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Zamgwar's Explorer Cruise-The Entertainment



 
 
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  #1  
Old February 23rd, 2004, 04:10 PM
Zamgwar
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Posts: n/a
Default Zamgwar's Explorer Cruise-The Entertainment

Hello Seven Day Sailors,

First the usual intro-skip past the stars if you read it before
********************************************
To set a base line, we set out with a total of 35 old and a few new friends,
with most relationships going back 25 years. There is no greater joy than
vacationing with friends who know you well enough to tell you your breath
stinks. Rather than being a vacation, it always is more of a seven day party,
that moves around the globe.

It is important to note that due to our schedules we only travel as peak week
touristos, at a time when virtually the entire United States (except for New
Hampshire-go figure) is off from school for February break. This was our third
group cruise together, and my personal forth cruise. It was our first
experience with Royal Caribbean, having sailed NCL and Princess previously.

Depending on when you sail, your mileage may vary.

Because of the enormous size of the ship, it has it strong and weak suits. You
will find my impressions posted separately under the subject heading "Zamgwar's
Explorer". They will pop up here over the next two weeks and will include
impressions of "The Ship", "The Cabins", The Food & Restaurants", "The Staff"
, "The Entertainment", "The Kids view", "The little things" and "my last
2cnts". When I'm done, I will, as always, post the entire review in condensed
version on the standard review sites.
**********************************

Part 4- The entertainment & Activities

My background training in college was musical theater, and my instrument was
French horn. Before making the switch to a life in theater, I spent 8 years as
a High School Band director. I have in the past 10 years, been involved in over
500 productions. I know when things are bad and know when they are good, and
can at times be a real performance snob.

It is possibly the only thing I am capable of being a snob about.

I am certainly not a slave to fashion (99 percent of my wardrobe is Hawaiian
shirts and the remaining 1 percent is formal wear). I relish the thought of a
day of eating carny food and as previously mentioned happily munch on meat on a
stick from push cart vendors.

I am fully capable of spending a day with breakfast stains on my shirt, missing
large parts of my face when I shave or having soap from my morning shower in my
ear.

Just ask my wife.

One area in which Explorer absolutely shines, is entertainment. The ship is
brilliant at it. This is part in parcel to the incredibly large stable of
musicians on the ship, and the astounding technical prowess of the ships two
large performing venues.

There was live music everywhere, and I mean everywhere. It's what made the
Palace Theater Main Stage productions unique. On my previous cruises, main
stage productions have always used a mix of canned (pre-recorded)
orchestrations with a live rhythm section. Not on Explorer.

There was at each Main Stage show, a 10 piece band backing up the singers and
dancers. They were either on stage in a "Hollywood squares" type set up, or the
pit, which rose up from the floor via hydraulics. Coupled with marvelous
lighting design, fantastic stage effects and a visually stunning background
star drop, this made the main stage productions a treat.

A most unusual combination of a violinist an oboist and a pianist frequently
played in the Aquarium Lounge or on the main dining room balcony. The lush
timbre of this trio always soothed the party animal in me and caused me the
pause, sit down, and listen to at least one number, before running off in
search of my next libation.

The poolside reggae/Island band was the perfect excuse to bop my head, order a
drink, and forget the deck chair situation.

There were pianists in Dizzy's in the early evening, the Schooner Bar, The
balcony of the Main Dining room and at the Aquarium Bar. The Aquarium bar also
featured a jazz quartet from time to time.

There was a vocalist who played guitar and led sing-a-longs in the crown and
kettle pub.

Dizzy's featured a Latin band most nights, although it really sparkled the one
night they had an 8 piece Jazz band and two marvelous vocalists performing all
the great Jazz standards. It was also the only night Dizzys was really packed.
Considering the hour of performance was 12:00am to 1:00am, and the place was
full, RCCL should really consider changing this venue to full time Jazz. It is
what this space screams for. Had it been there nightly, I'm sure the club would
have been packed nightly. At the very least, we would have been there nightly.

I suppose that would have meant there were that many people less in the Casino
on a regular basis, so bookkeeping may play a hand in this.

The vocalists in the mainstage shows were all beyond reproach. While the
dancing was on the light end ("She who must be obeyed" is a choreographer) the
live orchestration and butt kicking vocal work made up for it.

The comedians were funny. Especially since one was an almost spitting image of
one of our group of 32. People all week came up to our friend Tom and
congratulated him for the great performance. We all did our best to keep a
straight face he explained the rigors of shipboard comedy, or why he had red
hair on stage and black hair on deck. ("If I didn't use some sort of disguise,
I would have to spend my Caribbean days on the bottom of the ship. I have a
very small room")

The Drifters headlined the last night of the cruise backed up by the House
band. Now that was a rip. The whole theater sang along with "under the
boardwalk" and "on broadway".

