Princess Ship's Theater Seats

[memaw330]

Never been on a Princess Cruise before in the pictures the seating in the Theaters looks small and crowded especially the Star. Do any of you who have sailed on her have any tips

[Shmoo here]

11 minutes ago, memaw330 said:

Never been on a Princess Cruise before in the pictures the seating in the Theaters looks small and crowded especially the Star. Do any of you who have sailed on her have any tips

The theaters are not particularly small, but smaller than other big ships, maybe.  If you have a specific area/seat you want, it's a good idea to head there 20-30 minutes ahead of the show.  If you don't, no need to arrive especially early, except for shows that are going to be very popular.  

[memaw330]

Thanks for your quick response.

[TM]

We've cruised mostly on Princess but have several on Celebrity and a couple on Carnival.  All theater seats seem to be pretty much the same size.

[Shmoo here]

12 minutes ago, TM said:

We've cruised mostly on Princess but have several on Celebrity and a couple on Carnival.  All theater seats seem to be pretty much the same size.

I believe OP was asking about the seating capacity of the theaters, not the seat size.

[Treasure Hunter]

We have found  that in the last few years the demand to see the shows way out strips the seat availability. We were on the Regal in February and by 25 minutes before the show ALL seats were taken. Many people came with a drink and a book 45 minutes before showtime to have a choice.

[Renmar]

36 minutes ago, Shmoo here said:

I believe OP was asking about the seating capacity of the theaters, not the seat size.

 

2 hours ago, memaw330 said:

Never been on a Princess Cruise before in the pictures the seating in the Theaters looks small and crowded especially the Star. Do any of you who have sailed on her have any tips

JMHO, the OP states that the seating IN the theaters look small, not that the theaters itself looks small. But then again, I have been wrong before.

 

Theo

[Shmoo here]

20 minutes ago, Renmar said:

 

JMHO, the OP states that the seating IN the theaters look small, not that the theaters itself looks small. But then again, I have been wrong before.

 

Theo

"The seating looks small and crowded", IMO means the seating capacity.  

 

 

[waltd]

The tip is get there early.   If it's a popular show  get there at least 30 minutes early.   Even if the theater looks a bit on the small side to you remember they do have an early show and a later show.   In the past the later shows seemed to have a few less people.   

[PrincessLuver]

5 hours ago, Treasure Hunter said:

We have found  that in the last few years the demand to see the shows way out strips the seat availability. We were on the Regal in February and by 25 minutes before the show ALL seats were taken. Many people came with a drink and a book 45 minutes before showtime to have a choice.

 

We tend to do a lot of long Princess cruises and we have noticed that on most nights if you are not at the man theater at least 30 minutes prior to the show around 7:30 - 8:00 PM (depending on sailing) that you will not get a seat usually no matter what the show is.

[AtlantaCruiser72]

As far as seat size in Princess Theaters - they are more standard theater type seats, vs banquettes on other lines, and while they all appear to be the same width I have found in reality that is not the case.  Some rows are are more curved than others, and those rows have narrower seats (especially at the front of the seat by the armrest) than the more linear rows due to the curvature.  As a larger person - I always go and test a few desired areas during the day when the theater is empty and try and decide where I will feel most comfortable and have 2-3 choices in mind when I go back for shows.  My favorite are the center seats in the second to last row of the lower area followed by the last row of the second area (right if front of railing).

 

Here's a good image of the Grand Class Theaters where you can see how some rows are more linear, and some more curved 

[mailman604]

Never been on a Princess Cruise before in the pictures the seating in the Theaters looks small and crowded especially the Star. Do any of you who have sailed on her have any tips

Theater holds approximately 700 people, ship holds approximately
3600 people. You do the math.[emoji3]


Sent from my iPad using Forums

[tillys mom]

My husband can’t sit through a show because the seats are so cramped. His bad knees have to have enough leg room to straighten. Sometimes we can get end seats, but he usually skips all the shows.

The last seats to fill are the extreme right and left front corners because the view of the stage is terrible from them.

[Lucky TGO]

My best advice is get there early. My friends always do. See photo 😳😁

The Captain of The Rowboat,

Tony

 

[cruzsnooze]

On the Royal class ships the seats are small with no leg room. A small or medium size person will be fine but large or bigger will be cramped. There will be no way to social distance and have more then every third seat occupied which in a show room of 600 seats means only 200 people per show. 

Edited June 9, 2020 by cruzsnooze

[skynight]

There are no reservations for any shows in any of Princess' show venues. All walk in, first come.

Theaters

Shows around the 8pm hour are the most crowded. Late and pre-dinner shows are less crowded, but mostly fill up. You still have to arrive around 30 to 20 minutes early.

