Onboard entertainment: music, magic, & more—it's showtime at sea! - Behind The Scenes - cruise ship entertainment

Cruise Travel, Jan-Feb, 2002 by Joey Jordan

Novelty acts--ventriloquists, jugglers, magicians, acrobats, and instrumentalists--are popular with cruise-ship audiences and are often featured in the main stage shows. Carnival, Celebrity, Costa, Crystal, Holland America, Princess, and Royal Caribbean offer up some of the very best. While comedy-oriented performances are in vogue on most ships, some lines, like Costa and Crystal, opt to present "visual (non-speaking) acts" for the pleasure of a more refined or international clientele.

Glading, who performed in both the Paris and Las Vegas editions of the famous Lido show before joining Costa, extolls novelty acts: "As the name implies, these artists offer something new or unusual, and a fast-paced visual turn provides high-energy excitement." Peter Compton, his counterpart at Royal Caribbean International, a line long lauded for its Vegas-quality variety entertainment, agrees: "Sensational visual, comedy, and musical-variety acts are the icing on the cake in our acclaimed, fun-filled floor shows."

In addition to floor shows, with the debut of its 142,000-gross-register-ton/3,114-passenger Voyager Class vessels, Royal Caribbean introduced the novelty of an ice show at sea. When not in use, the 40'x60' permanent ice surface can be covered, converting the 900-seat arena into a theater-in-the-round hosting concerts, dance exhibitions, and other events. "We are committed to maintaining our reputation for excellence in entertainment," says Compton. "Providing a variety of unique onboard attractions is paramount."

Musical revues--a cast of singers and dancers performing musical numbers onstage based on various themes, such as famous places or popular show tunes--are ubiquitous in the cruise business. Part "Broadway-style," but typically with no continuing story-line, and part "Las Vegas-style," but with somewhat less pizzazz, these productions are often no less lavish. Carnival, Crystal, First European, Radisson Seven Seas, Royal Caribbean, and Silversea are known for their spirited musical productions featuring from six to 10 performers and the ship's orchestra--and in some cases, even the passengers and crew-members as well.

In 2001, Crystal Cruises unveiled its innovative production, "An Evening In Camelot," enchanting guests when the entire ship becomes a "stage"--complete with crew in authentic period costume, a "royal feast" in the dining room, and the evening presentation of its grandest "million dollar musical" to date, "Tales Of Time."

"Our show features 110, and the entire production more than 300, hand-made costumes, some valued at more than $10,000 apiece, and spectacular sets," says Bret Bullock, Crystal's vice president of entertainment. "The Merlin costume has 2,000 LCD lights sewn into it, and guests marvel at our five-foot crystal sphere, which projects hologram images of Shakespeare's writings."

With a more traditional style, Radisson Seven Seas Cruises has passengers "dancing in the aisles" during its musical journeys down memory lane, exclaims the shows' producer, Peter Grey Terhune. "People love live entertainment, and we just can't keep them in their seats!" Terhune, who has worked with such greats as Gordon & Sheila MacRae, Bob Hope, and Johnny Carson, now produces shows exclusively for the cruise industry.