Standing room only at Sapphire Princess Theater

[laidbackin LA]

I go to all the theater shows performed by the song-and-dance troupe.

 

Sapphire had four shows on the Mexican cruise last week.

 

Because there are 3000 passengers and the theater seats about 800, passengers who come later than 30 minutes before the show, shows at either 8:15 or 10:30, are scrambling for seats and some couples have to split up to sit down in single separated seats.

 

Princess introduced a fourth show(!) on the last night, for 4 shows instead of three for the week, but there was ONE performance ONLY.

 

I forced the husband in there with me 45 minutes before showtime, and the rush was on. During the show people were standing, and I just don't understand why Princess sets up one show when many people are forced to be shut out. Families with kids love those shows.

 

Just another thing that left me sour about my Princess experience.

[Coral]

I guess it goes to show that Princess has good entertainment (shows).

 

I have been on other lines where it was easy to get a seat for a reason.

[sultan_sfo]

It is clear that you did not like your Princess Cruise. How about just writing your very negative review in a single post instead of these different threads?

 

...

Just another thing that left me sour about my Princess experience.

[regnig]

Ok we all give up.:eek: :eek:

 

Was there anything about your cruise that you liked or enjoyed? Your posts prior to your cruise stated you were not going to do any shopping because the Mexicans "have contempt for us gringos and jack up every price." Did you do anything you enjoyed??:confused: All you have posted since your return is negative and appears to be out and out bashing of Princess. I'm surprised you haven't mentioned "no towel animals". But wait, maybe that will be another negative thread. Why don't you just quit, we've all gotten the message. You hated your cruise, Princess it the worst and you will never sail them again! A lot of us can breath a sigh of relief over that! :D

[Kerry's Girls]

 

Was there anything about your cruise that you liked or enjoyed? Your posts prior to your cruise stated you were not going to do any shopping because the Mexicans "have contempt for us gringos and jack up every price."

 

I'm speechless.

[DonnaK]

It was the same on our Caribbean Princess cruise. The theatre is not large enough for the number of people onboard. If you didn't arrive 30 minutes in advance, you could not get a seat.

 

We loved our cruise, but this was definitely a negative.

 

I guess it goes to show that Princess has good entertainment (shows).

 

I have been on other lines where it was easy to get a seat for a reason.

 

 

Coral - it has nothing to do with the quality of the shows, and everything to do with the capacity of the theatre versus the passenger load.

[Colo Cruiser]

Never had a problem, get there early. :rolleyes:

[sunsetbeachgal]

Same problem on the Emerald last January...shows were good, but it was definitely a capacity issue...we are cruising on the Emerald again in January so that was our only issue!!

[4cats4me]

LaidBackinLA is entitled to her opinions.

Cruise Critic is for the dispositive comments as well as the positive.

 

I do have to agree about the showroom situation. My mom likes going to

the shows, so I obliged and went to about 3 shows in the showroom.

Yes, we did have to make sure we got there at least 30 minutes in

advance on the Sapphire [longer if on the Emerald, Crown, Caribbean]

 

What annoyed us the most was those who came in like 10 minutes before

showtime and wanted us to shift around to accommodate them!

One guy loudly yelled to all, "These seats are saved." He was saving

at least 12 seats from our count.

Another group of 4 ladies came in about 10 minutes before showtime

wanting me to move over one seat. I declined since I had carefully chosen

my seat for a REASON. And then after all that, the group of 4 left

altogether and sat in another section ---

Another lady came and asked me if I would save the 3 seats next

to me for her, since she had no idea where her mother was. I told

her Princess did not allow any saving of seats and that an announcement

had just been made regarding such.

 

Oh, and BTW, the guy who was saving a passel of seats? He decided

to start releasing them back into the pool about 10 minutes before

showtime. It seemed that none of the folks who he was saving a seat

for showed up.

:rolleyes:

[cruiserbryce]

Just another thing that left me sour about my Princess experience.

 

what were the other issues...we will be on Sapphire in about 12 weeks

[avcruz]

what were the other issues...we will be on Sapphire in about 12 weeks

 

All you have to do is click on LaidbackinLA's screen name in her post, then choose view all her posts and you too can share the lousy experience she's had with Princess - but be forewarned, it ain't pretty...:(

With any luck, she'll never cruise Princess again and will leave it for those of us who don't need to eat ice cream 24/7 and who enjoy the social aspect of meeting new people at dinner.:)

[leoandhugh]

:) I believe that anyone who has experienced several cruises on different ships and different lines knows that you should not expect to get up from the dining table, go to the show room just 10 minutes ahead of time and expect to find a decent seat or two. To be certain that you get a seat of your choosing, you know you have to get there early. We have often skipped dessert and coffee to be sure of a decent seat. Not that it makes me happy to do that, but it is a fact of cruising. No cruise ship these days has a show room which can seat 1/2 of the passengers for a show. That is one reason they are building multiple entertainment venues

[cruise365 24/7]

I go to all the theater shows performed by the song-and-dance troupe.

 

Sapphire had four shows on the Mexican cruise last week.

 

Because there are 3000 passengers and the theater seats about 800, passengers who come later than 30 minutes before the show, shows at either 8:15 or 10:30, are scrambling for seats and some couples have to split up to sit down in single separated seats.

 

Princess introduced a fourth show(!) on the last night, for 4 shows instead of three for the week, but there was ONE performance ONLY.

 

I forced the husband in there with me 45 minutes before showtime, and the rush was on. During the show people were standing, and I just don't understand why Princess sets up one show when many people are forced to be shut out. Families with kids love those shows.

 

Just another thing that left me sour about my Princess experience.

