Carnival cruise entertainment

Last night with some friends and family, we got into a fairly long discussion about entertainment on a cruise ship, specifically a Carnival cruise ship. It was a very interesting active discussion, so much so, I thought it might be of interest here. What do you value as entertainment on a Carnival cruise? How do you think they are doing in this area?

I feel that the production shows are decent. Not up to Royal Caribbean standards. Don't like the idea of the Hasbro game shows and entertainment that they have audience being the main focus.

This is my least favorite part on a carnival cruise. No variety in the shows. How many years did we have "your fellow guests are the stars" as the final show? Kareoke is OK in limited doses, but not for the main theater and not as the grand finale. That being said, I will pass on the more expensive entertainment to keep the cost down of the cruise. Nothing wrong sitting by the singers or watching a movie on the lido.

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Last night with some friends and family, we got into a fairly long discussion about entertainment on a cruise ship, specifically a Carnival cruise ship. It was a very interesting active discussion, so much so, I thought it might be of interest here. What do you value as entertainment on a Carnival cruise? How do you think they are doing in this area?

This is one area that I feel Carnival fails. I don't like the shows since the live band no longer performs. I wish there were more magicians, ventriloquists, variety shows etc., NOT performed by passengers.

We do enjoy the most of the musicians. We've had fabulous performers in the Red Frog Pub and the Atrium Bar. My favorites are the acoustic guitarists and the string trio.

I've been on several cruise lines that are generally more expensive than carnival and the entertainment is only slightly better or at a significant additional cost. I once paid $70 pp to see a show on Norwegian. We had so many more options on the Norwegian Epic ship, such as bowling, ice bar, broadway style shows, etc. However, everything was at an additional cost. I think Carnival does a fair job for the prices that you pay and everything is included. I think it balances out. You can get the best prices on Carnival especially if you have a family of 4 or more. It is the best option. You have to really try out everything from the excursions, to game shows, to sports decks, to spas, theatre shows, paid dining, line dancing, piano bars, karaoke, dance clubs, art auctions, tea in the library, comedy clubs, exercise classes, trivia games, and the arcade. I think there is enough to keep me coming back yearly and I haven't gotten fed up yet with the entertainment provided. I do think there is always room for improvement, but I always have a lovely time on Carnival and never get to do everything I want to do. It is indeed the "Fun Ship". I think maybe they can do a wider variety on movies. for example in the day time show the children's movies and then in the later evening show adult movies. I am looking at a Liberty fun times for February and on one day, they show Trolls and then Secret Life of pets. Where is the adult entertainment. More variety of movies would be great. I love Carnival.

We really miss the old Carnival shows in the main theater with the magicians, ventriloquists, jugglers, etc. at dinner time. I'm just not into musicals and that's just about all they have now with the new format. But there's enough elsewhere on the ship to keep us happy. We especially enjoy the Thrill Theater and the comedy shows. So we just go to them after dinner instead of the main show lounge. Other than that we feel that Carnival does well with their entertainment options. My kids really like the ropes course and sports deck.

Last night with some friends and family, we got into a fairly long discussion about entertainment on a cruise ship, specifically a Carnival cruise ship. It was a very interesting active discussion, so much so, I thought it might be of interest here. What do you value as entertainment on a Carnival cruise? How do you think they are doing in this area?

They have cut back in that area as well as everywhere.

This is one area that I feel Carnival fails. I don't like the shows since the live band no longer performs. I wish there were more magicians, ventriloquists, variety shows etc., NOT performed by passengers.

 

I agree!!!

I definitely miss the variety shows! We sometimes travel with our young adult kids and we always liked knowing we had something interesting to do in the evening! Not a big fan of musicals but could handle them for a couple of nights.

I say bring some of the contestants from Americas Got Talent on these cruise ships!

I would say this is probably the one and only complaint I have about Carnival. I feel they are just not up to par. :(

I'm still relatively new to cruising and have only cruised Carnival so I don't have a lot to compare it to, but I really enjoy the entertainment provided. Before my last cruise I spent most of my time in the bars, but I was so seasick last time I finally went to the comedy shows and the main show lounge and really enjoyed every show I got to see. One of the best things about cruising is never having to worry about being bored, because there is always something to do and it is all included, unlike land based vacations. I would like to comment on a few people above saying they don't like musicals...while the Playlist Productions are composed of musical numbers, I wouldn't call them "musicals" because they don't do showtunes or anything, all the shows are made up of mainstream music genres, like motown, rock, the Beatles, etc. But I wouldn't want to watch the same shows over and over. I feel like there should be more variety in longer shows and they should change it up once a year, but I hear there are a lot of new shows at least on the Vista right now

I would say this is probably the one and only complaint I have about Carnival. I feel they are just not up to par. :(

So, what would you want them to do to address that?

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For the price we pay we are fine with CCL's entertainment.

We particularly enjoy the musicians along the promenade, in the Atrium, and in the Red Frog Pub (if available). I don't think the Playlist Productions are bad. Some are more enjoyable than others, obviously, and the talent will vary from ship to ship. I am not willing to pay extra for entertainment, so CCL suits me just fine!

My last cruise was a bit of a disappointment for the entertainment... we tried but couldn't get into any of the comedians (I wasn't willing to stand in line for 30-40 minutes waiting). I did enjoy the one show we watched in the theater, but it seemed other than that everything was Karaoke.... which my DH WILL NOT watch!

I'd like them to bring a bit more variety to the shows...

Great question, Jimbo!

We do not go to the Production shows. It's just never been our thing, so I cannot comment to that.

However, entertainment, across the board, we feel is great!

Trivia, Dive-In Movies, bean bag toss, Love and Marriage show, Sports Deck, etc. This is the entertainment WE like on Carnival.

I get annoyed when I read reviews and people say they were bored.

There is TONS to do each day.

And for that, we stay with Carnival.:D:D:D

I've been cruising with CCL since 1992 and the live bands were much better than they are now, but I was younger then and staying up to 4 o'clock in the morning several times during the week was no problem now forget it. The entertainment is decent but I do wish there more live bands that played dance music.

Gary

So, what would you want them to do to address that?

 

 

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Bring back magicians, ventriloquists, jugglers.

Bring back magicians, ventriloquists, jugglers.

Agreed and maybe take a look at what entertainment other cruise lines offer and see what they are missing. The level of the shows are just not the same IMO.

Agreed and maybe take a look at what entertainment other cruise lines offer and see what they are missing. The level of the shows are just not the same IMO.

And of course any increase in the entertainment budget would be passed on as higher fares.

Agreed and maybe take a look at what entertainment other cruise lines offer and see what they are missing. The level of the shows are just not the same IMO.

Agree completely. Carnival excells with their comedy and if the player is great, their piano bar. But Royal and NCL are far superior with their main theater shows and variety of other smaller entertainment offerings.

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On Carnival Liberty in January, I was pleased with all of the entertainment that I experienced. All of the live music was good to excellent, with the String Duo in the Atrium the best such group I have heard. Main Theater entertainment was good to very good; Towel Animal Theater, even as a Senior Citizen, is something that people of all ages ought to find enjoyable.

And of course any increase in the entertainment budget would be passed on as higher fares.

As it would with any cruise line

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As it would with any cruise line

 

 

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That goes without saying. As I said I am fine with the entertainment offering for the price that we pay and I really wouldn't want to pay more for "better" entertainment. Why try to make CCL into NCL or RCI?

That goes without saying. As I said I am fine with the entertainment offering for the price that we pay and I really wouldn't want to pay more for "better" entertainment. Why try to make CCL into NCL or RCI?

Exactly! The entertainment is fine with us, as is the price!