Dear NCL, Please keep SIX

[YVRteacher]

Dear NCL

You are making changes to cut costs. Through the years your cruisers have lost the mints on the pillows, towel animals, the fajitas in O’Sheehans, twice daily cabin service and now SIX.

I have some suggestions for cost cutting that do not involve eliminating this incredible musical.

Everyday I receive a paper Freestyle Daily that I put into the trash can. Why? Because I prefer to use the NCL app. The majority of people cruising these days have smartphones and do not need paper Freestyle Dailies. You could save thousands by only giving paper copies of the Freestyle Dailies to people who prefer them. The same goes for all the papers advertising the art auction.  Be kind to the environment and advertise the auctions on screens near the stairs and elevators. This will save you hundreds of thousands of dollars each year.

You could also save money by not setting the tables in the restaurants with so much cutlery and glassware. It’s a big rigamarole that detracts from the dining experience when the waiter removers the charging plate in Ocean Blue, clears away the enormous wine glasses in Cagney’s and takes away two entire place settings in the MDR when two people are seated at a 4 top. All those items need to be washed before they are used again and you waste the waiters’ time. Cut cost by setting your tables more practically and you will save thousands of dollars each year in dishwashing detergent.

 

I am a lifelong NCL cruiser. I book NCL for many reasons, one of which is the entertainment. If you continue to take away the musicals and production acts and switch to comedians, game shows and stand alone guest performers who came in 18th place in the regional talent show, I am going to take away my loyalty to NCL. If you can no longer deliver a product that appeals to me as a consumer, I can no longer give you my business.

I have cruised on the NCL Bliss 4 times specifically to see SIX.  I have two weeks on the Breakaway booked for next year specifically to see SIX and some sloths in Roatan. I can see the sloths by going on a large selection of ships. I can only see Six in the Caribbean by going on the Breakaway. As a consumer, I vote with my dollars.

Please keep SIX.

[UKstages]

i agree with almost everything you say here.

 

with regard to "six," the thought occurs to me that it may not be NCL's doing.

 

NCL lucked out with "six." their talent team scouted the show, if memory serves, at the edinburgh festival and made a deal with scrappy young kids to bring it to their ships, before it even opened in the west end and long before it ever came to broadway. it was a major coup and a big gamble that paid off... big time.

 

i don't know the details of that deal, how much they paid for the rights, nor the length of the contract. but it is entirely possible that they no longer will have the rights to "six," if the creative team pulled them, now that it's a worldwide megahit.

 

knowing NCL, it's probably a cost cutting measure and has nothing to do with the rights, but it is possible.

[YVRteacher]

It is a cost cutting measure and has nothing to do with rights.

[luv2kroooz]

Another example of charging more for less further degrading the value of the cruise experience. When I want night after night of the same stand up comedy routine, I cruise Carnival. Looks like Royal is the last man standing with decent headliner Broadway shows. Stock price reflects it, too.

[ColeThornton]

Dear YVR Teacher,

 

No.

 

Signed, NCL

 

😉

[cruiseny4life]

11 minutes ago, ColeThornton said:

Dear YVR Teacher,

 

No.

 

Signed, NCL

 

😉

Knowing NCL, I doubt they'll even give that much consideration to this request. 

[Steff79]

2 hours ago, UKstages said:

i agree with almost everything you say here.

 

with regard to "six," the thought occurs to me that it may not be NCL's doing.

 

NCL lucked out with "six." their talent team scouted the show, if memory serves, at the edinburgh festival and made a deal with scrappy young kids to bring it to their ships, before it even opened in the west end and long before it ever came to broadway. it was a major coup and a big gamble that paid off... big time.

 

i don't know the details of that deal, how much they paid for the rights, nor the length of the contract. but it is entirely possible that they no longer will have the rights to "six," if the creative team pulled them, now that it's a worldwide megahit.

 

knowing NCL, it's probably a cost cutting measure and has nothing to do with the rights, but it is possible.

here it sounds the deal was after west end.

 

is there a rumor or announcement that it ends?

or only to tell how popular the show is?

 

[Steff79]

 

ok, now i saw it there,

so sad.

 

[UKstages]

23 minutes ago, Steff79 said:

here it sounds the deal was after west end.

 

it may have debuted on NCL after it opened in the west end, not sure, but the deal was made based on the edinburgh showcase. NCL's head of entertainment saw it there and struck the deal. had it opened in the west end first and been the success that it was/is, i doubt the rights would have been given to NCL. they struck gold with this one. it is most unusual for a show currently on broadway to also be performed on a cruise ship.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/27/theater/six-broadway.html

[Turtles06]

36 minutes ago, UKstages said:

 

it may have debuted on NCL after it opened in the west end, not sure, but the deal was made based on the edinburgh showcase. NCL's head of entertainment saw it there and struck the deal. had it opened in the west end first and been the success that it was/is, i doubt the rights would have been given to NCL. they struck gold with this one. it is most unusual for a show currently on broadway to also be performed on a cruise ship.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/27/theater/six-broadway.html

 

You are correct that NCL (Richard Ambrose) got in early and recognized a great show when he saw it in Edinburgh.   The timeline of the deal doesn't seem to be public, but it seems clear NCL was talking to the creators pretty early on.  While SIX did open in the West End in January 2019, and the announcement that it would be on NCL ships was not made until August 6, 2019, it's very likely the deal was in the works before that. 

 

And I agree with you that it's possible the rights might be expiring, or the renewal of the rights is just too high a price for NCL, now that SIX is a mega-hit.

 

 

[UKstages]

yeah, they were dealing with two scrappy young cambridge kids who were naive as to the inner workings of theatre financing, and, honestly, nobody could have predicted the success of this modest little show. they thought at the time that a deal with NCL would be their meal ticket.

 

for anybody interested in how "six" was created and subsequently marketed, i highly recommend reading the linked article in post #9. there's only a fleeting reference to NCL, but there are lots of interesting tidbits for fans of the show.

[hallux]

I would sign that petition!  Sadly, I doubt it would help...