Onboard Entertainment Reservation.

[A_Sea_Bugg]

Sailing Crown Princess in February 13th. I have sail RCCL in the past and was able to reserve all my onboard entertainment. I have been looking on Princess and can't seem to find out how to pre-reserve the shows. Is it possible?

[chrysalis]

Nope, you can't reserve.

[Colo Cruiser]

Sailing Crown Princess in February 13th. I have sail RCCL in the past and was able to reserve all my onboard entertainment. I have been looking on Princess and can't seem to find out how to pre-reserve the shows. Is it possible?

 

 

 

Not possible.

[A_Sea_Bugg]

Well that is a major difference that I don't like. Thanks Chrysalis and Colo Cruiser.

[dickinson]

I personally hope Princess does not ever go to a reservation system. I can't imagine preplanning that part of my vacation. There is so much going on at night on a ship I prefer to decide that day. Also, I may eat later than normal that day and prefer to go to a later show. It is VACATION. Time to relax and take it easy!

[fishywood]

Well that is a major difference that I don't like.

 

There are only two large cruise lines (RCI and NCL) that offer pre-reservation of entertainment, and not even on all of their ships. I expect once you embark on your Princess cruise you will understand that RCI's brainwashing of their passengers into believing they need to pre-plan every minute of every evening and/or sea day activities and dining months in advance is at the very least totally unnecessary and more to the point completely counter to what it means to be on vacation! And its all an illusion: on RCI you are not reserving a seat (like buying theater tickets at home) just admission to the venue which means to get the seat you want you have to show up just as early as on any other ship without reservations.

 

On Princess they often run the shows three times in one evening rather than two so that demand is easily met. And there will be something new every night in both the Princess Theater and Explorer's Lounge. None of the spreading out of the same faux-Broadway show over three different days to justify the exaggerated "scarcity" of seats resulting from the scare tactics of requiring reservations on RCI.

 

So if by your reaction my assumption that you have never sailed any ship other than the behemoth mega-cities-at-sea, please give Princess a chance. You may not want to go back.

[Colo Cruiser]

I personally hope Princess does not ever go to a reservation system. I can't imagine preplanning that part of my vacation. There is so much going on at night on a ship I prefer to decide that day. Also, I may eat later than normal that day and prefer to go to a later show. It is VACATION. Time to relax and take it easy!

 

 

 

I agree and that goes for specialty dining too. :)

[Shogun]

I agree and that goes for specialty dining too. :)

 

double agree

 

 

yours Shogun

[skynight]

Well that is a major difference that I don't like. Thanks Chrysalis and Colo Cruiser.

I think you may like the walk in process. In the Princess Theater there are normally 2 shows per evening, sometimes there may be three shows. The times are normally 8/8:30 time slot and 10/10:30 time slot. Sometimes when they have a deck party or other ship wide late night party they run a 7:00 pre-dinner show. If you intend to go to the 8/8:30 show arrive 30 mins prior. This time slot is the most crowded and is especially crowded on production show evenings.Other times are not so crowded.

[A_Sea_Bugg]

I expect once you embark on your Princess cruise you will understand that RCI's brainwashing of their passengers into believing they need to pre-plan every minute of every evening and/or sea day activities and dining months in advance is at the very least totally unnecessary and more to the point completely counter to what it means to be on vacation!.

 

First I am a truck driver. I plan my day out, when I have to pickup a load. When I have to deliver. When I stop for fuel. When I am going through a big city. I try to time it so that I don't have to set during rush hour.

 

About 2 months ago I booked my February vacation for 2017 and I am working on the one for 2018. I plan ahead. That is just me, not a brainwashed RCCL cruiser. I like to know when the shows or events are so I can plan it ahead of time so that when I am on vacation I don't have to read everything in the daily papers to see what is going on and then find out that I missed something I wanted to do.

 

I also am sure that you didn't MEAN to be condescending but some of it came across that way. People are different and I have no problems with people who don't like to plan things and just go with the flow. I am not one. Or I should say I have became not one. Every minute I am on vacation is precious to me and I hate to waste any of it.

[A_Sea_Bugg]

I think you may like the walk in process. In the Princess Theater there are normally 2 shows per evening, sometimes there may be three shows. The times are normally 8/8:30 time slot and 10/10:30 time slot. Sometimes when they have a deck party or other ship wide late night party they run a 7:00 pre-dinner show. If you intend to go to the 8/8:30 show arrive 30 mins prior. This time slot is the most crowded and is especially crowded on production show evenings.Other times are not so crowded.

 

Thanks Sknight not sure how it will be but I will see. I don't really do lines if they move fast that's great if not I am gone to something else .

