lovespositano Posted July 11, 2009 #1 Share Posted July 11, 2009 We are Princess cruisers who are considering Celebrity Equinox this fall. We love live bands and love to dance to live music (think rock N roll). Could anyone give me some insight into the live-band dancing options on Celebrity in general (since the Equinox isn't in the water yet - assume it is similar to the Solstice in entertainment options). We have often heard from fellow Princess cruisers that Princess has the best entertainment. Anything you can tell me about entertainment on Celebrity, and especially the Solstice (regarding dancing opportunities, production shows, comedians, piano bars, etc.) would be greatly appreciated. If you could share with me other things you love about Celebrity and particularly the Solstice, that would be great, too. Thanks for any input that will help us make a decision!!:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lsimon Posted July 11, 2009 #2 Share Posted July 11, 2009 Our experience on the M class ships has been that the "Rock" type entertainment varies considerably and is not consitent. When we first started cruising Celebrity in 2004 it was great. Fantastic Caribbean party bands and a great soft rock/acoustic guitar player who played the outdoor aft bar and occasionally indoor or by the pool. In general, with some exceptions, it has declined in recent years. The worst has been our Europe and Transatlantic cruises where, basically, the only good rock music we heard was either when a couple passengers played a guitar song by the pool or when they played recorded music for music trivia. The latter shows they had the demographics right but somehow didn't hire corresponding bands. Yes they had a party band who tried but wasn't up to snuff and played most songs to a beat that was slow and just didn't "rock". The guitar players were more background music kind of players - not the soft rock musicians that we like. Caribbean cruises have been much better. The party bands the past few years in the Caribbean have ranged from just Ok to very good, almost excellent, but not the fantastic bands that were playing in 2003-2004 (Voltz and another that escapes me). Some of the soft rock guitar players are very good but there have been some that are more background, or short of "rock" oriented as we've found on the Europe cruises. They also have a disco which is in the same venue where the party band plays in the evening - for between party band sets and afterwards. Music there varies from night to night with different themes (sock hop, 70's, 70/80's disco, etc) and sometimes turns more modern disco (hip hop, remix, etc) late at night (after midnight). Overall we find the music OK, but if that were a primary focus we'd be tempted to look elsewhere. But we've been sticking with Celebrity due to other things we enjoy on board and the friends we've met on past cruises that we're usually planning future cruises with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovespositano Posted July 12, 2009 Author #3 Share Posted July 12, 2009 Our experience on the M class ships has been that the "Rock" type entertainment varies considerably and is not consitent. When we first started cruising Celebrity in 2004 it was great. Fantastic Caribbean party bands and a great soft rock/acoustic guitar player who played the outdoor aft bar and occasionally indoor or by the pool. In general, with some exceptions, it has declined in recent years. The worst has been our Europe and Transatlantic cruises where, basically, the only good rock music we heard was either when a couple passengers played a guitar song by the pool or when they played recorded music for music trivia. The latter shows they had the demographics right but somehow didn't hire corresponding bands. Yes they had a party band who tried but wasn't up to snuff and played most songs to a beat that was slow and just didn't "rock". The guitar players were more background music kind of players - not the soft rock musicians that we like. Caribbean cruises have been much better. The party bands the past few years in the Caribbean have ranged from just Ok to very good, almost excellent, but not the fantastic bands that were playing in 2003-2004 (Voltz and another that escapes me). Some of the soft rock guitar players are very good but there have been some that are more background, or short of "rock" oriented as we've found on the Europe cruises. They also have a disco which is in the same venue where the party band plays in the evening - for between party band sets and afterwards. Music there varies from night to night with different themes (sock hop, 70's, 70/80's disco, etc) and sometimes turns more modern disco (hip hop, remix, etc) late at night (after midnight). Overall we find the music OK, but if that were a primary focus we'd be tempted to look elsewhere. But we've been sticking with Celebrity due to other things we enjoy on board and the friends we've met on past cruises that we're usually planning future cruises with. WOW - Thanks for the frank reply. I must say, based on the info you provided I think maybe