Passengers argument with staff in theter

[Steelers36]

IMO, a third show should be on a different night.  If PCL has a new show (always seems to be only on the newest ships), IDK why they cannot schedule in an extra show during the week (expecting the popularity) and forego some other thing that few people go to.  Why not have a third show early and then have the late slot go to one of the comedians who are often popular for a second show (presuming they have new material).

 

I don't think 6:30 / 8:30 / 10:30 is a good setup.

 

I also agree with the earlier post that early show should be ~7:30pm and not 8pm and then 9:15 or 9:30pm.  IDK why the production show team cannot be ready to go on again within a half-hour or so.  We periodically go to live theater in Toronto and when a musical, those shows are running over two hours.   But 2hrs apart on the ship like 7:30 and 9:30 should suit the DR times.

[sewgood]

4 hours ago, Jeter02 said:

I wonder if it changes each cruise based on how many people actually have the premier package?

I was on the Majestic with only 6 covered seats, it was a 28 day cruise so maybe for the longer cruises less people take out the more expensive package.

[PescadoAmarillo]

2 hours ago, Hlitner said:

The problem is not about "class" but rather that Princess has long designed their vessels with main theaters that are simply too small for the normal 2 show format. 

This. And with each new class of ship the issue gets worse. At one point, Princess actually had a second, different guest entertainer (not karaoke) show running more or less concurrently in another venue, such as The Explorers Lounge, so if you couldn’t get a seat for the Princess Theater show, there was another good option. I haven’t seen that for years. 

[JG&Lcruisingnewbies]

7 hours ago, SCX22 said:

I've sailed twice on the Sky out of Southampton, the entertainment director/cruise director, whoever is in charge of this, should put the shows back to 19:30 and 21:00/21:15/21:30. 

Yes! I’m British and I think Princess definitely need to do this.

 

i don’t know why they bother changing it for Southampton. I’d prefer earlier & while I’m sure some will prefer a later time, I’m pretty sure most Brits wouldn’t care about half an hour for the first show. they’d just go to the 9pm time anyway.

People in places like Greece, Italy & Spain tend to have later nights traditionally so maybe that has something to do with Princesses decision.

 

although tbh I’m unsure of how many people from counties outside the US & UK travel from Southampton. And again the choice to go to the 9pm is still there.

 

just make it universal times across the fleet.

 

I also love the idea of showing a production shows 3 times, not 2, but that seems less likely
 

[Geoffa30]

When we were on Sky Princess in June, the seats only seemed to be reserved for the production shows. We didn’t have a problem with this as there weren’t that many reserved and we didn’t necessarily consider them to be in the best location. Our issue was the attitude of the staff monitoring who sat in the seats. For example, we had already sat down behind the reserved section. I went to Take Six to get a drink and when I returned to the theatre, I received short thrift from a staff member on the stairs when I asked to pass. I had to ask three times - politely - before I could pass and this was met with attitude and a look that could kill. Perhaps they had previously dealt with problems from other passengers but that shouldn’t mean everyone is treated with the same contempt. Of course, those with the premier package were welcomed with open arms.

[antsp]

23 hours ago, kywildcatfanone said:

This whole "class" thing is going to keep things tense unfortunately.  That and the fact that society is collapsing in many ways, including public behavior, are just going to get worse.

It sounds like the number of seats reserved collates to the number of Premier plus passengers on board, so if 900 passengers had the Premier package their would be no seats left for the remaining passengers

[MissP22]

All I know is this is going to provide me with pre-show entertainment. 

It's better than the seat savers. 

[nnzz]

19 minutes ago, antsp said:

It sounds like the number of seats reserved collates to the number of Premier plus passengers on board, so if 900 passengers had the Premier package their would be no seats left for the remaining passengers

Doesn' the number of suite guests add to the passengers entitled to reserved seating?

[antsp]

34 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

All I know is this is going to provide me with pre-show entertainment. 

It's better than the seat savers. 

Yes, it was a rather heated the other night, it looked like the shore ex staff running it. 

[icat2000]

Why don't they just add a feature to the ap that people with those packages can reserve a seat up to 30 mins prior to show starting and then once that mark passed any unreserved can be released.

[DCThunder]

9 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

IMO, a third show should be on a different night.  If PCL has a new show (always seems to be only on the newest ships), IDK why they cannot schedule in an extra show during the week (expecting the popularity) and forego some other thing that few people go to.  Why not have a third show early and then have the late slot go to one of the comedians who are often popular for a second show (presuming they have new material).

 

I don't think 6:30 / 8:30 / 10:30 is a good setup.

 

I also agree with the earlier post that early show should be ~7:30pm and not 8pm and then 9:15 or 9:30pm.  IDK why the production show team cannot be ready to go on again within a half-hour or so.  We periodically go to live theater in Toronto and when a musical, those shows are running over two hours.   But 2hrs apart on the ship like 7:30 and 9:30 should suit the DR times.

I still maintain that a matinee performance would be a good solution.  I was on a TA on Regal last fall and both of the featured singers did a solo matinee performance on sea days.  While these weren't the full production shows, hearing the singers do a 45 minute set, and tell a little of their personal story, was better than sitting through an over-amplified, frenetic show with dancers and lights and the like. 

