HAL cruisers: How do you prefer to spend evenings onboard ship?

[cruisemom42]

Admittedly I'm a night owl and do not usually like to retire to my cabin early. I'll be back on HAL for the first time post-COVID and also post- HAL's change from having regular production shows. 

 

On other threads, I read posts from many HAL cruisers who say they do not want to spend more than an hour or so on their evening dining experience. Also many who say they do not enjoy the production shows (of the past) due to lack of talented performers or noise levels. Some have also made "noise level" comments about the music row options.

 

I am trying to be realistic and get some kind of mental picture as to how others spend their evenings on HAL, since it seems so many are not in it for the dinner or show....  I read over and over comments like "we make our own entertainment", but few offer any idea what that entertainment is...

 

Help me out here:  What is your preferred way of spending an evening onboard a HAL ship from -- let's say -- early evening pre-dinner until you retire to your cabin. (Or after, if your entertainment is watching movies in your cabin. Other cabin-related entertainments I don't need to hear about.... 🤣).

 

 

 

 

Edited February 18, 2023 by cruisemom42

[Banditswife]

We frequent the casino, enjoy a stroll around the open decks, & take in the show, when there is one.  Not sure which ship you have booked, but there is an outdoor movie screen on the newer ships- we enjoy sitting under the stars & watching a movie.

[ski ww]

The Lincoln Center Stage for pre dinner music, a nice meal in the MDR and then a show if there is something interesting, then a walk about the ship out on deck to watch the stars.

[Floating_view]

After dinner we go for a walk around the ship.  I might spend a little time in the casino with my wife, then make my way to the music venues, while she stays in the casino. I love all types of music, so a lot of nights I bounce around from the Rolling Stone Rock Room to BB Kings.  We have watched a movie under the stars and also NFL games.

[3rdGenCunarder]

Normally a night-owl, I shift to early bird when I travel. So if I'm getting up early, I do early fixed dining. If I have my act together in time, I'll go to a bar for a pre-dinner drink. I love the drinks at Tamarind, especially the cucumber mojito. 

 

After dinner, every time the schedule works, Lincoln Center. That's my main entertainment. I don't gamble, and I dislike the volume levels at most of the music entertainments.

 

On a PInnacle ship, I watched a movie by the pool on several nights. It was nice to walk through the Lido, grab an extra dessert, and relax in a lounger. If not that, reading or watching a movie in my room.  (Movies by the pool are the only thing I loved about K'dam)

 

On a non-Pinnacle ship, go to the show if it interests me. Sadly, that has diminished. On my recent cruise on Eurodam, I did go to see two of the Step One shows. I went to the thermal suite in the evening a few times. I watched a movie in my cabin once or twice.

 

After any of that, it's time to go to my cabin--probably 9:00-9:30. Yeah, I know, pathetic. I catch up on my journal, organize things for the next day if it will be a port day--charge the phone, check the camera battery, etc. And I usually end the evening on my balcony, listening to the sounds of the ocean, looking at the stars (and wishing I could identify more constellations than Orion).

[Infi]

We always do early fixed dining, and attend the evening show. Even if that night's particular act doesn't sound the most exciting, it is something to do for the evening. After the show is over, I enjoy going to the piano bar (on the R class ships) and stay for a few sets and perhaps will go to the Ocean Bar once the piano bar wraps up. If we're on the Vista/Signatures, I like to hop between the dueling pianos and BB King or the Crow's Nest if I'm feeling very ambitious. Depending on the evening, I may either go to bed after that or will go up to the Lido to see what's available for late night snack (10:30-11:30pm).

 

As a young HAL fan, I may not be a party animal, but I'm also not one of the ones rolling up the sidewalks at 8pm. I like to be out and about, enjoying the live music and entertainment and people watching. I do enjoy the variety of live music onboard these days, but the shows in the main theater are sadly very lacking and the deep cost cuts there are quite painful to see. 

