Does Holland still offer Catholic services on their ships?

Other cruise lines have discontinued this practice. Just wanted to know if Holland has still provided mass on their ships.

Other cruise lines have discontinued this practice. Just wanted to know if Holland has still provided mass on their ships.

Yes, they do.

All but one of our 25+ cruises have had a Priest on board that had a daily mass. That one was to Brazil and the priest could not get his Visa in time. We really appreciate HAL having a daily Mass and is one of the reasons we sail HAL.

yes, we have always had a priest. on sea days mass is in am 8am .. on port days it is afternoon - time varies

harry

Just off the Amsterdam 14 day- they had mass every day as well as non denominational Protestant services on Sundays and Jewish Sabath services . So great to see this as it sounds like many other cruise lines do not.

Thanks for the responses! It is important to my husband. We were in Glacier Bay on Princess and their policy is if a Priest is on board they an officiate but there was not a Priest on board. May have to switch to HAL.

... We really appreciate HAL having a daily Mass and is one of the reasons we sail HAL.

Spot on! We are 100% loyal HAL cruisers and will continue to be so as long as HAL cruises have a Roman Catholic priest (who celebrates daily Mass) on board. To insure HAL is aware of our feelings, we always make a point of mentioning this on our Cruise Surveys.

Smooth sailing + + +

Yes they do. A funny story from our Alaska cruise in June. We took our 12yo twin grandsons and, like all tween boys, they need a fair bit of calming down frequently. Well, we head into the Sat. vigil Mass and the priest asks them if they are altar servers. When they replied in the affirmative, he asked them to come up and serve. Mass begins and there they stand with hands prayerfullu folded, fingers pointing to heaven and faces dutifully solemn. " Oh would you look at those angels" I hear all around me, as I stood there with my mouth hanging open. Good Catholic school training.

Yes they do. A funny story from our Alaska cruise in June. We took our 12yo twin grandsons and, like all tween boys, they need a fair bit of calming down frequently. Well, we head into the Sat. vigil Mass and the priest asks them if they are altar servers. When they replied in the affirmative, he asked them to come up and serve. Mass begins and there they stand with hands prayerfullu folded, fingers pointing to heaven and faces dutifully solemn. " Oh would you look at those angels" I hear all around me, as I stood there with my mouth hanging open. Good Catholic school training.

When my twin boys were 12 through 14 they had a good source of income - local brides (more likely their mothers) loved the idea of a matched set of little blond boys serving at their weddings - the tips were amazing - made me think of the bad old days when medieval Popes profited from their faith.

Yes they do. A funny story from our Alaska cruise in June. We took our 12yo twin grandsons and, like all tween boys, they need a fair bit of calming down frequently. Well, we head into the Sat. vigil Mass and the priest asks them if they are altar servers. When they replied in the affirmative, he asked them to come up and serve. Mass begins and there they stand with hands prayerfullu folded, fingers pointing to heaven and faces dutifully solemn. " Oh would you look at those angels" I hear all around me, as I stood there with my mouth hanging open. Good Catholic school training.

Thank you for sharing your experience! Your story put a smile on my face!

When my twin boys were 12 through 14 they had a good source of income - local brides (more likely their mothers) loved the idea of a matched set of little blond boys serving at their weddings - the tips were amazing - made me think of the bad old days when medieval Popes profited from their faith.

I don't think it's much better these days in my opinion!

Yes they do. A funny story from our Alaska cruise in June. We took our 12yo twin grandsons and, like all tween boys, they need a fair bit of calming down frequently. Well, we head into the Sat. vigil Mass and the priest asks them if they are altar servers. When they replied in the affirmative, he asked them to come up and serve. Mass begins and there they stand with hands prayerfullu folded, fingers pointing to heaven and faces dutifully solemn. " Oh would you look at those angels" I hear all around me, as I stood there with my mouth hanging open. Good Catholic school training.

Great story! :D Thanks for sharing!

One of the reasons I like to travel HAL.

Having Mass available is one of the reasons we sail only on HAL. We definitely appreciate it and hope that HAL continues the practice.

I, too, have appreciated having a priest on board, though I think their many duty is to say mass for the Philippine crew members. It has been interesting to have different priests with varying views about cruising. I even was pleased that our own CC member " Himself" was the on board priest for one of my cruises! Another priest suggested making the cruise like a "retreat," which I thought was a great idea.

I always mention to HAL that I appreciate that mass is available on the ship!

Karen

One of the reasons I like to travel HAL.

Having Mass available is one of the reasons we sail only on HAL. We definitely appreciate it and hope that HAL continues the practice.

Great Posts!!! Be sure you let HAL know how you feel about the Cruise Ship Priest Program - in your Cruise Survey responses and maybe an occasional letter to HAL HQ as well - so that HAL will continue providing this wonderful service.

Apostleship of the Seas USA operates the CSPP "for the pastoral care of cruise ship passengers and crew, and to ensure that only valid priests in good standing, who have their Bishop's/Provincial's permission to serve are on board as Chaplains." Since AOS USA relies heavily on private donations to fund the CSPP, you might also consider supporting AOS USA with financial contributions from time to time.

Smooth sailing + + +

We usually sail Princess but switched to HAL for a cruise over Christmas

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