Theatre situation

[amajaa]

I know you used to be able to book theatre slots online but P& O are either charging soon or have already done so to booking on boarding via the app.

 

My question is have people on here managed to book the theatres they want or have they been disappointed?

 

The theatre shows are the main thing we love about cruising and would be gutted if we miss the shows. As I understand it from Facebook etc those boarding early are booking up for the whole cruise and those unfortunate enough to get a late boarding time are completely missing out for the whole cruise. That seems ridiculously unfair, they could at least make it so you have to book daily giving everyone a fair chance of seeing the shows.

 

I am seriously thinking of cancelling our cruise in January because of this as to be honest there would be no point in going if we are going to miss out on the best part of the cruise. 

[Stokie33]

For our cruise in September we got an email 2 weeks before saying we could book entertainment but it didn’t go live until really late that night but managed to book it ok

[Interestedcruisefan]

On our 4 night staycation we didn't know you had to book theatres until we got on board

 

And we were quite late boarding as well

 

I was able to book all the shows we wanted except one which was already fully booked

 

On the staycation epicurean and sindhu  were fully booked by the time I looked

 

Glasshouse was very good though and we also enjoyed the limelight club meal with the Eric and Ernie tribute act who were brilliant we thought

[amajaa]

5 minutes ago, Stokie33 said:

For our cruise in September we got an email 2 weeks before saying we could book entertainment but it didn’t go live until really late that night but managed to book it ok

It’s been changed to the app now which is where the problem is arising.  I sent P & O a message on Messenger about this and they said as the app is now up and running you had to book via the app on boarding. Judging from the posts on Facebook lots are now missing out completely.  I don’t understand why they don’t make it to book daily. 

[Lisashusband]

I was under the impression that the app was just being used on Britannia Iona and Arvia or is it now on the rest of the fleet ?

[amajaa]

It is actually Iona we are on first. But I didn’t realise the app hadn’t been rolled out for the whole fleet yet.

[Lisashusband]

Well I’m not sure myself, I’m sure someone will put us right 

but to answer your original question we were on Iona last month and we noticed that 

certainly after the first day venues were showing as sold out when in fact they weren’t 

because people had booked shows and not turned up ( of course plans change ) 

The advise on board was to turn up anyway and ask the members of staff on the door 

[jeanlyon]

Is this applicable to all ships?  Like Aurora and Arcadia?

[Lisashusband]

I would have thought it was applicable to any of the ships that were using the myholiday app.

I honestly don’t know if it’s being used on the entire fleet or just Iona Britannia and Arvia.

I suspect that P&O will roll it out to all ships if they haven’t done already 

[Interestedcruisefan]

We also got told to turn up early at sindhu any night and they woukd try to get us in despite being sold out on the app

 

We went to Glasshouse instead though. Personally I think I prefer the menu at Glasshouse to the menu at Epicurean 

 

 

[jeanlyon]

This is really a turn off isn't it.  How do you know whether you actually want to go to the theatre.  We usually make that decision on the day.

[Lisashusband]

Also worth pointing out that it was only at half capacity, just think what it will be like when it’s full ..

[davecttr]

The solution is to make theatre reservations subject to a deposit, say £50 per person. Don't turn up without a REALLY GOOD excuse and you forfeit the deposit. Only one booking for each different show as well.

[Red Ray]

You can see what entertainment is on for a whole week by selecting the 'Entertainment' icon on the TV. We booked a couple of shows prior to boarding but had no difficulty booking others though the app. Bearing in mind the theatre was at half capacity, I think it worked well considering there were still 3500 pax on board.

[Adawn47]

2 hours ago, jeanlyon said:

This is really a turn off isn't it.  How do you know whether you actually want to go to the theatre.  We usually make that decision on the day.

The more I read these threads, the more disillusioned I'm becoming about cruising.😟

Avril

[lambinator1982]

We are on the repositioning cruise to Barbabos that is leaving the 22nd.  when we try and see\book a show on the personaliser we get the message below

 

These events are not bookable. Simply turn up to enjoy or ask our friendly staff for more details. We look forward to seeing you there.

 

In August we did one of the stycation cruises and for the shows it allowed us to pre book them on the personaliser before the cruise started. It worked well for us but I can see the annoyance if it was not booked in advanced and the show was 'sold out' when on board 

[Angel57]

10 minutes ago, Adawn47 said:

The more I read these threads, the more disillusioned I'm becoming about cruising.😟

Avril

Sadly I think we have to forget what it was like pre Covid as it is never going to revert to what we loved and enjoyed so much.

Because cruising is such a wonderful way to travel, I will cruise again, but not yet. As a solo I want to be sure that I can sit at a table for 6 or 8 and enjoy other people’s company without worrying I may catch something that might end up curtailing my cruise.
My guess is the booking of restaurants and other venues plus theatre via the “app” is here to stay.

I would not do a long /world cruise again but am hoping to return to my beloved Aurora on a cruise before she is retired.

Gill 

Edited October 12, 2021 by Angel57
Spelling

[Adawn47]

1 minute ago, Angel57 said:

Sadly I think we have to forget what it was like pre Covid as it is never going to revert to what we loved and enjoyed so much.

Because cruising is such a wonderful way to travel, I will cruise again, but not yet. As a solo I want to be sure that I can sit at a table for 6 or 8 and enjoy other people’s company without worrying I may catch something that might end up curtailing my cruise.
My guess is the booking of restaurants and other venues plus theatre via the “app” is here to stay.

I would not do a long /world cruise again but am hoping to return to my beloved Aurora on a cruise before she is retired.

The whole aspect of cruising for us Angel, is the relaxing spontaneity. Just to decide our day over a quiet breakfast and then decide the evening entertainment over a lazy lunch, and then maybe changing our minds over a pre-dinner drink😏  If the booking of shows etc continues as now over the whole fleet, then I'm afraid that cruising holidays won't suit us. We've both spent our working lives ruled by the clock, and enough is enough. We want a stress-free holiday, not faffing about trying to book a show on an app that works sporadically.

Avril

[Waju]

8 minutes ago, Adawn47 said:

The whole aspect of cruising for us Angel, is the relaxing spontaneity. Just to decide our day over a quiet breakfast and then decide the evening entertainment over a lazy lunch, and then maybe changing our minds over a pre-dinner drink😏  If the booking of shows etc continues as now over the whole fleet, then I'm afraid that cruising holidays won't suit us. We've both spent our working lives ruled by the clock, and enough is enough. We want a stress-free holiday, not faffing about trying to book a show on an app that works sporadically.

Avril

 I couldn't have put that better myself!  When I cruise I want to get on board and lock my phone in the safe.

[GOQ]

When booking the theatre is it possible to book a seat location as part of the booking ?

 

Most ships I have been on have some sort reserved disabled seats.

 

I don’t need wheelchair access or extra space but due to an arthritic condition it’s difficult for me to look up at the stage for any length of time. So when I have a free choice I choose a balcony seat so I can look downwards onto the stage.

 

It's literally "a pain in the neck" to sit too close to the stage/cinema screen.

Edited October 12, 2021 by GOQ

[picsa]

10 hours ago, amajaa said:

My question is have people on here managed to book the theatres they want or have they been disappointed?

 

The theatre shows are the main thing we love about cruising and would be gutted if we miss the shows. As I understand it from Facebook etc those boarding early are booking up for the whole cruise and those unfortunate enough to get a late boarding time are completely missing out for the whole cruise. That seems ridiculously unfair, they could at least make it so you have to book daily giving everyone a fair chance of seeing the shows.

From my recent Iona cruise, some of the shows appeared on the P&O booking website before we boarded, but only the first few days.

 

But *no* addition shows were available to book on the app when we boarded. Over the course of the cruise shows appeared every few days to book.

 

What was only bookable on board were the restaurants, and yes those did get booked up quickly for the whole two weeks for peak times.

 

But back to the theatres. None of the shows in the theatre I went to were anywhere near full, and most were perhaps only 30 to at most 50% full - in contrast The Club House you cannot book was always standing room only. Perhaps the difference is mask wearing and no drinks in the theatre, but no masks and drinks in The Club House.

 

Also with the theatre they only had ‘bouncers’ on the door checking people had booked up to the scheduled start time (although if you hadn’t booked it wasn’t an issue and they let you in anyway). After the start time you could just wander in and sit wherever you fancied anyway.

 

Booking did not allocate you a specific seat if you said you didn’t need a wheelchair space (no idea what it did if you did).

[Interestedcruisefan]

On 10/12/2021 at 4:50 PM, Adawn47 said:

The whole aspect of cruising for us Angel, is the relaxing spontaneity. Just to decide our day over a quiet breakfast and then decide the evening entertainment over a lazy lunch, and then maybe changing our minds over a pre-dinner drink😏  If the booking of shows etc continues as now over the whole fleet, then I'm afraid that cruising holidays won't suit us. We've both spent our working lives ruled by the clock, and enough is enough. We want a stress-free holiday, not faffing about trying to book a show on an app that works sporadically.

Avril

Avril

 

When you do decide you want to watch a theatre show how do you ensure you get a seat in the normal cruise world before covid?

 

Do you go early or do you just accept sometimes the show will be full ?

[Adawn47]

1 hour ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

Avril

 

When you do decide you want to watch a theatre show how do you ensure you get a seat in the normal cruise world before covid?

 

Do you go early or do you just accept sometimes the show will be full ?

It varies really. If it's a particular show we want to see we will go a little earlier, maybe half an hour. We always have dinner late, so go to the 10pm show, which is never as popular as the 8 - 8.30pm one. We've never been unable to find a seat even if we go 10 mins before the show begins. I have to say though, that we only sail on Aurora and Arcadia. Oceana and Adonia  too when they were in the fleet.

Avril

[Ardennais]

16 minutes ago, Adawn47 said:

It varies really. If it's a particular show we want to see we will go a little earlier, maybe half an hour. We always have dinner late, so go to the 10pm show, which is never as popular as the 8 - 8.30pm one. We've never been unable to find a seat even if we go 10 mins before the show begins. I have to say though, that we only sail on Aurora and Arcadia. Oceana and Adonia  too when they were in the fleet.

Avril

Avril - I have found the same thing on Ventura and Azura too. Only ever came across one full house 10 mins before curtain up and that was an earlier one on Britannia. It has never been a problem even when there have been 5 of us. A few times we split up, but not often. 

[Ardennais]

2 hours ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

Avril

 

When you do decide you want to watch a theatre show how do you ensure you get a seat in the normal cruise world before covid?

 

Do you go early or do you just accept sometimes the show will be full ?

It doesn’t have to be one or the other! You could usually turn up 10 minutes before curtain up and find a seat.