P&O vs Royal Caribbean

[Yorkypete]

2 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

For every Broadway or West End show cast, there are several hundred put together by agents to work in the tourist industry in  cruise ships, hotels, casinos and the like.  I doubt that many if any of the RCI show casts are Broadway standard. That's not to say that they are not very good singers and dancers, but for every West End cast member there are hundreds if not thousands plying their trade in the tourist industry.

I am wondering why several people on here are not understanding what I have posted. They were NOT, repeat NOT put together by an agent for the tourist industry. They were Broadway standard because they were from the actual Broadway show performed on Broadway! They came on the ship. They performed for two nights to a packed theatre and 4 appearances in the walkway in the middle of the ship and then left the ship. They did not dance..they sang.   The lead singer had been on Broadway in several shows.  I suppose in some ways, not being the originals they could be seen as a tribute group but they were way above  the standards shown by others. Anyway, as we have cancelled our future cruise  with P&O I can't be bothered anymore with people who just pick arguements. Life is too short for that.

 

[zap99]

1 hour ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

Spot on

 

I actually feel a bit sorry for people who come back from holidays talking about all  the things they didn't like rather  than the things they did like

 

Life's too short surely?

Like the folk who post the picture of a cracked tile on their hotel review.

[Interestedcruisefan]

7 minutes ago, Yorkypete said:

I am wondering why several people on here are not understanding what I have posted. They were NOT, repeat NOT put together by an agent for the tourist industry. They were Broadway standard because they were from the actual Broadway show performed on Broadway! They came on the ship. They performed for two nights to a packed theatre and 4 appearances in the walkway in the middle of the ship and then left the ship. They did not dance..they sang.   The lead singer had been on Broadway in several shows.  I suppose in some ways, not being the originals they could be seen as a tribute group but they were way above  the standards shown by others. Anyway, as we have cancelled our future cruise  with P&O I can't be bothered anymore with people who just pick arguements. Life is too short for that.

 

Are you talking about Grease or Jersey Boys?

 

Because I'm talking about Grease and the Broadway shows that get performed on RC. They are the cruise entertainers. Who just stick to performing one show for RC on various ships. And no doubt it's a great show

 

I've agreed with you Jersey Boys are professional entertainers some of whom performed in the Broadway show. And they are not cruise entertainers. They are doing a tribute to the real Jersey Boys.

 

And are very good. 

 

 

Edited April 1, 2023 by Interestedcruisefan

[alpha whiskey]

1 hour ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

Spot on

 

I actually feel a bit sorry for people who come back from holidays talking about all  the things they didn't like rather  than the things they did like

 

Life's too short surely?

I feel so sorry for the staff and entertainers who bust a gut and try so hard to please their guests.

They must want to weep when they read some of the  reviews and comments written in these forums.

Let's hope they take comfort in knowing that there are a lot of us out there who appreciate their efforts, and all they do,  to make our cruise so enjoyable. 👏👏 

 

[zap99]

6 minutes ago, alpha whiskey said:

I feel so sorry for the staff and entertainers who bust a gut and try so hard to please their guests.

They must want to weep when they read some of the  reviews and comments written in these forums.

Let's hope they take comfort in knowing that there are a lot of us out there who appreciate their efforts, and all they do,  to make our cruise so enjoyable. 👏👏 

 

I have one criteria for the entertainers, did they entertain us ?....yes !...job done.😁

[Interestedcruisefan]

21 minutes ago, alpha whiskey said:

I feel so sorry for the staff and entertainers who bust a gut and try so hard to please their guests.

They must want to weep when they read some of the  reviews and comments written in these forums.

Let's hope they take comfort in knowing that there are a lot of us out there who appreciate their efforts, and all they do,  to make our cruise so enjoyable. 👏👏 

 

On Arvia there were some shows especially in the dome that didn't work. But was not down to the performers. Just the show concept 

 

But lots more that did work. 

 

I spoke to one of the entertainers. To win the job they have to go to auditions and competition is fiercer than ever now.

 

And at the end of a contract there's no favours done for existing cast members. If they want another contract on board they have to go back and audition once again along with their new competition for places on board.

 

The singers on Arvia in the  Headliner shows were better than previous singers weve heard on P and O for sure. The dancers were amazing. Best ever I've seen on cruises.

 

Some of the shows they were asked to perform were great. Some weren't but that wasn't down to talent. Just concept of the show. 

 

But no doubt that will improve. And now Nicole has to give seal of approval to the shows in the dome that should help!