[AZbeachboy]

Thanks Sknight not sure how it will be but I will see. I don't really do lines if they move fast that's great if not I am gone to something else .

 

There are rarely lines for the shows in the theater. The sooner you get there the more choice you have in seats and unless you are very late it is not a problem.

 

The only time I have had problems is in the wheelhouse bar. There is not as much seating. You have to be there very early generally to get a seat. I have also noticed more and more entertainment being done in the Atrium. There are hardly any seats there, but the shows are generally shorter.

[cruisinfanatic]

There are only two large cruise lines (RCI and NCL) that offer pre-reservation of entertainment, and not even on all of their ships. I expect once you embark on your Princess cruise you will understand that RCI's brainwashing of their passengers into believing they need to pre-plan every minute of every evening and/or sea day activities and dining months in advance is at the very least totally unnecessary and more to the point completely counter to what it means to be on vacation! And its all an illusion: on RCI you are not reserving a seat (like buying theater tickets at home) just admission to the venue which means to get the seat you want you have to show up just as early as on any other ship without reservations.

 

On Princess they often run the shows three times in one evening rather than two so that demand is easily met. And there will be something new every night in both the Princess Theater and Explorer's Lounge. None of the spreading out of the same faux-Broadway show over three different days to justify the exaggerated "scarcity" of seats resulting from the scare tactics of requiring reservations on RCI.

 

So if by your reaction my assumption that you have never sailed any ship other than the behemoth mega-cities-at-sea, please give Princess a chance. You may not want to go back.

What????

Reading your signature you haven't even done it, so at best you make a poor judge

The only reason you need show reservations on their largest ships is to space out the guests so everyone can see them. And even then you can still see by getting in the standby line. Dining reservations can be made, but not required for anytime dining.

Edited December 1, 2015 by SeaUs

[cr8tiv1]

First I am a truck driver. I plan my day out, when I have to pickup a load. When I have to deliver. When I stop for fuel. When I am going through a big city. I try to time it so that I don't have to set during rush hour.

 

About 2 months ago I booked my February vacation for 2017 and I am working on the one for 2018. I plan ahead. That is just me, not a brainwashed RCCL cruiser. I like to know when the shows or events are so I can plan it ahead of time so that when I am on vacation I don't have to read everything in the daily papers to see what is going on and then find out that I missed something I wanted to do.

 

I also am sure that you didn't MEAN to be condescending but some of it came across that way. People are different and I have no problems with people who don't like to plan things and just go with the flow. I am not one. Or I should say I have became not one. Every minute I am on vacation is precious to me and I hate to waste any of it.

 

Dear Sea Bugg,

 

I am also a planner, unless I am cruising. I do a lot of pre-planning. But once on the ship, I have my trusty highlighter and do look over the daily patter (which arrives the night before) to "plan out my next day". This is by no means set in concrete.

 

If you are traveling alone, trying to find one seat in the theater may be a bit easier. I've noticed that over time, Princess has moved from 2 shows to 3 shows and is not back to 2 shows that are less than 30 minutes long. I don't like crowds so either go and sit early or check out the crowds last minute. I've been to most of the shows. This being your first cruise on Princess, you might want to see most of the evenings' entertainment.

 

What ever suits your fancy...There are lots of things to do on the ship (most involve eating). It will be difficult to do it all. I do hope you will enjoy cruising with Princess and will book another cruise. IF...that is an option, don't forget to pick up a Future Cruise Credit while onboard. This will give you a $100.00 deposit (no matter how much the cruise costs) and some On Board Credit.

Edited December 1, 2015 by cr8tiv1

[skynight]

Thanks Sknight not sure how it will be but I will see. I don't really do lines if they move fast that's great if not I am gone to something else .

No lines. The theater is open and you just walk in. On the Crown Princess you can walk in from Deck 7 port or starboard and walk down to select your seat, or you can enter port or starboard from deck 6 and walk into the lower seating area or up to the upper seating area. Both upper and lower seating areas can be accessed from both decks 6 & 7. But what you really can't do is cross over from one side to the other without going through rows of seats. There is no balcony in the theater. We normally enter from deck 7 port side which is generally less crowded than the starboard side, because the hallway from mid ship runs along the starboard side.

[LilyN]

I don't know if you had a chance to scope out the Patter thread, but this is it - http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2143974&highlight=patter

 

People post copies of their daily newsletter with the activities available. I didn't check to see your itinerary but I'm sure you'll find a few Patters with your ship....