[Steelers36]

Just now, DCThunder said:

I still maintain that a matinee performance would be a good solution.  I was on a TA on Regal last fall and both of the featured singers did a solo matinee performance on sea days.  While these weren't the full production shows, hearing the singers do a 45 minute set, and tell a little of their personal story, was better than sitting through an over-amplified, frenetic show with dancers and lights and the like. 

Good idea for a Sea Day, except I think it would not go well in the Caribbean in Winter season - unless a poor weather day.

[DCThunder]

Just now, Steelers36 said:

Good idea for a Sea Day, except I think it would not go well in the Caribbean in Winter season - unless a poor weather day.

Even on 7 day cruises there's at least one sea day, right?  And there are plenty of people who don't want to go to Princess Cay for the umpteenth time, I'd bet.  😁

[trajan]

Imho the more a cruise ship or resort partitions individual amenities behind a pay wall, the crappier they are overall. I don’t like the idea of Princess going in the direction of the AI resorts that sell different wrist bands so you can access different categories of absolutely everything at the resort. Yet more and more over the years Princess has been doing that. A good cruise ship, like a good hotel, makes everyone feel welcome. Be happy if they tossed this whole ‘perk’ but that ain’t gonna happen. 
And 150 seats? Never seen anything close to that. Gotta be a story there.

[antsp]

I did a very quick count, 6 seats a row approx 12 / 13 rows each side. About 6 taken

[Cruise Raider]

16 hours ago, ldtr said:

So about the same as on other ships that hold back about 40. Wonder why they hold so many more.

They hold as many seats as for those that purchase the premier package.  It’s easy because they are just blue covers that go over the seat back.  
I’ve seen where they also have held seats for full suite passengers.  The seat back covers are the same color, just with the writing on them being a bit different.  

[kywildcatfanone]

54 minutes ago, trajan said:

Imho the more a cruise ship or resort partitions individual amenities behind a pay wall, the crappier they are overall.

Yep, this kind of thing is going to cause headaches for passengers and crews as it continues to mushroom.  If they start trying to charge for pool chairs in certain areas of the "public" pools, oh boy, won't that be fun.  But can I see them doing that? Yes, they are now into "what can we do to extract more of people's money.  This is going to continue to escalate.  

[Cruise Raider]

2 hours ago, icat2000 said:

Why don't they just add a feature to the ap that people with those packages can reserve a seat up to 30 mins prior to show starting and then once that mark passed any unreserved can be released.

Not all people use the app and there would likely be more confusion if they were expected to do so and no seat was open when they showed up.  
 

At the beginning of the restart, people were expected to ‘reserve’ rather than bookmark the event they wanted to attend.  This quickly went by the wayside as passengers were irate about not being able to get into the theater without a reservation.  Of course, capacity in any venue was very limited at that time.  
 

[nattie]

Is the lack of seating an early show thing? We are Elite and have been on several cruises since restart. I have NEVER had an issue with no seating available. Granted, we prefer to seat in the back closer to the exits and we always go to late shows. Usually get there about 20 min before, no issues. 

[DCThunder]

33 minutes ago, nattie said:

Is the lack of seating an early show thing? We are Elite and have been on several cruises since restart. I have NEVER had an issue with no seating available. Granted, we prefer to seat in the back closer to the exits and we always go to late shows. Usually get there about 20 min before, no issues. 

My experience has been the opposite.  The early shows are the ones many people prefer.  They want to have dinner in the MDR at 5:00pm and then a show at 7.  That's when Jeopardy! or Wheel of Fortune comes on TV back home so there's no difference in the routine.😎

[Cruise Raider]

33 minutes ago, nattie said:

Is the lack of seating an early show thing? We are Elite and have been on several cruises since restart. I have NEVER had an issue with no seating available. Granted, we prefer to seat in the back closer to the exits and we always go to late shows. Usually get there about 20 min before, no issues. 

It is more commonplace for the early show to be more crowded.  Now that ships seem to be operating at full capacity, it will probably become more difficult to find seats.  That’s why the reserved seating is so attractive.  
We haven’t had any issues on the Royal Class, except for in Princess Live.  The Grand class ships have always been really crowded in the theater, though.  I remember running into standing room only for many of the shows.  

[cruzsnooze]

RCL has had reserved seating for it's Pinnacle and Diamond Plus tiers for years. It is a loyalty perk.  Princess is merely coping them but charging for it. 

[nattie]

10 minutes ago, Cruise Raider said:

It is more commonplace for the early show to be more crowded.  Now that ships seem to be operating at full capacity, it will probably become more difficult to find seats.  That’s why the reserved seating is so attractive.  
We haven’t had any issues on the Royal Class, except for in Princess Live.  The Grand class ships have always been really crowded in the theater, though.  I remember running into standing room only for many of the shows.  

I much prefer new layout of Princess Live on Discovery and (hopefully) Enchanted! So much easier to find seats, BUT it does lose the "TV show audience" feel a bit. You are absolutely right, finding a seat in Princess Live on Regal is not easy!

[Steelers36]

3 hours ago, icat2000 said:

Why don't they just add a feature to the app that people with those packages can reserve a seat up to 30 mins prior to show starting and then once that mark passed any unreserved can be released.

IMO 30 minutes is unreasonable for someone to show up with a reserved seat and then sit there twiddling thumbs (or surfing or chatting).

[memoak]

4 hours ago, nnzz said:

Doesn' the number of suite guests add to the passengers entitled to reserved seating?

Reserved seats in the theatre is not a suite perk