Occupancy/seats in the Princess Theater

[SiliconCruiser]

4 hours ago, mam11 said:

I don't quite understand this comment. My husband uses a mobility scooter and is much more comfortable staying on it for a show as opposed to transferring to a seat. In the downstairs section, there are several rows that have a couple of missing seats at the end. We have assumed that those were rows where he could pull his scooter up on the end and I could sit next to him. Do you consider that I, as an able bodied person, shouldn't sit in those  seats? They are not marked handicapped. Thanks for your thoughts. 

 

I was simply relaying an incident that I encountered with some jerk in a scooter who said that we couldn't use the ADA seating even though his situation was the same as yours (his spouse or whatever, was sitting in the seat that had the lifting armrest.)  And your situation is the same as mine, my wife prefers to remain in her wheelchair (motorized but not a scooter.)

[jimbo1683]

25 minutes ago, skynight said:

Not a good plan. Would turn me off. Too much pre-cruise structure for a vacation. Rather go with the flow. Furthermore, it does not solve the problem, more demand for seats than seats available. It just pushes the problem backwards in pre-cruise time and those familiar with the system go on line first to reserve. 

Doesnt have to be pre-crusie. At some point during the day presumably you decide if you want to see the show and at what time in order to plan what time you will eat dinner.yes changes thd time at which the queue happens but also removes the wasted time getting there 45 mins early for what, a 45 minute show? Id much rather know i had a seat and show up 5 mins early, or know i didnt have a seat and choose an alternative way to spend my evening.

[Guest ldtr]

15 minutes ago, jimbo1683 said:

Doesnt have to be pre-crusie. At some point during the day presumably you decide if you want to see the show and at what time in order to plan what time you will eat dinner.yes changes thd time at which the queue happens but also removes the wasted time getting there 45 mins early for what, a 45 minute show? Id much rather know i had a seat and show up 5 mins early, or know i didnt have a seat and choose an alternative way to spend my evening.

if I liked that approach I would book Royal Caribbean which requires tickets. I prefer Princess with the current system

[jimbo1683]

22 minutes ago, ldtr said:

if I liked that approach I would book Royal Caribbean which requires tickets. I prefer Princess with the current system

Great

[MissP22]

40 minutes ago, jimbo1683 said:

Doesnt have to be pre-crusie. At some point during the day presumably you decide if you want to see the show and at what time in order to plan what time you will eat dinner.yes changes thd time at which the queue happens but also removes the wasted time getting there 45 mins early for what, a 45 minute show? Id much rather know i had a seat and show up 5 mins early, or know i didnt have a seat and choose an alternative way to spend my evening.

What's wrong with arriving 20 or 30 minutes before the show begins? 

Most people do without much of a problem.

Either that of have your spouse hold your seat for you. My husband always gets the seats early and when I arrive he goes and gets our drinks. 

[jimbo1683]

30 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

What's wrong with arriving 20 or 30 minutes before the show begins? 

Most people do without much of a problem.

Either that of have your spouse hold your seat for you. My husband always gets the seats early and when I arrive he goes and gets our drinks. 

Can do. I just prefer to spend precious time in other ways.

[skynight]

1 hour ago, jimbo1683 said:

Doesnt have to be pre-crusie. At some point during the day presumably you decide if you want to see the show and at what time in order to plan what time you will eat dinner.yes changes thd time at which the queue happens but also removes the wasted time getting there 45 mins early for what, a 45 minute show? Id much rather know i had a seat and show up 5 mins early, or know i didnt have a seat and choose an alternative way to spend my evening.

What happens with your plan is that people do the reservation thing the minute it becomes available. Then, lets say, you have a seat reservation. It would not be a specific seat, just one of the 900+ available. In the evening people line up early standing to be the first ones in when the doors open so they can select the best seat locations for them. At some point, maybe 20 minutes pre-show, those waiting for the no shows will be allowed in. Your concept of arriving 5 minutes before the show probably will not work well. Your seat may be gone.

In the Princess model theater doors open early, maybe an hour. No problem standing in a line. Go in and sit down, relax, talk, read and so on. I would rather sit and wait than stand in a line and wait.

 

[jimbo1683]

3 minutes ago, skynight said:

What happens with your plan is that people do the reservation thing the minute it becomes available. Then, lets say, you have a seat reservation. It would not be a specific seat, just one of the 900+ available. In the evening people line up early standing to be the first ones in when the doors open so they can select the best seat locations for them. At some point, maybe 20 minutes pre-show, those waiting for the no shows will be allowed in. Your concept of arriving 5 minutes before the show probably will not work well. Your seat may be gone.

In the Princess model theater doors open early, maybe an hour. No problem standing in a line. Go in and sit down, relax, talk, read and so on. I would rather sit and wait than stand in a line and wait.

 

Why shouldnt seats be numbered and allocated as they are in theatres and cinemas

[Nebr.cruiser]

There are shows that we go early for, but lately we've been more likely to arrive 15 minutes or less early and haven't had a problem, even pre-covid.  If we have heard that a show is very popular, we might go 30 minutes early.

 

We have never been to a show and turned away because the theater was full.  I don't find shows as well attended as they were 10-20 years ago. 

[waltd]

Just now, jimbo1683 said:

Why shouldnt seats be numbered and allocated as they are in theatres and cinemas

Nope.   We like to pick and choose our seats so we go early to get our favorite location.   I think too many people would reserve seats and then not show up.     It's worked fine the way it is for the last 35 years.  What's next.  charging for the shows.😱

[jimbo1683]

Just now, waltd said:

Nope.   We like to pick and choose our seats so we go early to get our favorite location.   I think too many people would reserve seats and then not show up.     It's worked fine the way it is for the last 35 years.  What's next.  charging for the shows.😱

Nevermind, you're not getting my point.

[MissP22]

3 hours ago, jimbo1683 said:

Why shouldnt seats be numbered and allocated as they are in theatres and cinemas

And how would the seats then be assigned?

 

[rdsqrl]

3 hours ago, jimbo1683 said:

Nevermind, you're not getting my point.

We're getting it; we just don't agree with it. 

[Mike45LC]

22 hours ago, waltd said:

What's next.  charging for the shows.😱

Shush, don't go giving them ideas!!

[skynight]

On 8/14/2022 at 5:19 PM, jimbo1683 said:

Why shouldn't seats be numbered and allocated as they are in theatres and cinemas

A cruise ship isn't a theater where seats are sold months and months in advance. You purchase the seat you want and for most have flexibility regarding selection of the day. A theater show runs almost every day. If you can't attend you sell the seat on the secondary market.

A cruise ship is vacation where shows and entertainment are included, and is a much different experience. You have no flexibility.

Second, people that know when seats would become available would go on line immediately to reserve their seat. Then those not in the know or not yet booked would get the leftovers. Couples that wish to sit together may find individual seats in different rows or sections. Lines would form for the no shows where seats could be scattered all around the theater.

Third, if you have reserved numbered seats then you would have to staff the theater with ushers. Probably something Princess would not really want to do every evening. Princess does place CD staff in the theater sometimes for very busy shows to point out where seats are available for late arrivers.

Forth, Princess would have to list the entertainment selections way in advance of the cruise. This may not be something they actually know until closer to the cruise date. Princess runs many different itineraries of different lengths throughout the year. It's different when the cruise line runs the same weekly cruises most of the year like some lines do.  

Princess does reserve a row of seats on the Sky, Enchanted and Discovery Princess for passengers in the two Sky suites. If the demand for Sky suites is high, maybe Princess will add additional ones to the new builds and thus more dedicated seats for those passengers.