theatre for the shows and having sailed on the Vista and her sister ships they have the worst designed theatre we've ever sat in. It's not a traditional layout, it's small, bad sight lines throughout, no terraced seating, terrible.