 

 

[Interestedcruisefan]

Something else I found interesting on Arvia was on our last morning when we were called to Headliners Theatre to wait for disembarkation.

 

There were staff there to help and I asked them if they were the singers and dancers. 

 

But they said no they were entertainment hosts and ran the daily quizzes and competitions and bingo etc.

 

The amount of guests who were coming upto them and thanking them by their names etc for giving them such a great time during the cruise.

 

These are activities I've never even considered taking part in on a cruise but clearly loads of people value this kind of stuff and it's clearly a big part of their holiday.

 

Like I say so much is happening on  Arvia you can't do it all. 

 

And you don't need to enjoy everything that's happening everywhere on the ship (or even know it's happening) to have a great holiday

 

Everybody enjoys different things

 

And we all know the saying

 

"It's hard to please all of the people all of the time!"

[Yorkypete]

1 hour ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

Are you talking about Grease or Jersey Boys?

 

Because I'm talking about Grease and the Broadway shows that get performed on RC. They are the cruise entertainers. Who just stick to performing one show for RC on various ships. And no doubt it's a great show

 

I've agreed with you Jersey Boys are professional entertainers some of whom performed in the Broadway show. And they are not cruise entertainers. They are doing a tribute to the real Jersey Boys.

 

And are very good. 

 

 

Grease came from Broadway performers. The show we saw had people that appeared as the same characters on Broadway. They came on board at one port  and left a couple of ports further on. I forget the actual itinery as it was a few years ago and we sailed out of Fort Lauderdale. They were NOT cruise entertainers they were professional stage actors/singers/dancers who appeared on Broadway. I doubt that many 'cruise entertainers', (who are actually crew members and also do other jobs around the ship sometimes) appeare on such shows.Anyway the ents no longer concern me  as I will not be seeing any in the future on P&O, having cancelled our future cruises

[Yorkypete]

24 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

Something else I found interesting on Arvia was on our last morning when we were called to Headliners Theatre to wait for disembarkation.

 

There were staff there to help and I asked them if they were the singers and dancers. 

 

But they said no they were entertainment hosts and ran the daily quizzes and competitions and bingo etc.

 

The amount of guests who were coming upto them and thanking them by their names etc for giving them such a great time during the cruise.

 

These are activities I've never even considered taking part in on a cruise but clearly loads of people value this kind of stuff and it's clearly a big part of their holiday.

 

Like I say so much is happening on  Arvia you can't do it all. 

 

And you don't need to enjoy everything that's happening everywhere on the ship (or even know it's happening) to have a great holiday

 

Everybody enjoys different things

 

And we all know the saying

 

"It's hard to please all of the people all of the time!"

Did you play the bingo? It is honestly a gigantic rip off. When we played the only time there wer some 200plus people in the area playing. Many had the two cards plus and  a lot had the full six cards. We estimated that on average the money coming in was some £3,500 plus. Prize money was....£700. A great profit for the casino which ran the bingo.One day we asked the Casino Manager, whom we came to know, how many people were playing on average. She said it was usually around 300 people!

Edited April 1, 2023 by Yorkypete

[terrierjohn]

1 hour ago, Yorkypete said:

I am wondering why several people on here are not understanding what I have posted. They were NOT, repeat NOT put together by an agent for the tourist industry. They were Broadway standard because they were from the actual Broadway show performed on Broadway! They came on the ship. They performed for two nights to a packed theatre and 4 appearances in the walkway in the middle of the ship and then left the ship. They did not dance..they sang.   The lead singer had been on Broadway in several shows.  I suppose in some ways, not being the originals they could be seen as a tribute group but they were way above  the standards shown by others. Anyway, as we have cancelled our future cruise  with P&O I can't be bothered anymore with people who just pick arguements. Life is too short for that.

 

I was referring to the Broadway shows that are on the RCI ships, like Grease on Indy. You seem to be stuck on the Jersey boys that you saw, that were flown in for 2 or 3 nights, just like every other theatre act on any cruise ship. They probably hopped off the RCI ship you were on and performed next, on any of all the cruise lines that have theatres and entertainers.  Whether or not any of them were Broadway show singers I have no idea, we have watched Drifter number 49 (I think that's what he said he was) and countless others who claimed to have done this that there or the other. None of which is really relevant, only whether we enjoyed their show or not, which in some cases could be influenced by how many glasses of wine we had for dinner before the show.

