Anytime Entertainment??

[mikjr]

So, I keep reading bits and pieces about something new on Princess... "Anytime Entertainment"... but no one seems to know what it is.

 

Has anyone heard about this new program??

[sunluva7]

If it pertained to Princess, it would be called "Personal Choice" Entertainment. No, I have never heard of it. Where did you here?

[AKman2495]

Here is a thread that might help:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1550696&highlight=emerald+entertainment

[Pam in CA]

So, I keep reading bits and pieces about something new on Princess... "Anytime Entertainment"... but no one seems to know what it is.

 

Has anyone heard about this new program??

It's possible this refers to a few ships testing shorter shows of 30 minutes and scheduling them more frequently. I haven't heard this term before so this is a guess.

[cellyml12]

I keep hearing this term too. I'm curious myself.

[AKman2495]

From the thread I quoted:

 

I am mobile, and so can't search to see if this has already been discussed. Beginning today, entertainment format on the Emerald is changing. Shows (including production shows) are being shortened to 30 minutes, and will be performed three times each evening. Parties (such as country western party) will be held in Explorers. There will be two party bands on board. The string quartet is gone (). Club Fusion will be re-purposed to be more o a dance club, with non-stop live or DJ music all evening.

 

Some of these changes began the cruise ending today, but the entire "Anytime Entertainment" concept will begin in earnest starting with today's cruise. This is in response to survey comments indicating a lack of entertainment options at certain times in the evenings, and overcrowding in the entertainment venues. A team from Princess corporate is on board to help with the transition. I've been told that this has been trialed on another Princess ship (the Crown?).

__________________

 

That was back in January.

[caribill]

Basically, Princess is shortening the shows in the Princess Theater to 30-35 minutes do they can do three performances in one evening. This includes shortening the production shows also.

 

At the same time, they seem to be eliminating having an entertainer (comedian, singer, etc.) elsewhere such as in the Explorer's Lounge.

 

So the definition of "Anytime Entertainment" is pick from any of the three show times in the Princess Theater.

 

This concept is being introduced slowly on all the ships. For example, it will be introduced on the Island Princess in September.

 

On the ships that do have it, passengers going to the middle show (around 8 PM) have posted that instead of having to sit in the theater for 30 minutes or more before the show in order to get a seat, they now just stand in line in the hallway for 30 minutes or more waiting for the first performance to finish and the people exit the theater.

[hubofhockey]

Basically, Princess is shortening the shows in the Princess Theater to 30-35 minutes do they can do three performances in one evening. This includes shortening the production shows also.

 

At the same time, they seem to be eliminating having an entertainer (comedian, singer, etc.) elsewhere such as in the Explorer's Lounge.

 

So the definition of "Anytime Entertainment" is pick from any of the three show times in the Princess Theater.

 

This concept is being introduced slowly on all the ships. For example, it will be introduced on the Island Princess in September.

 

On the ships that do have it, passengers going to the middle show (around 8 PM) have posted that instead of having to sit in the theater for 30 minutes or more before the show in order to get a seat, they now just stand in line in the hallway for 30 minutes or more waiting for the first performance to finish and the people exit the theater.

 

For our cruise this summer on the Caribbean Princess, shows were 45 to 50 minutes and we showed up at 7:50 for the 8:00 shows and never had problems getting very good seats. If people want to show up at 7:15 for an 8:00 show, I suppose that they would have to wait. But it's not necessary.

[TracieABD]

I wonder if Princess takes into account the length of the cruise when planning the "shorter shows"? :)

[Nebr.cruiser]

I hope this is an idea that comes and goes quickly. I don't want to go to the theater for a 30 minute show. They were short enough before. I can't actually see how this would lesson waiting time anyway. You'll probably just wait about the same amount of time for a much shorter show.

[cellyml12]

After spending years watching my daughter perform in various competitions, & shows (dancer), I think a 30 minute show sounds great. Although I can see where people would think it's too short. People talk about waiting for a bit to get in & get a good seat. Would this be the same as land venues, where front and center is considered good?

[rcacace]

I can see that we either have to skip our early dinner to go to the early performance, wait in line for the second or kill lots of time waiting for the last show. Either way we're losing out on entertainment with no guest entertainer each evening.

I doubt if they'll end this idea anytime soon since it saves them lots of bucks.

[margeg]

For our cruise this summer on the Caribbean Princess, shows were 45 to 50 minutes and we showed up at 7:50 for the 8:00 shows and never had problems getting very good seats. If people want to show up at 7:15 for an 8:00 show, I suppose that they would have to wait. But it's not necessary.

 

You were very lucky to find seats ten minutes before the show. We have been on 6 different princess ships (including CB), and on all in order to find a decent seat we would go to the theater at LEAST 1/2 hour before the show. The princess theaters are the smallest of all the different cruiselines we have been on.

