Best Piano Entertainer on Carnival? (Part 2)

[LizaMM]

I am looking for any info on Brennan Villines on the Miracle. I did search the thread but did not find any reviews. Looks like I might be sailing the Miracle this May so any input would be appreciated!

 

Thanks!

[cruisegirl29]

Hello,

 

We stopped by to checkout the piano bar on the Freedom sailing 3/10/12... Sean was the piano player. Totally not what we expected. He is much older & didn't really fit your typical CCL entertainer. We didn't stick around but noticed some people enjoying their time spent in there throughout the week....

 

All I can say is that i'm praying for someone really good on the Breeze 1/27/13 sailing!!

 

 

Happy Sailing....

Sue

[buggystuff]

Hello,

 

We stopped by to checkout the piano bar on the Freedom sailing 3/10/12... Sean was the piano player. Totally not what we expected. He is much older & didn't really fit your typical CCL entertainer. We didn't stick around but noticed some people enjoying their time spent in there throughout the week....

 

All I can say is that i'm praying for someone really good on the Breeze 1/27/13 sailing!!

 

 

Happy Sailing....

Sue

 

Thank you for validating Sue!

I was hoping Sean would get more "in tune" with the patrons...but alas, doesn't sound like it...

[buggystuff]

I am looking for any info on Brennan Villines on the Miracle. I did search the thread but did not find any reviews. Looks like I might be sailing the Miracle this May so any input would be appreciated!

 

Thanks!

 

Hey Lizza! Good to see you're still cruising!

I met you on the Freedom, Feb 2009

Was with yamaha dancer - remember us?

[beerman2]

Can't seem to find anything on James Morris as we'll be sailing on the Victory this weekend.

 

 

Have asked here and on f-c-b--k and NO answers.

 

ANY HELP?!?!

[buggystuff]

Can't seem to find anything on James Morris as we'll be sailing on the Victory this weekend.

 

 

Have asked here and on f-c-b--k and NO answers.

 

ANY HELP?!?!

 

:

[manmtnmike]

Hello,

 

We stopped by to checkout the piano bar on the Freedom sailing 3/10/12... Sean was the piano player. Totally not what we expected. He is much older & didn't really fit your typical CCL entertainer. We didn't stick around but noticed some people enjoying their time spent in there throughout the week....

 

All I can say is that i'm praying for someone really good on the Breeze 1/27/13 sailing!!

 

 

Happy Sailing....

Sue

 

Sue,

Thanks for the info! We will be on Freedom Aug. 19. He will be off the ship, evidently, the day before.

Anyone know who will be repalcing him?

 

Thanks,

Mike

[Hooked On Cruising 4ever]

That is "Sean" Laws

And, was on the Freedom Feb 25 with him

He is quite talented in his own right, but very S L O W playing

Not many "sing alongs"

I would count him as the quintessential "lounge act", but not what Carnival folks are expecting

 

With encouragement, he may get better

Suggest "8 beats to the bar" LOL

 

This is NOT what I was hoping to hear...we wanted someone who is fun and does alot of sing alongs!!

[beerman2]

Thanks buggystuff!

[cruisegirl29]

This is NOT what I was hoping to hear...we wanted someone who is fun and does alot of sing alongs!!

 

Well.. Sean is a bit older... ok like really really old! LOL... (Hopefully I'm not offending anyone by saying that)

 

I'm sorry.. hopefully he will get better as time goes on....

 

Sue

[LizaMM]

Hey Lizza! Good to see you're still cruising!

I met you on the Freedom, Feb 2009

Was with yamaha dancer - remember us?

 

YES! I do remember you guys!

 

Still cruising when I can. I have seen that you have racked up quite a few! I just booked the Miracle out of NYC for May. This will be my first Platinum cruise. I am hoping for a better experience in the piano bar then that Freedom cruise you and I sailed together!!!!

 

 

Any word on Brennan Villines????

[Irishlinny]

YES! I do remember you guys!