Celebrity is not for us. We mostly do Med cruises, are not big on the Caribbean - and so we are going to be on the cruises with the only rock music provided by passengers or trivia?? I don't THINK so!! Princess always has three live bands going every evening in different venues (all doing SOME version of rock N roll), plus the disco (in its own setting in Skywalkers). So I guess we are spoiled for anything else!! Again, thanks for your comments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pris993 Posted July 12, 2009 #4 Share Posted July 12, 2009 We are elite on Princess and have cruised Celebity a number of times. We are booked on the Equinox for October. We like latin music and good old fashion dance music by contrast. We generally look for a small combo on either Princess or Celebrity for dancing. Other entertainment on Celebrity is often what I describe as more creative than Princess typical Las Vegas style shows. Suggest you read the review of the Solstice for more info on music and entertainment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lsimon Posted July 12, 2009 #5 Share Posted July 12, 2009 WOW - Thanks for the frank reply. I must say, based on the info you provided I think maybe Celebrity is not for us. We mostly do Med cruises, are not big on the Caribbean - and so we are going to be on the cruises with the only rock music provided by passengers or trivia?? I don't THINK so!! Princess always has three live bands going every evening in different venues (all doing SOME version of rock N roll), plus the disco (in its own setting in Skywalkers). So I guess we are spoiled for anything else!! Again, thanks for your comments. They always have had a rock oriented party band on every Celebrity cruises we've been on, in addition to the disco. It is just that the party band hasn't been great at rock on the two Europe cruises we've been on. They have had two dance bands: the party band that I was referring to, and some sort of dance group which plays more of a ballroom dancing type of music which generally I would not call "rock", although they do some music that is along the fringe of what some might consider rock. Also, they usually have one or two nights when the Celebrity Orchestra (which otherwise plays in the theater to support the stage shows) does a jazz music set at one of the lounges. They are always very good but emphasis is jazz and not rock. The other thing I'll mention is that we've never been on the Solstice (same newer class of ship as the soon-to-be-launched Equinox). So I can't speak for the number of venues, or any potential differences in planned entertainment on that ship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovespositano Posted July 12, 2009 Author #6 Share Posted July 12, 2009 Thanks, Larry!! PRIS993, we also like Latin (and our own brand:D of ballroom). What have you heard about the Solstice vis-a-vis bands/dancing? Pardon my ignorance - where is the reveiw of the Solstice to which you are referring? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C 2 C Posted July 12, 2009 #7 Share Posted July 12, 2009 Thanks, Larry!! PRIS993, we also like Latin (and our own brand:D of ballroom). What have you heard about the Solstice vis-a-vis bands/dancing? Pardon my ignorance - where is the reveiw of the Solstice to which you are referring? We sailed on Solstice last Nov/Dec. We were not impressed with dancing opportunities because it seemed to be slanted towards the jazz-loving crowd and we prefer a mix of ballroom and golden oldies for dancing and listening. This is a link to someone who just returned from Solstice and posted the dailies. You can see what the choices are and post a question to a recent passenger: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1018529 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pris993 Posted July 13, 2009 #8 Share Posted July 13, 2009 Thanks, Larry!! PRIS993, we also like Latin (and our own brand:D of ballroom). What have you heard about the Solstice vis-a-vis bands/dancing? Pardon my ignorance - where is the reveiw of the Solstice to which you are referring? We have not cruise on the new solistice ship -- booked on the Equinox in October. Our prior experience on Celebrity ships, is the small combo bands often will play some latin music if you make special requests. We usually tell them what we would like to hear, if they know the music they will play it. We generally tip them or treat the ban to drinks, which they appreciate and they remember we like certain tunes and play them again. Reference ship reviews, I always read the "reviews" posted here on this web site. Check "reviews" on the home page. They are listed by ship name, on a drop down screen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovespositano Posted July 13, 2009 Author #9 Share Posted July 13, 2009 Thanks to all for your comments and suggestions!!:) Still thinking about Celebrity, but it's a hard decision since we love the fact that there are three bands every night on Princess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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