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Norwegian entertainment dilemma........


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Perhaps some of you can venture a guess about this...or if someone with Norwegian sees this, they'll know and can reply.

 

We are seniors who live an hour from NO and who like NCL. We've been on 4 or 5 cruises on the Spirit when she was sailing from here. The entertainment was always the same. Then the Star came to NO last year and we thought, ah ha, different ship, different group of entertainers. Not so. Once again we saw the Russian aerialists (we've watched their little boy grow up!), a magician (I think there have been a couple of different ones but the act is basically the same!), a couple of NCL troupe shows and the grand finale, Elements. All very good by the way, but seeing the same shows over and over becomes very boring!

 

Now the Jewel is coming and we are booked for 12/1. DH fears the same entertainers are just going to move over to the Jewel and it will be the same-old, same-old.

 

To us older and slower cruisers, shipboard activities are very important and a little diversity would be welcome.

 

Over breakfast this morning, DH said I should post this question (he has never been on these boards!) and that perhaps it might be time to 'jump ship' and try something new. Being platinum and liking NCL as much as I do, I hate the the thought!!

 

Any thoughts or suggestions! Thanks a lot!

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NCL Corp. controls all the acts for the ships - they hire them and put them where they want them to go. Some acts like Slam Allen are fun no matter how many times we have seen him - but the same production shows over and over do get boring. We also have felt that since the Jean Ann Ryan production shows have stopped that the production shows are not as entertaining.

 

I would contact NCL directly and let them know how you feel. And as they also monitor these boards: NCL, how about some new acts out there or at least move them around between ships?

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Maybe a different group of people but similar shows. I think you might have to book the Epic, Breakaway or Getaway to see a different type of shows.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2

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Thanks for the replies. Yes, we could cruise from, say Florida, on another NCL ship and it would be a whole new world. I just think that the powers-that-be at NCL should anticipate that people like to cruise from a port near home often and consider ways to make that more appealing..not by continuing years of the same entertainment.

 

I think NCL needs me at their headquarters to set things right. LOL

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Would love to see Jane L Powell again. Aaron Shaw was a great singing act too. And I remember a fantastic juggler and very good ventriloquist too. They (except for Jane who we never saw on the Spirit, just on the Sun) were acts on the longer repo cruises we took on the Spirit..one to Boston and one from. It's the 7 day NO cruises that are more of less set in stone entertainment wise. I imagine NCL has a long list of varied acts they can call upon.

 

No Mandy, I haven't their address or a name. I'll take both if you can pass them along. I might as well say my piece in a letter. (Thanks!)

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I think NCL needs me at their headquarters to set things right. LOL

 

They will love you changing out the shows every year :D It costs close to $1M to get one perpared and up and running. That is why they continue with the same shows for years.

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Thanks...Andy will be hearing from me!

 

As for cost, yes, I can see the expense involved if it's some major production but a one-man act with his minimal props wouldn't be that hard to move around.

 

It's been a while since we've cruised on another line. We've been on RC several times and Carnival more than several times (but never again). Unless things have changed RC seemed to have the best and most varied assortment of performers. On a transatlantic in 2006 they had a array of very different shows that I haven't seen matched since. One that I'll never forget from that cruise was Glen Smith...he sang and played the piano much like - and as well as - Jerry Lee Lewis and ended his show playing that dueling fiddles song as well as the original. (How can one person be so darn talented!!!) He literally brought down the house and even had me dancing in the aisle...well, almost.

 

Oh, well, now I'm just reminiscing so I'll quit and write instead!

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They will love you changing out the shows every year :D It costs close to $1M to get one perpared and up and running. That is why they continue with the same shows for years.

 

That's why I skip some of the production shows, in favor of the entertainment in the Atrium or Spinnaker Lounge.

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...he sang and played the piano much like - and as well as - Jerry Lee Lewis and ended his show playing that dueling fiddles song as well as the original. (How can one person be so darn talented!!!)

 

You'd love Drew De Four then. I've never seen anyone play piano quite like that. He sings really well too and so does his wife. They're at Howl sometimes on the Epic and Breakaway.

 

Stan Sykes is also amazing, he had hundreds of people dancing in the lounge area on desk 6 of the Star. I personally think that they should bring him over to the Breakaway.

