Shows Twice? :(

[remlap]

I had a friend sail on the 7 night European on the Magic this summer and he said they showed each of the 3 main shows on two different nights. We sailed the same cruise in 2017 and that was not the case for us.
I just looked at the Navigators for a week long Alaskan cruise on the blog site and it too showed each show on two different nights.

When did Disney stop bringing in third party entertainers on cruise ships and started showing each of the main three shows twice? I'm already paying a premium for Disney and entertainment, and it seems like it just got cut in half.

 

[dcassetta]

I had a friend sail on the 7 night European on the Magic this summer and he said they showed each of the 3 main shows on two different nights. We sailed the same cruise in 2017 and that was not the case for us.
I just looked at the Navigators for a week long Alaskan cruise on the blog site and it too showed each show on two different nights.

When did Disney stop bringing in third party entertainers on cruise ships and started showing each of the main three shows twice? I'm already paying a premium for Disney and entertainment, and it seems like it just got cut in half.

This is been happening for the past six months or so. Hopefully, it won't last much longer!

 

[mevelandry]

This is been happening for the past six months or so. Hopefully, it won't last much longer!

Six months? Starting to sound like the new normal...

 

[southerngirl528]

Six months? Starting to sound like the new normal...

DCL, more than WDW IMO, do listen to their guest surveys. If they think they can get away with the pattern of late of repeating the stage shows for more than 1 night, they will. If guests scream about it, they will listen, whether they change it back to exactly like it was before remains to be seen. How many months they have been doing the double shows I am unsure.

 

[Marc D]

It’s been on and off since the beginning of the year. Last March, our Wonder cruise had no repeats but the cruises just before did. They’ve had repeats during some of the cruises in Alaska. The Dream is also sometimes showing Beauty twice and dropping Believe. I don’t think it’s a money saving choice but more an answer to guests comments. Shows are a big part of the DCL experience and it might be difficult to make it to them for new guests or families with small children.

I prefer the matinée route they chose when Frozen and B&B began. We mostly enjoy the entertainers they schedule and rarely miss their shows.

 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

Keeping in mind that those here are more likely to be repeat cruisers, I wonder if guest surveys of their entire clientele shows the preference for repeat shows to make it easier to see the main shows.

For a once in a lifetime trip, where the Disney shows are large factor in picking dcl, I'd be relieved to know there were two chances to see each show, in case something caused me to miss one.

 

[kiford]

This is been happening for the past six months or so. Hopefully, it won't last much longer!

I hope it does. We don't like to see a show every night so I'd like to be able to see them all without an every night commitment.

 

[remlap]

On my very first Disney Cruise they did a matinee of Disney Dreams (back when there were only two ships) That was great to enjoy the AC during the day and then the pools in the evening.

Personally disappointed that they would double up show nights. If there is a show I want to see I make sure to see it. if it is the Golden Mickeys, or Toy Story the Musical or Frozen, I might prefer to enjoy the empty pools instead. I'm paying for entertainment every night and disney just cut the offerings by half.

 

[anricat]

It's been going on at least all summer. If you search for "double shows" you can see a variety of threads dedicated to the topic. The general consensus is not positive. I made my feelings known to Guest Services, on our comment card and in my post-cruise web survey.

 

[TestingH2O]

I hope it does. We don't like to see a show every night so I'd like to be able to see them all without an every night commitment.

But doubling up shows takes away the option of seeing a show every night for those of us who do like to do that. Single night showings mean you can see the stage shows and just not go to the entertainers. No loss for you but a gain for those of us who prefer more entertainment.

 

[TestingH2O]

It's been going on at least all summer. If you search for "double shows" you can see a variety of threads dedicated to the topic. The general consensus is not positive. I made my feelings known to Guest Services, on our comment card and in my post-cruise web survey.

I got an email today regarding my comment card. I'm surprised it made it to shore but I'm glad to know someone actually read it.

 

[southerngirl528]

I got an email today regarding my comment card. I'm surprised it made it to shore but I'm glad to know someone actually read it.

