Celebrity Banishes Catholic Chaplains from Cruise Ships

[02143]

Just do a search on the Celebrity boards and you will see reports of Rabbis on board for holiday services. Is there some reason that anyone would think I was lying about this?

 

No one thought you have reason to lie. But if people mistakenly believed that Celebrity was continuing to sponsor rabbis on all cruises while "banning" Catholic chaplains who are essential for conducting mass, they'd start to wonder why Jews are getting special privileges and maybe get resentful. That would be upsetting and divisive if based on a misunderstanding.

 

But it's all clear now, so it's ok.

[02143]

I really hope this is a troll based on the fact this poster has only 25 comments and the comment on "freedom from religion" is so far out there. I can't see anyone sincerely celebrating this change in policy, good grief... I've sailed Celebrity twice and never knew there was even a priest on board.

 

I sure like the changes Celebrity has been making of late. Their Captains Club benefits are incredible, the smoking policies make the whole ship, including the casino, more enjoyable for everyone. Now removing religious services from the ship in respect of those that wish for freedom FROM religion. Furthermore, I don't see any representation for muslims, scientologists, mormons, JWs etc etc etc..........

 

Keep up the good work X!

[skt4cruise]

i feel compelled to comment about the spitefulness some people exhibit towards the catholic faith and its obligations. Clearly, these comments come from people who either have no knowledge of the catholic faith, or know about it and have no respect for people who follow it.

 

As others have stated, sunday mass is an obligation for all catholics to attend. It is not a prayer service or sing-along, but a sacrament that involves the holy eucharist and can only be conducted by a catholic priest, and therefore, a non-denominational service, or just praying on one's own, does not cut it.

 

Now, the unforunate reality of today's society is that the many non-practicing catholics who do not follow this obligation tend to water down its existence or importance. But it is still an obligation, and the many practicing catholics who cruise find the existence of a priest on board to be a comfort and relief to help them in keeping the obligation. Why are others so flippant and dismissive about this?? It's hard to understand the hostility people have exhibited towards this. This idea of fairness and a level playing field for passengers makes no sense. It sounds like people want to just make everyone carbon copies of each other--let's just all pray on our own and be happy with it. If you're happy praying on your own, then fine. But that is not the proper observance for catholics in meeting the sunday mass obligation. And while it is an "obligation," please don't interpret it to mean that we do not observe it freely and joyfully.

 

I don't know if it's true or not that there will be no more priests on board. But aside from that, let's not turn this into a freedom from religion argument, as one poster proudly asserted. Until there is a mandate that all passengers, regardless of religion, must attend catholic mass (which would be absurd and never happen), then this issue does not involve any of you who are not practicing catholics. So what's with the antagonism?? All is reflects is a complete lack of respect. Is that how you want to be known on this board??

 

Happy new year of cruising to all!!

 

well said!

[usha]

I feel compelled to comment about the spitefulness some people exhibit towards the Catholic faith and its obligations. Clearly, these comments come from people who either have no knowledge of the Catholic faith, or know about it and have no respect for people who follow it.

 

As others have stated, Sunday Mass is an obligation for ALL Catholics to attend. It is not a prayer service or sing-along, but a sacrament that involves the Holy Eucharist and can only be conducted by a Catholic priest, and therefore, a non-denominational service, or just praying on one's own, does not cut it.

 

Now, the unforunate reality of today's society is that the many non-practicing Catholics who do not follow this obligation tend to water down its existence or importance. But it is STILL an obligation, and the many practicing Catholics who cruise find the existence of a priest on board to be a comfort and relief to help them in keeping the obligation. Why are others so flippant and dismissive about this?? It's hard to understand the hostility people have exhibited towards this. This idea of fairness and a level playing field for passengers makes no sense. It sounds like people want to just make everyone carbon copies of each other--let's just all pray on our own and be happy with it. If you're happy praying on your own, then fine. But that is not the proper observance for Catholics in meeting the Sunday Mass obligation. And while it is an "obligation," please don't interpret it to mean that we do not observe it freely and joyfully.

 

I don't know if it's true or not that there will be no more priests on board. But aside from that, let's not turn this into a FREEDOM FROM RELIGION argument, as one poster proudly asserted. Until there is a mandate that all passengers, regardless of religion, must attend Catholic Mass (which would be absurd and never happen), then this issue does not involve any of you who are not practicing Catholics. So what's with the antagonism?? All is reflects is a complete lack of respect. Is that how you want to be known on this board??

