No Headliners on Arcadia

[WestonOne]

We went for a table of eight this time.  No one is impressed that there appears ro be no 'Headliners' or similae on this cruise.  It is our third night and we have had the same guy on the piano twice in the Palladium.

 

There have been a lot of cutbacks but that is a major one.  It may just be an oddity of the schedule but it looks as if they are not on board.  Nor is there a photograph board showing them, so it does not look encouraging.

Edited June 24, 2023 by WestonOne

[AndyMichelle]

1 guy on the piano in the theatre??? 

Sounds odd, with no explanation. 

Surely 'Pulse' must be knocking out some tunes in 1 of the venues? 

Andy

[molecrochip]

It could well be that they are I’ll and likely disembarked. There is still Covid going around not to mention Chickenpox.

 

If it’s one person then they can cope but not if it’s a large number.

[tring]

18 minutes ago, WestonOne said:

We went for a table of eight this time.  No one is impressed that there appears ro be no 'Headliners' or similae on this cruise.  It is our third night and we have had the same guy on the piano twice in the Palladium.

 

There have been a lot of cutbacks but that is a major one.  It may just be an oddity of the schedule but it looks as if they are not on board.  Nor is there a photograph board showing them, so it does not look encouraging.

 

We were on the previous cruise and it was announced the headliners on then were doing their last performance the night before last after being on the ship for I think six months - sounded a long time anyway.  We do not go to the shows, so did not see them, but they were doing others things the following day. 

 

Hence, I assume a new group will be practicing in their new surroundings, the person responsible for costumes will be making necessary adjustments to them and they will need to be photographed for the board and have the photos put up there.

 

Edited June 24, 2023 by tring

[tring]

11 minutes ago, molecrochip said:

It could well be that they are I’ll and likely disembarked. There is still Covid going around not to mention Chickenpox.

 

If it’s one person then they can cope but not if it’s a large number.

 

Please see my previous reply molecrochip, which was made at a very similar time to yours.  You may be able to place a better time line on the preparations the new group will need to make, assuming a new group will have been embarked in Southampton on Thursday (the change over day).

 

Hope my comment helps clarify the situation.

 

Edited June 24, 2023 by tring

[Palaceman]

54 minutes ago, tring said:

 

We were on the previous cruise and it was announced the headliners on then were doing their last performance the night before last after being on the ship for I think six months - sounded a long time anyway.  We do not go to the shows, so did not see them, but they were doing others things the following day. 

 

Hence, I assume a new group will be practicing in their new surroundings, the person responsible for costumes will be making necessary adjustments to them and they will need to be photographed for the board and have the photos put up there.

 

I was also on the previous cruise. Yes The Headliners did disembark on Thurs 22/6 having been on since January, including the World cruise. A much deserved break. Talk of covid or chickenpox is pure speculation and scaremongering 

[WestonOne]

1 hour ago, tring said:

 

Please see my previous reply molecrochip, which was made at a very similar time to yours.  You may be able to place a better time line on the preparations the new group will need to make, assuming a new group will have been embarked in Southampton on Thursday (the change over day).

 

Hope my comment helps clarify the situation.

 

We happenes to meet the Entertainments Manager in the lift.  It looks like you are right and it is connected with the changeover to a new set of singers and dancers. He says their first show ahould be tomorrow.

Edited June 24, 2023 by WestonOne

[daiB]

22 minutes ago, WestonOne said:

We happenes to meet the Entertainments Manager in the lift.  It looks like you are right and it is connected with the changeover to a new set of singers and dancers. He says their first show ahould be tomorrow.

Always an answer to scare stories.

[molecrochip]

52 minutes ago, WestonOne said:

We happenes to meet the Entertainments Manager in the lift.  It looks like you are right and it is connected with the changeover to a new set of singers and dancers. He says their first show ahould be tomorrow.

Should be 3-4 days. They do static rehearsals on land but need a few days to get used to the moving state elements, lighting etc.

 

As for photos - most ships don’t have them now. I doubt it’s in the priority list.

[tring]

47 minutes ago, Palaceman said:

I was also on the previous cruise. Yes The Headliners did disembark on Thurs 22/6 having been on since January, including the World cruise. A much deserved break. Talk of covid or chickenpox is pure speculation and scaremongering 

 

I think we need to admit a number of people were coughing at times towards the end of the cruise, I was one of them.  I took a covid test on our return home and it was negative, yet I was probably at my worst that night, so I would have expected to test positive at that stage if it had been covid.  As the vast majority of people will have been vaccinated, it is unlikely that covid would be any worse than any other respiratory bug though.

 

I had a hospital apt late the next afternoon and rang the Appointments Coordinator at 8am the next day as I thought they may want to re-allocate my apt. even though I could report a negative covid test.  I was told that if I was able to make it, go there (resting and taking a couple of paracetamol was suggested).  She then said, "Frankly, covid does not exist anymore".  I mentioned that to the receptionist when I got there and she laughed, saying that we all have colds now.  If it is good enough for a hospital, it is good enough for me.  Realistically though, I am sure there is covid and other things about and the cruise lines do need to be careful.

 

[WestonOne]

10 hours ago, tring said:

 

We were on the previous cruise and it was announced the headliners on then were doing their last performance the night before last after being on the ship for I think six months - sounded a long time anyway.

