Passengers as entertainers

[Brisbanelionsfan]

We were on a Celebrity cruise a couple of years ago and one of the passengers was an Elvis impersonator,:cool: he looked exactly like him and people kept asking him if he was the entertainment. He said no just a passenger. Well about a week later there was a concert in the Princess theatre in the afternoon and we went along and it was packed and his show was awesome. He was the best entertainment for the two weeks we had on the ship.:)

[remydiva]

I could step on stage and do a Magic Act--I can make money disappear ! ;)

[PescadoAmarillo]

On the Grand class ships there used to be different entertainment options in the Princess Theater and the Explorers Lounge most evenings. Fifty minutes of entertainment sessions in both venues.

 

At the same time that Princess Theater shows were reduced to 30-35 minutes, much of the featured entertainers in Explorers disappeared and the venue was mainly used for passenger participation game shows in the evfening.

 

So, yes, some regular entertainment has already been replaced with passenger participation activities.

Are you and I the only ones who recall that? The entertainment has already been cut, replaced by activities and parties led by the (cheaper to hire) entertainment staff and our fellow (performing for free) passengers. I don't for a second that introducing The Voice is going to change that trend.

[geoherb]

I've also noticed the cutbacks in entertainment budget. So far, Princess hasn't cut back as far as HAL at least. On our last HAL cruise, the production show cast did not include any male dancers. That was a first for us. A positive on the HAL side, however, is that they book some interesting guest entertainers--not just the magicians, ventriloquists, and comedians that Princess seems to book.

[Kingofcool1947]

So....Princess seems to be going with more and more passenger game show, singing, variety show entertaining. On our recent cruise to Alaska they seem to have cut back on evening activities and replaced them with these. It is like bad reality TV has come to cruise with you!

 

Personally I can't think of anything I would be less interested in (well maybe the Carnival Hairy Chest contests:) ).

 

Opinions? Perhaps I am in the minority and people are just clamoring to get on a Princess ship to see "the marriage game" or passenger karaoke and "so you think you have talent" events??

 

Doesn't bother me at all. Then again, I'm a spry 60, so I'm not one to fall alsleep at dinner.:)

[wizard-of-roz]

My DH won a prize for entertainment [he loved to sing] in 1984 onboard the Sun Viking. He became the hit of the cruise. It was our very first cruise and passenger involvement just seemed quite natural. It was a lot of fun!

 

As long as the passengers sign-up for the entertainment it will be offered.

 

We all have the choice to attend or not. Sometimes it can be fun to sing along with your fellow passengers and enjoy each others company.

 

Again, we have choices!

[caribill]

Are you and I the only ones who recall that?

 

On average, about 50% of cruisers on Princess ships are on Princess for the first time, possibly with it being the first cruise for many of them. And a number of the other passengers will probably have cruised only once before on Princess, probably within the previously two years.

 

So, after a couple of years, Princess has a large customer base that never was on Princess when the shows were longer and it was often a choice of which of two shows/entertainers at the same time to go see.

 

With no memory of how it used to be, what is on Princess now is all they know.

 

When they cut the shows in the Princess theater to 30 minutes, one announced reason was so that three performances in an evening would allow everyone who wanted to see the show a chance to do so.

 

But on recent cruises we have been on, they have three performances less than half the time. The "Welcome Aboard" show is usually only presented one time (sorry, 2nd seating people, no chance for you to see it). On our most recent Princess cruise, there were three performances on only two of the seven evenings.

[mcgratru]

Are you and I the only ones who recall that? The entertainment has already been cut, replaced by activities and parties led by the (cheaper to hire) entertainment staff and our fellow (performing for free) passengers. I don't for a second that introducing The Voice is going to change that trend.

 

No. You are not the only ones to notice. We found a huge change on the Crown in July. Some nights no real entertainment at all!

 

And again...the concern is that these types of activities are replacing others so limiting choices.

Edited August 12, 2015 by mcgratru

[Chunder Worthy]

Hmm, just thinking out of the box: I slipped and fell on the Lido deck last month and some fellow cruisers pointed and laughed. I wonder if I should send in my bill for remuneration as a "Cabaret Entertainer" to Princess HQ...? Hey, what can they say, "Uh.. NO?!" :D

[emmak8]

Passenger participation is OK, but let's have some new production shows.

[SurferJoe57]

I groaned when I saw the announcement about 'The Voice' coming to Princess, seemed like a trendy ploy to further cutback on the entertainment budget.

Does seem like a trend. On Carnival, they've replaced the "ship's band" (eg, "Carnival {Name of Ship} Show Band" with pre-recorded music and reduced the ensemble in the Vegas-style revues.

However, as noted, I do remember that back in the way-back (Lurline, early '60s) there were plenty of talent shows, etc., featuring the passengers. I sense what happened was there was a peaking someplace in quality/quantity of professional entertainment, and we're on the back side of it now, sadly.