[zap99]

41 minutes ago, Yorkypete said:

Did you play the bingo? It is honestly a gigantic rip off. When we played the only time there wer some 200plus people in the area playing. Many had the two cards plus and  a lot had the full six cards. We estimated that on average the money coming in was some £3,500 plus. Prize money was....£700. A great profit for the casino which ran the bingo.One day we asked the Casino Manager, whom we came to know, how many people were playing on average. She said it was usually around 300 people!

If you hate the entertainment, ships, food etc, I guess you were better off isolated from it all.🤣

[Interestedcruisefan]

https://royalcaribbeanentertainment.com/productions/upcoming-auditions/

 

Here's the link for the current auditions for the next Musical RC are planning - Wizard of Oz

 

They are looking for successful candidates for that particular show and also to perform one additional show whilst on board their ships

 

2 shows from one cast (one being a Broadway musical) the other being a signature show

 

These guys aren't flying on and off to other cruise ships

 

Will be working on Icon of the Seas between 6 and 8 shows per week (3 or 4 of each show)

 

 

SEEKING:
Outstanding dancer/singers with strong technical, contemporary and commercial abilty. Acro/tumbling a plus. Also seeking excellent sing/actors with good movement skills, and ability to understudy principal roles. Ensemble hired for WIZARD OF OZ (3-4 performances weekly) will also perform in on original Royal Caribbean Signature Production onboard the Icon of the Seas (3-4 performances weekly).

Rehearsals begin July 2023.

 

 

Edited April 1, 2023 by Interestedcruisefan

[Yorkypete]

13 hours ago, zap99 said:

If you hate the entertainment, ships, food etc, I guess you were better off isolated from it all.🤣

The bingo was a rip off, not entertainment.

[terrierjohn]

35 minutes ago, Yorkypete said:

The bingo was a rip off, not entertainment.

If 300 people played every time it was on, then they were obviously happy to be ripped off.

[Interestedcruisefan]

14 hours ago, Yorkypete said:

Did you play the bingo? It is honestly a gigantic rip off. When we played the only time there wer some 200plus people in the area playing. Many had the two cards plus and  a lot had the full six cards. We estimated that on average the money coming in was some £3,500 plus. Prize money was....£700. A great profit for the casino which ran the bingo.One day we asked the Casino Manager, whom we came to know, how many people were playing on average. She said it was usually around 300 people!

No Ive got other things I would much rather do on a Caribbean cruise than play bingo

 

But clearly some people like to do this and the ships more than big enough for it to happen all day every day if needed without upsetting me or spoiling my holiday

 

If you don't like something on a cruise just avoid it IMO don't complain about it. Do the things you like. Theres something for everyone. 

[cruising.mark.uk]

1 hour ago, Yorkypete said:

The bingo was a rip off, not entertainment.

Imagine that.  A business trying to make money.  Bet that would never happen on land.

[Host Sharon]

18 hours ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

Something else I found interesting on Arvia was on our last morning when we were called to Headliners Theatre to wait for disembarkation.

 

There were staff there to help and I asked them if they were the singers and dancers. 

 

But they said no they were entertainment hosts and ran the daily quizzes and competitions and bingo etc.

 

The amount of guests who were coming upto them and thanking them by their names etc for giving them such a great time during the cruise.

 

These are activities I've never even considered taking part in on a cruise but clearly loads of people value this kind of stuff and it's clearly a big part of their holiday.

 

Like I say so much is happening on  Arvia you can't do it all. 

 

And you don't need to enjoy everything that's happening everywhere on the ship (or even know it's happening) to have a great holiday

 

Everybody enjoys different things

 

And we all know the saying

 

"It's hard to please all of the people all of the time!"

This happens on all P&O ships though, not just Arvia. I enjoy the quizzes and my friend goes to the shuffleboard, quoits and table tennis matches. All these activites happen every sea day so of course you get to know their names.

[zap99]

2 hours ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

No Ive got other things I would much rather do on a Caribbean cruise than play bingo

 

But clearly some people like to do this and the ships more than big enough for it to happen all day every day if needed without upsetting me or spoiling my holiday

 

If you don't like something on a cruise just avoid it IMO don't complain about it. Do the things you like. Theres something for everyone. 

We are off to the Caribbean on Britannia in December. I forgot all about Bingo. Must add a good supply of those dabber pens that folk use. The only question is, can DW take them through airport security in hand luggage ?. If not we won't take the risk on putting them in the hold luggage. Perhaps there is a dabber pen shop in the terminal at Barbados .

 

 

[zap99]

12 minutes ago, Host Sharon said:

This happens on all P&O ships though, not just Arvia. I enjoy the quizzes and my friend goes to the shuffleboard, quoits and table tennis matches. All these activites happen every sea day so of course you get to know their names.

