Celebrity Eclipse -New Production Shows, oh dear.

[martini girl]

What a shame...I remember the shows on RCI and Celebrity back in the mid 90's and they were fabulous and we didn't miss any of them. Of course back then they also had the late show after dinner, much better IMHO. The last several cruises we were on we didn't bother. When you fall asleep in the 1st 10minutes, that's your sign. The entertainment of yester year is gone with the midnight buffets, chocolates on your pillow, engaging and fun pool bartenders, enforcement of chair hogs, professional photographers and on and on......

[DYKWIA]

OMG you are my spirit animal, soul mate. Totally agree.

 

It's not that Cirque Du Soleil is bad, it isn't - it's just that it's nothing new - virtually every hotel in Vegas now has a Cirque Du Soleil show - some over 20 years old. Whenever I hear a show described as 'our answer to Cirque du Soleil' my heart sinks a little - the big budget Cirque du Soleil shows are spectacular (e.g. Ka) but these low budget versions just feel exactly that... Low budget pale imitations.

[kenevenpar]

Would you please provide the "rave reviews"? Thanks!

[davekathy]

You must have attended the 7pm shows. The cast must have used up all their energy there because the 9pm ones weren't good, and didn't see anyone standing except to leave.

 

Swing and a miss! We attended all the second shows.

[grandgeezer]

Don't be fooled -- the old shows were just as terrible. They should be embarrassed by the quality but apparently they're not because it's been this way for a long time. The "new" shows were supposed to be a reaction to the poor reviews of the old ones. I've found that 2 of the 4 singers are generally good-ish and the other 2 are passable at best, if not downright awful at worst (caused in part by the bombastic and over-the-top arrangements that they expect them to perform every day). The dancers tend to fare better. The aerialists are impressive only because it's such specialized experience that you need. A lot of what they do is repetitive, though.

 

Beyond management's ability to overlook how many performers are struggling with the material, they seem incapable of putting together a revue that makes sense. It would be better to just have a concert of songs without the story, but, for some reason, there's a very yesteryear approach to what constitutes a "show." Any competent choral director could put together a production with a through-line in song selection and concept (because they do it several times a year) so I cannot understand why it's so difficult for Celebrity to do the same. They're just wasting the money they spend.

 

I disagree as the shows we've seen in the past, as late as the end of December of 2015 were light years better than the debacle of shows we saw last month. It's ok to disagree.

My other point is, don't hold your breath on anything being changed. The shows don't bring in revenue and to balance out the savings they are making by going to these cut rate show, ten of thousands of customers would have to leave. Shows are a plus when helping to decide which cruise line to go on but, I wouldn't change strictly on that. I don't know of many that would. They probably would rather have you in the casino or shops spending money.

[kevinyork]

We were on the 3 April 2016 sailing on the Eclipse and we enjoyed all three production shows. As a matter of fact so did everyone else that attended the shows based on the applauses and standing ovations.

 

 

 

Swing and a miss! We attended all the second shows.

 

 

 

I cannot understand how the same shows you saw in April that received 'standing ovations' could be the same shows we saw over the last two weeks without a single standing ovation ( and many early departures). I like to provide a balanced opinion but didn't meet a single person that enjoyed any of the new production shows. Without any prompting people pronounced their dislike for the shows. We've done 13 cruises across lines and these have been the worst shows by far.

 

Could it be that British tastes having access to London West End shows are better able to judge cruise ship production shows? Not meaning to sound crude but I find it hard to understand how an audience in April can be reported as giving a standing ovation to any of the same shows we saw over the last two weeks.

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Edited June 8, 2016 by kevinyork

[Fish Lover]

This is really too bad to hear. We're sailing on the Summit the last trip to Bermuda Aug 28th. I read in the dailies that the shows are currently the same as the last few years, "Sirens", "iHollywood", etc.

 

They are simply awful. The costumes are a disgrace (especially when the performers are walking around try to induce passengers into paying for "Indulgence", and you get an up close look).

The singing is not even as good as a high school musical, choreography is unimaginative and limited, and the story lines are non-existant.

 

So...I was hoping for new shows. Sounds like they aren't any better.

 

Years ago the quality of shows were excellent. Good thing I like the casino :)

 

Although, last year they had an acapella group that was wonderful. They got a legitimate and much deserved standing ovation. I don't see them on the dailies for this season though.

[lakelorain]

We were on Solstice with the new shows. Moronic, what a perfect word. We were seated in the middle about 12 rows up from the front. About halfway thru (sorry, forget the name). DH said I can't take it any longer. We stood to leave & the entire row went with us. About 1/4 of the audience left right about the same time. I felt bad for the performers but the shows they were given to perform were absolutely horrific

 

We felt the same way about the shows on the Solstice.

