I Love Holland America but...

[babyher]

I was born in the 50's and enjoy 50's music. I am not however, able to relate life experiences to the music. I was off somewhere twirling and pining for a Chatty Cathy doll.

 

 

See I am the same way

 

I was born in 1962, and I was busy out in the backyard playing with my collection of over 5 million little green plastic "army men" during the whole, Janis Joplin, Hendrix, Morrison years. *LOL* So I have never developed an appreciation for them.

 

In fact one night Janis Joplin was on Ed Sullivan , my father said "You're on TV for God's sake , wash your hair and put on a nice dress you Puttana " *LOL*

 

And then he switched the channel and we watched Bonanza.

[babyher]

OMG, I had the lennon sisters paper dolls AND a Chatty Cathy! :o

But, back in the 50s & 60s, you didn't get a time out, you got a SPANKING.

 

 

*LOL*

 

I always tell my kids we didn't have "Time Out " we had "Knocked Out" :)

[usha]

*LOL*

 

I always tell my kids we didn't have "Time Out " we had "Knocked Out" :)

'dam right. ;)

[hammybee]

In fact one night Janis Joplin was on Ed Sullivan , my father said "You're on TV for God's sake , wash your hair and put on a nice dress you Puttana " *LOL*

 

And then he switched the channel and we watched Bonanza.

 

It's times like this that I really miss NYC/NJ. :D

[Copper10-8]

See I am the same way

 

I was born in 1962, and I was busy out in the backyard playing with my collection of over 5 million little green plastic "army men" during the whole, Janis Joplin, Hendrix, Morrison years. *LOL* So I have never developed an appreciation for them.

 

In fact one night Janis Joplin was on Ed Sullivan , my father said "You're on TV for God's sake , wash your hair and put on a nice dress you Puttana " *LOL*

 

And then he switched the channel and we watched Bonanza.

 

Puttana = sweet young lady

[fatcat04]

I think his TV show ended in the early 70's.

 

I suspect there are plenty reading this forum who also have no idea who he was.

 

Final episode was taped in '82. That kinda shocked me as I assumed due to the fashions in the show it ended in the 70's but they hung on until the 80's. His reruns on PBS went on long after that and might still be on somewhere out there in TV land. I was born in the the 70's and I knew him quite well from his tv show. My 20 something nieces/nephews wouldn't know him from Adam. ;)

[off2ctheworld]

To answer your question Madmanofbethesda, it was the canned comments in between songs, that their parents fell in love during the 1950s-that they were raising their children in the 50s, was incorrect for these 20 year olds to be saying that. I too was born 1955, children in 20s. But I wasn't raising children and falling in love in the 1950s-I was a child so did not dance to sock hops in high school during that time. That is what gave me the giggles. Sorry I didn't clarify my first comments correctly. Still, the songs were good and we enjoyed the music. I grew up listening to these songs while my parents watched Lawrence Welk on TV. My thoughts are we need more music from different decades on cruises.

 

Louben, you and your family will enjoy the Zuiderdam and the Vista Lounge shows with the Hal dancers and singers are good in my opinion, just need more shows with more variety.

[Cruising-along]

I had Lennon Sister paper dolls.

 

Oh, that brings back memories! I loved my Lennon Sister paper dolls.

 

Mom and Dad loved Lawrence Welk, and my oldest sister was listening to Elvis -- I had a well-rounded childhood. :D

[RuthC]

His reruns on PBS went on long after that and might still be on somewhere out there in TV land.

Every week where I live. And I still enjoy watching.

[RuthC]

Then there was Randall (I forget his last name - someone here will remember I'm sure) He was terrific - and terrifically funny as well.

Powell. I agree---he's terrific.

But yes, HAL was supposed to make the Vistas appeal more to a younger set - but they're been doing just about everything they possibly can in the entertainment department to appeal to the Geritol set.

Have to disagree with you here, Brian. I'd be thrilled to have one lounge with music for the Geritol set, but nothing that old is played. :mad: I'm looking for music from the 40's on back.

Let's face it, there's nothing much from the 50's that's any good. It was the era of How Much Is That Doggie In The Window? Do you really want to listen to that??? Didn't think so.

Early rock isn't likely to get a crowd going, either.

But 70's and 80's? The HAL crowd isn't that young, either. Is it? :confused:

[RuthC]

Wondering if the HAL Cats are different groups going by the same name and thus they are on all the ships? Sounds like they are dreadful, maybe thats a prequisite for them to be hired!

HALCats is the generic name for all the individual musicians hired by HAL. The singer's name is added.

 

I find the musicians to be good or better. It's the singer who usually isn't worth the price of admission. And then there's the problem of the volume too loud. :rolleyes:

[twinkletoes4445]

I was born in the 50's and enjoy 50's music. I am not however, able to relate life experiences to the music. I was off somewhere twirling and pining for a Chatty Cathy doll.

 

I still have my Chatty Cathy doll. :) And my Barbie doll and Midge...and Skipper.

 

I was also born in the 50's, and I enjoy 50's music, but I also loved the music of the 60's, which is why my daughter and her friends knew all the lyrics to all the Diana Ross and the Supremes songs. lol I remember car pooling to whatever event, and they'd all be singing away....hand gestures and all. They were young...maybe 4 or 5 at that time...it was so funny. And now that she's in her early 20's, she still listens to the music of the 60's & 70's. She was screaming as loud as I was when we went to see The Monkees and the Beach Boys. :)

[SuperTrooper00]

For me (early 30's), its the fact that when someone asks me about HAL's entertainment...I have to whince a little bit. They are far and away the worst of any cruiseline we have been on. Honestly, my wife and I do not care much about the entertainment, but we do try and go to the main show every evening. We are not fans of the song and dance on any cruiseship, but love to see high quality acts: comedians, illusionists, magician's, singers, etc. Still to this day, Shawn Farquhar on NCL is the best act we have seen. I don't see any reason HAL cannot get acts like him on their ships.

