THIS PAGE, CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: MSC Rock Circus; Holland America Line’s Rolling Stone Rock Room; MSC Rock Circus FACING PAGE, FROM TOP: The Wizard of Oz, Icon of the Seas; Disney Cruise Line deck party PICTURES: Christian Ekren; Michel Verdure; Roy Riley, sbw-photo
SELLING TIPS
E Use the shows to add an extra dimension to your sales pitch. Non-cruisers might not be aware of the quality and variety of entertainment offered.
E Good seats to watch a West End or Broadway musical cost at least £100. On cruise ships, there’s nothing extra to pay.
E Shows on the ships do change. Always check with the cruise line before booking if there is one your client is desperate to see.
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things up in the past few years, securing the rights to stage Broadway and West End shows, while deploying expensive new technology to ensure the shows are even better than you’d see in London theatres. Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean have
staged great productions of musicals such as Grease, Mamma Mia!, Jersey Boys and Kinky Boots, while Summer: The Donna Summer Musical is currently playing on Norwegian Prima. The likes of Celebrity Cruises and Holland America Line, meanwhile, have installed banks of high-resolution LED screens in their theatres to provide spectacular backdrops to the action on the stage. In Carnival Cruise Line’s Rock Revolution – currently
playing on Mardi Gras, Carnival Radiance and Carnival Panorama – a swarm of drones ‘dances’ around the singers. MSC Cruises lays on shows filled with aerialists and high-flying stunts in specially designed Carousel lounges that seat the audience around the stage. Cunard has teamed up with West End theatre producer David Pugh to stage an adaptation of Noel Coward’s Brief Encounter on Queen Anne when it launches in May.
BEYOND THE THEATRE
But today’s entertainment at sea goes way beyond song- and-dance routines in theatres, with high divers, ice skaters, deck parties and guest entertainers who often do the rounds on many different cruise lines. The divers and ice skaters can be found on Royal Caribbean ships. The former thrill audiences with their daredevil antics in the aqua-theatres on the line’s largest vessels, with the latter wowing passengers as they whirl and twirl around on ice rinks. Shows vary but don’t be surprised to see stunning light effects and quick-change artists who skate into a tent in one costume and exit the other side in a different one.
Holland America Line has a Music Walk onboard
Koningsdam, Nieuw Statendam and Rotterdam created in partnership with BB King Productions, Rolling Stone and Billboard. Passengers can dip in and out of specially designed venues playing live blues, rock (the bands come complete with shades and ripped jeans) and chart favourites.
Disney Cruise Line is the king of deck parties, with Mickey, Minnie and the gang out in force on the day
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