Theater Reservations?

[Wiseask]

I am hoping that some loyal Princess passengers might know the answer to my question. I am a veteran of many Celebrity cruises but I am new to Princess. I will be sailing on the new Sun Princess on a transatlantic cruise.
 

I know that some cruise lines (Royal Caribbean comes to mind) strongly recommend making reservations for at least some if not all of their shows because of the high demand and limited theater space. On the other hand, though Celebrity may reserve some seating for suite guests, no reservations for shows are required and seating in the theater has always been available. 
 

My questions regarding Princess are whether reservations for any shows are required, or even offered? Or like Celebrity, on Princess ships is seating in the theater simply on a first-come first-served basis?

 

(P.S. Yes, I know, dining venues are different and in many cases reservations are required. My question concerns entertainment venues only and seating in the theater specifically.)

 

Thanks. 
 

 

[Treasure Hunter]

In the past,  theater seats were first come first served for everyone but now I believe if you buy a premiere package you will have reserve seats. Unlike NCL Haven and Celebrity retreat, Princess suites get nothing. However , I have never been on the new Sun and I believe their Sanctuary staterooms might automatically get reserve seats. After 35 Princess cruises, we have always gotten a seat if we show up 30 minutes before the show. 

[reedprincess]

Princess does take reservations for shows.

 

Guests who purchase the Premier Cruise Package do have reserved seats - for production shows only - that are saved until approximately 10 minutes prior to showtime.

 

On Sun (or any Princess ship), suites do not have reserved seating. 

 

However - on e Sanctuary Collection "debuts" Oct 14 for all suites, what will then be former Reserve Mini-suites and the 12 or so Premium Deluxe Balcony cabins all are considered Sanctuary Collection cabins - those cabins come with the Premier Cruise Package for every guest, and thus - all will have the reserved seating same as all others who buy the Premier Cruise Package separately..    by default, reserved seating for Suites.   

 

Remains to be seen how it plays out.. and the reserved seats are solely for production shows, in the theater aka Arena. Not guest entertainment or Dome shows...

[Wiseask]

Thanks for your replies. To be clearer, I will not be purchasing a Premiere package or staying in a suite. That said, do I need to — or even can I — make show reservations?

 

Also, my travel agent booked me a balcony cabin on Deck 15 which I believe is classified as DB, but hasn’t said anything to me about any particular perks, like theater reservations, which come with it. I’ll be sending her an email as we speak for clarification. 

Edited June 2 by Wiseask

[Rick&Jeannie]

1 minute ago, Wiseask said:

Thanks for your replies. To be clearer, I will not be purchasing a Premiere package or staying in a suite. That said, do I need to — or even can I — make show reservations?

 

Also my travel agent booked me a balcony cabin on Deck 15 which I believe is classified as DB, but hasn’t said anything to me about any particular perks, like theater reservations, which come with it. I’ll be sending her an email as we speak for clarification. 

No, reservations are not offered unless you book Premier.

[wallyj]

29 minutes ago, Wiseask said:

Thanks for your replies. To be clearer, I will not be purchasing a Premiere package or staying in a suite. That said, do I need to — or even can I — make show reservations?

 

Also, my travel agent booked me a balcony cabin on Deck 15 which I believe is classified as DB, but hasn’t said anything to me about any particular perks, like theater reservations, which come with it. I’ll be sending her an email as we speak for clarification. 

Princess does not ‘make’ reservations for the Theatre. For production shows, certain seats will have ‘seatback covers’ saying reserved for the Premier package and probably on upcoming Sun class the Sanctuary class cabins. It is still first come,  first served, even for those seats, you are not assigned any seat number. Also these ‘reserved’ seats are not usually front, center. Most would not consider them ‘prime’ location, but convient ,  so you do not have to arrive so early. 
 

My last cruise, I had Premier, but choose to sit up front and center, so I got to the theatre 25-30 minutes before showtime. This timing will vary depending on the other passengers on your ship and their desire to see the shows. Normally the second show around 9:30 is less crowded. YMMV.

