d9704011 Posted September 7 #26 Share Posted September 7 Not the least bit to me, but I'm not catholic. My wife is French-Canadian Catholic, and not important to her either. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alberta Quilter Posted September 7 #27 Share Posted September 7 Not important to me. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackduck59 Posted September 7 #28 Share Posted September 7 15 hours 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. I just checked and the combined capacity of the 2 "Hudson" rooms put together is 64 and the full capacity of Koningsdam is 2,650 guests. I understand that for Catholics no mass is a big deal. But for people to say "I will no longer sail with HAL because of this" is really a non starter because there really are no other lines who consistently have Priests on their ships. The choice is cruise or don't, the cabin won't be empty because you didn't, and maybe you could take the opportunity to attend mass at that fine church you traveled all that way to see. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srsurman Posted September 7 #29 Share Posted September 7 You should reword your question. Obviously every non-Catholic could give two hoots, and since Catholics make up 18% of the population... 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare *Miss G* Posted September 7 #30 Share Posted September 7 Is it too late for you to edit this thread as a poll? I think people are more likely to respond when they can remain anonymous… or they just don’t feel like commenting in a thread. It’s also easier to see the results. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare mightycruisequeen Posted September 7 #31 Share Posted September 7 Having the opportunity to attend Mass during a cruise is very important to my husband & me. The only way Mass can be celebrated is with a priest, so having a priest onboard is quite important. Masses onboard are ALWAYS PACKED. It's one thing for us passengers to miss the chance to attend Mass for the week or so that we're cruising, but I feel for the crew members. They sacrifice sleep to stay up for Mass very late in the evening. I'd say it's pretty important to them too, maybe more important to them than it is to the passengers who are practicing catholics. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAKcruiser Posted September 7 #32 Share Posted September 7 One of the reasons I have sailed Holland America is because Mass is important to me and having a Priest onboard was appreciated. I can't believe it was discontinued because of money. What could it cost to supply a cabin for the Priest? They paid their own transportation costs. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srsurman Posted September 7 #33 Share Posted September 7 8 minutes ago, mightycruisequeen said: Masses onboard are ALWAYS PACKED 2 minutes ago, KAKcruiser said: What could it cost to supply a cabin for the Priest? Maybe all the Catholics could pass the plate and pay for the priest's cabin... 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAKcruiser Posted September 7 #34 Share Posted September 7 I disagree with the capacity of the two Hudson rooms. There have been many more people than 64 attending Mass. People would often be standing in the back and in the aisles. Mass was celebrated in the BB Kings lounge on my last two cruises on the Rotterdam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAKcruiser Posted September 7 #35 Share Posted September 7 I would be willing to do that. However, again, I don't think the price of the cabin is the reason the Priests are being discontinued. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FOPMan Posted September 7 #36 Share Posted September 7 Neither my wife or I are Catholic. We regularly sail at Christmas, however, and enjoy the crew concerts immensely. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir PMP Posted September 7 #37 Share Posted September 7 41 minutes ago, Niagarawine said: Just wondering how many feel that having a priest on board is important to them Yes, important. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vms Posted September 7 #38 Share Posted September 7 Likely an unpopular opinion, but not only is it not important to me, I would prefer not to have any organized religious celebration of any faith sponsored by the cruise line onboard. If passengers want to celebrate their faiths together while onboard, they should feel free to do so. But I do not see why it is necessary for private companies to sponsor religious observances for specific faith traditions and not others. As an example- a number of years ago, my mother & I cruised together over the Easter holiday. There was a Catholic Mass onboard to celebrate Easter, but because my mother was raised in a Protestant faith tradition, she did not feel comfortable attending that service. Was she saddened to miss a formal celebration of one of the most important days to her religion. Yes, very much so. Did she realize that this was a consequence of traveling at this time of year. Yes, she did. Is it possible for a cruise line to include a clergy-person to hold a service for every Christian denomination to celebrate Easter in their own way? Of course not. Now throw in every holy day for every religion around the world, and it becomes absolutely impossible. In my opinion, the same goes for the crew. I'm not sure why prioritizing crew who have the Catholic faith over any other faith is a good thing. 