Shows on Princess cruises

[chrisxmoa]

i was just curious, but how is the level of entertainment on the princess cruises ?

 

i know NCLL lacks in many aspects compared to Princess but i found that their shows were very good and i attended every night. Im hoping princess being the superior line could compete or surpass the level of entertainment of their competitors.:cool:

[RickEk]

i was just curious, but how is the level of entertainment on the princess cruises ?

 

i know NCLL lacks in many aspects compared to Princess but i found that their shows were very good and i attended every night. Im hoping princess being the superior line could compete or surpass the level of entertainment of their competitors.:cool:

 

I think it really depends on the ship sometimes. I've seen some very high quality shows. Sometimes they're really good and sometimes not so good, but I'm always entertained.

[Andee]

We always sit on the aisle because they're often so lame that we can leave without disturbing other passengers. A few have been good, but not many.

[janina]

I like more shows than not. :)

[GracefulOceanWaves]

You know, that kind of question is so subjective it's like asking people how good a movie is ;)

 

In my experience and opinion, some shows are better than others. Some are very entertaining to me and others provide me a great post-dinner nap while sitting with my DH and friends who are enjoying the show! LOL!

 

Most can't hold a candle to a full on Broadway production but I can't think of a single one that was the equivalent to the quality of a typical Middle School show either.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[BobT172]

We've always enjoyed most of the shows..the production numbers are pretty good and the singers and dancers work really hard to put on a great show.

 

The only problem for us is that we sail several times a year on Princess and have seen all the production shows on more than one ship...they seem to run for a long time...

 

We don't care for stand up comedy.... but I will admit the best one we have ever seen was "Sarge" on a Princess ship. Fantastic...

 

But like Andee indicates, you can leave anytime...

[Coracii]

The biggest problem I have with the shows is that the theatres hold significantly fewer than half the capacity of the ship and many of the shows are only on stage one time. It's very poor planning by Princess, especially when the show is on stage at the same time as one of the traditional meal times for it's only performance of the cruise. They really need to re-evaluate their schedule and make it more friendly for the cruisers.

[shepp]

Gee, it really depends on what your idea of "good entertainment" is. Just got off the Sea. The dancers worked really hard, the crew show was fun, and I enjoyed the juggler a lot more than I thought I would. On the other hand, the week before the cruise I'd seen Slash and Bob Dylan, and a heart-rending reading of "My Heart Will Go On" just couldn't compare. But if you're the kind of person who faithfully watches American Idol, you'd probably have more fun than I did.

[Happybywater]

The biggest problem I have with the shows is that the theatres hold significantly fewer than half the capacity of the ship and many of the shows are only on stage one time. It's very poor planning by Princess, especially when the show is on stage at the same time as one of the traditional meal times for it's only performance of the cruise. They really need to re-evaluate their schedule and make it more friendly for the cruisers.

 

Out of interest, which ships have you been on? All the Princess ships we have sailed on put the shows on twice in a night around 8:30pm and 10:30pm. On recent cruises on the Crown and Grand they have had the production shows on early on a 2nd night.

[oskidunker]

I hope this time they are diffrerent. Last cruise was Alaska 2 years ago.Always the best of broadway and a comedian and a magician.Usually there is 1 or 2 decent shows per cruise.

[hospvol]

We are just so tired of seeing the "Broadway Tunes" shows.

[hughdm]

The biggest problem I have with the shows is that the theatres hold significantly fewer than half the capacity of the ship and many of the shows are only on stage one time. It's very poor planning by Princess, especially when the show is on stage at the same time as one of the traditional meal times for it's only performance of the cruise. They really need to re-evaluate their schedule and make it more friendly for the cruisers.

We did not find this to be true on Golden a couple of weeks ago. Every show was on two nights.

[iancal]

We do the same as Andee.....sit at the aisles and so that we can leave without disturbing anyone. I would say the majority of shows are high school level with better costumes. Once in a while you may hit on a good one. Individual entertainers are hit and miss. Let's put it this way,,,,we do not cruise on Princess because of the on board entertainment.

[granny49]

My husband and I were on The Diamond in August, we found the shows very entertaining. There was always 2 shows 8:15 and 10:15.

[SeaTheWorldBySea]

We are frequent and long time Princess cruisers. IMHO the quality of the entertainment has deteriorated. I understand the expense they go to to put on the production shows and watching them performed by different dancers is OK, if I'm in the mood. Different singers and dancers can and do effect my enjoyment.

