Shows: Now that we've completed our first RCCL, some questions

[notsomadhatter]

I keep reading references to the shows and entertainment on Royal to be great "in comparison to other lines". We sailed our first Royal cruise earlier this month on Jewel and found the shows horrendous. Singers were pitchy, arrangements were questionable, "live band" was small and hardly a draw, and the plots (if you could call them that) confused the heck out of me. Not sure if the Radiance class is not known for its stage presentations or if this is what I should expect across the fleet. Swear I have seen better in community theater.

 

Was it just me? Will I find better on Royal? Will only Oasis or Allure be an improvement? Was this particular company a weak one? I've waited a few weeks to process and swear that this isn't a knee-jerk reaction.

 

Cannot remember the last time I walked out of a theater before a performance was over.

 

Yes, I filled out my comment card. This is not an attempt to complain but really am trying to gauge if this should be what we should expect if we sail Royal again.

[msw1023]

Yes, the shows are better on Oasis and Allure. I have to agree with you, I keep trying to go to the shows but after day 3 I can't take any more. I do enjoy the comedy shows. I find that the singing and dancing is very boring and repetitious.

The big ships have the broadway type shows, the dive show and much better props.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Sinppu]

I've found it hit or miss.

Some headliners have been amazing while others are just awful.

 

On the Oasis and Allure the shows are at least bigger. Most of them were also better.

The Aquatheatre and ice shows have always been great, everywhere.

 

Unfortunately you can't say in advance what the shows will be like.

[Trekker954]

I agree with Sinppu, it is hit or miss. Some singers are just awful. Obviously the newer, bigger ships tend to have better shows. I did enjoy the broadway songs on the Jewel a couple of years ago, but the singers may have changed. They were showing the same show on my recent Serenade, so we skipped it. On our 12 nighters, we only went to the opening show. Most of the headliners, we had seen on previous ships and the productions show descriptions didn't look interesting.

Another thing we noticed, is Royal seems to be moving to only one show at 10:15 rather than the two shows (7 & 9). Not sure if this is just a Europe thing, but I believe I read others were doing this as well. Way too late for us.

[RayJacki]

One of the best shows we've ever seen on a ship (comparable or even better than some professional shows on "land" that we've attended) was Saturday Night Fever on the Liberty of the Seas a few years ago. It was AMAZING!!

[Folk Singer]

I've found it hit or miss.

Some headliners have been amazing while others are just awful.

 

On the Oasis and Allure the shows are at least bigger. Most of them were also better.

The Aquatheatre and ice shows have always been great, everywhere.

 

Unfortunately you can't say in advance what the shows will be like.

 

 

you take it one show at a time.

[Ocean Boy]

The production shows on Independence this past March were BAD and so was the headliner.

Edited October 28, 2013 by Ocean Boy

[Lionesss]

The headliner on our Allure sailing this past July was a tribute singer......he was so-so.

Hope it gets better next sailing.

Sea Ya

[PattyG12]

we love the ice shows and the comedians. Not so much the "Royal Singers and Dancers"

[cb at sea]

I am NOT a fan of "production" shows....those shows have no plot or reason...just a conglomeration of costumes and music. I don't find that entertaining. I have been pleased with some of the headliners...and of course, that is "hit or miss"...since they change out every day or so. Some are better than others.

 

Cruiselines are cutting costs by reducing the number of performers all across the board.

[kaybeeeeeee]

Agreed with everything written so far. Production shows are so so and headliners are usually got but it's hit & miss. That having been said the shows I've seen on RCI have generally been better than what I've seen on the other cruise ships I've been on.

[Sherri914]

One of the best shows we've ever seen on a ship (comparable or even better than some professional shows on "land" that we've attended) was Saturday Night Fever on the Liberty of the Seas a few years ago. It was AMAZING!!

 

I second that! Loved that show.

