Pre scheduling Horizon shows

[PhillyFan33579]

38 minutes ago, NCbmwmom said:

Having to prebook shows in order to get a decent seat is one of the big reasons I won’t sail RCCL. 

You only have to prebook shows on Oasis and Quantum class ships. Of course those are their newest ships with arguably the best shows. The other ships in their fleet don’t require prebooking shows. Navigator and Freedom class are great ships in my opinion, especially the ones that have been amped (upgraded).  

[trummy]

21 hours ago, Caribbean Drifters said:

thanks for the advice, that is really helpful. so far its proven a challenge to find a funtimes for my itinerary on here, or just on google.

In my first post, I sent you a funtimes. The shows and nightlife are pretty much the same. 

[HxFx]

1 hour ago, Caribbean Drifters said:

Thats awesome! I have an 8 and a 5 year old daughter, and once i realized how inclusive it all is the price seems like a bargain; where before I felt it was SUPER overinflated.

I think the way they have structured the FastPass is genius. I first went to Disney as a kid during the E ticket days! Something like this may work for a cruise line, though probably only for a ship with a ton of activities like the mega ships.

[ladylyn915]

On 4/27/2020 at 2:01 AM, Caribbean Drifters said:

With the other major cruise lines you dont HAVE to set any plans, you just have the AVAILABILITY to set plans if you want to, there is a big difference. Carnival is simply incapable of offer BOTH the way their competitors do. And im sure everyone wants to see Carnival do even better things, right?

 

This isn't exactly true.  If you do not make reservations for the shows on RCL, you will not see them.  The larger issue for me is that you have to make reservations for EVERYTHING on RCL.  My one and only cruise on the Anthem made me feel like I was at work.  Every meal had to scheduled ( we had anytime dining and we were a large group).  Every activity needed a reservation and I had to pay for every Specialty restaurant when the reservation was made.  On Carnival, I only made reservations for Teppanaki and the Steak House - but did not have to pay any money up front.

In the end - everyone is different.  I like planning, but not for every minute.  Others prefer no surprises.  That's why there is more than one cruise line.

The Horizon is a great ship!  Happy sailing!

 

Lyn

[Illbcruzn4life]

This isn't exactly true.  If you do not make reservations for the shows on RCL, you will not see them.  The larger issue for me is that you have to make reservations for EVERYTHING on RCL.  My one and only cruise on the Anthem made me feel like I was at work.  Every meal had to scheduled ( we had anytime dining and we were a large group).  Every activity needed a reservation and I had to pay for every Specialty restaurant when the reservation was made.  On Carnival, I only made reservations for Teppanaki and the Steak House - but did not have to pay any money up front.
In the end - everyone is different.  I like planning, but not for every minute.  Others prefer no surprises.  That's why there is more than one cruise line.
The Horizon is a great ship!  Happy sailing!
 
Lyn

Was on Harmony in February. Saw Grease and really enjoyed. The time they had it scheduled I asked my wife if she wanted to see it again.she said yes, we went to the standby line and were promptly let in without reservations.


Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[BlerkOne]

The fact remains, if you allow people to pre-book, those are seats not available for those of us who are on vacation. It doesn't matter if it is 5% or 95%.

 

 

[TNcruising02]

When I was on the Harmony in March, they scanned my card for every single show to make sure we had a reservation.  Why would they scan cards to make sure people had reservations if they were letting people in the standby line in at the same time? That makes no sense to me.  We never tried to go to a show without a reservation, so I don't know if they always let the standby people in at the same time as the people with reservations or not.  But that seems to defeat the purpose of making a reservation.

From everything I read, they let the standby people in 10 or 15 minutes before the show, not at the same time as the people with reservations.  

Edited April 29, 2020 by TNcruising02

[Illbcruzn4life]

3 hours ago, TNcruising02 said:

When I was on the Harmony in March, they scanned my card for every single show to make sure we had a reservation.  Why would they scan cards to make sure people had reservations if they were letting people in the standby line in at the same time? That makes no sense to me.  We never tried to go to a show without a reservation, so I don't know if they always let the standby people in at the same time as the people with reservations or not.  But that seems to defeat the purpose of making a reservation.

From everything I read, they let the standby people in 10 or 15 minutes before the show, not at the same time as the people with reservations.  

 

I am not sure who you are replying to since there is no quote but if you are replying to me then you are correct in that we were let in at the 10 - 15 minute mark before the show which is when we showed up.

 

If you weren't replying to me then please ignore.🙂

[SNJCruisers]

The reservation system started back in 2009 when the Oasis of the Seas debuted and it has continued on Royal with their other Oasis Class as well as Quantum Class ships.   At this point it's 8 ships in total all with a minimum of 4900 passengers.  

NCL adopted this similar system with the introduction of their 2 Breakaway Class ships and the 4 subsequent Breakaway-Plus ships.  These 6 ships have around 4000 passengers on them.

Carnival has up to this point decided against making reservations necessary,  but it really hasn't been needed since Carnival does not offer the Broadway-Lite shows that are comparable to the main shows on either of the aforementioned lines.  It would be nice if Carnival offered a reservation system for it's comedy shows so that you would not have to wait 30-60 minutes ahead of time.   We lucked out on our Horizon sailings in 2018 and 2019, but it was a different story back in 2013 on the Breeze.  Maybe things will be different on the Mardi Gras since her passenger capacity will be much higher than the Vista Class ships.

[TNcruising02]

5 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

The reservation system started back in 2009 when the Oasis of the Seas debuted and it has continued on Royal with their other Oasis Class as well as Quantum Class ships.   At this point it's 8 ships in total all with a minimum of 4900 passengers.  

NCL adopted this similar system with the introduction of their 2 Breakaway Class ships and the 4 subsequent Breakaway-Plus ships.  These 6 ships have around 4000 passengers on them.

Carnival has up to this point decided against making reservations necessary,  but it really hasn't been needed since Carnival does not offer the Broadway-Lite shows that are comparable to the main shows on either of the aforementioned lines.  It would be nice if Carnival offered a reservation system for it's comedy shows so that you would not have to wait 30-60 minutes ahead of time.   We lucked out on our Horizon sailings in 2018 and 2019, but it was a different story back in 2013 on the Breeze.  Maybe things will be different on the Mardi Gras since her passenger capacity will be much higher than the Vista Class ships.

I agree with you about Carnival's theater shows.  They do not compare to those offered on Norwegian and Royal.  Carnival's shows will fill up the theaters, but they are not the same quality of shows you will get on some other lines.  I think their no reservation system works well for them, even though their theaters are just as packed as those on other lines.

Carnival excels with their comedy shows and those can get super packed.  We always just show up early.  Even when we see shows back-to-back, we are able to walk out and get right back in line for the next show.

What I like best about Carnival is that I can get on the ship without any reservations and still get great seats for any show I feel like seeing, any day I feel like seeing it.  Also, we love their comedy shows.  I've spent years working on a schedule.  I don't feel like doing that while on vacation.  I don't want to be stuck with seeing a show standby and getting a bad seat or having to schedule a show a month in advance. Carnival isn't for everyone.  It really depends on what someone is looking for in a cruise.  We really enjoy Carnival.

Edited April 29, 2020 by TNcruising02

[trummy]

My last post too.

 

What it comes down to is that some people are spontaneous, live in the moment people. Some people like everything all laid out and pre-planned. Neither is wrong.  JUST DO YOU.