Reserved seating in the Princess Theater

[Ep010835]

3 hours ago, Astro Flyer said:

With none of her family joining her in that row maybe that’s an indication that none of her family wanted to sit with her.

 

Now that’s funny!

[pink845]

I can understand holding a seat or two (sometimes the way Princess is now booking shows, there is little time to run to the restroom between leaving dinner and sitting in one's seat.  But as we have done in the past, when we encounter someone who is hogging a row or loads of seats, we simply sit down and say, sorry, but we have also paid for this cruise and we politely tell the person or persons that they may want to make arrangements for the next evening that their group of 12 arrive all at one time.  We have gotten nice nods from people in the rows before and after!!!!  What are they going to do, embarrass themselves.  Well, you never know and in that end, they provide some pre show entertainment!!!!

[jwattle]

12 hours ago, Colo Cruiser said:

True, but don't give them any more ideas.   

👍

[masterty]

Some of you will not like me, but.... I would pay a premium for prime theater seats. We all pay a premium for prime cabins of the same type so we can be mid-ship, close to elevators, or a unobstructed view . Why not enhance your vacation with out needing to arrive ridiculously early to land a prime theater seat. I would love to have a pass, that guaranteed me a seat in a certain section. Same with loungers in pool areas. I would even pay more for reserved seats in specialty dining rooms. Oh wait... I already have the latter. I support cruising by class. 

Edited March 7, 2019 by masterty

[HaveDogWillTravel]

21 hours ago, caribill said:

Listed as one of the perks for those in the new Sky Suites:

     "Reserved Princess Theater seating"

 

I wonder that will be implemented.

I don’t know how it will be implemented but whatever it looks like it will not affect  other pax.  There will be a maximum of 10 guests in the two sky suites. 

[Ep010835]

9 minutes ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

I don’t know how it will be implemented but whatever it looks like it will not affect  other pax.  There will be a maximum of 10 guests in the two sky suites. 

 

True but still, an interesting point to ponder. Along with future ramifications of this move. 

[caribill]

2 hours ago, masterty said:

Some of you will not like me, but.... I would pay a premium for prime theater seats. We all pay a premium for prime cabins of the same type so we can be mid-ship, close to elevators, or a unobstructed view . Why not enhance your vacation with out needing to arrive ridiculously early to land a prime theater seat. I would love to have a pass, that guaranteed me a seat in a certain section.

 

The problem is that your idea of prime seating may be different that my idea of prime seating which may be different than other passengers' idea of prime seating. Unless you let the eligible people pick seats from various different areas in the theater, people would not get seats in their idea of a prime seating area.

[AF-1]

I don't see this as a big deal;  Royal Caribbean has been reserving seats in theater for suite guests for years. There is a section of theater and it is not a prime location; you can choose to sit there; and if you want a better seat then you get in line with everyone else to find a better seat.  I am sure Princess has thought this out and there is a section of theater for the two sky suites.

[Micahs Grandad]

1 hour ago, AF-1 said:

I’ve used club class on two recent cruises. No wait ever. We went at different times every night.   Who knows. Maybe we were lucky.  

Do not recall seeing the section even half full at dinner time. Does not impact us as we have set dining times but has to impact anytime dining.

[Micahs Grandad]

1 hour ago, AF-1 said:

I’ve used club class on two recent cruises. No wait ever. We went at different times every night.   Who knows. Maybe we were lucky.  

I wish they would assign people from cruise director staff to help people find seating as the theatre fills us and help prevent chair hogging.

 

Do not recall seeing the section even half full at dinner time. Does not impact us as we have set dining times but has to impact anytime dining.

[AF-1]

I thought you guys were referring to club class dining;  now it seems you were referring to the other side of dining room.  I really don't have an answer.  I know there is more than one dining room on each ship. On Caribbean Princess three weeks ago; we used club class and the other side seemed not crowded at all.  But that was only one persons observation. I ate a few nights in buffet and that place was crowded every time.  So maybe more people were eating in buffet; so they would not have to get dressed up and this is why dining rooms were half full.

[Thrak]

We arrived plenty early to get a good location for On The Bayou as we knew it would fill rapidly and we knew we wanted a fairly close to the front location. Directly behind us was a spot where a (Chinese?) lady had placed a cane on top of one of the little tables that are in that venue. (It's different seating than most Princess venues.) Shortly before the show started a couple was looking for anyplace to sit and found this spot. I heard the man say something like, "What's with this cane?" I turned around and told him we had been sitting there for over 20 minutes and the entire time that cane had been "holding" the table and nobody had showed up. I told him, if it was me, I'd just take the spot. He moved the cane and sat down. The (Chinese?) lady was very upset. To heck with her. I don't think anybody ever came to "dispute" the seating. We thoroughly enjoyed the show - as I already knew we would.

