Why are the shows shorter?

[saz25]

Hi,

We just returned from a 14 day sailing on the Emerald Princess. Great ship.

 

My major negative observation regards the length of the main shows which take place daily in the Princess theater. They were always around 30 minutes in length; nice shows (production shows, comedy, musical, etc.), but short.

 

We've been on several Princess cruises but these were the shortest shows we've ever seen on a Princess. We sailed last year on the Ruby Princess (a sister ship to the Emerald), but the shows were always about an hour or more.

 

We normally always go to the show on any given evening but on this cruise we skipped a couple of them because we knew (after a week or more as it became obvious what the pattern was) the show would only be a half hour so why bother? It was very disappointing.

 

I wonder whether other people have noticed this on other ships recently, whether this is Princess' new policy or maybe just an experiment.

 

I will note on our survey that we certainly don't like it as we also heard the same complaint from many passengers this week.

 

Any comments ?

Thanks,

Steve

[HUNKY]

Hopefully it's quality over quantity.

 

I enjoyed "Saturday Night Fever" on Royal Caribbean, but I believe that was a shortened version of the Broadway production.

[saz25]

Hopefully it's quality over quantity.

 

I enjoyed "Saturday Night Fever" on Royal Caribbean, but I believe that was a shortened version of the Broadway production.

 

It's actually not that great quality either. When you factor in the time for the cruise directors corny jokes and his thanking of the audio, video, and lighting people at the end of every show, it actually less than 30 minutes.

 

It's ridiculous.

Steve

[Shogun]

Hi All

 

Reason for shorter shows, passenger feed back,

 

passengers wanted more choice in an evening,

 

more folks said they would go to a shorter show,

 

allows more shows so more folks get to see them.

 

Passengers requested Princess provided,

 

never asked me mind you,

 

yours shogun

[pablo222]

Hi,

I wonder whether other people have noticed this on other ships recently, whether this is Princess' new policy or maybe just an experiment.

 

With the super-grand-class ships adding 500 people, there were not

nearly enough show lounge seats for everyone to see a production

show with two performances.

 

This produced years of endless complaints.

 

The production shows used to be about 45 minutes -- with some padding

by the cruise director. Princess butchered them to 30 minutes, so there

could be three performances in an evening -- giving more people a chance

to see less of a show.

[Coral]

With the super-grand-class ships adding 500 people, there were not

nearly enough show lounge seats for everyone to see a production

show with two performances.

 

This produced years of endless complaints.

 

The production shows used to be about 45 minutes -- with some padding

by the cruise director. Princess butchered them to 30 minutes, so there

could be three performances in an evening -- giving more people a chance

to see less of a show.

 

This is why!

 

When they built the newer ships, there wasn't enough space in the Theatre for people and people complained they had to wait long lines to get into shows and there will still no seats. Thus, they added a 3rd show and shortened the time of the shows.

 

They changed it 2 years ago on the Sapphire. The experiment happened before this time.

 

IMO - it is not worth going to the show for 30 minutes.

[Coral]

Hi All

 

Reason for shorter shows, passenger feed back,

 

passengers wanted more choice in an evening,

 

more folks said they would go to a shorter show,

 

allows more shows so more folks get to see them.

 

 

People didn't ask for shorter shows. They complained that they couldn't get into the existing shows due to crowding and the exiting theatre not accommodating the passengers onboard. Princess's solution was to make 3 shorter shows so more people could see the shows.

 

I wish they had made the theatre larger.

Edited August 11, 2014 by Coral

[Iamcruzin]

more folks said they would go to a shorter show

 

I find this amusing as you had to get to the theater long before the show started just to get a seat. Do they really need more people showing up?

[hubofhockey]

With the super-grand-class ships adding 500 people, there were not

nearly enough show lounge seats for everyone to see a production

show with two performances.

 

This produced years of endless complaints.

 

The production shows used to be about 45 minutes -- with some padding

by the cruise director. Princess butchered them to 30 minutes, so there

could be three performances in an evening -- giving more people a chance

to see less of a show.

 

I'm not buying that. There were often repeat shows on a second night where the theater was nowhere near full.

 

I would bet that it has to do with cost of a production. You also see more recorded music in the shows and a downsized live band playing at the production shows. It's getting to a point where we just stopped going. The shows just aren't that good.

