HALcruiser2001

https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/23/entertainment/dave-grohl-hearing-loss/index.html Tool is really loud, usually. Great show. Slip Knot is louder and so is Metallica. Foo Fighters do it pretty well too. AC/DC and a few others are in the 130Db to 140 Db range. By far the loudest I have seen was Journey (new singer, in last 15 years). I did not expect it, I had to reach for plugs as it was truly painful. Many football games get in the 130-150BD range as well. You should wear earplugs. Not the foam ones, use eargasm or earasor. There are likely more brands. You can get them spur of the moment at Guitar Center. You can also twist or contort the foam plugs to let in a bit more air, which will improve high frequency at the cost of damage. I paid the price of 100's of loud venues per year for decades, even more if you count me being in the front of the band. I now use Costco KS10 hearing aids. They are worthless in concert venues, but otherwise, you are missing out on the high frequencies. Unfortunately if you have been to a lot of shows in the 70s and 80s you are in the same boat as me, human ears just cannot withstand high volumes for long periods of time. With my KS10, I can hear birds and many other things that I lost out on for years. I can hear my wife mumbling about me 4 rooms away! 😉 The reason why your friend recommended ear plugs is wise. Take his advice next time. The reason you could handle it is very likely because your ears are shot. I am 60 and in the same boat. Hearing aids are enlightening. Not getting them leads to confusion of all kinds and also reportedly memory loss and Alzheimer's. You can research all over the place for them, but the best place to get quality hearing aids is Costco. You pay a fraction of the cost of a current model Phonak (they are now about 3 years dated). Phonak are about $6K. KS10 at costco are 3 year old Phonak with warranty for $1300. In ear fitting is free by a licensed audiologist. I tested 3 models of varying quality. Phonak were about $5900, Starkey more. hearingtracker.com is your best resource as you can post your audiogram and have people comment on it. There is centuries of experience gathered in a single post. If you have profound loss more so in one ear, you need pretty expensive aids. If you need tinnitus masking, that also limits your options (I have it bad, but just the hearing aids without masking have helped). The tech in hearing aids is quite astonishing now. For example if you have total loss in one ear, you can wear an aid on that ear and the mics pic up the sounds from that side and transmit it to the other. On the same note. Amplifiers are now nuts. Those loud shows of the 70s and 80s are put to shame Db wise by new systems. The amps they use require many watts of driving power to get to where musicians like them. My home stereo could easily blow ear drums. I have it limited. I will add a cheap Db reader to my pre-cruise purchase list. 😉

Don't jump to conclusions, is all I have to say.. Other posts here have said that the venue name could change, but they keep the LCS "idea". Time will tell. I think it would be a mistake to leave this musical genre completely, but that is just me.

just because they might change the sign on the back of the stage doesn't mean they are dropping all classical music, right?

Because of many reasons. Too loud to you may not mean too loud for me. Too loud for you upfront means too little in back for me. I go to music to listen to it, not to hear people next to me talking. R&B, R&R, jazz are typically all "loud" so are many outdoor classical venues. Anything opera is too loud even at 0 Db. 😉

I think that it is more indicative that they kept your refund amount in the bank vs spending it.

I think that the posts about unlimited nonalcohol are correct. I will be upgrading to Elite once onboard since I will blow out my drinks with water and other drinks, not because of the drink price limit, that seems to be a bonus.

I get it! My wife is disabled. Should we ever choose to get a non-suite cabin, I would have the same concern, but her wheelchair does have a back. I would ask for a chair with a back and see what they say.

Good to hear. Thank you! I hope to like it as well, but Rhapsody in Blue for the billionth time might bore me. LOL. Many people on here saying holiday cruises were packed with kids and family. Holiday cruises have more to do with how you wish to spend your time. It is not the best choice as it is the priciest time to cruise and cruising is not everyone's "gig". I think people under 50 are doing better than you may realize. Houses are not out of reach where I am and over most of the USA. I lived in California for about 10 years and know what it means to have home ownership out of reach. LA, SF, NYC, etc.... areas are the worst places and their prices have ended up effecting ours since everyone now wishes to move to my neighborhood. Over COVID, our area had many unbuilt lots. All gone. Virtually all new neighbors are CA, WA, OR, NY. There are still plenty of great places to live in the USA vs the most expensive and remote jobs are even more plentiful now. I thought our neighborhood would not build out in my lifetime and as a result my home would take forever to increase in value, but COVID changed everything in an area that is remote, rural, forest, wildlife and within an hour of a major airport and technology area. I have a lot of equity now, but it is still obtainable by almost anyone with initiative.

