NCL Reducing Entertainment Staff Across the Fleet

[bunzini]

Looks like Noise Boys disappeared from ourJanuary 29th sailing as well!

 

LOVED the Norway!  Our first cruise was on her. Where it all began for our cruising career.  I remember that you could hardly get into the bathroom and shut the door behind you, it was so tight!  The sink was in the very small inside stateroom.  We got to sail on her two more times.  Better cabins.  The third time we were in a suite with our three kids.  The suite had a name and was directly across from the dining room. We thought we were something.  The bathroom actually had a bidet as well.  But even then very small portholes is all I remember.  

[uneamie]

3 hours ago, LouChamp said:

My first cruise was in 1971 and I’ve been hooked ever since. The changes are too numerous to mention but it has been an experience to watch the progression. Some good, some not so good, etc etc. I miss portholes, a massive midnight buffet. No idea how everyone was so hungry lol. Poster mentioned skeet shooting.  Loved the creaking of the ships rocking me to sleep.  Fast forward to the newer monster ships which I love too.  Las Vegas at sea lol. Does anyone remember reserving deck chairs? No chair hogs 😊

Totally remember all of that. ALthough I don't miss the creaking of the ship. ha! We had to reserve our towels and deck chairs and were assigned ONE spot for the whole cruise and that was on the back of the ship where they did the skeet shooting. I have to say the MDR meals were very elegant and the midnight buffet was awesome. We also had a celebration on deck on our last sea day and there was a buffett all over the pool deck in the afternoon. Oh and lets not forget the "chocolate buffet" at night after dinner. Wonder what ever happened to that. 

Edited January 16, 2023 by uneamie

[Sydneyberlin]

We’re actually really quite cranky about this. We specifically booked the Encore because it had a nice musical. After twice getting cancelled over Covid, we finally get to do our Panama Canal cruise and what do they do? They cancel Kinky Boots, seemingly just for cost saving!
 

So frustrating. And one of the reasons we loved NCL was precisely the fact that they show some slightly more adult themed shows- as a gay couple from Australia for all places, we absolutely loved Prescilla on our Epic cruise just before the pandemic. All that other Beatles etc. stuff doesn’t appeal to us at all, unfortunately. So not happy, NCL.

[Beer Belly]

NCL keeps moving in this direction, your cruise will end up being a boat ride, much like my Nephew on the Lake on his Pontoon boat with his Bluetooth Speaker blaring, grilling some hot dogs and a cooler full of beverages......a stretch of course, just getting the idea of how some may feel as all the goodies disappear with prices going up.

[ALS1214]

On 1/13/2023 at 11:03 PM, cusematt4 said:

This was noticed and thoroughly noted in our post Getaway review.

 

While the one band on the ship was amazing, entertainment was severely lacking.

 

-Syds/Rock Band eliminated

-2 comedians in 8 days instead of the usual 3-4

-1 fly on act (a sub-par magician) instead of 2-3 with 4/8 nights of no professional entertainment

-1 band and 2 duos - on Royal and I believe other NCL previously - 3 bands, 2-3 duos, 2-3 soloists

 

The lack of professional entertainment will cause us to reconsider NCL and likely choose Royal Caribbean for our next cruise.

 

The staff on the ship were amazing and went above and beyond

I hope they do not eliminate the rock band from Syd Norman's. that was the highlight of my Getaway cruise along with dueling pianos. There is not elaborate set changes that require stage hands so why cut something so popular? 

 

[Beer Belly]

1 hour ago, Beer Belly said:

NCL keeps moving in this direction, your cruise will end up being a boat ride, much like my Nephew on the Lake on his Pontoon boat with his Bluetooth Speaker blaring, grilling some hot dogs and a cooler full of beverages......a stretch of course, just getting the idea of how some may feel as all the goodies disappear with prices going up.

Shore excursions would consist of Corn Hole Tourney in his backyard

[Crazy planning mom]

14 hours ago, Travelling2Some said:

Our last RCI cruise was on Oasis after things normalized a bit.  We waited for the mask requirement to be dropped so it was pretty well into the re-start period.  Much of the entertainment such as the main Broadway style show (Cats) and the aqua show were canceled without warning throughout the entire cruise.  No explanations ever offered.  The rest of the entertainment in the main theater was pretty dismal and just 1 person type acts.   I think I remember that they canceled one of the ice skating shows as well.

