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Live Entertainment on the Lido -- Filipino Bands and Singers


bamelin

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Before my cruise on Carnival Magic I'd read (with some dread) that live entertainment consists basically of a DJ blasting kanye west, Rhianna, etc.

 

On our cruise in February we noticed that while the DJ was there (and as terrible/annoying as many have mentioned) there WAS live music at several points each day on the pool deck. The interesting thing is that almost all the live music on the lido was being conducted by a filipino band.

 

We noticed that the majority of live singing in the evening and band music in the entertainment areas were also being conducted by filipino singers and band members. Not sure if this is something new or not as this was our first Carnival Cruise but I don't remember seeing much mention of this on the forums before we left on our trip. My wife and I enjoyed it as she is also of filipino descent. Just thought I'd mention it if this is something new? I'm sure they are being paid far less than it would cost for North American entertainers ...

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Before my cruise on Carnival Magic I'd read (with some dread) that live entertainment consists basically of a DJ blasting kanye west, Rhianna, etc.

 

On our cruise in February we noticed that while the DJ was there (and as terrible/annoying as many have mentioned) there WAS live music at several points each day on the pool deck. The interesting thing is that almost all the live music on the lido was being conducted by a filipino band.

 

We noticed that the majority of live singing in the evening and band music in the entertainment areas were also being conducted by filipino singers and band members. Not sure if this is something new or not as this was our first Carnival Cruise but I don't remember seeing much mention of this on the forums before we left on our trip. My wife and I enjoyed it as she is also of filipino descent. Just thought I'd mention it if this is something new? I'm sure they are being paid far less than it would cost for North American entertainers ...

 

On my last cruise on Freedom it was the same. I COULD NOT STAND that rotten DJ, and I must admit I missed my steel drums in the background, but the band that played on the LIDO a couple nights was pretty good. And it was kind of cool seeing a 90 pound Filipino woman play drums and belt out Mustang Sally haha!:D

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On my last cruise on Freedom it was the same. I COULD NOT STAND that rotten DJ, and I must admit I missed my steel drums in the background, but the band that played on the LIDO a couple nights was pretty good. And it was kind of cool seeing a 90 pound Filipino woman play drums and belt out Mustang Sally haha!:D

 

For us we hated the DJ to the point we stayed off the pool deck. It was that annoying to us and would be a big consideration when choosing a cruise line again. The Caribbean steel drum band on the Lido is part of the experience for us.

 

The filipino singers and bands were actually very good on our cruise. Perhaps not as good as some of the "dedicated" entertainers brought in from North America, but in some cases just as good. The singers in particular had stunning voices.

 

I will say though I don't think offshoring all of the band and singer entertainment is "the answer" either to the DJ problems. The bottom line is that they need to pony up whatever is needed to get a Caribbean band back on the Lido deck. My wife and I both felt that this specific issue is a deal breaker for alot of people that will drive people to other lines. The DJ in particular.

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We were so fortunate to have enjoyed a Filipino cover band called Blood Power on our first 3 cruises. They were amazing and we followed them from lounge to lounge , wherever they were playing that night. I don't think they are still performing on Carnival, and that's a shame. They gave us some of our best cruise memories! We last sailed with them on Conquest out of Galveston.

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Before my cruise on Carnival Magic I'd read (with some dread) that live entertainment consists basically of a DJ blasting kanye west, Rhianna, etc.

 

On our cruise in February we noticed that while the DJ was there (and as terrible/annoying as many have mentioned) there WAS live music at several points each day on the pool deck. The interesting thing is that almost all the live music on the lido was being conducted by a filipino band.

 

We noticed that the majority of live singing in the evening and band music in the entertainment areas were also being conducted by filipino singers and band members. Not sure if this is something new or not as this was our first Carnival Cruise but I don't remember seeing much mention of this on the forums before we left on our trip. My wife and I enjoyed it as she is also of filipino descent. Just thought I'd mention it if this is something new? I'm sure they are being paid far less than it would cost for North American entertainers ...

Its not new filipino bands are also on the splendor and the dream and they are great MUCH BETTER than those dj's. Are you listening carnival???????????

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We were so fortunate to have enjoyed a Filipino cover band called Blood Power on our first 3 cruises. They were amazing and we followed them from lounge to lounge , wherever they were playing that night. I don't think they are still performing on Carnival, and that's a shame. They gave us some of our best cruise memories! We last sailed with them on Conquest out of Galveston.

 

They were on the Paradise in December for our Christmas sailing! My husband and I really enjoyed them and followed them around too.

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They were on the Paradise in December for our Christmas sailing! My husband and I really enjoyed them and followed them around too.

 

Thanks! That's good to know. I thought they had fallen victim to the cutbacks. I'm glad to hear that they are still around.

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Hey we love Blood Power also--they are great!! CARNIVAL PLEASE LISTEN!!!!! PUT SOME MAGIC ON MAGIC AND PUT BLOOD POWER ONBOARD!!!! On man playing an electric keyboard does not cut it. I will say on our last Magic cruise, Jo Jo and the house band were very good but didn't play frequently enough. We sail 9/15/13 and would love to see Blood Power again. PLEASE !!!!

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