How do premier at sea showings operate?

[sadiecatie]

Right now, Elemental is scheduled for release while we’re on our Alaska sailing. Has anyone been on board when they do the premier at sea viewings? How does that work? Do they just replace the evening show with the movie? Just curious! (Also hoping the opening date doesn’t get pushed, because my daughter is excited at the prospect of getting to see it on the ship! Fingers crossed!)

 

[auntlynne]

 

[Marc D]

Depending on the popularity of the movie, they will premiere it at midnight on release day, in the days before if they get permission (for example Wrinkle in Time was shown 2-3 days in advance) or as a replacement for one of the acts for showtime. That’s usually reserved for massive blockbusters, We’ve only had a new Star Wars movie as an evening show, and there were lines to get in on both decks of the theater at least an hour in advance.

I think they don’t favor playing a movie for the evening show because it doesn’t fit the usual schedule matching seatings. The longest production show is around 90 minutes and most blockbusters are now much longer than that.

 

[imbelle]

On the Wish in December on the last night of the cruise they got special permission to premiere Avatar: The Way of Water in the Walt Disney Theater at 10:30 pm (if I remember correctly).

 

[sadiecatie]

For those who have seen one of the premiers, do they continue to show it in the days after? I would hope they wouldn't do a midnight premier only for something like a Pixar film (there's no way we'd be able to stay up for that with our 8-year-old - heck, even just for us, with the time change in Alaska!)

 

[Geomom]

When they do a PremEAR at sea, the movie is not listed on the schedule until that day. Usually the premiere is around 11pm the night before (Thursday night is pretty typical), then it'll be on the regular theater schedule for the rest of the cruise. Sometimes also as matinees in the Walt Disney Theater or as an evening show, but it will not take the place of one of their Broadway style shows.

 

[lanejudy]

For those who have seen one of the premiers, do they continue to show it in the days after? I would hope they wouldn't do a midnight premier only for something like a Pixar film (there's no way we'd be able to stay up for that with our 8-year-old - heck, even just for us, with the time change in Alaska!)

Yes, they do continue to show it... but that may also depend on the timing of the release. If the movie releases on land on a Friday, and the cruise ends on Friday -- you might only get the onboard PremEAR at midnight your last night because you debark on Friday morning. PremEAR at sea is very rarely done days in advance, maybe a few hours early (like a 10pm), but plan it will be around midnight as the date changes to the date of the opening on land. If they show it early consider it a bonus.

 

[DCLCruiseFan09]

In 2018 on the first cruise I ever did, we saw infinity war would be available opening day but decided to skip the midnight premiere because it was at midnight and the movie was far too long. We wouldn't get enough sleep going to bed at 3 am. They had the movie running all day the following day (Our sea day) in the WD theater so we saw it then.

We had Toy Story 4 open while we were on the Dream back in 2019 and the showing started at exactly midnight. They had it playing once or twice the next day but what I always felt like was at strange times.

We got on the Dream right before the Covid shut-down (3/6/2020) and we were talking with our server who said breakfast that debark day was really rough because they did the Midnight Premiere of Onward which everyone was up for and then no one wanted to wake up/getting people off the ship was really rough in the morning. Staying up till 2 am and then trying to be at breakfast by 7 is a rough way to end a cruise.

It really just seems to depend on the cruise. Thankfully the end result is usually getting to see the movie on the ship no matter what the initial steps were.

 

[sadiecatie]

Thanks for the feedback - hopefully we'll get to see it! Our cruise is Mon-Mon, so I would guess with a Friday premier they would likely have other showings over the weekend (or at least that would make sense to me). Definitely not worth it to us to stay up super late, just to be some of the first to see it.

 

[darnheather]

We were onboard for the premiere of Captain America. They went ahead and did two showings in the main theater that night and it was absolutely packed. Loved it.

 

[TikiThunderPirates]

I've done several PremiEARS at sea and it all depends on where your ship is located as to when they show the movie. I watched one movie in the middle of the afternoon on a port day in the Walt Disney Theater as the first showing of a PremiEAR because of the time difference in the ships location vs the time on the east coast of the USA (in this case it was around 11pm EST). I've also had a PremiEAR show the movie simultaneously in the WD Theater and the Buena Vista at 11pm. It all depends on the ships location, if your ship gets the digital copy (they almost always do), and how popular they think the movie will be.

