Not New To Cruising, But New To Celebrity - Entertainment ??'s

[alreadypacked]

DH and I are excited, as we just put a deposit on our very first Celebrity cruise--the Solstice!:)

 

After spending some time on this board, reading various posts and reviews as well as reviews in the "member reviews" section and browsing Celebrity's website, I still have a few questions regarding the entertainment.

 

Is there a show every night in the main theater or are the shows just on certain nights?

 

From reading the reviews and browsing the website, there didn't seem to be any such venue as a piano bar or a karaoke offering (kind of hokey, I know, but we really enjoy this on a cruise). Are there any such offerings on the Solstice?

 

Thanks!:)

[Lois R]

Hi, welcome aboard:). Yes, there is a show every night and yes, it is

in the Celebrity Theater.

On the S class they also have a show (well they did last year) in the

Foyer area on deck 3 and they use the elevators and stairway too

and the passengers are part of it too...lots of music and dancing

during that show. I really enjoyed that one:)

 

As for Karaoke? I know they always offered it before. I agree it

can be corny but sometimes you get folks who are really good too.

I never sing but sometimes I will stop and have a drink and watch it.

I remember years ago on Zenith there was a guy who sang a Sinatra

tune and at the end he proposed to his girlfriend......she said yes:D

[TLCOhio]

Lois has given some good summary points. Below are some visuals highlights from what we enjoyed while on the Solstice two months ago.

 

It would be nice if there was a regular "piano bar", but the music options and places move around on the ship. There was a decent variety covering the added ranges with a folk/pop singer, plus a small group doing some jazz/big band/songbook items. We also loved it when the rock band played the "hits" pool side on a sunny sea day.

 

It's not Broadway, London's West End or Las Vegas, but, overall, we were happy with the variety, options on the ship in this area. From my below live/blog, you can see more details.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Recently back from a June 7-19 Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 30,598 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

 

 

For entertainment in the Solstice Theatre, it was called “Solstice -- The Show” featuring a European-style dance, air acts, music, etc. Very dramatic and interesting as they swing, twirl and soar over the audience and stage. Here is one example of the “air show” put on by the show performers.:

 

 

 

And, another example of performers soaring over the stage, etc.:

 

 

 

Earlier on our cruise in the Solstice Theatre, there was a show called “Pulse” that featured the great ship orchestra, plus much dancing, singing, entertaining, etc. Lots and energy and good talents on the ship.:

 

 

 

 

 

This is a view looking up in the Solstice central lobby with a music group playing there. :

 

 

 

Here’s an example for some of the “swinging” action to band on the 4th floor, central court area nearby the Solstice's main glass elevator bank. There were not large numbers dancing, but those that did, had fun and we enjoyed watching the "show"!:

 

[Vol fan]

DH and I are excited, as we just put a deposit on our very first Celebrity cruise--the Solstice!:)

 

After spending some time on this board, reading various posts and reviews as well as reviews in the "member reviews" section and browsing Celebrity's website, I still have a few questions regarding the entertainment.

 

Is there a show every night in the main theater or are the shows just on certain nights?

 

From reading the reviews and browsing the website, there didn't seem to be any such venue as a piano bar or a karaoke offering (kind of hokey, I know, but we really enjoy this on a cruise). Are there any such offerings on the Solstice?

 

Thanks!:)

 

We were on her sister ship, the Eclipse, just a few months ago, for a 7 night cruise and there was karaoke on 4 nights. We have been on the Solstice and will be on her again next month, but I don't recall how many nights of karaoke we had on her. I would assume it would be about the same. A word of advice, if you have particular songs you like to sing, I would take your own karaoke CD with you. The song choices on the Eclipse were abysmal. Very few new songs. A small book compared to thousands of songs on our last Princess cruise.

Carole

[dolittle]

The entertainment on X in the old days was well (what is the right word)''spotty''. However on our last X cruise (Connie) it was excellent in the main theater, great singers in one show six of them in fact.Then on some nights after the main show the dancers came to the big lounge on top of the ship and did there thing on the dance floor .This was great to see them up close , they were great and having fun. The acts in the smaller rooms vary like all ships.

[alreadypacked]

As for Karaoke? I know they always offered it before. I agree it

can be corny but sometimes you get folks who are really good too.

I never sing but sometimes I will stop and have a drink and watch it.

I remember years ago on Zenith there was a guy who sang a Sinatra

tune and at the end he proposed to his girlfriend......she said yes:D

 

We were on her sister ship, the Eclipse, just a few months ago, for a 7 night cruise and there was karaoke on 4 nights. We have been on the Solstice and will be on her again next month, but I don't recall how many nights of karaoke we had on her. I would assume it would be about the same. A word of advice, if you have particular songs you like to sing, I would take your own karaoke CD with you. The song choices on the Eclipse were abysmal. Very few new songs. A small book compared to thousands of songs on our last Princess cruise.

