Will HAL Ever Add More Daily Activities a Day/or Night Entertainment??

Early in life someone gave me the same advice allegedly given by the Queen Mother to her daughters: if you are bored, then my dears you are boring.

 

Am I the only one who remembers endless complaints here about the Neptune playing "too loud" at the Lido. Now people are complaining they are no longer there.

 

Personally I found the "Mr and Miss Rotterdam" game intrusive and annoying. The legendary toodle-doo CD introduced it on one of our early cruises before she was finally dismissed from HAL service. But I am also on record for liking HAL ships because they leave us alone, and we like to totally unplug when we are on a cruise. We use cruising to travel and enrichment ; not for onboard entertainment. HAL marketing must know how many there are like us, and how much they need to still attract with more onboard diversions.

 

I agree, the switch to more "selling" events passed off as onboard seminar "activities" is unfortunate, but they remain optional. I figure the animal spirits of capitalism will determine their fate - if they don't pay their way, they will be gone. If they do pay their way, they must have found a need to fill.

The loud pool band was the Hell Cats. I don't think anyone misses them. I never saw the Neptunes anywhere but the Ocean Bar. How about that! HAL actually had TWO bands on the ship at the same time. Doesn't happen now.

The loud pool band was the Hell Cats. I don't think anyone misses them. I never saw the Neptunes anywhere but the Ocean Bar. How about that! HAL actually had TWO bands on the ship at the same time. Doesn't happen now.

Do we even know if there are enough trained musicians to even fill all these slots of cruise ships these days? One obviously has to dig well into Eastern Europe to find most of the classically trained Adagio players. How many garage band electrro-heavy metal groups today can ...or will .... play Sinatra or even Count Basie (etc) all night long for the "older" HAL crowds? I don't know.

Doone -

 

Were you on in March as in last month? In December 2016, afternoon trivia was alive and well. You can check out the the daily programs in my Live From thread. Or, you can find the whole week's scans here.

 

https://www.evernote.com/shard/s88/sh/0f6a41b2-c8af-461f-bc15-eb94ebd802e0/faad13719bd0ffe54f83f886bd0955b6

Yes, last month, the only trivia that I saw going on, and I must confess I did not look at my daily program every day, but the only trivia we saw going on was kids trivia in the Crowe's Nest at 7 pm. Maybe I missed it, but I know one person in my group would have told us as he loves trivia...............

Maybe I missed it though.......

The steel drum player was awesome, but I wished he would have played more than he did..

The loud pool band was the Hell Cats. I don't think anyone misses them. I never saw the Neptunes anywhere but the Ocean Bar. How about that! HAL actually had TWO bands on the ship at the same time. Doesn't happen now.

Ah... But they do. There are several posts in this very thread lamenting the loss of live music at the pool.

In the words of the philosopher Ricky Nelson, "If you can't please everyone,you gotta please yourself."

rFugRFKqjFg

Do we even know if there are enough trained musicians to even fill all these slots of cruise ships these days? One obviously has to dig well into Eastern Europe to find most of the classically trained Adagio players. How many garage band electrro-heavy metal groups today can ...or will .... play Sinatra or even Count Basie (etc) all night long for the "older" HAL crowds? I don't know.

Oh, but there are more than enough trained classical musicians to fill the slots. I understand that classical music is not your beat, but age or vintage has nothing to do with whether or not one likes classical music. I love music, period - but when I play (sort of) the piano, it is classical music, and it has been since my childhood. And, BTW, I am proud to say that Tampa has an excellent orchestra. So . . . there are people of all ages who enjoy the classics.

I also agree with of the posters that the music presented in the Lincoln is not classical. We were on the Oosterdam, and there were only a couple of programs that I noticed were actually classical.

If any of us are counting on HAL putting back "what worked", then we are going to be sadly disappointed. On our April 2017 cruise, several high-ranking officers connected to public relations and hotel services approached passengers during dinner several nights in a row. They were "polling" passengers about their cruise experience. When they paused at our table, DH & I bemoaned the loss of the libraries, no samples in "America's Test Kitchen", no ballroom dancing, Piano Bar, trend toward no deck chairs on a too narrow Promenade, etc. Their response: "You aren't telling us anything we aren't hearing repeatedly from other guests." DH then commented that the new president seems to be more interested in catering to new passengers who may or may not return to HAL rather than trying to keep us loyal HAL cruisers happy. (We are 4 star.) Sadly, these officers had heard that comment more than once or twice as well.

 

A few days later, we met with the hotel manager and again DH voiced the same complaints. This officer responded by saying that HAL must keep current to attract "new guests."

Did anyone in Seattle stop to contemplate that maybe, just maybe, what draws passengers to HAL are those traditions?