[saz25]

I'm not buying that. There were often repeat shows on a second night where the theater was nowhere near full.

 

I would bet that it has to do with cost of a production. You also see more recorded music in the shows and a downsized live band playing at the production shows. It's getting to a point where we just stopped going. The shows just aren't that good.

 

When they built the larger ships they should have designed the Princess theater to be proportionally larger. It seems that they didn't do that. Poor planning.

 

I used to think that Princess had one of the better on-ship entertainment than other lines. We certainly don't think that anymore.

 

Hopefully they hear the negative feedback.

Steve

[Esprit]

We just got off Emerald too and thought the shows were short. I personally preferred shorter shows and will comment positively on them.

 

One comedian (David Copperfield) was embarrassingly short. So much so the CD did some rubbish filling in after. Summed up that whole show actually.

 

In addition to the ideas proposed for shorter performances I thought it was to get people out and spend money in the bars. The theatres must be the least generating revenue venues, other than libraries (which have shrunk too, as can be seen on Royal/Regal Princess)

[Dreamer333]

I haven't gone to a production show in many years, but if they are now only 30 minutes long, I may check one out.

[flamomo]

Think of it this way .... if they make the theaters larger, it would take away space for a few more cabins!!

On the newest ships they shrunk the balconies and added more cabins, which was a lousy trade-off.

[suzyed]

Hi All

 

Reason for shorter shows, passenger feed back,

 

passengers wanted more choice in an evening,

 

more folks said they would go to a shorter show,

 

allows more shows so more folks get to see them.

 

Passengers requested Princess provided,

 

never asked me mind you,

 

yours shogun

 

Shogun, how do they handle the shows on a 28 day cruise? Do they repeat shows? Are they shorter too? Do they not have them every night?

Inquiring minds want to know!

[hubofhockey]

When they built the larger ships they should have designed the Princess theater to be proportionally larger. It seems that they didn't do that. Poor planning.

 

I used to think that Princess had one of the better on-ship entertainment than other lines. We certainly don't think that anymore.

 

Hopefully they hear the negative feedback.

Steve

 

Agree 100%. They have had a steady decline since 2010. I also thought the entertainment in Explorers on the Grand Class ships has gone down a bit as well.

 

On our Royal Princess cruise this summer, they weren't even hustling drinks in the theater and the theater doesn't have the little pull up cocktail tables. Looks like they are de-emphasizing production shows when it comes to entertainment. New leadership is putting greater focus on revenue centers such as Sanctuary and more cabins and less on cruise experience of included items. I suppose most passengers don't notice or care and new passengers don't know what they're missing. I still like the overall atmosphere of Princess cruises. That hasn't been lost.

[Potstech]

There wer suggestion to add a show earlier in the day for those with young children or those who wanted to go to different activities or even go to bed early. This would have added the third show and been able to keep the longer time. But nothing.

[DougH]

I can live with the shorter shows but miss the quantity they used to have every night. When the Grand class came out you could head to the main theatre every night for either a production show or a headline singer, then as the night progressed work your way aft thru the other lounges with comedians then something like a ventriloquist/juggler, hypnotist.

 

Every night had at least three shows, no even counting the theme night parties and/or game shows, Now you're lucky to get one main show and then something put on by the cruise staff.

[beg3yrs]

Shogun, how do they handle the shows on a 28 day cruise? Do they repeat shows? Are they shorter too? Do they not have them every night?

Inquiring minds want to know!

 

I'm not Shogun but just got off a B2B which were 31 and 30 days respectively.

 

They do not repeat shows within a segment. They do not have production shows every night. Lots of guest performers are brought in to fill the empty time. It was very rare to have no performance of some kind in the evening, even if it was a movie.

[Colo Cruiser]

Hi,

We just returned from a 14 day sailing on the Emerald Princess. Great ship.

 

My major negative observation regards the length of the main shows which take place daily in the Princess theater. They were always around 30 minutes in length; nice shows (production shows, comedy, musical, etc.), but short.

 

We've been on several Princess cruises but these were the shortest shows we've ever seen on a Princess. We sailed last year on the Ruby Princess (a sister ship to the Emerald), but the shows were always about an hour or more.

 

 

They were 45 minutes not an hour or more.

We don't mind the shorter shows.