[tetleytea]

I don't fault the cutbacks so much as I fault the talent scouts. I think the cruise lines are only cutting back on something that's not working. There is so much amazing, cheap talent out there. Why aren't they on the ship? It may be a clash of personalities, between the highly-regimented style of a ship, vs. free-spirited artists. They need talent scouts with free reign to think out-of-the-box. You don't have to go to Juliard--even the no-name schools have plenty of amazing talent whom that is all they lack: a name. You could sit in an office in Santa Clarita all day and email Youtubers, for crying out loud.

[Matcodixon]

My Experience is that there are always a number of extremely talented passengers aboard almost any cruise. Of course there are many that are not quite as talented as they seem to think that they are. :rolleyes:

 

However, It may be extremely rare that some of these talented people have any real opportunity to perform in front of any real audience. For them this is a rare and valuable experience.

 

The best part about a cruise ship is the great number of choices one has available to spend their time aboard. If you don't like passenger participation contests or talent shows, don't go, but don't assume that just because you don't like them, nobody does. Attendance is NOT mandatory.

 

Dixon

[caribill]

Does seem like a trend. On Carnival, they've replaced the "ship's band" (eg, "Carnival {Name of Ship} Show Band" with pre-recorded music and reduced the ensemble in the Vegas-style revues.

 

What I have seen on Princess is that the "{name of ship} Princess Show Band" will play in Explorers instead of having an entertainer. Meanwhile, the production show in the Princess Theater will have recorded music.

[caribill]

I don't fault the cutbacks so much as I fault the talent scouts. I think the cruise lines are only cutting back on something that's not working. There is so much amazing, cheap talent out there. Why aren't they on the ship?

 

As one comedian said on a Princess ship, "I may not be the best comedian, but I am the best in my price range."

[shredie]

 

The best part about a cruise ship is the great number of choices one has available to spend their time aboard. If you don't like passenger participation contests or talent shows, don't go, but don't assume that just because you don't like them, nobody does. Attendance is NOT mandatory.

 

That's a good point. I know people who love audience participation things. I don't, but I just won't go to one. Simple.

[greenie082756]

Passenger entertainment is fine, such as the old standby the passenger talent show. Some talent is good, some not so good, but that is what you expect to see. Pop Choir, Uke concert, Hula dancing these are also nice, and no one is turned away or needs to qualify. Show up and you participate. But, passenger talent competitions, in my opinion, that "select" only the good or only those that have large groups traveling with them should be avoided.

 

Passenger entertainment is a form of entertainment for the passenger. Some people enjoy participating as part of their cruise experience. I give kudos to those that honestly try. I tried once to participate in a game and was amazed at how nervous I was.

Like anything in life, you don't have to stay around if your not interested.

I sometimes enjoy watching the passenger entertainment because I know its not easy to be entertaining. I laugh right along with them. :D

[wizard-of-roz]

My kids & Grandkids wanted to go on a cruise and I knew that a 17 year old and a 12 year old would not like the Princess experience. So, I took them on the Carnival Miracle. They LOVED it! Every night there was a show in the Phantom Theatre. Every other night the dancers and singers put on a 45 minute dance and singing review. I'm very critical and I must say they were very good!!!!

 

One night they had a family game show where the kids and adults could get involved, my children and grandchildren had a wonderful time and can't wait to go on another cruise next year. They would have been so bored onboard Princess.

 

I give Carnival credit for their entertainment and fun experience. They sure showed my kids a great time!

Edited August 13, 2015 by wizard-of-roz

[trinitytrees]

I was pleased to see this thread, i felt not alone in my recent thinking. I loved our first cruise on princess as I thought level of entertainment was fantastic, we later did RCI cruise and was so disappointed that most entertainment was passenger related ie game show, karaoke etc however on a recent princess cruise my was I surprised to see the drop in professional entertainment, short 23 min production show, lots more "passenger interaction" quiz, game show etc

Although one singer very good on the pop show knockout type thing, the pain of some passenger vocals was too much.

 

Not for me thank you

[GUT2407]

I was thinking about this overnight, maybe it reflects the fact that everyone wants to be the centre of attention, so it is passenger driven.

 

Give me my 5 seconds in the spotlight.

[shredie]

I was thinking about this overnight, maybe it reflects the fact that everyone wants to be the centre of attention, so it is passenger driven.

 

Give me my 5 seconds in the spotlight.

 

I'm sure there's some of that involved. Thinking of it that way, this passenger entertainment could be a draw for Princess.

[SurferJoe57]

I don't fault the cutbacks so much as I fault the talent scouts. I think the cruise lines are only cutting back on something that's not working. There is so much amazing, cheap talent out there. Why aren't they on the ship? It may be a clash of personalities, between the highly-regimented style of a ship, vs. free-spirited artists. They need talent scouts with free reign to think out-of-the-box. You don't have to go to Juliard--even the no-name schools have plenty of amazing talent whom that is all they lack: a name. You could sit in an office in Santa Clarita all day and email Youtubers, for crying out loud.

 

 

They don't scout so much as hold formal auditions - which are open to anyone.