12 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julia Posted September 7 #39 Share Posted September 7 Isn't there already a thread on this very subject? If it's that important, contact HAL directly, in writing, and voice your opinions. 4 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Mary229 Posted September 7 #40 Share Posted September 7 Isn’t the current status that only certain voyages have a compensated priest onboard? I have no problem if people of faith want to congregate onboard. There are many groups congregating onboard so why would they discriminate against people of faith? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emme1233 Posted September 7 #41 Share Posted September 7 Not interested in religion. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Cruise Junky Posted September 7 #42 Share Posted September 7 Could not care less 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chill6x6 Posted September 7 #43 Share Posted September 7 Onboard Priest or Mass has no bearing on my cruise choices. Personally, I would attend a "religious service" though. I'm Protestant so a Catholic service doesn't affect me either way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir PMP Posted September 7 #44 Share Posted September 7 1 hour ago, vms said: Likely an unpopular opinion, but not only is it not important to me, I would prefer not to have any organized religious celebration of any faith sponsored by the cruise line onboard. If passengers want to celebrate their faiths together while onboard, they should feel free to do so. But I do not see why it is necessary for private companies to sponsor religious observances for specific faith traditions and not others. As an example- a number of years ago, my mother & I cruised together over the Easter holiday. There was a Catholic Mass onboard to celebrate Easter, but because my mother was raised in a Protestant faith tradition, she did not feel comfortable attending that service. Was she saddened to miss a formal celebration of one of the most important days to her religion. Yes, very much so. Did she realize that this was a consequence of traveling at this time of year. Yes, she did. Is it possible for a cruise line to include a clergy-person to hold a service for every Christian denomination to celebrate Easter in their own way? Of course not. Now throw in every holy day for every religion around the world, and it becomes absolutely impossible. In my opinion, the same goes for the crew. I'm not sure why prioritizing crew who have the Catholic faith over any other faith is a good thing. I disagree 100% with your remarks, others might prefer something different than you do. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAKcruiser Posted September 7 #45 Share Posted September 7 Julia - Many people did contact HAL in writing about wanting to keep the Priests onboard. They obviously don't care and responded with some excuse about not having sufficient crew which doesn't make any sense. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Mary229 Posted September 7 #46 Share Posted September 7 2 hours ago, vms said: but because my mother was raised in a Protestant faith tradition, she did not feel comfortable attending that service. HAL allows Protestant believers to congregate also in a reserved space . If there is a minister onboard they will usually be the ones to organize 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lido deck main Posted September 7 #47 Share Posted September 7 I am Irish Catholic and my husband French Canadian Catholic, we don’t go to mass on the ship. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisetravlr Posted September 7 #48 Share Posted September 7 DH and I would like to have a priest on-board for every sailing. It was the main reason we chose HAL as our preferred cruise line. Sure, you can attend on land or virtually, but it’s so nice to have it as an option on the ship. Those that don’t want any religious gathering have the choice to not attend. No one is required to be there. Just as there are many gatherings offered that I choose not to attend. We have always attended the Sunday and daily Masses. It is just a part of our day to set aside time to be thankful for what we have received. I would gladly give to a fund to aid in getting priests on board. Even though HAL provides the stateroom, they are still receiving money from purchases made by the priest, e.g. drinks, shore excursions, dining, gift shop, etc. And, not only is the priest there to celebrate Mass for both passengers and crew, but also counseling or aid in the event of illness or death. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare albingirl Posted September 7 #49 Share Posted September 7 I rather like having the Catholic mass onboard. Tell you why. I'm not Catholic, but it's a bright light in a dark world. Nice to have something to combat the dreary sadness people face, and I'm a huge supporter of the happiness it gives people. 13 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare 3rdGenCunarder Posted September 7 #50 Share Posted September 7 2 hours ago, chill6x6 said: Onboard Priest or Mass has no bearing on my cruise choices. Personally, I would attend a "religious service" though. I'm Protestant so a Catholic service doesn't affect me either way. I've attended nondenominational (Christian) services on both Princess and Cunard and thought they were lovely. I think on Cunard, it's up to the captain (who usually leads it) whether they do it or not, because it hasn't always been available. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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