 

I believe your cabin a DB, is a ‘deluxe balcony’ which just means it has a sofa, no other amenities come with this category.

Edited June 2 by wallyj

[Treasure Hunter]

Wally’s is correct. Unlike RCCL and NCL there is no reservations taken for the production shows.

[memoak]

We just slip into seats in the back or stand in the back so we can leave if we do not like the show.  We have seen most of the production shows so usually only check out guest singers

[charliedalrymple]

I could have sworn that on our last cruise on Majestic (Dec. 2023) the reserved seats were for suites only and not for those with Premiere. (We were neither.). Am I mistaken? 

 

I did notice that those seats never filled up and were released ten minutes before showtime.

 

 

Edited June 4 by charliedalrymple

[skynight]

14 minutes ago, charliedalrymple said:

I could have sworn that on our last cruise on Majestic (Dec. 2023) the reserved seats were for suites only and not for those with Premiere. (We were neither.). Am I mistaken? 

 

I did notice that those seats never filled up and were released ten minutes before showtime.

 

 

The reserved theater seats are for those with the premier fare package. and it is only for production shows. There are no reserved theater seats for those in full suites. 

[memoak]

24 minutes ago, charliedalrymple said:

I could have sworn that on our last cruise on Majestic (Dec. 2023) the reserved seats were for suites only and not for those with Premiere. (We were neither.). Am I mistaken? 

 

I did notice that those seats never filled up and were released ten minutes before showtime.

 

 

Suites cannot reserve seats in theaters 

[nwcruiselover]

The seats reserved for premier package passengers are released 10 minutes before showtime if not filled.

[TRLD]

On 6/2/2024 at 2:07 PM, reedprincess said:

Princess does take reservations for shows.

 

Guests who purchase the Premier Cruise Package do have reserved seats - for production shows only - that are saved until approximately 10 minutes prior to showtime.

 

On Sun (or any Princess ship), suites do not have reserved seating. 

 

However - on e Sanctuary Collection "debuts" Oct 14 for all suites, what will then be former Reserve Mini-suites and the 12 or so Premium Deluxe Balcony cabins all are considered Sanctuary Collection cabins - those cabins come with the Premier Cruise Package for every guest, and thus - all will have the reserved seating same as all others who buy the Premier Cruise Package separately..    by default, reserved seating for Suites.   

 

Remains to be seen how it plays out.. and the reserved seats are solely for production shows, in the theater aka Arena. Not guest entertainment or Dome shows...

Not quite. A matter of semantics

 

Princess does not take reservations for shows. One cannot ask for a reservation.

 

Under the new packages they set aside a number of seats (not exactly the best placement) that are only for those with the premier package. Those seats not filled are released to anyone 5 minutes before the show starts. Usually not many of those seats are taken because of where they are located. It is quite entertaining watching people crowd around waiting for the five minute mark.

[wallyj]

2 hours ago, memoak said:

Suites cannot reserve seats in theaters 

Actually depending on the ship, they can. Believe it was on the Discovery and saw a couple of ‘reserved’ seat covers for 2 seats in the front row. I ask a crew member and was told they were for ‘sky’ suite guests and it is on a request basis. 

Edited June 5 by wallyj

[cr8tiv1]

2 minutes ago, wallyj said:

Actually depending on the ship, they can. Was on the Discovery and saw a couple of ‘reserved’ seat covers for 2 seats in the front row. I ask a crew member and was told they were for ‘sky’ suite guests and it is on a request basis. 

 

I have been informed by someone staying in a SKY suite, that theatre seats can be reserved for them.  But that is so out of range for many.  I, personally, feel that this is a super perk for the Sky Suite (not suites on the Sky).  Although, I would like to see this be a perk for "regular" suites too.  I can imagine this would be difficult to facilitate.  

[startedwithamouse]

3 hours ago, memoak said:

Suites cannot reserve seats in theaters 

Sky Suites can.