[VennDiagram]

We have not cruised since the covid shutdown.  Pre-covid, we would have late fixed dining, usually at a table for 6, and that would usually take 2 hours.  After dinner (weather permitting) we would do a couple of laps of the Promenade Deck, then grab a nightcap and enjoy that by the aft deck pool.

[shipshape sam]

1 hour ago, cruisemom42 said:

Admittedly I'm a night owl and do not usually like to retire to my cabin early. I'll be back on HAL for the first time post-COVID and also post- HAL's change from having regular production shows. 

 

On other threads, I read posts from many HAL cruisers who say they do not want to spend more than an hour or so on their evening dining experience. Also many who say they do not enjoy the production shows (of the past) due to lack of talented performers or noise levels. Some have also made "noise level" comments about the music row options.

 

I am trying to be realistic and get some kind of mental picture as to how others spend their evenings on HAL, since it seems so many are not in it for the dinner or show....  I read over and over comments like "we make our own entertainment", but few offer any idea what that entertainment is...

 

Help me out here:  What is your preferred way of spending an evening onboard a HAL ship from -- let's say -- early evening pre-dinner until you retire to your cabin. (Or after, if your entertainment is watching movies in your cabin. Other cabin-related entertainments I don't need to hear about.... 🤣).

 

 

 

 

We like dining and enjoying the service and food.  We feel rushed if we are less than an 1 1/2 including desert.

 

Our evening on our next HAL cruise will be on Rotterdam and there is a lot of musical entertainment vs productions shows.  Looking forward to enjoying them all each evening.  Will be up early too as we do our walking to get our 10,000 steps in the then feel (right or wrong) that we can enjoy that extra bread, enter, or desert. 😀 

[wdw1972]

I'm an early riser - typically I'll briskly (and silently) walk both hallways on each passenger deck, then make my cappuccino (powdered - add hot water in the LIdo) and take it to the Crow's Nest to work at the puzzle table for 1-1.5 hours before the Lido opens for breakfast.  Therefore, my evenings tend to be "early" as well.

 

After a lovely day spent mostly in the Retreat, once sparkling wine at 3pm has been had it's time for showers & dressing.  Pre-dinner cocktail (also love cucumber mojito at Tamarind Bar!) followed by either a specialty dining dinner or something quick/light at Lido or Grand Dutch Cafe.  Not a fan of the MDR and haven't been there in 10-15 years.  Depending on the time, maybe catch a trivia, despite being lousy at it.  If it's a new show I'd probably see that, but at this point I don't bother with Step One, Planet Earth, Origins Story.  BB King's early show comes next, and generally I'm heading back to the stateroom following that set.  If I'm not in specialty dining that night I might catch a later set by Lincoln Center Stage.  

 

Sue/WDW1972

[OlsSalt]

Late-fixed dining, stroll around the ship and then to bed. We get up much earlier than usual when cruising.

 

Liked the timing of the shows on the Konigsdam since they allowed late diners to see the early show and still make it time for late fixed dinner. 

[cruisemom42]

Thanks for all the replies so far!

 

I would love to hear from more passengers who are later risers and later diners. I never eat dinner before 7:00 pm.  Will I still be able to catch a show, if there is one?  It doesn't seem "right" to me to go to a show before dinner vs. after.

 

Typically I like to get back from a (usually long) day ashore, clean up and get ready for dinner, then have a pre-dinner drink somewhere where I can people watch; music is a nice bonus. Then dinner around 7:00 to 7:30, then some kind of entertainment or show around 9:00 to 9:30. After that I would normally find a spot to have a drink or two (think the martini bar on Celebrity ships) and/or would look for any later-evening performances (in a smaller lounge or atrium area).

 

I'm not one to watch movies on vacation, either on a big or small screen. I do that enough at home.  And I don't gamble. 

 

 

[Lady Arwen]

Since we tend to book either European or Med cruises, which can be port intensive, we’re early risers for breakfast and onto excursions.  In the evening we like to have a pre-dinner cocktail at a bar then do MDR around 7pm and then off to the casino for a bit, then we checkout the musical entertainment.  We rarely do production shows anymore.  Perhaps a bedtime liqueur taken to our cabin.  Then off to bed by 10pm.

Our next HAL cruise is on Rotterdam TA in 2024, so we will change things up because we won’t need to get up early in the am.  Probably enjoy more entertainment in the lounges.

[shipshape sam]

12 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

Thanks for all the replies so far!

 

I would love to hear from more passengers who are later risers and later diners. I never eat dinner before 7:00 pm.  Will I still be able to catch a show, if there is one?  It doesn't seem "right" to me to go to a show before dinner vs. after.

 

Typically I like to get back from a (usually long) day ashore, clean up and get ready for dinner, then have a pre-dinner drink somewhere where I can people watch; music is a nice bonus. Then dinner around 7:00 to 7:30, then some kind of entertainment or show around 9:00 to 9:30. After that I would normally find a spot to have a drink or two (think the martini bar on Celebrity ships) and/or would look for any later-evening performances (in a smaller lounge or atrium area).

 

I'm not one to watch movies on vacation, either on a big or small screen. I do that enough at home.  And I don't gamble. 

 

 

We very rarely watch TV in cabins.  DW watched some tennis in sports bar in January on Celebrity.  I now carry my phone so I can use the app, but otherwise, we are off electronics including daily internet.  Our cabin is for dropping off our suitcases, changing our clothes/cleaning up and sleeping.   Otherwise we are out and about the ship.

 

If there is a show we want to see, we try to eat early, otherwise if we cannot prior to shows, we will grab something in buffet area.   That is rare as we seem to always  be able to get a dining reservation that allows us to see the early production show and if not see the late version. 

[mcrcruiser]

Very flexible , any time dinner , casino craps & or slots , music walk to listen ,a show if they have one ,  listen to a comedian  . There is dancing at BB Kings on occasion 

[crystalspin]

2 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

I would love to hear from more passengers who are later risers and later diners. I never eat dinner before 7:00 pm.  Will I still be able to catch a show, if there is one?  It doesn't seem "right" to me to go to a show before dinner vs. after.

CM: I believe HAL has always planned for late diners to go to the early show and vice versa. I agree it seems wrong! But, we have become early diners since the shut-down...

[mcrcruiser]

8 minutes ago, crystalspin said:

CM: I believe HAL has always planned for late diners to go to the early show and vice versa. I agree it seems wrong! But, we have become early diners since the shut-down...

Good job Crystal  you het to see the show after dinner . Then what do you usually do ? We head to the Casino  to play Craps or slots 

[0106]

I suggest looking at some of the Where & When programs posted on the “Live” threads.  @iflyrc5 has been posting them everyday since 1/14 for a Caribbean itinerary.  

 

[Pickalily, Wilts]

2 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

Thanks for all the replies so far!

 

I would love to hear from more passengers who are later risers and later diners. I never eat dinner before 7:00 pm.  Will I still be able to catch a show, if there is one?  It doesn't seem "right" to me to go to a show before dinner vs. after.

 

Typically I like to get back from a (usually long) day ashore, clean up and get ready for dinner, then have a pre-dinner drink somewhere where I can people watch; music is a nice bonus. Then dinner around 7:00 to 7:30, then some kind of entertainment or show around 9:00 to 9:30. After that I would normally find a spot to have a drink or two (think the martini bar on Celebrity ships) and/or would look for any later-evening performances (in a smaller lounge or atrium area).

 

I'm not one to watch movies on vacation, either on a big or small screen. I do that enough at home.  And I don't gamble. 

 

 

 

I think we may be distantly related. 😃  We like to eat around 7.30 or 8.00 after a drink or three beforehand and then it's a couple of  hours listening to either BB King or Rolling Stone Rock group (Pinnacle class ship).  Finishing off with a nightcap and then 'night-night' everybody.   Not really bothered about a show in the main theatre or time in the casino.  We live in a small village so any kind of evening entertainment is something out of the ordinary for us.  Love it.

[crystalspin]

34 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

Good job Crystal  you het to see the show after dinner . Then what do you usually do ? We head to the Casino  to play Craps or slots 

No casino for us. And we actually didn't see any of the Step1 dance shows, either. We are outliers in actually liking the BBC films with live classical accompaniment. Otherwise we would go to one of the quieter venues (Crows Nest, Dutch Cafe) for a nightcap. My DH is an early riser, so early to the cabin, where I might read on my Kindle for a while.

[mcrcruiser]

2 minutes ago, crystalspin said:

No casino for us. And we actually didn't see any of the Step1 dance shows, either. We are outliers in actually liking the BBC films with live classical accompaniment. Otherwise we would go to one of the quieter venues (Crows Nest, Dutch Cafe) for a nightcap. My DH is an early riser, so early to the cabin, where I might read on my Kindle for a while.

Talk about early rising .I take my scooter & go up to the Lido around  5AM  . There are other folks there as well at that time . Easy to meet others & have a  nice chat  .Got to know a lot off people this way other than the Meet & Greets 

[wdw1972]

5 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

Typically I like to get back from a (usually long) day ashore, clean up and get ready for dinner, then have a pre-dinner drink somewhere where I can people watch; music is a nice bonus. Then dinner around 7:00 to 7:30, then some kind of entertainment or show around 9:00 to 9:30. After that I would normally find a spot to have a drink or two (think the martini bar on Celebrity ships) and/or would look for any later-evening performances (in a smaller lounge or atrium area).

 

Typically the "late" show is 9:30 - sometimes as early as 9pm or as late as 10pm but lately it seems to be 9:30.  You should easily be able to make it to the late show after a 7 or 7:30pm dinner.  The late show tends to be less crowded too, so getting their early isn't an issue.

 

Sue/WDW1972

[Sea42]

On the nights we go out - Around 6 or so we share a couple cheese plates from room service and enjoy them with our wine on our balcony. Then it's time to get ready for dinner. Dinner generally starts anywhere from 7:30 to 8:30. If the timing is right we'll catch sunset by the seaview pool with another adult beverage. One of the advantages of not being a regular cruiser is that whatever is on the main stage is probably something we haven't seen before! So we'll go to the show and then find some music (70's or later please!). Most likely back to the cabin by midnight, earlier if there is port day the next day.

 

We do not do this every night. We really don't have the desire to go "out" every night on a cruise. We are much more likely to do land trips and when we do, we don't go out every night for the weeks that we're traveling. It's no different on a cruise.

[RuthC]

6 hours ago, crystalspin said:

CM: I believe HAL has always planned for late diners to go to the early show and vice versa.

Not always. For most of my cruising years HAL has had dinner at 6:00 and 8:15, followed by the show at 8:00 and 10:00 or 10:15. It's only in recent years that HAL has moved the 'late' show earlier than its former 10:15 or 10:00 time. It's more as if HAL is deliberately trying to squeeze out the late dining time, having moved it back from 8:15 to more often 7:30 now. 

There were two set cocktail times before each dinner sitting, with live music for dancing. Every night---no nights off for the bands. There were few, if any, other activities during the cocktail/dinner times to interfere with those activities. 
After a brief experiment with four dinner seatings, open seating started, and timing started to change. 

Of course, the shows (and dinner) getting earlier has been incremental, and oftentimes making it so it's a tight time between the early show and late dinner, followed by a tight time between late dinner and late show. 

[iceman93]

Thanks for confirming what I thought, Ruth.  We've always done late fixed dining (early is way too early for us in any event, but especially when doing all-day excursions in port).  We're actually okay with seeing the show (if it's worth seeing) before dinner, but on the past couple of cruises the two show times were usually BOTH incompatible with the late dining time.

[MISTER 67]

We dine early and usually take in the early show in the main showroom, unfortunately HAL has a different idea what constitutes entertainment instead they show us BBC Planet Earth TV shows and a video presentation on the history of HAL. We also like to take in the evening concert in Lincoln Center but HAL is doing away with that also.