 

Still cruising when I can. I have seen that you have racked up quite a few! I just booked the Miracle out of NYC for May. This will be my first Platinum cruise. I am hoping for a better experience in the piano bar then that Freedom cruise you and I sailed together!!!!

 

 

Any word on Brennan Villines????

Which one did you book?

 

If you go back within the last few pages here, a couple of people posted about Brennan, and not very favorably:( You can search him on YouTube and nothing you will find shows him as a piano bar type of entertainer. I'm bummed...I love a good PB:(

[LizaMM]

Which one did you book?

 

If you go back within the last few pages here, a couple of people posted about Brennan, and not very favorably:( You can search him on YouTube and nothing you will find shows him as a piano bar type of entertainer. I'm bummed...I love a good PB:(

 

It figures! I have not had a good piano bar entertainer in quite a few cruises. VERY sad!! I have had some wonderful times in Carnival Piano Bars but unfortunately I have not been so lucky lately. Actually my last 4 cruises were Piano Bar disappointments

 

I will try and find those posts though. I had done a search on this thread but the only stuff that had come up was all the listing posts. I will try again.

 

I am sailing on the 30th of May.....Must go add that to my siggy!! :)

[Irishlinny]

It figures! I have not had a good piano bar entertainer in quite a few cruises. VERY sad!! I have had some wonderful times in Carnival Piano Bars but unfortunately I have not been so lucky lately. Actually my last 4 cruises were Piano Bar disappointments

 

I will try and find those posts though. I had done a search on this thread but the only stuff that had come up was all the listing posts. I will try again.

 

I am sailing on the 30th of May.....Must go add that to my siggy!! :)

I feel your pain:( After having some great PB players on our first few cruises, it had been a few years with not great ones. In Nov we lucked out and had Marty Gast on the Freedom and he was AWESOME! Spent every nite in there. From what I am hearing from people, there are a number of PB players right now who don't do well in this setting. Sounds like Carnival needs to do better hiring. Just because someone can sing and play piano does not make them a good PB entertainer...it's a totally different animal:rolleyes:

 

We'll warm the Miracle up for you!:)

[Amandapita]

This is NOT what I was hoping to hear...we wanted someone who is fun and does alot of sing alongs!!

 

I know it's not the piano bar, but if you are sailing on the Freedom this summer (and don't like the entertainer in the PB) check out soloist, Jay Laboy. I don't know where he plays on the ship, but I have seen him on two cruises and he is very talented and usually ends up with a great crowd. His request book has over 900 songs in it and he plays plenty of stuff that you can sing along to.

[LizaMM]

I feel your pain:( After having some great PB players on our first few cruises, it had been a few years with not great ones. In Nov we lucked out and had Marty Gast on the Freedom and he was AWESOME! Spent every nite in there. From what I am hearing from people, there are a number of PB players right now who don't do well in this setting. Sounds like Carnival needs to do better hiring. Just because someone can sing and play piano does not make them a good PB entertainer...it's a totally different animal:rolleyes:

 

We'll warm the Miracle up for you!:)

 

OK....I found the previous posts. Oh well.....As Laura said, maybe he will have warmed up by May!

 

Will you be writing a review after your cruise?? Either way if you could post back here and let me know how your experience is that would be fantastic! I will be having a late seating for dinner and usually don't head to the Piano Bar until late at night so maybe he gets better then :rolleyes: we'll see!

[Irishlinny]

OK....I found the previous posts. Oh well.....As Laura said, maybe he will have warmed up by May!

 

Will you be writing a review after your cruise?? Either way if you could post back here and let me know how your experience is that would be fantastic! I will be having a late seating for dinner and usually don't head to the Piano Bar until late at night so maybe he gets better then :rolleyes: we'll see!

I'm hoping he warms up to it as well...

