Gary Barlow Iona

[smokey01]

We are on Iona 5th October and Gary Barlow is playing the night we overnight in Lisbon. 
 

I know from previous cruises it cost £10 each for the raffle and if successful both of us will get tickets, but that we cannot select which show i.e. 8pm or 10pm.

But if successful how chaotic is the theatre: do people queue hours before?
 

If once seated can you go out and get back in again? I do suffer from restless legs so if I have to sit for ages beforehand to get a decent seat it is a bit of an issue. Can I leave my mother seated while I have a walk around until nearer showtime?

 

how long is the show? 

[Somerset Cruiser]

From 1 experience,

Some queued for hours beforehand, allegedly. Presumably for good seat. There's no need as once you have a ticket you are guaranteed a seat.

Once you have seats either you or your mother could leave the theatre and return.

It is very busy as it's a full house, but not chaotic. 

The show we saw was very good, 

1 hour and not too much waffle, he had his own band with him.

 

Good luck with the raffle. 

[Neecy1]

18 hours ago, smokey01 said:

We are on Iona 5th October and Gary Barlow is playing the night we overnight in Lisbon. 
 

I know from previous cruises it cost £10 each for the raffle and if successful both of us will get tickets, but that we cannot select which show i.e. 8pm or 10pm.

But if successful how chaotic is the theatre: do people queue hours before?
 

If once seated can you go out and get back in again? I do suffer from restless legs so if I have to sit for ages beforehand to get a decent seat it is a bit of an issue. Can I leave my mother seated while I have a walk around until nearer showtime?

 

how long is the show? 

We saw Gary in November 2022. He was excellent. We queued for about half an hour but I wanted a good seat. The show was about an hour long. It was fab. Even my husband enjoyed it! 

[smokey01]

Thanks Somerset Cruiser and Neecy1

[Bell Boy]

Have I understood the original post correctly 🤔 -  There will be people like me who have been Attracted to book a P&O cruise , Attracted by the fact that Garry Barlow is the entertainer onboard, then once I'm onboard I find out it's all about a Lottery,  and then it's an extra payment of £10 - not only that folks queuing for an hour or two.  Are you seasoned  P&Oers  serious , have I missed something .

   

[terrierjohn]

40 minutes ago, Bell Boy said:

Have I understood the original post correctly 🤔 -  There will be people like me who have been Attracted to book a P&O cruise , Attracted by the fact that Garry Barlow is the entertainer onboard, then once I'm onboard I find out it's all about a Lottery,  and then it's an extra payment of £10 - not only that folks queuing for an hour or two.  Are you seasoned  P&Oers  serious , have I missed something .

   

You may miss out on the lottery as well and not get a ticket.

[Bell Boy]

1 hour ago, terrierjohn said:

You may miss out on the lottery as well and not get a ticket.

Is a lottery to see Barlow in concert  made known as all part of the Booking conditions. 

[Megabear2]

19 minutes ago, Bell Boy said:

Is a lottery to see Barlow in concert  made known as all part of the Booking conditions. 

From the website:

 

Seats are limited and can be won in an on-board raffle, with tickets priced at £10 and all proceeds donated to Teenage Cancer Trust and Child Bereavement UK. 

 

 

[terrierjohn]

2 hours ago, Bell Boy said:

Is a lottery to see Barlow in concert  made known as all part of the Booking conditions. 

Probably not, because like most guest entertainers, his availability will not be known until a few months before sailing. But the precedent was set when Barlow did his first show on board, and I understand the proceeds go to charity and not to Barliw or P&O.

[S1971]

Is this the start of something new, paying for celebrity entertainment in the main theatres???

 

With around 5200 guests onboard there is a fair chance there'll be a lot of disappointment.

[lincslady]

Just as long as everyone realises that they are effectively giving money to two worthwhile charities, which I am pretty sure is the case, and a seat at the concert is a bonus if you get it.  This does need to be made absolutely clear by P and O, otherwise it could be considered a bit of a con.

[S1971]

As @Megabear2 has posted it appears to be advertised on their website, so one would assume it will also be clearly stated once onboard.

 

Good causes indeed, but can guarantee there will still be moaning and whinging from those who are unsuccessful 🙂.

[yorkshirephil]

6 minutes ago, S1971 said:

 

 

Good causes indeed, but can guarantee there will still be moaning and whinging from those who are unsuccessful 🙂.

I am sure you are right, some will complain, I would imagine that some who do get to see him will also complain that he wasn't very good and not worth a tenner even though it was for a good cause. Such is life. 

I would be happy to pay to see someone I liked or a better class of act but if P&O were to put such acts on in the main theatre with a surcharge I am sure there would also be complaints.