That stinks but that is not the norm.

[aubreyc1988]

  After reading an article about this and this thread, I am absolutely gutted 😞 Honestly, it does make me want to sell my FCCs and stick with Royal Caribbean. Hopefully they do not follow suit. 

 

One of the main reasons I cruise is having good *nightly* entertainment and to remove shows is a big no no for me.  Sad really, because I have told people recently how I like NCL the most out of all the cruiselines I have sailed and how I thought that their entertainment was catching up to Royal.

Edited January 16, 2023 by aubreyc1988

[Travelling2Some]

1 hour ago, Crazy planning mom said:

That stinks but that is not the norm.

It sure didn't used to be.  Our three most recent cruises have made us think canceled entertainments and canceled ports are some kind of "new normal". 

[aubreyc1988]

15 hours ago, Travelling2Some said:

Our last RCI cruise was on Oasis after things normalized a bit.  We waited for the mask requirement to be dropped so it was pretty well into the re-start period.  Much of the entertainment such as the main Broadway style show (Cats) and the aqua show were canceled without warning throughout the entire cruise.  No explanations ever offered.  The rest of the entertainment in the main theater was pretty dismal and just 1 person type acts.   I think I remember that they canceled one of the ice skating shows as well.

I've sailed on Allure in October and what you experienced was probably due to Covid. I saw the aqua show, ice show, Mama Mia, and 2 other production shows. I hope they don't follow NCL's lead, because Royal's entertainment is SO good. 

[Travelling2Some]

1 hour ago, Beer Belly said:

Shore excursions would consist of Corn Hole Tourney in his backyard

At a cost of only $114 per person plus tips no doubt.

[cruiseny4life]

On 1/14/2023 at 12:08 PM, cementhands said:

The main reason we love NCL is the amount of activities staff! Live bands and dancing opportunities. Big fan of mojitos bar with live music and dancing. Zumba classes line dancing and theme parties good comedians and tribute bands tooo! Enjoy the big shows but it’s gotta be hard to recruit and keep them healthy and performing with the ongoing covid19. 

Would you really make a cruise decision on these activities? It's not something I care about, so am just curious if you'd select another line due to a lack of the same activities as before.

On 1/14/2023 at 12:51 PM, rj59 said:

What’s next in entertainment cutbacks? “The Million Dollar Duet”? The Fab Three in the Cavern Club (sorry, George). None of it can be as bad as HAL, which got rid of its singers/dancers and now every ship has a choice of 3 dance shows and a nature documentary. Every music venue is tied to a corporate sponsor and every musician can only play from an approved setlist. Booring.

Entertainment is nice on a cruise ship, but as I quote @New2cruise2022, it's not a huge deal to me. But, HAL seems to be hitting the right marks in terms of music. 

 

New bands, new Lincoln Center Performances, in a larger venue, and more Rolling Stones. If someone were to love music, this seems like a really great change compared to NCL's cuts. 

 

https://www.cruisehive.com/holland-america-line-makes-major-entertainment-changes/92269

On 1/14/2023 at 1:04 PM, New2cruise2022 said:

I would never be inclined to give any company credit for this in the current climate — but maybe (probably not) this is cost diversion instead of cost cutting. For example, I like being entertained. But I value good service and good food more than I value entertainment. If I am eating and drinking with people I like, I don’t need a comedian, a magician, or a Broadway hit to be happy. Give me a good table and good food and I can enjoy my day. 

Agreed! We booked all four of these cruises, in a year, primarily because of the service and food in the Haven. The entertainment didn't matter. As a matter of fact, folks claimed the entertainment wasn't great on our 12/31 cruise. Look at the Dailies I posted. There was non-stop entertainment. Sure, NCL might be cutting now, but besides the Syd Norman's band which plays a bunch of 70's and 80's garbage, it seemed like a normal slate of entertainment to me on Getaway. 

 

But yes, give me excellent food over entertainment every day!

