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

[sfaaa]

I always bring a book with me to read or watch a movie on tv during evening downtime when nothing interests me on the ship. HA has a good selection of older movies on tv.

[Denise T]

I will be on the Nieuw Amsterdam in May for an Alaska trip. This is my first Hal cruise but not my first cruise. My last cruise, I was with my sister and some of the things we liked to do were walking the open decks, after dinner., hanging around the bars and taking in whatever entertainment was there. Some evenings I had to work. But I liked being outside the most because I just love the sound of the ocean. This May, I am going with my sister again and my brother and sister-in-law. We will probably spend time doing similar things. I love walking around a cruise ship at night. 

[cruisemom42]

9 hours ago, iceman93 said:

but on the past couple of cruises the two show times were usually BOTH incompatible with the late dining time.

 

😟😟😟

[cruisemom42]

2 hours ago, sfaaa said:

I always bring a book with me to read or watch a movie on tv during evening downtime when nothing interests on the ship. HA has a good selection of older movies on tv.

 

If HAL wants to do away with daytime entertainment on the theory that we should be able to entertain ourselves, I'm willing to accommodate that -- I tend to take port-intensive cruises anyway. If it's a sea day, I'm happy to read, watch the ocean, whatever.

 

But it has always seemed to me that part of the allure, the fun, the enjoyment of being on a cruise ship is to have some entertainment in the evenings; something you wouldn't necessarily do every night at home...which for me is reading or watching/streaming movies & other content.

 

 

[YXU AC*SE]

Late dining fixed always -- usually a pre-dinner drink (or two) in the Ocean Bar -- although one of the annoying drawbacks of the Pinnacle Class is that the Ocean Bar is bifurcated into two with a bulkhead.  One some of my last cruises there has been a piano player tinkling away playing your typical lounge music.  Spend some time being glared at by at least one of your fellow guests who think that someone playing Autumn Leaves deserves recital-level rapt attention and absolute silence.  

 

Leisurely-paced dinner -- lots of fun conversation, right @Divi? -- sometimes being one of the last tables to leave.  If the show seems compelling on the main stage that night, might make an effort to go to that, otherwise check out Music Walk and Billboard Onboard. Have seen all of the RWS - Step One shows, so until they come up with something new ...   On a two-week cruise, set list can be a bit repetitive though.  Mebbe have a nightcap if the music is okay and the next day is a sea day, but generally not?   Run through the Lido to get tea -- see who has fallen asleep on the loungers for Movies under the Stars -- then up to the cabin.  Prefer upper decks and forward. Have gone up to EXC / Crow's Nest, but generally by 23h00 they're shut down.  I do sometimes miss the Hal Cats playing up there when there used to be a dance floor space there.  If it's a clear night, might go up to Sky Deck to check out the celestial night sky. Back to the cabin, time for a bit of reading, confirming plans for the next day, and then lights out. TV never goes on. No casino ever.

 

I'm a morning person, so on a sea day usually you will find me by the Lido pool w. a stack of saved NY Times crosswords, whatever book I reading, and a coffee, waiting to be joined for breakfast.  Scott.

 

 

[FlorenceItaly]

We enjoy listening to live music while enjoying cocktails.

We may spend a little time in the casino.

[JeffElizabeth]

Trivia, a nice dinner with great conversation.  We like the eight person tables. Maybe trivia after dinner or hang out at the piano bar. My wife is a night owl, but she prefers to spend her late evenings comfortably in the cabin. 

[3rdGenCunarder]

53 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

If HAL wants to do away with daytime entertainment on the theory that we should be able to entertain ourselves, I'm willing to accommodate that -- I tend to take port-intensive cruises anyway. If it's a sea day, I'm happy to read, watch the ocean, whatever.

 

But it has always seemed to me that part of the allure, the fun, the enjoyment of being on a cruise ship is to have some entertainment in the evenings; something you wouldn't necessarily do every night at home...which for me is reading or watching/streaming movies & other content.

 

 

 

I agree with you. If it's a port-intensive cruise, a sea day is a welcome chance to sit and put my feet up. Unless there's a good enrichment program (and "Alexandrite, Gem of the Tsars!" is not enrichment), I don't much care about daytime programming. 