[PescadoAmarillo]

It was called Anytime Entertainment when in was rolled out (January 2012 on the Emerald Princess). I dislike the shorter shows but admit adding a third show has eased the seating situation...for the late show, as those people can now attend either the late or the very early show. It did not ease the seating situation for 6pm diners, and the middle of the three shows is always packed with people lining up outside the theater during the first show. So it helped where help was not needed. When the Emerald Princess changed the 5:30pm dining room opening to 5pm last winter, then it really did spread people out a bit more; because it was possible to enjoy a leisurely dinner and still get to the Princess Theater by 7pm.

 

For me, the worst element of Anytime Entertainment is the elimination (most nights) of a second performer on the ship. We are left with one 30 minute show where before we usually had two 45 minute shows to enjoy. Game shows and theme nights run by the cruise staff for no/little additional cost to Primcess do not fill that void for me.

[Mom33]

Hi,

We just returned from a 14 day sailing on the Emerald Princess. Great ship.

 

My major negative observation regards the length of the main shows which take place daily in the Princess theater. They were always around 30 minutes in length; nice shows (production shows, comedy, musical, etc.), but short.

 

We've been on several Princess cruises but these were the shortest shows we've ever seen on a Princess. We sailed last year on the Ruby Princess (a sister ship to the Emerald), but the shows were always about an hour or more.

 

We normally always go to the show on any given evening but on this cruise we skipped a couple of them because we knew (after a week or more as it became obvious what the pattern was) the show would only be a half hour so why bother? It was very disappointing.

 

I wonder whether other people have noticed this on other ships recently, whether this is Princess' new policy or maybe just an experiment.

I will note on our survey that we certainly don't like it as we also heard the same complaint from many passengers this week.

 

Any comments ?

Thanks,

Steve

 

The shorter shows go back to 2012. It is strange that you would have experienced one hour shows on Ruby last year. :confused:

 

We have been on the Emerald and the Royal since the shorter shows began. We found the new schedule to enable us to do more than one entertainment venue each evening. :)

[caribill]

It was called Anytime Entertainment when in was rolled out (January 2012 on the Emerald Princess). I dislike the shorter shows but admit adding a third show has eased the seating situation...

 

Not really. On a 7 day CB cruise earlier this year they scheduled only two performances on three of the evenings. One of those evenings it was a production show. So much for the explanation the change to shorter shows was to allow more people to see them.

 

For me, the worst element of Anytime Entertainment is the elimination (most nights) of a second performer on the ship. We are left with one 30 minute show where before we usually had two 45 minute shows to enjoy. Game shows and theme nights run by the cruise staff for no/little additional cost to Primcess do not fill that void for me. Agree 100%. Princess went from 90 minutes of entertainment an evening (two 45-minute performances in different venues) to 30 minutes (one show in one venue), a 67% cutback.

 

About 50% of passengers on a Princess ship are new to Princess. Having not experienced the longer shows in the past, they are quite happy with what they see. Princess can point to surveys to prove how satisfied the passengers are with the length and type of entertainment.

 

The reduction in performance entertainment has had one benefit for us. We get more sleep as we are no longer staying up for later different entertainment.

[canadarocks]

We did our first Princess cruise this year after many Holland America cruises. I was surprised by the production shows and most of the "guest" entertainers, and not in a good way.:( Both my husband and I expected much better quality, and because of that the short shows didn't bother us at all! ;)

 

But we LOVED the many other entertainment options available, including all of the "game show" and trivia games. And we loved MUTS!

 

We'll be on the Royal for 20 nights in March, perhaps the shows and featured performers will be better there? At least we'll have a Fountain Show! :D

[geoherb]

We were on the Caribbean Princess last week. We enjoyed the three production shows. It was nice that we could go before dinner. We had second seating, so the 7:00 show worked out well for us. On some nights, they only offered two performances, not three. I'm sure the performers enjoyed that. Overall, the quality was better than we saw on HAL last year, not as good as we used to see on Royal Caribbean or even NCL.

 

The guest entertainers were good. We had a comedian (Scott Wyler) and a magician (Landon Swank).

[PescadoAmarillo]

The reduction in performance entertainment has had one benefit for us. We get more sleep as we are no longer staying up for later different entertainment.

And I agree with YOU 100%. We get far more caught up with TV series (binge watching from 8pm on) than we ever used to, too. That's not a horrible thing; obviously we don't have (or take) time to watch at home, so, from that perspective, it is special to have the ability to do it on a ship.