[Ship's Wake]

We're taking a Panama Canal cruise later this year. While we both agreed that the Statendam offered a more interesting itinerary than the Celebrity Infinity, we opted to book the Infinity specifically because of the lack of entertainment on HAL.

 

After cruising back to back on the Volendam to Alaska last year, we vowed never to take a 12+ day cruise on HAL that was not port intensive. We got so bored with HAL in the evening that we stopped by a neat toy store in Juneau and bought a board game to play in the evening to pass the time. For us, in the case of HAL, it's was BYOE (bring your own entertainment).

 

While I have no doubt we would prefer HAL during the daytime on the Panama Canal cruise, we could not bear dealing with 6 sea days of nothing to do in the evening.

 

I hope Seattle recognizes the need to make changes for the better to their entertainment. Its current state is driving away loyal HAL customers.

 

Joe

[ViolaSwamp]

Agreed - HAL's entertainment selections were very poor on our January Maasdam voyage.

 

The Maasdam singers & dancers were terrible, just awful. I felt embarrassed for them, they were THAT bad. RCCL's onboard shows are MUCH higher quality, at least on the two RCCL voyages we've been on.

 

We really enjoyed the John Denver tribute. The "Divas" tribute was good.

 

The Crow's Nest had karaoke one night - that was fun - otherwise, nothing there interested us.

 

We spent most evenings in the Piano Bar, we loved the entertainer there, Heather. She didn't know every song under the sun, nor was she the most technically gifted pianist, but she sure did know how to put on an entertaining, interactive show.

 

ANYWAY

 

I have booked another HAL cruise but most definitely based on itinerary and NOT on entertainment.

[louben]

You are so right - we saw Shawn on the NCL Star a few years ago and he was fantastic! Oh blimey, I think we are going to be disappointed at the lack of entertainment aboard the Zuiderdam in a few weeks. I have never been so apprehensive about going on a cruise before! I really should have done my research better - it was the itinerary and also the price that grabbed me!

[winemama]

i would love to have Randall Powell in the piano bar on our TA in oct..he is the greatest piano man HAL has

[wander]

While I do enjoy good entertainment acts and do enjoy good music in the lounges, I realize that "good" is a personal thing when it comes to entertainment (and food). Just listen to comments at the dinner table about the showroom entertainment the night before or an entree that evening.

 

That said, I DO select a cruise (and cruise line) by the ITINERARY (absolute key) AND PRICE.

I also take experience with CREW ATTITUDE into account. Entertainment I find as an extra. Of course "good" acts and groups enhance my cruise experience, but I can have a great cruise without "good" in my opinion entertainment as well, even with sea days.

 

I guess I can just entertainment myself better than some, perhaps an advantage of being an only child.

 

That said, I have yet to be on a cruise where I could not find at least one nightly venue that I could enjoy while having a drink, even by myself. A WOW act, no, but an an enjoyable one, to me at least. Then there is the people watching, particularly on the dance floor in the evening.

[pipedreams62]

[HALFans]

You are so right - we saw Shawn on the NCL Star a few years ago and he was fantastic! Oh blimey, I think we are going to be disappointed at the lack of entertainment aboard the Zuiderdam in a few weeks. I have never been so apprehensive about going on a cruise before! I really should have done my research better - it was the itinerary and also the price that grabbed me!

 

You're probably going to have a great time! In all likelyhood, the 'worst' of the shows is at best an hour every other day. ;)

 

For the on-board public venue entertainment such as "Screamette and the HALCats", the "Tonedeff Strings", etc. if you don't like listening to them, try another lounge. ;)

 

The chances are much better that you'll find at least one entertainer or group that you quite enjoy.

 

Besides, if you really can't stand the entertainment - you're on a cruise! There will be something else to do. (hint, hint, hint!) :p

[huskypup]

One thing I noticed about the ***** and the HAL cats on our recent Noordam cruise - was that the same songs were played in the same sequence everytime they played, I did not notice it on the Oosterdam, our balcony was under the Lido and it became our afternoon joke while we had our afternoon cocktail to guess the next song. And boy were they loud - and we are only late 30's and thought that.

 

When I asked if they could play something else I was told no, they don't sent the songs.

 

We love HAL, but the entertainment did lack something this time, and we are debating whether to try out another line.

[Ship's Wake]

i would love to have Randall Powell in the piano bar on our TA in oct..he is the greatest piano man HAL has

 

He's on the Volendam through mid-May then on the Oosterdam beginning in July this year.

 

http://www.randallpowell.com/

[lettienets]

....

For the on-board public venue entertainment such as "Screamette and the HALCats", the "Tonedeff Strings", etc. if you don't like listening to them, try another lounge. ;)

:p

Hey HALfans,

That's hilarious! Screamette and the Halcats and the Tonedeaf Strings :D:D:D

[hammybee]

 

I still have my Chatty Cathy doll. :) And my Barbie doll and Midge...and Skipper. /quote]

 

Save the girls !

I killed off Ken and GI Joe. :p

 

No doubt someone, somewhere is organizing a group cruise and everyone brings their dolls. I think RuthC may have met the ringleader on one of her cruises.

[lettienets]

 

I still have my Chatty Cathy doll. :) And my Barbie doll and Midge...and Skipper. /quote]

 

Save the girls !

I killed off Ken and GI Joe. :p

 

No doubt someone, somewhere is organizing a group cruise and everyone brings their dolls. I think RuthC may have met the ringleader on one of her cruises.

There was a couple on a Jan Noordam cruise carrying a Barbie in nautical dress and a bear.