On 1/14/2023 at 6:06 PM, CruizinKittie40 said:

lol right?

I would rather see other amenities  implemented over free "entertainment".  Give me FREE WIFI  

Yes, please!! And @RD64, just because you don't want internet doesn't mean us Millennials don't want it. We don't want to leave our social circle while we're away. We actually want to share our experience with friends and family. You can continue not being online when you cruise, but don't be telling us about the good ole times, because they weren't all that good. You had what? No internet, no streaming, maybe five TV stations? No thanks! 

On 1/14/2023 at 6:19 PM, DaCruiseBug said:

Next up they'll install movie screens in the theatre and just show a recording of each show instead.

 

Wouldn't put it past NCL anyways...

You'll never know since you claim you'll never cruise NCL again. 

 

On 1/14/2023 at 7:27 PM, laudergayle said:

You bring up a good point.  We have three cruises in 2023, of which 2 of them we’ve already used Cruise Next certs.  Based on all of the changes (increased DSC, reduced daily service; increased Beverage package gratuities, fewer onboard liquor/wine/beer options; non-complimentary breakfast room service; subtle but noticeable changes in SPD menu and up charges; and now…eliminating some of the off-Broadway productions and reducing on-board entertainment…did I miss anything?), we will not buy Cruise Next certs on our next 2 cruises.  We might consider Cruise First @. $250 …but we will not emboldened ourselves to NCL with onboard CruiseNext.  Hope that this statistic will be strong enough for NCL to reconsider their price/value/competition equation. 

This is a great point...at least because it's relevant to me. We started cruising on NCL in April on an over capacity holiday (Easter) sailing. The service and experience was wonderful. I think it's important to note that we sail exclusively in the Haven. It's important, because we've gone out on the pool deck, wandered through the 6, 7, 8 area, and gone to shows. Being outside of our room, or the Haven, is fine for a bit, but we have to go back there. If we cruised non-Haven, I can guarantee we wouldn't have taken/booked on four sailings within a year (April, Sept., Dec/Jan, upcoming in March). 

 

We have one CruiseNext certificate left. We debated purchasing two more on our Dec/Jan cruise, but opted not to as the experience is just not as good as it was in April. Same ship, same GM, same wonderful Haven staff. Not the same experience outside the Haven: bartenders refusing to make a non-alcoholic Mojito, food in the specialty restaurants is not great, the buffet is inedible, less entertainment (not really a big thing to us). Personally, I'm worried about the financial situation NCLH is in. I don't want to give them money for CruiseNext, then lose it, because of bankruptcy. 

On 1/14/2023 at 7:28 PM, lostinparadise999 said:

 

We stopped doing NCL when the food variety was cut and extra charges for lamb chops, lobster etc. Also gratuity on other  lines are $16 US and NCL is $20 hmm two gratuity price increases in the same year.

NCL is telling their client there is no deals and it's going to cost you period and the think you will pay because they are NCL.

Just how much does NCL think the cruise passengers will put up with before jumping ship?

Gee the only one that doesn't get salary cut....Del Rio. He will get a bigger bonus. 

Frankie boy and Harry boy keep telling us NCL is striving to be a more upscale, luxury experience. Impossible with the cuts they are making. The nepotism at NCLH is remarkable: I'm truly awed Frankie boy laid off the Oceania president so he could hire his son into the role, but he must have the board totally under his thumb.

 

Earlier I was surprised, but somewhat grateful, Frankie boy told us he wouldn't be discounting rooms to fill. Except that they do. We've been the proud recipient of three cruises that were discounted and marketed to fill. I'll take it while I can, but I'm not taking Frankie boy's word that NCL is becoming a "luxury" line when entertainment, service, food, booze, and more is being cut. 

On 1/14/2023 at 7:44 PM, laudergayle said:

That would be plural. 

I love the snark!! 

[rxlowry]

42 minutes ago, aubreyc1988 said:

  After reading an article about this and this thread, I am absolutely gutted 😞 Honestly, it does make me want to sell my FCCs and stick with Royal Caribbean. Hopefully they do not follow suit. 

