P&O vs Royal Caribbean

[Interestedcruisefan]

I've googled RC for their Broadway shows. They advertise auditions for cast members for these shows. The same way other cruise lines do auditions for their theatre cast (like Headliner cast on P and O)

 

The difference on RC to P and O is they are doing big name musicals and no doubt paying big royalties to perform the songs?

 

It's a good concept. I'm not knocking it. I love musical theatre. But this is normal cruise ship entertainers not west end theatre ensembles that are just performing a well known show

 

These aren't the cast from Broadway shows transporting the show from Broadway so to speak

 

Doesn't mean it's not brilliant entertainment

[terrierjohn]

19 minutes ago, Yorkypete said:

I don't know which they were though they had appeared in a Broadway show. They were brilliant and also performed to packed crowds in the Promenade on the overhead 'bridges'. I have to say they were the best show I have seen on a cruise. Who is Ray 

We have also seen a 4 seasons tribute act on P&O that were excellent, but mainly because we love the music, however I have no idea what their names were. 

We also saw Grease on Indy and again, because we know and love the music, it was very enjoyable, but the day we saw it, some of the cast seemed to be having an off day, and they struggled  with the continuity. On the same cruise they had a Beatles tribute act in the theatre, and we have also seen the same group on P&O. It seems that many of the same acts do the rounds of most of the ships that cruise from Southampton.

[sweep2907]

Yes like many others, you get what you pay for and P&O priced at bottom end of market now. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy my sailings with P&O but don't expect 5 star food and standards at 3* prices. My first sailing with P&O almost a decade ago was double the price you can get the identical cruise now. I'd rather pay more and have better quality but the beauty is we have so many cruise lines to choose from now. Great value with P&O and never had bad cruise. In fact just booking for Iona in June as super prices for Fjords. Again they are more than 50% cheaper than when Iona first came out.

[Yorkypete]

3 hours ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

I've googled RC for their Broadway shows. They advertise auditions for cast members for these shows. The same way other cruise lines do auditions for their theatre cast (like Headliner cast on P and O)

 

The difference on RC to P and O is they are doing big name musicals and no doubt paying big royalties to perform the songs?

 

It's a good concept. I'm not knocking it. I love musical theatre. But this is normal cruise ship entertainers not west end theatre ensembles that are just performing a well known show

 

These aren't the cast from Broadway shows transporting the show from Broadway so to speak

 

Doesn't mean it's not brilliant entertainment

Sorry but you are totally wrong.  The Jersey Boys act were NOT crew entertainers and were not the result of auditions. They came on the ship in one port and left two ports later. They were singers from the Broadway show (all had appeared in their roles on Broadway in the  Four Seasons show (The Jersey Boys). They were certainly NOT cruise ship entertainers as most of their performances were in theatres on land . The same people toured extensively in the States.

[Yorkypete]

2 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

We have also seen a 4 seasons tribute act on P&O that were excellent, but mainly because we love the music, however I have no idea what their names were. 

We also saw Grease on Indy and again, because we know and love the music, it was very enjoyable, but the day we saw it, some of the cast seemed to be having an off day, and they struggled  with the continuity. On the same cruise they had a Beatles tribute act in the theatre, and we have also seen the same group on P&O. It seems that many of the same acts do the rounds of most of the ships that cruise from Southampton.

These were certainly not billed as a tribute act and the sailing was from Fort Lauderdale. The 5 members of the group all appeared in the Broadway show. They did three theatre shows and three on the bridges in the central area of the ship. They were packed out and the atmosphere in the latter was amazing.People were singing and dancing. They are the best show I have seen on any cruise. Grease was also done by people who left the ship after two nights.

[heatherb1958]

Having cruised extensively on all classes of ships with RCI from Vision class to Oasis class and cruised last year 3 times on Anthem I would say RCI have the edge over P&O with regards theatre shows. We have cruised on Britannia,  Ventura , Iona and Azura , all 4 ships since October 21. 

We have many cruises on other lines under our belts but you want comparisons with these 2. 

 

What I do like about P&O is  their pricing  in 2 tiers , Saver and Select . I like that gratuities are included,  drinks prices onboard are  very reasonable , so much so we  would never buy a drinks package . We get 6 free drinks a day with RCI and do use them ! On P&O we can take a litre of  spirits onboard per person for in cabin consumption where the room steward will happily supply the ice and sliced lemons 😎.  

We buy a bottle of wine at dinner and finish it in a bar somewhere onboard then buy other drinks as required.  

We went to the Limelight club twice on Britannia and once on Iona , both fab experiences , we saw Toyah Wilcox, Gareth Gates plus Ray Quinn . It is NOT just a show but a speciality meal followed by the artist performance, I would liken it to a supper club.  

We didn't care too much about our first P&O experience on Britannia  but weighing everything up with what you get for their pricing  they grew on us . We have Iona and Britannia booked again and rising up in their loyalty programme which isn't as good as RCI's but currently we get 7.5% off all purchases onboard including the shops , not to be sniffed at .

 

Food is subjective,  we have never starved on any ship we have been on even on the Costa Smeralda where I described the food onboard as inedible !!! 

P&O's speciality restaurant prices are far cheaper than RCI , went to Epicurian twice , lovely service and experience . 

I find when travelling with close friends on a cruise you tend to overlook  the niggles and have fun regardless. 

Have a fantastic time .

 

[terrierjohn]

44 minutes ago, Yorkypete said:

These were certainly not billed as a tribute act and the sailing was from Fort Lauderdale. The 5 members of the group all appeared in the Broadway show. They did three theatre shows and three on the bridges in the central area of the ship. They were packed out and the atmosphere in the latter was amazing.People were singing and dancing. They are the best show I have seen on any cruise. Grease was also done by people who left the ship after two nights.

Are you sure that the Grease cast leave the ship after 2 nights, that would mean they would have to keep flying them back and forth to the ship, which would be far more expensive than if they stayed on the ship?

[snaefell]

Can't comment on post pandemic changes as yet,we are on Arcadia's Med cruise next month but pre pandemic we had 2 cruises on P&O & 1 on Royal Caribbean.

Our P&O cruises were both on Britannia,we found her a bit dark inside,balconies too small,a bit of a challenge to navigate,loved the Crow's Nest(a long way from aft cabins at the end of the night!),Boadies was a lovely room but as we hate Karaoke,quizzes & bingo & the entertainment was poor we didn't spend much time there,we saw some great shows in the theatre,food was good although the selection seemed reduced on the 2nd cruise,the 2nd cruise was in March 2018,T/A from Barbados,there was a marvellous Caribbean band on board who played by the main pool at Midnight,felt rather sorry for them the last couple of nights as the crowd had dwindled considerably in freezing conditions & they didn't look so colourful in their coats,hats,scarfs & gloves!😆

Our 1 Royal Caribbean cruise was October 2019,a repo cruise from China to Singapore on Quantum Of The Seas,what a beautiful ship,so light & airy,quirky artwork,superb cabin,quite spoiled us for other ships,the food was varied,first night in a speciality restaurant we had good food,great service but mean portions IMO,second night in the MDR the food & service were abysmal,the rest of the cruise we used the buffet,we like buffets & spent some quite magical nights in the South China Sea dining outside while watching distant lightning,she also has the Northstar,I Fly & Flowrider,Bumper cars & goodness knows what else!

The entertainment was mixed,some good,some awful,the English Pub was,IMO,too small,a very popular place,the main entertainment being 2 girls doing acoustic & instrumental versions of songs you wouldn't expect & it worked,they were superb!

We dressed smart/casual for the first night in the speciality restaurant on Quantum,after that every night was a shorts night,heaven to me as I hate formal nights & am not going to be getting dressed up for every formal night on our upcoming Arcadia cruise,there are 5 of them!😮

Having said that we have only done 1 Royal Caribbean cruise,it should have been more,soon after booking the Far East cruise we booked a T/A repo cruise on Anthem OTS in April 2020,starting in New York,calling at Halifax,Ponte Delgado & La Havre,soon after booking they dropped Halifax(the reason given being that the Atlantic can be rough in Winter!😮),we changed that for a six night cruise on Quantum from Singapore in March 2020,that suddenly morphed into  repo cruise to Tokyo without notice,we changed that to a 5 night cruise out of Singapore,all a waste of time as Co vid brought the World grinding to a halt!

End result being we wouldn't book with RIC again due to their constantly changing the itineraries,the one we did out East kept changing as it went along,having said that P&O have annoyingly changed the  itinerary for our upcoming cruise,dropping Gibraltar which we really wanted to see!

[zap99]

1 hour ago, Yorkypete said:

These were certainly not billed as a tribute act and the sailing was from Fort Lauderdale. The 5 members of the group all appeared in the Broadway show. They did three theatre shows and three on the bridges in the central area of the ship. They were packed out and the atmosphere in the latter was amazing.People were singing and dancing. They are the best show I have seen on any cruise. Grease was also done by people who left the ship after two nights.

Never did like Franki Vali, so glad I missed it.

[Interestedcruisefan]

2 hours ago, Yorkypete said:

Sorry but you are totally wrong.  The Jersey Boys act were NOT crew entertainers and were not the result of auditions. They came on the ship in one port and left two ports later. They were singers from the Broadway show (all had appeared in their roles on Broadway in the  Four Seasons show (The Jersey Boys). They were certainly NOT cruise ship entertainers as most of their performances were in theatres on land . The same people toured extensively in the States.

I've not said they were cruise ship entertainers

 

I've said they are a tribute act

 

The musical shows RC do from  Broadway are from auditions the same as cruise ship entertainers 

[Interestedcruisefan]

1 hour ago, terrierjohn said:

Are you sure that the Grease cast leave the ship after 2 nights, that would mean they would have to keep flying them back and forth to the ship, which would be far more expensive than if they stayed on the ship?

It's possible but it's simply an entourage who might head and do same show on other RC ships ongoing. Makes sense . They will know the show inside it

 

All im saying is it's a cast recruited from auditions to work on a cruise ship same as Headliners cast. But they they specialise doing one show rather than several

 

They aren't the Broadway casts on tour

 

Similarly some or all of the Jersey Boys may well have had parts in west end or broadway shows  but essentially have created a tribute act 

 

I've seen them. Or a version of them on RC. Enjoyed them. But  I enjoyed Mary Mac more in Limelight on Arvia

 

And in the past I've enjoyed Berni Flint even more!

 

It's all about personal taste

 

 

 

 

[Interestedcruisefan]

Carnival cruise Piano Bars and dedicated comedy clubs on board are also highlights of cruise entertainment for us in the past

 

Piano Bars on Carnival are really  interactive with the audience and great fun with great cocktails

 

And Carnival have proper comedy clubs on their ships every night. It's good to watch an hour of comedy followed by a theatre show or vice versa 

Edited April 1, 2023 by Interestedcruisefan

[Yorkypete]

17 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

It's possible but it's simply an entourage who might head and do same show on other RC ships ongoing. Makes sense . They will know the show inside it

 

 

They aren't the Broadway casts on tour

 

Similarly some or all of the Jersey Boys may well have had parts in west end or broadway shows  but essentially have created a tribute act 

 

I've seen them. Or a version of them on RC. Enjoyed them. But  I enjoyed Mary Mac more in Limelight on Arvia

 

And in the past I've enjoyed Berni Flint even more!

 

It's all about personal taste

 

 

 

 

'All im saying is it's a cast recruited from auditions to work on a cruise ship same as Headliners cast. But they they specialise doing one show rather than several' From this comment you are suggesting they were recruited to work on a ship. Wrong. They may have been recruited and auditioned to work on Broadway...as all shows are whether West End or Broadway (even Lloyd Webber does this) but they were NOT recruited to work specifically on a ship . They were performing on Broadway before hand and returned to land based theatres after the cruise.. Who is Mary Mac? Anyway..IMO the acts on RCI are vastly superior to P&O ..and are FREE!

[Denarius]

6 hours ago, Yorkypete said:

I don't know which they were though they had appeared in a Broadway show. They were brilliant and also performed to packed crowds in the Promenade on the overhead 'bridges'. I have to say they were the best show I have seen on a cruise. Who is Ray Quin?

 

But probably not a bit like the real (Frankie Valli and the) Four Seasons, who did not dance around singing but were a real band who played instruments as well. As in this archive video from 1962.

 

[Yorkypete]

1 hour ago, terrierjohn said:

Are you sure that the Grease cast leave the ship after 2 nights, that would mean they would have to keep flying them back and forth to the ship, which would be far more expensive than if they stayed on the ship?

I don't quite understand your point about flying. The cast left the ship at a port and probably boarded another ship. Why would they stay on the ship when their performances had finished after their 4 shows?

[terrierjohn]

18 minutes ago, Yorkypete said:

'All im saying is it's a cast recruited from auditions to work on a cruise ship same as Headliners cast. But they they specialise doing one show rather than several' From this comment you are suggesting they were recruited to work on a ship. Wrong. They may have been recruited and auditioned to work on Broadway...as all shows are whether West End or Broadway (even Lloyd Webber does this) but they were NOT recruited to work specifically on a ship . They were performing on Broadway before hand and returned to land based theatres after the cruise.. Who is Mary Mac? Anyway..IMO the acts on RCI are vastly superior to P&O ..and are FREE!

For every Broadway or West End show cast, there are several hundred put together by agents to work in the tourist industry in  cruise ships, hotels, casinos and the like.  I doubt that many if any of the RCI show casts are Broadway standard. That's not to say that they are not very good singers and dancers, but for every West End cast member there are hundreds if not thousands plying their trade in the tourist industry.

[heatherb1958]

For info  @Yorkypete - the big Broadway shows on RCI which include/ have included  Grease, Hairspray,  Mama Mia , We will rock you , Cats ,  they had Chicago on Allure now swapped for Mama Mia.  Liberty of the seas had Saturday Night  Fever , not been on her for years so not sure if still onboard but had the privilege of being onboard for the Theatre rehearsals before launched. All the casts in these shows are onboard for 6 months + then swap out for a new cast , barring injuries or sickness or just fed up and want to leave . RCI have their own production studios in Florida  and every ship in the fleet has it's own stage where the cast learn the shows for each ship with having final dress rehearsals onboard the actual ship. Bizarrely even the oldest ships in the fleet still have their own stage set but the older smaller ships have the more interesting itineraries,  usually,  so the cast don't mind learning those old antiquated routines . It costs a lot of money to put on the Broadway shows and they  will be onboard for  at least 5 years , though  all the older ships are still running their original shows !! 

I have seen We Will Rock you twice on Anthem , Curly Watts from Corrie was in it the first time then the cast changed , didn't care for that show but love Mama Mia on Allure .

With regards the Jersey Boys,  there are a couple of groups doing the rounds on the ships and  one on RCI does have an original  Broadway Frankie Valli , his pre build up to the show on the video in  the theatre is all about him winning awards , number of appearances on Broadway etc etc etc. The guy, sorry cannot remember his name but can find out as I personally know someone who used to book the acts onboard ,  does a rap section in the middle of his theatre show with the boys which quite frankly got on my nerves, you are either Frankie Valli or not !!! 

 

 

EDIT - Ryan Molloy was the Broadway  star who is in the Frankie Valli  group onboard RCI 

Edited April 1, 2023 by heatherb1958

[gsmt47471015]

27 minutes ago, Denarius said:

But probably not a bit like the real (Frankie Valli and the) Four Seasons, who did not dance around singing but were a real band who played instruments as well. As in this archive video from 1962.

 

We saw the real Frankie Valli perform last year , I believe he's touching ninety and he couldn't move very well but boy oh boy he hit every note, Though I doubt we will see him on a cruise ship😄 

[terrierjohn]

1 minute ago, gsmt47471015 said:

We saw the real Frankie Valli perform last year , I believe he's touching ninety and he couldn't move very well but boy oh boy he hit every note, Though I doubt we will see him on a cruise ship😄 

It looks very much as though the instruments were merely props, to give the impression that they could play them. Most of the videos of the 4 seasons hits that we saw on TV were instrument free.

[Denarius]

35 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

It looks very much as though the instruments were merely props, to give the impression that they could play them. Most of the videos of the 4 seasons hits that we saw on TV were instrument free.

Whilst they were obviously miming on the clip I posted earlier (their guitars were not plugged in!) they are plugged in on this one.

 

And This Wikipedia entry confirms that they did play insruments

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Four_Seasons_(band)

Edited April 1, 2023 by Denarius
Post expanded

[Interestedcruisefan]

3 hours ago, heatherb1958 said:

Having cruised extensively on all classes of ships with RCI from Vision class to Oasis class and cruised last year 3 times on Anthem I would say RCI have the edge over P&O with regards theatre shows. We have cruised on Britannia,  Ventura , Iona and Azura , all 4 ships since October 21. 

We have many cruises on other lines under our belts but you want comparisons with these 2. 

 

What I do like about P&O is  their pricing  in 2 tiers , Saver and Select . I like that gratuities are included,  drinks prices onboard are  very reasonable , so much so we  would never buy a drinks package . We get 6 free drinks a day with RCI and do use them ! On P&O we can take a litre of  spirits onboard per person for in cabin consumption where the room steward will happily supply the ice and sliced lemons 😎.  

We buy a bottle of wine at dinner and finish it in a bar somewhere onboard then buy other drinks as required.  

We went to the Limelight club twice on Britannia and once on Iona , both fab experiences , we saw Toyah Wilcox, Gareth Gates plus Ray Quinn . It is NOT just a show but a speciality meal followed by the artist performance, I would liken it to a supper club.  

We didn't care too much about our first P&O experience on Britannia  but weighing everything up with what you get for their pricing  they grew on us . We have Iona and Britannia booked again and rising up in their loyalty programme which isn't as good as RCI's but currently we get 7.5% off all purchases onboard including the shops , not to be sniffed at .

 

Food is subjective,  we have never starved on any ship we have been on even on the Costa Smeralda where I described the food onboard as inedible !!! 

P&O's speciality restaurant prices are far cheaper than RCI , went to Epicurian twice , lovely service and experience . 

I find when travelling with close friends on a cruise you tend to overlook  the niggles and have fun regardless. 

Have a fantastic time .

 

Spot on

 

I actually feel a bit sorry for people who come back from holidays talking about all  the things they didn't like rather  than the things they did like

 

Life's too short surely?

[Interestedcruisefan]

1 hour ago, Yorkypete said:

'All im saying is it's a cast recruited from auditions to work on a cruise ship same as Headliners cast. But they they specialise doing one show rather than several' From this comment you are suggesting they were recruited to work on a ship. Wrong. They may have been recruited and auditioned to work on Broadway...as all shows are whether West End or Broadway (even Lloyd Webber does this) but they were NOT recruited to work specifically on a ship . They were performing on Broadway before hand and returned to land based theatres after the cruise.. Who is Mary Mac? Anyway..IMO the acts on RCI are vastly superior to P&O ..and are FREE!

Again you are mixing up my comments. The Broadway show casts on the boat 100 per cent are recruited via auditions to perform that show as cruise entertainers for RC

 

The Jersey Boys shows you see on RC are professional tribute acts some of whom may have performed on Broadway or the west end and some may not

 

Professional acts no different to other professional acts that you see on all the cruise lines to compliment the theatre shows 

 

Just that you happened to love the Jersey Boys. Which I'm not questioning. The ones I saw on RC were very good also and I enjoyed them. But it's not a show straight from Broadway. Its just a tribute act.  Some you like some you don't.

 

Personal choice. 

[Interestedcruisefan]

1 hour ago, heatherb1958 said:

For info  @Yorkypete - the big Broadway shows on RCI which include/ have included  Grease, Hairspray,  Mama Mia , We will rock you , Cats ,  they had Chicago on Allure now swapped for Mama Mia.  Liberty of the seas had Saturday Night  Fever , not been on her for years so not sure if still onboard but had the privilege of being onboard for the Theatre rehearsals before launched. All the casts in these shows are onboard for 6 months + then swap out for a new cast , barring injuries or sickness or just fed up and want to leave . RCI have their own production studios in Florida  and every ship in the fleet has it's own stage where the cast learn the shows for each ship with having final dress rehearsals onboard the actual ship. Bizarrely even the oldest ships in the fleet still have their own stage set but the older smaller ships have the more interesting itineraries,  usually,  so the cast don't mind learning those old antiquated routines . It costs a lot of money to put on the Broadway shows and they  will be onboard for  at least 5 years , though  all the older ships are still running their original shows !! 

I have seen We Will Rock you twice on Anthem , Curly Watts from Corrie was in it the first time then the cast changed , didn't care for that show but love Mama Mia on Allure .

With regards the Jersey Boys,  there are a couple of groups doing the rounds on the ships and  one on RCI does have an original  Broadway Frankie Valli , his pre build up to the show on the video in  the theatre is all about him winning awards , number of appearances on Broadway etc etc etc. The guy, sorry cannot remember his name but can find out as I personally know someone who used to book the acts onboard ,  does a rap section in the middle of his theatre show with the boys which quite frankly got on my nerves, you are either Frankie Valli or not !!! 

 

 

EDIT - Ryan Molloy was the Broadway  star who is in the Frankie Valli  group onboard RCI 

 

 

Here they are on anthem of the seas last year

 

They sounded better when I saw them live tbh

[Tapi]

On 3/30/2023 at 2:04 PM, Yorkypete said:

P&O are cheaper...and it shows.

 

On 3/30/2023 at 3:38 PM, suech1970 said:

Just returned from 2 weeks on P&O Britannia and totally stunned as to how poor the service and complimentary food was on board.  

Thanks to everybody who has commented on this thread since we are first time P&O cruisers as well! All opinions and reviews are greatly appreciated. 

 

We’re from the USA, and outside of these cruise message boards, it hasn’t been easy to get information about P&O since it’s not marketed or advertised over here. Just finding one travel agency in the USA that could book this cruise for us was a tough task.  
 

Yes, I’ll admit it. I was initially drawn to P&O because the price was about 40% cheaper than what Celebrity or Royal were charging for a similar itinerary. But we’re truly looking forward to our upcoming cruise on the Britannia this summer! We’ll make sure to go with realistic expectations at par with what we paid. 
 

Thanks again for all the comments. Keep them coming. 

Edited April 1, 2023 by Tapi

[Interestedcruisefan]

3 hours ago, Yorkypete said:

'All im saying is it's a cast recruited from auditions to work on a cruise ship same as Headliners cast. But they they specialise doing one show rather than several' From this comment you are suggesting they were recruited to work on a ship. Wrong. They may have been recruited and auditioned to work on Broadway...as all shows are whether West End or Broadway (even Lloyd Webber does this) but they were NOT recruited to work specifically on a ship . They were performing on Broadway before hand and returned to land based theatres after the cruise.. Who is Mary Mac? Anyway..IMO the acts on RCI are vastly superior to P&O ..and are FREE!

Mary Mac. Is a drag artist from Scotland. I was very dubious about booking to see her in Limelight. But wouldnt hesitate to watch her again. Very funny show and finishes her shows with a song and dance medley that's all over YouTube. If you ever get the chance to see her do so. And if you see that medley you will quite literally never be able to forget her name! The crowd on Arvia loved her. She sold out Arvia 5 nights in a row. Some paid more than once to see the same show.

 

Videos don't do her justice but here's the medley she does at the end.

 

 

Ps she doesn't swear on P and O. But there's a couple of swear words at the start of this clip to avoid if swearing offends

 

Edited April 1, 2023 by Interestedcruisefan