 

One of the great things on Cunard is the variety of entertainment in the evening. Mainstage show or guest performer, jazz, classical, bar band in the pub, and more. I do miss that when I'm on HAL. I suppose I've given in (given up?) and adapted to HAL's evening offerings. If there was music I liked somewhere, or something better than a Video in the main showroom, I wouldn't be in my room watching a movie. At this point, LS is the only evening entertainment I like, and that's going away. My next two cruises are on the smaller ships and port intensive. So I will probably be on a fairly early schedule, but I do hope that the band in the Ocean Bar will give me a reason to stay up a little later. 

[dreamer321]

Grab a pre-dinner cocktail while listening to some music.  Grab dinner around 7:30 pm or 8:00 pm.

I'm going on an Alaskan cruise in May 2023 and I like to watch the sunset outside at the bar. Sunset for my cruise is 9:30 pm – 9:45 pm. Afterwards, I might go down to the casino and play some poker if they have a game going.  I also plan on listening to the musicians at the Music Walk, all genres. If they have a comedian or magician preforming, I'll try to make those shows as well.  Not interested in the One Step dancers.

 

[Btimmer]

We tend to do longer non port intensive cruises.  Generally we eat early in the Lido (very rarely in the MDR) in order to take in the early Main Stage show.  But given that the Step One, BBC Earth, and the EXC talks are now totally repetitive, we'll skip those and take in the Billboard Onboard.  Depending upon the artists there, we may set through 2-3 sets in an evening.  We never go to the Rolling Stone Rock Room on the Pinnacle Class ships as it's too loud.  The same goes for the now defunct BBKing lounge.  If there's a game show, we may take that in.  If the weather's nice we'll often walk the promenade and virtually every night, we check out the stars on the LIDO deck aft at around 10:30pm.  Sometimes, we'll eat something light or enjoy some tea at the 10:30pm feeding in the LIDO.  Rarely will we watch a movie in the stateroom, but it occasionally does happen.

 

Edited February 22, 2023 by Btimmer

[riverrat]

 

50% of the nights we order room service and stay in. We feel like we stay in constant motion all day so evenings we like going to happy hour in Billboard, then sitting on the balcony listening to our music, watching the ocean, doing spa stuff, wearing pjs, catching up on the internet at home or with the news. We mainly relax and prepare for the next port. 

[kcdancerkc]

In 11 cruises we try what we do best on a cruise or at a resort 

 

we eat early because hubby doesn’t want to eat and drink too close together 

 

then we nap

 

then we go to any venues with music/dancing/drinks

until they shut down.  Then the casino 🌈 

 

we did a HAL cruise 2009, closed the place down and had a pub crawl the next night 😎

 

we are 60 now but feel 30 socially 😂
 

This June will be Alaska, but even though the vibe will probably not be hopping late, we’ll probably finish with casino and pizza or room service 

ahhhh. 😊

Edited February 24, 2023 by kcdancerkc

[syesmar]

We like to go to the Crow’s Nest for pre-dinner appetizers (years ago we loved listening to the guitarist up there). Lincoln Center Stage (previously used to go hear Adagio Strings pre-dinner). Dinner (usually Lido). Way back when cappuccinos were complimentary, we’d stop by the MDR to get one (decaf) and take it to the evening Show. After the Show, we’d go to BB Kings. If there was a Game Show, we’d go. Maybe listen to the pianists. Walk around the deck, watch the sunset. (Years ago, we loved relaxing in the Crow’s Nest listening to the music until late evening). 

 

Agree that showing a movie in the main stage doesn’t feel like a complete selection of evening entertainment, although on occasion we’d take in an evening movie in the theater or lido pool after the evening show.

[ontheweb]

We've been on 2 HAL cruises, and the after dinner experience on each was vastly different. In 2009, we were on the Noordam sailing in the Eastern Mediterranean. I don't remember the name of the lounge, but we danced the night away. In 2018, we were on the Maasdam, Boston to Montreal. DW liked those BBC films, but I remember them being earlier.  We listened to music at the Ocean Bar, but the amount of dance music was negligible. It was disappointing.

 

We actually complained to guest services, and were told to go on a larger HAL ship.

[Colorado Klutch]

On 2/18/2023 at 9:55 AM, 3rdGenCunarder said:

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).

 

There are many constellation phone apps. You simply point your phone at the sky and the app will recognize a constellation and "connect the dots" for you. I would suggest reading some reviews and trying some at home before getting underway. I downloaded a constellation app when I was in the Colorado Rockies and it was pretty useless. But I've seen other apps which were really good. 

Edited February 25, 2023 by Colorado Klutch