A Funny Thing on the Glory

[Oakman58]

A long story about something funny that happen on our Glory cruise this past September.  We went to see one of the comedians in the Punchliner Comedy Club (Ebony Lounge) on the sixth night of our cruise.  The comedian, Rob, was making his debut appearance with Carnival that night.  His credentials were impressive with appearances on The Tonight Show, Comedy Central, Last Comic Standing, etc., so we had high hopes for a funny show.

 

Wow, were we disappointed.  His routine wasn’t funny in the least and no one else in the lounge was laughing at his jokes and stories, except every now and then someone’s baby in the back of the lounge would giggle.  You could tell it was frustrating him.  About 20 minutes into his routine he finally decided that since this was his first time on a Carnival ship he was being pranked by the other comedians onboard and the audience had been told not to laugh at his jokes and stories.  He then departed from his routine and began talking to passengers in the front row.  Lo and behold, two of those front row people were either drunk or not right in the head because their answers to him were absolutely bizarre.  One lady told him her daughter was a dog, specifically a Chihuahua.  A goofy front row audience along with a baby giggling just reinforced his idea that he was being pranked.  It was at this point his show became somewhat entertaining.

 

The best part came near the end of his show when he saw bathrobe guy grab his walker and shuffle out of the lounge.  When Rob saw that guy he actually fell over laughing and said, “an old guy in a bathrobe with a walker just walked out of my show, this is the best prank ever.”

 

Sorry Rob, not a prank, the bathrobe guy went everywhere on the ship with his walker dressed in his bathrobe.  Here’s a picture of bathrobe guy that I took in the lounge that night.  BTW, Carnival fired Rob a week later because of his language.

[Saint Greg]

I think a lot of people who don’t have kids refer to their pets as their kids. That wouldn’t surprise me too much. I think that guy in the robe may have been in the thrill theater on my 2018 Breeze cruise.

[Pyxie]

Was bathrobe guy trying to look like the old perv dude from Family Guy?...

[Schoifmom]

I almost miss the days when everyone automatically got bathrobes in their staterooms (without asking for them) and you saw multiple people a day wearing them to the Lido restaurants or the atrium.  Prime people watching there!

Edited October 11, 2022 by Schoifmom

[asalligo]

That would have been fun to see! Poor Rob

 

[ninjacat123]

The title of this topic made me think of "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum", a musical from 1966.  Crazy!😅

[momof3cruisers]

We had a comedian on the Breeze in March and I wish I could remember his name. So that I would know to never go see him again. He insulted and not in a funny way (at all!) several races as well as sexual orientation and certain religions.  More than half the audience walked out. I heard a lot of people talking about complaining to guest services. He was truly that awful. 

[Guest BasicSailor]

There are quite a few untamed comics onboard theses day just to fill the gap. Say, did I tell you about the fellow who got peanut butter in his ear?  He couldn't ear 😁

 

 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

We've often found that the pg shows were funnier than the adult shows. The pg shows require the comedian to rely on wit. While, in the adult shows, they often think they can rely on shock value + alcohol instead of actually being funny. 

 

That said, the best, top notch, shows were the R rated ones.

 

The best comedy is that which takes uncomfortable topics and pokes at them. The result is not only laughter, but makes the subject matter less uncomfortable.... and less problematic  in the future. 

 

Comedy can be a great tool to get past real problems. It can start real dialog. But, this takes a certain amount of maturity.

 

My favorite examples: All in the Family and The Jeffersons.

 

Sadly, modern political correctness is preventing such comedy from existing.  Those two shows would never be made today. 

 

 

[Itried4498]

Comedians generally introduce their new material on cruises as a way to test audience reactions.  You’re not seeing their best material - that’s saved for paid gigs (yes, they get paid by cruises but the potential payout is much larger at touring shows).  This is really no different than almost any comedy club.  I’ve seen numerous comedians lose their audience on cruises and turn to “plan B” - generally classic material / toilet humor / etc.

[lostsoulcruiser]

Not a bad read