 

Happy New Year of cruising to all!!

Thank you for this post.

It's bad enough if Celebrity actually plans to go to Hell in a hand basket, but why would anyone cheer that on???

[Dabu17]

Celebrity Fan & Sailsalot:

 

Amen. If there is no Sunday Mass on our cruise, it will be our last on Celebrity. Unfortunately, I can't afford to back out now and hope to find a Mass in Grenada.

[Blue Lagoon]

It appears that Celebrity would be wise to give ample (one year) warning concerning cutbacks. This way' date=' pax can plan accordingly.

 

I find it very interesting to read the responses of observant Catholics. In my city, I know there is a problem of getting people (especially young people) to church (or synagogue) on a weekly basis, let alone daily. Are most of you retired? How do you manage daily mass with a work schedule?

 

Very orthodox Jewish people go to synagogue twice a day. I do not think they would go on a cruise unless it was chartered by a religious organization, guranteeing rabbi,services and Kashrut.[/quote']

 

 

To answer your question about daily Mass as part of a working person's schedule...the service is often available in the early morning ( around 7 am in a lot of churches) thereby accomodating the working person to attend before work. Also, in our downtown area ( Vancouver, Canada), the cathedral has a service at 12:10 which is the typical lunch hour.

[Gaynors]

Having a priest onboard was one of the selling points of Celebrity, especially for DH who takes his religion very seriously. I guess we are a few of the lucky ones though because we will still have a priest onboard (hopefully) since our cruise is over Easter, either that or we'll be finding a Catholic Church in St. Kitts.

 

 

I know this is out there..... BUT... for those of you who this means so much to ...Costa ALWAYS has a priest onboard. It definitely isn't the same as sailing Celebrity but those Italians take their religion very seriously.... and I don't think they will be cutting out priests any time soon.

 

We just experienced a wonderful Christmas Mass on Costa.

[usha]

Holland America also has daily Mass.

I just can't understand how a cruise line that prides itself for feeding our bodies so well would choose not to accommodate our need for spiritual nourishment.:confused:

[AlanAllyn]

There was a rabbi on the Eqauinox for the two cruises that included parts of Chanuka. We have always had Friday evening services on various cruise lines, whether there was a rabbi or not.

[LabRat]

A potential solution is that those who desire a priest (or rabbi, imam, etc) on board could simply get together and pay that individual's fare. I'm sure that X would set up a meeting place as they do for other groups on board who desire an organizational meeting.

 

I'm sure some will just assume I'm being "spiteful", but I am happy to know that part of my ticket price isn't paying for a priest to sail with us. I would say the same about a pool filled with jello--I have no use for it and so would prefer not to pay for it.

 

However, making this change with little or no notice is unjust to those who have already purchased tickets with the assumption that a priest would be on board. By all accounts this was an established and reasonable expectation and should be honored by X, or refunds should be offered to those who find the situation unacceptable.

[cruiseinfoseeker]

Wow! So you don't want to participate in a religious service? What's to stop you from walking on by and ignoring what's going on behind closed doors in the chapel? I guess your answer is to take it away from those who want it just because you don't like it. No one is forcing you to participate in anything religious. As someone else stated, why don't they just remove the swimming pools because you don't like swimming? That makes sense :rolleyes:

 

I'd like to see an enrichment lecturer outline the reasons why religion is PRETEND. Humans made religion up to deal with various situations at various eras. Blind faith?.? C'mon...:eek: I don't think all the religious types would appriciate such an event, huh.

 

I sure like the changes Celebrity has been making of late. Their Captains Club benefits are incredible, the smoking policies make the whole ship, including the casino, more enjoyable for everyone. Now removing religious services from the ship in respect of those that wish for freedom FROM religion. Furthermore, I don't see any representation for muslims, scientologists, mormons, JWs etc etc etc..........

 

Keep up the good work X!

 

With you on this!!!!!

 

I feel compelled to comment about the spitefulness some people exhibit towards the Catholic faith and its obligations. Clearly, these comments come from people who either have no knowledge of the Catholic faith, or know about it and have no respect for people who follow it.

 

As others have stated, Sunday Mass is an obligation for ALL Catholics to attend. It is not a prayer service or sing-along, but a sacrament that involves the Holy Eucharist and can only be conducted by a Catholic priest, and therefore, a non-denominational service, or just praying on one's own, does not cut it.

