Church Services on the Volendam

[RevNeal]

A.K.A. Low Sunday which has often been low attendance for us. Surprisingly we had a regular Sunday crowd yesterday. Attendance has been odd at our church this season: lower than usual attendance from Thursday to Saturday night and Easter Sunday it was one of the biggest crowds in many years. You never know. :)

 

Yes, indeed ... "Low Sunday." That's what it was, alright. :D It was still a great day; the Lectionary appointed John 20:19-29, the Doubting Thomas passage ... wonderful preaching material! We (or, at least, I) had fun.

 

Our Holy Thursday and Good Friday services were very well attended ... far more than last year (I'm told, for I wasn't here last Holy Week). We ran out of worship bulletins.

[vbmom87]

I emailed HAL and they told me there wouldnot be a Catholic Mass on Sunday, because it is the embarking day. (We embark from Vancouver at 5:00 p.m.) Would you say they are accurate?

[Old As Dirt Mom]

I emailed HAL and they told me there wouldnot be a Catholic Mass on Sunday, because it is the embarking day. (We embark from Vancouver at 5:00 p.m.) Would you say they are accurate?

 

I have embarked and sailed HAL on a Sunday, and there was a Catholic Mass said onboard that day. (This was for an Alaska cruise departing at 4 pm. Mass was said at 5 pm).

[geocruiser]

Hi,

 

I can only speak about the times that I have cruised. Like I said in another post on this thread we some time cruise with our friend who is an on board RC priest. At times he has been give a B2B cruise. Because he is all ready on the ship he does a Sunday mass for the start of the second cruise followed by daily mass until he gets off. If they get on board on Sunday some of the priest may not be able to do a mass due to the travel time for them to get to the ship. My friend does it if he can and loves to do it.

 

Maria

[RoupMom]

I'm glad to read this thread. We are going on the Holiday cruise to Australia and New Zealand on the Volendam, and will be at sea on Christmas Day. Due to personal reasons we felt we needed a complete break from our usual traditions this year, and it will be my first time ever to not be in church on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, and I'm 63! I do so hope that there will be a non-RC priest on board who can administer the Eucharist, so we can celebrate the Holiday properly, even though far from home. Please don't misunderstand --- I have nothing against Roman Catholics, but I don't like to put the priest in a predicament of administering Holy Communion to a non-Roman Catholic, which many of them feel they are forbidden to do. Perhaps we'll find an afternoon "family" service in Picton we could attend on the 24th? We'll see.......

[Old As Dirt Mom]

I'm glad to read this thread. We are going on the Holiday cruise to Australia and New Zealand on the Volendam, and will be at sea on Christmas Day. Due to personal reasons we felt we needed a complete break from our usual traditions this year, and it will be my first time ever to not be in church on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, and I'm 63! I do so hope that there will be a non-RC priest on board who can administer the Eucharist, so we can celebrate the Holiday properly, even though far from home. Please don't misunderstand --- I have nothing against Roman Catholics, but I don't like to put the priest in a predicament of administering Holy Communion to a non-Roman Catholic, which many of them feel they are forbidden to do. Perhaps we'll find an afternoon "family" service in Picton we could attend on the 24th? We'll see.......

 

For a HAL Holiday cruise, there will be Protestant clergy onboard to conduct interdenominational, non Roman Catholic, services.

[Frosty 77]

I have nothing against Roman Catholics, but I don't like to put the priest in a predicament of administering Holy Communion to a non-Roman Catholic, which many of them feel they are forbidden to do.

 

As a RC, I appreciate that you would respect our traditions. As an FYI, RCs believe in transubstantiation while many others Christians do not, which is the reason that non-RCs should abstain from RC Eucharist. I would venture to say that ALL RC priests are IN FACT forbidden to offer the Eucharist to non-Catholics (perhaps some Orthodox faiths are permitted, but I'm not sure on this one), however, you are not required to show you Confirmation Certificate at the alter so they generally give it to all who come to receive.

 

I hope you have a very Happy Christmas Cruise and are able to get some peace from whatever it is you are getting away from.

 

Funny Aside: During our RC wedding, my FIL tapped my Jewish BIL to get him to let people out of the pew and he misinterpreted and went up for Communion, really having no idea what was going on. Oh well!

[vbmom87]

Funny Aside: During our RC wedding, my FIL tapped my Jewish BIL to get him to let people out of the pew and he misinterpreted and went up for Communion, really having no idea what was going on. Oh well!

 

Happens :)!!

 

It's all good!!

[RevNeal]

I'm glad to read this thread. We are going on the Holiday cruise to Australia and New Zealand on the Volendam, and will be at sea on Christmas Day. Due to personal reasons we felt we needed a complete break from our usual traditions this year, and it will be my first time ever to not be in church on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, and I'm 63! I do so hope that there will be a non-RC priest on board who can administer the Eucharist, so we can celebrate the Holiday properly, even though far from home. Please don't misunderstand --- I have nothing against Roman Catholics, but I don't like to put the priest in a predicament of administering Holy Communion to a non-Roman Catholic, which many of them feel they are forbidden to do. Perhaps we'll find an afternoon "family" service in Picton we could attend on the 24th? We'll see.......

