Theater Shows

[rmalbers]

11 minutes ago, benjaminnicholas said:

 

Weather permitting and water permitting.

 

So, just because you had it work out doesn't mean everyone else will.

 

I was just on Polaris, so I'm well-aware.

I don't understand, well-aware of what?  I'm guessing the weather was to bad to use stuff or something?  Oh, are you talking about the sub restriction in US waters?

[Squawkman]

1 hour ago, benjaminnicholas said:

Viking's target market is dying every single day.  

 

Trust me that changes are coming now that the company has shareholders.

Disagree. Viking’s age demographic is expanding. While the older folks stop cruising, younger folks become older and replace them. I don’t see the public part of their funding dictating any major changes in entertainment.

[CDNPolar]

10 hours ago, Squawkman said:

Disagree. Viking’s age demographic is expanding. While the older folks stop cruising, younger folks become older and replace them. I don’t see the public part of their funding dictating any major changes in entertainment.

 

I made this statement (some time back) - that Viking's demographic is aging and with that Viking is losing them....  and many people came back and said that NO, as the next generation down is aging, they are replacing them.

 

Below is a chart of age ranges in the USA - source Google.

 

What my philosophy is, is that yes there are people behind the Silent Generation and Boomers that are replacing "us", BUT they grew up in a different era and want different things.

 

I personally believe that IPO or not, Viking does need to grow with the times because the up and coming retirees that can afford Viking in cost and time will want different things than Viking's current demographic.

 

This is not just about age in my opinion.

 

For those of us still working today, look at the gaps in the office environment between the different age groups and their wants and needs.  The younger workers have very different wants and needs from the Silents and the Boomers.

 

Heck, even the current demographic of Viking is evolving.  In 2017 when we first went on a Viking cruise, we would see so many iPads for picture taking and fewer (not none, but fewer) smartphones.  Today, smartphones everywhere.

 

Technology is reshaping the Silents and the Boomers now and what the generations behind us want is not what we wanted.  IMO.

 

 

Edited May 12 by CDNPolar

[benjaminnicholas]

On 5/12/2024 at 5:04 AM, CDNPolar said:

 

I made this statement (some time back) - that Viking's demographic is aging and with that Viking is losing them....  and many people came back and said that NO, as the next generation down is aging, they are replacing them.

 

Below is a chart of age ranges in the USA - source Google.

 

What my philosophy is, is that yes there are people behind the Silent Generation and Boomers that are replacing "us", BUT they grew up in a different era and want different things.

 

I personally believe that IPO or not, Viking does need to grow with the times because the up and coming retirees that can afford Viking in cost and time will want different things than Viking's current demographic.

 

This is not just about age in my opinion.

 

For those of us still working today, look at the gaps in the office environment between the different age groups and their wants and needs.  The younger workers have very different wants and needs from the Silents and the Boomers.

 

Heck, even the current demographic of Viking is evolving.  In 2017 when we first went on a Viking cruise, we would see so many iPads for picture taking and fewer (not none, but fewer) smartphones.  Today, smartphones everywhere.

 

Technology is reshaping the Silents and the Boomers now and what the generations behind us want is not what we wanted.  IMO.

 

 

 

When you run the numbers and have an understanding of how business has always worked, you can see that Viking can't keep doing the same thing over and over, expecting record profits.

 

The demographic will always evolve.  This means that they will listen to their younger monied cruiser who could conceivably be a client for decades, not just a few more years.

 

I'm only 40 and have been doing Viking since I was 23.  I'm aware of the brand, the ships and how they do things.  I enjoy it, but also cruise with a wide variety of other lines.  Viking could learn a few small things from other near-luxury lines.

 

And they will.  And shareholders will make sure of that.

[Mike07]

29 minutes ago, benjaminnicholas said:

The demographic will always evolve.  This means that they will listen to their younger monied cruiser who could conceivably be a client for decades, not just a few more years.

 

I'm only 40 and have been doing Viking since I was 23.  I'm aware of the brand, the ships and how they do things.  I enjoy it, but also cruise with a wide variety of other lines.  Viking could learn a few small things from other near-luxury lines.

 

And they will.  And shareholders will make sure of that.

 

You are not alone, my friend.

 

I haven't been with Viking as long as you have, but I am generally surprised cruise lines don't tend to bend over backwards for the "younger" clientele --- obviously I'm not speaking of teens. But, I don't think Viking, or any cruise line management for that matter, thinks that far ahead about building a potential client list and business relationship that goes for 40-50 years.

 

This is nothing against TH, but he doesn't have 40 years left. His daughter, she's going to be up there or not around in 40 years as well. You and me? We'd be maybe slightly above average or median Viking traveler in 40 years.