 

But we did not mind this. I think it is better than what Im hearing about waiting outside the theaters on line for the 1/2 hour shows.

[rcacace]

You were very lucky to find seats ten minutes before the show. We have been on 6 different princess ships (including CB), and on all in order to find a decent seat we would go to the theater at LEAST 1/2 hour before the show. The princess theaters are the smallest of all the different cruiselines we have been on.

 

But we did not mind this. I think it is better than what Im hearing about waiting outside the theaters on line for the 1/2 hour shows.

 

At least waiting sitting down you can read a book while waiting.

[caribill]

At least waiting sitting down you can read a book while waiting.

 

And Princess gets income from selling drinks.

[Mom33]

You were very lucky to find seats ten minutes before the show. We have been on 6 different princess ships (including CB), and on all in order to find a decent seat we would go to the theater at LEAST 1/2 hour before the show. The princess theaters are the smallest of all the different cruiselines we have been on.

 

But we did not mind this. I think it is better than what Im hearing about waiting outside the theaters on line for the 1/2 hour shows.

 

On the Caribbean Princess, we found that if we arrived at the theater line as the first show was ending, we didn't have to wait any longer than it took to empty the theater. We were inside the theater within minutes and had no trouble finding seats. We sat for 15 minutes in the theater before the next show started.

 

Sometimes lines aren't as scary as they seem. They actually move along quickly when the venue opens.

[karatemom2]

Not sure I really love this idea. I think a 30 minute production show is hardly worth the effort. I like the mix of entertainment on Princess as it stands now with some special shows, games and theme nights in the lounges and a full scale show in the theater. We have never really needed to arrive more than 20 to 30 minutes prior to showtime at the theater to get a decent seat and I don't really mind that amount of preplanning. I would do that when going to see a show at home. One of the things we have enjoyed about Princess is the nice mix of entertainment options in the evenings. I think trying to shorten the production shows to 30 minutes and cram three in per evening seems a bit ridiculous.

[rcacace]

And Princess gets income from selling drinks.

 

Good point. Now that you mention it, Princess will be losing out on selling drinks to all those people that use to be sitting there for 40 minutes. I never gave that any consideration before.

Maybe they can take orders from people standing in the hall way before the show. :rolleyes:

[PescadoAmarillo]

We are currently on the Island. They are rolling this concept out on this ship beginning September 12, and it definitely isn't because of limited theater seating.

 

For this smaller ship, there are currently many more entertainment choices on the Island than on the Emerald after Anytime Entertainment was introduced. It will be interesting to see if that changes once AE is implemented.

 

BTW- as on the Emerald, the performers are not thrilled about this change but are professionals who are up for the challenge.

[dread_pirate]

I noticed that early traditional diners had many more choices - an 8:00 show and a 10:00 show - than did late traditional. There wasn't an early show that late diners could attend, so if there were more than one entertainer/show, we had to choose.

 

I wonder if the 30 minute show will help with that dilemma?

[caribill]

Princess has said that many people like the new concept.

 

Of course, first time cruisers do not know that what used to be 90 minutes of different entertainment each evening (45 minutes in the Princess Theater and 45 minutes in Explorers or some other lounge) has been reduced to just 30 minutes in the Princess Theater. Thus, they do not know what they are missing compared to the past.

 

And of past cruisers, some do like the concept, but I suspect many (like myself) do not.

 

The Island has the "On the Bayou" show in their Universal Lounge. When it was presented on our recent cruise, it was done full length three times in the same evening (7, 8:30, and 10) proving it is possible to do three shows of normal (45-50 minutes) length in one evening. Of course, this can be hard on the production show performers. It should not be too hard on comedians and magicians.

[hubofhockey]

I noticed that early traditional diners had many more choices - an 8:00 show and a 10:00 show - than did late traditional. There wasn't an early show that late diners could attend, so if there were more than one entertainer/show, we had to choose.

 

I wonder if the 30 minute show will help with that dilemma?

 

The shows aren't 30 minutes. They're 40-45 minutes.

[Mom33]

I noticed that early traditional diners had many more choices - an 8:00 show and a 10:00 show - than did late traditional. There wasn't an early show that late diners could attend, so if there were more than one entertainer/show, we had to choose.

 

I wonder if the 30 minute show will help with that dilemma?

 

Yes it will. There were 3 shows in the Princess Theater on the Emerald and Caribbean Princess ships this spring, 7 pm, 8:15 and 10 pm. We found ourselves attending 2 events a night for the first time.:)

[caribill]

The shows aren't 30 minutes. They're 40-45 minutes.

 

Not with anytime entertainment.

[hubofhockey]

Not with anytime entertainment.

 

I was just on a cruise with anytime entertainment and the shows were well over 30 minutes. This was two months ago and my memory is pretty good.