Cruise Ship Entertainment - How to Plan Your Evening
Cruise lines are renowned for their amazing evening entertainment. From West End-style musical shows, to tribute acts. Informative talks, to comedians. There is something for everyone.
But how do you fit all of this amazing cruise ship entertainment into your holiday? And which cruise ship has the best entertainment? Read on to find out how to make the most of your evenings at sea.
We are going to take a look at these cruise lines and the entertainment they offer:
- P&O Cruises
- Princess Cruises
- Celebrity Cruises
- MSC
- Ambassador
P&O Cruises Evening Entertainment
With the help of some famous names, P&O Cruises have created an incredible entertainment programme for their guests. Breathtaking aerial rope displays, tribute acts, amazing magic acts, live bands, theatre productions, a casino, the latest movies, party nights, guest speakers and much more!
P&O Cruises provide all guests with their ‘Horizon’ newsletter each day, which will give you information on what is happening the following day. It completely itemises all the things that are happening throughout the day and evening; this way you can plan ahead and decide what you would like to do. Having this information ahead of time means that you can of course plan when you are going to have your evening meal as well.
You will also find information screens around the ship that will confirm showtimes. P&O offer two set dining times, as well as the option to do their ‘any time’ dining. With their new My Holiday app you can make dining reservations and book entertainment in advance onboard.
Plus, many of their shows will have more than one performance, to ensure that their guests have more than one chance to see their shows.
Princess Cruises Evening Entertainment
Princess Cruises know how to entertain their guests! From fantastic game shows such as ‘Voice of the Ocean’ and ‘Deal or No Deal’, to Movies Under The Stars, live music, award-winning comedians, jaw dropping magic tricks from their onboard Magicians. They also have Broadway-style theatre productions, themed evenings and their Camp Discovery programs. Everyone is catered for aboard Princess Cruises!
To get the most from your evening on a Princess Cruise, use their Princess app to plan your time onboard. Within the app you will be able to create your own itinerary! The app will tell you how many people have already reserved the venue at any given time. So you can plan ahead and make the most of your cruise.
The cruise line will also provide you with a daily newsletter, delivered to your cabin the night before. This will provide you with a timetable of all activities and events from morning to evening.
Princess Cruises have three dining options, two set sittings and their ‘any time’ dining as well. With advanced planning you can make sure that no matter what time you are dining, you will still be able to make any evening shows that are on offer.
Theatre shows are shown twice each evening. The times will be confirmed in your Princess app and around the ship, as well as in your daily newsletter.
See our own Simone Clark's Medallion-Class Experience here.
Celebrity Cruises Evening Entertainment
Celebrity Cruises stage shows are on another level. Fantastic immersive stage productions, backed by a live orchestra. You will find acrobatic shows, silent discos, a chance to win some money in their onboard game shows, and amazing live music venues, where you can enjoy many different genres of music well into the early hours.
So how do you make sure that you make the most of the Captain’s ‘Happy Hour’ (which is from 5pm-7pm by the way!) and have dinner, as well as see the show that you want to see?
Most cruise lines now have an app that you can use once onboard, and Celebrity Cruises are no exception. Use their calendar app to see what is happening in real time.
By looking ahead in your app, you can easily plan your evenings entertainment around the all important evening meal.
Celebrity Select Dining gives you the option to dine at a set time each evening or at a time that you choose between 6PM and 9:30PM. With Celebrity Select Dining Early or Late, you’ll have a designated time each evening for dinner, starting as early as 6pm or as late as 8:30pm. With Celebrity Select Dining Early or Late, you’ll be seated with the same people and get the same waitstaff each night.
And in a more traditional style Celebrity will also deliver a newsletter to every cabin in the evening, which will guide their guests on the following days activities, entertainment and events. So you can plan ahead. There are also screens all over the ship which will provide guests with an hour-by-hour schedule of what is happening on the ship. So it is very easy to plan ahead and make sure that you make the most of your evenings with Celebrity.
MSC Cruises Evening Entertainment
With bowling alleys, 4D cinemas, Formula 1 simulators, a VR Maze, themed evenings, nightclubs where you can dance the night away and much more, MSC Cruises’ evening entertainment has it all.
MSC also have amazing immersive stage productions, and will generally offer six different shows each week to their guests!
With MSC it is important to book ahead. And we recommend that you check before booking any additional activities or entertainment as there may be an additional charge.
You can pre-book a show on your MSC Booking personaliser, which you access through their website.
Ambassador Evening Entertainment
Ambassador Cruise Line operate in a more traditional way compared to other cruise lines. And are very much geared towards adults only.
Guest speakers, quizzes, comedy acts, storytelling in the Palladium Theatre, a fantastic evening of dance with a familiar (virtual) face from Strictly Come Dancing, musicals and much more, is on offer to enrich and entertain their guests.
A daily schedule is delivered to each cabin to inform all guests of the following day's schedule for activities and entertainment. This will allow guests time to decide how they would like to spend their evening.
Ambassador carefully plan their show times around the dining times, so everyone has a chance to see the evening show if they so wish. And there are two dining times to choose from whilst on your Ambassador cruise. But make sure you’re aware of these ahead of time, as they can change slightly when the ship is in port.
There are two specialty restaurants on board, which can be booked by speaking to the team in the Buckingham restaurant on board.
Top tips for the perfect evening on board
- Use your first day onboard to plan your evenings.
- Use daily schedules, and where possible, onboard screens and apps for information and times.
- Book dining times and show seats where possible.
- Arrive at least half an hour early to a show if you cannot book your seat.
- Speak to the crew and reception staff - they are there to help you get the most out of your cruise holiday and ensure you catch all the best cruise ship entertainment.
Book Your Entertaining Sailing
Cruise lines have such a large entertainment programme on offer that it can become slightly overwhelming for guests! But with a little bit of research at the start of your cruise holiday, you can really get the most from your evenings at sea and find the best cruise ship entertainment offerings for your taste. Which cruise ship has the best entertainment? It’s up to you!
To find out more about these cruise lines and see the vast selection of itineraries on offer, check out our selection of cruises available.