Lades and Gentlemen, What Would You Pay. .?

I love the string about name entertainment.

Just curious:

1. How much of an entertainment premium would you be willing to pay per cruise to get a contemporary star or two on board?

2. Would it be OK if you had to buy a separate ticket to see these shows, or would you consider that "nickel and diming?"

3. Would you insist on knowing who it will be when you book, or would it be OK if you were hoping for Springsteen and got Andrea Bocelli?

Assuming the lines could tell you a year ahead who the star(s) would be. . .

4. Would you factor this in to your cruise choice?

5. Would you demand a credit to your shipboard account if the star in question got sick at the last minute and a substitution had to be made?

AR

[sue]

1) Zero

2) Nickel and Diming

3) Don't care

4) No

5) No

Bottom line I don't care who is entertaining where and what...that's not why we cruise

[Thomas]

Yes, I'd be willing to buy an extra ticket to see the name stars. I'd also like to know way in advance who will be entertaining on the ship. This most definitely would have an impact on my choice of cruise.

And if we couldn't be assured of a certain star, I would be willing to pay a premium on the ticket price to have some other 1st tier act.

Maybe the star could do two shows on one cruise, or something like that. Wouldn't want the star to do the same show everynight and be the only option.

Regards,
Thomas

[Tweety]

I think it would depend on the star. We really don't cruise for the entertainment, it's just an added attraction that we most times don't take advantage of. There are very few stars that would impact my decision to cruise or not to cruise and they just wouldn't be performing on a cruise ship.

Give me a nice ship, pleasant company and sea days and you can keep the entertainers. Do enjoy the poolside activities, but again there is no star quality in that.

[mbuckellew]

Depends on the star. There aren't that many out there we would go out of our way to see. And we would avoid some cruises like the plague if we learned it was themed toward a certain entertainer - not just so we could avoid the entertainer, but also so we could avoid the rabid fans.

Cheers,
Michelle B.

[Trip]

If there were such an animal as a list of entertainers cruising for the season, and i was not set where or what ship I wanted to do....I would book according to who I wanted to *sea*, and yes I would pay extra to *sea* them...If it was a no show, please refund my money thank you.......Trip/ Monday Chat Host

Having been on a cruise with a celebrity (Carnival's Rusty Wallace cruise, he is a NASCAR driver for those who don't know) I would personally avoid all future celebrity cruises like the plague to avoid the scary, stalker fans that follow these people around. He drew too many people on the cruise who didn't really want to cruise, they just wanted to spend a week with him and complained about the cruise the rest of the week they weren't drooling over him.

[Jim Bragg]

In a way they do have this right now. Certain sailing are made that will feature certain 'name' people. Usually they are in sports but I have seen the occasional one that features a certain entertainer. The 'extra' prices are included in the fare and not collected at the door. That I have no problem with. Now if they set up a booth at the door taking tickets or money, I don't think I would like that one bit and probably not sail on any ships or line that started doing so.
Jim

[LisaK]

I wouldn't book a particular cruise just because "so and so" is scheduled to appear. Would i pay concert ticket prices to see a particular artist- Yes. Would i expect a refund if that particular artist cancelled - Yes.

[Chuck Palm]

Depends on the star. I have quirky taste and usually prefer less than mainstream acts.
Here is an example of concerts I could get excited about:

Etta James, Iris Dement, Emmylou Harris, Solomon Burke, Nickel Creek, Rosie Flores,
Janis Ian, Rodney Crowell, Ashley McIsaac, Malicool, Diane Schurr, Dolly Parton, Jane Olivor, Dave Matthews, Budy and Julie Miller, Mariza, etc.

It is highlt unlikely these and similar acts would be on a cruise ship for a few reasons.
A lot of big touring acts have a lot of gear and cruise ship gigs would make travel costly because they would lose days in travel. Where would they put their touring buses and egos? Also the back-up artists would need space in which to live. They wouldn't be appearing with the chorus from the cruise ship. Space on cruise ships is costly, as we all know.

Magicians' rabbits and white doves don't require as much space in which to live (namely cages) and juggler's gear is pretty easy to put in a small space. Im afraid that calibur of entertainment is what we're stuck with.

Post Edited (08-27-03 19:32)