I was somewhat relieved to learn of the senior officers' responding that they hear these complaints repeatedly. For those of us who do not want to lose the library, the live dance music, and the dance floors of the Ocean Bar and the Crows Nest (which re being removed upon retrofitting (NA is scheduled for later this year; they are already removed in the Oosterdam), it behooves us to let Seattle know - repeatedly!

I was somewhat relieved to learn of the senior officers' responding that they hear these complaints repeatedly. For those of us who do not want to lose the library, the live dance music, and the dance floors of the Ocean Bar and the Crows Nest (which re being removed upon retrofitting (NA is scheduled for later this year; they are already removed in the Oosterdam), it behooves us to let Seattle know - repeatedly!

Seattle's reaction to Senior Officers listening to cruiser's complains is to tell them to no longer attend the Meet and Greets. Perhaps that says more about Seattle's real attitude towards passengers. And we also noticed on our last HAL cruise that Senior Officers were no longer dining in the MDR (with passengers). There was some socialization in the Pinnacle for a very limited number of passengers.

Hank

It really makes me sad to hear that HAL executives are only concentrating on luring new customers. For the last few years we have noticed the at first small cut backs that have now turned into larger ones. Just about all of the CD's staff has been eliminated; on our last cruise I think there was one lone assistant CD and that was it. That's one reason there are no longer many daytime activities; no one to lead them. Remember the days of horse racing, boat building, quoits, etc. It was a lot of fun to compete and a chance to meet new people if you wanted to do those things, but of course you were left alone to do your own thing is you wished. No one ever came around pushing you to join any activity. That's how is should be. Just my thoughts.

It really makes me sad to hear that HAL executives are only concentrating on luring new customers. For the last few years we have noticed the at first small cut backs that have now turned into larger ones. Just about all of the CD's staff has been eliminated; on our last cruise I think there was one lone assistant CD and that was it. That's one reason there are no longer many daytime activities; no one to lead them. Remember the days of horse racing, boat building, quoits, etc. It was a lot of fun to compete and a chance to meet new people if you wanted to do those things, but of course you were left alone to do your own thing is you wished. No one ever came around pushing you to join any activity. That's how is should be. Just my thoughts.

Luring new customers to what ?? Rock Walls, Wave Pools, 8 different restaurants, 12 different bars, a Broadway show , six different music venues, a 10 story water slide, a putting green, all of which are NOT available on HAL's quest for new cruisers. If eliminating venues, games lectures, entertainment, and thinking BB King, Billboard, Lincoln Center, deathly slow and overpriced WIFI is going to do it, help me understand ??? who this new breed of customer is ???

Oh, but there are more than enough trained classical musicians to fill the slots. I understand that classical music is not your beat, but age or vintage has nothing to do with whether or not one likes classical music. I love music, period - but when I play (sort of) the piano, it is classical music, and it has been since my childhood. And, BTW, I am proud to say that Tampa has an excellent orchestra. So . . . there are people of all ages who enjoy the classics.

 

I also agree with of the posters that the music presented in the Lincoln is not classical. We were on the Oosterdam, and there were only a couple of programs that I noticed were actually classical.

Huh? I taught an introduction to Puccini class for five years, tracked his life through Italy and even met his grand-daughter for a private tour of the Puccini archives.. And know the works of just about every major opera composer. Classical enough? Please don't make any cracks about Puccini - he is often under-rated by opera afficiandos.

Huh? I taught an introduction to Puccini class for five years, tracked his life through Italy and even met his grand-daughter for a private tour of the Puccini archives.. And know the works of just about every major opera composer. Classical enough? Please don't make any cracks about Puccini - he is often under-rated by opera afficiandos.

(bold is mine) Really? I'm surprised to see that. I thought I read somewhere that La Boheme was the "most produced" opera in the world.

I don't expect opera on a cruise ship, but better classical music--as opposed to pops played on a violin--would be nice.

I've heard that MSC has more classical music than most lines. Has anyone sailed with them?

Huh? I taught an introduction to Puccini class for five years, tracked his life through Italy ... Please don't make any cracks about Puccini - he is often under-rated by opera afficiandos.

(bold is mine) Really? I'm surprised to see that. I thought I read somewhere that La Boheme was the "most produced" opera in the world. ...

Not to put too fine a point on it, but OlsSalt said that Puccini is "under-rated" and not that La Boheme is either "under-rated" or under-produced.

Caveat: I don't sail for the entertainment. As a matter of fact the entertainment may be at the bottom of my list of priorities.

 

I cruise HAL for the itinerary and the quiet/serenity are a bonus.

 

Don't get me wrong, I will listen to the music if I like it & am in the area. (I don't search it out & I'm ok with quiet instead.)

