Sunday Masses

[lovetotraveltx]

Sorry if this has been covered before. We will be on millennium in June. Are there Sunday Services on board? Any Catholic Masses or just non denominational?

 

Thank you!

[spookwife]

nothing except for High Holy days. anything else is passenger led.

[kborth]

Sorry if this has been covered before. We will be on millennium in June. Are there Sunday Services on board? Any Catholic Masses or just non denominational?

 

Thank you!

 

No masses when I was on in June but I would love to have priests inboard. When I was on Holland America they had mass daily and Royal had mass on our TA to England a few years ago. I don't see why they won't provide this service for those who are Catholic. Maybe if we started requesting them they would offer priests.

[fortinweb]

No masses when I was on in June but I would love to have priests inboard. When I was on Holland America they had mass daily and Royal had mass on our TA to England a few years ago. I don't see why they won't provide this service for those who are Catholic. Maybe if we started requesting them they would offer priests.

 

Are you willing to pay the priest's fare for this service? If not, who is going to pay it? The cruise line? Then what about all the other religions? Should the cruise line pay for a spiritual leader for every religion out there so everyone can have the same benefit? If they cover one or two, the other religions could complain about discrimination - and rightly so. So, to be fair to all, they cover none.

 

If a priest or rabbi or whatever is on board because they paid their own way, the cruise lines will be more than happy to make a room available for services. The same for any group that wants to celebrate a special event.

 

A cruise line is in the business of providing vacation experiences. They are not in the business of spiritual salvation.

[yogimax]

Here's the solution. You don't need a clergy member to lead worship. Anyone can do it. Why not ask for volunteers from the crew who would be willing to lead a inter denominational service each week. I'm sure some would do it without asking for any compensation. We were actually on one cruise where this took place.

 

Make it a simple service and allow the folks present to participate with prayer requests or readings. Works for me and I think it would work for the vast majority of folks.

[Host Jazzbeau]

On the cruise lines that provide Priests (HAL, Crystal) the Priest not only conducts daily Catholic services but also often does a non-denominational service for other Christians on Sunday, so a large percentage of passengers are potentially served -- certainly more than those who are served by certified Bridge instructors or Golf pros. The argument that this is discrimination is bogus -- the cruise lines aren't the US government, so "separation of church and state" doesn't apply. The only issue is economic, and the way to influence the cruise lines is by making it clear that this is a service that is considered in making a booking decision.

[kborth]

I have booked a cruise on Holland because there are Catholic priests on board and it is a factor for me when considering cruise lines and I know my friends sail HAL because of this .

[spookwife]

No masses when I was on in June but I would love to have priests inboard. When I was on Holland America they had mass daily and Royal had mass on our TA to England a few years ago. I don't see why they won't provide this service for those who are Catholic. Maybe if we started requesting them they would offer priests.

 

 

they used to. demand/usage died off and besides.. with the lack of priests who are available to do it they could no longer provide them.

 

plus, having to provide a free berth cut into their profits

[Azulann]

Catholic priests are hired by Celebrity for Christmas and Easter, not during other times as in the past.

They sign up through Ministry to Seafarer through the Conference of Catholic Bishops. In the distant past, there were guys who passed themselves off as priests,:) so now cruise ships work through the Conference of Bishops. I know some priests who do this. They bid on an opening over a year to two in advance. They need to speak another language other than English on some itineraries. They also ministry to the crew.

On my Panama canal cruise during Christmas, the priest held Mass in the theater on Christmas Eve for guests and crew and another Mass on Christmas morning. He also did a ecumenical service on Christmas Day. He did do a daily Mass on 5:30 pm on other days.

[Xport]

Via the Cruise Critic search function as I remembered this subject getting lots of discussion in the past...

 

It appears that Celebrity discontinued the practice of having a Catholic Priest aboard every sailing on or about January 1, 2010...

[Azulann]

Via the Cruise Critic search function as I remembered this subject getting lots of discussion in the past...

 

It appears that Celebrity discontinued the practice of having a Catholic Priest aboard every sailing on or about January 1, 2010...

 

that sound right. My first cruise was 2008 in Western Med. We had a Catholic priest on board who said Mass daily. When I cruised again in Europe in summer 2011 there was no priest on board.

[miched]

Read. The FAQ section on Celebrity's website.

 

We always check what port we are in on Sunday and then check out that area before the cruise to see where a Catholic Church is and times of Mass.

 

If we don't stop at a port someone on board usually holds a service, could be the captain, officer, CD or a passenger.

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌞

[Scott2.0]

What happens if you miss a mass?

[marco]

Depending where you are and at what time on a Sunday....a few VERY memorable experiences we've had was going to a church service on land. Mostly in the Caribbean and the most memorable was in Barbados. The music was AMAZING! A short (for us) walk from the dock. You can check church service times/locations prior to leaving.

[PunkiC]

Another consideration for having a Catholic priest on board is that he offers Mass and other services, such as confession, for the crew, many of whom are not able to attend Mass very often. Since a high percentage of crew are from the Philippines and since most Filipinos are Catholic, I know this is greatly appreciated.

 

We love having a priest on board, but if there isn't one, we find a place to attend Mass in ports and they are often very interesting and quite different from our own parish here in Seattle.

[lovetotraveltx]

Won't keep me from Celebrity, was just asking. Some Sundays I do miss mass. But, try to go every week. Have been on different vacations it is a neat experience!

 

Anyone been to Catholic church in Anchorage and/or Juneau?

[FlyingHonu]

I was on the Solstice this past summer doing an Alaskan cruise. It was probably more of an exception than a rule, but there was a Catholic priest on board. We had mass in the room where they do the "who wants to be millionaire game".

 

Usually that itinerary has a port day on Sunday.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Won't keep me from Celebrity, was just asking. Some Sundays I do miss mass. But, try to go every week. Have been on different vacations it is a neat experience!

 

Anyone been to Catholic church in Anchorage and/or Juneau?

 

Yes, we attended the 11am Mass at Nativity Cathedral, 416 Fifth Street, Juneau

http://www.juneaucathedral.org/index.htm

It was a wonderful Mass. The Bishop was very down to earth. It's the smallest Cathedral in North America, so feels more like a parish church.

 

We couldn't do a regular shore excursion because the Mass broke up the day, but we had a great time at Glacier Gardens Rainforest Adventures

http://www.glaciergardens.com/

 

Then before we called the taxi to pick us up we walked next door to the Fred Meyer store and got some grocery/pharmacy provisions (I was coming down with a cold).