The most common in my experience is the 11pm showing, but it's not the only option by far.

 

[princesscinderella]

Saw Avengers Endgame onboard when it premiered at 11pm and it was awesome. They had crew dressed as agents of shield before the movie started interacting with the audience with smoke and a cool light show. It was awesome hearing everyone collectively gasp and cheer throughout the movie. Best movie experience I’ve ever had. They showed it the next day in both theaters too since it was such a blockbuster movie.

 

[RedHead0186]

Saw Avengers Endgame onboard when it premiered at 11pm and it was awesome. They had crew dressed as agents of shield before the movie started interacting with the audience with smoke and a cool light show. It was awesome hearing everyone collectively gasp and cheer throughout the movie. Best movie experience I’ve ever had. They showed it the next day in both theaters too since it was such a blockbuster movie.

That sounds awesome!

I think I'm adding PremEAR at sea to my DCL bucket list, lol.

 

[sadiecatie]

I've done several PremiEARS at sea and it all depends on where your ship is located as to when they show the movie. I watched one movie in the middle of the afternoon on a port day in the Walt Disney Theater as the first showing of a PremiEAR because of the time difference in the ships location vs the time on the east coast of the USA (in this case it was around 11pm EST). I've also had a PremiEAR show the movie simultaneously in the WD Theater and the Buena Vista at 11pm. It all depends on the ships location, if your ship gets the digital copy (they almost always do), and how popular they think the movie will be.

The most common in my experience is the 11pm showing, but it's not the only option by far.

That’s interesting, I’ll be curious to see if that means we get an earlier showing (we’ll be in Alaska, which is 4 hours behind EST)

 

[TikiThunderPirates]

That’s interesting, I’ll be curious to see if that means we get an earlier showing (we’ll be in Alaska, which is 4 hours behind EST)

I'd say from my most recent experiences it's possible, however I had a PremiEAR on an Alaska sailing and it was at 12:01am on release day. I'd say start looking at the navigator app the day before the release and watch for show times in either theater. It's not always based on EST time either. One time I believe watched a release at 11pm local to the cruise time, which was way ahead of EST so I ended up seeing the movie before it was officially released in the US by many hours.

 

[Aleutia]

I think we're on the same sailing! I actually just called to confirm if they will be premiering this movie and it sounds like they are They didn't tell me times beacuse they said movie times are subject to change so just check the app on Friday.

 

[TikiThunderPirates]

Just as an additional note, I recently read another thread from someone just off the Dream in Europe that did not get the new Live Action Little Mermaid movie as a PremiEAR at sea. It just was not shown. I wanted to put the reminder out there that the PremiEAR of a new to theater movie is not guaranteed. That's one of the reasons DCL often doesn't post the day/times of the movie in the navigator or on the theater schedule until just a few days before it will be shown onboard your specific ship.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Just as an additional note, I recently read another thread from someone just off the Dream in Europe that did not get the new Live Action Little Mermaid movie as a PremiEAR at sea. It just was not shown. I wanted to put the reminder out there that the PremiEAR of a new to theater movie is not guaranteed. That's one of the reasons DCL often doesn't post the day/times of the movie in the navigator or on the theater schedule until just a few days before it will be shown onboard your specific ship.

Yes, the Dream EBTA departed before they could onload Little Mermaid movie, so it wasn't PremiEared at Sea.

 

[msmama]

We saw the PrimEAR of Frozen 2 late the night before departure. It made for an extra unpleasant debarkation.

 

[gatorlisa]

The Little Mermaid (2023, Live Action) was premiered on the Wonder last week. We didn't go, but the first showing was in the Walt Disney Theater the day before it premiered in theaters nation wide. It then showed a few more times over the course of the next 2 or 3 days in the Buena Vista Theater. It was not originally listed in the activities, but was added the day they announced it would be showing.