 

Many years ago we were on a set table with a spare seat which the singers and dancers took turns to occupy night by night.  As it happens this was also their end of contract trip and every one had the same worry: what happens now?  Rather obviously, when they are on the ship they cannot go to auditions for their next contract and especially if they have been on the ship a few times they worry if they are getting a bit old or stale so they are not at all confident the company will offer them a new contract.  

They all seem to worry greatly as their contract comes to an end.

[tring]

6 hours ago, WestonOne said:

Many years ago we were on a set table with a spare seat which the singers and dancers took turns to occupy night by night.  As it happens this was also their end of contract trip and every one had the same worry: what happens now?  Rather obviously, when they are on the ship they cannot go to auditions for their next contract and especially if they have been on the ship a few times they worry if they are getting a bit old or stale so they are not at all confident the company will offer them a new contract.  

They all seem to worry greatly as their contract comes to an end.

 

We know an actor and, yes, although being on. ship can be more limiting, some other contracts will not give time for other work searching either.  I understand that the time between jobs is called resting and it is not unusual for people in entertainment to spend more time resting than actually working, so a way of life really and a career choice.

 

Any job that has insecurities in that way is likely to be more stressful than in the past though, especially with covid days having caused a lack of any work at all for most of them for a couple of recent years.  Taking casual employment in other roles (e.g. working in a pub) will not be uncommon for many of them.  Others will train for other jobs as they get older, but will have some great memories of working their way around the world on cruise ships, if that is what they have done.  Others will develop a very successful career in show business.

 

Edited June 25, 2023 by tring

[Jazzytelly]

When we were on Arvia it was the current Headliners last cruise and a new group were boarding as we got off. We went to the ‘Meet the Headliners’ interviews they do during one day in the theatre and they said the next group would only do two different shows the first cruise and gradually add new shows over the next few cruises. ( That happened to us on Ventura before Covid once where they had just boarded and we only got two shows) 
 

Hopefully for the Christmas cruise on Arcadia they will be up and running with a full programme, as I love watching the Headliners.

[molecrochip]

On 6/24/2023 at 8:51 PM, Palaceman said:

I was also on the previous cruise. Yes The Headliners did disembark on Thurs 22/6 having been on since January, including the World cruise. A much deserved break. Talk of covid or chickenpox is pure speculation and scaremongering 

Calm down. Covid/Chickenpox was only a possibility, as it has now affected most of the fleet. No one is scaremongering!

[snaefell]

You learn something new every day,I really expected that as one act left another would immediately take over,bad luck if you are on the cruise where the changeover happens.

On the 19 night Med cruise in May there was quite a variety of entertainment,besides the Headliners,not our sort of thing but they were energetic & colourful,Eric & Ernie,an Elton John tribute,a couple of decent comedians,the superb Four Harps,all in the theatre,Pulse were impressive in the Globe,there were two buskers,Ged & Luke at various venues around the ship,although Luke disappeared late on in the cruise,there was also a band on in the Crows Nest one night which to us didn't seem to fit very well,much preferred Britann's Crows Nest with a pianist,much more relaxing!

There was quite a bit of coughing on board which increased noticeably during the cruise,' luckily' it was largely ignored due to the Gastric Enteritis Outbreak!

[Cruisemeister2002]

On 6/24/2023 at 9:46 PM, molecrochip said:

Should be 3-4 days. They do static rehearsals on land but need a few days to get used to the moving state elements, lighting etc.

 

As for photos - most ships don’t have them now. I doubt it’s in the priority list.

Photo's with me is a sore subject. Why ? not because I am a great lover of someone with a camera taking photo's of you at every opportunity and charging an arm and a leg for them. But because P&O advertise on their website various packages, for birthdays, special occasions or like myself believe the ultimate Celebration Package to be a nice surprise as there's a bottle of bubby when you get to your cabin, continental breakie in bed with a 1/2 bottle of bubbly, dinner for two twice in a speciality restaurant, a facial or massage each, champagne flutes, dressing gowns and slippers (whopee) and a formal photo in frame. A tad difficult when as with our recent cruise you have no photographer and no photo frames. A photographer did appear halfway therough a 35 night cruise, but we had to book him and pay £180 for 5 photo's. Mind you, they were excellent and we were refunded for the photo and frame we should have received. But surely if they are not having a photographer onboard they should not be advertising packages that have to be paid upfront which includes formal photo and frame. 

[WestonOne]

I am finding the entertainment on Arcadia very lacklustre at the moment.  The Headliners have now done two shows, but according to someone on our table one was identical to a show rhey saw five years ago. There is Pulse, but as far as other music outside the Palladium goes it seems to be limited to two cocktail pianists.  Comparing this to my Cunard trip a few months ago: that had the cocktail pianists and a Ukrainian string trio and an Irish band and  a specialist guitarist who gave talks and demonstrations every day on different genres.  The other 'deck performers' were also on daily or close to it.

 

In short: I am with my brother in law on his third cruise and he was saying if this was his first he would not book again.  Not because it was bad, but because it did not feel anything special.

 

 

[Jazzytelly]

Can you access the theatre from all 3 levels showing on the deck plan it isn’t clear?  Also is there a balcony level and a lower level.  

Edited July 8, 2023 by Jazzytelly

[jh1809]

1 hour ago, Jazzytelly said:

Can you access the theatre from all 3 levels showing on the deck plan it isn’t clear?  Also is there a balcony level and a lower level.  

From memory, yes and yes.

[Jazzytelly]

43 minutes ago, jh1809 said:

From memory, yes and yes.

Okay thanks