eroller

They won’t, and I don’t think NCL will either.

Perhaps they will eliminate those customer focused “convenience fees” we all love and NCL is so generous with.

Cost cutting has to be a balance. You can’t just cut staple elements of a product that took years to cultivate and expect to maintain the integrity of the product (or the premium per diems for that matter). I think NCL is smarter than that. They may not license hit broadway shows, but they are likely to produce their own elaborate productions which honestly is what most lines do, including Royal and Disney. Royal does license a few Broadway productions but the majority of their shows, including the ice and diving shows, are all produced in-house. I just don’t see NCL offering nothing but game shows as headliner evening entertainment. In that case they might as well close their elaborate state of the art production facility shoreside. Cost millions to build.

Well they say it’s big, “like free cruise big”. A free cruise is pretty big. Maybe a contest of some sort to win a free cruise?

Good to hear about new shows in the works. Makes sense as NCLH has an extensive entertainment training studio outside Tampa to rehearse for these amazing shows. Surely it’s not there just for game shows. Also NCL has been known for amazing entertainment since the days of s/s NORWAY back in the 80’s (Jean Ann Ryan Productions). I think we are just seeing an interim period between productions that perhaps caught NCL off guard? http://nclhcreativestudios.com/

I have to say I was beyond impressed with the transformative theater space on PRIMA and VIVA. Very often these spaces are ill-conceived and end up being crappy show lounges and nightclubs. Such is the case on Carnival. Not the case on NCL's Prima Class. I've experienced the venue in all three adaptations and it worked remarkably well. The floor seating was cleared out for the Luis Fonsi concert after the christening and I felt like I was at a concert hall and stood for the entire concert. Then later it transformed into a nightclub with really incredible sound and lighting including that amazing centerpiece light that drops down. Very Studio 54. The next day I watched Beatlejuice in a true theater setting and it was impressive. On PRIMA they performed Noise Boys which I really enjoyed, and the theater was sort of a hybrid. The stage jetted into the audience. Pretty cool stuff. The "theater in the round" is making a comeback, and as you mention we are seeing it on the new Celebrity ships as well as the new Holland America ships. The brand new SUN PRINCESS will also feature this style theater. The big drawback is that productions can't really have any elaborate sets, which leaves out Broadway style productions. There is no curtain so that leaves out the possibility of backstage set changes while another performer takes the spotlight, and there is no true backstage in the same respect as a traditional theater. The backdrop for all these round stages is a large video screen. So any backdrops have to be digitally created, and yes they can create some amazing images but it's not the same as actual sets. They do work great for performance art with the aerialists and acrobats but honestly that style show gets old after a while, as it's generally the same thing over and over again with different music and theme. So I suppose there are pros and cons with both style theaters ... but I think the limitations of the theater in the round can come back and bite you especially years down the road as preferences change in regards to onboard entertainment.

NIEUW AMSTERDAM appears to be in Miami today and not Key West. Not sure what that is all about. Weird to see a HAL ship at PortMiami. I believe she is on a music charter sailing.

I concede that not everyone that books cruises cares about entertainment. No doubt many don’t. It’s just one aspect of the overall experience. I also agree much of it is not great (varies by line and ship). But I do think most people booking large, state of the art mass-market ships expect some level of entertainment. Live music, comedians, singers, and yes production shows. I’m just not sure game shows make the cut, but time will tell. I think they are great as filler entertainment on off nights or in the afternoon, but as the main entertainment event of the cruise it seems very weak to me.

Apparently many, or lines like Royal Caribbean wouldn’t spend millions producing Broadway productions, ice skating shows, and building aqua theaters on ships to host amazing diving/water shows. Seems to be paying off based on their per diems and the fact the shows get more elaborate with each new ship. Now they have even added drones into many of their shows. They keep raising the bar.

I’ve seen some great shows on NCL. Starting with Hello Dolly & Sea Legs back in 1980 on the s/s NORWAY. More recently Priscila, Queen of the Desert on EPIC, SIX on BLISS, and Beatlejuice on VIVA. Really enjoyed them all. I could always count on NCL for fantastic entertainment. Perhaps not so anymore. I look at game shows as filler entertainment. Not the main event. Carnival has gone to that style entertainment as a cost cutting measure and it appears NCL is doing the same. Royal, Virgin, and Disney still offer amazing entertainment with Royal leading the pack. If entertainment is your thing I’m guessing ICON is the ship for you. It’s packed with entertainment including a full scale production of the Wizard of Oz. Yes there are game shows too but they are secondary, which is where I feel they belong.

There will be an added convenience fee added to your onboard account to embark from NCL’s Pearl of Miami terminal … for your convenience of course! 😂

I’m glad you’re sailing out of the correct terminal. To me the only time you should not embark from the NCL Miami terminal on an NCL ship is if there are two NCL ships in port that day. In that case one of them must be assigned to another terminal. Funny I’ve never seen anything but a Royal Caribbean ship at Royal’s dedicated terminal. I have seen a non-Virgin ship at Virgins dedicated Terminal V, but that was only when the port was completely full and no Virgin ship was in port.

I think millennials are passé now. Businesses have moved on. Now it’s more about Gen Z & Alpha. Millennials are the new “old farts”. 😉

Looks like the SKY is spending the night, so thst may have something to do with it. This time at least.

If NCLH is that hard up for cash, they have far bigger problems than not utilizing their own terminal. I’m hoping there is some temporary logistical reason behind it all. If it’s just about $$ then that raises some serious red flags.

Yes and the NCL passengers embarking on their cruise, wondering why they are embarking from a crappy generic terminal while the competition is embarking next door from the new state of the art NCL terminal. Very odd.

Sad if they are that desperate for revenue they would displace their own ships for the competition at a branded terminal they built. It’s not a good look.

Today we once again have the MSC SEASCAPE at NCL’s Terminal B and the NORWEGIAN SKY behind her at generic Terminal C.

So odd. Would love to know why this is happening. Why build your own branded terminal if you’re not going to utilize it?

Great video! She has a beautiful deep horn, reminiscent of ocean liners of the past.

Yes you are correct and Royal being a family focused cruise line is nothing new. This being said, they have done a good job in the past creating a balance. Ships where families not to mention couples & singles feel right at home. With ICON they have tipped the balance and gone full-on Disney. They have even adopted Disney pricing which is quite a feat. So well done to them on that. The more I read the more I’m discovering it’s probably not the ship for me and that is perfectly fine. Plenty of other fish in the sea. Someday at the right price I may hop on because I love trying new prototype ships regardless of cruise line, but no rush.

That’s my biggest fear with this ship. That it will be overrun with kids absolutely everywhere. And this coming from a person that loves Disney and DCL. The amount of 3rd, 4th, and 5th berths on this ship is astronomical. Time will tell.

I actually look at tonnage and actual dimensions. Tonnage is just a measurement of enclosed interior space. It can be deceiving. Actual dimensions tell the full story. In the case of ICON both her tonnage and dimensions are the biggest, so she is the undisputed largest cruise ship in the world. She doesn’t look it though in person.

As with most things in life, my views on ICON so far are a balance of good and bad. Some aspects of the ship totally blow me away, and others leave me disappointed. I do agree some of the interior decor looks cheap and generic, although pics and videos may not do it justice. I do find the ship a bit overwhelming, in that I might be stressed trying to experience it all in a week. For now I’m happy with my decision to hold off booking and paying a small fortune to be one of the first. There is only so much I’ll pay for a mass-market ship. There still has to be some level of value proposition, even on the newest and largest ship in the world. So for the time being I’ll live vicariously through others, and hope all those sailing have an amazing experience with expectations exceeded!

Having watched ICON’s maiden arrival into Miami, she looked very impressive but not the biggest in the world to me. Both the Oasis Class and even Carnival’s Excel Class look bigger to me. It might be because ICON is so chopped up. Both the slab of balconies and the upper decks. Perception is sometimes deceiving.