While Royal Caribbean has a reputation for setting the bar for adventure-packed cruise vacations, did you know that we also deliver unparalleled entertainment that’s impossible to find anywhere else?

It takes a special set of skills to stage a show, let alone more than 130 of them with overr 13,200 performances in a year (that’s more than double the shows of New York City’s Broadway and London’s West End combined!). With 50 theaters that span ice, water, air and stage, Royal Caribbean productions are as varied as the performers—which include world-class singers, dancers, ice skaters, acrobats and aquatic athletes.

With all Royal Caribbean ships offering top-notch entertainment, and wowing more than 100,000 people a night across the fleet, how do we ensure our lineup of standout original productions stays on point?

Located in North Miami Beach, 45 minutes from our headquarters, the Royal Caribbean Production Studio is where every show starts. It’s a revolving door of talent, where casts clock upwards of 300 hours of rehearsal time over a six-week period ahead of opening night. The 132,500-square-foot facility has 14 dance studios, 15 vocal rooms, three aerial studios, a 300-seat theater, a recording studio, a 20,000-square-foot costume shop, and a gym. Outside of the major film studios in Hollywood, this facility is one of the largest in the world.

The state-of-the-art studio is home base for the entertainment team, from performers (most of whom are learning not only one but up to three productions from scratch) to the mind-blowing lineup of producers, choreographers, composers, music directors, vocal coaches, aerial trainers, set designers, costumers, and wig stylists. It’s also where a sampling of our shows’ 93,000 costumes is handmade and maintained by a studio-based team of six and a traveling team of 100 tailors and seamstresses.

If you think this facility sounds out of this world, just wait until you hear about the people who make the magic happen on stage and behind the scenes. In just one year, almost 25,000 individuals across 75 cities audition to join the Royal Caribbean entertainment family. Supported by 600 musicians and 650 theater technicians, our 1,600 cast members sail all over the world to places as local as New York and Miami and as far-flung as Sydney and Shanghai. This incredible talent pool includes Olympic athletes, Broadway and West End stars and acclaimed producers and directors.

The latest technology also takes center stage on board Royal Caribbean ships. Whether guests are marveling at the 60 drones overhead in acts like Symphony’s 1977 ice show, or watching a 30-foot plane soar into the house, above the audience, thanks to our industry-leading 3D flying system in Flight: Dare to Dream, our team is always pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in entertainment. Royal Caribbean’s groundbreaking shows also feature 24 roboscreens in Quantum Class ships’ Two70 venue. This is a state-of-the-art venue named for the 270-degree views from the double-deck performance space. Two70’s floor-to-ceiling windows double as ultra high-definition screens with nearly twice the resolution of IMAX.

Every enthralling performance originates in South Florida, and it takes a village to bring it all together every night.

Ready to dance with Tracy Turnbland and Link Larkin in Hairspray, watch aerialists, acrobats and high divers in the iconic AquaTheater on Oasis Class ships, or travel back in time to the city of lights in another original ice show, 1887: A Journey in Time? Check out upcoming cruises here.