Christmas Mass for December Cruise

[Ruffian64]

I’m a new cruiser and took it for granted that there would be a Mass on board. 
Cruising on APEX over Christmas and wondering if a Mass is offered. 
Does anyone know if there’s Mass? Since Sunday is the day before Christmas and also required it seems like the best option would be a Christmas Eve Mass at 4:00. 

[cruisestitch]

Celebrity makes no guarantee that there will be any clergy on board.  And there isn’t any way of telling at a time if there will be someone who can celebrate mass on your cruise. Sorry.

[RD64]

It is February 2023 - December 2023 is such a wildcard at this point, that you should not worry about what may / may not be offerred on board at this point. It could change 17 times by then.

[1025cruise]

Probably no mass, but there might be a nondenominational service.

[Alakegirl]

There will almost certainly be nondenominational services. They will probably ask for a passenger to volunteer to lead them.  But whether there will be a Catholic priest who will hold a Mass, no one can tell you that.  

[nps001]

Every holiday cruise I have taken including the last 2 years had a priest on board and he conducted mass and also a non denominational service.    We went to mass on Christmas day and I would say that there were may 75-100 people.   However, I heard midnight mass had a fully packed theater.   I believe daily mass was offered that entire week.

[Jim_Iain]

I've been on many Holiday cruises and there has usually been a Mass if there was a an officiant aboard as well as non-denominational services.    Also have seen Kanukkah services listed in the dailies.

[Southern_Roots]

We cruised on the Summit 2022 during Christmas. There was a midnight mass on Christmas Eve, also a Catholic Mass at 8 Am Christmas morning.

[phoenix_dream]

The only realistic answer anyone can give you is probably.  

[SbbquilterUT]

The clergy who performs services are volunteers who are cruising, not employed by the cruise line.

[cruisestitch]

Often they are retired priests who no longer have their own congregations.  We had one at our table years ago and he said he always signed up and generally was chosen. 

[Ruffian64]

20 hours ago, nps001 said:

Every holiday cruise I have taken including the last 2 years had a priest on board and he conducted mass and also a non denominational service.    We went to mass on Christmas day and I would say that there were may 75-100 people.   However, I heard midnight mass had a fully packed theater.   I believe daily mass was offered that entire week.

Thank you for this response, it was very helpful!

[miched]

During the main religious Holy Days Celebrity will try to have a Catholic priest on board.  There is no guarantee.  There has to have a priest that is available.  There is a program for this service.  

 

http://www.aos-usa.org/store/pg/40-About-the-Cruise-Ship-Priest-Program-clone.aspxesr 

 

If they have a parish they usually prefer to be there during that time and not all priests  what to go on a cruise during their vacation.    

 

We have an app called Mass Times or MassTimes.org.  We use it all the time when  traveling.   It works in the Caribbean.   Any time we are on an Island on a Sunday  or Holy Day we attend Mass.   It is always a very Nice  experience to see so many attending, their enthusiasm, and how they celebrate Mass.  

 

On one cruise during Easter there was a priest on board and a Mass was scheduled at 4:30 pm on Sat for Palm Sunday in Celebrity Central.  We got there around 4 and there was a very long line.  We got in line and mentioned it looks like a SRO for Mass.   The people we said this to said they weren’t in line for Mass it was for bingo in the theater.    We laughed about it as the joke use to be you knew it was a Catholic Church by the bingo sign outside.

 

We always make sure to write on a comment card and the survey how we appreciate having a priest on board

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

Edited February 16, 2023 by miched