Time for my last installment of our cruise review! You can read Part 1, Part Two and Part Three to catch up if you'd like!
As mentioned before, the weather was crazy and we had a couple of days onboard that were severely limited by it. This affected the shows, too, since some were outside and most would have compromised the safety of the performers since the ship was rocking soooo much (yes, THAT much. It was nuts.).
Once the ship settled a bit, we were able to see a few of the shows. And the two that my kiddo performed in were towards the end of the cruise, so they went on as planned!
The girls and I loved this show. It was elaborate and creative and involved a big nature theme where scenes took place in all kinds of environments and a Mother Nature character united all the scenes. I had to find a few pictures online. We were right in the front and I was unable to sneak my own pics of this one! ;)
This was actually an awesome ice show! It was fun for all ages in our group, from 7 to 67! And we all love this movie, so it was an extra fun one to see come to "life"!
* There was a different ice show called Ice Games but we were unable to see it on the limited occasions when it was available.
This show takes place in the outdoor aqua theater on the back of the ship. There is an 18 ft deep pool and there are diving stations up to 62 feet in the air! It's like Cirque du Soleil O "light" (and if you get the chance to see that show in Vegas, DO IT. It's freaking amazing!). The first few shows were cancelled due to the ship rocking and the ship was STILL rocking too much for this show in my opinion when we saw it! Yikes!! Glad it wasn't my kid or husband up there jumping (my 7 year old said she'd happily go from the top!? Noooooo). Was a fun show and good value as part of included entertainment!
This is the reason we went! For our 9 year old to shine on stage. And shine, she did! She absolutely rocked it and had a BLAST. They got the chance to have a workshop with some of the performers from the big shows and it was really cool to meet and learn from people who are entertaining for a living. Her school did an amazing job and we were all so proud!!
We were unable to see Chicago because so many of the showings were extremely late and it wasn't appropriate for our kids. I was sad to hear that the guest performer on the cruise the week after ours was Kristin Chenoweth! What??? That would have been cool!
There were other nighttime comedy shows, etc., that we skipped to spend the time in the room with the girls.
Would we go on a cruise again? Maybe... if the kid is performing again, sure. If it's just a trip that we choose and book ourselves? Would probably need to be a more exciting itinerary and maybe places that aren't necessarily ideal to visit on their own (Turkey, Israel..).
Was it what you expected? Yes and no. We expected the tiny rooms, big crowds, buffet food. We didn't expect entertainment quality to be as high as it was nor did we expect weather to be so chilly and swimming options and desirability to be so limited. The whole thing definitely made more sense to us on the days that we were able to get off the ship and see something destination-wise.
Did the kids like it? Absolutely. They LOVED it. They didn't notice any of the things that the adults found less than ideal. They both say they would pick it over a week at a beach.
Was it worth it? I would pay any amount to provide such an amazing opportunity for my kiddo and to be there to cheer her on. Was it worth close to twice what it costs to book an all-inclusive in a 4-5 star resort someplace like Cancun just for a regular vacation? Not for us.
Let me know if you have any other questions! It was quite the learning experience, for sure! Happy travels!
Blue Planet Aerial Acrobatic Show
The girls and I loved this show. It was elaborate and creative and involved a big nature theme where scenes took place in all kinds of environments and a Mother Nature character united all the scenes. I had to find a few pictures online. We were right in the front and I was unable to sneak my own pics of this one! ;)
How to Train Your Dragon Ice Show
This was actually an awesome ice show! It was fun for all ages in our group, from 7 to 67! And we all love this movie, so it was an extra fun one to see come to "life"!
* There was a different ice show called Ice Games but we were unable to see it on the limited occasions when it was available.
OceanAria Aqua Show
This show takes place in the outdoor aqua theater on the back of the ship. There is an 18 ft deep pool and there are diving stations up to 62 feet in the air! It's like Cirque du Soleil O "light" (and if you get the chance to see that show in Vegas, DO IT. It's freaking amazing!). The first few shows were cancelled due to the ship rocking and the ship was STILL rocking too much for this show in my opinion when we saw it! Yikes!! Glad it wasn't my kid or husband up there jumping (my 7 year old said she'd happily go from the top!? Noooooo). Was a fun show and good value as part of included entertainment!
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| The only fools in the "splash zone"! LOL |
Special Guests: Stars at Sea Performances
This is the reason we went! For our 9 year old to shine on stage. And shine, she did! She absolutely rocked it and had a BLAST. They got the chance to have a workshop with some of the performers from the big shows and it was really cool to meet and learn from people who are entertaining for a living. Her school did an amazing job and we were all so proud!!
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| That little one on the left in the purple, though! ;) |
We were unable to see Chicago because so many of the showings were extremely late and it wasn't appropriate for our kids. I was sad to hear that the guest performer on the cruise the week after ours was Kristin Chenoweth! What??? That would have been cool!
There were other nighttime comedy shows, etc., that we skipped to spend the time in the room with the girls.
So, final thoughts...
Would we go on a cruise again? Maybe... if the kid is performing again, sure. If it's just a trip that we choose and book ourselves? Would probably need to be a more exciting itinerary and maybe places that aren't necessarily ideal to visit on their own (Turkey, Israel..).
Was it what you expected? Yes and no. We expected the tiny rooms, big crowds, buffet food. We didn't expect entertainment quality to be as high as it was nor did we expect weather to be so chilly and swimming options and desirability to be so limited. The whole thing definitely made more sense to us on the days that we were able to get off the ship and see something destination-wise.
Did the kids like it? Absolutely. They LOVED it. They didn't notice any of the things that the adults found less than ideal. They both say they would pick it over a week at a beach.
Was it worth it? I would pay any amount to provide such an amazing opportunity for my kiddo and to be there to cheer her on. Was it worth close to twice what it costs to book an all-inclusive in a 4-5 star resort someplace like Cancun just for a regular vacation? Not for us.
Let me know if you have any other questions! It was quite the learning experience, for sure! Happy travels!
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