Perry Grant - coming to Princess this fall

[Andy]

Hi Everyone,

 

Just wanted to advise that longtime Celebrity performer, Perry Grant, is joining Royal Princess, on October 11th.

 

Wishing Perry all the best at Princess !

Edited April 26, 2015 by Host Andy

[Colo Cruiser]

Never heard of him. What does he do?

[Mackenzie1]

Never heard of him. What does he do?

 

Apparently, he is a pianist/singer:

 

[Pia1913]

Just like the email I received this morning from Princess about their new relationship with magician and composer Stephen Schwartz. I never heard of him either.

Edited April 26, 2015 by Pia1913

[chamima]

I wish Perry lots of luck in his new venue and venture.

We LOVE the Royal Princess and hope he will, also.

However (and it's a big however) the piano bar on the Royal is in the middle of their massive Piazza. It's not exactly the small, intimate venue that he has preferred in the past.

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/573770...7638843840634/

 

Trying to find a picture:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1950107&page=19

 

 

 

 

Pictures of piazza here (post #399) - the piano bar is on the top floor

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1950107&page=20

 

 

 

Perry has a huge following on Celebrity - I would imagine lots of them will be moving over to Princess.

I'm sure he and they will love Princess and the Royal as much as we do.

The only problem I can see is the small room performances he prefers.

[Colo Cruiser]

I am sure they don't know about "Bert" either. :p

[rkacruiser]

Perry was a favorite entertainer on Holland America before he defected to Celebrity. On Celebrity Eclipse, he performed in the large lounge above the Bridge, which was a very good venue for his performances. Then, if I understand it correctly, Celebrity started moving him around to other areas of the ship. most of which were too small to handle the crowds. It would be interesting to learn why Perry has decided to leave Celebrity.

 

I would agree with what some other posters have said: some enjoy his performances; some do not. Very few seem lukewarm about him.

 

I enjoyed him on the Volendam in 2002 as well as aboard Celebrity Eclipse.

[Bimmer09]

No thanks.....

 

I have watched some of his Youtube videos as I have surfed the X board for a couple of years and he's too self-indulgent for my tastes. I think he's a "Love him or Hate him" entertainer. The Youtube audiences hang on his every word so he does have a fan base and some folks now on hearing this news on the X board have canceled X sailings and booked Princess because of him.

 

Different strokes...

 

Norris

[Colo Cruiser]

I have watched some of his Youtube videos as I have surfed the X board for a couple of years and he's too self-indulgent for my tastes. I think he's a "Love him or Hate him" entertainer. The Youtube audiences hang on his every word so he does have a fan base and some folks now on hearing this news on the X board have canceled X sailings and booked Princess because of him.

 

Different strokes...

 

Norris

 

 

Then he sounds like Bert. But I can handle a set or 2 of Bert. :)

[rkacruiser]

For whatever my view is worth, because of some of the guest-unfriendly design flaws that I have learned (this is my opinion as to guest-unfriendly, i.e. a missing staircase issue, verandas that are too small to be properly enjoyed (for the price being paid), etc.), Royal Princess and Regal Princess were written off as ships I would consider.

 

Perry Grant's arrival as an entertainer on Royal Princess, just learned this afternoon, will cause me to re-consider a booking on Royal Princess.

Edited April 26, 2015 by rkacruiser

[dmwnc1959]

Here's the corresponding thread announcing his departure over on the Celebrity Cruises forum....

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2201533

 

.

[deborahjo]

I am not sailing on the Royal but I wanted to see what the hoopla was all about on both boards.

 

I went to You Tube and listened to several of the pieces there. Mind you they were all posted by the same person. I have decided I could watch him may once or twice but no more. His voice is not one that I find very appealing nor his behavior.

 

I cannot understand why people are jumping ship from X to Princess just for one person. I do not see him as very "special". IMHO

[rkacruiser]

I am not sailing on the Royal but I wanted to see what the hoopla was all about on both boards.

 

I went to You Tube and listened to several of the pieces there. Mind you they were all posted by the same person. I have decided I could watch him may once or twice but no more. His voice is not one that I find very appealing nor his behavior.

 

I cannot understand why people are jumping ship from X to Princess just for one person. I do not see him as very "special". IMHO

 

Interesting to me your reaction and I do understand it. Yes, for many: one or two performances by Perry are enough.

 

I find it interesting, given my cruising history that began in 1970, that only Mr. Grant, Patrick Murray and Matilda, Selwyn Wright who performed on Princess Cruises, and the Cantare group that performs on the Nieuw Amsterdam stand out in my mind as entertainers whom I would enjoy an encore performance.

 

Just another case, I think, of "different strokes for different folks". And, most certainly, nothing wrong with that.

[avalon1025]

He's not for everyone, I've sailed with him several times and except for his fan club that sits upfront, I always stood in the back of the room as after 15 minutes it was enough. For every one of his fans disappointed, there is another passenger that could care less

[Mackenzie1]

I wonder why Princess didn't put him on a Grand Class ship in one of the Explorers lounges. It seems like he might get lost on the Royal Princess, and a smaller venue would fit him well. Celebrity ships are more Grand class-sized, anyway.