 

I've also seen examples in the Princess theater where folks tried to sit down and someone told them they couldn't because those 4 or 5 seats were "saved". Some moved on but other simply told the person that saving seats wasn't allowed and sat down. It would be nice if people just followed the rules rather than deciding that the rules don't apply to them.

[AF-1]

I agree with Thrak, please follow the rules;  they have them for a reason; to maintain some sort of order

[Astro Flyer]

12 hours ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

I don’t know how it will be implemented but whatever it looks like it will not affect  other pax.  There will be a maximum of 10 guests in the two sky suites. 

 

4 hours ago, AF-1 said:

I am sure Princess has thought this out and there is a section of theater for the two sky suites.

I don’t think the issue is a few passengers in the Sky Suites but the potential to expand this to other passengers who pay extra for this benefit.  I don’t believe that the majority of passengers want a 2 class experience like the post in support of cruising by class.  Paying a premium for a cabin doesn’t affect any other passenger; paying a premium for theater seats does affect passengers seating options.

 

I prefer the current system where those who arrive earliest get to choose their best seats.

[AF-1]

Yea I get it

[masterty]

11 hours ago, caribill said:

 

The problem is that your idea of prime seating may be different that my idea of prime seating which may be different than other passengers' idea of prime seating. Unless you let the eligible people pick seats from various different areas in the theater, people would not get seats in their idea of a prime seating area.

 

Prime was a bad term. Simply set the prices for the seats. A price from $$ to free and let the pax choose what value each section is worth. The cruise lines already do this with cabins and their location and we choose what each is worth. Loungers and theater seats do not all share the same value and I for one am willing to open my pocket book for better seats without wasting a bunch of time while enjoying my expensive vacation.

 

[Ep010835]

There a couple of videos floating around the internet that capture the interaction between the "seat saver" and those who chose to sit in the saved seats. Hilarious stuff. 

[floridalover5623]

1 hour ago, Astro Flyer said:

I prefer the current system where those who arrive earliest get to choose their best seats.

That's is the fairest way to seat people. 👍

First come, first seated. 

[floridalover5623]

2 hours ago, Thrak said:

We arrived plenty early to get a good location for On The Bayou as we knew it would fill rapidly and we knew we wanted a fairly close to the front location.

That's one show that requires getting there at least a full hour before show time. 

[Thrak]

3 minutes ago, floridalover5623 said:

That's one show that requires getting there at least a full hour before show time. 

 

I love the surprised looks on people's faces when the cast first comes through the audience with the New Orleans funeral parade. My favorite Princess production show. I've only seen it 3 times. The "middle" time was on Island Princess after the overhaul. They did it in the Princess Theater. Just not at all the same as Universe Lounge. Not even close.

[jagoffee]

On 3/6/2019 at 8:02 AM, floridalover5623 said:

Are there people standing in the aisles waiting for seating? 

I have seen a few people waiting, but the theaters on Celebrity are much larger.  There is not as much of an issue with theater seating in general.  It is terrible on Princess IMO.

[cflutist]

I wouldn't mind if full suite passengers would have reserved seats in the theater that could be released 10 minutes prior to showtime. That would make up for the Internet that was taken away several years ago.

[TheRabbit]

6 hours ago, floridalover5623 said:

That's one show that requires getting there at least a full hour before show time. 

That is a great show and we had to get there over a half hour early to get poor seats the one time it was on the Coral for our cruise last fall.

 

I am guilty of saving a seat for my DW. As a few here know, she broke her ankle in 2017. On our last cruise I would leave the MDR after dinner and hurry to get us a seat where I didn't block the people behind me. (At 6'8" I make a terrible window.) Cheryl would take her time as she still can not walk fast, then meet up with me. I have no problem with others saving a seat for a spouse, but as others pointed out above, saving rows or big blocks of seats for the family/friends does not cut it, especially if they are in the most desirable areas and don't show up until after the show starts.

[caribill]

4 hours ago, cflutist said:

I wouldn't mind if full suite passengers would have reserved seats in the theater that could be released 10 minutes prior to showtime. That would make up for the Internet that was taken away several years ago.

When the Internet was taken away from full-suite passengers, the free specialty dinner on the first evening and a little plate of nuts on embarkation were added to replace it.

[floridalover5623]

9 hours ago, TheRabbit said:

That is a great show and we had to get there over a half hour early to get poor seats the one time it was on the Coral for our cruise last fall.

 

I am guilty of saving a seat for my DW. 

 

I do the same thing all the time & don't believe it to be considered "seat saving".

 

5 hours ago, caribill said:

When the Internet was taken away from full-suite passengers, the free specialty dinner on the first evening and a little plate of nuts on embarkation were added to replace it.

People in full suites seem to forget that little perk.

They only remember what was taken away.