Billboard Onboard: in praise of Krista Meadows

[Petronillus]

Before DW and I set sail last month on our Asian Collector cruise on board the Westerdam, a thread was spinning about the recent change in format for Billboard OnBoard where the number of pianos was reduced from two to one. It was taken as given that this was another piece of the HAL bean-counters' handiwork, but the main question on this thread was whether two was necessarily better than one. It eventually broke down into an exchange of personal grudges and attacks, but before that there seemed to be a consensus that it all came down to how good the remaining solo pianist was.

I'm here only to report that Westerdam can proudly boast of a top-notch talent in Krista Meadows.

Krista plays skillfully and with verve, but she is first and foremost a singer. She performed three 45-minute sets a night; the first two were programmed around various time periods and/or genres (e.g., music of the 50s/60s/70s/80/90s etc., British Invasion, Country & Western, the Beatles) and the third set was always reserved for requests. After her second set, she would pass out and collect request slips, which she then organized into a playlist. Those she was unfamiliar with, or she didn't have a satisfactory accompaniment for, she would set aside as "homework"; more often than not, the next time the number was requested, she'd be ready with it.

Krista created an intimate atmosphere in the venue. She engaged us as friends, including the waitstaff. Instead of seeking refuge and respite in a (quasi) green room between sets she stuck around and interacted with us. Doing requests she would sometimes find that her arrangement was not yet ready for prime time, she would admit as much and promise to work on it in homework, and so far as I could detect no one thought the less of her for it.

If I knew in advance that Krista Meadows was performing on a particular cruise, I would be inclined to book that cruise over others.

 

[Blackduck59]

Thank you for your enthusiastic report. I'm sure there are many who will be happy to read it. Hopefully the "talent" coordinators will be able to find more like Krista Meadows for the whole fleet. If so it would be a good first step to rebuilding the entertainment offerings on HAL ships. 

[pellanor]

I wholeheartedly agree with the OP. Krista with a "K" is a jewel on our cruise on the Westerdam last month. I only wish I didn't have jet lag that had me in bed by 9 the first week of the cruise!

[Petronillus]

44 minutes ago, Blackduck59 said:

Thank you for your enthusiastic report. I'm sure there are many who will be happy to read it. Hopefully the "talent" coordinators will be able to find more like Krista Meadows for the whole fleet. If so it would be a good first step to rebuilding the entertainment offerings on HAL ships. 

Between Krista and the Step One Dance Company we found the entertainment offerings fully satisfactory.

I should give honorable mention to the excellent Third Avenue West jazz trio who performed in the Ocean Bar. About half of the bar was plainly jazz afficionados, clapping after solo riffs and the like. The rest were there for a gabfest and for them it was no more than background music. Personally, I thought the chatter was demeaning, and most times it drove me away.

[Haljo1935]

Happy to hear of a great musical experience and hope it spreads fleetwide. 

[WVU_Neal]

On 3/18/2024 at 1:53 PM, Blackduck59 said:

Thank you for your enthusiastic report. I'm sure there are many who will be happy to read it. Hopefully the "talent" coordinators will be able to find more like Krista Meadows for the whole fleet. If so it would be a good first step to rebuilding the entertainment offerings on HAL ships.

On our last two cruises, October on the Zuiderdam and February on the Rotterdam, we found the entertainment excellent. On both ships, we loved the highly talented musicians in the 7 piece bands, complete with horns, that played lots of the "sweet soul music" from the 60s-80s. The dance floor was mostly full during their early sets. I love that music and was there just about every night.

 

Yeah, HAL has "upped their game" with the entertainment onboard.

[anthonylovetocruise]

Can not agree more- Krista was amazing and made our cruise on our 14-day Asia cruise on the Westerdam! Such talent!