Krews Komic jugglers popped up from time to time, including once in an elevator
to the surprise and delight of those who used the lifts.

The Quest Game in Studio B was absolutely hilarious.

Finally, to chime in what everyone has said about Studio B's Planet Ice Show,
DON'T MISS IT. The effects, the costumes, the choice of music ( a lot of The
Doors), and the skating that is performed in this tiny rink are astounding. It
is the only shipboard performance I have ever seen, that left me feeling as
though I had "paid" for my ticket, rather than sat down for free.
Abso-freakin-loutely brilliant.

As far as things to do on board ship, once again Explorer excels. "She who must
be obeyed" and others in our group literally "got out there" and did what the
RCCL commercial suggested. They rock climbed ( a real hoot), they roller
bladed, they worked out in the gym, they had spa treatments and they played
mini-golf. One afternoon, all the womenfolk and kids went Ice skating.

The result was not exactly "The Planet Ice Show" but was just as entertaining
to watch. Four of us sat in the seats and acted as Olympic judges shouting out
scores. It was hilarious.

WE all played bingo the last day. There was a 16,000 dollar cash prize for the
final game which went to one very, very, very, happy player. Had I won it, I
would not be writing this.

I would be drunk rolling naked on the floor in the wad of CASH they gave him.

In addition there were the standard pool games, Karaoke nights, trivia
contests, art auctions, sporting events and a plethora of things for kids to
do.

Entertainment and activities is a very strong suit of the ship. They took some
of the edge off, of having two additional days at sea, the missed port of
Labadee and the missed port of Grand Caymen.

Although even for me, who loves days at sea, four days was A LOT. Especially
since the Grand Caymen skip was not a day to be topside. 40 knot winds, 16 foot
seas and a ship rolling like a naked man with 16,000 dollars in bingo cash.

Even in THAT weather, there were still hundreds of towels on the deck chairs by
the pools just in case.

Next Up-Part 5- What the Kids thought.

That's My2Cnts. What's yours?

John
Office of Applause
The Zamgwar Institute

  #2  
Old February 24th, 2004, 02:07 PM
JBDarmo
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Zamgwar's Explorer Cruise-The Entertainment


"Zamgwar" wrote in message
...
Hello Seven Day Sailors,


Really enjoying the review. We have sailed on Navagator and Voyager. Your
findings are pretty much right on with ours. We will be sailing on Mariner
on Sunday

Joe---Mariner in 5 days!!






First the usual intro-skip past the stars if you read it before
********************************************
To set a base line, we set out with a total of 35 old and a few new

friends,
with most relationships going back 25 years. There is no greater joy than
vacationing with friends who know you well enough to tell you your breath
stinks. Rather than being a vacation, it always is more of a seven day

party,
that moves around the globe.

It is important to note that due to our schedules we only travel as peak

week
touristos, at a time when virtually the entire United States (except for

New
Hampshire-go figure) is off from school for February break. This was our

third
group cruise together, and my personal forth cruise. It was our first
experience with Royal Caribbean, having sailed NCL and Princess

previously.

Depending on when you sail, your mileage may vary.

Because of the enormous size of the ship, it has it strong and weak suits.

You
will find my impressions posted separately under the subject heading

"Zamgwar's
Explorer". They will pop up here over the next two weeks and will include
impressions of "The Ship", "The Cabins", The Food & Restaurants", "The

Staff"
, "The Entertainment", "The Kids view", "The little things" and "my last
2cnts". When I'm done, I will, as always, post the entire review in

condensed
version on the standard review sites.
**********************************

Part 4- The entertainment & Activities

My background training in college was musical theater, and my instrument

was
French horn. Before making the switch to a life in theater, I spent 8

years as
a High School Band director. I have in the past 10 years, been involved in

over
500 productions. I know when things are bad and know when they are good,

and
can at times be a real performance snob.

It is possibly the only thing I am capable of being a snob about.

I am certainly not a slave to fashion (99 percent of my wardrobe is

Hawaiian
shirts and the remaining 1 percent is formal wear). I relish the thought

of a
day of eating carny food and as previously mentioned happily munch on meat

on a
stick from push cart vendors.

I am fully capable of spending a day with breakfast stains on my shirt,

missing
large parts of my face when I shave or having soap from my morning shower

in my
ear.

Just ask my wife.

One area in which Explorer absolutely shines, is entertainment. The ship

is
brilliant at it. This is part in parcel to the incredibly large stable of
musicians on the ship, and the astounding technical prowess of the ships

two
large performing venues.

