No more production shows?

[cheezenip]

6 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

 ...We think the line has lost its way and trying to find something new....but are failing.  Paying customers should not be used as Guiana Pigs.   ... Given what I am seeing now, it is anyone's guess what HAL will be doing in 2020.  We did not want to play the guessing game!  We will soon have to decide whether to keep our future 30 day Westy booking or change it to a Princess cruise.   To be blunt, we are losing our trust in HAL.

 

Hank

 

IMHO, what you had described is the "Carnivalization cutbacks" across their ship brands. (CCL, PCL, HAL, etc.) Coming from Princess (will be doing my 1st HAL cruise in approx 2 weeks on NS), the patterns are similar as the management is experimenting with stuff to save money via cutbacks. I personally am looking forward to the music on HAL as I think the Princess musicians (for the most part) are below acceptable for entertainment purposes. Your feelings about HAL are my feelings about Princess.

[Copper10-8]

13 hours ago, Despegue said:

Postmodern Jukebox is absolutely fabulous in what they do.

unfortunately, the North American audience seems less open to this retro style than Europe, where this is indeed extremely popular.

maybe too “artsy”for  many Americans and not enough glam?

 

 

 

 

Here's a good one with some great voices 

 

 

[Hlitner]

3 minutes ago, cheezenip said:

 

IMHO, what you had described is the "Carnivalization cutbacks" across their ship brands. (CCL, PCL, HAL, etc.) Coming from Princess (will be doing my 1st HAL cruise in approx 2 weeks on NS), the patterns are similar as the management is experimenting with stuff to save money via cutbacks. I personally am looking forward to the music on HAL as I think the Princess musicians (for the most part) are below acceptable for entertainment purposes. Your feelings about HAL are my feelings about Princess.

 

Lol.  A lot of truth in what you say.  But we have been OK with Princess where they do not have dark nights and at least there are some live music options throughout the night.  We were somewhat surprised to find more (and decent) entertainment on MSC where they do not use any "guest entertainers."  Their expansive in house entertainers work every night and manage to accommodate a lot of different tastes.

 

Hank

[BRWolf]

Postmodern Jukebox may be worth checking out.  Especially if the cast is even  half as good as those folks in Copper10-8's clip.

Edited April 5, 2019 by BRWolf

[cheezenip]

25 minutes ago, BRWolf said:

Postmodern Jukebox may be worth checking out.  Especially if the cast is even  half as good as those folks in Copper10-8's clip.

 

For those not familiar with Postmodern Jukebox (PMJ), the original song that they reworked is below followed by the "Original PMJ video / musical version" which was one of their grassroots songs that started them on a musical journey and propelled them toward the international popularity they now have. The original PMJ is still my favorite over Copper's posting of the revised  PMJ version (excellent also):

 

 

 

 

Edited April 5, 2019 by cheezenip

[Crew News]

FWIW for my Maasdam 14-day Alaska cruise next year:

Your EXC In-Depth Voyage is different from a typical Holland America Line cruise:

Our port-to-table programming, featuring local chefs, will replace America’s Test Kitchen Club HAL will not be available, due to the length of your voyage and few children sailing with us We will continue to have live music in the Ocean Bar, our piano bar entertainer in Mix, and Adagio Strings in the Explorations Lounge. We will not be offering our traditional evening entertainment in The Mainstage in order to accommodate our expanded In-Depth enrichment programming, including EXC Talks, guest experts, local entertainers, local dance and musical troupes, etc.

Edited April 5, 2019 by Crew News

[rkacruiser]

I have viewed the videos of these Postmodern Jukebox posted.  I'm not impressed.  Maybe a few glasses of wine prior to/during listening to this music would make me more mellow and accepting.  Sober:  No!

 

I know I am probably a dinosaur, but what's wrong with music from the disco era?  Where's Gloria Gaynor when we need her?

[*Miss G*]

6 hours ago, Copper10-8 said:

 

Here's a good one with some great voices 

 

 

 

Interesting to see what former contestants from American Idol are doing now.

[3rdGenCunarder]

41 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

I have viewed the videos of these Postmodern Jukebox posted.  I'm not impressed.  Maybe a few glasses of wine prior to/during listening to this music would make me more mellow and accepting.  Sober:  No!

 

I know I am probably a dinosaur, but what's wrong with music from the disco era?  Where's Gloria Gaynor when we need her?

 

I'm sure she's surviving.

[25thden]

We have sailed on HAL ships for years, and have seen lots of production shows, some good but mostly getting pretty tired in the last couple of years.  The singers and dancers were always talented, but the production "theme" was often not very good.

