Grand, Golden and Star to receive "Movies Under the Stars" theatre

[ahracer]

Chris, Sue
I'll be on the Grand 4/25 and I'm going try and talk to some different members of the staff and see what they think.


Scott

[sue d. miller]

Wow. Thanks, Scott. I'm sure we will get info tricklin in each week. We just have so many questions, they don't have a clue about everything we want to know. Have a wonderful cruise. I know you will have a blast. Is't the last couple of weeks the pits. It is the longest wait of all.

Sue
7 days on Star Princess 10/24

[cruiserone]

[img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_eek.gif[/img]OH NO, another excuse for the "chair hogs" to save a seat! I understand there will even be tartan throws for the chilly nights! Sounds like the 50's have come into the new century. Sounds like fun. And like everything else on the ship - it's up to you if you want to participate. Happy Sailing!

[ahracer]

While it may be up to me if I decide to participate in the movies. It is not up to me if they've removed the roof over the indoor pool and I can no longer enjoy that area.

Scott

[Guest]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> While it may be up to me if I decide to participate in the movies. It is not up to me if they've removed the roof over the indoor pool and I can no longer enjoy that area.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> It's also not up to us if the blitz from the screen and sound system are intrusive on what should be leisurely, relaxing days at sea - either at other pools or on your own balcony. I was on Sun Princess and from my balcony could clearly hear the music from the Island Night party above, as well as from the pool band during the day. Bothersome? Probably not...intrusive? A little... But the sound from those two were more in line with the tropical cruise I was on than would be, say, a blasting basketball game or Tina Turner concert (no offense to Tina).

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Sun Princess, 03/2004; Pacific Princess, 07/2003; Star Princess, 05/2003; Grand Princess, 10/2002; Grand Princess, 10/2002; Sun Princess, 05/2001; Sun Princess, 04/2001; Sun Princess, 09/2000; Sun Princess, 09/2000; Regal Princess, 10/1999; Sun Princess, 08/1998; Holiday, 05/1998; Westerdam, 09/1997; Regal Princess, 11/1996; Royal Odyssey, 09/1995; Starward, 11/1993

[ph053059]

Does anyone know when the Star Princess will be equipped with "Movies Under the Stars"? We will be in the Mediterranean for the July 4th cruise...will it be in by then?

[sue d. miller]

They haven't set any dates yet. They have to figure out how to get the retractable roof off.

Sue
7 days on Star Princess 10/24

[Coral]

Does anyone know if they really have to permanently remove the roof to have this?

[sue d. miller]

Thats what they said.

Sue
7 days on Star Princess 10/24

[jsea]

Princess has a splashy new feature on their website about MUTS:

[url="http://www.princess.com/exclusives/moviesunderthestars/index.html"]http://www.princess.com/exclusives/moviesunderthestars/index.html[/url]

[sue d. miller]

Wow!! That is impressive.

Sue
7 days on Star Princess 10/24

[CruiseFever]

I'm sorry but I just love this stuff

Happy Cruising

Chris

[url="http://www.LifeIsCruising.com"]www.LifeIsCruising.com[/url]

Next up:
Caribbean Princess 06/26/04
Star Princess 10/24/04
Carnival Victory 12/19/04
Carnival Miracle 03/13/05

[Guest]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> Does anyone know if they really have to permanently remove the roof to have this? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Contrary to what's been posted, I've not heard that specifically, but it makes sense given the set up they have on Caribbean Princess, and since they say these modifications will happen on their "7-day Caribbean" fleet...inferring there's no need for a covered pool, I guess.

-------------------------
Sun Princess, 03/2004; Pacific Princess, 07/2003; Star Princess, 05/2003; Grand Princess, 10/2002; Grand Princess, 10/2002; Sun Princess, 05/2001; Sun Princess, 04/2001; Sun Princess, 09/2000; Sun Princess, 09/2000; Regal Princess, 10/1999; Sun Princess, 08/1998; Holiday, 05/1998; Westerdam, 09/1997; Regal Princess, 11/1996; Royal Odyssey, 09/1995; Starward, 11/1993

[Coral]

I have not read it anywhere either that the retractable roof is coming off. Knowing what that pool looks like and the 2nd deck, this would be a shame.

Considering these ships have gone other places (Europe, Asia) - hopefully they will keep the roof so that the ship is more versitle.

[jsea]

Yeah, taking the roof off of the other ships doesn't make much sense considering that next year two of them (Grand & Golden) will be sailing northern itineraries where a covered pool is very nice.

I still think they will place the screens on the mini-golf bulkhead facing the main outdoor pool, but what do I know...

[Guest]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>I still think they will place the screens on the mini-golf bulkhead facing the main outdoor pool, but what do I know... <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Apparently a lot more than anyone else posting here.

Taking the roof off the Calypso Reef pool isn't even under consideration, because as you said, those ships aren't staying in the Caribbean as Caribbean Princess is. All along the site of the screen planned on the other Grand-class ships has been over Neptune's Reef. It's just the technical details of how it will be mounted and operated that are under discussion. We just talked about that again today in preparation for a story that's I'm working on.

Alan Wilson
Cruise News Daily

[sue d. miller]

Great. Thank you.

Sue
7 days on Star Princess 10/24

[Guest]

Alan - have you been holding out on us? I would think that since that main pool area is pretty much the most popular of the ship during the day time, Princess must be pretty sure of this new feature. Interesting.