 

What kind of entertainment are you looking for? I have read this complaint/concern, but I don't see the follow up with ideas.

Our last cruise with HAL was the one to Hawaii 2 years ago. There was a very knowlegable man onboard for the entire cruise who gave talks about the creation of the islands, how they were populated, the changes in the culture over the years, the impact of the Pearl Harbor attack etc, etc. He even gave food preparation demos. Also there were 4 young ladies who gave hula, ukulele, lei making, etc lessons over the duration of the cruise. We did a 13 day cruise a year ago on Carnival down & up the Mexican Pacific coast which was also supposed to be an "Enrichment" cruise. They had nothing enriching like the HAL cruise, not even Mexican music. The only music I heard playing was Reggae. Big difference. I'm hoping my next cruise next month on Zuiderdam to Northern Europe will include some of these programs.......

Our last cruise with HAL was the one to Hawaii 2 years ago. There was a very knowlegable man onboard for the entire cruise who gave talks about the creation of the islands, how they were populated, the changes in the culture over the years, the impact of the Pearl Harbor attack etc, etc. He even gave food preparation demos. ...

That most likely was Kainoa. We have been lucky enough to have him on 2 cruises. He's not only very knowledgeable but a very nice man too.

Huh? I taught an introduction to Puccini class for five years, tracked his life through Italy and even met his grand-daughter for a private tour of the Puccini archives.. And know the works of just about every major opera composer. Classical enough? Please don't make any cracks about Puccini - he is often under-rated by opera afficiandos.

My apologies. I got the impression from your post NO. 77, wherein you wondered if there were any training grounds for classical artists, that classical music was not your favorite. And I have absolutely nothing derogatory to say about Puccini, BTW.

My apologies. I got the impression from your post NO. 77, wherein you wondered if there were any training grounds for classical artists, that classical music was not your favorite. And I have absolutely nothing derogatory to say about Puccini, BTW.

You misquoted me. I questioned whether there were sufficient classical training grounds today to fill all the niches for cruise ships. The eastern block countries appear to provide most of the Adagio performers. Or whether young people willing to do cruise ship contracts still know the more traditional danceable music genres. Our own local chamber orchestra is on the verge of closing down - lack of audience support makes this a less appealing career path today. And electro-music is where most kids are today; not Sinatra.

Glad you enjoy Puccini - I chose his works for my opera class because he is more accessible for those getting their very first introduction to the opera art form. It was always fun to see the recognition when students realized they "knew" Puccini after all, simply from the use of his music in so many other settings - from spaghetti sauce advertisements to the movie "Moonlighting". Go Giacomo.

That most likely was Kainoa. We have been lucky enough to have him on 2 cruises. He's not only very knowledgeable but a very nice man too.

Kainoa was on our cruise to Hawaii this past December and he was great. HAL also had two great speakers on the 16 day Panama Canal cruise we did early last year. However, from our somewhat brief experience on longer cruises it seems like HAL only has guest lecturers when the cruise is 15 or more days. We were on a 14 day Norwegian cruise on the K'dam this past summer and the Excursion Director gave a slide show about Norway. It just wasn't the same as hearing about Norwegian history from a professional lecturer.

Kainoa was on our cruise to Hawaii this past December and he was great. HAL also had two great speakers on the 16 day Panama Canal cruise we did early last year. However, from our somewhat brief experience on longer cruises it seems like HAL only has guest lecturers when the cruise is 15 or more days. We were on a 14 day Norwegian cruise on the K'dam this past summer and the Excursion Director gave a slide show about Norway. It just wasn't the same as hearing about Norwegian history from a professional lecturer.

That is the official word we got on our last 28 day Zuiderdam cruise - HAL saw our cruise as two 14-days segments instead of a special 28 day blocked cruise. They explained their new policy was no enrichment lectures planned for 14 day or under cruises; no matter whether they get sold as "collector" cruises or not. It was also very port intensive and did not leave much time for extended enrichment.

Though the port guide on that trip was one of the best and her presentations were spot on for local enrichment opportunities. We never would have gotten to the stunning collection at the Goteburg Art Museum without her presentation. Walk into a room filled with French Impressionists, no lines and no barriers, and that was just the beginning. A superb little museum that also cultivated an appreciation for Nordic art, simply because the northern light, sea and landscapes gives these paintings such a different mood.

Agree Kainoa is one of the best, having enjoyed him on a SA cruise as well as the 50 day Tales of the South Pacific cruise.

That new policy explains what we were experiencing. Unfortunately, we're getting ready to go on the 14 day Alaska cruise to Anchorage, Kodiak and Homer as well as go to the other normal ports they visit and were hoping to hear lectures from a naturalist about Alaska's various wilderness aspects. Hopefully they will make an exception for their Alaska cruises as they are not cheap!