A couple of months ago we sailed on the Rotterdam, and Postmodern Jukebox performed a couple of evenings instead of a production show.  We LOVED them, and went to both shows.  They had a wonderful mix of all kinds of "old and new" hits, remixed to different styles of music.  They would be partway through a song in a jazz style and we'd suddenly realize it was an old pop hit from the 70's reinterpreted!  Very creative, and very entertaining.  Can't remember leaving a show feeling so energized and inspired.

As always, not all things are to everyone's taste, but we thought PMJ was a breath of fresh air.

Also, btw, we are not the "younger demographic" that some people might think PMJ was introduced to attract.

[oaktreerb]

7 hours ago, Copper10-8 said:

 

Here's a good one with some great voices 

 

 

Love it!  I remember Casey and Haley from American Idol a few years ago and wondered what they were doing now.  Thanks for posting.  

[rkacruiser]

5 minutes ago, 25thden said:

They had a wonderful mix of all kinds of "old and new" hits, remixed to different styles of music.  They would be partway through a song in a jazz style and we'd suddenly realize it was an old pop hit from the 70's reinterpreted!  

 

Your report is encouraging.  As I have yet to experience such.  I am hopeful.

[rkacruiser]

12 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

I'm sure she's surviving.

 

I certainly hope so!  But, her era music is on life-support at best.

[oaktreerb]

6 hours ago, Crew News said:

FWIW for my Maasdam 14-day Alaska cruise next year:

Your EXC In-Depth Voyage is different from a typical Holland America Line cruise:

Our port-to-table programming, featuring local chefs, will replace America’s Test Kitchen Club HAL will not be available, due to the length of your voyage and few children sailing with us We will continue to have live music in the Ocean Bar, our piano bar entertainer in Mix, and Adagio Strings in the Explorations Lounge. We will not be offering our traditional evening entertainment in The Mainstage in order to accommodate our expanded In-Depth enrichment programming, including EXC Talks, guest experts, local entertainers, local dance and musical troupes, etc.

So what do you think?  I’ve been thinking of booking this cruise but I’m wondering if I would be bored.  I’m already pretty familiar with Alaska nature and history.  I’m wondering if I’ll be bored with the ship’s offerings in the evening or on cruising only days.  A few lectures are nice but I also enjoy a change of pace in the evenings after dinner.  Cruises of 14 to 21 days are a big expense and I’m less than enthused after reading the above FWIW.  And they won’t even have America’s Test Kitchen which is very popular!!???  Plenty of kids and young people have taken the 14 day Alaska itinerary. 😕

[3rdGenCunarder]

6 minutes ago, oaktreerb said:

So what do you think?  I’ve been thinking of booking this cruise but I’m wondering if I would be bored.  I’m already pretty familiar with Alaska nature and history.  I’m wondering if I’ll be bored with the ship’s offerings in the evening or on cruising only days.  A few lectures are nice but I also enjoy a change of pace in the evenings after dinner.  Cruises of 14 to 21 days are a big expense and I’m less than enthused after reading the above FWIW.  And they won’t even have America’s Test Kitchen which is very popular!!???  Plenty of kids and young people have taken the 14 day Alaska itinerary. 😕

 

My take on the Massdam "in depth" cruises is that HAL is offering a greater depth of "content" about the region visited. There won't be zero entertainment, it will be different, including local entertainment. There will be cooking demos, but it won't be ATK. Having seen guest chefs on other HAL cruises, I think that could be so much better than ATK. 

 

If I didn't already have an Alaska cruise booked, I'd have booked one of the Maasdam 21-day cruises. I don't know how successful this approach to cruising will be, but I applaud HAL for trying it.

[RoyalVisit]

1 hour ago, rkacruiser said:

I have viewed the videos of these Postmodern Jukebox posted.  I'm not impressed.  Maybe a few glasses of wine prior to/during listening to this music would make me more mellow and accepting.  Sober:  No!

 

I know I am probably a dinosaur, but what's wrong with music from the disco era?  Where's Gloria Gaynor when we need her?

I'm not a dinosaur 😉 but I'd be thrilled with disco, soul and Motown which is why BB Kings is a favorite. The success of Mamma Mia/ABBA is evidence enough to demonstrate that people want to dance! Boogie with Earth, Wind and Fire, dance to the Bee Gees, mess around with Ray Charles and jump with the Pointer Sisters 😁 

[Crew News]

50 minutes ago, oaktreerb said:

So what do you think?  I’ve been thinking of booking this cruise but I’m wondering if I would be bored.  I’m already pretty familiar with Alaska nature and history.  I’m wondering if I’ll be bored with the ship’s offerings in the evening or on cruising only days.  A few lectures are nice but I also enjoy a change of pace in the evenings after dinner.  Cruises of 14 to 21 days are a big expense and I’m less than enthused after reading the above FWIW.  And they won’t even have America’s Test Kitchen which is very popular!!???  Plenty of kids and young people have taken the 14 day Alaska itinerary. 😕

 

I took this same cruise in 2018 and found myself too busy downloading thousands of photographs each evening, working on my live CC thread, and answering email to attend any more than one of the evening stage shows.   With early, and often very busy port days, I was in bed by 11:00 PM each evening in order to be up early to take photos of the "sail-in" in the amazing morning light.  The end of my Alaska cruises usually finds me looking forward to a more relaxing schedule at home.