 

They must have trimmed their entertainment budget because the other entertainers they are bringing on are mostly not the same quality they were when we first started cruising. They perform 3 and 4 times a cruise - different times and different venues, but most of them if you've seen them one time - that was too many. There have been crew shows that were very enjoyable and crew shows that were only time fillers. I've wondered if those who perform are financially rewarded for doing so.

 

We too sit on the aisle and all too often we leave early.

[Ruste]

I find it interesting how often the shows are referred to as high school level or below. If you read the bio of the ship entertainers, you will find they are all very highly trained dancers and/or singers. I agree some casts are better than others but in their defense it is very hard dancing twice a night to audiences who give no feedback. Try smiling and performing to someone who doesn't even bother to clap. Often they dance with injuries which you are never aware and yes it is their job and yes they are paid to do it. They also read these boards so maybe rather than say they are worse than high school be a little more constructive. It would be interesting if they wrote an audience review once in a while.

[Coracii]

We did not find this to be true on Golden a couple of weeks ago. Every show was on two nights.

 

That would be a first for me. I've never seen every show put on twice on the same cruise let alone twice on different days. My experience has been some shows shown once per cruise, some done twice on the same night, and some twice with once on each of consecutive nights. Now, the longest cruise I've done with Princess was only a little over two weeks so it may be different on longer trips. Any chance you have copies of the patter for your cruise each day that would have the entire show schedule?

[GracefulOceanWaves]

I find it interesting how often the shows are referred to as high school level or below. If you read the bio of the ship entertainers, you will find they are all very highly trained dancers and/or singers. I agree some casts are better than others but in their defense it is very hard dancing twice a night to audiences who give no feedback. Try smiling and performing to someone who doesn't even bother to clap. Often they dance with injuries which you are never aware and yes it is their job and yes they are paid to do it. They also read these boards so maybe rather than say they are worse than high school be a little more constructive. It would be interesting if they wrote an audience review once in a while.

 

Have you ever taken the Ultimate Ship Tour? When we did and they took us on the stage and they turned up the spotlights and turned down the house lights and gave you a feel for what the performers can see. Nuthin. I'm a young woman with great vision and I could see nuthin beyond the stage itself. The whole audience section was completely black. The only audience feedback would be applause because seeing a smile or a face or anything would be next to impossible.

 

Just my experience.

[Coracii]

My husband and I were on The Diamond in August, we found the shows very entertaining. There was always 2 shows 8:15 and 10:15.

 

There are typically two showings of some variety each night, but it's not usually the same show being put on twice. Last time we were on the Diamond was in June and I just checked every Patter from that cruise for the showtimes. On four of the nights, the main theater performance was only shown once with a movie in the other time slot (either at about 8pm or about 10pm). The other three nights there were two shows, once it was the same show the other two times it was a production and a comedy skit (again, one at about 8pm and the other at about 10pm). On that cruise only "Do You Wanna Dance" was repeated. It was shown twice on night two and at 8pm on night 3 (with a movie following it). Two of the shows were only shown once during the cruise, both at 8:15pm. That's consistently been my complaint about Princess even after 9 previous wonderful cruises with them, the show times in the theater are poorly arranged and there's not enough seating. Think about those with traditional late dining and they only do one show at 8pm and then show a movie at 10pm. Do you skip traditional dinner and go to the buffet to see the show or do you not see the show and go to dinner at your scheduled time? Now, as far as seating capacity, the Diamond has approximately 920 seats in the theather and holds about 2500 people. If they only do the show once only slightly over 1/3 can see it. If they do the same show twice the absolute maximum that can see it would be about 72% of the people on the ship. Poor planning by Princess.

[Ruste]

Have you ever taken the Ultimate Ship Tour? When we did and they took us on the stage and they turned up the spotlights and turned down the house lights and gave you a feel for what the performers can see. Nuthin. I'm a young woman with great vision and I could see nuthin beyond the stage itself. The whole audience section was completely black. The only audience feedback would be applause because seeing a smile or a face or anything would be next to impossible.

 

Just my experience.

 

No I haven't done the Ultimate Ship Tour but have been on the stage more than once.