Production shows are crowded especially the popular ones like Bravo and Encore. Arrive 45 minutes early. Popular comics are also crowded, arrive at least 30 minutes early.

Seats are standard size. Older ships have a small table which pulls up from the arm rest where you can rest a drink. Royal class ships do not have this feature. You have to hold the drink in your hand and then place the empty  glass on the floor or carry it out.

Vista Lounge

Some ships have the Vista Show Lounge where there are usually comics are musicians. The Vista Lounge is smaller. For popular comics you have to arrive very early to get a seat. Ships with the Vista Lounge are the Grand, Star, Royal, Regal.

Explorer's Lounge

Grand Class ships have Explorer's Lounge where there can be comics, magic, musicians/singers. This is a small venue that fills up early.

[AtlantaCruiser72]

10 hours ago, skynight said:

 

Some ships have the Vista Show Lounge where there are usually comics are musicians. The Vista Lounge is smaller. For popular comics you have to arrive very early to get a seat. Ships with the Vista Lounge are the Grand, Star, Royal, Regal.

 

Add Sea, Sun, Majestic, Sky, Enchanted and Discovery to the list of vessels with a Vista Lounge.

 

Coral has the Universe lounge which is the best secondary show lounge venue in the fleet as it is two levels and has a huge stage and dance floor. 

 

Diamond, Sapphire, Caribbean, Emerald, Ruby and crown all have Club Fusion which serves a similar function as the Vista Lounge, but is laid out more akin to the Explorers lounge with tables, chairs and banquettes broken up into various seating groups and levels and has poorer sightlines than the vista lounges

[darknightsdespiser]

Get there early. Have never noticed being uncomfortable but even if you are slightly it is 45 mins max!

[phabric]

I was on the new Sky, the ship’s first 2 weeks of sailings Oct 2019.

 

  I asked the Cruise Director, every night there was a crowd at each door and we were only allowed in a 1/2 hour before a performance.  He said, after each performance they had sanitize/vacuum the theater and it had to settle.

Edited June 10, 2020 by phabric

[Cruiserkenn]

I always have a great time at the theater shows on the Star and other Grand Class ships.  I sit in the first few rows, lower left.  I always attend the later, second performance, and I get there 15 - 20 minutes early.

 

Fantastic! Enjoy! 🙂⚓️

[Earthworm Jim]

On 6/9/2020 at 12:24 AM, cruzsnooze said:

On the Royal class ships the seats are small with no leg room. A small or medium size person will be fine but large or bigger will be cramped. There will be no way to social distance and have more then every third seat occupied which in a show room of 600 seats means only 200 people per show. 

 

 

Even worse than that, since if they were really trying to keep people 6 feet apart you'd have to skip every other row so you weren't too close to the person behind or in front of you. That would theoretically cut capacity in your example to 100 people, but in reality most people will be with the person they're sharing a cabin with, so they can sit together. Two people together, then two empty seats, repeat. With every other row empty, that would be 25% capacity. But it's not realistic. People are going to just sit wherever they feel like and not follow any prescribed plan. I don't think they'll be able to maintain social distance protocols in the theater. But that's probably also true of most other areas on the ship as well.

Edited June 10, 2020 by Earthworm Jim

[caribill]

14 hours ago, Earthworm Jim said:

 

 

Even worse than that, since if they were really trying to keep people 6 feet apart you'd have to skip every other row so you weren't too close to the person behind or in front of you.

 

The rules in our state for when theaters reopen:

 

Couples/families/friends can sit next to each other in a row. There must be two empty seats either side of the group.

 

The rows immediately in front and in back of an occupied row must be empty.

[Ride-The-Waves]

Theater seats on Royal class ships are comfortable with room under the seat in front for your feet.

 

The other ships, especially the Grand class, or horrid.  No leg room at all.  Knees in your face type seating.  Very uncomfortable.

 

At 6'3" I will not travel in any Princess ship other than the Royal class again.

Edited June 11, 2020 by Ride-The-Waves

[geoherb]

There are some great seats in the curve at the back of the front section that have more leg room. The front row also has more. I don't mind sitting that close for most of the shows--just not for comedians. 

 

The second show is not as crowded as the first on most ships. On the Caribbean Princess last December, they were scheduling the production shows three times--twice one night and once the next.

[Ken the cruiser]

We did a 12 day cruise on the Diamond in Jan 2015 and there were three 30 minute shows every night. Since we started sailing again with Princess in 2019 on the Crown and Island, there were only two evening shows 45 minutes in length. I wonder if they'll go back to three 30 minute evening shows?

Edited June 13, 2020 by Ken the cruiser