You misquoted me. I questioned whether there were sufficient classical training grounds today to fill all the niches for cruise ships. The eastern block countries appear to provide most of the Adagio performers. Or whether young people willing to do cruise ship contracts still know the more traditional danceable music genres. Our own local chamber orchestra is on the verge of closing down - lack of audience support makes this a less appealing career path today. And electro-music is where most kids are today; not Sinatra.

 

Glad you enjoy Puccini - I chose his works for my opera class because he is more accessible for those getting their very first introduction to the opera art form. It was always fun to see the recognition when students realized they "knew" Puccini after all, simply from the use of his music in so many other settings - from spaghetti sauce advertisements to the movie "Moonlighting". Go Giacomo.

I will always have a soft spot for Puccini. La Boheme was my first opera. When I was in high school, the Met offered a "student performance" once a year. Probably understudies rather than Big Names, but the tickets were priced for kids to be able to afford them. You never knew where your school would be seated, luck of the draw. The first time was the at the old Met, way up in the gods. When I was a senior, we were at the new Met in Lincoln Center and got box seats for the "Chagall" Magic Flute. I'll never be able to afford that again!!

In today's amplified world, we forget what it's like to hear a well trained voice in a hall with great acoustics. Mesmerizing!

That new policy explains what we were experiencing. Unfortunately, we're getting ready to go on the 14 day Alaska cruise to Anchorage, Kodiak and Homer as well as go to the other normal ports they visit and were hoping to hear lectures from a naturalist about Alaska's various wilderness aspects. Hopefully they will make an exception for their Alaska cruises as they are not cheap!

We're doing this one in August. At the least, I hope there will be a naturalist onboard for the glacier viewing days.

That new policy explains what we were experiencing. Unfortunately, we're getting ready to go on the 14 day Alaska cruise to Anchorage, Kodiak and Homer as well as go to the other normal ports they visit and were hoping to hear lectures from a naturalist about Alaska's various wilderness aspects. Hopefully they will make an exception for their Alaska cruises as they are not cheap!

We have done the 14-day Alaska itinerary with HAL three times over the last few years. Each time, we've had a very good "On Location" specialist; her name is Jeanette. She is an Alaska resident, and really knows Alaskan history, indigenous cultures, and wildlife. She has greatly enhanced our Alaska experiences, and I hope you either have her on your cruise, or someone who is equally knowledgeable.

I will always have a soft spot for Puccini. La Boheme was my first opera. When I was in high school, the Met offered a "student performance" once a year. Probably understudies rather than Big Names, but the tickets were priced for kids to be able to afford them. You never knew where your school would be seated, luck of the draw. The first time was the at the old Met, way up in the gods. When I was a senior, we were at the new Met in Lincoln Center and got box seats for the "Chagall" Magic Flute. I'll never be able to afford that again!!

 

In today's amplified world, we forget what it's like to hear a well trained voice in a hall with great acoustics. Mesmerizing!

Stop it! I get chills just reading about your first opera experiences. I saw a David Hockney Magic Flute in Los Angeles, fresh visuals can be "interesting". Always opens the question, what matters most - the music or the acting and do the visual really matter, when music and acting come together to make magic on their own.

And by golly, there is even an Richard Strauss opera devoted to these very musical question - Capriccio - music or lyrics. Only ambiguously answered, but the composer after all was in charge of the final ending.

And by "music" I mean composer, vocal skills and orchestration. Though with the introduction of super-titles, I felt a new appreciation for the lyrics since one can't be expected to know the libretto by heart for most performances.

I felt the same way as you did on your Holland America Cruise. I talked to Holland America and their response was something like " its our standard mix of entertainment for the length of your cruise.

I am now asking myself... what really do I want in entertainment on a cruise and is HAL filling that bill?

Caveat: I don't sail for the entertainment. As a matter of fact the entertainment may be at the bottom of my list of priorities.

 

I cruise HAL for the itinerary .

Although I am not the long time sailor here like many, I chose HAL for the Itinerary and the glowing food and service reviews.

What suggestion could be made to improve the entertainment experience which doesn't cost much? How about a computerized juke box? So when the audience wants lounge music at cocktail hour, (e.g. Seline Dion, Frank Sinatra, Michael Buble, etc... they could choose it. If they want to disco it after 10pm, they could choose it.. GOOD Live music is getting hard to find everywhere in every country and the idea of something more than adequate cover band in the background which would please everyone is crazy and maybe unrealistic. IMHO, BAD live music is painful, why not go digital and have something which suits everyone!?!

I frankly plan to be exhausted and exhilarated after an exciting day ashore. Then I plan to recharge batteries on those days at Sea (we have 2) :D