However, we did like IMagic on the Summit.

[harz99]

Fishlover, trust me when I say iHollywood and its sister shows were much better than the current offerings on Eclipse.

[davekathy]

I cannot understand how the same shows you saw in April that received 'standing ovations' could be the same shows we saw over the last two weeks without a single standing ovation ( and many early departures). I like to provide a balanced opinion but didn't meet a single person that enjoyed any of the new production shows. Without any prompting people pronounced their dislike for the shows. We've done 13 cruises across lines and these have been the worst shows by far.

 

Could it be that British tastes having access to London West End shows are better able to judge cruise ship production shows? Not meaning to sound crude but I find it hard to understand how an audience in April can be reported as giving a standing ovation to any of the same shows we saw over the last two weeks.

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

I don't have an answer to why nor do I care. You are entitled to your opinion. Different strokes for different folks. Just posting what we saw on those evenings on our particular Cruise. All I can say is we enjoyed all three production shows (don't care if anyone else did or not) and the few people around us we talked with while waiting to leave the theater expressed that they also liked the shows.

[kevinyork]

I don't have an answer to why nor do I care. You are entitled to your opinion. Different strokes for different folks. Just posting what we saw on those evenings on our particular Cruise. All I can say is we enjoyed all three production shows (don't care if anyone else did or not) and the few people around us we talked with while waiting to leave the theater expressed that they also liked the shows.

 

 

 

Ok, so maybe X are managing to hit first base with their new shows with some passengers. Problem is, I do care. Celebrity are our line of choice but given the poor shows we experienced we are currently unlikely to book another X cruise until the shows change. We've booked Oasis for next Feb after being overwhelmed by the entertainment on Anthem last September.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Edited June 8, 2016 by kevinyork

[juliep99]

Thanks for the reviews. Will give them a go but sit at the end of a row haha :)

[Little Nell]

We are going on Eclipse in July and if the shows are as bad as people say we will have a decision to make on our next cruise. We don't choose our holiday based on entertainment but judging by the comments on other threads about the loss of little things that made our holiday feel special such as snacks in the bar, freshly squeezed orange at breakfast etc, we may find our cruise not so special after all. There are plenty of options out there.

[deliver42]

I can't believe that X actually came on to this forum bragging about all the people that raved about the new shows, especially Topper. Can't they read? I know we are a minute % of people on a given cruise, but I've never seen such a one sided opinion of anything here. Even smoking goes both ways.

[Northern Aurora]

We were on the Eclipse from April 17th through May 22nd. So we were on the Trans-Atlantic, the Norwegian Fjords, the two night "Taste of Modern Luxury" and the Iceland/Ireland cruise. So we would have been onboard with posters "dst87," "harz99," and "ghstudio." We missed the rock show (always conflicted with something else) but did attend Chandelier twice and Topper once.

 

We had attended the prior shows a number of times so they were becoming rather stale. The new shows actually didn't bother us that much and our opinions are comparable to those of ghstudio (post 56). But we don't select a cruise line based on the production shows. Interesting that some seem to place such importance on the production shows as the production shows are such a small part of the overall ship entertainment.

[harz99]

I guess that depends on what you call entertainment, most of the evening Atrium programme doesn't fit my definition, neither do most of the late evening offerings in the Sky lounge. That aside though, on production show evenings the show IS the major part of the entertainment for many of us. The numbers of dissapointed guests struggling to find or unable to get seats in the theatre each night on the Iceland cruise bears this out - you must have seen that, and the people who walked out of these shows.

[brfan]

I don't have an answer to why nor do I care. You are entitled to your opinion. Different strokes for different folks. Just posting what we saw on those evenings on our particular Cruise. All I can say is we enjoyed all three production shows (don't care if anyone else did or not) and the few people around us we talked with while waiting to leave the theater expressed that they also liked the shows.

 

I experienced the same thing on the Eclipse at the end of January. I also enjoyed all the shows and they received standing ovations as well. In particular I thought Topper was surprisingly good as I had been a bit worried when I read the feedback here. Everyone I spoke to also thought it was good.

[wendychloecruiser]

I really enjoyed the new shows. Without being a little too cliche I found I had to think a little outside the box but I'd rather do that than sit through another rehashed rendition of Phantom or Les Mis.

[ghstudio]

Ok, so maybe X are managing to hit first base with their new shows with some passengers. Problem is, I do care. Celebrity are our line of choice but given the poor shows we experienced we are currently unlikely to book another X cruise until the shows change. We've booked Oasis for next Feb after being overwhelmed by the entertainment on Anthem last September.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

I guess that's why folks like the super large ships....more choices of food and entertainment....different strokes etc.

