Booking Theatre Seats

[WestonOne]

For a cruise coming up shortly on Arcadia, The web page shows this under entertainments.

We are in a linked booking of two pairs of couples.

How does this work?  Are seats numbered?  Do we have to co-ordinate with the other couple to sit together?  

When they said this for my trip on Iona towards the end of the covid restriction when they were sailing with half capacity the web site required reservations but the theatre itself said they were not bothering, and just sit anywhere.

[WestonOne]

Sorry!
 

Edited April 10, 2023 by WestonOne

[Interestedcruisefan]

On Arvia you pre-booked seats but although seats were numbered you weren't given specific seats

 

So you just sat where you want

 

I believe it will be the same on the other ships?

 

I think pre-booking is just to ensure there's room for everyone and means you don't have to get to the theatre early and queue for seats for busy shows and times that might have been over subscribed  without pre-booking

 

It allows the ship to spread capacity more evenly across early, middle and late shows

 

So you and your friends could pre book separately and just walk to the theatre together about ten mins before your show time begins

 

Or earlier if you want bigger choice of where to sit

 

On Arvia five or ten mins before you would still get good seats when we went

 

And we always went to the 8.30pm shows which used to be the ones that you had to get there very early for to be sure of a seat

Edited April 10, 2023 by Interestedcruisefan

[Interestedcruisefan]

On Arvia you pre-booked seats but although seats were numbered you weren't given specific seats

 

So you just sat where you want

 

I believe it will be the same on the other ships?

 

I think pre-booking is just to ensure there's room for everyone and means you don't have to get to the theatre early and queue for seats for busy shows and times that might have been over subscribed  without pre-booking

 

It allows the ship to spread capacity more evenly across early, middle and late shows

 

So you and your friends could pre book separately and just walk to the theatre together about ten mins before your show time begins

 

Or earlier if you want bigger choice of where to sit

 

On Arvia five or ten mins before you would still get good seats when we went

 

And we always went to the 8.30pm shows which used to be the ones that you had to get there very early for to be sure of a seat

 

Allowing online pre-booking of theatre shows to guarantee seats has been a huge plus for us of using the app. 

Edited April 10, 2023 by Interestedcruisefan

[WestonOne]

Thanks for your reply.  I had double-posted the question and while I was deleting one your answer came through.  I could try and reverse the deletions but I suspect I would make things worse.

But once again, thanks for your comment.  I have posted a copy of it to the others.

[jaydee6969]

We recently came back from a cruise on Azura and the pre-booking of entertainment had stopped.  Back to the old system of turn up and go in to the theatre and grab your seats.

 

As your Arcadia indicates above, the note for entertainment indicated pre-booking was required before the cruise but the option never went live.  It is still showing for our June cruise on Azura, but don't expect to need to pre-book.

 

If your booking system does not go live on the date shown, it may indicate no booking any more.  I seem to recall P&O stating a slow roll back to pre-c restrictions for the smaller ships.

[True Devonian]

59 minutes ago, WestonOne said:

Thanks for your reply.  I had double-posted the question and while I was deleting one your answer came through.  I could try and reverse the deletions but I suspect I would make things worse.

But once again, thanks for your comment.  I have posted a copy of it to the others.

We have just returned from 35 nights on Ventura and no pre booking was required for the theatre or any other entertainment, you just turn up.

[Interestedcruisefan]

Do the theatres on the smaller ships ever get full at busy times?

 

Do you have to head to the theatre early to secure seats at popular shows or times or not on these ships?

 

That's what I remember happening on  cruises pre-covid on all the cruise lines we used

 

Comedy Clubs on Carnival you had to queue for 30 mins plus before doors opened (45 mins before the show started) just to be able to get seats

 

I would like to think Carnival use pre-booking for stuff like that now

 

 

Edited April 10, 2023 by Interestedcruisefan

[jaydee6969]

12 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

Do the theatres on the smaller ships ever get full at busy times?

 

Do you have to head to the theatre early to secure seats at popular shows or times or not on these ships?

 

That's what I remember happening on  cruises pre-covid on all the cruise lines we used

 

Comedy Clubs on Carnival you had to queue for 30 mins plus before doors opened (45 mins before the show started) just to be able to get seats

 

I would like to think Carnival use pre-booking for stuff like that now

 

 

 

The theatre certainly did get full on our recent Azura cruise, and yes get in early for a selection of seats.  But minimal queues to get in, as not checking everyone off on an Ipad.

[Interestedcruisefan]

7 minutes ago, jaydee6969 said:

 

The theatre certainly did get full on our recent Azura cruise, and yes get in early for a selection of seats.  But minimal queues to get in, as not checking everyone off on an Ipad.

You see I find that is a tradition of cruising that's not a good one

 

Having to rush a drink or a meal to start heading to the theatre 45 mins ish before a show starts to then just sit and wait and wait

 

Boring to me and totally unnecessary  in modern times

 

Yet some people seem to just accept it as its what they are used to?

 

In normal theatres as you know. They just ring a bell and you take your seats  ten mins before the show starts 

 

Only on cruises do people accept the above as being ok to happen?

 

And then some people complain when an app allows you to stop having to do it?

 

Lol

 

 

Edited April 10, 2023 by Interestedcruisefan

[CarlaMarie]

43 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

You see I find that is a tradition of cruising that's not a good one

 

Having to rush a drink or a meal to start heading to the theatre 45 mins ish before a show starts to then just sit and wait and wait

 

Boring to me and totally unnecessary  in modern times

 

Yet some people seem to just accept it as its what they are used to?

