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takemewithyou

By takemewithyou,
in Azamara

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oddjob16 Great Review Rare

oddjob16

Posted
Posted
A real breath of fresh air tonight on Journey, we had an excellent Australian/Spanish comedian, Simon Palomares. He performed in the 54 Below spot and was so good we watched his show twice, mainly because we missed the first 15 minutes of the first one, but decided to watch the whole of the second one as well as he was so good. Hopefully we will see more shows like this and less of those we have endured so far.

Checked him and watched some of his shows on Youtube. Liked what I saw. :)

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Melissaghoti

Melissaghoti

Posted
Posted

Entertainment posts seem to be moving toward positive, which bodes well for my two upcoming trips. I always enjoy Eric and it will be great to see something fresh. He looks like he's happily in his element, so it'll be a good show. Since I've done only two Journey cruises, I thought it was just chance that I'd seen repeats of Voices, etc. Two times was fine, but I might not have been as appreciative at the third or fourth time around!

Thanks for all the updates. Hope those onboard will keep sharing as the entertainment changes evolve.

 

Melissa

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bob278

bob278

Posted
Posted

Mostly live from the Quest.

 

We boarded today in Miami for a 13-day TA to Lisbon. I will try to make daily reports on my impressions (please remember these are my opinions and not expert reviews).

 

First off: The casino is unchanged and I asked one of the dealers when it will be remove/changed over to electronic machines and she told me March 2019. For now I have no idea if that is when any other physical changes will happen.

 

Spirits looks just like I remember from 2 years ago on Quest and early last year on Journey except in my memory, the furniture was fabric and now it is leather/vinyl. The Sprit trio was scheduled to be playing in there for 30-minute suites at 6, 8 and 10. When I went through at 9:20 on my way to the show they were playing to an appreciative audience. A girl vocalist, a guitar player and a piano player. The two songs I heard were contemporary and pretty well done.

 

Day one's show was a one-time offering at 9:30 of three Sorts on Ships plays. The Cabaret was about 60% full.

 

Mandate was a sketch about two husbands whose wives had asked them to meet as they were friends. It was just OK but nobody left.

 

The second one was The One and it was also just OK. Too complicated for details but it was about a girl and guy who had broken up years ago when he came out as gay.

 

About 10-12 people left during the time the stage was being set up for Oy Vey Maria. No idea if they were unhappy or didn't want to see Oy Vey Maria.

 

OVM was a satire where Mary's mother shows up in the stable. I am pretty tolerant and not easily offended and I found this to be the best of the three. It was not sacreligious in my opinion as it simply portrayed a Jewish mother whose daughter had a baby without her being there. They threw in some subtle word-play gags such as the mother's first words on seeing Jesus. "Oh my God!". About 6-8 people left right after it started.

 

I'm trying to phrase my summary carefully to be as objective and informative as I can. After reading all the reviews here, my expectations were pretty low. I liked it better than I thought I would. But unlike singers and dancers in production shows that can be enjoyed 4 or 5 times spaced out a bit, I think these are not worth a repeat. But I would say, that if we come back in a year and the plays are still here, just different ones, I don't think it would be a bad thing, especially if the producers learn about cruise ship passengers.

 

Tomorrow night's show is Daniel Reichard who played Bob Gaudio in the Jersey Boys on Broadway. Sounds like a typical guest entertainer. Shows are at 8:15 and 9:30.

 

So my day 1 impression is that, as far as Quest is concerned, things are at least OK and Spirits is still good (but sad not to hear Max playing).

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ellbon

ellbon

Posted
Posted

Bob

 

As I like serious theatre with some laughs I would enjoy the short plays. But many guests do not want that on a ship.

 

Thrilled to hear the Spirits bar area still the same. To bad the Jr was redone so soon. The bad news is I am nit booked in Quest but JR this year.

 

I think Quest over all has better shows than the JR.

 

The furniture in Spirits been the same for years.

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oddjob16 Great Review Rare

oddjob16

Posted
Posted
Last night on Journey, Magic City Opera performed Carmen in English, which was well received. Sadly, we are leaving Journey today but are back on the Quest in 4 weeks so it will be interesting to see how the new entertainment has evolved there.

See you there:):cool:

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Lottie A

Lottie A

Posted
Posted

Bob, thanks so much for that objective evaluation of the new entertainment on Quest.

 

I must say it is sounding slightly more positive and hopefully lessons are being learned and changes made if guest feedback is not positive. Hopefully in time for our B2B on Quest in June!

 

Hope you have a great cruise and if you do have the time, please give us your thoughts as the cruise progresses.

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ellbon

ellbon

Posted
Posted

Lottie

 

From the very beginning even the worse reviews of Quest were better than the Jr reviews in the show room. Seems for me what is going on in Spirits with the tacky videos etc would upset my cruise more than the show, I can skip a show but hard to hide from plain ugly.

