Princess entertainment acts

[prarie cruiser]

Is it just me or are the entertainment acts with Princess getting sort of old and stale and not well done? I cruise about once every 6 months and have seen the Piano Man a couple of times already. Also have seen Kamika and Bert Stratton before. Now, the cruise I take in August will have them again. So, have basically had the same entertainment for two years now.

 

Princess, get some new acts and entertainment shows.

[UTAH]

Is it just me or are the entertainment acts with Princess getting sort of old and stale and not well done?

 

Yep - just had this conversation with a bunch of cruisers this weekend. All of us cruise about every 6 months or so. The consensus was that the shows are not only stale, even the "new" ones seem more alike and unoriginal.

 

I just don't see as many pro-quality productions with headliners like they had 10 and 15 years ago. So... my wife and I have developed a habit of strategically sitting where we can easily escape a bad show. Personally, I'm liking the lounge acts more and more.

 

Now... before people think I'm whining too much about the quality of the shows on Princess - it's not that big a deal to me. I don't cruise for the shows. It's not a deal breaker if they suck as we just leave and go do something else (always something else to do on a ship). Every now and then I'm suprised with a really good show - which is just icing on the cake.

 

Bill

[kendon]

Agree. We go every six months or so and feel the shows need to be updated. I don't mind the same comics if the material is different. Definitely time for new material!

[GloriaF]

We took a Backstage Tour on a couple of our cruises, and they talk about the cost of developing a new production. It is easy to understand why Princess wants to use it to the full extent by transferring it from ship to ship. It is also disappointing when you realize there are no new shows for you on your next cruise. I suppose if you cruised the same ship each time you would see different shows and it is just the luck of the draw that you have chosen ships with shows you've already seen.

 

We also cruise about every 6 months and have seen several shows more than once, but have never seen Piano Man. I've heard PM is a good show, so hopefully it will be playing on the Sun Nov 30 cruise.

 

Here's hoping that you get new shows soon on whichever cruise you choose :)

[Love Boat Dream]

Piano Man is a good show but I've seen it twice and would like to see something new. Years ago, they had a fantastic show called Mystique that had Chinese acrobats. They have not followed up with anything else like that.

 

As much as I love Princess, their entertainment has always been the weak link for me. That is the one thing I like better about RC. I'm tired of the geriatric harmonica and banjo players. I think they need to aim for a younger audience.

 

We did see a wonderful singer/ impressionist on the Dawn in March. His name escapes me. I agree that the lounge acts are getting better!

[BigTimeCruiser]

It's really time to change the production shows. It's been almost 2 years with the same shows. "Piano Man" is a good show, but it's time for Princess to come up with something NEW. :)

[Guest debbiejohncruise]

We can't speak as far as Princess goes as this will be our first cruise with them, but we were laughing at the fact that when we took our first cruise with Sitmar, the music was for the grey hair generation and now, 25 years later, when we were on the Constellation (Celebrity) - it's still the same music in the lounges! (Younger bands, but still playing the old stuff!) We thought maybe the music would be newer as we are older now!!!! LOL. Debbie

[GloriaF]

When we were on the ms Westerdam in April of this year, we were very disappointed in the quality of their production shows and all entertainment. There was never trouble getting an excellent seat in the lounge, but sometimes it wasn't worth seeing.

 

We don't book specifically for the production shows and entertainment, but we do enjoy them and look forward to seeing something creative. Itinerary is the number one reason to book with us, keeping in mind that it could always change anyway so it is an adventure and fun no matter what.

[herb]

I am praying that the evening entertainment on the Crown Princess will be much better than the entertainment we had on the Sea Princess. I'm chalking it up to the fact that it was a European cruise with a mostly European clientele and their taste for entertainment differs from what we're used to here when we take Caribbean cruises.

[DougH]

I also think the quality of the big production shows has declined and also enjoy the variety acts more. Seeing the same shows multiple times does get old. Only show I wish they would bring back was Rhythms of the City, really enjoyed that one. On the big ships it was really spectacular.

 

Doug

[cruznliz]

We are Elite Captain's Circle on Princess and have seen pretty much all the shows more than once. I guess I'm in the minority, but I think they are all top notch! I love watching the young dancers and hearing the familiar songs. Yes, they are repetitive from cruise to cruise, but that just gives us an extra chance to see other acts around the ship, stroll the Promenade Deck, shop, gamble or go to bed early. ;)

 

Considering the way the Princess Theater is always filled to capacity, there must be a significant number of passengers who have not seen the shows yet. :eek:

[GloriaF]

We also think Princess does a good job with the production shows. It is one of the reasons we enjoy cruising. The only cruise line I have sailed with for comparison is HAL, and Princess is a long way ahead of them. If it weren't for the evening shows, I'm afraid we'd be bored in the evenings: we don't enjoy gambling and smoky environs and prefer the production shows to the lounge acts.

[Nliedel]

I thought the production shows on Crown were good, with the exception of an African number done by almost all non African dancers. I'm not the only one that got a kick out of this.

[UTAH]

Years ago, they had a fantastic show called Mystique that had Chinese acrobats. They have not followed up with anything else like that.

 

Yes - that's the show I was thinking of as I compare today's shows with the old ones. The Chinese acrobats were amazing - not only for the performance but also because of the production values of the show. That show demonstrated Princess can pull off unique entertainment that wows the audience.

 

Bill

[piper28]

I thought the production shows on Crown were good, with the exception of an African number done by almost all non African dancers. I'm not the only one that got a kick out of this.

 

Heh, I thought that part was an attempt to do something very similar to the Lion King, and man did it look bad in comparison.

 

Personally, I thought the two main production shows on the Crown were pretty pathetic. Most of the main vocal people were mediocre singers, and the arrangements of some of the songs left a lot to be desired. (Heck, I thought the arrangement of Roxanne I saw on Rockstar shortly before I left for the cruise was the worst I'd ever see, I was rudely corrected on that by the performance in destination anywhere). Motor City was also pretty cringeworthy, at least for someone who's family has roots in the detroit area.

 

They also seemed to really crank the volume on these shows. Especially when we caught the first showing of destination anywhere, the volume was definitely excessive.

 

The comedian and hypnotist we saw though were quite good.

[CruisinMaterial]

I have sailed three Princess cruises so far and I've always been impressed with their shows. While the audio and singing might be a little off, this isn't American Idol and we must keep in mind that in order to keep the cruise costs down, they don't book top notch performers.

 

You have to sacrifice something some where. The shows I've seen on Princess have always been entertaining and served their purpose. The Coral Princess cruise had the show tailored to their aft Vista Lounge and it was phenomenal. I loved it so much I saw it twice (went to both shows).

 

I have not seen Piano Man but eagerly await seeing it on this upcoming cruise. I can only imagine how much it costs to put together an original piece for use on several cruise ships. Not only do the props have to be duplicated by the number of the ships in the fleet but the dancers need training and the constant rotation of the dancers makes it a costly venture for all cruise lines.

 

Let's hope that some of these good quality dancers from "So You Think You Can Dance" end up with contracts onboard cruise ships. This season those dancers have been phenomenal! :)

 

~Jake