 

Having local chefs worked very well on my Caribbean cruise two years ago with Tim Tibbets of the Flying Fish Restaurant on Grand Bahama teaching hands-on classes, twice a day demos, and almost daily Q&A sessions in addition to adding special dishes to the regular MDR menu, was a lot better than then twice-weekly ATK demos.  Using local entertainment to augment the normal bar entertainment seems like a good idea to me.  It doesn't appear that the show room will be dark any evening.

 

Departing the first week of May means very few kids will be on board but not providing Club HAL seems to be a bit premature.

 

I will be on the go from dawn to dusk in Alaska and just happy to have HAL provide the means to enjoy all that Alaska has to offer.  Not sure if the larger ships heading to Alaska will have this change in the normal HAL ship activities but I have no problem being a guinea pig once.

Edited April 6, 2019 by Crew News

[oaktreerb]

57 minutes ago, Crew News said:

 

I took this same cruise in 2018 and found myself too busy downloading thousands of photographs each evening, working on my live CC thread, and answering email to attend any more than one of the evening stage shows.   With early, and often very busy port days, I was in bed by 11:00 PM each evening in order to be up early to take photos of the "sail-in" in the amazing morning light.  The end of my Alaska cruises usually finds me looking forward to a more relaxing schedule at home.

 

 

 

57 minutes ago, Crew News said:

 

 

Having local chefs worked very well on my Caribbean cruise two years ago with Tim Tibbets of the Flying Fish Restaurant on Grand Bahama teaching hands-on classes, twice a day demos, and almost daily Q&A sessions in addition to adding special dishes to the regular MDR menu, was a lot better than then twice-weekly ATK demos.  Using local entertainment to augment the normal bar entertainment seems like a good idea to me.  It doesn't appear that the show room will be dark any evening.

 

I have enjoyed and  benefited from your reviews of your cruises.  Thanks for all of the insight you offer in your reviews.

 

If the cooking classes are inclusive I’m all in.  Before ATK the cooking shows were fun entertainment.....and we got to taste the food!  

 

I appreciate your insight on EXC. from your perspective.

[bcummin]

11 hours ago, Crew News said:

FWIW for my Maasdam 14-day Alaska cruise next year:

Your EXC In-Depth Voyage is different from a typical Holland America Line cruise:

Our port-to-table programming, featuring local chefs, will replace America’s Test Kitchen Club HAL will not be available, due to the length of your voyage and few children sailing with us We will continue to have live music in the Ocean Bar, our piano bar entertainer in Mix, and Adagio Strings in the Explorations Lounge. We will not be offering our traditional evening entertainment in The Mainstage in order to accommodate our expanded In-Depth enrichment programming, including EXC Talks, guest experts, local entertainers, local dance and musical troupes, etc.

 

We sailed ms Maasdam from Sydney 21 Dec to Singapore 15 Feb and loved the EXC In-Depth program.  I did miss the production shows, but I was never bored.  There were some entertainers, and the Adagio Strings could always be counted on for good music.  I really enjoyed the good lectures, and the Guest Chefs were wonderful .  No food tasting, but the 5 pm drink special often served that day's recipes.

The few children on our cruise were tutored and cared for by their parents.  If the Alaska cruise has lots more children, maybe Club HAL should be added.  Do not hold your breath.   

This new program was still evolving and changing for each geographic area.  I do not think that you will be disappointed.

 

Barbara

Edited April 6, 2019 by bcummin

[caribill]

1 hour ago, bcummin said:

 

We sailed ms Maasdam from Sydney 21 Dec to Singapore 15 Feb and loved the EXC In-Depth program.  I did miss the production shows, but I was never bored.  There were some entertainers, and the Adagio Strings could always be counted on for good music.  I really enjoyed the good lectures, and the Guest Chefs were wonderful . 

 

On other cruise lines, the good lectures were presented only one time whereas evening shows are usually presented twice so passengers at both early and late seatings can attend.

 

Were the "good lectures" in the daytime or in the evening on your cruise? And if in the evening, were they scheduled so that both early and late seating passengers could attend?