DW likes the quizzes. We never win. I believe they give you a card and stamp it. If you win lots of times you can swap them for prizes, a bit like bingo in the old days before you could win all that cash that they offer now. When we go off on cruises nowadays, my Son says to DW ' is this one where Dad needs to take his bingo callers suit ?.🤣

[Deeliteful]

Well to answer the OP’s question (as opposed to arguing about entertainment!), I have cruised with RCI, Celebrity, Cunard, NCL, Azmara, Fred Olsen, Princess and P&O.

P&O have a great product, good pricing, drinks very well priced, cruises priced well too even for solos.

RCI is great too but the 18% gratuities do get to me! Though I’m happy with my 4 drinks per day as Diamond.

I think you’ll enjoy it, I’ve never had a cruise I didn’t enjoy though I wouldn’t sail with Fred Olsen again.

Enjoy! A cruise is what you make it, don’t sweat the small stuff! 😂

[GSPG]

On 4/1/2023 at 10:49 PM, Yorkypete said:

Did you play the bingo? It is honestly a gigantic rip off. When we played the only time there wer some 200plus people in the area playing. Many had the two cards plus and  a lot had the full six cards. We estimated that on average the money coming in was some £3,500 plus. Prize money was....£700. A great profit for the casino which ran the bingo.One day we asked the Casino Manager, whom we came to know, how many people were playing on average. She said it was usually around 300 people!

I had the same feelings for bingo on an Iona Cruise to the Med last Autumn. The headline was the chance to win £5k (that’s if you called full house before 45 balls were drawn, which no one did). My guesstimate was they or whoever were taking in £5k in total with around £900 being paid out in winnings, so not a bad earner for the organiser’s!

 

But, I don’t go to bingo halls and suspect the money taken in these to what is actually paid out is no different, perhaps? So if that’s the case, it seems like ‘business as usual’ and regulars know the usual outcome, but they get their ‘bingo fix’ if they are having withdrawal symptoms!

 

I didn’t like the way it’s all mechanised or automated. They knew what card was the winner by calling out the unique reference number on it for each game.

 

I did laugh on one occasion where someone called full house on the 42nd ball drawn, and you could see what looked like panic on the caller’s face, like it can’t be true. It wasn’t, the full house caller was just mucking around, but for those brief moments it seemed the audience had gained the upper hand.

[Camberley]

1 hour ago, GSPG said:

I did laugh on one occasion where someone called full house on the 42nd ball drawn, and you could see what looked like panic on the caller’s face, like it can’t be true. It wasn’t, the full house caller was just mucking around, but for those brief moments it seemed the audience had gained the upper hand.

Ah, Ludlow up to his old japes again. That joker!

[Britboys]

With reference to Bingo, it is gambling pure and simple. It's not entertainment, it's not a game, it's gambling. The casino is there to make money, so is the Bingo. You pays your money and you takes your chance. Hopefully those that play enjoy it, much as those that play roulette, poker or blackjack do...

[JDB78]

On 4/2/2023 at 12:24 AM, Interestedcruisefan said:

https://royalcaribbeanentertainment.com/productions/upcoming-auditions/

 

Here's the link for the current auditions for the next Musical RC are planning - Wizard of Oz

 

They are looking for successful candidates for that particular show and also to perform one additional show whilst on board their ships

 

2 shows from one cast (one being a Broadway musical) the other being a signature show

 

These guys aren't flying on and off to other cruise ships

 

Will be working on Icon of the Seas between 6 and 8 shows per week (3 or 4 of each show)

 

 

SEEKING:
Outstanding dancer/singers with strong technical, contemporary and commercial abilty. Acro/tumbling a plus. Also seeking excellent sing/actors with good movement skills, and ability to understudy principal roles. Ensemble hired for WIZARD OF OZ (3-4 performances weekly) will also perform in on original Royal Caribbean Signature Production onboard the Icon of the Seas (3-4 performances weekly).

Rehearsals begin July 2023.

 

 

I thought that would be obvious. They didn't just fly in to do 1 or 2 performances of Grease then go back to Broadway 🤣🤣🤣. The last RC cruise we went on also coincidently had a Grease on. Maybe they just flew in for us too? It had been advertised on the RC website for months in advance. As you've already said RC choose a Broadway show and then run it for x number of weeks and forms part of the cruise experience for that year.

[terrierjohn]

I think Grease had been on Indepedence for a number of years, we saw it in 2019 and I think it started in 2016.