Entertainment 14 night cruise Amsterdam

Entertainment

This is my personal opinion. I did not go on the ship expecting Las Vegas type quality of shows.

But having been on Celebrity which has a great Cirque du Soleil show & Royal Carribean with their

entertaining Ice shows, I was expecting to be entertained.

Well the acts were very ammeter in quality and material. Jokes that were not funny, magical show which

seem more like pallor tricks by an armature and songs that were not my taste. We went to 7 shows

out of 14 nights because we did not want to walk out during a performance but felt why waste our time

and take up a seat when what we had seen was poor in quality and entertainment value.

The crew did a good job in their shows and have a lot of heart. ( like anything else I am sure their

are people who might enjoy the shows but the individuals I spoke to on ship agreed not very entertaining.

Well, entertainment is like food: they are subject to subjective opinions.

We were on the same cruise, and while I agree that overall, the entertainment was not the best we have ever seen on HAL cruises, we thought that comedian John Joseph,singer/impressionist Jeff Trachta, and musician, Chris Michaels, were the best of the lot. Just my two cents. Still had a great cruise! :)

We rarely go to a show anymore -- especially the production shows -- as they have not changed in years,

Those that we have gone to see -- repeats -- are hit and miss as to the quality of the singers and dancers.

Well, entertainment is like food: they are subject to subjective opinions.

 

:)

I agree there really disliked shows on Celeberity, walked out in middle of the Cirque du Soleil show. I agree on RCCL in general I think they have the best shows.

Thanks for your opinion Picture, did you enjoy the guitarist or the piano bar?

Thanks for your opinion Picture, did you enjoy the guitarist or the piano bar?

At the risk of getting flamed by someone, I'm going to say the guitarist was dreadful. However, I'm sure some people thought she was great.

Here ya go. If you like her

I have got to the point of not even bothering to go to any of the shows anymore. I'd rather just enjoy a slow paced late dinner in the Pinnacle Grill, followed by drinks in one of the lounges and then head to my balcony to enjoy the evening outdoors in warm climates. Or, go to the casino and enjoy some blackjack. The only shows I've enjoyed recently are the crew shows and Joel Mason if he happens to be on the ship.

yes, both the guitarist & the piano bar were great. Piano bar nice quite place to listen to good music.

We were on the same cruise, and while I agree that overall, the entertainment was not the best we have ever seen on HAL cruises, we thought that comedian John Joseph,singer/impressionist Jeff Trachta, and musician, Chris Michaels, were the best of the lot. Just my two cents. Still had a great cruise! :)

Bill, thanks for giving the names. It's nice to know who to look for, or look out for, when cruising the various ships.

Perhaps you can tell me who is playing in the Piano Lounge this season? I am desperately trying to learn if I can hope for a good time there when I do this cruise.

Thanks for any help you give me.

Hi Ruth!

I don't have access to my copies of the Explorer at the moment (packed away in a suitcase in the car), and I cannot remember his name, but he is from Capetown, South Africa and is quite talented. I was impressed with his ability to play and sing songs which are not very well known or which stem from the 30s and 40s. He runs a "mean" "Name That Tune" by only allowing the correct answer to be the actual title of each song, no excess words or missing words allowed. Our team lost a couple of nights due to that requirement, even though we knew the songs. I think you will like him if he is still onboard for your cruise. Have a great cruise!

Hi Ruth!

 

I don't have access to my copies of the Explorer at the moment (packed away in a suitcase in the car), and I cannot remember his name, but he is from Capetown, South Africa and is quite talented. I was impressed with his ability to play and sing songs which are not very well known or which stem from the 30s and 40s. He runs a "mean" "Name That Tune" by only allowing the correct answer to be the actual title of each song, no excess words or missing words allowed. Our team lost a couple of nights due to that requirement, even though we knew the songs. I think you will like him if he is still onboard for your cruise. Have a great cruise!

Thanks for the info, Bill. I appreciate it a lot. He sounds like someone I could enjoy spending time listening to in the evenings. It sounds like he knows my kind of music.

I'll keep trying to get the name. Someone this summer has got to be able to post it.

Thanks for the info, Bill. I appreciate it a lot. He sounds like someone I could enjoy spending time listening to in the evenings. It sounds like he knows my kind of music.

 

I'll keep trying to get the name. Someone this summer has got to be able to post it.

The Piano Man was Roy Kassel. I stopped by one evening to listen and enjoyed what I heard, but never felt the need to rush back. I actually preferred the musicians in the Ocean Bar.

