No More Reservations for Shows

[Travel-and-See]

On 3/20/2024 at 4:47 PM, raphael360 said:

I’ve never seen Duel Reality completely full even on fully booked sailings. 

I’ve seen it once and that was on a sailing where it was shown 4 times so plenty of other options to see it.  I also think they didn’t turn anyone away just sent them up to the upper seating where they don’t usually seat for that show. 
 

I see it every time I can!

 

I don’t think any of the red room shows need reservations- it’s big enough to meet the demand.  

Edited April 14 by Travel-and-See

[kiefaber455]

Just got off an 8 day Valiant Lady cruise...every show, except for a show the first night, people had to stand in line 30-40 minutes to get in, and then there was no guarantee that they would have enough seating

[Gilligan69]

1 hour ago, kiefaber455 said:

Just got off an 8 day Valiant Lady cruise...every show, except for a show the first night, people had to stand in line 30-40 minutes to get in, and then there was no guarantee that they would have enough seating

This was my concern.  I keep hearing people say the change was made due to no shows with the reservation system. And that for longer cruises, such as the one you were on, the waits are not an issue. But I've heard the opposite from people like yourself. I leave for a 7 night VV Med cruise in 34 days and I pray they reverse this policy. I do not want to stand in a single standby line to get entertainment that we previously could lock in with a reservation. The solution to a no show on a reservation is to penalize $ to the cabin, not to penalize the entire potential audience with a required lineup instead.  Surely the crew members don't like line management added to their multiple responsibilities?

[Travel-and-See]

11 hours ago, kiefaber455 said:

Just got off an 8 day Valiant Lady cruise...every show, except for a show the first night, people had to stand in line 30-40 minutes to get in, and then there was no guarantee that they would have enough seating

Did any of the red room shows fill to capacity and turn guests away?

[tde1969]

12 hours ago, kiefaber455 said:

Just got off an 8 day Valiant Lady cruise...every show, except for a show the first night, people had to stand in line 30-40 minutes to get in, and then there was no guarantee that they would have enough seating

 

Was there a special line or reserved seats for Rockstars?  

[kiefaber455]

23 hours ago, Travel-and-See said:

Did any of the red room shows fill to capacity and turn guests away?

 

21 hours ago, tde1969 said:

 

Was there a special line or reserved seats for Rockstars?  

Not sure anyone got turned away for shows in The Red Room, but they were turned away from shows in The Manor. What really created problems was that Scarlett Night was held in The Red Room instead of up at the pool because of weather concerns. It was way to crowded and noisy. 

 

I was under the impression that Rockstars had their own concierge entrance, so I can't answer that.

[cantgetin]

Rockstars have a reserved seating area and are cared for by their rockstar agent....

 

[marcoigna]

On 3/22/2024 at 9:24 AM, jon81uk said:

Generally for the shows that didn’t have reservations before this change apparently there was a seperate rockstar queue so I expect that’s the same, rockstar basically queue jumps to get into the theatre.

Good day

 

that was not my experience on our last 2 sailings.  Did not see or was lead to a special queue- had to have a reservation.  

[Gilligan69]

9 minutes ago, marcoigna said:

Good day

 

that was not my experience on our last 2 sailings.  Did not see or was lead to a special queue- had to have a reservation.  

The new policy was instituted only in the past few weeks, which is why your 2 sailings likely didn't have it in place.

[snarfbeast]

We just got off the 8 day Valiant cruise as well. The lines were very long, and while I didn't see anyone turned away, every seat in the house was full for shows we saw in the Red Room and Manor. I assume there were people that weren't able to get in.

 

We were lucky to be Rockstars this cruise, and were told by our agent to arrive 35 minutes before show time (5-10 minutes for Ship Show), and there would be a priority line. That line was let in first, so we had first choice of seats. The big line is let in immediately after priority.

 

We showed up just as the normal line was entering the Manor for one show (which had a huge line), went to the front to ask if there was somewhere we were supposed to go, and were "cut" into the line and guided into the venue by staff. We ended up way off to the side but got to see the show. 

 

As far as I know, there were no reserved seats for RS's. For Duel Reality, the RS line went in first, then the big line, then they let people into the upper section when all of the lower section had filled.

 

Honestly, I would not want to have to wait in line and would likely just skip the shows if we weren't RS. Some of the lines started forming 45 minutes or more ahead of the show, and especially for The Manor, having to manage the line through the Casino must be a pain.

[Chrish2]

I'm rather miffed about this change. It feels tacky and does not fit into the positioning of line.

[Travel-and-See]

Just now, Chrish2 said:

I'm rather miffed about this change. It feels tacky and does not fit into the positioning of line.

One of the mistakes Virgin made was expecting guests to make reservations for shows and restaurants - nobody wants that.  