 

I do pray they come up with a better plan fir that area, I could even live with future cruise there if push back by the wall and nomsilly tacky screens

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excitedofharpenden

excitedofharpenden

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Seems for me what is going on in Spirits with the tacky videos etc would upset my cruise more than the show, I can skip a show but hard to hide from plain ugly.

 

I do pray they come up with a better plan fir that area, I could even live with future cruise there if push back by the wall and nomsilly tacky screens

I agree with you, but even the sales area there is a mistake in my view. Just spoils the whole image of the place.

 

Phil

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Melissaghoti

Melissaghoti

Posted
Posted

For what it may be worth, I want to add my voice to those who aren't happy about the changes to Spirits. The ambience there has been similar to that in the lounge/bar area of a good restaurant. A wise restaurateur wouldn't sell catering, coupons, anything at all in an even remotely public place. That detracts from everyone's experience and I hope Azamara will reconsider.

Melissa

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lenoirm

lenoirm

Posted
Posted

On Quest Transatlantic right now and enjoining most of the shows.

I found the short plays enjoyable except the Ave Maria one that was offensive to every religion.

I cannot believe that a New York based group would do such a piece of insensitive non sense.

Tonight singer,Daniel Richard ,is a real Broadway show professional but he had a very hard time with the orchestra lacking timing and rhythm .

Nice surprise , the Sparkling trio is better than expected.

the female singer is very good .Spirits was busy later tonight.

Giving time ,this new group of entertainers will bring a refreshing and long overdue new breath to the nightly shows

The day activities are enjoyable,the animation is lively and trivia games have been fun and without drama.

The new beginners meditation group is a valuable addition to the afternoon activities.

I am hopeful that the news activities will get better and more to the taste of new and repeated cruisers giving time and open minds

.

Micheline

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

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josumello

josumello

Posted
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I like the idea of a meditation group. If that’s still offered on the Quest in July I will probably give it a go. Thanks for your report - it’s very re-assuring.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

 

 

Please excuse my ignorance but what is a meditation group??

TIA

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

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ellbon

ellbon

Posted
Posted
I agree with you, but even the sales area there is a mistake in my view. Just spoils the whole image of the place.

 

Phil

 

Phil

 

I do not want the sales area there but would take that over tacky screens and fake gaming. God willing they be gone by nine. As long as they are not there when live music is on. They could not hear the client over anything so they would want to leave.

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Grandma Cruising

Grandma Cruising

Posted
Posted
Please excuse my ignorance but what is a meditation group??

TIA

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

 

 

I presumed it was a group session for those who want to learn to meditate or for those who already meditate but are not ‘experts’ in meditation.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

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bob278

bob278

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Day two

 

I did not go to the show last night but heard good comments about the singer. The trio continues to perform in Spirits and are popular.

 

Tonight is Assistant CD Earnest.

 

Philip had a Q&A session and was asked a generic question about how entertainment is decided on. I though his answer said a lot. He explained that there is a department in Miami with overall control and that they recently made some major changes. He also mentioned that people who repeated often mentioned seeing the same shows and he explained that, because of the initial cost for production set-up, costumes, etc, they needed to work on 5-6 year contracts. He said that going forward that they hoped to work on 6-month to slightly longer contracts to be more responsive. Nobody mentioned the blasting they are getting on Cruise Critic but I thought his words implied they heard and plan to at least tweak within the contract they have. While I was not personally offended by the Oy Ve Maria as I took it for pure satire, I can easily see where it would offend many people. I agree that it was a risky topic at best and wasn't thought through.

 

I asked if the plans for Spirits on Pursuit were forced due to physical matters and he implied that, for the most part that is true. He did say that the casino on Quest during it's March drydock would be removed (probably to what Journey has but maybe they won't have the huge video screens) but other changes would be based on experience with Pursuit. So there is hope.

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excitedofharpenden

excitedofharpenden

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Posted
Day two

 

I did not go to the show last night but heard good comments about the singer. The trio continues to perform in Spirits and are popular.

 

Tonight is Assistant CD Earnest.

 

Philip had a Q&A session and was asked a generic question about how entertainment is decided on. I though his answer said a lot. He explained that there is a department in Miami with overall control and that they recently made some major changes. He also mentioned that people who repeated often mentioned seeing the same shows and he explained that, because of the initial cost for production set-up, costumes, etc, they needed to work on 5-6 year contracts. He said that going forward that they hoped to work on 6-month to slightly longer contracts to be more responsive. Nobody mentioned the blasting they are getting on Cruise Critic but I thought his words implied they heard and plan to at least tweak within the contract they have. While I was not personally offended by the Oy Ve Maria as I took it for pure satire, I can easily see where it would offend many people. I agree that it was a risky topic at best and wasn't thought through.

 

I asked if the plans for Spirits on Pursuit were forced due to physical matters and he implied that, for the most part that is true. He did say that the casino on Quest during it's March drydock would be removed (probably to what Journey has but maybe they won't have the huge video screens) but other changes would be based on experience with Pursuit. So there is hope.

Thanks for your continued updates Bob. I hope you are having a great cruise and they are looking after you.

 

Phil

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