 

One of the main reasons I cruise is having good *nightly* entertainment and to remove shows is a big no no for me.  Sad really, because I have told people recently how I like NCL the most out of all the cruiselines I have sailed and how I thought that their entertainment was catching up to Royal.

I’m on Encore next month.  Not too happy about all the changes recently.   I’ve experienced many changes since my first NCL cruise in 2007 but this seems like so much at once.  I’ll definitely blog about my trip and probably do a live here.  

[cruiseny4life]

16 hours ago, RadioPeri said:

 

And there will be a surcharge for it.

.

.

.

AND PEOPLE WILL PAY IT.

 

Seriously, y'all have taught the cruise lines that you're okay paying extra for things that used to be included and nominally enhanced offerings, and as long as you keep doing that, they'll keep taking things away and/or charging extra for them.

 

This! THIS! THISSSSSSSSSS!!! It so needs to be repeated, over and over! Forget those overpriced (and crappy) specialty restaurants! Upcharge "experiences." People need to finally stop just giving over their money for mediocre.

 

It's too bad we're in the minority.

[njkate]

13 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

This! THIS! THISSSSSSSSSS!!! It so needs to be repeated, over and over! Forget those overpriced (and crappy) specialty restaurants! Upcharge "experiences." People need to finally stop just giving over their money for mediocre.

 

It's too bad we're in the minority.

Agree! Reading through this thread has me smacking my head, I don't cruise for entertainment blah blah blah, well here is a clue the entertainment on NCL is one of the reasons so many choose NCL.

 

The way they are going might as well look for a bargain on Holland where they pull the decks up at 9pm  and I can be bored to tears lol.

I enjoy Sid's Pour house, I enjoy dueling pianos, I love the Spinnaker lounge on smaller ships with the nightly entertainment.

Loved Rock of Ages, Jersey Boys, the Beatles show etc.

 

I have a cruise in March on Dawn will see how it goes, the a trans Atlantic late April 2024, I will be watching and reading the reviews from the fall trans Atlantics before I pay that one in full

[LloydJr]

28 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

Sure, NCL might be cutting now, but besides the Syd Norman's band which plays a bunch of 70's and 80's garbage, it seemed like a normal slate of entertainment to me on Getaway. 

What?!?

29 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

You can continue not being online when you cruise, but don't be telling us about the good ole times, because they weren't all that good. You had what? No internet, no streaming, maybe five TV stations? No thanks! 

Yeah, but we spent our days riding our bikes all over town or playing sports in the back yard instead of in front of a TV.  We were blissfully free of the dark side of social media.  We also only locked our doors when we went on vacation for a week or so.

[eileeshb]

18 hours ago, Travelling2Some said:

There may be no snakes in Ireland but, judging by my grandfather the place must have had plenty of eels.  I have/had never seen anyone this side of the pond cook eel but I believe you.  No doubt I hated the smell because I don't like any kind of seafood. 

Oddly there was bias against seafood in Ireland for donkey’s years as everybody considered it “poor people’s” food because you could go out and catch it yourself. Nowadays there are growing numbers of seafood restaurants and my brother’s staple for eating out is fish & chips. Personally I’m more into shellfish and used to go out picking mussels and catching shrimp at one of the local rocky beaches when I was a teen. 

[Sydneyberlin]

5 hours ago, rxlowry said:

I’m on Encore next month.  Not too happy about all the changes recently.   I’ve experienced many changes since my first NCL cruise in 2007 but this seems like so much at once.  I’ll definitely blog about my trip and probably do a live here.  

Please do report back. We’ll be doing the Encore in April, are super excited after all the Covid stuff but are starting to get worried with all the negative reports on here. So any real life experiences would be greatly appreciated! 🙂

[pcrum]

I just hope they don’t do away with Howl at the Moon. We did a TA on Epic in 2019 and loved Howl at the Moon. The Beatles cover band was also good. I would hate to see them go. 

[wally4ever]

2 minutes ago, pcrum said:

I just hope they don’t do away with Howl at the Moon. We did a TA on Epic in 2019 and loved Howl at the Moon. The Beatles cover band was also good. I would hate to see them go. 

I love Howl at the Moon.  I've seen a lot of great entertainment, but I think that's probably my favorite.

