Entertainment Cutback Concerns and Real Disappointment

[Seminole1975]

Beetlejuice The Musical is being added to the Viva. I have never seen it but it was on Broadway for awhile. 

Edited July 20, 2023 by Seminole1975

[JeanKC]

1 minute ago, Seminole1975 said:

Beetlejuice The Musical is being added. Can’t think of what ship. I have never seen it but it was on Broadway for awhile. 

It's going to be on the Viva anyway.

[JCDCA]

26 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

I had heard that.  I also heard they were replacing it with something else, which as of yet, I haven’t heard what that might be.

 

When I was on the “behind the scenes” tour on the Bliss this past Fall, the Show Manager did say that there were shows being developed specifically for NCL to replace Six.  To me, that’s not a bad thing.  Not that SIX wasn’t good…..it just wasn’t my cup of tea.

 

As far as NCL falling behind…falling behind which cruise line?

 

Was on Royal and Celebrity last year, and while their shows were good (when they were performed, which was a crap shoot at 270), NCL still had the edge.

 

Celebrity had smaller shows.  Again, good performances but not the same quality as NCL’s.

Yeah I didn’t love the Royal quantum class entertainment based on one trip.  I do think the theatre shows on the Oasis class beat the NCL shows.  Smaller classes, maybe not.  

[KKB]

4 hours ago, graphicguy said:

 

Was on Royal and Celebrity last year, and while their shows were good (when they were performed, which was a crap shoot at 270), NCL still had the edge.

 

Celebrity had smaller shows.  Again, good performances but not the same quality as NCL’s.

We Will Rock you on RCCL's Anthem was every bit as good as NCL's Broadway shows.

I find Celebrity E-class shows to be darn close as well. (but not the shows on M or S class ships)

 

4 hours ago, chillyw said:

 

My hope is that they get some cool shows that are self-developed like Choir of Man.  

 

Choir of Men was not developed by NCL--it is from London's West End (akin to Broadway).

 

Edited July 20, 2023 by KKB

[MacGuffin3]

18 minutes ago, KKB said:

Choir of Men was not developed by NCL--it is from London's West End 

It didn't open on the West End until last year.  It's been running on the Encore since 2019.

[KKB]

2 minutes ago, MacGuffin3 said:

It didn't open on the West End until last year.  It's been running on the Encore since 2019.

"After its success at the 2017 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, The Choir of Man was licensed for performance at sea by Norwegian Cruise lines"

 

Not created by NCL.

Edited July 20, 2023 by KKB

[MacGuffin3]

5 minutes ago, KKB said:

Not created by NCL.

Didn't say it was, you said it wasn't "developed" by them, which I would argue it was as that was its first major permanent production.  The Edinburgh Fringe is not The West End.

 

Edited July 20, 2023 by MacGuffin3

[KKB]

Just now, MacGuffin3 said:

Didn't say it was, you said it wasn't "developed" by them, which I would argue it was as that was it's first major permanent production.  The Edinburgh Fringe is not The West End.

I stand corrected.

[chillyw]

41 minutes ago, KKB said:

 

Choir of Men was not developed by NCL--it is from London's West End (akin to Broadway

 

You're right - I simplified it.  My understanding is NCL found it at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and then signed them.  Choir of Man was not touring London until after NCL signed them and they started performing on cruises.  I was actually at the last show on the Encore with the original cast, and they had a little celebration because they were finally going to get to tour on land (NCL signed them in 2017, they started performing on NCL in 2018, and they didn't debut on the West End until 2021).

[YVRteacher]

29 minutes ago, MacGuffin3 said:

Didn't say it was, you said it wasn't "developed" by them, which I would argue it was as that was its first major permanent production.  The Edinburgh Fringe is not The West End.

 

Choir of Man was not developed by NCL.

[MacGuffin3]

1 hour ago, YVRteacher said:

Choir of Man was not developed by NCL.

Really, they never made a single change to it after purchasing?
According to this post it was originally a dinner show where they served bratwurst

 

[graphicguy]

Again, based on the chat I had with the Production Manager on the Bliss during the “Behind the Scenes” tour, NCL licenses these shows from the respective production companies who own the licensing.  They have to get all of the shows’ costumes, performances (reviewed by the production companies before they hit the ships’ stages), performer choices, stages and props, etc to be approved.

 

They adhere to the original productions as closely as possible and make changes ONLY to accommodate being on a moving vessel at sea.  And, those changes are minimal.