There was live music everywhere, and I mean everywhere. It's what made the
Palace Theater Main Stage productions unique. On my previous cruises, main
stage productions have always used a mix of canned (pre-recorded)
orchestrations with a live rhythm section. Not on Explorer.

There was at each Main Stage show, a 10 piece band backing up the singers

and
dancers. They were either on stage in a "Hollywood squares" type set up,

or the
pit, which rose up from the floor via hydraulics. Coupled with marvelous
lighting design, fantastic stage effects and a visually stunning

background
star drop, this made the main stage productions a treat.

A most unusual combination of a violinist an oboist and a pianist

frequently
played in the Aquarium Lounge or on the main dining room balcony. The lush
timbre of this trio always soothed the party animal in me and caused me

the
pause, sit down, and listen to at least one number, before running off in
search of my next libation.

The poolside reggae/Island band was the perfect excuse to bop my head,

order a
drink, and forget the deck chair situation.

There were pianists in Dizzy's in the early evening, the Schooner Bar, The
balcony of the Main Dining room and at the Aquarium Bar. The Aquarium bar

also
featured a jazz quartet from time to time.

There was a vocalist who played guitar and led sing-a-longs in the crown

and
kettle pub.

Dizzy's featured a Latin band most nights, although it really sparkled the

one
night they had an 8 piece Jazz band and two marvelous vocalists performing

all
the great Jazz standards. It was also the only night Dizzys was really

packed.
Considering the hour of performance was 12:00am to 1:00am, and the place

was
full, RCCL should really consider changing this venue to full time Jazz.

It is
what this space screams for. Had it been there nightly, I'm sure the club

would
have been packed nightly. At the very least, we would have been there

nightly.

I suppose that would have meant there were that many people less in the

Casino
on a regular basis, so bookkeeping may play a hand in this.

The vocalists in the mainstage shows were all beyond reproach. While the
dancing was on the light end ("She who must be obeyed" is a choreographer)

the
live orchestration and butt kicking vocal work made up for it.

The comedians were funny. Especially since one was an almost spitting

image of
one of our group of 32. People all week came up to our friend Tom and
congratulated him for the great performance. We all did our best to keep a
straight face he explained the rigors of shipboard comedy, or why he had

red
hair on stage and black hair on deck. ("If I didn't use some sort of

disguise,
I would have to spend my Caribbean days on the bottom of the ship. I have

a
very small room")

The Drifters headlined the last night of the cruise backed up by the House
band. Now that was a rip. The whole theater sang along with "under the
boardwalk" and "on broadway".

Krews Komic jugglers popped up from time to time, including once in an

elevator
to the surprise and delight of those who used the lifts.

The Quest Game in Studio B was absolutely hilarious.

Finally, to chime in what everyone has said about Studio B's Planet Ice

Show,
DON'T MISS IT. The effects, the costumes, the choice of music ( a lot of

The
Doors), and the skating that is performed in this tiny rink are

astounding. It
is the only shipboard performance I have ever seen, that left me feeling

as
though I had "paid" for my ticket, rather than sat down for free.
Abso-freakin-loutely brilliant.

As far as things to do on board ship, once again Explorer excels. "She who

must
be obeyed" and others in our group literally "got out there" and did what

the
RCCL commercial suggested. They rock climbed ( a real hoot), they roller
bladed, they worked out in the gym, they had spa treatments and they

played
mini-golf. One afternoon, all the womenfolk and kids went Ice skating.

The result was not exactly "The Planet Ice Show" but was just as

entertaining
to watch. Four of us sat in the seats and acted as Olympic judges shouting

out
scores. It was hilarious.

WE all played bingo the last day. There was a 16,000 dollar cash prize for

the
final game which went to one very, very, very, happy player. Had I won it,

I
would not be writing this.

I would be drunk rolling naked on the floor in the wad of CASH they gave

him.

In addition there were the standard pool games, Karaoke nights, trivia
contests, art auctions, sporting events and a plethora of things for kids

to
do.

Entertainment and activities is a very strong suit of the ship. They took

some
of the edge off, of having two additional days at sea, the missed port of
Labadee and the missed port of Grand Caymen.

Although even for me, who loves days at sea, four days was A LOT.

Especially
since the Grand Caymen skip was not a day to be topside. 40 knot winds, 16

foot
seas and a ship rolling like a naked man with 16,000 dollars in bingo

cash.

Even in THAT weather, there were still hundreds of towels on the deck

chairs by
the pools just in case.

Next Up-Part 5- What the Kids thought.

That's My2Cnts. What's yours?

John
Office of Applause
The Zamgwar Institute



 




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