On Anthem of the Seas, a cabaret is more than just people singing on a stage. Thanks to the sprawling, seamless, floor-to-ceiling video screens and the floating Roboscreens in the Two70 theater, this late-night show presents a combination of live musical and dance performances and video projections. The proceedings are commanded by Spectra — a  dramatic if dutiful emcee — both in the flesh and on screen. He’s decked out in gold-glitter fringe, but the show as a whole never sparkles quite as brightly as his costume.

Is it amusing to watch a singer in a neon wig perform a Janet Jackson song while fake-playing a see-through plexiglass keytar? Possibly, if the rest of the show includes more substantive scenes, but this one really doesn’t. There is some lip service paid to passion and romance throughout, and the aerialists perform moves that would have most people in traction for the better part of a year. But beyond that, "Spectra’s Cabaret" leaves the odd sensation that there’s something missing. Maybe it’s nudity, or the small pile of drugs necessary to enjoy something this abstract. Whatever it is, you can’t help but think this show could have been both edgier and sexier — even without all of the digital flash.

Insider Tip: Catch the early show if you can, and watch the performance with a cocktail in hand. 

This jukebox musical, with songs from the band Queen, played for 12 years on London’s West End and has spawned productions on five continents. Honestly, it’s a little hard to understand why. With a garbled plot that involves a dystopian, digitized future where rock 'n' roll has become illegal, and costumes that look like they were constructed from Hefty bags and pipe cleaners, there’s little to redeem this show — on Anthem of the Seas or on land.

Even Queen’s exemplary song catalog, from the title song to less-ubiquitous gems like “Innuendo,” get shrieky karaoke-night treatment here and are plugged into the plot in haphazard ways that rob them of any meaning or sentiment. The show’s inclusion on Anthem of the Seas itself is a bit of a head-scratcher. Why put a 15-year-old British musical, complete with dated technology references, on a brand-new ship that’s exclusively sailing the Americas? 

Insider Tip: This ship would have been better served by the polished and beautifully performed production of "Mamma Mia" that’s playing on sister ship Quantum of the Seas. Sadly, Quantum of the Seas now serves the China market year-round in Asia. We suggest heading to the Music Hall instead and catching whatever tribute band is performing that night; every one we saw knocked our socks off. 

Blink and you’ll miss it. This five-minute short film pays homage to the notebooks and inventions of Leonardo da Vinci, using both the massive stationary screens in the Two70 theater and the moving, robot-mounted screens that float, suspended above the floor, and rearrange themselves as video moves across them. 

Insider Tip: This brief paean to genius is a fun bit of swirling eye candy you can enjoy at sporadic times throughout your cruise. We caught it just before "Spectra’s Cabaret," but you can also see it on a night when the rest of your evening is spent in a bar or in the casino.