 

As far as who has better entertainment, I like NCL’s shows.  But, that’s all personal preference.  I think they do a great job with their shows.  Some one else with different taste may not.  Royal has their water shows on their large ships.  Those are fun.  But, I prefer to watch them rehearse more than I do their shows.  Celebrity has had some hits/misses.  I know the EDGE had an interactive show at Eden where the performers tried to interact with the audience.  I liked it.  I think many, given the ages fo the cruisers, found it unnerving.  So, they quit doing it. But, their smaller shows throughout the ship were quite good.  Carnival….I dunno….seems their performers and performances were a couple of tiers beneath the others.  Comedy was good, though.

 

As we’ve seen here, Choir of Man is a great show in my estimation.  First I heard someone didn’t like it was in here.  

 

I know people who love(d) SIX.  Personally, I wasn’t a fan.  Didn’t make it bad.  And, that’s not an indictment of those who do/did like it.  It just didn’t click with me and I squirmed in my seat until it was over.

 

Sounds like they’re replacing it after its contract runs out.  And, from the Production Manager’s info, they’re developing its replacement in house.  I know NCL has moved to rotating entertainment performances in places like Illusionarium, Cirque, etc.  I think I saw a magic show in one of those venues.  It was “OK”.  But, the shows they had there previously were just “OK”, too.  Except, I was pretty amazed at the Cirque show given the performers were doing acrobatics on a moving ship.

 

NCL has upgrade the entertainment in the Cavern Club and Syd’s.  They used to have rotating entertainers in those venues.  Now, they have excellent band performances there.  Those are scripted and developed by NCL, playing music very popular with their main audiences (Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, etc).

 

Different strokes!

[UKstages]

there are misunderstandings here about how shows are “developed,” created and licensed.

NCL didn’t develop “choir of man,” they bought it and licensed it for NCL ships. its journey was very similar to that of “six.” NCL scouted it at edinburgh, made a deal and got in on the ground floor.

 

the syd norman concept was developed by the “rock of ages” team. while unique to NCL, it is a licensed property.

 

NCL has its own in-house production company that, for the most part, produces shows created by others. they cast the shows, they direct the shows, they light and costume the shows and build the scenery, but they don’t own the shows. (there are exceptions, such as “elements”).

 

in the case of an existing property like “summer” or “six” or “jersey boys” or “beetlejuice,” any changes made to the script (chiefly to shorten the show) are done with the permission of the original creators.

 

NCL also books independent contractors/solo acts such as comedians, and lounge performers.

[AstoriaPreppy]

16 hours ago, KKB said:

We Will Rock you on RCCL's Anthem was every bit as good as NCL's Broadway shows.

I find Celebrity E-class shows to be darn close as well. (but not the shows on M or S class ships)

 

Agree totally. The main theater shows on the Celebrity Edge blew anything NCL has done in-house out of the water... the aerialist in the water feature (on a cruise ship!) was astounding.

We were also fans of We Will Rock You, as it was perfectly campy as a cruise ship musical.

[graphicguy]

1 hour ago, UKstages said:

there are misunderstandings here about how shows are “developed,” created and licensed.

NCL didn’t develop “choir of man,” they bought it and licensed it for NCL ships. its journey was very similar to that of “six.” NCL scouted it at edinburgh, made a deal and got in on the ground floor.

 

the syd norman concept was developed by the “rock of ages” team. while unique to NCL, it is a licensed property.

 

NCL has its own in-house production company that, for the most part, produces shows created by others. they cast the shows, they direct the shows, they light and costume the shows and build the scenery, but they don’t own the shows. (there are exceptions, such as “elements”).

 

in the case of an existing property like “summer” or “six” or “jersey boys” or “beetlejuice,” any changes made to the script (chiefly to shorten the show) are done with the permission of the original creators.

 

NCL also books independent contractors/solo acts such as comedians, and lounge performers.

I maybe misread or misheard, but I thought the Syd's shows were internally developed by NCL.  If so, kudos to the NCL development team.  I consider the Syd's shows among the best at sea on any cruise line.

[MacGuffin3]

On 7/21/2023 at 6:36 AM, UKstages said:

there are misunderstandings here about how shows are “developed,” created and licensed.

Thanks for the info, I wasn't aware of how specifically the term is used in this case.

[Shidah]

Agree on several fronts, Six -  not my cup of tea, Syd Normans - so good that I now only book cruises that have it.  NCL should develop similar shows to meet different demographics.  Maybe a big band era show playing the same time as Syds for older folks?  

[chiefy_mom]

On 7/16/2023 at 9:43 AM, Seminole1975 said:

My son and DIL are in MDQ on the Getaway currently. They say MDQ is safe for now. We are going to see them in August. They tell me they get their exact schedule for the shows week to week. I too wanted to make dinner ressies around the show and they said it was too soon to know what nights they would be performing. They did say MDQ is usually performed towards the latter part of the cruise. They are also in Broadway Unplugged and have to cover for Burn the Floor as the singers sometimes. 

