Ships aren’t the only things getting bigger at sea, as cruise lines continue to raise the bar in onboard entertainment with new and impressive productions.

Using interactive props (even robots), extensive lighting and detailed costumes lines now offer live shows from Broadway productions such as ‘Chicago’ and now ‘We Will Rock You’ (yes, Royal Caribbean is bringing your favourite Queen hits to Anthem of the Seas) to some of your fairytale favourites.

Here are our pick for the five cruise lines putting on the best stage shows.

Disney Cruise Line

Let Ali and Jasmine show you the world or join Buzz and Woody on a crazy adventure.

Disney Cruise Line’s brings your favourite Disney tales to life in musical extravaganzas.

Guests sailing on Disney Fantasy are treated to a 45-minute Broadway version of Aladdin; Disney Wonder has an hour-long retelling of Toy Story; Disney Magic’s Villains Tonight is a comedic show staring the best of the worst Disney villains; and Disney Dream unites 20 Disney characters into one heartfelt play.

P&O Cruises Australia

 

The circus comes to town onboard P&O ships.

The line has recruited a group of international talent to perform all types of acrobatic twists and turns that has guests in awe.

Performances range from hanging upside down from a rope tied to the atrium roof; doing flips over, around and through chairs; and even fire throwing.

The circus act is either conducted in the atrium or outdoors.

Norwegian Cruise Line

 

Norwegian is popular amongst cruisers for its onboard entertainment, particularly its live shows.

The line’s newest ship, Norwegian Getaway features a musical retelling of the hilarious ‘Legally Blonde’. There’s also ‘Burn the Floor’ a 45-minute dance extravaganza combining high-energy music with Latin, ballroom and foxtrot dancing styles.

Meanwhile, guests on Norwegian Epic will enjoy the Blue Man Group – a comedy production featuring techno-music, non-stop action and audience participation.

Carnival Cruise Lines

 

It may not be a Broadway show, but guests get a kick out of playing their favourite childhood games during Carnival’s family night entertainment called, Hasbro, The Game Show.

The live game show features giant versions of childhood games, including a three metre high Connect 4 and Operation.

Other games include Yahtzee Bowling with a giant balls and bowling pins; Operation Sam Dunk, where contestants have to get balls in different slots on the ‘patients’ body; Connect 4 Basketball, which uses a basketball set-up rather than the traditional format; Sorry Sliders, a giant shuffleboard court; and Simon Flash, where two teams of four guests wear giant light-up colour boxes and shuffle themselves quickly to repeat a colour sequence.

Hasbro will be available onboard Carnival Legend when she arrives in Australia on 22 September.

Royal Caribbean

 

The line leading the way in onboard entertainment has just announced its second Quantum-class vessel, Anthem of the Seas, will be the first to feature the Tony Award-winning Broadway production, ‘We Will Rock You’.

The show is in addition to a lineup of plays the line already offers on its other ships, including ‘Chicago’ on Allure of the Seas and ‘Hairspray’ on Oasis of the Seas.

‘We Will Rock You’ includes 24 classic Queen tracks such as ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’ and ‘We Are The Champions’.