Worship services

[joramrose]

I have been carefully reading these postings and have yet to see any word about Sunday worship services.

 

Will Constellation have a priest on board during a 14-day cruise? This is important to me.

 

And I don't want a "rent-a-priest" that I hear some cruise lines are using. I want the real thing.

 

Some line have daily Mass, and some only on Sundays and some not at all.

 

love

joan

[vanclan]

And I would like to know if there is a Protestant worship time too.For us, we don't need a minister or pastor, just an opportunity to meet and pray with others to whom faith is important.

[CajunLiner]

I'm sorry, but I have no idea what the difference between a "rent-a-priest" and the "real thing" might be. If a priest may validly and licitly celebrate Mass, then he is "the real thing", period. Ex opere operato.

 

Justin

 

Until Galaxy Panama Canal Cruise

[rjg41]

We have been on two Celebrity cruises and there was a priest on board both times with daily and Sunday mass. I have read here that there is just about always a priest on board and the custom goes back to the original Greek owners. As I recall one of our cruises had a minister.

 

They offer clergy special deals if they offer services. On both of our curises they were regualr parish priests on vacation. In fact on one cruise the priest on the last Saturday night during mass asked us to pray for him and his 96 year old mother because they had to "endure" another week on the ship.

 

Carnival Ecstasy, March 1993

Celebrity Millennium, Caribbean, Jan 2002

Coral Princess, Panama Canal Feb. 2, 2003 (Review)

Celebrity Summit, Alaska Land (Land Tour Review) & Sea (Cruise Review), Aug. 15,2003

Navigator of the Seas, Family Reunion, March 13, 2004

(Review)

Celebrity Infinity, Valparaiso(Santiago), Chile to Fort Lauderdale, via Panama Canal, Feb. 27, 2005

[Lady Jane]

We've had a priest on board for all but one of our Celebrity cruises. The priest scheduled for the April 2003 transatlantic crossing had to cancel at the last minute. A couple of the priests we've had were retired; others were on vacation. Only once did they say only Sunday Mass; all the other times it was daily Mass. All cruises had a non-denominational service on Sunday, often led by the Catholic priest on board. And I've been on cruises with a Jewish Sabbath Service, led by a lay person. Nice touch for Celebrity!

 

Dick & Jane

Looking forward to Infinity...Valparaiso to FLL

Our prior cruises:

Majesty of the Seas - August 1993 Western Caribbean

Vision of the Seas - November 1998 Panama Canal

Mercury (around Cape Horn!) January 2001

Summit: February 2002 Ultimate Caribbean

Constellation: April 2003 Transatlantic (Eastbound)Constellation: October 2003 Transatlantic (westbound)

 

[chip1950]

"Rent-a-priest" that's a fair description of what we experienced on Princess a couple of years ago.

 

As Mass started the "priest" explained that he had left the Church many years before, gotten married and had kids. A company had contacted him about doing religious services on board cruise ships and he said yes.

 

He might have been more convincing as a priest if he had at least attended Mass recently. He lost his place several times during the service. He was definitly not the "real thing".

 

We did not go back and we expressed our opinion to Princess on their use of phoney priests. I wonder if they pick the Captains of their ships the same way?

 

I'm not bashing Princess, the rest of the cruise was great.

 

Panama Canal on Summit

 

[judytata11]

had a priest on 2 out of 4 celebrity cruises

[joramrose]

Thanks so much for replying, all. You make me feel optimistic about having a priest on board for my Baltic cruise in June.

 

And Bodnarjohn is right about the "rent a priest." Not to start a flame oranything, but just to explain to those who are confused.

 

Many ordained priests have left the priesthood in the Catholic Church in the last 40 years -- to get married, to pursue other lifestyles or whatever. Most of them, incidentally, are good and decent guys and I have several friends among them.

 

They still are priests in one sense, but not in another, because they no longer are permitted by the bishoes of the various dicoeses to say Mass, preside at liturgies, forgive sins, etc. Yet, some do, under the general heading of "rent a priest." They often perform marriage services for those who for one reason or another do not wish to, or cannot, get married in the church itself.

 

As a Catholic, personaly, I do not have a problem with that, but I don't want a cruise line scheduling mass with one of these for us unsuspecting passengers.

 

That is why I asked. I had heard about Princess and a couple of other lines doing this.

 

Hope the Easter bunny was good to all of you and put a cruise ticket among your eggs.

 

love

joan

[trcori]

for our last 3 cruises, there's been a priest on board, and my husband attended Mass at least every other day. We just got off Mercury this morning (Sunday 4/11) and there also was a married couple, both ministers, who offered a few Protestant services during the week -- first time I've seen that, but maybe since it was Holy Week, X went the X-tra mile. Plus a rabbi too -- for Sabbath services and also a seder dinner this past Monday (Passover).

 

trc

looks like Millennium 12/12/04 is next ...

****

Mercury 4/04, Infinity 8/03, Century 3/03 & 9/02

[chip1950]

OOPS!

 

I really don't like making mistakes. It's even worse when my wife remembers what really happened. I must apologize to Princess, the incident I remembered with the "rent-a-priest" actually occurred on Celebrity's Zenith.

 

Panama Canal on Summit