[ChinaShrek]

18 hours ago, Crew News said:

FWIW for my Maasdam 14-day Alaska cruise next year:

Your EXC In-Depth Voyage is different from a typical Holland America Line cruise:

Our port-to-table programming, featuring local chefs, will replace America’s Test Kitchen Club HAL will not be available, due to the length of your voyage and few children sailing with us We will continue to have live music in the Ocean Bar, our piano bar entertainer in Mix, and Adagio Strings in the Explorations Lounge. We will not be offering our traditional evening entertainment in The Mainstage in order to accommodate our expanded In-Depth enrichment programming, including EXC Talks, guest experts, local entertainers, local dance and musical troupes, etc.

 

I am considering this cruise for next summer.  What will the "local dance and musical troupes" be?  Alaskan natives?  Has this happened on Alaskan cruises before?  I am actually intrigued by this.  Will HAL bring the Saxman village dancers onto the ship, for example?

[terrydtx]

20 hours ago, cheezenip said:

 

IMHO, what you had described is the "Carnivalization cutbacks" across their ship brands. (CCL, PCL, HAL, etc.) Coming from Princess (will be doing my 1st HAL cruise in approx 2 weeks on NS), the patterns are similar as the management is experimenting with stuff to save money via cutbacks. I personally am looking forward to the music on HAL as I think the Princess musicians (for the most part) are below acceptable for entertainment purposes. Your feelings about HAL are my feelings about Princess.

Thank you for proving the grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence. It still amazes me that people here will drop a cruise or switch cruise lines over the loss or quality of evening production shows. A nightly extravaganza production show that too often is amateurish on a good night, is not why we cruise with HAL or any other cruise line. 

Edited April 6, 2019 by terrydtx

[bcummin]

8 hours ago, caribill said:

Were the "good lectures" in the daytime or in the evening on your cruise? And if in the evening, were they scheduled so that both early and late seating passengers could attend?

 

The good lectures were morning, afternoon, and evening.  The evening ones were  shorter.  Scheduling was a problem.  There were often conflicts, since there was so much to fit in.  Some of the good demonstrations/talks were at 5 pm.  We eat at 5:30.  Once their only presentation for two coming ports was at 5:30 pm.  Evening talks were usually 7 to 7:45, to fit with 8 pm shows or dining.  There were not always 8 pm / 10 pm shows.  Sometimes there were 9 pm group conversations to enjoy.  Often changeable schedule, many conflicts.  They heard complaints and tried to do better.

 

I would not hesitate to enjoy the In-Depth Alaska cruises, if they fit into your life.  Local groups and governments determine part of what is available.  One of our In-Depth leaders was far more enthusiastic and productive than the other.  Zodiac excursions were not allowed in some of the countries that we visited.  Surprises will happen.  Hopefully they will be good.

 

One more thing:  Club HAL on ms Maasdam was changed into offices for the Presenters/speakers.  They are a most important part of this program.

 

Barbara

Edited April 6, 2019 by bcummin

[3rdGenCunarder]

57 minutes ago, bcummin said:

 

The good lectures were morning, afternoon, and evening.  The evening ones were  shorter.  Scheduling was a problem.  There were often conflicts, since there was so much to fit in.  Some of the good demonstrations/talks were at 5 pm.  We eat at 5:30.  Once their only presentation for two coming ports was at 5:30 pm.  Evening talks were usually 7 to 7:45, to fit with 8 pm shows or dining.  There were not always 8 pm / 10 pm shows.  Sometimes there were 9 pm group conversations to enjoy.  Often changeable schedule, many conflicts.  They heard complaints and tried to do better.

 

I would not hesitate to enjoy the In-Depth Alaska cruises, if they fit into your life.  Local groups and governments determine part of what is available.  One of our In-Depth leaders was far more enthusiastic and productive than the other.  Zodiac excursions were not allowed in some of the countries that we visited.  Surprises will happen.  Hopefully they will be good.

 

One more thing:  Club HAL on ms Maasdam was changed into offices for the Presenters/speakers.  They are a most important part of this program.

 

Barbara

 

If a lecture is given only once, they should record it and put it on the In-room TV system. Cunard does that will all of their lectures. They don't do that with shows, probably because of copyrighted material being performed. 

[bcummin]

Could, should, and would are all different.  HAL did a good job of playing their shore excursion opportunities on the TV.  I am still trying to remember if any of the port talks made it to TV.  None of the lectures were.  However, near the end of our cruise they would schedule some lectures twice.  Someone was listening.

We should be talking about the absence of production shows.  Entertainment.  Maybe all of this is what fills that void?

Barbara

Edited April 6, 2019 by bcummin