On our last cruise with Norwegian, we decided to see the Cirque Dreams and Steam dinner show in the Illusionarium. It is a Cirque du Soleil type acrobatics dinner show done in a steampunk style.
The dinner is served before the show while the characters mill about in the audience. I really enjoyed the show. The meal… not so much.
The 3 Course Meal
The meal served during Cirque Dreams and Steam is a pre-set menu.
It’s a prosciutto starter with mozzarella and tomato. Then, you are served a surf & turf entree.
I forgot to take pictures of these courses (by this time I was starving!), but click here for some pictures from another great blog post about Cirque Dreams and Steam on the Getaway!
The server said all steaks would come out between medium and medium well. However, mine came out bordering on rare. There is a vegetarian option that is available upon request which, looking back, I should have opted for. The dessert was a trio of bite size cakes. There is no choice. You get all three. The desserts were a red velvet cupcake, a vanilla creme caramel and a flourless chocolate cake.
During the meal, I captured these photos of some of the performers in the show.
Floor or Banquet seating?
On the Getaway, the floor seating are tables that seat 8 in two rows around the curved stage. The banquet seating is semicircular tables on the back row of the venue. The problem being that those seated at those tables are at a lower vantage point than those seated in the floor seating. I can’t imagine how those people saw anything that was going on on stage. Keep that in mind when selecting your seating, especially if you are short.
We chose floor seating. We used one of our dinners from our specialty dining plan and had to pay $18 in addition to that for tickets. If you make and prepay for reservations online and you have the dining package, the system forces you to use one of your dinners for the Cirque Dreams and Steam show.
We arrived at the show about 30 minutes early and were still seated in the second row of seating. Keep in mind that Haven guests are seated first and in the front.
The Show
I’ve seen a few Cirque de Soleil shows in Vegas and this show on the Getaway had a very similar vibe. There was no dialogue in the show, just different performers coming out to showcase their various talents. It definitely wasn’t on the same grand scale as anything I’ve seen in Vegas because of obvious space constraints. But, the performers were just as talented.
Conclusion
I thought it was entertaining. Would I do this type of show again? Probably not. I don’t think that I enjoyed the show anymore than the shows I saw for free in the main theatre. I actually enjoyed Million Dollar Quartet more, but I enjoyed that more than any show I’ve seen on a cruise ship… ever. So, it’s not a fair comparison.
Also, I didn’t enjoy the meal any more than something I could also get included in the main dining room. So, for those reasons, I probably wouldn’t pay extra to see a show like this again.
What about you? Have you see any of the shows held in the Illusionarium on Norwegian? How did you like it? Is there one that you think I should see that will change my mind? I’d love to hear in the comments below!
