Earlier this month, my mother and I disembarked the Carnival Conquest after three consecutive cruises and 20 days on the ship. It was an amazing voyage and we visited some amazing ports of call.
I love to cruise and there are so many entertainment options on the ship. On Carnival cruises, I love to go to the piano bar. On my recent cruises, I’ve been going to the piano bar almost every night, except for the one night that it is closed during the cruise.
I think piano bar entertainers have a difficult job. Unlike a music artist performing in a venue, they don’t have a setlist that they follow. Their shows are request-based and they don’t know what songs they will be singing on a given night. Unlike the performer that is performing a concert at an arena, the piano bar entertainer doesn’t have a hit single the concertgoers are coming to see performed live. On a cruise ship, the piano bar is just one places guests can go for entertainment. There’s no shortage of things to do and many activities are typically happening at the same time. That means piano bar entertainers need to do something to keep people engaged to keep them entertained. Otherwise, they are likely to go elsewhere.
I met Ben Gentry on the Carnival Conquest and I was impressed by his performance every night. He is very engaging. Although he is the piano bar entertainer, Gentry found a way to involve almost everyone in the piano bar in the show. From running around the room getting high-fives, passing out or collecting things like funny hats and glasses, or simply have Gentry’s spotlight shined on you for a moment, just about everyone who walks through the door finds themselves as part of the show in some way.
Another way Gentry is entertaining is his sense of humor. Being on the ship for so long, I knew most of his jokes and I anticipated them. No matter how many times I may have heard the same jokes, I found myself laughing at them.
I was impressed by how many songs in different genres that he knew. That didn’t come by accident. I learned that Gentry really cares about the people who come into his piano bar and he wants them to have a good time. He is so dedicated to his job that he will sometimes learn a song if it is requested and he doesn’t know it.
If you take a cruise, you should take some time to go in the piano bar. If you happen to have Gentry as your piano bar entertainer, you are in for a good time.