[S1971]

2 hours ago, yorkshirephil said:

I would be happy to pay to see someone I liked or a better class of act but if P&O were to put such acts on in the main theatre with a surcharge I am sure there would also be complaint

 

The Limelight Club I would imagine is P&O's main surcharge for what they would consider more celebrity based entertainment.

 

Should they start to do it in the main theatre for profitable means, I can only imagine the amount of complaints, probably justifiable if it means less Headliner shows.

[zap99]

2 hours ago, S1971 said:

As @Megabear2 has posted it appears to be advertised on their website, so one would assume it will also be clearly stated once onboard.

 

Good causes indeed, but can guarantee there will still be moaning and whinging from those who are unsuccessful 🙂.

There will also be winging from people who are not even on this cruise and didn't know it was happening until they read this thread.🤣

[zap99]

2 hours ago, yorkshirephil said:

I am sure you are right, some will complain, I would imagine that some who do get to see him will also complain that he wasn't very good and not worth a tenner even though it was for a good cause. Such is life. 

I would be happy to pay to see someone I liked or a better class of act but if P&O were to put such acts on in the main theatre with a surcharge I am sure there would also be complaints.

We aren't on that cruise, but if we were, would be happy to pay the £10. We pay money every month to charities that don't directly affect us.

[yorkshirephil]

2 minutes ago, zap99 said:

We aren't on that cruise, but if we were, would be happy to pay the £10. We pay money every month to charities that don't directly affect us.

Maybe have a whip round and get him to stay at home😁

[zap99]

1 hour ago, yorkshirephil said:

Maybe have a whip round and get him to stay at home😁

Who ? The moaners or Gary. I would pay to see Gary Barlow, but if you pay £10 per moaner that would be more than the cost of the Cruise.We are on Arvia in a few weeks. I was hoping the schwartsernegga lady would be on. She is the fairy godmother after all.

Edited April 2 by zap99

[Cpt Pugwash]

Personally i would apply for tickets and if i got them give them away as i have seen him many times as worked part time at concerts for many years so the charity benefitted. But if it was Ronan Keating that was on i would go to see him for the laugh as the Ladies seem to throw their Ladylike Manners out the window when he is on. 😂😂😂

[Bell Boy]

19 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

From the website:

 

Seats are limited and can be won in an on-board raffle, with tickets priced at £10 and all proceeds donated to Teenage Cancer Trust and Child Bereavement UK. 

 

 

Thank You, that was what I was enquiring about .

[Cpt Pugwash]

Zap99

A man after my own heart donating to good causes including those that we have no personal connection to.

As i've always said 'life is not all about what's in it for me but about giving a little bit back'.

Edited April 2 by Cpt Pugwash
add original post name

[happy v]

We have been on a cruise with Gary Barlow. You are sent an email before you sail telling you all the details. You also receive a letter in your cabin giving full details. You then receive an application form. Again setting out the terms and conditions. No one could possibly say they were conned. You don't have to pay if you don't want too!

We didn't queue for 2 hours. We were told when the doors would open. We left our cabin 10 mins. before and joined a moving queue.

I am amazed sometimes at how tight some people are..... it's £10 for teenage cancer trust!

 

 

 

 

[S1971]

6 minutes ago, happy v said:

I am amazed sometimes at how tight some people are..... it's £10 for teenage cancer trust

 

Not sure it's about being tight, it's more likely that it's a raffle with no guarantee of winning a seat.

So do a family of 2 adults & 2 children all have to have a ticket to enter if so that's £40? 

 

Or is it one ticket per cabin and if drawn all 4 get to go? 

[Palaceman]

As I see it this situation is created by the size of the ship. The entertainment venues cannot cater for the 5000+ passengers. Our first cruise was Strictly Come Dancing themed on Oceana. This included perfomances by two professional couples. Every passenger received an invitation and was able to attend each  performance, as the theatre could cope with the passenger numbers. There was no need for a raffle, which results in disappointment.

[Megabear2]

As this is the second year Gary is appearing having done Arvia and Iona performances last year, it seems very odd that this discussion has now reared its head.  The previous performances were clearly well received and the terms for entering the lottery were understood by last year's bidders and no complaints appeared here or on other channels so far as I am aware.   As @happy v said, all passengers received full details in advance and knew the position.

 

As an "ambassador" for P&O, Gary seems to be doing a good job.  This isn't really like the Strictly cruises which were themed exactly as that with lots of interaction as part of the offering, nor is it P&O hiring in a top entertainer for the night.  No doubt these appearances are part of the agreement Gary has as music director.