[4cats4me]

Just played the YouTube videos of him because I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. And the first two videos were just okay for me, but the third one really showed his performance ability. I loved his sparkly jackets, as I am easily amused, :Dand piano playing is definitely his strong suit. The singing is an added bonus

I Used to go see Liberace when he performed at Lake Tahoe back in the 70s, and this guy is as entertaining as Liberace was:)

Yet ANOTHER reason to sail on the Royal P again

Edited April 27, 2015 by 4cats4me

[Pam in CA]

I guess I can't relate to booking a cruise just because of a lounge entertainer. Not something I would do.

[dmwnc1959]

I guess I can't relate to booking a cruise just because of a lounge entertainer. Not something I would do.

 

 

I don't think he's just a lounge entertainer - he has more or less reached the status of a 'headliner' act, but not one that performs in the larger sized venues, for instance, like the Princess Theater. His style is an acquired taste, and as mentioned before, really not my style. If he was performing on a cruise I had already booked, I would not cancel just because he was aboard. I would however probably spend more time up at MUTS or in whatever venue was on the opposite side of the ship. ;)

 

I know Carnival Cruise Lines has an entire series of cruises where musical acts and groups perform, and people book those, as well as pay extra ($40 and up) to see the featured guests. I've looked at several of those myself.

 

And if I knew the Beatlemanics were going to be on a specific ship, I'd be more inclined to lean towards it rather than another ship.

 

People book cruises for all sorts of reasons, especially these off-season milk-runs in the Caribbean: I've booked most all of mine lately for the ship, not the destination; others book because of restaurants aboard one ship that are not on another; maybe their favorite Maitre d', Captain, or Cruise Director is in charge; or it has something specific they like. Apparently Perry Grant is a feature aboard ship that draws a particular crowd that enjoys that kind of entertainment. And it's a style not seen on a lot of cruise ships with their Broadway-style reviews, magicians, and acrobat teams, none of which I really care for.

 

:D

[Pia1913]

One more comment from someone who also looked at You Tube. Definitely not my 'cuppa. :(

[Pia1913]

As long as we're on pianists, whatever happened to Eric Stone? We never cared for him, but our friends are/were totally enamoured. They always went early to sit in the front row.

[BarbinMich]

We were on the X Eclipse last fall to reach their Elite status, having gained it on P a few years ago. So saw him first hand--my husband liked him, me not so much. He IS over the top IMHO and an acquired taste. That cruise (Med. RT out of Southampton) was probably 90% Brits and all the entertainers were British--greatly enjoyed the others. In addition to the "lounge" shows (yes, very packed), he also did a performance in the theater. As I recall, I enjoyed that more than in the lounge.

 

Re Eric Stone, whom Pia brought up, we saw and liked him on one of the grand class ships maybe 5-7 years ago--never since. I agree re Bert Stratton--he's an acquired taste. Actually I'd enjoy it more if he just sang with his wonderful voice and quit or lessened the broad comedic style. Sammy Goldstein is our favorite, having seen/heard him 3-5 times on TAs. But he's moved to the Ocean P mostly and now he's on sabbatical. :(

Edited April 27, 2015 by BarbinMich

[chamima]

And there are also those who are leaving X because they no longer serve fresh squeezed orange juice. They are a tough crowd over there. Every time there is a change a thread becomes a novel.

 

 

I don't necessarily think it's about being a "tough crowd."

We sail on both lines and I read both boards.

There's a definite feeling of Celebrity , at the same time, cutting amenities and raising prices.

I don't get that feeling AT ALL on Princess but I do feel pretty taken advantage of by Celebrity.

We sail for itinerary mostly so, so far, are just dealing with it, but I only plan for the next year and will adjust our plans accordingly.

One specific piano player won't cause us to jump ship but the cutbacks in live entertainment in general (while Princess seems to keep adding more and more) might..............

[shredie]

If he's bringing passengers with him, I guess it's a smart move by Princess.

[Iamcruzin]

I don't necessarily think it's about being a "tough crowd."

We sail on both lines and I read both boards.

There's a definite feeling of Celebrity , at the same time, cutting amenities and raising prices.

I don't get that feeling AT ALL on Princess but I do feel pretty taken advantage of by Celebrity.

We sail for itinerary mostly so, so far, are just dealing with it, but I only plan for the next year and will adjust our plans accordingly.

One specific piano player won't cause us to jump ship but the cutbacks in live entertainment in general (while Princess seems to keep adding more and more) might..............

 

I switched to Celebrity based on itinerary as well. I'm new on that line so I don't feel the cut backs. I was not impressed with the food but we didn't starve. All in all for me there are pros and cons to both Celebrity and Princess but I feel that they are interchangeable.

[geoherb]

As long as we're on pianists, whatever happened to Eric Stone? We never cared for him, but our friends are/were totally enamoured. They always went early to sit in the front row.

He's the only pianist/vocalist who we enjoyed--but not enough to get there early for a front row seat. Most of the time we just walk on past whoever is performing.