 

A lot of the good people in car sales at the better brands like Cadillac, Lexus, Mercedes, BMW, etc... (with dealerships that have decent pay scales), talk about how the first couple of years are hard, but once you get the client list going, repeat customers know and like working with you and some of these relationships go on for 20-30+ years. Then, it's easy to maintain that list and move sales. Hours become much better, and you don't have to hustle for new business.

Edited May 13 by Mike07

[rmalbers]

I think you can just go by when all the cruise lines stop having Beetles actors on stage, that will finally show things are changing.  As far as replacement cruisers, I think with a bubble of people hitting RMD's in the US, that will continue to supply people who cruise.  Having said that, so much capacity is being added that it will be interesting to see what really happens. 

[CDNPolar]

I can certainly see how Viking could be a "snooze fest" for many younger folks.

 

Our friend brought their 18 year old granddaughter on Viking Ocean and you could see how bored she was.  There was nothing for her at all.

 

I agree that Viking needs to change. We are ok with the way it is now, but we are on the edge of looking for variety in our cruise experiences.  I just don't think that we will ever choose to sail on a ship with 3000+ people.

[KBs mum]

1 hour ago, CDNPolar said:

I can certainly see how Viking could be a "snooze fest" for many younger folks.

 

Our friend brought their 18 year old granddaughter on Viking Ocean and you could see how bored she was.  There was nothing for her at all.

 

I agree that Viking needs to change. We are ok with the way it is now, but we are on the edge of looking for variety in our cruise experiences.  I just don't think that we will ever choose to sail on a ship with 3000+ people.

Who cares what is on in the theatre. We can listen to our choice of music by original artists anytime by downloading things. 

We only go in the theatre once per cruise, for the lifeboat drill. It might as well not be there as far as we are concerned. 

Our problem is the live music in the lounges that is too loud and long lasting too be ignored

[CDNPolar]

15 minutes ago, KBs mum said:

Who cares what is on in the theatre. We can listen to our choice of music by original artists anytime by downloading things. 

We only go in the theatre once per cruise, for the lifeboat drill. It might as well not be there as far as we are concerned. 

Our problem is the live music in the lounges that is too loud and long lasting too be ignored

 

Please don't take offence to this but you have mentioned your distaste for the music in the lounges more than once.  Have you written tellus@vikingcruises.com ??

 

We quite enjoy the music in the lounge areas so not with you on this one.

[KBs mum]

11 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

 

Please don't take offence to this but you have mentioned your distaste for the music in the lounges more than once.  Have you written tellus@vikingcruises.com ??

 

We quite enjoy the music in the lounge areas so not with you on this one.

Yes, the problem is the increase in how long it went on for, the repetitive sets and the volume. So loud that when I spoke to customer services about it I struggled to hear the reply. 

Every evening, same two sets, repeated several times, quality far lower than usual for a professional. What was odd is that it was nearly all show tunes (non classical style ones) rather than classical music) which I usually like.

Couldn't avoid it as there was similar in all the lounges most evenings. 

Sent email got a AI reply, cut and pasted from the website, not relevent to what we had said. We mentioned several things, most complimentary, including a mention of how well we thought the Captain, crew and hotel staff had dealt with being caught in an arctic storm. The AI thing replied with a page of blurb about port cancellations. We didn't bother emailing again. 

 

We've enjoyed the music in the past, but we like to chat with people from  other parts of the world, which the music made very difficult. We can go to concerts or shows anytime, including the village amateur group, who do a show every couple of months and are of a higher standard. 

 

A couple of sets, one early, one late would be better, hopefully suiting everyone

 

 

[CDNPolar]

2 hours ago, KBs mum said:

Yes, the problem is the increase in how long it went on for, the repetitive sets and the volume. So loud that when I spoke to customer services about it I struggled to hear the reply. 

Every evening, same two sets, repeated several times, quality far lower than usual for a professional. What was odd is that it was nearly all show tunes (non classical style ones) rather than classical music) which I usually like.

Couldn't avoid it as there was similar in all the lounges most evenings. 

Sent email got a AI reply, cut and pasted from the website, not relevent to what we had said. We mentioned several things, most complimentary, including a mention of how well we thought the Captain, crew and hotel staff had dealt with being caught in an arctic storm. The AI thing replied with a page of blurb about port cancellations. We didn't bother emailing again. 

 

We've enjoyed the music in the past, but we like to chat with people from  other parts of the world, which the music made very difficult. We can go to concerts or shows anytime, including the village amateur group, who do a show every couple of months and are of a higher standard. 