[Travelling2Some]

7 hours ago, eileeshb said:

Oddly there was bias against seafood in Ireland for donkey’s years as everybody considered it “poor people’s” food because you could go out and catch it yourself. Nowadays there are growing numbers of seafood restaurants and my brother’s staple for eating out is fish & chips. Personally I’m more into shellfish and used to go out picking mussels and catching shrimp at one of the local rocky beaches when I was a teen. 

I was told growing up that fish used to be scorned as "famine food".  When you consider Ireland's geography, the long-standing lack of interest in seafood is curious.  Both of my parents were born there and quite a few members of my family (including myself) have a very strong aversion to it, even finding the smell of fish coming from a nearby table in a restaurant disturbing.  I sometimes wonder if it might be a trace of some ancient genetic trait!

[Travelling2Some]

10 hours ago, njkate said:

Agree! Reading through this thread has me smacking my head, I don't cruise for entertainment blah blah blah, well here is a clue the entertainment on NCL is one of the reasons so many choose NCL.

 

The way they are going might as well look for a bargain on Holland where they pull the decks up at 9pm  and I can be bored to tears lol.

I enjoy Sid's Pour house, I enjoy dueling pianos, I love the Spinnaker lounge on smaller ships with the nightly entertainment.

Loved Rock of Ages, Jersey Boys, the Beatles show etc.

 

I have a cruise in March on Dawn will see how it goes, the a trans Atlantic late April 2024, I will be watching and reading the reviews from the fall trans Atlantics before I pay that one in full

Totally agree.  Our criteria for choosing a cruise have always been:  (1) interesting itinerary (2) reasonable price and (3) evening entertainment.  The food and accommodations on any cruise line have always been good enough for me. The bells and whistles are wasted on me as I prefer a good book.  Everyone has their own priorities, which is fine,  but NCL has been known for having good entertainment.

[uneamie]

14 hours ago, ALS1214 said:

I hope they do not eliminate the rock band from Syd Norman's. that was the highlight of my Getaway cruise along with dueling pianos. There is not elaborate set changes that require stage hands so why cut something so popular? 

 

I certainly would enjoy that over a big production show.....but I am not going to enjoy standing like sardines in there to see it or do I want to spend an hour in a line full of people. I love dueling pianos too but on our Prima cruise in May there are NO pianos. Such a simple inexpensive form of entertainment that would enhance the activities onboard. 

[sunkey1]

On 1/14/2023 at 7:39 PM, RD64 said:

The Jean Ann Ryan shows - The JARS - simply the best cruise line entertainment at the time - and sadly never to be repeated. If you didn’t sail on The Norway in the 1980s / 90s you have no idea how much cruise ship entertainment has declined. For those that are going to refer to me as a dinosaur because I miss one of the many highlights of classic cruising - please feel free to bring it on.

100% agree! I still remember seeing Hello Dolly, My Fair Lady and Sea Legs on the Norway. Those productions rivaled anything I've seen in Vegas or on Broadway. Guest artists were also of Vegas level. Shows now are definitely NOT of the same caliber. We have an upcoming cruise on the Getaway and it may well be our last with NCL. Carnival was slacking for so many years but with their new ships (Mardi Gras, others), they have stepped up their game with tons of shows, entertainment and music and may well take priority over NCL for us. Even RCCL and Princess are still managing to have shows and music and they went through COVID as well.

 

 

[sunkey1]

On 1/14/2023 at 7:41 PM, RD64 said:

Believe it or not - we managed quite nicely 25 years ago without this thing you call the Internet on a cruise. We all had responsibilities, things to deal with back home, but we managed to survive for a week in blissful ignorance. Mind you, there was ship to shore telephones if necessary.

RD4, agree with you again! For years we would take one cruise a year with our young kids and then take one for just the two of us and would leave the kids with the grandparents - good for them, good for us. They had an emergency number to reach us and if we hit a US port we would check in. SOMEHOW WE MANAGED. 😉  I can't get over going on cruises now and seeing people with their heads buried in their phones while the most magnificent scenery or even just a beautiful ocean is sitting right there. So many people are so obsessed with recording every moment of their lives that they aren't really experiencing them anymore.