In the Explorer's Lounge there was the Moonlight Trio. The violinist seem to attract quite the crowd.

I can not comment on the shows, as the only shows we went to were the crew performances.

Val

The Piano Man was Roy Kassel. I stopped by one evening to listen and enjoyed what I heard, but never felt the need to rush back. I actually preferred the musicians in the Ocean Bar.

 

In the Explorer's Lounge there was the Moonlight Trio. The violinist seem to attract quite the crowd.

 

I can not comment on the shows, as the only shows we went to were the crew performances.

 

Val

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Val!!! You have no idea how happy I am to have the answer to my question. I love to enjoy my day, but also love to enjoy my evening. Your info helps toward that a lot.

do you remember what movies will playing also,. We don't go to movies at hme and some time like to see a movie in the everning.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Val!!! You have no idea how happy I am to have the answer to my question. I love to enjoy my day, but also love to enjoy my evening. Your info helps toward that a lot.

You are welcome Ruth.

Val

great movies. War House, Ides of March, Breaking Dawn part !,

the Heist. The seats in the theater are great and very comfortable.

They also had Catholic Mass daily if that is of interest to you. It was Father Bob and he did an excllent job in getting the message across in a fun and quick way.

do you remember what movies will playing also,. We don't go to movies at hme and some time like to see a movie in the everning.

I do not have all of the Explorer's handy at the moment, but the one I have out was for June 13th (are last full sea day). The movie that day was "War Horse" and it played at 7:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. At some point in the next few days I will try and locate the other Explorer's.

We did not go to any of the movies, as most of the times conflicted with dinner and drinks or they did not appeal to us.

Val

thank you very much I will be looking forward in your post about what movies are playing you don't have to say what day but just the names.

The entertainers do get pretty boring. However, we have been known to view a production show more than one time.

I am not big into shows and do not go very often. Over the years on HAL I have seen some acts I do enjoy. I was on the Rotterdam two years ago and the cast did some excellent productions in the Showroom at Sea. The entertainments acts I have really enjoyed were "Patrick Murray and Matilda"; James Celen and his magic, Barnaby and Jim Curry and his wife Ann in their "Tribute to John Denver."

At the risk of getting flamed by someone, I'm going to say the guitarist was dreadful. However, I'm sure some people thought she was great.

 

Here ya go. If you like her

, then you might be OK. On the 14 day I was on, she wasn't even this good.

Gotta agree. We caught her a couple of times in the Crow's Nest - PAINFUL!:eek:

Entertainment

 

This is my personal opinion. I did not go on the ship expecting Las Vegas type quality of shows.

But having been on Celebrity which has a great Cirque du Soleil show & Royal Carribean with their

entertaining Ice shows, I was expecting to be entertained.

 

Well the acts were very ammeter in quality and material. Jokes that were not funny, magical show which

seem more like pallor tricks by an armature and songs that were not my taste. We went to 7 shows

out of 14 nights because we did not want to walk out during a performance but felt why waste our time

and take up a seat when what we had seen was poor in quality and entertainment value.

 

The crew did a good job in their shows and have a lot of heart. ( like anything else I am sure their

are people who might enjoy the shows but the individuals I spoke to on ship agreed not very entertaining.

Entertainment is a very subjective thing. There have been raves about entertainment that I didn't like and sometimes programs I've enjoyed haven't been liked by others at the same show.

That said, let me say that when we spent 14 nights aboard the Amsterdam I enjoyed all of the shows I attended. Maybe your expectations were much higher than mine.

thank you very much I will be looking forward in your post about what movies are playing you don't have to say what day but just the names.

Well I think I have found almost all of the Explorers so can now give you the name of the movies that were playing on our voyage.

Day 1 - Moneyball

Day 2 - The Ides of March

Day 3 - War Horse

Day 4 - Big Miracle

Day 5 - Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Day 6 - Mission Impossible--Ghost Protocol

Day 7 - The Artist

Day 8 - The Muppets

Day 9 - Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows

Day 10 - Joyful Noise

Day 11 - Tower Heist

Day 12 - The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn

Day 13 - War Horse

Sorry I cannot locate Day 14, but with Day 13 being War Horse repeated I have a sneaky feeling Day 14 is probably another repeat.

I hope this helps.

Val

thank you for posting the movies there were a lot on the list we did not see.

thank you for posting the movies there were a lot on the list we did not see.

You are welcome.