 

A couple of sets, one early, one late would be better, hopefully suiting everyone

 

 

 

Thank you for this explanation.

 

We have just never experienced the music in the Living Room or the Explorer Lounge to be that loud that it interfered with our conversation with friends.  This seems to me to be not typical.  

 

I could understand this if you were sitting in the Living Room close to the piano at the bottom of the staircase, but if you were sitting further back nearer the shop on the Starboard side, would it still be too loud?

 

I am just sorry to hear this, and we are not sailing again until October, but we will certainly see if perhaps it is common now for the volume to be turned up.

 

As for your response from emailing, this shocks me.

 

Perhaps there is a difference in how the Customer Service is handled in the UK vs. Canada?

 

When I email tellus@vikingcruises.com I can count on a phone call from Viking Customer Service to discuss the issue and usually within 48 hours.  I cannot accept that they are emailing you back with a cut/paste reply.  This is not what I would have expected.  

I cannot say that Viking implement changes from what we have submitted to email in the past, but they have at least graced me with a phone call and the response that my concern has been forwarded to the respective department and will be considered.  

[KBs mum]

1 hour ago, CDNPolar said:

 

Thank you for this explanation.

 

We have just never experienced the music in the Living Room or the Explorer Lounge to be that loud that it interfered with our conversation with friends.  This seems to me to be not typical.  

 

I could understand this if you were sitting in the Living Room close to the piano at the bottom of the staircase, but if you were sitting further back nearer the shop on the Starboard side, would it still be too loud?

 

I am just sorry to hear this, and we are not sailing again until October, but we will certainly see if perhaps it is common now for the volume to be turned up.

 

As for your response from emailing, this shocks me.

 

Perhaps there is a difference in how the Customer Service is handled in the UK vs. Canada?

 

When I email tellus@vikingcruises.com I can count on a phone call from Viking Customer Service to discuss the issue and usually within 48 hours.  I cannot accept that they are emailing you back with a cut/paste reply.  This is not what I would have expected.  

I cannot say that Viking implement changes from what we have submitted to email in the past, but they have at least graced me with a phone call and the response that my concern has been forwarded to the respective department and will be considered.  

Our house sitters phoned one evening, minor crisis, I had to retreat to outside the gym to be able to hear them. 

The UK office has been outsourced, they are a bit hopeless if you go off script with a query. 

It's infuriating, as all they have to do is have an hour or so between sets, and turn the volume down a bit, and everyone will get a bit of quiet or a bit of music, as they prefer

[Hockeyump]

We had a similar issue recently on the Orion. There was an acoustic guitarist/singer in the Explorers Lounge that was loud so people had speak louder! We did raise this and spoke with the cruise director who allegedly had the amplifiers turned down as they are apparently controlled centrally. Didn't seem to make a difference and when the Lounge only had a few people it was not a pleasant experience. We decamped elsewhere if we wanted a drink during her sets.

[CDNPolar]

1 hour ago, Hockeyump said:

We had a similar issue recently on the Orion. There was an acoustic guitarist/singer in the Explorers Lounge that was loud so people had speak louder! We did raise this and spoke with the cruise director who allegedly had the amplifiers turned down as they are apparently controlled centrally. Didn't seem to make a difference and when the Lounge only had a few people it was not a pleasant experience. We decamped elsewhere if we wanted a drink during her sets.

 

This to me seems like a new phenomena. 

[OneSixtyToOne]

45 minutes ago, CDNPolar said:

 

This to me seems like a new phenomena. 

It seems that some Explorers’ Lounge performers think they are headliners instead of background music.

[formernuke]

 

8 hours ago, KBs mum said:

Yes, the problem is the increase in how long it went on for, the repetitive sets and the volume. So loud that when I spoke to customer services about it I struggled to hear the reply. 

Every evening, same two sets, repeated several times, quality far lower than usual for a professional. What was odd is that it was nearly all show tunes (non classical style ones) rather than classical music) which I usually like.

Couldn't avoid it as there was similar in all the lounges most evenings. 

Sent email got a AI reply, cut and pasted from the website, not relevent to what we had said. We mentioned several things, most complimentary, including a mention of how well we thought the Captain, crew and hotel staff had dealt with being caught in an arctic storm. The AI thing replied with a page of blurb about port cancellations. We didn't bother emailing again. 

 

We've enjoyed the music in the past, but we like to chat with people from  other parts of the world, which the music made very difficult. We can go to concerts or shows anytime, including the village amateur group, who do a show every couple of months and are of a higher standard. 

 

A couple of sets, one early, one late would be better, hopefully suiting everyone

 

 

We did not experience any of these issues on the Venus last month (no excessive volumes, repeat sets, lack of classical music, etc. described above). So it does not appear to be a fleet-wide problem.