 

 

They would be smart to take those most popular shows and broadcast those on MUTS so people can watch elsewhere.

[jpg1747]

One of the joys of sailing solo. On my last CB cruise I walked into the theater minutes before showtime and always found a single seat right away. In fact, there were lots of empty seats upstairs for all of the shows right before they began.

[Coral]

It was the same on our Caribbean Princess cruise. The theatre is not large enough for the number of people onboard. If you didn't arrive 30 minutes in advance, you could not get a seat.

 

We loved our cruise, but this was definitely a negative.

 

 

 

 

Coral - it has nothing to do with the quality of the shows, and everything to do with the capacity of the theatre versus the passenger load.

 

The Caribbean Princess has more passengers (500 more?) then the Sapphire Princess.

[DanJ]

While it is an issue that the theaters are small on Princess, they made the decision to offer more things to do than take up all that space for a theater that gets used a couple hours a day.

 

However, one thing they did when we were on Sapphire 2 years ago, is they did the shows again the following afternoon as well, to give more people an opportunity to see them. Both days after the formal nights were sea days. I'm surprised they don't do this more often. And I think broadcasting on MUTS is a good idea for ships so equipped.

[Canadian_Commodore]

I go to all the theater shows performed by the song-and-dance troupe.

 

 

Because there are 3000 passengers and the theater seats about 800, passengers who come later than 30 minutes before the show, shows at either 8:15 or 10:30, are scrambling for seats and some couples have to split up to sit down in single separated seats.

 

 

First of all please get your facts correct..Sapphire capacity is less than 2700 passengers. It is listed at 2670.

 

Secondly, you have bashed 99% of your experience on this sailing over multiple threads on the boards. Why couldn't you have simply put all your issues into one single post?

 

Sounds like someone wanting to be the center of attention and they only way she can do it is by complaining about everything she can think of, as she thinks of them.

[yorky]

I tend to feel slightly sorry for posters like this. Anyone who is this negative about just about everything tend to be pretty unhappy people about life in general.

 

I always think what you give in life you get back. A smile and a friendly hello goes a long way.:)

[zacc]

Now I remember the OPs name....the one who gets headaches sitting next to strangers................wonder if they get a christmas card from the people at bayer

[retiring soon]

Hi! We just returned from the Emerald Princess & had the same problem

so went early so we could see the show. They had very good shows. One thing I liked about Princess was that they reserved the back 2 rows for people with mobility issues, I'd never seen that before.

 

Another thing, I was very aware of the cruise director, Neil & his assistant Marashcalh ~ when do those guys sleep?~ they start at 6 on Wakey Wakey TV & are going all day long!

~Jo~ :)

[wizard-of-roz]

I live in L.A. I'm married to the king of Laidback! Which makes me Queen Laidback!

And, if you think your life is complicated with time constraints and seating issues try having to go to everything with a 4 legged, furry, 72 pound Labrador attached. Imagine the seating issues I run into!! :eek:

Princess has some of the best entertainment on the high seas. Plan your evenings and afternoons accordingly. Skip coffee/dessert before the show and have it afterwards or call room service.

Planning can save your nerves and get you a good seat!

Some people can only share the negative in life.....it's a sadness thing! I'm sorry for her and wish her better times on future adventures.....maybe she should try Las Vegas! :rolleyes:

[Ethel5]

Having read the OP's posts on her various threads, I can conclude that she just like to cause controversy. :rolleyes:

 

She would make everyone happier if she just flat out said the cruise was horrible and be done with it. But then, she also stated that she doesn't care what others think, so why post at all?

[PescadoAmarillo]

...they start at 6 on Wakey Wakey TV & are going all day long!

Actually, most of those morning shows are filmed late in the afternoon/early in the evening the day before they are shown on TV. Not that the CDs don't work hundreds of hours each day...they do!

 

Well, I am fan of Princess, but consider myself truly "fair and balanced", and yes, I believe that theater size is a huge issue on all Princess ships. I can only imagine that it is going to be even worse as we move from the grand class ships to the super grands in January. Does Princess offer lots of other entertainment options? Sometimes. But I can show you many, many evenings (looking back at past Patters) where the evening entertainment options were 1.) a movie in Club Fusion; 2.) a videocast of the live performance from the Princess Theater in the Explorer's Lounge, and 3.) a live performance in the Princess Theater that was most likely standing room only a full 30 minutes before the show began (particularly for the main dining shows).

 

I don't go on a cruise to watch movies and I don't go on a cruise to watch what is essentially TV on a large scale. The shortage of seats in the theater is by far the biggest negative (as far as I am concerned) with cruising Princess. It's a big issue to me because I like to be asleep by 11pm and I like to see live entertainment on a cruise (I don't gamble and I only wish I could dance)...if your interests are different, you might not feel the same way.

[Seal]

Hi! We just returned from the Emerald Princess & had the same problem

so went early so we could see the show. They had very good shows. One thing I liked about Princess was that they reserved the back 2 rows for people with mobility issues, I'd never seen that before.

 

Another thing, I was very aware of the cruise director, Neil & his assistant Marashcalh ~ when do those guys sleep?~ they start at 6 on Wakey Wakey TV & are going all day long!

~Jo~ :)

 

This show is normally recorded the afternoon before the broadcast--occasionallt it might be in the morning--you are supposed to believe that it's morning.

 

Nancy:D

[DanJ]

First of all please get your facts correct..Sapphire capacity is less than 2700 passengers. It is listed at 2670.

 

 

Double occupancy us 2670. Capacity is around 3100. We had just shy of 3000 in Jan 2006 on the MR run, as per the notice on the wall in the galley.