 

but nobody wants to line up for shows either - that’s not something that I have to do on other cruise lines. 
 

I’m not sure what the solution is at this point.  

[Gilligan69]

9 minutes ago, Travel-and-See said:

One of the mistakes Virgin made was expecting guests to make reservations for shows and restaurants - nobody wants that.  

 

but nobody wants to line up for shows either - that’s not something that I have to do on other cruise lines. 
 

I’m not sure what the solution is at this point.  

Being honest, the reservation system with the app is extremely easy and personally, I want it. I like to know that I am guaranteed to see what shows we want to see, and at what day and time. I like being able to confidently schedule other things around that. For instance, more than a month out from our cruise we've already scheduled dinners with shows in mind, only to learn they've dumped the show reservation option.  To me there is absolutely nothing appealing about having to line up well in advance of a show.  For me there is only one solution, and that's to re-instate the reservations, and they can tack on penalties or limitations for people that don't show up for the events they blocked off.

[xdcr]

On 3/16/2024 at 11:36 PM, bdever said:

I’m booked on the Scarlet Lady TA for 4/21/24 - 5/4/24 and I noticed in the itinerary listed in the app that the shows Untitled Danceshowpartything, Duel Reality, and Ships In The Night now say “First Come, First Served” instead of “Book on Board”. The only entertainment that says book on board is the LOLz supper Club. What is your take on this? Is this new or has this been done on any other sailings?

 

[Cloud9 Bob]

If they do restore the show reservation system at least it should prevent people from double and triple booking as it does with duplicate restaurant reservations on shorter cruises. Personally, I'm looking forward to trying the first come first served show thing. I hate being so locked in to everything. It also helps if you are a last minute cruise booker. I don't mind waiting in line for a bit. 

[xdcr]

All events except for "Ship Show" are first come first serve. People line up 30 to 45 minutes before to get a seat.

[bdever]

23 minutes ago, xdcr said:

All events except for "Ship Show" are first come first serve. People line up 30 to 45 minutes before to get a seat.

Not happy about this but it is what it is. I will be planning to line up on the transatlantic sailing then 35 minutes before shows start. 

[Travel-and-See]

Are people lining up 30 minutes before doors so 1 hour before showtime? Or 30 minutes before showtime? 
 

there seemed to be such little demand for the red room shows on my previous cruises that it’s hard to believe they are really filling up 

[cantgetin]

4 hours ago, xdcr said:

 

Book on board means that there is a cost, and that this event cannot be booked until you are on board.  First come, first serve means that there is no cost, but you line up to get in and hope for the best.  Items that allow you to make a reservation on board means no cost, but you can reserve your spot after embarkation (mostly applies to smaller fitness classes).

I think it stinks.  I would ideally like to see a system where each person could make a reservation to attend each show ONCE during the cruise and then go to a  standby line.  On our first cruise, I couldn't get a reservation to Never Sleep Alone, and then learned that one of the repeat performances was largely empty as there were lots of no shows.  Everyone should get a chance to see Dual Reality or whatever once during the cruise before other people can see it twice.  But, I don't want to stand in line for 30 or 45 minutes in order to possibly get a seat.  I'm particularly unhappy about the zumba and VHS going to "first come."  I really don't want to put on my workout clothes only to find out after waiting for 30 minutes that there is no room for me.

 

[bdever]

5 hours ago, cantgetin said:

I'm particularly unhappy about the zumba and VHS going to "first come."  I really don't want to put on my workout clothes only to find out after waiting for 30 minutes that there is no room for me.

 

Snap, I didn’t even think of this. And I have them both agenda’d every morning of the TA… damn. I bought 5 workout outfits specifically for these too and shoes… would really suck.

[jon81uk]

Back on my first few VV cruises the VHS workout was always first come anyway. I was surprised last year when they wanted to scan my band!

[cantgetin]

8 hours ago, jon81uk said:

Back on my first few VV cruises the VHS workout was always first come anyway. I was surprised last year when they wanted to scan my band!

Interesting...I've done the 3 previous TAs and each time it was reservations with a stand by line.

[raphael360]

I’m onboard Scarlett now and the event line on the app stills shows  “First come first serve” But when I checked the show times today it gave me the option to book which I did. I’ll see if they are scanning wrist bands in an hour from now. 

[raphael360]

29 minutes ago, raphael360 said:

f they are scanning wrist bands

Arrived at 6 for the 6:30 show. Doors were open and sailors were arriving. No scanning of our wrist bands. 

[jon81uk]

39 minutes ago, raphael360 said:

I’m onboard Scarlett now and the event line on the app stills shows  “First come first serve” But when I checked the show times today it gave me the option to book which I did. I’ll see if they are scanning wrist bands in an hour from now. 

Are you sure it was book and not just add to agenda?