I saw them on the June 24th sailing.  MDQ was great, but I have to say I REALLY loved Broadway Unplugged.

[yakcruiser]

2 hours ago, Shidah said:

Agree on several fronts, Six -  not my cup of tea, Syd Normans - so good that I now only book cruises that have it.  NCL should develop similar shows to meet different demographics.  Maybe a big band era show playing the same time as Syds for older folks?  

I don't think there are many people left of the big band generation who are still cruising.  Now an Elvis impersonator maybe? 

[chiefy_mom]

On 7/12/2023 at 11:17 PM, cusematt4 said:

Hi All,

 

We used to really enjoy cruising with NCL for their entertainment.

We had loved the multiple nightly options of shows (fly on acts and production), in addition to multiple different bands.

 

A few years ago, there were 3 full bands, in addition to 3 duos plus 3 different piano players.

 

Our cruise on the Getaway a few months ago was incredibly disappointing regarding all aspects of entertainment.

 

There was 1 band (reggae + all - they were awesome), 2 duos and the dueling pianos (no seprate painists as usual)  Others weren't sick or on leave according to the onboard team but were just cut.  This is half of what was advertised and what we had previously seen with NCL.

 

There were multiple nights of no professional entertainment.  The show in the Illusionariam was eliminated and the rock band at Syds that was very heavily promoted was eliminted. 

 

On an 8 night cruise, there were

-2 "braodway" shows which were really well done but which we heard are being eliminated for the most part across NCL.

-1 fly on magician who was awful and did some card tricks shown on a broken out of focus screen in the theater

-2 of the worst comedians we've ever seen who did the same show every night they performed

*4 nights of no professional entertainment

 

We voiced our entertainment concerns and disappointments to the cruise director who agreed with us and said it was completley out of their team's control as the budgeting and scheduling cuts were all being done by corporate.

Does anyone have any insight as to why NCL is ruining what helped distinguish them from other lines.  RCL seems to be overtaking them in entertainment from the braodway shows to the multiple fly on acts and plethora of live music.

 

I hope NCL reconsiders these entertainment cutbacks and they are noticable and many are frustrated at the decreased product from NCL.  I know we can stick with other lines, but we enjoy the variety that RCL and NCL each provided.

 

Thanks.

We were on the Getaway for 9 days in June and had “professional entertainment” as you call it, every night. There was something in headliners, the illusionarium, theater and Sydney Norman’s every night.  Plus multiple musicians scattered throughout the bars nightly.

[Seminole1975]

48 minutes ago, chiefy_mom said:

I saw them on the June 24th sailing.  MDQ was great, but I have to say I REALLY loved Broadway Unplugged.

I can’t wait to see it!

[SoloAlaska]

1 hour ago, yakcruiser said:

I don't think there are many people left of the big band generation who are still cruising.  Now an Elvis impersonator maybe? 

As someone in her 30s I think Elvis impersonator would be great. Big band my 83 year old grandmother wouldn’t even be interested in to be honest. 

[UKstages]

On 7/21/2023 at 11:12 AM, graphicguy said:

I maybe misread or misheard, but I thought the Syd's shows were internally developed by NCL.

syd’s is a concept that was developed at NCL’s request, yes. and it is unique to NCL ships.
 

but they went to the team behind “rock of ages” and said - essentially - give us something like that. hold the plot, we just want a musical revue that evokes the same feelings in a club space in the spirit of CBGBs and the fillmore east. so it was created by the rock of ages team and not by NCL’s internal talent team, but NCL did ask them to create it.
 

i believe the original cast members also appeared in “rock of ages” on the breakaway and the entire club concept is a tribute to the grandfather of the guy who wrote “rock of ages.” (not sure if his grandad’s name was actually syd or not. I doubt it. in any case, “syd” is like tommy bahama… no such person apparently exists.)

 

here’s an old casting notice that mentions the “rock of ages” affiliation:

 

https://www.backstage.com/casting/syd-normans-pour-house-2556300/

 

 

[Cruising Lynne]

6 hours ago, Shidah said:

Agree on several fronts, Six -  not my cup of tea, Syd Normans - so good that I now only book cruises that have it.  NCL should develop similar shows to meet different demographics.  Maybe a big band era show playing the same time as Syds for older folks?  Hi

If you like Syd's Fleetwood Mac show, you are old. Big band is for really old people LOL 

[UKstages]

the big band era was long gone when I was born.

 

i love the big band sound, as well as what would be described as “crooners,” the era for which had also long since passed by the time i was born.