From Shrek to circus shows, SpongeBob SquarePants to Broadway musicals, cruise ship entertainment has come a long way in the last few years.
Gone are the days when cabaret acts were the only entertainment your customers could expect. Ocean Village was the first to really break the mould when it launched in 2003, offering a more raunchy style of show than had been seen previously, as well as an outdoor acrobatic act.
While the cabaret-style shows are the staple entertainment on most cruise ships, several now have acrobatic and gymnastic shows, as well as comedians and magicians.
Association of Cruise Experts director Flo Powell says cruise industry entertainment has moved on massively lately, offering something more modern with wider appeal.
“There’s the Blue Man Group and Cirque Dreams on Norwegian Epic and Hairspray on Oasis of the Seas. The discovery cruise lines have lectures and Oceania Insignia has a nightclub where you can pick your own music. So even the more traditional ships are moving forward with the times,” she says.
Carnival Cruise Lines
Carnival Dream, launched last September, has a show called Dancin’ in the Street that would have looked quite at home on an Ocean Village ship.
The ship has its own acrobatic team, Fun Force, who perform in the show, at the Ocean Plaza and in various other areas of the ship, and a Comedy Club featuring early evening family-friendly comedians and adult-only funny men late at night.
It also has 15-minute laser shows on the top deck set to the music of the likes of Pink Floyd and US rock band Styx.
Celebrity Cruises
Celebrity Eclipse has a new show called Eclipse, which combines dance and aerial acrobatics, including slack-rope walking (like a tightrope, except the rope is slack).
Powell says: “I saw the slack-rope walker on Eclipse during the cruise convention in Southampton and it was amazing, the kind of thing you expect to see at the Chinese State Circus, but for free.”
Royal Caribbean International
Royal Caribbean eclipsed all that went before in terms of cruise ship entertainment when it said Oasis of the Seas, the world’s largest cruise ship, would feature a real Broadway musical in the theatre.
A cut-down version of Hairspray – to fit into a 90-minute slot – runs three times a week and has been so popular that Royal Caribbean is rolling the idea out to other ships.
Sister ship Allure of the Seas, launching in December, will feature a version of Chicago, and a Broadway production, yet to be announced, will feature on Liberty of the Seas early next year.
Royal Caribbean managing producer entertainment Paul Hardy says: “Oasis was going to revolutionise the cruise industry so I felt it was time to shake the entertainment up as well and bring on a real Broadway show.”
He adds: “I was nervous as we have never done a 90-minute show before but Hairspray has gone down brilliantly. Chicago is more adventurous to put on but having done one Broadway show, we needed something strong to follow it up with.”
Hardy expects a Broadway show to be rolled out to Freedom and Independence of the Seas if it is a success on Liberty. “People will start to expect that level of entertainment.”
Royal Caribbean is also the first cruise line to have an AquaTheater – it’s on Oasis and will also be on Allure, and involves high divers, synchronised swimmers and gymnasts who dive into a pool that’s up to 18ft deep from 30ft-high platforms.
Oasis also has a comedy lounge, a jazz club and ice-skating shows in the skating rink. There is also a theatre in Adventure Ocean, the kids’ club where children can learn about theatrical productions and take part in talent shows.
New for Allure of the Seas, Royal Caribbean has struck a partnership with DreamWorks, which will see parades featuring Shrek, Po from Kung Fu Panda and the penguins from Madagascar on the ship.
DreamWorks characters will also begin to feature on Liberty, Oasis and Freedom of the Seas in the first quarter of 2011.
Norwegian Cruise Line
NCL has taken the entertainment revolution a step further with Norwegian Epic, launched in July, by bringing established acts on board, such as the Blue Man Group.
The eccentric group, which has shows across the US and in Berlin and Tokyo, perform their off-the-wall act eight times on each seven-night cruise. The show is a involves drums, paint and food – and you have to see it to understand what it’s all about.
Las Vegas tribute company Legends in Concert is also performing on Epic, with shows in the theatre and the Manhattan Room restaurants, and there is a Cirque Dreams and Dinner show in the ship’s big top Spiegel Tent, which combines pantomime and acrobatics.
NCL UK general manager Stephen Park says: “We wanted to do something really different with the entertainment and it has worked. The named acts on Epic are getting rave reviews. It’s the quality of the performance and the amazing value.
“It would cost $60 per person or more to see the Blue Man Group in New York. On Epic, it’s free. We do charge for Cirque Dreams, but that would normally cost about $200 per person. On Epic, it costs $20 per person.”
Park adds: “I believe our entertainment has become a reason why people are booking Epic.”
Howl at the Moon, which plays at several locations across the US, is a piano duo who perform everything from 1970s rock to hip-hop during a four-hour show, Second City improvisation group performs in the comedy club (and also stages a murder mystery lunch in the Spiegel Tent three times per cruise), and there’s a jazz club for passengers who want more laid-back evenings.
For the kids, NCL has teamed up with TV channel Nickelodeon, to offer Nick-themed shows and parties. Kids can also have their pictures taken with favourite characters such as SpongeBob SquarePants and Dora the Explorer at a character breakfast that costs $30 for adults and $15 for children.
Nickelodeon games and characters debuted on NCL’s Norwegian Jewel when it started cruising from New York in April.
Disney Cruise Line
Character appearances have always been a huge part of Disney Cruise Line’s entertainment, with everything from a song-and-dance production featuring Mickey and the gang to welcome passengers on board, to scheduled times when kids can get their autographs.
In the theatre, shows are based on popular Disney films. Twice Charmed is a musical twist on the story of Cinderella, Villains Tonight is a light-hearted revue-style show featuring bad guys such as Captain Hook and Cruella de Vil, Toy Story – The Musical is based on the original film with a few twists.
