With an impressive 3,000 guests a day on board, a cruise ship has the tough task of keeping all its passengers entertained day and night.
Luxury ship Celebrity Xcel is a brand-new elevated resort at sea ready to set sail for the first time – and, as such, a huge part of the preparations include the creation of immersive entertainment performances across multiple venues.
In a new instalment of the YouTube documentary, Ship Shape, the Daily Mail takes a look behind the scenes of the ship’s entertainment.
Boasting 75 resident performers, five original shows and a fully mechanical, revolving stage, the theatrical options on show are seemingly endless.
In the documentary, the staff on board explain the huge amount of work that goes into preparing more than 150 costumes for the main show alone.
There are also immersive shows, LED walls, lasers, 80s-themed club shows, after parties and DJs on board.
In Ship Shape, musical director Greg Arrowsmith shares the process behind the entertainment on display.
He says: ‘At the heart of Celebrity Xcel is a feat of marine engineering: a purpose-built theatre designed for Broadway-style shows.’
In Ship Shape, musical director Greg Arrowsmith shares the process behind the entertainment on display
Boasting 75 resident performers, five original shows and a fully mechanical, revolving stage, the theatrical options on show are seemingly endless
He also explains the complexity of entertaining such a wide range of passengers.
Greg says: ‘Creating a show for a cruise ship is an interesting one because we don’t necessarily know who our audience are.’
He adds: ‘On a ship, the audience can change depending on where we’re sailing to. So a Mediterranean audience might be different to a Caribbean audience and all those kinds of things.
‘So one of the great joys of working on a project like this is we have to make sure that we appeal to everybody.’
The facilities are impressive too, including a 270-degree viewing angle and a 110-foot curved kinetic LED wall with five moving panels.
Vice President Lisa Lehr explains that from stage lifts to lighting rigs, every system is built to counteract the movement of the sea.
There’s also kinetic lighting and lasers that etch into an LED wall.
Vicky Gill, costume designer, shared the challenges faced.
Vicky Gill, costume designer, shared the challenges faced while designing for a cruise
In the documentary, the staff on board explain the huge amount of work that goes into preparing more than 150 costumes for the main show alone
Aerial director Sasha Yermakov explains how performances are custom-built and choreographed
She explains: ‘Once the ship sails, that’s it. There is no popping to the shop or being able to nip to the high street or online and have something delivered.
‘Even Amazon can’t fulfil that request.’
Aerial director Sasha Yermakov explains how performances are custom-built and choreographed.
He says there’s a three-metre long aerial beam and they can have two performers flying on it.
The ship also has two brand-new club shows, including 254 West, which is 80s themed. There’s also a huge after party with DJs.
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How to entertain 3,000 people a day: Immersive shows, hundreds of costumes, after parties and DJs aboard luxury cruise ship revealed in Daily Mail documentary
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