Daily Mass

[Kschn3671]

Has anybody attended Daily Mass on board a Celebrity Ship? If so, what time is it usually?

 

Thanks

[drfun48]

Has anybody attended Daily Mass on board a Celebrity Ship? If so, what time is it usually?

 

Thanks

It depend upon the priest and the ports, usually around 8 am though.

[trustee55]

It depend upon the priest and the ports, usually around 8 am though.

 

Hi!

We have found that Mass is often celebrated at 5 p.m. and is usually over by 5.30 p.n. so early diners can make the 6 p.m. seating.

 

Cheers,

Carol Ann

[CruisingChick]

Yes, daily Mass is most of the time at 8:00 AM.

 

On Saturday they will also have a 5:00 PM vigil for Sunday.

[heywood]

As I recall (a few years ago now though) the time varied - early morning or evening as stated depending on sea or port day.

We had a lovely priest and it was always a meaningful and spiritual experience.

There was also a marriage vow renewal service which was non-denominational and was much better attended than daily mass (just a handful of us at that).

One couple and their children really looked like a wedding party with others in their finery too and I am sorry to say my husband and I didn't dress up at all but it was a very special occasion.

[Aqua's Mom]

We were on the July 24th Infinity sailing to Alaska. Mass most days was 5:15 pm, but on days we were at port in the evening Mass was 8:15 in the morning. Always lasted 30 minutes and the times always worked out with meal times and most activities. We met many really nice people at Mass - a great addition to our trip.

[Whippets]

I had the same experience as Aqua's Mom. Mass was lovely by a visiting priest from Boston. It always was around what schedule was going on

on the ship.

 

Hi to Aqua! Hope she is behaving herself and not getting into anything!

[Fridaynightlights]

For some reason another thread from January, 2010 on this subject indicating that Celebrity intended to discontinue the policy of having priests on board has been "closed". I hope this means the report was incorrect and that priests will continue to be allowed to be available to Catholic passengers. This is very important to our family and one of the reasons we have chosen to sail with Celebrity.

[Cruise Arizona]

I posted once on that thread, and then it got kind of nasty, so I decided to contact Celebrity directly and get the answer.

 

Here is there response:

 

Dear Ms. XXX:

 

Thank you for your email. We apologize for the delay in our response.

 

Out of respect for our guests of all religious faiths, Celebrity has chosen to align the religious services provided for Catholic, Protestant, Jewish and Interdenominational faiths effective January 4, 2010. Roman Catholic Priests, Protestant Ministers and Jewish Rabbis or Cantors will be provided and official services will be conducted for the major High Holy Holidays of each respective faith (additional information regarding major holidays will be made available shortly). Daily and weekly scheduling of any religious services will no longer be offered on an official basis (with the exception of the High Holy Holidays). Guests interested in organizing or volunteering their services are welcome to inquire with the Guest Services Desk and/or the Groups Bulletin Board on board and the Celebrity shipboard team will do their best to accommodate them.

 

Ms. xxx, thank you for choosing Celebrity Cruises.

 

Sincerely,

 

Lisa Webster

Customer Service Representative

 

_______________

 

I guess they don't realize that every Sunday is a Holy Day for Catholics?

 

If this is a make or break for you I suggest you contact Celebrity directly and let them know you dissatisfaction with this choice they have made. If they hear from enough passengers perhaps they will reconsider this decision. I did write them back and express my desire for them to reconsider.

 

We had overflow crowds on the Summit last year during Sunday Mass. Also, I have seen some travel agents advertise "Daily Mass" available on HAL in Catholic News Papers and Bulletins in order to appeal to certain customers or attract new ones. Unless HAL changes their on board Priest Policy, they will be one of the few, if not the only, Cruise Line offering daily mass.

[FinelyCruising]

With all due respect, Religion, Politics and Money are no, no's. Thankfully closures occur.

[Dabu17]

Cruise Arizona: I received the same response from Celebrity today. It's interesting they close these blogs if someone says something they don't like.\

 

My objection is, and has been, that Celebrity changed one of their policies without notifying anyone. I just happened to read about it in one of these blogs. There will be people on cruises who will not find out about this policy change and that Mass will not be said until they have already sailed.

[Host Walt]

... It's interesting they close these blogs if someone says something they don't like...

 

Just to be clear, the subject is fine.

 

Two previous threads were closed because one turned into a flame war and the other had a starter post that had to be removed because of a guideline violation that was not related to the subject.

[keela1eva2]

Despite being told by the UK CC I had the same response from Miami as the previous poster. Saying that the change of policy took place on the 4th January.

Like them I did email back my regret at this but I would not hold my breath on getting either a further response or a change in the Policy.

Something to consider if booking a future cruise. I am already booked on the T/A Equinox on the 19th April.

 

Sue

[usha]

Cruise Arizona, thanks for posting the response you got from Celebrity.

They sent me the same response, and I also wrote back to express my disappointment.

It's obviously a cost cutting measure (of all the lousy ways to save a buck:rolleyes:),

and yet they're making it sound as though it's "out of respect for all of their guests".

Please, it shows no respect or regard for anyone.:(

Priests have always been volunteers on cruise ships, and they provide their own airfare to get to the ships.

They've not only celebrated Mass daily, but they've also led Sunday nondenominational services.

If Celebrity really wants to save some money and show respect for everyone, why don't they lay off Perry Grant? ;)(I'm kidding! Don't flame me!)