Here is my opinion. I had thought about the branding that HAL had purchased with Rolling Stone, BB King and LCS as soon as I started looking at cruises again (been 22ish years and music was not a priority then, but we lucked out with great shows). I thought the branding idea was good, but to brand them as bands from other venues did send up a red flag. My concern was HAL could not get the best of the best from these venues. Second was they wasted money on branding and locked into "the brand" that they were pitching. So far the RS bands seem meh, BBK seem pretty good, but online recordings stink. The LCS seems to be good, but again, good recordings of HAL performances are sparse to say the least. Frankly I cannot wait to experience all three. The only person that can judge if you like music is you. It does seem from all the reviews that music quality is inconsistent and HAL really doesn't have control of it as it is basically "outsourced". Cruise ships are kind of doomed as far as entertainment goes. At least they are a training platform for new musicians. At best they can get some "headliners" for short cruises. They are a step up from amusement parks though. Consider that a good band should be able to make about $2,000-$5,000 per night and expect all inclusive cruise in a decent cabin for them and any family members or guests, I think that cruise lines have a tough time getting consistently good performers. Then they likely have to pay airfare and other stuff too as no musician I know of is dedicated to cruise life and no band on earth will stay interesting for 135 days (unless their names are Billy Joe Armstrong, Billy Idol or David Grohl, Elton John, etc. LOL). For a really good, professional band, HAL could easily pay 30k for a 7 night cruise plus all the added expenses. In the end, let's say HAL pays 50k/venue for 7 days and 3 venues. That's $75/ppx for 2000 person ship. Considering the cost of my cruise in Feb is now at about $10k, I'd gladly chip in $100 to guarantee I have good music, maybe even $250, depending on how many good venues they have and how often performers play. My first cruise with HAL had an Elton impersonator, I would gladly pay $200 to hear for a couple of hours. I will try to focus on music on my Feb trip and give a good review of it, but they are going to have to be at least good to get my attention, otherwise I won't bother as I am not going to let bad music ruin my experience. 😉

Tastes differ. I have about the best noise isolating "ear pods" made and they stink compared to my loud speakers. Live music is dependent on acoustics and amplification method. LCPA residents and students should be virtuoso and that is how HAL bills the venue. Some may definitely be new to performing though.

Is there a bar or service in world stage?

IMO, Classical Trio, Quintet etc should be in the dining room and pinnacle grill. Nightly please.

Please, all you opera lovers, head on over to MSC. 😉

How many shows have you seen? From what I have read (have not been on a lincoln center ship), it is not all classical.

No. In fact there are many dozens of "cruise critic" sites. They cannot monitor them. It would not help them either. These are all anonymous sites that require no authentication/substantiation. Anyone can login and complain about anything, no matter how real it is.

Because they shipped it alive, like chickens and many "proteins". There were no refers commercially available in 1840, so of course it was unlikely they had one on a ship. I dont understand the lobster thing. I enjoy crab much more and even that I can only handle small portions.

"If you’re looking for a soothing drink on a chilly night, look no further than the Penicillin cocktail. This cocktail takes three flavors common in cough drops and herbal remedies—honey, lemon, and ginger—and adds a strong dose of Scotch whisky and a splash of Islay scotch. The Penicillin served in a rocks glass over ice and garnished with candied ginger. The Penicillin is an innovative drink because, before its invention, mixed drinks made with scotch were rare—scotch’s strong smokiness often doesn’t combine well with other flavors. But when scotch is mixed with the sweet warmth of ginger-honey syrup and the bite of lemon magic happens, making the Penicillin a perfect comfort drink."

"Bullying and belittling" are very subjective. Without knowing what you witnessed, I would say don't bother with a complaint.

Foie gras, is Foie Gras simple. It is duck or goose liver and there are no "mixers". The technique used to produce foie gras is gavage. Anything else is Pate. It is just like Champagne vs Methode Champenoise. Sounds like HAL is serving Pate and calling it Foie Gras, there is a HUGE difference and selling pate as foie gras is completely misleading. They could call it Pate de Foie Gras, which is only true if it is indeed ONLY duck or good liver produced using gavage.

"But alas, the rules of Cruise Critic do not permit me to share the names of specific agencies. " Dumb. Do it anyway. Point me to something that says it is not permitted.

Why not just list the agencies?

Now I am curious... how do the 3 cabana steward work together? Do they have assigned tasks and they do it for all cabanas? or Do they each do everything for their assigned cabanas?

I won't waste $400 of my time trying to figure out if $379 HIA for a week is worth it when if I add up the cost of 6 waters, 2 coffees, 2 teas and 4 cocktails is worth it. That is 14 drinks at $6/drink average (with service), that is $84/day. Considering I got Crew Appreciation, 2 meals and 2 excursions, it seems like a no brainer.

So the meals and beverages associated with HIA include 18% service charge, which covers the tips for drinks and meals associated with HIA. HIA Crew Appreciation covers tips for room stewards, waiters and bar tenders. Is that right? HAL makes this pretty confusing. They really should just come out and tell you what is and is not covered.

OK, so I have HIA and as a line item it states: Pre-Paid Crew Appreciation Promo: 1,2 Does this mean crew appreciation for the HIA package or does it mean for the entire cruise?