 

Obviously the onboard activities and their times change a bit from ship to ship and so on, but it will give you a better idea of what to expect over the course of your cruise on Princess! And you can use the search function here in the forum to find out the details on a particular activity and if it would be worth your time....

[Cruisin' Chick]

I also like the idea of just being able to walk on in to the theater without making reservations.

 

I'm a major planner type but I don't plan out my days and nights ahead of time on a cruise unless there's some activity I like doing like trivia, hula lessons (on Princess Hawaiian cruises), movies, shows...but I don't carve those plans in stone. The one thing I like planned is my dinner time and we definitely prefer traditional dining to anytime. We don't have to think about when and where we're eating dinner that way, and we don't have to worry about standing in a line or waiting on hold on the phone to get a dinner ressie. Phones are not relaxing for me.

[floridalover5623]

Letting people make reservations would only create more problems with the seating in the show lounge just like the dining rooms only vacant seats in the show lounge would never be able to be back filled. People would make reservations & change their minds just like they do for the dining rooms.

Leave things like they are now & let the first arrive to get the best seats. ;)

[A_Sea_Bugg]

Letting people make reservations would only create more problems with the seating in the show lounge just like the dining rooms only vacant seats in the show lounge would never be able to be back filled. People would make reservations & change their minds just like they do for the dining rooms.

Leave things like they are now & let the first arrive to get the best seats. ;)

 

When you make a reservation you don't get to pick your seat fyi. Also at about 15 to 20 minutes before it starts they open it up to everyone. It is nice to know that on this day at this time I will be able to get in and watch that show. Not be disappointed by getting there only to find out it is full. All the reservation does is guarantee you a seat just so long as you arrive 20 to 15 minutes before it starts.

[reedprincess]

When you make a reservation you don't get to pick your seat fyi. Also at about 15 to 20 minutes before it starts they open it up to everyone. It is nice to know that on this day at this time I will be able to get in and watch that show. Not be disappointed by getting there only to find out it is full. All the reservation does is guarantee you a seat just so long as you arrive 20 to 15 minutes before it starts.

Having sailed RCI and Princess both extensively, both ways work. Keeping in mind that even on RCI, it's only Oasis and Quantum class that have reservations at all, all the other class of ships are just like Princess, first come first served.

I do appreciate the reservation process on the mega-ships, but I don't like having to be at the venue so early before the show (at 15 minutes before they open seating to everyone) as it can cut into time for orher activities...that means leaving my dinner at least 25 minutes before show time to hit restroom and get a decent seat -earlier if you want a great seat...that'd a half hour of just sitting around the venue -not my favorite pastime. On the other class of RCI ships, and all Princess ships, I can get to the venue about 10 minutes or less before and get decent to good seats. Much less time just waiting around.

While I really love the Oasis class ships (have sailed them 5 times), the reservation thing was great once...after that, we went standby to any show we wanted and it worked great. Much less time sitting around waiting in a a theater, more flexibility, etc.

I too hope Princess doesn't move to a reservation system, especially an advance reservation system for shows and dining. That would be a turn-off to us for the line.

To each their own....

[Colo Cruiser]

When you make a reservation you don't get to pick your seat fyi. Also at about 15 to 20 minutes before it starts they open it up to everyone. It is nice to know that on this day at this time I will be able to get in and watch that show. Not be disappointed by getting there only to find out it is full. All the reservation does is guarantee you a seat just so long as you arrive 20 to 15 minutes before it starts.

 

 

Noooooo! :eek:

[OCruisers]

One thing we didn't like about Oasis OTS was the need to make advanced reservations for shows.

Hope Princess will never allow advance reservations.

[A_Sea_Bugg]

One thing we didn't like about Oasis OTS was the need to make advanced reservations for shows.

Hope Princess will never allow advance reservations.

 

And that is why there is more than one cruise line.

[A_Sea_Bugg]

I would like to thank everyone for their input. I know some don't like the reservation and that's ok. I personally do as it is a way that I can make sure to see the shows that are offered. But my opinion is based on my current cruising experience. Once I have cruise Princess in February I might have a difference of opinion. I bought 100 shares of CCL thinking I would cruise more on Princess, Carnival and Cunard. We shall see how it goes.

[floridalover5623]

When you make a reservation you don't get to pick your seat fyi. Also at about 15 to 20 minutes before it starts they open it up to everyone. It is nice to know that on this day at this time I will be able to get in and watch that show. Not be disappointed by getting there only to find out it is full. All the reservation does is guarantee you a seat just so long as you arrive 20 to 15 minutes before it starts.

 

OK understood, but which seats are held in reserve? They must somehow keep count in 1 section, correct? Do people line up for the no-shows?:confused: