This morning I was listening to the radio; after an awful song – one that was teeth hurtingly bad - the announcer said, “sounds like something you’d only hear on a cruise ship.” My immediate reaction was to get defensive. Why do people say these things? Have they ever been on a cruise ship? The entertainment isn’t bad, or is it?

I started thinking about how many times I’ve heard comedians or other performers make snarky remarks about entertainment at sea and I had to ask myself, is it really that bad? In order to be funny there has to be some element of truth in a joke.

To be honest, yes, I have to admit, at times the entertainment onboard has been bad but it also has been good. It has often been said cruise ship entertainers are second rate, if they were any good they wouldn’t be working on a ship. I say, if you want Broadway caliber performers – go to Broadway! This is a cruise ship. People choose to cruise for more than just the entertainment; to some it is the chef, service, destinations or even lecturers! Broadway only has to be good at being Broadway; cruise ships have to be good at - EVERYTHING!

Things are changing. New shows and plays written specifically for ships feature world class performers hired just for this very special venue. It is no longer fair to generalize that cruise entertainment consists solely of the guy in the shiny suit with the bad toupee singing an up-tempo renditions of, “Old Man River.” Come on guys, cut us some slack! There are extremely talented people performing on ships by choice. Take a cruise and find out!