When do bookings for shows open up?

[PatandStu]

We are 120 days out from our Breakaway cruise out of New Orleans. This morning, I was able to book our 2 specialty restaurants. But, of course the concern is we’ll be dining while the shows are on. The website says it’s too early to book Six or Burn the Floor.

When do these normally open up? 
And, is there a “usual” time for the shows? 
We will likely buy 2 more dinners but want to wait to book the shows first. 
Let the countdown begin!

[shof515]

since the covid restart, shows reservations on the website never opened up. you will have to book shows onboard the ship

[PatandStu]

So it’s a bit of a crap shoot booking dinners in advance? 

[shof515]

depending on the ship and the shows,usually show times is either 7 or 8 and then 9 or 10

[Sthrngary]

15 minutes ago, PatandStu said:

So it’s a bit of a crap shoot booking dinners in advance? 

@PatandStu I love the way you think.  Blending show times with dinner reservations.  Here is an approach I have used for the last many cruises.  Look for your ship dailies on CruiseCritic.com.  Look for the show times which usually are the same from week to week.  

 

I just did it for a Breakaway Cruise in December 2022.  My issue is the shows start at 09:30 PM and my dinner reservations are at 07:00 PM.  We are going to cut it close.  I tried to rebook the reservations for 06:00 to 06:30 PM.  Nothing available so I will attempt onboard.  This has happened to me before and as long as I had a reservation that was close, I never had a hard time changing.  

 

Hope that strategy helpls.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

[PatandStu]

Sthrngary, we enjoy fine dining & getting dressed up. But, equally like the shows. So far our two dinners are booked for 7:30 & 7:00 on sea days. 
Our preference is going to a show on a “not-specialty-dinner” night. There’s nothing worse than constantly looking at your watch while enjoying an exquisite meal. 
I’ll look for recent dailies from the Breakaway and see if I can ascertain a pattern. 

[shof515]

1 hour ago, Sthrngary said:

I just did it for a Breakaway Cruise in December 2022.  My issue is the shows start at 09:30 PM and my dinner reservations are at 07:00 PM.  We are going to cut it close.  I tried to rebook the reservations for 06:00 to 06:30 PM.  Nothing available so I will attempt onboard.  This has happened to me before and as long as I had a reservation that was close, I never had a hard time changing.  

 

 

on all of my previous cruises, i was in and out of both the mdr and special dinning in around 1 hour. never needed 2 hours for dinner

[BirdTravels]

1 hour ago, PatandStu said:

Sthrngary, we enjoy fine dining & getting dressed up. But, equally like the shows. So far our two dinners are booked for 7:30 & 7:00 on sea days. 
Our preference is going to a show on a “not-specialty-dinner” night. There’s nothing worse than constantly looking at your watch while enjoying an exquisite meal. 
I’ll look for recent dailies from the Breakaway and see if I can ascertain a pattern. 

Since the restart, entertainment has been "fluid". Factors like COVID impacting days performers are available has meant that entertainment schedules are not finalized until the week before departure.

 

Yup, a crap shoot. We normally book dinners ahead of time. Then, when you embark, you go straight to the Box Office, Deck 7, in the starboard entrance to the Theater and make your show reservations (Six, Burn the Floor, Comedy Shows), then proceed to restaurant reservations to fix your specialty dining. 

 

While you can ask your waiter to "speed up" service to match your show schedule, we normally take at least 2 hours in a Specialty Restaurant. We want to enjoy the dinner,,, not inhale the food. 

 

Folks talk about using the touch screen kiosks to make entertainment reservations. But going to the Box Office, you will get a "menu" of all of the shows (including shows with no reservations), so you can better plan the week. 

 

BTW: While some people like Velvet. We hated the show. Not Bird recommended.

 

Example:

Edited October 8, 2022 by BirdTravels