Entertainment on the Shadow

[Emtbsam]

Picking up where we left off in the early embarkation thread...

 

Much as I hate to be negative about anything that concerns Silversea -- Yes, it was the Joy Duo last December. They were simply depressing. The quartet was downright nasty! We left comments and did complain to the CD to no avail. In fact, the CD wasn't all that good either.

[south seas sue]

We were on the Alaska cruise in mid June, and I don't recall any "nasty" entertainment - in fact, I thought most of the musicians were just great. It could be that there was a change before we boarded. The dance quartet, from Eastern Europe (as usual), was absolutely fabulous! I was not expecting such great musicianship and versatility, but boy, they were great. We are BIG jazz fans, and these guys (including a very versatile sax/clarinet player) were really fine. The sax player had just joined them, being a last-minute substitution for their regular player, and what a gem! Sorry I don't remember the name of the leader, but I sure remember their music and interpretations of wonderful standards.

 

I was less pleased with the Filipino duo - keyboardist and singer. This was the singer's ir first cruise, I believe, and so they were new to this situation. I just didn't think they were very good.

 

We did not go to see the dance production shows, so can't comment on those.

 

The African American singer, who's name I can't remember (oh, its tough getting old), was FABULOUS. He did a show of Nat King Cole songs tht was memorable! In other threads lots of cruisers have mentioned how great he is.

 

For a small boat, I thought the entertainment was really professional and very, very good.

 

My two cents!

 

:D

[oregon50]

Thanks for beginning this thread. I hope anyone that did an Alaskan cruise this year will chime in.

 

The duo is now called The Crowned Jewel Duo. They are still onboard and still so bad and nothing is being done about it. Fernando defended the pair, but did order the girl to stop signing prior to dinner. She still does her performance at ear piecing levels after dinner. I am totally disgusted that they allow this duo to perform for passengers. While the pianist's wife is signing, he is playing something totally unrelated. If they are there to keep the Fillipino crew happy, confine them to the crew lounge. There is a different CD onboard and they still run wild. Jamie Cornejo is the pianist half of duo.

 

The Polish band is top notch. It is Jamie's duty to perform "Name that Tune" once during each cruise. However, that function is carried out by the Polish pianist and is not part of his job.

[wripro]

If a word with the CD is not sufficient the next step should be the HD.

[billcrooz]

we were on the Shadow in Aug. and the entertainment for the most part was decent. the Black singer was fab, the polish guys great and the production group were very good.We were on board last Nov, when they came on board so they were really anxious to go home. but i gotta tell you that they all got together one night up in the observation lounge and did an impromtu set along with david the c.d. and they were fabulous. just a night to remember with all the ships crew in attendance.

[south seas sue]

Bill, you remind me of a night on our cruise up in the Obsv. Lounge - not only was the quartet cooking, but one of the pax was a VERY DECENT jazz pianist, and sat in for a few numbers. He is a neurosurgeon in real life, so I guess that pays better.............

 

Anyway, what a great time we had!

 

Glenda

[Emtbsam]

we were on the Shadow in Aug. and the entertainment for the most part was decent. the Black singer was fab, the polish guys great and the production group were very good.We were on board last Nov, when they came on board so they were really anxious to go home. but i gotta tell you that they all got together one night up in the observation lounge and did an impromtu set along with david the c.d. and they were fabulous. just a night to remember with all the ships crew in attendance.

That's really good to hear. I do hope they will still be on the ship in September.

[Goldens4]

Oregon, thanks for the info and the name change. Oh Lord! I am hoping they will be gone for our Thanksgiving cruise. I am very surprised that Fernando defended them. How could he not know that they are awful? And, I am sure others have made their comments known.

 

By the way, do they still have the production shows? I enjoyed them last Dec. Just hope they changed them.

[TLCOhio]

I thought most of the musicians were just great. It could be that there was a change before we boarded. The dance quartet, from Eastern Europe (as usual), was absolutely fabulous! I was not expecting such great musicianship and versatility, but boy, they were great. We are BIG jazz fans, and these guys (including a very versatile sax/clarinet player) were really fine. The sax player had just joined them, being a last-minute substitution for their regular player, and what a gem! The African American singer was FABULOUS. He did a show of Nat King Cole songs tht was memorable! For a small boat, I thought the entertainment was really professional and very, very good. My two cents!

 

THANKS, south seas sue, for these great details and exciting background! From our two previous cruises, we are realistic and know that not every performer is a superstar. Nice to hope for, but not normally happening in the real world on a cruise ship with only 300-400 passengers.

 

It sounds like there were a number of good music options that worked well! Much of our July 1-16, 2010 cruise is busy with many ports along the Norway Coast to up above the Arctic Circle and back to Bergen and Copenhagen. It's not like being on a trans-Atlantic cruise where the entertainment would be more vital as the key option for many of the cruise activities.

 

Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

[Keith1010]

Terry, you have the right attitude. The entertainment was fine for us. As with anything some will enjoy it and others won't. But as you said on a very port intensive cruise knowing that you'll be up early in the morning for some the entertainment is less important.

 

Keith

[Goldens4]

BTW, all the entertainment in the lounges was fine with us on every cruise we did. This duo was awful. Perhaps changing the repertoire would help. Hearing the same songs over and over is nerve wracking. Now I know when they were in the Panorama Lounge everyone came to The Bar.:D Guess I'll just check and see where they are and be somewhere else.

 

By the way, Does anyone know if Adam (from Poland) is the pianist? He is fantastic! He loves requests. He played "Harlem Nocturne" for the dh and Chopin's "Polanaise" for me. A very talented man. He was on the Shadow in 2007. Think he was on the Cloud in 2008.

[oregon50]

Adam has signed his next two contracts with Oceania. If you are interested, I can provide name of ships.

[oregon50]

Adam has signed his next two contracts with Oceana. He does not work during summer.

 

Marian, a true gentleman, is leader of Polish band. They depart Sept. 12.

 

Production shows during Alaska cruise season.

 

I have never had decent entertainment in The Bar while in Alaska, so it is not expected. With this duo, we are talking about AWFUL.

[chicagogal]

Adam has signed his next two contracts with Oceana. He does not work during summer.

 

Marian, a true gentleman, is leader of Polish band. They depart Sept. 12.

 

Production shows during Alaska cruise season.

 

I have never had decent entertainment in The Bar while in Alaska, so it is not expected. With this duo, we are talking about AWFUL.

 

Oregon50 - I was reading along with interest since we board the Shadow on Thursday. Did you mean to say there are NO production shows in Alaska?

 

Thanks to all of you in this thread! I know we will form our own opinion but it is interesting to hear others' (varied) perspectives.

[CatServants]

Oregon50 - I was reading along with interest since we board the Shadow on Thursday. Did you mean to say there are NO production shows in Alaska?

 

Thanks to all of you in this thread! I know we will form our own opinion but it is interesting to hear others' (varied) perspectives.

 

Patty,

 

There were multiple (3?) production shows on the Shadow during our 12-night cruise to Alaska in July. My wife and I didn't think they were necessarily Broadway quality, of course, but we still (mostly) enjoyed them

 

Randy

[chicagogal]

Patty,

 

There were multiple (3?) production shows on the Shadow during our 12-night cruise to Alaska in July. My wife and I didn't think they were necessarily Broadway quality, of course, but we still (mostly) enjoyed them

 

Randy

 

Thanks for clarifying!

[Goldens4]

Oregon50, thanks so much for the info. on Adam. No need for the names of the ships.