entertainment: thoughts on the theme nights vs Princess Idol/karaokee

[vmom]

We were on the 12/4-12/11 sailing of the Crown and it was FANTASTIC!!!

This was our 6th cruise with Princess and our second on the Crown (and our 9th cruise).

 

The entertainment on board was very good with the bands on board all being very good. Overall the quality of entertainment and entertainment options were better than on any of our other Princess cruises...so no complaints.

 

One observation tho...there are several theme nights, such as 60-70's dance night, Western night etc in one of the clubs. We went to several of these.

 

One wish, they are just too too short, only 45 minutes in length. We would just get over there and the crowd would just really be enjoying themselves and getting into the theme and music, and it was over. They end the theme night after only 45 minutes due to having the Princess Idol and karaoke sessions.

 

Frankly, I think the Princess Idol thing is getting a bit old. It was fun when American Idol first came out, but now, who wants to listen to some off tune passengers when you can listen to some real high quality music some where else. There's a reason entertainers are paid for singing or playing, and there's a reason why most passengers are not professionals. I can also see the Princess Idol on longer cruises for variety, but for the average 7 day cruise, spending so much time using up the limited entertainment space on Princess Idol or Karaoke seems like a waste.

 

I would love to have these theme nights last longer, 45 minutes is just not long enough. Some people are just arriving and its over.

 

Would love to hear other opinions...am I the only one who feels this way?

[PescadoAmarillo]

I, too, think the parties are too short, and agree that Princess Idol (and some of the other "competition-type" entertainment is past its prime (but it's cheap, so it's not going away anytime soon). Perhaps they are kept short because they generally involve more members of the cruise staff, who eventually need to sleep, whereas the competitions do not.

[DanJ]

While I think the Princess Pop Star thing is kind of a waste, karaoke is still pretty popular. In my last several cruises, karaoke was the most attended event most nights (or even afternoons when they do it then).

[Eleni2007]

I agree - keep the Karaoke! Not so sure about princess idol... don't like the competition thing; also, more people willing to sing if not competitive.

[sunsetbeachgal]

Agree that the Princess Pop Star should be done away with.

[Mist_ynight]

I really like Karaoke but on my last cruise there was only one karaoke night and all the rest of the nights was princess idol. I did enjoy watching it but I like to sing as well. I sang one night in idol but would prefer loosing the idol and having more karaoke. Can't comment on the theme nights cause I didn't see them.

[SkyMaster]

I too, love karaoke, and would much rather see regular karaoke as opposed to the "Princess Idol" thingy. The competition limits the number of folks who sing, (many don't like to be involved in any kind of competition, but would love to sing to their significant other, or just for FUN). The competition causes a bit of friction between the singers, where if there was no competition, they will usually help each other out, and sing duets etc. IMO, it just makes karaoke a LOT more fun if there is no contest involved.

 

"SKY"

[KansasCityGuys]

I have to agree with everyone elses' posts regarding karoeke vs Princess Pop Star especially after our experience on the Emerald a couple weeks ago. My partner enjoys to sing karoeke. On the first night of auditions we had something else planned which conflicted with the Princess Pop Star auditions so we didn't make it. The second night of auditions in my opinion was conducted in a very unprofessional manner by the cruise director staff. They only had six singers, which I agree with the other posts that if they would have just done regular Karoeke, they probably would have had more singers. The last singer of the night, after he was introduced, a member of the cruise director staff started screaming as if she was at a rock concert and Mr. Beefy Cakes had just walked out on stage. I personally don't think he was that great of a singer and he was supposely singing the song to his girlfriend but he never even looked at her as he had his eyes glued to the TV set throughout the song. Oh, and did I say she was also counting the votes.

 

As a result Mr. Beefy Cakes was one of the two winners that night. He probably would have still won without her unproffesionalism, but this is another example of a popularity contest pitting pasengers against each other and creating some hard feelings along the way,

 

And the other winner that night sang a song from Fiddler on the Roof. I didn't have as much of a problem with him winning because I did think he was one of the better singers that night. His performance was more of a theater production which I think helped him win.