Good to get your perspective, Alan...

-------------------------
Sun Princess, 03/2004; Pacific Princess, 07/2003; Star Princess, 05/2003; Grand Princess, 10/2002; Grand Princess, 10/2002; Sun Princess, 05/2001; Sun Princess, 04/2001; Sun Princess, 09/2000; Sun Princess, 09/2000; Regal Princess, 10/1999; Sun Princess, 08/1998; Holiday, 05/1998; Westerdam, 09/1997; Regal Princess, 11/1996; Royal Odyssey, 09/1995; Starward, 11/1993

[Coral]

I was just thinking on my way home about this thread - "Where is Alan Wilson when we need him" and then he just appeared! Amazing.

Thanks for your input [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

[Guest]

Coral, I'm not here much anymore, so look quick. [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_razz.gif[/img]

bdjam, Like I said in my article, it's really unusual that a cruise line would release information about a program like this before they have all their ducks in a row.

It's really kind of stunning to see this piece of equipment. The Princess people were the same way. So were the passengers. It didn't take long for the Princess people to see the passengers' excitement. They had been considering the possibility to expanding it to the other Caribbean ships, but seeing the passenger reaction on the preview and the inaugural is what pushed them in to making the decision to move forward with it already. Remember, I said that at the start they were just planning on doing the one show per night and seeing how that goes. Already on the inaugural they were running three show a day and some other video just because of passenger acceptance. Now they're figuring out other things to do and just what programming they will be running on a regular basis. (That's what the upcoming article is about.)

So the short answer is that, yes, they are very confident to be committing that much money on such short notice. They are that confident because of the overwhelming reactions of two entirely different groups of passengers, whom I might add, were already Princess customers. They weren't that "bad" element drawn from other cruise lines because of the promise of the video screen. [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif[/img]

By the way, Brian Langston-Carter was behind this idea in addition to most other features added to the Princess ships beginning with the Sun class, I believe. He's retiring after Sapphire is delivered, and I think Carnival will be hard-pressed to replace him and the influence he has had on Princess ships.

Alan Wilson
Cruise News Daily

[jsea]

Thanks for the solid info, Alan.

[CruiseFever]

Thanks Alan-

I've been following your coverage of this topic through our subscription from when you first mentioned it. I really feel that I've been in on this subject from the start with the most accurate information.

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Cruising

Chris

[url="http://www.LifeIsCruising.com"]www.LifeIsCruising.com[/url]

Next up:
Caribbean Princess 06/26/04
Star Princess 10/24/04
Carnival Victory 12/19/04
Carnival Miracle 03/13/05

[mariapd719]

I think its a great idea and think it'd be beautiful to relax in the open by a pool on the gorgeous sea all while watching a movie - Better than the drive-ins. If it had 4 port days I d do it in a second. I still may in the future.

I mean some of you havent even given it a chance. Your like beating it down for being too loud or for whatever reason before you even experience it. If the music of the Island Party that is one day out of the week and hundreds of people love and enjoy is too intrusive or loud than maybe a more subdued or "elderly" type ship is a better choice for your taste.

Enchantment Feb,2002; Monarch Nov,2002; Radiance Nov,2003; Golden Princess Feb 28,2004
[img]http://pstr-g01.ygpweb.aol.com/data3/00C/5C/90/C8/A1/E8jxdiZ9faFKEKEk7kLioMO+rbBbKHM20060.jpg[/img]

[Guest]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> I think its a great idea and think it'd be beautiful to relax in the open by a pool on the gorgeous sea all while watching a movie - Better than the drive-ins. If it had 4 port days I d do it in a second. I still may in the future.

I mean some of you havent even given it a chance. Your like beating it down for being too loud or for whatever reason before you even experience it. If the music of the Island Party that is one day out of the week and hundreds of people love and enjoy is too intrusive or loud than maybe a more subdued or "elderly" type ship is a better choice for your taste. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Well, I'm certainly not ready for a geriatric cruise, but I do like to relax. While it seems that the concept is being well accepted - and you are right, we shouldn't knock it until we've tried it - I still find it amazing that instead of enjoying a beautiful day at sea away from the constant barrage of media stimulation and immersed in what Mother Earth alone provides, people would choose to watch TV. And I grew up on TV. I think that's really a waste and I question those priorities.

As for Island Night, I may have misrepresented my feelings for that. I did say that it was proper for a tropical cruise and I didn't say they should cancel the event just because I could hear the music from my balcony. Quite the contrary, I was part of the party for most of it. My point was if I could hear Island Night, I could probably hear a NBA basketball game blasting from the LED apparatus. While I would not find Island Night music an intrusion, I would the other.

On the other hand, I respect the opinions of our Mr. Wilson and so I'm willing to be non-judgmental about the whole thing. While I don't particularly relish a big screen TV over the main pool on the Grand Class ships, the plus is that all you non-elderly-cruise types will be there and I'll have the quiet of the aft pool to myself.

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Sun Princess, 03/2004; Pacific Princess, 07/2003; Star Princess, 05/2003; Grand Princess, 10/2002; Grand Princess, 10/2002; Sun Princess, 05/2001; Sun Princess, 04/2001; Sun Princess, 09/2000; Sun Princess, 09/2000; Regal Princess, 10/1999; Sun Princess, 08/1998; Holiday, 05/1998; Westerdam, 09/1997; Regal Princess, 11/1996; Royal Odyssey, 09/1995; Starward, 11/1993