And, thanks for letting us know that this subject is okay, Host Walt! :)

[hancock]

The discussion on this subject has centered on the passengers. What about the crew? Without a clergyman on board, they are left without a spiritual advisor. Many of them come from what are generally considered Catholic countries. They sign contracts to work for 6-8 months. Their time onshore is truly limited. They have will have little opportunity to make contact with clergymen of their own faiths, whatever that may be. Catholic members of the crew will have little or no chance to attend mass. As a practicing Catholic, the thought of not being able to attend mass and receive communion for 6-8 months, is horrendous.

 

While clergymen of other faiths can counsel all, they cannot say the mass. A Catholic priest can attend to all faiths. The Catholic Church is the one faith that requires it's members to attend services a minimum of once a week. With other faiths, it is not a requirement.

 

Celebrity doesn't pay the priest. They provide him with a cabin. More than likely that cabin would remain empty. Very few cruises sail TOTALLY booked. They may tell us they are full, but usually there are a cabin or two held back for contingencies. They won't change the amount of food ordered for each cruise because there won't be a priest on board. I can't see this as a cost saving move.

 

While having a priest on board has certainly been a convenience for the passengers, it has been part of the fabric of the lives of all those who live on the ship.

[Cruise Arizona]

You know I wonder if it really saves them that much money. Maybe they just need to turn mass into a revenue center and start charging admission. (Just Kidding, but sometimes that seems like the mindset).

 

 

I love the piano entertainers but don't always get the opportunity to go the Michael's Club to see them, but I know we have had more people at Mass than in some of the entertainment venues.

 

And I agree, their reasoning is either a smoke screen for cost cutting or the weakiest reasoning I have ever heard. I wonder if it is true they when RCCL bought Celebrity from Chandris they had to agree to a Priest on board for 10 years, and now that the 10 years is up, they are just relieved to not have that obligation, with-out even checking with passengers to find out if it is something of benefit to them.

 

The best thing we can do is make our voices known that we miss having a priest. Sometimes they do listen to us.

[lysolqn]

...A Catholic priest can attend to all faiths. The Catholic Church is the one faith that requires it's members to attend services a minimum of once a week. With other faiths, it is not a requirement.

 

Unfortunately, your information is wrong re all the above.

[hancock]

Please tell me where I am wrong.

[denims]

Please tell me where I am wrong.

 

I am also waiting for this reply!

[GITC]

And people wonder why these threads get closed. :rolleyes:

[usha]

The discussion on this subject has centered on the passengers. What about the crew? Without a clergyman on board, they are left without a spiritual advisor. Many of them come from what are generally considered Catholic countries. They sign contracts to work for 6-8 months. Their time onshore is truly limited. They have will have little opportunity to make contact with clergymen of their own faiths, whatever that may be. Catholic members of the crew will have little or no chance to attend mass. As a practicing Catholic, the thought of not being able to attend mass and receive communion for 6-8 months, is horrendous.

 

While having a priest on board has certainly been a convenience for the passengers, it has been part of the fabric of the lives of all those who live on the ship.

You bring up a vital issue, but if Celebrity feels comfortable offering no opportunity for its paying passengers to attend Masses,

do you really think they're worried about leaving their crew in the lurch?

[hancock]

In the short term, no. In the long run it may become a morale issue.

[usha]

In the short term, no. In the long run it may become a morale issue.

Yes, I would certainly think it would.

[Sea and Me]

We have sailed RCI in the past and had a priest on board for our longer cruises 10 days or longer. Mass was offered daily and the priest did do an interdenominational service on Sunday morning before Mass. Saturday evening and Sunday masses had a great number of people attending. Daily mass had about 30 passengers attending. It was nice to have a priest on board and having the opportunity to hear daily mass. This will be our first Celebrity cruise since '98 and we were wondering if a priest would be on board.It is an 11 day cruise. I guess the answer is NO and that is a shame. At the end of our cruise we always filled out the passenger form and told RCI how we really liked to have daily mass. Maybe if enough people write to Celebrity they will have Celebrity think it over (just a thought). On one cruise the priest had mass for the crew at midnight. This mass was well attended and our waiter was grateful for the opportunity to attend mass.

Carol

[sailsalot]

As several of you may know, some priests come to the cruise ships through a group called the Apostleship of the Sea. I recently wrote to them about Celebrity doing away with priests on every cruise. In their reply email, the woman stated that this is what Celebrity told them:

 

"This is the information given to us by Celebrity:

Celebrity Cruises values the relationship and partnership with the Apostleship of the Seas. It is with great confidence that we can use the services of the AOSUSA to ensure that all priests are properly vetted, supported, and are in good standing with their own church.

 

While we do meet the needs of many guests onboard by supplying a priest, we have recently encountered a great deal of negative feedback pertaining to the "selective" support of one particular religion/faith. While Celebrity Cruises is unable to provide one minister/religious leader of every faith onboard every sailing, we have had to make areduction in the number of Roman Catholic Priests placements onboard.

 

After many internal discussions, external research, and marketing investigations, Celebrity Cruises will only place Roman Catholic Priests on sailings that take place over the Easter and Christmas holiday. This has not been an easy decision for the corporate office, and many hours of meetings, reviews, emails, discussions, and conversations took place.

 

This change will be effective upon the first sailing of each vessel in 2010."

 

Just thought you'd all like to know what Celebrity's "official" position is on the matter. So it seems that a group of people with the mentality of "If them, why not me?" has effectively done away with the religious needs of a large group of both passengers and crew. I hope they're happy with themselves.