 

As far as waiting until the shows change....you will be waiting multiple years. The shows, once put on the ship with their sets and costumes do run for years.

[dopeyngrumpy]

We're serial cruisers , mostly on Celebrity and I have to say the one thing that tempts me to go elsewhere is the on board entertainment - not just the productions shows which I've always found so-so - depending on the quality of the singers and dancers and their enthusiasm for the day.

 

1) The amount of live music around the ships has definitely fallen significantly

2) Poolside entertainment (on sea days particularly) does not even get going until 1pm

3) House bands with indifferent singers and drummers who cannot keep time

4) Onboard DJs trying to do 45 minute sets in 3 locations rather than setting up for the evening

5) Main atrium "parties" that spend more time setting up and breaking down (see 4) than keeping it going

6) Singers gone from Sunset sailaways

7) Clock watching!

 

 

I do get the different strokes argument - hence I rarely complain about theatre shows, some enjoy them - I don't and nobody (except Mrs) makes me go along - but when she starts telling me they are weak then I sit up and listen as she loves this stuff.

 

Come on Celebrity - Luxury is a good sound system, a variety of music in all the venues and so on - perhaps my next trip I'll try to find out who does the scheduling and planning - never know whether it's the CD or some ivory tower wizard in Miami.

 

David

[bandp407]

Sadly, a good many of the comments here regarding the production shows are negative. We all sail and select our cruise line and ship for various reasons. To DH and I dancing before & after dinner to good live music is a huge part of our cruise experience. Oasis/Allure offer both amazing shows & great live music with a variety of venues to choose from. Their Solarium is wonderful with great views. This all brings us back time and time again. While the production shows on our last few "S" class sailings were not great , we placed greater importance on the live dance music. For us it has really gone down hill both in the style of music played by the bands and limited amount of live music. HAL and the BB King Band provided a whole lot of fun for us on our 2 sailings with them and in our opinion service and food was on par with Celebrity ( Blu, Aqua Class).

 

Since returning from from our Reflection sailing in Dec 2015, we have been on the fence about cancelling our Dec 2016 Silhouette sailing. Given the comments posted on this thread along with our own experiences we are going to cancel our Silhouette sailing for Dec. and go back on the Nieuw Amsterdam. We also had a 9 night Silhouette for Dec 2017 booked which will be cancelled as well. Between RCCL - Oasis, Harmony, Anthem( which we are going to try ) Koningsdam ( will try) & perhaps even MSC, that should give us a good mix.

 

It's unfortunate for us & many others that Celebrity has gone in this direction. We had hoped they would be our cruise line of choice as we enjoyed the "S" class ships in many ways.

[davekathy]

Ok, so maybe X are managing to hit first base with their new shows with some passengers. Problem is, I do care. Celebrity are our line of choice but given the poor shows we experienced we are currently unlikely to book another X cruise until the shows change. We've booked Oasis for next Feb after being overwhelmed by the entertainment on Anthem last September.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

We've sailed RCCL many times. Enjoy your Oasis Cruise and the entertainment. BTW our friends did a 7 nighter on the Oasis in March of this year and did not like the production shows. But of course that was their opinion. I'm sure others enjoyed the shows. They also didn't like the idea of having to get tickets ahead of time for the shows.

[davekathy]

I guess that's why folks like the super large ships....more choices of food and entertainment....different strokes etc.

 

As far as waiting until the shows change....you will be waiting multiple years. The shows, once put on the ship with their sets and costumes do run for years.

 

Agree.

[CruisingChick]

Anthem( which we are going to try )

 

We sailed Anthem in March and were pleasantly surprised that we liked it. Maybe because we went in with low expectations. We had fun, the food was good, especially in the 4 complimentary restaurants and they have much more nightlife.

 

But I have to say their main shows were not that good. We Will Rock You was fine, but Spectra's Cabaret and The Gift were not any better or maybe even worse than any Celebrity show we have ever seen. JMO.

[Muushka]

We would like to reassure our guests that the lyrics in our show Topper says the words “Uptown Funk.” We are working with our singers to ensure that the word “funk” is sung more clearly. None of Celebrity’s shows use profanity, and our sincerest apologies if guests thought they heard profanity. Topper has had rave reviews and we hope this alleviates any concern.

 

Sorry, I couldn't get this to actually quote, this was the comment from Celebrity.

 

This reminds me of the song FM by Steely Dan. I was certain they were using the F-bomb!

But looking up the lyrics, it is in fact, funk.

 

OK, now everyone calm down. Topper has received rave reviews, therefore it is so.:rolleyes:

 

I used to love the shows that featured the orchestra and 1 soloist. I guess they weren't 'edgy' enough.