[PescadoAmarillo]

I find it interesting how often the shows are referred to as high school level or below. If you read the bio of the ship entertainers, you will find they are all very highly trained dancers and/or singers. I agree some casts are better than others but in their defense it is very hard dancing twice a night to audiences who give no feedback. Try smiling and performing to someone who doesn't even bother to clap. Often they dance with injuries which you are never aware and yes it is their job and yes they are paid to do it. They also read these boards so maybe rather than say they are worse than high school be a little more constructive. It would be interesting if they wrote an audience review once in a while.

 

I couldn't agree more. We really love the production shows, and we always get there VERY early and sit in the front row. We really appreciate the efforts of the performers, and usually their abilities too. We're usually the ones starting the standing ovation, we enjoy most of the production shows that much. I can't tell you how many times the seats to either side of us get filled by -sorry to say this, but it is absolutely the truth- seniors who sit there like bumps on logs, arms folded across their chest, never applauding, and worse yet, sleeping with their mouths wide open. And even worse, SNORING! I mean, DH has been known to snooze a bit during some entertainment, but NEVER while sitting in the first few rows, where he could be seen by the entertainers. It is just really embarassing when it happens, and I feel so badly for those poor singers and dancers. Hard to imagine how they keep trying as hard as they do!!

 

Sorry to rant, but this really is a pet peeve of mine.

[Posaune]

I am an entertainer myself and I find the shows to be of very good quality. The lighting and sound systems and technical designs are close to the best you can buy. No, sets are not on the level of Wicked on Broadway, but onboard they must have sets for as many as five shows stored in a very small area. Casts vary in quality, but even the worst we have seen was on the level of the bus and truck tours of Broadway shows. The level of performance is below Broadway or West End shows, but the performers on Broadway are not dealing with stages that move while they are dancing or audiences that come only because it is free. Broadway performers do the same single show eight times a week. Ship casts perform up to eight performances a week of four different shows. Of course they are not quite as perfect as their Broadway counterparts. Nor do they make the high salaries you find on Broadway!

 

On our recent cruise most of the shows were done two or three times. I agree that shows need to be taken out of the rotation more often. We have only been lucky enough to cruise once a year and we have seen several shows three times.

 

Other entertainers (comedians, jugglers and feature acts) are generally pretty good, but audience tastes vary greatly. We had Philippa Healy, a wonderful soprano from West End shows onboard a couple of years ago. She was a fantastic treat to us, but some folks just can't stand Broadway. I am not one for magic shows, so we just go to one of the other venues.

[Va_Cruizer]

We go to the shows expecting to enjoy ourselves and always do. Yes we have seen some shows more than once on different cruises but always enjoy the shows and appreciate the work the performers go through. I personally can't imagine doing what they do with a moving stage, heck, I can't even walk down the halls in a straight line.

We also always say thank you and smile when served by the wait staff and enjoy seeing the smile we get in return. The long and short of what I'm saying is we go an a cruise happy to be there and expecting to have fun and always do.

 

Kevin & Cheryl

[caribill]

There are typically two showings of some variety each night, but it's not usually the same show being put on twice.

 

My experience is different from yours over the past several years.

 

Princess Theater production shows, comedians, hypnotists, singers have almost always been two times in an evening and, starting about a year ago, a third time the following evening. Every now and then there is a singer or comedian or production show that is only on one time, but that is when there is a special event at what would be the normal 2nd time.

 

Princess Theater crew talent shows and passenger talent shows are only presented one time.

 

London Pub Night in the aft lounge is only presented one time.

 

Explorer Lounge performances by comedians, singers, jugglers, etc. are usually presented up to five times, with three shows one evening and two the next.

[Coracii]

My experience is different from yours over the past several years.

 

Princess Theater production shows, comedians, hypnotists, singers have almost always been two times in an evening and, starting about a year ago, a third time the following evening. Every now and then there is a singer or comedian or production show that is only on one time, but that is when there is a special event at what would be the normal 2nd time.

 

Princess Theater crew talent shows and passenger talent shows are only presented one time.

 

London Pub Night in the aft lounge is only presented one time.

 

Explorer Lounge performances by comedians, singers, jugglers, etc. are usually presented up to five times, with three shows one evening and two the next.

 

I still have my Patters from three cruises in the last two years and after going through 28 days worth that's definitely not the schedule they were on for any of them. I can't say what they've done with their other cruises, but on those three specific trips the show scheduling was terrible even when the shows themselves were very well done (at least the ones that didn't happen at the same time as our dinner and we could see them).