 

Not sure about the review since I've already sailed her 2 times and I don't partake in alot of the activities. But I will definitely report back here for ya!:)

[Bambooman]

Jason Davis left Carnival. They were gonna fire him anyways, because he talks to the passengers and the big bosses on the ships thinks he might tell passengers about Carnival's dirty disgusting secrets. I can't believe that people still fight to get on a boat to eat at a buffet! Wow! It's not even good food, and it's rigged to manipulate peoples behavior! Scary huh?

[divetrash]

Jason Davis left Carnival. They were gonna fire him anyways, because he talks to the passengers and the big bosses on the ships thinks he might tell passengers about Carnival's dirty disgusting secrets. I can't believe that people still fight to get on a boat to eat at a buffet! Wow! It's not even good food, and it's rigged to manipulate peoples behavior! Scary huh?

 

Hi Jason,

 

A little bitter since you left Carnival?

[golfadj]

Jason Davis left Carnival. They were gonna fire him anyways, because he talks to the passengers and the big bosses on the ships thinks he might tell passengers about Carnival's dirty disgusting secrets. I can't believe that people still fight to get on a boat to eat at a buffet! Wow! It's not even good food, and it's rigged to manipulate peoples behavior! Scary huh?

 

Sorry but overall like the food.

[kajukenbo]

We just got off the Carnival Conquest today. Barry Miller was the piano guy... and he is amazing! We had more fun and laughs on this cruise than any we've been on before (about 9). I would definitely book a particular cruise ship just because he was playing.

[palmbaytish]

Well, we just got off the Carnival Glory today (4/1) and let me tell you, I think I spent all of about 15 continuious minutes the entire cruise in the piano bar....I wanted to give Peter Brenner a fair chance, but alas, the previous posters were right. After 15 minutes, I was SO ready to leave. Fun, friendly interaction with the audience is NOT his strong suit. He does oversing in a MAJOR way and he just was not Mr. Personality....and honestly, not a great singer.

 

I wanted to like him...I really did. We popped in at other times during the cruise to keep seeing if maybe he got better as the cruise went on. Judging by the crowds (or lack there of...I never saw more than 5 or 8 people there at 10:30 or 11:00 at night) he is not a fan favorite. Bummer!!!

Edited April 1, 2012 by palmbaytish

[buggystuff]

Well, we just got off the Carnival Glory today (4/1) and let me tell you, I think I spent all of about 15 continuious minutes the entire cruise in the piano bar....I wanted to give Peter Brenner a fair chance, but alas, the previous posters were right. After 15 minutes, I was SO ready to leave. Fun, friendly interaction with the audience is NOT his strong suit. He does oversing in a MAJOR way and he just was not Mr. Personality....and honestly, not a great singer.

 

I wanted to like him...I really did. We popped in at other times during the cruise to keep seeing if maybe he got better as the cruise went on. Judging by the crowds (or lack there of...I never saw more than 5 or 8 people there at 10:30 or 11:00 at night) he is not a fan favorite. Bummer!!!

 

Tish, it's sad, and for the life of me, can't figure out why CCL keeps him on, he just doesn't "bring it" after all these years.

Be sure to email CCL and John Heald. Will help make it better for everyone.

[divetrash]

Couple updates from the list John H posted:

 

Breeze: Ron Pass 5/21/2012 - 6/27/2012 http://www.ronpass.com

Conquest: Barry Miller 3/3/2012 -7/1/2012

Destiny: Bill "Billy J. Clay" Barclay 2/20/2012 - 8/20/2012

Dream: James Quigley 3/3/2012 -7/14/2012 http://www.jamespquigley.com

Ecstasy: Hrvoje "Mr. H" Knezevic 3/22/2012- 9/20/2012

Elation: Tom Grable 11/05/2011 - 5/5/2012

Elation: Bruce McGhie 5/5/2012 - ???

Fantasy: Jordan Heppner 12/3/2011 - 5/4/2012

Fantasy: Angela Johnson 5/4/2012 - 11/??/2012

Fascination: Michael Smith 3/31/2012 - ???

