gizmodog Posted September 6 #1 Share Posted September 6 Has Holland already done away with this? On two week cruise Oct. 5 in Greece and wondering if there will be mass onboard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruisin4now Posted September 6 #2 Share Posted September 6 I believe it goes away next year and will only be available on extended voyages, I think 21/35+ day cruises. This was from a priest on board two weeks ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dfilpus Posted September 6 #3 Share Posted September 6 (edited) According to Starting in 2025, there will be a priest on board for longer cruises and a select set of distant cruises, including Hawaii, the Panama Canal, Asia, South America, Australia, and New Zealand. Edited September 6 by dfilpus 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare sunviking90 Posted September 6 #4 Share Posted September 6 Currently on Nieuw Amsterdam for 2 weeks (7day B2B ) and there is no mass. Daily prayers led by passengers only. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveOKC Posted September 6 #5 Share Posted September 6 One less reason for us to sail with HAL in the future. We certainly appreciate having Mass on almost all cruise! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AV8rix Posted September 6 #6 Share Posted September 6 25 minutes ago, dfilpus said: According to Starting in 2025, there will be a priest on board for longer cruises and a select set of distant cruises, including Hawaii, the Panama Canal, Asia, South America, Australia, and New Zealand. Wow! That's gotta be tough for the Filipino crew!! Bad enough for folks on for just a week or two but those guys are on for 6-9 months at a time! 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oakridger Posted September 6 #7 Share Posted September 6 I asked on another thread but didn't see if anyone answered.....are there any other mass market cruise lines that have a priest on all sailings? (I know Crystal usually has a priest, but it isn't mass market.) Thanks, ~Nancy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petronillus Posted September 6 #8 Share Posted September 6 As @dfilpus has been kind enough to direct our attention, there has alrleady been a heap of weeping and lamentation over this short-sighted change of policy. It's true that none of the other mass-market cruise lines offer this "amenity." But to me that just means HAL has frittered away one of its competitive advantages. But then, so long as the ships are sailing at full capacity, who needs a competitive advantage? Revenge of the beancounters. 3 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Roz Posted September 6 #9 Share Posted September 6 How many priests are able to get away for long periods of time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sea42 Posted September 6 #10 Share Posted September 6 5 minutes ago, Roz said: How many priests are able to get away for long periods of time? Retired ones maybe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAKcruiser Posted September 6 #11 Share Posted September 6 There is no shortage of Priests willing to serve as chaplains on ships. The Apostalate of the Seas arranges for the Priests and they have reported that this was HAL's decision. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srsurman Posted September 6 #12 Share Posted September 6 Just curious, these priests were getting free room and board? If so, seems like an easy cut if you're trying to manage a budget. 🤷♂️ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruisin4now Posted September 6 #13 Share Posted September 6 Yes, retired. Yes, free room signup is well in advance. No, they don’t decide the mass schedule for guests nor crew. So if the ship wants to celebrate mass during sailaway for example, the priest has to go along with it. They are not given advance notice of the schedule. On our last cruise, the crew mass was at 11pm on Sunday night. Apparently there is a 45 minutes break at that time for this religious observation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petronillus Posted September 6 #14 Share Posted September 6 6 minutes ago, srsurman said: Just curious, these priests were getting free room and board? If so, seems like an easy cut if you're trying to manage a budget. 🤷♂️ They were assigned a single (inside) cabin in the officer quarters. On the other hand, the bean counters could have insisted that they each be accompanied by a paying pax to share their cabin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horizon chaser 1957 Posted September 6 #15 Share Posted September 6 49 minutes ago, Petronillus said: As @dfilpus has been kind enough to direct our attention, there has alrleady been a heap of weeping and lamentation over this short-sighted change of policy. It's true that none of the other mass-market cruise lines offer this "amenity." But to me that just means HAL has frittered away one of its competitive advantages. But then, so long as the ships are sailing at full capacity, who needs a competitive advantage? Revenge of the beancounters. As usual, the bean counters forget that the tide that rises also falls. And there will be one less competitive advantage when it does. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiserBruce Posted September 6 #16 Share Posted September 6 1 hour ago, DaveOKC said: One less reason for us to sail with HAL in the future. We certainly appreciate having Mass on almost all cruise! Are there a lot if other cruise lines that offer Catholic services? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackduck59 Posted September 6 #17 Share Posted September 6 (edited) I find it interesting with all the multitude of threads that have addressed this subject; the number of guests who say they won't sail with HAL anymore because of this "short sighted" decision. Implying that there are plenty of other lines who have a priest onboard for daily mass. I'm curious just how many are attending these daily services? Not being Catholic I clearly don't get it, but there are many religions represented on every cruise and they don't have an onboard officiant. I'm not sure how short sighted it was because it wouldn't be long before some members of any given group would expect equal treatment no matter how many of their particular faith were on the cruise. Edited September 6 by Blackduck59 9 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Niagarawine Posted September 6 #18 Share Posted September 6 18 minutes ago, Blackduck59 said: I find it interesting with all the multitude of threads that have addressed this subject; the number of guests who say they won't sail with HAL anymore because of this "short sighted" decision. Implying that there are plenty of other lines who have a priest onboard for daily mass. I'm curious just how many are attending these daily services? Not being Catholic I clearly don't get it, but there are many religions represented on every cruise and they don't have an onboard officiant. I'm not sure how short sighted it was because it wouldn't be long before some members of any given group would expect equal treatment no matter how many of their particular faith were on the cruise. I attended mass on the Koningsdam and Rotterdam and the Hudson room was packed every time. I am disappointed to hear this about no mass. It’s one of the main reasons I sail with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackduck59 Posted September 7 #19 Share Posted September 7 24 minutes ago, Niagarawine said: I attended mass on the Koningsdam and Rotterdam and the Hudson room was packed every time. I am disappointed to hear this about no mass. It’s one of the main reasons I sail with them. How many passengers compared to the overall number of passengers, and now which other lines have priests aboard? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gizmodog Posted September 7 Author #20 Share Posted September 7 I attended on westerdam and Eurodam, packed every time once they needed to bring in more chairs. i loved that they had it. as far as other religions, none that I am aware of are required to attend mass on Sundays if they do not, without a valid reason it is a mortal sin. That being said if you are in the middle of the ocean with no option, that is a valid reason. i just hate to miss Sunday mass and was so pleased that holland celebrated it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasick Sailor Posted September 7 #21 Share Posted September 7 Mass was packed again tonight, but it tends to run over past 5:00. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dancing Shoes Posted September 7 #22 Share Posted September 7 There was mass on the Volendam sailing Aug 20 Boston to Montreal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petronillus Posted September 7 #23 Share Posted September 7 5 hours ago, Blackduck59 said: I find it interesting with all the multitude of threads that have addressed this subject; the number of guests who say they won't sail with HAL anymore because of this "short sighted" decision. Implying that there are plenty of other lines who have a priest onboard for daily mass. I'm curious just how many are attending these daily services? Not being Catholic I clearly don't get it, but there are many religions represented on every cruise and they don't have an onboard officiant. I'm not sure how short sighted it was because it wouldn't be long before some members of any given group would expect equal treatment no matter how many of their particular faith were on the cruise. So what's the big deal, you ask. I can appreciate how strange it seems and how difficult it must be to appreciate what Sunday Eucharistic worship means for a Catholic. Many of my generation grew up thinking that it was mortal sin to miss Mass on Sunday without a solid excuse. When I was a youngster my parents would not let me join a boy scout troupe because they weren't under the auspices of our parish and they conducted campouts and such over weekends without making provision for the scouts to attend Mass. Most of us, I dare to say, have outgrown the fear of going to hell skipping Mass, but regular, weekly Mass attendance is still deeply ingrained in us. Add to that the fact that from time immemorial Holland America Line has made a point to accommodate a Catholic priest on its cruises. It wouldn't surprise me to learn that from the earliest times 152 years ago, Catholic priests have been serving as chaplains on board HAL vessels. You have a hard time grasping that this is a bid deal for Catholics. I've tried to shed some light. The presence of an onboard priest is not the only factor; it's probably not even the deciding factor. But as I've tried to emphasize over and over, it has distinguished HAL from the rest and given it a competitive edge. It has influenced a lot of decisions to select a HAL cruise over others. 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Niagarawine Posted September 7 #24 Share Posted September 7 Just wondering how many feel that having a priest on board is important to them 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare 1025cruise Posted September 7 #25 Share Posted September 7 Considering how many people complain when circumstances occur that the priest misses the sailing, I'd say important. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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