That's why I skip some of the production shows, in favor of the entertainment in the Atrium or Spinnaker Lounge.

 

That's what I do, I know that theater shows will be the same but the talent in the Lounge and other places often change up so you get to experience different talent.

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If you ever been to other steamship lines, then you should really appreciate what you’ve got. We just start sailing with Norwegian last year. And Norwegian Star is our 2nd trip with Norwegian. Believe it or not, we were pretty amazed by their show. If you ever been to Cunard, Royal Caribbean, Princess... you should be very happy to see such a performance. Sorry, I just speak for my own experience.

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Maybe I am one of the few people that enjoys the Production shows. I also appreciate all the other cabaret entertainment as well. From what I can see the Epic seems to focus on smaller venue entertainment and thus more options each night. A show may also be repeated on more than one night.

 

Here s what I have not been able to figure out.......does the Epic have any production shows like on the Gem or other smaller ships? So far I have seen nothing to suggest that they have a troupe of Singer and Dancers doing theme shows. We are on the Epic in December and although I am sure we will find plenty to do, I really think I will miss my nightly production show. Seems to me it is part of the cruising rituals.

 

Do I have this right?

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Some of the shows have pretty pretty similar from cruise to cruise, but we've had some real standouts in the 8 NCL cruises we have taken.

 

Shawn Farquhar - 2 time world champion magician - absolutely amazing, as well as a comedian in his own right.

 

Dr. Scott White and Brenda Kaye - 2 different hypnotists with GREAT shows - don't miss the adults only shows.

 

Shark Bait - very entertaining

 

A ventriloquist we had on the Spirit in 2005 but I can't remember his name. He was even better than Jeff Dunham!

 

I love stand up comedy so I'm disappointed if there isn't a stand up comedian on board.

 

I'm not crazy about Second City, but I know I am probably on the minority.

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Thanks for the replies. Yes, we could cruise from, say Florida, on another NCL ship and it would be a whole new world. I just think that the powers-that-be at NCL should anticipate that people like to cruise from a port near home often and consider ways to make that more appealing..not by continuing years of the same entertainment.

 

I think NCL needs me at their headquarters to set things right. LOL

 

What we do when that happens is to find lounge entertainment we like. Yes, there are repeats on NCL which we've sailed many times. We've only been on RCCL twice but had a number of repeats for just the two cruises on two different ships. On our January Dawn cruise we spent time with Nathaniel Reed in one of the lounges and enjoyed his shows. And I agree with the poster who said you could hear Slam Allen (in a lounge) many times and never tire of his performances. Production shows not so much and I am not a fan of the magicians and acrobats no matter how good they are. I'm thinking the magicians and Eastern European acrobatic acts are less expensive than other performers. I've seen these acts on almost every cruise we've ever been on.

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Perhaps some of you can venture a guess about this...or if someone with Norwegian sees this, they'll know and can reply.

 

We are seniors who live an hour from NO and who like NCL. We've been on 4 or 5 cruises on the Spirit when she was sailing from here. The entertainment was always the same. Then the Star came to NO last year and we thought, ah ha, different ship, different group of entertainers. Not so. Once again we saw the Russian aerialists (we've watched their little boy grow up!), a magician (I think there have been a couple of different ones but the act is basically the same!), a couple of NCL troupe shows and the grand finale, Elements. All very good by the way, but seeing the same shows over and over becomes very boring!

 

Now the Jewel is coming and we are booked for 12/1. DH fears the same entertainers are just going to move over to the Jewel and it will be the same-old, same-old.

 

To us older and slower cruisers, shipboard activities are very important and a little diversity would be welcome.

 

Over breakfast this morning, DH said I should post this question (he has never been on these boards!) and that perhaps it might be time to 'jump ship' and try something new. Being platinum and liking NCL as much as I do, I hate the the thought!!

 

Any thoughts or suggestions! Thanks a lot!

I think you are going to have differnt shows on the Jewel.

 

The Star is a Dawn Class and the Jewel is a Jewel Class ship. There should be different shows on Jewel. I think it was an anomoly that the Spirit entertainers moved from the Spirit to the Star, I can't imagine the Star entertainers moving to the Jewl because the Jewel already has its own shows established.

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