Ky Colonel Posted May 26 #1 Share Posted May 26 Haven’t cruised since very early 2020: Wondering if HAL still has the Cruise Ship Priest Program - any help is appreciated. Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Ferry_Watcher Posted May 26 #2 Share Posted May 26 There are been a Catholic Priest on my recent HAL cruises (Sept '23 & Oct '23). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mammajamma2013 Posted May 26 #3 Share Posted May 26 9 minutes ago, Ky Colonel said: Haven’t cruised since very early 2020: Wondering if HAL still has the Cruise Ship Priest Program - any help is appreciated. Thank you! Cannot answer other than to say this past March, Mass information was offered daily in the "newspaper". 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ky Colonel Posted May 26 Author #4 Share Posted May 26 Thanks for your reply, Ferry_Watcher! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ky Colonel Posted May 26 Author #5 Share Posted May 26 Thanks, mammajamma! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiserBruce Posted May 26 #6 Share Posted May 26 The answer is yes, they still have priests on board very regularly. In fact, there was, for quite awhile, a priest regularly posting on the HAL board about how the program works. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TGCRUISEO Posted May 27 #7 Share Posted May 27 Here is a screen shot from the FAQs 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Haljo1935 Posted May 27 #8 Share Posted May 27 All my 2023 (NA, K'dam, NS, Eurodam) and to-date 2024 (K'dam) cruises have had daily mass; also had Midnight Mass at Christmas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Haired Lady Posted May 27 #9 Share Posted May 27 (edited) The Apostleship of the Sea is the group who has priests who volunteer. https://www.aos-usa.org/store/pg/40-About-the-Cruise-Ship-Priest-Program-clone.aspx Edited May 27 by Red Haired Lady 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loreto Posted May 27 #10 Share Posted May 27 3 hours ago, Red Haired Lady said: The Apostleship of the Sea is the group who has priests who volunteer. https://www.aos-usa.org/store/pg/40-About-the-Cruise-Ship-Priest-Program-clone.aspx I appreciate this program and am grateful that HAL has a priest on board and I always mention it in my end of cruise survey! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Haired Lady Posted May 27 #11 Share Posted May 27 20 hours ago, CruiserBruce said: The answer is yes, they still have priests on board very regularly. In fact, there was, for quite awhile, a priest regularly posting on the HAL board about how the program works. Perhaps @Himselfmay see this and add some information to the discussion. I think he is the priest you are referring to. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Himself Posted May 27 #12 Share Posted May 27 HAL TRYS to have a priest on each cruise. The Priests are vetted by the AOS-USA. Each priest has to get a letter each year from his Bishop or, in case of an order priest, his Provincal stating the priest is in good standing and has the approval do this work. Each year the priests get a list of available cruises. Some charters do not want a priest and other charters want them. If a group brings their own priest, that man must be vetted by OSA-USA. Sometimes a cruise might go if a priest cannot be found to take the cruise. I hope this adds light to the discussion. 7 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iflyrc5 Posted May 30 #13 Share Posted May 30 I have seen postings on several social media sites that HAL is starting to reduce the cruises that will have priest on board. This included not having priests on Caribbean, Alaska and cruises in Europe. I have a request into HAL ship services and AOS for a confirmation of the situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare mightycruisequeen Posted May 30 #14 Share Posted May 30 Today's Holland America page on Religious services is different: https://www.hollandamerica.com/en/us/faq/onboard-cruise-experience/onboard-information/are-religious-service-available Travel Is Our Tradition Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TGCRUISEO Posted May 30 #15 Share Posted May 30 Wow. They just changed that like today. This stinks. Opens up me looking for cruises on any cruise line where I can get to port to go to mass now. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare mightycruisequeen Posted May 30 #16 Share Posted May 30 9 minutes ago, TGCRUISEO said: Wow. They just changed that like today. This stinks. Opens up me looking for cruises on any cruise line where I can get to port to go to mass now. Yes, it stinks to high Heaven (pun intended). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iflyrc5 Posted May 30 #17 Share Posted May 30 I just emailed the President of HAL as to why HAL has changed this policy - interested to see if I get a response. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Haljo1935 Posted May 30 #18 Share Posted May 30 Wow that stinks. Changes happen, but this is not a good one. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare TiogaCruiser Posted May 30 #19 Share Posted May 30 1 hour ago, mightycruisequeen said: Today's Holland America page on Religious services is different: https://www.hollandamerica.com/en/us/faq/onboard-cruise-experience/onboard-information/are-religious-service-available Travel Is Our Tradition Wow- so basically they sail only the cruises which have a lot of sea days. What about the Catholic crew? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAKcruiser Posted May 30 #20 Share Posted May 30 I can't believe they would change their policy. How much could it cost to provide a cabin for the Priest? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare TiogaCruiser Posted May 30 #21 Share Posted May 30 9 minutes ago, KAKcruiser said: I can't believe they would change their policy. How much could it cost to provide a cabin for the Priest? Loosing out on $49/day? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare mightycruisequeen Posted May 30 #22 Share Posted May 30 42 minutes ago, TiogaCruiser said: Wow- so basically they sail only the cruises which have a lot of sea days. What about the Catholic crew? Great question! Those kids give up sleep to attend crew Mass at 11 pm or midnight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare mightycruisequeen Posted May 30 #23 Share Posted May 30 I don't know about the rest of the Catholics on this forum, but I'm going to be writing to HAL to express my displeasure about this cheap new way to save a buck. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAKcruiser Posted May 30 #24 Share Posted May 30 Having a Catholic Priest onboard is the main reason we started sailing with HAL over 25 years ago. Attending Sunday Mass is a requirement for practicing Catholics. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kydems Posted May 30 #25 Share Posted May 30 Catholics are only required to attend Mass if there is one available. The catholic crew on ships are excused from this obligation if there is no Priest on board or Mass is not held 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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