 

In normal theatres as you know. They just ring a bell and you take your seats  ten mins before the show starts 

 

Only on cruises do people accept the above as being ok to happen?

 

And then some people complain when an app allows you to stop having to do it?

 

Lol

 

 

 

Pre covid (and probably before freedom dining was introduced) there used to be two shows. One for those who had dined at 630pm, and then a later one for those who had dined at 830pm. It used to work ok, and you could just leave the dining room and head to the theatre without having to queue or feel you had to arrive early. This was until those who had dined at 630pm and had already seen the show decided to stay and see it for a second time. Those who were then coming from the 830pm sitting found that the theatre was fairly full already and couldn't find a seat. 

[daiB]

6 hours ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

You see I find that is a tradition of cruising that's not a good one

 

Having to rush a drink or a meal to start heading to the theatre 45 mins ish before a show starts to then just sit and wait and wait

 

Boring to me and totally unnecessary  in modern times

 

Yet some people seem to just accept it as its what they are used to?

 

In normal theatres as you know. They just ring a bell and you take your seats  ten mins before the show starts 

 

Only on cruises do people accept the above as being ok to happen?

 

And then some people complain when an app allows you to stop having to do it?

 

Lol

 

 

As far as I understand there is no booking on any ship except Iona and Arvia. I never go to the theatre but my wife does and tells me there are always seats in the theatre. We have been on Ventura, Aurora and Iona recently coming off a back to back on Iona on Saturday. No problem getting a seat at any time on either cruise. Except the Gary Barlow do when there was a raffle for seats. I was forced to go. He was good. Then it was no ticket no entry.

 

Dai 

[Valfan]

41 minutes ago, daiB said:

As far as I understand there is no booking on any ship except Iona and Arvia.  

It's on these two ships plus Britannia that they still ask people to book in advance for Freedom dining and theatre shows, but not on the four smaller, older ships. It's listed on P&O's website under the heading "Here's how My Holiday works differently on each of our ships".

Although I muddled along and managed fine on my 3 recent Iona cruises, as someone with no tablet and no smartphone I'm looking forward to this aspect of my Arcadia cruise starting this week.

[taylordg]

We were on Iona last week. We found that they stopped checks at the start of the show and even if a show was fully booked there were always quite a number of no-shows and you could successfully enter and get a seat a minute or so after the official start time without a booking.

[camant]

Hi, first cruise in a while, certainly since all this pre booking lark started.  Sailing on Britannia 12 May.  I have pre booked entertainment in the theatre and Limelight Club.  What is the procedures I.e. are tickets issued for each show or do I have to show the booking on my phone?

thank you

[Pink-belle]

25 minutes ago, camant said:

Hi, first cruise in a while, certainly since all this pre booking lark started.  Sailing on Britannia 12 May.  I have pre booked entertainment in the theatre and Limelight Club.  What is the procedures I.e. are tickets issued for each show or do I have to show the booking on my phone?

thank you

If you have a booking you just give your stateroom number to the member of staff at the venue entrance.  
There are no tickets issued and no need for you to have a device to show your booking confirmation. 
 

At Limelight you will be escorted to a table, in the theatre it’s open seating so you just proceed inside and sit in the area you prefer.

 

[camant]

Thank you for your help, much appreciated 

[Fionboard]

No pre booking on smaller ships. Just off Aurora. No queues, no problem. On Arcadia in two weeks and expect it to be the same. Only the new ships have these problems. 

[zap99]

17 minutes ago, Fionboard said:

No pre booking on smaller ships. Just off Aurora. No queues, no problem. On Arcadia in two weeks and expect it to be the same. Only the new ships have these problems. 

But it's not really a problem, is it?.🤔

[Fionboard]

4 minutes ago, zap99 said:

But it's not really a problem, is it?.🤔

Judging by the comments on here, it obviously is for some. 

[Ardennais]

On Britannia, last week. I had pre-booked the 10.30 theatre shows before boarding but as we felt rather tired, we decided to change our normal habits so I cancelled them all and booked the 8.30 shows. They were checking by the door and some were fully booked. The theatre was full by about 8.15 and so if you were a bigger group, you might find it difficult to find seats together. In fact, they were mainly single seats free. So it seems that people still like to sit early and chat or just rest before a show. We found the same people sitting in the same area every evening and got chatting to quite a few of them. 

[Ardennais]

This photo was taken at 8.15. 

 

 

[majortom10]

4 hours ago, Fionboard said:

No pre booking on smaller ships. Just off Aurora. No queues, no problem. On Arcadia in two weeks and expect it to be the same. Only the new ships have these problems. 

But you are paying a lot of ££££s for the privilege.

 

[Fionboard]

1 hour ago, majortom10 said:

But you are paying a lot of ££££s for the privilege.

 

You keep banging on about the additional cost of small ships. As I have said before, I get what I pay for and am grateful I can afford it. Each to their own. 

[majortom10]

15 minutes ago, Fionboard said:

You keep banging on about the additional cost of small ships. As I have said before, I get what I pay for and am grateful I can afford it. Each to their own. 

But you keep on banging on about no queues and reservations for theatres etc. Recently off Iona and never queued once for MDR or theatre. 

Edited April 30, 2023 by majortom10