Freedom: Steven "Sean" Laws 2/19/2012 - 8/19/2012

Glory: Peter Brenner 2/26/2012 - 5/27/2012

Imagination: Larry Maconaghy 4/2/2012 - 10/01/2012

Inspiration: Seth Gibson 12/3/2011 - 6/04/2012 http://www.sethgibsonmusic.com/

Legend: Alan Brown current - 7/15/2012

Liberty: "Piano Bar Bob" Berhalter 10/22/2011 - 4/28/2012

Magic: Jerone "Imani" Howard 12/4/2011 - 6/3/2012 http://www.imanology.com/

Miracle: Brennan Villines current - 7/25/2012

Paradise: Del Clark 12/12/2011 - 6/11/2012

Pride: Roger Concepcion current - 6/27/2012

Sensation: Rick Yerkes 2/9/2012 - 8/9/2012

Spirit: Keith Turner current - 7/17/2012

Splendor: Marty Gast 2/26/2012 - 8/26/2012

Triumph: Russell Villarin 2/23/2012 - 8/23/2012

Valor: Brad Alexander 1/21/2012 - 6/17/2012 www.bradalexanderonline.com

Victory: James Morris current - 5/20/2012

 

 

*** A note about this list: This list is compiled from reports and reviews of current cruisers and reports from the entertainers themselves. There is no guarantee of accuracy. An actual date usually means that the schedule has been confirmed by either the performer or someone inside Carnival. Schedules are subject to change. Also, this list is updated very regularly, so if it's not on the list, we probably don't know it.

Edited April 17, 2012 by divetrash

[divetrash]

Just making a change to Brad Alexander's website:

 

Breeze: Ron Pass 5/21/2012 - 6/27/2012 http://www.ronpass.com

Conquest: Barry Miller 3/3/2012 -7/1/2012

Destiny: Bill "Billy J. Clay" Barclay 2/20/2012 - 8/20/2012

Dream: James Quigley 3/3/2012 -7/14/2012 http://www.jamespquigley.com

Ecstasy: Hrvoje "Mr. H" Knezevic 3/22/2012- 9/20/2012

Elation: Tom Grable 11/05/2011 - 5/5/2012

Elation: Bruce McGhie 5/5/2012 - ???

Fantasy: Jordan Heppner 12/3/2011 - 5/4/2012

Fantasy: Angela Johnson 5/4/2012 - 11/??/2012

Fascination: Michael Smith 3/31/2012 - ???

Freedom: Steven "Sean" Laws 2/19/2012 - 8/19/2012

Glory: Peter Brenner 2/26/2012 - 5/27/2012

Imagination: Larry Maconaghy 4/2/2012 - 10/01/2012

Inspiration: Seth Gibson 12/3/2011 - 6/04/2012 http://www.sethgibsonmusic.com/

Legend: Alan Brown current - 7/15/2012

Liberty: "Piano Bar Bob" Berhalter 10/22/2011 - 4/28/2012

Magic: Jerone "Imani" Howard 12/4/2011 - 6/3/2012 http://www.imanology.com/

Miracle: Brennan Villines current - 7/25/2012

Paradise: Del Clark 12/12/2011 - 6/11/2012

Pride: Roger Concepcion current - 6/27/2012

Sensation: Rick Yerkes 2/9/2012 - 8/9/2012

Spirit: Keith Turner current - 7/17/2012

Splendor: Marty Gast 2/26/2012 - 8/26/2012

Triumph: Russell Villarin 2/23/2012 - 8/23/2012

Valor: Brad Alexander 1/21/2012 - 6/17/2012 http://www.bradthepianoman.com

Victory: James Morris current - 5/20/2012

 

 

*** A note about this list: This list is compiled from reports and reviews of current cruisers and reports from the entertainers themselves. There is no guarantee of accuracy. An actual date usually means that the schedule has been confirmed by either the performer or someone inside Carnival. Schedules are subject to change. Also, this list is updated very regularly, so if it's not on the list, we probably don't know it.