That is great to hear! I do know that DCL reads those surveys. Happy to hear they followed up, thanks for sharing!

 

[Madzac]

We just got off the Fantasy yesterday. I was initially upset about the change but quite honestly it was nice to have a couple nights where we felt we could do other things like dance parties or swimming at night. It felt less rushed the last night not having a show. It was definitely different but not all together bad for our family at least.

 

[disneylove69]

Could it be the entertainer got sick or canceled last minute?

 

[disneyfaninaz]

No. DCL is still bringing on the other entertainers. They usually do 2 shows in Fathoms or Wavebands on the Magic and Wonder. Not sure what it is called on the Dream/Fantasy. Anyway, they will do a family show at the opposite times of the show in the big theater. They will also do a cabaret/adult only show at 10:30 PM on another night. On our recent 10 night cruise, Fathoms was not completely full for any of the entertainer shows. DCL brought on about 6 different entertainers for our cruise.

As far as the double shows, one night the big show will be shown at 7:30 PM between dinner seatings, the next night it will be during the first (6:30 PM) and during the second (8:45 PM). We felt rushed to make the 7:30 show after main dining, so we never saw a show that night.

 

[cgolf]

The thing that bothers me the most about this is that certain acts don't belong in the smaller lounges. Jugglers for example really struggle with the low ceilings and the acts are almost unwatchable, but put them on the main stage and they are great. Also how does an act like Buckets and Boards do their show in the smaller venue?

 

[arlopop]

We did the 9 night Alaska a couple weeks back. Even though they doubled up the shows (Golden Mickeys, Frozen, Dreams,) they still had multiple other acts throughout the cruise; they just moved them to Azure. I honestly didn’t feel deprived and the crowds for Frozen made extra performances welcome to thin it out.

 

[apathetic]

We did a Dream 5-night with the both shows playing twice and a movie night. I didn't mind the shows being doubled because when new shows (B&B in this case) go live, it is very hard to find seating. The double shows help this problem.

My issue was the trickle down effect. They didn't have the variety acts at the main shows and those acts also perform in the late night clubs. While they did have some variety acts, they weren't as good and usually only had 1 showing per night. Then they repeated these acts during the cruise. In the past you could do a theater show, then an adult variety show (performed twice to accommodate both dinner seatings) along with some activity with the club host (i.e. Match Your Mate). On this Dream cruise they had a theater show (830) that directly conflicted with the timing of the variety act (9pm). Plus, the variety act usually started during 2nd seating, totally excluding them. Then there wasn't any really late adult shows, only the music with DJ or lounge singers. That part really stunk. It was truly a cost saving decision to cut out variety acts. The problem is the cost of the cruise keeps going up.

 

[TestingH2O]

We did a Dream 5-night with the both shows playing twice and a movie night. I didn't mind the shows being doubled because when new shows (B&B in this case) go live, it is very hard to find seating. The double shows help this problem.

My issue was the trickle down effect. They didn't have the variety acts at the main shows and those acts also perform in the late night clubs. While they did have some variety acts, they weren't as good and usually only had 1 showing per night. Then they repeated these acts during the cruise. In the past you could do a theater show, then an adult variety show (performed twice to accommodate both dinner seatings) along with some activity with the club host (i.e. Match Your Mate). On this Dream cruise they had a theater show (830) that directly conflicted with the timing of the variety act (9pm). Plus, the variety act usually started during 2nd seating, totally excluding them. Then there wasn't any really late adult shows, only the music with DJ or lounge singers. That part really stunk. It was truly a cost saving decision to cut out variety acts. The problem is the cost of the cruise keeps going up.

I hope you complained. While I did get a response to my on board complaint/comment card, the tone indicated that DCL is not currently planning to stop the double shows.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

The thing that bothers me the most about this is that certain acts don't belong in the smaller lounges. Jugglers for example really struggle with the low ceilings and the acts are almost unwatchable, but put them on the main stage and they are great. Also how does an act like Buckets and Boards do their show in the smaller venue?

I haven't seen Buckets and Boards, but JunNk performed just fine on the smaller stage and it was cool being closer to the action.