 

HAL policy is to have a Protestant Chaplain aboard for all holiday cruises, like Christmas, as well as for all cruises longer than 10-days. Make sure you speak to the chaplain to make it clear that you really want to have the Eucharist on Christmas Eve. It will probably already be scheduled, but it never hurts to ask. Since I'm active in pastoral ministry (I'm not "retired"), I can never be aboard ship as a Chaplain for Christmas Eve. However, if that day ever comes and I'm aboard ship for Christmas Eve as a Protestant Chaplain, I'll definitely be celebrating the Eucharist for all Protestants aboard.

[jrzebird]

I emailed HAL and they told me there wouldnot be a Catholic Mass on Sunday, because it is the embarking day. (We embark from Vancouver at 5:00 p.m.) Would you say they are accurate?

 

Both of our HAL cruises left on a Saturday. We sailed at 4:45, or thereabouts, and (at least on this last one) Mass was held at 5:00. I didn't read my daily happenings bulletin until later that evening, so didn't realize it until it was too late. I'm sorry, too, because that would have been a GREAT way to start a cruise!

 

I'm not sure who schedules the Mass times and dates, but there has always been one every day on my 2 HAL cruises.

[Himself]

I have been a Catholic since I was baptized on September 17, 1939 and it was only in this post I found out I was an "RC"! As a teen I was called a "Macrel Snapper" but never an RC.

 

More to the point, I have been the priest on board on a number of HAL crusies but have only been indentified once. ( A lady came up to me on the Volendam a few years ago and said: You must be Father Himself) On Cruises of ten days or more there is ALWAYS a Protestant Minister on board. If there is no minister on board, the priest does the non-denominational Christian Service, usually about 15 minutes after Mass finishes.

[RevNeal]

I have been a Catholic since I was baptized on September 17, 1939 and it was only in this post I found out I was an "RC"! As a teen I was called a "Macrel Snapper" but never an RC.

 

LOL ... "RC" as in "Roman Catholic" as opposed to other forms of catholics (which, by the by, includes protestant catholics ... a term we do sometimes use for ourselves -- particularly when we profess our faith with the historic ecumenical creeds).

 

More to the point, I have been the priest on board on a number of HAL crusies but have only been indentified once. ( A lady came up to me on the Volendam a few years ago and said: You must be Father Himself) On Cruises of ten days or more there is ALWAYS a Protestant Minister on board. If there is no minister on board, the priest does the non-denominational Christian Service, usually about 15 minutes after Mass finishes.

 

Word is that HAL is adjusting that standard for Protestant chaplain service. It appears that, unless a Sunday is a sea day, HAL won't be appointing a Protestant Guest Minister for cruises of just 10 days. The cruises will have to be longer than 10-days for the Line to appoint a chaplain for it regardless of where a sea-day falls.

 

As for the Roman Catholic priest doing the "non-denominational Christian service" on cruises where there is no Protestant Chaplain, this is of course true. In such cases, however, the Eucharist is of course not offered (neither for protestant passengers nor for protestant crew). On two occasions I have been on a cruise where there wasn't an appointed Protestant Chaplain and the Priest was doing that service too; when several of the passengers requested the Eucharist, the Priest came to me (he knew who and what I was) to ask me if I would celebrate. Of course, I did.

 

By the way ... "long time no see." I trust all is well with you?

[geocruiser]

Hi Himself,

 

Growing up we called Roman Catholic - RC for short.

Maybe it was just us kids who used it.

 

Maria

[TCF]

RevNeal...I am so sorry it took me so long to respond to your very thorough answer to my question some months ago concerning my wife volunteering to do Protestant Sunday service on our Veendam Amazon cruise in September.

My wife is delighted to know that there will be a "pro", as she puts it, on board during our cruise. There is no doubt that she is a theological academic in her calling...but she really enjoys preaching Sunday Service and she is, by all acounts and reviews, very good at it.

After our Princess cruise she was just concerned that a number of people on that cruise had mentioned that they would have liked a simple Sunday Service and were disappointed when one was not offered. She was just concerned that not having a sevice for five weeks would be unacceptable.

Again thanks for your reply and my apologies for the delayed response.

[RevNeal]

RevNeal...I am so sorry it took me so long to respond to your very thorough answer to my question some months ago concerning my wife volunteering to do Protestant Sunday service on our Veendam Amazon cruise in September.

My wife is delighted to know that there will be a "pro", as she puts it, on board during our cruise. There is no doubt that she is a theological academic in her calling...but she really enjoys preaching Sunday Service and she is, by all acounts and reviews, very good at it.

After our Princess cruise she was just concerned that a number of people on that cruise had mentioned that they would have liked a simple Sunday Service and were disappointed when one was not offered. She was just concerned that not having a sevice for five weeks would be unacceptable.

Again thanks for your reply and my apologies for the delayed response.

 

:)

There's a lot of things in life more important to coming to a cruise board and posting or reading posts. Don't worry about it! I would suggest that your wife inquire with the appointed Protestant Chaplain about helping out in services ... I'm sure the appointed Protestant Chaplain would appreciate it. I know I would!