Carole

 

Thanks for the quick responses, everyone!:)

 

Like you, Lois, we only like to watch the karaoke...no way would either one of us sing, because we would clear out the entire bar!:eek: I can't carry a tune to save my neck.

[Howlin Walker]

My husband and I teach improv comedy as Enrichment Speakers for Celebrity. You can participate and get on stage, or just sit and watch the funny. I highly recommend it, if I DO say so myself!

 

We're tentatively scheduled for 6 Solstice cruises next year.

 

And of course there is almost always a stand-up act (usually late nights) for each cruise.

 

Have fun!

Nancy

[bluecruisin]

Nancy, will you be working onboard the Equinox at all? Your program sounds very fun and interesting.

[royalcruz]

On the Solstice in January there was only one night of kareoke and it wasn't well attended.

 

Although there are pianos in Michael's and Ensemble, I've never seen sing-along type piano entertainment on X.

[Howlin Walker]

Nancy, will you be working onboard the Equinox at all? Your program sounds very fun and interesting.

 

Hi BlueCruisin,

 

Nope - nothing on the Equinox. But our schedule isn't totally set yet. I'll let you know if we get booked on it!

 

-Nancy

[alreadypacked]

On the Solstice in January there was only one night of kareoke and it wasn't well attended.

 

Although there are pianos in Michael's and Ensemble, I've never seen sing-along type piano entertainment on X.

 

Hmm...well, we can certainly live without karaoke and piano bar, but we are not big late-nighter's or party/dancers (as in the nightclub or disco), so we have found Kraoke and Piano Bar to be "our speed" on other lines.

 

We were just trying to get a feel for the entertainment.

 

We are in the 40-ish range--not really young, but not over-the-hill (still somewhat young-at-heart so-to-speak).

[AlanAllyn]

Last year on the Equinox, there was a piano bar every night in Michael's Club. They are talking of changing that; so, I don't know what will be available.

 

But there is music all around the ship in the evening. There was a guitarist, an a capella quartet, a jazz group, a classical music quartet at various places. See the daily schedule.

[detsteve]

DW and I are sailing the Solstice on Dec. 11 (our first Celebrity Cruise) and are curious what the age range will be. We are not wild partiers but we were hoping not to be well below the average age of other cruisers. We are in our late 30 and enjoy the piano bar sing alongs on Carnival and NCL as well as watching Karaoke shows. Is there an average age range on the Solstice or does it vary from cruise to cruise?

 

On Carnival they always seat us at a table by ourselves and they don't take pre-requests for other seating. On this cruise we opted for a table that seats 6 to 8 so hopefully we will meet some interesting people.

[bessinfl]

Hi BlueCruisin,

 

Nope - nothing on the Equinox. But our schedule isn't totally set yet. I'll let you know if we get booked on it!

 

-Nancy

 

If any of you get a chance to catch Nancy's improv workshops, she's terrific. My friends and I went to everything she did on the Eclipse last spring and loved every minute. I'm hoping Celebrity will continue to give her work so we can see her again!

[St. Louis Sal]

I thought you were doing the Equinox Christmas cruise and I was really looking forward to the improv. Aren't you coming after all?

 

St. Louis Sal

[Howlin Walker]

Thanks for the kind words, bessinfl!!!!

 

 

I thought you were doing the Equinox Christmas cruise and I was really looking forward to the improv. Aren't you coming after all?

 

St. Louis Sal

 

Hi St. Louis Sal! Yes, Marshall and I will both be on the Christmas Equinox cruise with a fantastic improv series. (I was speaking of 2012 when saying nothing on the Equinox.) I can talk more about it on our roll call, if you have any questions or suggestions - don't want to hijack this thread more than I already have!

 

To get back to the OP's question, there is usually tons to do. We've been booked on the Solstice several times, and from what I've seen, there are shows every night in the main theater, musical groups (usually guitarist, string quartet, a capella group, jazz, dance band) around the ship at various times and places, dance parties, late night comedy, karaoke (at least twice during a week long cruise, more often if people are digging it!), and piano bar. And of course improv comedy if the cruisers are very lucky!

 

Have a great time!

Nancy

[CaptData]

Nancy are you booked on the Eclipse in Jan 2013 (26 Jan cruise)?

[Howlin Walker]

Nancy are you booked on the Eclipse in Jan 2013 (26 Jan cruise)?

 

Hi CaptData - we just got our tentative 2012 schedule, so we have no idea what our 2013 will look like. Since there's interest, we'll post a new thread as soon as our schedules get confirmed. Thanks so much for asking. (You can always let Celebrity know that you heard about the improv enrichment program and think it's a great idea...they may book us more that way. [We can hope!])

 

-Nancy