[duquephart]

The solo guitarist on Jupiter seems to be the same one as two years ago. Does a whiz-bang job on S & G's The Boxer.

[KBs mum]

58 minutes ago, formernuke said:

 

We did not experience any of these issues on the Venus last month (no excessive volumes, repeat sets, lack of classical music, etc. described above). So it does not appear to be a fleet-wide problem.

We encountered the problem on Venus, Viking definately have a problem with consistency. Somebody else mentioned problems on Orion, where shortly before the covid shutdown we had very good musicians playing something for everyone mixed sets, with decent gaps between. Different every day, very enjoyable. 

 

Not ideal, it shouldn't be luck. Maybe they should have music directors rather than cruise directors, or at least hire cruise directors with experience of musical direction 

[Hockeyump]

5 hours ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

It seems that some Explorers’ Lounge performers think they are headliners instead of background music.

Absolutely.

[ddeprez]

On 5/11/2024 at 3:10 AM, FetaCheese said:

Abba and Beatles Shows have been retired.

Just saw the ABBA and Beatles shows last week, lol.

[FetaCheese]

1 hour ago, ddeprez said:

Just saw the ABBA and Beatles shows last week, lol.

I was wondering why on Star, December 2023, and March 2024, these 2 shows were not performed.  I enjoyed both on our 1st 2 V cruises, Venus December 2021, and Sea December 2022.

[benjaminnicholas]

On 5/13/2024 at 2:14 PM, KBs mum said:

Who cares what is on in the theatre. We can listen to our choice of music by original artists anytime by downloading things. 

We only go in the theatre once per cruise, for the lifeboat drill. It might as well not be there as far as we are concerned. 

Our problem is the live music in the lounges that is too loud and long lasting too be ignored

 

But see, you're just thinking of you...  And that's not what we're discussing.

 

You'll be long dead when Viking still remains.  That's the very issue we're touching on:  How the line will change to suit younger pax and a new generation with the money to travel well.

Edited May 15 by benjaminnicholas

[benjaminnicholas]

On 5/13/2024 at 12:54 PM, CDNPolar said:

I just don't think that we will ever choose to sail on a ship with 3000+ people.

 

And that's certainly not what any of us are suggesting.

 

Viking can make changes, have quality entertainment and be nothing like a mega ship.

 

But change is inevitable.  It's just HOW they change that will determine if they continue catering to an audience that's growing smaller by the day.

 

It'll be interesting to see.

[tocruiseguy]

On 5/11/2024 at 8:15 AM, benjaminnicholas said:

It's not that I'm looking for RC-style entertainment.

 

I'm just looking for Viking to not be lazy and tech their existing shows properly.  They look thrown together when they could look quite professional.

 

I work for Cirque Du Soleil, so I'm aware of what lighting/sound tech they have on their expedition ships.  More than enough to do very nice productions, including their classical and contemporary duos.  

 

The cooking demos in the Aulua weren't even lit or had cameras on the stations.  Huge missed opportunity.

 

Viking does so much else so well, it feels like they knowingly drop the ball on entertainment.

 

Even older folks need a little razzle-dazzle.

 

Ultimately, I'm sure they'll have to make some entertainment changes, as their target market continues to die out.  And going public will only make that kind of change happen faster.  

Agree, we did a Viking Ocean cruise with a lot of sea days and the entertainment was beyond pathetic, with the exception of a few shows of local entertainers from countries we visited.  Viking claims to be a higher end cruise line and is expensive.  Trying to sell their onboard experience as "low key" is disingenuous, it's really just a matter of refusing to invest in decent entertainment.  The same musicians who played in the live music club were the same poor guys who played in the main theatre shows, thats just being cheap. 

[CDNPolar]

6 hours ago, benjaminnicholas said:

 

And that's certainly not what any of us are suggesting.

 

Viking can make changes, have quality entertainment and be nothing like a mega ship.

 

But change is inevitable.  It's just HOW they change that will determine if they continue catering to an audience that's growing smaller by the day.

 

It'll be interesting to see.

 

The only reason I suggested I don't want to travel on ships of 3000+ is that these are the ships that typically have the bigger shows and higher end entertainment.

 

Viking has never marketed themselves as having BIG shows and entertainment.  They have this now and in the past to give us something to do after dinner and I don't see it as more than that.

 

We have grown tired of some of the shows because we have seen them too many times, but we still go with the hope that something will have changed.  (ABBA and The Beatles)

 

We are doing our first TA cruise this October and so I am anxiously awaiting what the entertainment will be like on those 6 nights.