[billylen]

After seeing so many shows on so many ships I find that I look for that performer that goes beyond that "cookie cutter" approach to the packaged shows. to be honest that does not happen often but when it does, wow! You can usually tell on the first night if you will have that experience on a ship. Headliners can be hit or miss too. By the way this has been true on every line I have been on not just Royal. So I have learned to play a game; if it's bad I look to see just how much of a train wreck it can be....and that becomes my entertainment lol!

Edited October 28, 2013 by billylen

[Toddcan]

The production shows on Independence this past March were BAD and so was the headliner.

 

Have to agree on that. The production show was not terrible, but certainly was not great. The Headliner (some old lounge-act guy who sang the original "Happy Days" theme song for the TV show) was horrible. I felt sorry for the guy.

 

But, the shows are what? 90 minutes out of our cruise. We certainly do NOT cruise for the theatre shows.

 

We sail on the Liberty next March, and I hear Saturday Night Fever is good - the website still shows it as the main production show - I suspect it will be there in March.

[luvscruising2007]

Our expectations must not be as high as the rest of you. We have only been on Voyager and Radiance class ships and have enjoyed all but one of the shows and that was a comedian. We did not attend when he was on another cruise we were on.

If you don't like RC's shows, you will hate Carnival's.

We just aren't that picky. The shows are not broadway but many of the dancers and singers are quite talented. The RC orchestra has been excellent on all of our cruises.

[Barb Nahoumi]

I have not experienced RCI yet, but will soon. On other lines which I have cruised, I have skipped some of the production shows, in favor of the smaller musical performances held in the lounges. These were amazing.

[BecciBoo]

I am NOT a fan of "production" shows....

 

I agree on that point...just never been a fan....but the headliners, especially Abacadabra (ABBA retro show) and Beatlemania have been my faves so far. Will be able to comment on Allure soon, but for Voyager class and Freedom class, haven't really attended anything but our fave ice shows and headliners, some comedy.

As far as how RCCL compares with other lines though...better than the one Carnival trip we took.

I think most of the production shows compare favorably with college productions or community theater.

 

And there are a lot of talented people who cruise making the passenger talent show worth a try. I have seen some amazing talent if your ship is scheduling one of those.

Edited October 28, 2013 by BecciBoo

[canuckcruiselover]

On all the RCI ships (Oasis is coming up so can't judge that) I find that the production shows are very amateurish and my DH says they make his "ears bleed". On the last few cruises, we've skipped most of the shows except for the comedian. We've also seen many of the production and skating shows before. If we do go, we sit near the back on the aisle so we can make a quick get-away without disturbing anyone.

[Ocean Boy]

Have to agree on that. The production show was not terrible, but certainly was not great. The Headliner (some old lounge-act guy who sang the original "Happy Days" theme song for the TV show) was horrible. I felt sorry for the guy.

 

But, the shows are what? 90 minutes out of our cruise. We certainly do NOT cruise for the theatre shows.

 

We sail on the Liberty next March, and I hear Saturday Night Fever is good - the website still shows it as the main production show - I suspect it will be there in March.

 

But they are the subject of the thread.

[emilygrace]

We used to go to all the shows on each cruise, but for the past few years we have cut back some. We usually skip the production shows unless the theme is a kind of music that we like. But I find the voices of the singers, especially the females, are so piercing and combined with the volume, it's almost unbearable. We always sit in the balcony for easy escape!

 

I can't stand magicians and jugglers, so that rules out almost 50% of the headliners, so we're down to just a few shows a cruise.

 

We just did a short HAL cruise and did go to one of the shows. The CD came out and announced that due to the high seas they could not do the production show which involved a lot of moving scenery and elaborate costume changes, so they just had the singers perform with the orchestra and it was great! No ear splitting voices and it was quite enjoyable. Sort of like an intimate evening with the singers.

[steveru621]

If you cruise a lot, the production shows sameness seems to get boring. But the costumes and dancers are much better quality than years ago. Singers are a different issue, huge variation in quality!

