Shipboard diversions once generally ran the gamut from A to B. Passengers didn’t have much more to do between port calls than play a bridge game or two, stroll around the deck, or lounge in a deck chair with a book.
When entertainment was staged, it usually took the form of something like waiters parading around in funny hats while setting ice cream on fire.
Things have come a long way since then.
“Entertainment is five times better than it was 20 years ago,” says Larry Fishkin of The Cruise Line Inc., a Miami company specializing in cruise travel.
Cruise lines, in heavy competition to fill an ever-growing number of berths, are using entertainment as bait to lure new passengers aboard their ships.
Large ships now offer Las Vegas-style extravaganzas at sea, and some sport stages that are rotating marvels of technology. Almost all cruise lines have theme cruises that appeal to passengers’ diverse interests, and many ships boast electronic games, good-size libraries, exercise equipment and educational seminars that can keep body and mind occupied.
How passengers can occupy themselves on ships generally is a reflection of a cruise line’s personality: the serenity of Seabourn, say, vs. the clamor on Carnival. And entertainment may be different on different ships-depending on size, type of cruise, passenger demographics and price. “There are two sides to entertainment,” explains Larry Dessler of Holland America Line. “The fulfillment programs-such as lectures and fitness that not only make people feel better about themselves but add knowledge and help them grow; that’s a big part of what people look for when they travel. The other side of the equation are the actual productions” and their staging.
As the show lounges aboard ships get bigger, so do the extravaganzas that are staged in them. One of Princess Cruises’ two newest extravaganzas is an avant-garde production that includes gravity-defying acrobatics, high-wire balancing and trapeze acts. The other show, a lavish musical, features more than 50 wardrobe changes.
Productions aboard several of Holland America’s newest ships feature dazzling costumes by superdesigner Bob Mackie, who gained fame by dressing megastars such as Cher and Liza Minnelli.
Carnival has directly imported Las Vegas talent, costume designers and choreographers. Among the cruise line’s 10 ships, passengers can see 20 different shows, most costing a million dollars or more to stage.
Royal Caribbean Cruise Line pledges that passengers aboard its ships will never see the same act twice during a cruise, because its performers are shuttled from ship to ship between ports in the Caribbean.
Celebrity Cruise’s Horizon offers two blockbuster shows weekly: a tribute to American jazz and gospel and a salute to Broadway. And its new Century, to be inaugurated in December, will have a show lounge that includes a revolving stage, the ability to handle Broadway-scale scene changes, and an orchestra pit that raises and lowers.
On Royal Cruise Line’s new Queen Odyssey, a smaller “boutique” vessel, passengers are treated to sophisticated entertainment befitting the ship’s style: elegant revues more along the lines of Cole Porter, says a spokeswoman.
Nevertheless, shows aren’t everything.
“Once, passengers just watched the show and that was it. But everybody doesn’t live on the same clock, and when they choose a cruise line, there should be options for everyone,” says Al Wallack, Celebrity’s senior vice president of marketing and passenger services and chairman of Cruise Lines International Association, the marketing arm of the cruise industry.
As a result, a variety of diversions fills time at sea, especially on cruises that focus less on destinations and more on fun, such as those of Carnival.
Typical of many cruise activities are those aboard the ships of Royal Cruise Line. For instance, a sea-day on Crown Odyssey’s Panama Canal voyage offers a half-dozen fitness options, daily quiz, port talk, first-run film, lecture on self-awareness, talk on duplicate bridge, visit to the ship’s bridge, jackpot bingo, arts and crafts, and a mixed-doubles Ping-Pong competition with the cruise staff.
Wait, there’s more: A fashion show at tea time, a tango dance class, line-dance lessons, team trivia, jigsaw puzzle contests, facial demos, a scavenger hunt for teens, a talk on what your favorite color tells about you, even a grand costume parade in which passengers select colorful camouflages from a shipboard costume trunk.
Entertainment has taken on a high-tech feel on many ships. Celebrity Cruises, for instance, recently linked up with Sony Corp. to create interactive entertainment systems aboard Century, which will include a lounge that changes its ambience and tempo from tropical to jazzy during the course of the day. The lounge uses a system of high-tech music, video and lighting to achieve its transformation.
The cruise industry’s first $1 million virtual-reality complex has just been installed on Carnival’s older ship, Holiday. “It’s so popular that adults are elbowing out kids,” says Jennifer de la Cruz, a spokeswoman for Carnival. Called Blue Lagoon, the complex features 62 high-tech virtual-reality thriller games. In addition, it has an R360 motion machine that spins its occupant 360 degrees and completely upside down to simulate an aerial dogfight.
According to the cruise association, themed cruises rank among the top 10 industry trends to keep passengers entertained and occupied.
A roster of themes includes great chefs, golf and other sports, stock cars, gardening, Big Bands, country & western music and dance, photography, art, architecture and even ballet.