 

The headliners go from terrible, bad, to fantastic. On our last cruise, The Backbeat Beatles were the absolute worst show in 10 years. Brooks Aehron, a concert pianist, did a second show at 1PM on a sea day that was very well attended. Bruce Parker, didn't attend. Love and Marriage, what can you say, love it or hate it. Viva Voce was probably the single best show I've seen anywhere! Neal Austin, magician, not interested. Christopher Caress, Hypnotist, not interested. Tracey Shield, singer, not interested. Sasha and Luis, don't know what to call them but they were at least amusing.

 

I can't remember the acts that I recognized. You don't get name brands on a cruise. I have no expectations, and consider the theater an amusement, not a focal point of the cruise.

 

Enjoy your future cruises.

[notsomadhatter]

Thanks all for your replies! I didn't want this to become a one cruise line versus another thread so I waited to include this last bit. Now that I understand it is the norm and I'm not the only one that feels this way:

 

We DO enjoy the production shows when we cruise Disney and make a point to go even if we've seen them before. Although they are obviously "family friendly" and "Disney themed" their standards are leagues higher than what we experienced on our first Royal cruise. Now I know that I can go experience one of the things Royal does RIGHT instead of wasting my time in the theater.

[TravelerThom]

Yes, the shows are better on Oasis and Allure...

The same show can vary enormously based on the individual performers [who change about every 4 or 5 months]. They can also vary considerably based on who is controlling the volume - I can handle poor singing a lot better than I can handle poor singing amplified to ear-splitting levels [much to my surprise I find that Celebrity tends to be guilty of obnoxiously loud music much more than RCI (I'm D+on RCI and have 30 cruise credits on X, so I think I have a reasonable data base)].

 

In generally most of Oasis and Allure shows are a distinct step above, but IMO the ice show on Allure [i think it was called Board Games allegedly based on Monopoly] seemed to have no theme whatsoever [definitely the worst of the eight RCI ice shows I have seen]. We generally go to most of the shows, and I will walk out if the sound level approaches painful levels, but I tolerate almost anything else, and generally find something that I enjoy in the shows. My judgment might be different if I was paying $100+ per ticket.

 

Thom

[Cruise a holic]

I keep reading references to the shows and entertainment on Royal to be great "in comparison to other lines". We sailed our first Royal cruise earlier this month on Jewel and found the shows horrendous. Singers were pitchy, arrangements were questionable, "live band" was small and hardly a draw, and the plots (if you could call them that) confused the heck out of me. Not sure if the Radiance class is not known for its stage presentations or if this is what I should expect across the fleet. Swear I have seen better in community theater.

 

Was it just me? Will I find better on Royal? Will only Oasis or Allure be an improvement? Was this particular company a weak one? I've waited a few weeks to process and swear that this isn't a knee-jerk reaction.

 

Cannot remember the last time I walked out of a theater before a performance was over.

 

 

Yes, I filled out my comment card. This is not an attempt to complain but really am trying to gauge if this should be what we should expect if we sail Royal again.

 

As one poster responded, the Allure and Oasis shows will knock your socks off! You will see a true broadway quality show, an aqua show, and ice show, an adult comedy show and a production show. I have also sailed on the Liberty of the Seas and the Freedom of the Seas. While the shows were good- nothing like the Oasis class. I will also be sailing on the newest ship the Quantum , when she is launched and "assume" the shows will be high quality.

 

I have never sailed on the older ships- but suspect the shows compare to Celebrity which are also hit and miss.

Edited October 28, 2013 by Cruise a holic

[notsomadhatter]

They can also vary considerably based on who is controlling the volume - I can handle poor singing a lot better than I can handle poor singing amplified to ear-splitting levels...

 

Thom

 

For this reason (and a few others, like screaming children) I typically carry foam earplugs. Had some with me during our theater attempts on Jewel and even using them wasn't enough to make it tolerable.