 

Now, the unforunate reality of today's society is that the many non-practicing Catholics who do not follow this obligation tend to water down its existence or importance. But it is STILL an obligation, and the many practicing Catholics who cruise find the existence of a priest on board to be a comfort and relief to help them in keeping the obligation. Why are others so flippant and dismissive about this?? It's hard to understand the hostility people have exhibited towards this. This idea of fairness and a level playing field for passengers makes no sense. It sounds like people want to just make everyone carbon copies of each other--let's just all pray on our own and be happy with it. If you're happy praying on your own, then fine. But that is not the proper observance for Catholics in meeting the Sunday Mass obligation. And while it is an "obligation," please don't interpret it to mean that we do not observe it freely and joyfully.

 

I don't know if it's true or not that there will be no more priests on board. But aside from that, let's not turn this into a FREEDOM FROM RELIGION argument, as one poster proudly asserted. Until there is a mandate that all passengers, regardless of religion, must attend Catholic Mass (which would be absurd and never happen), then this issue does not involve any of you who are not practicing Catholics. So what's with the antagonism?? All is reflects is a complete lack of respect. Is that how you want to be known on this board??

 

Happy New Year of cruising to all!!

 

Now i am compelled..

 

so glad I spit out the Kool-aid before it was too late.

But most posters have pointed out that if you have one you must have all and that is not feesible.

To end --- I always have to add the clause "I could be wrong" (buttttttttt so could you;))

 

edit: hope its a loooooooong time til any of us find out

[02143]

But most posters have pointed out that if you have one you must have all and that is not feasible.

 

The response to this is that a Catholic priest plays an essential role in services that a Protestant minister or Jewish rabbi does not, and that many Catholics have an obligation to attend a priest-led service regularly that members of other denominations do not have in the same sense. Beyond that, the fact that there will always be a sizable number of Catholics on board any ship with a U.S. or Latin American clientele while other religions may have few or no adherents should be a factor.

 

The cost, from what I gather on this thread, is of the accommodations only for one person. We're talking significantly less than $1/passenger/trip across the whole ship for a chaplain who could be available for grief counseling to any passenger, not just members of his church.

 

I think it is fair to consider the priest a service on board ship that is only utilized by one share of passengers. However, I think it is right to distinguish the significance of this resource to those passengers as more important than the availability of a given type of entertainer or a pool filled with jello. Whether or not people will miss the priests or not, I think there should be more understanding for why this is upsetting to people and a real dealbreaker.

[teajak]

Holland America also has daily Mass.

I just can't understand how a cruise line that prides itself for feeding our bodies so well would choose not to accommodate our need for spiritual nourishment.:confused:

Just maybe because a cruise line is in the vacation business and has no obligation to provide everyone spiritual nourishment,as you put it.As I said before we all make choices in life, stay home or choose a cruise line that provides for your particular religion.It is not the reponsibility of the cruise line but your personal one.

[FinelyCruising]

Just maybe because a cruise line is in the vacation business and has no obligation to provide everyone spiritual nourishment,as you put it.As I said before we all make choices in life, stay home or choose a cruise line that provides for your particular religion.It is not the reponsibility of the cruise line but your personal one.

 

There it is in a nutshell. No spite and no disrespect.

[usha]

Just maybe because a cruise line is in the vacation business and has no obligation to provide everyone spiritual nourishment,as you put it.As I said before we all make choices in life, stay home or choose a cruise line that provides for your particular religion.It is not the reponsibility of the cruise line but your personal one.

At the time I booked & paid for our upcoming cruise, Celebrity was advertising that there was a priest on every ship for celebration of daily Mass (the X website is still making that claim) Is Celebrity going to cheerfully refund my cruise fare now?

[FinelyCruising]

At the time I booked & paid for our upcoming cruise, Celebrity was advertising that there was a priest on every ship for celebration of daily Mass (the X website is still making that claim) Is Celebrity going to cheerfully refund my cruise fare now?

 

Ask them and let us know what they say.

[De Colores]

Sailsalot, loved your post...this thread caught my eye because we just returned from the Equinox last month. We were told there would be a priest on board. This was important to us because we would be at sea for both Sundays on the cruise and it was Advent, a time of preparation for many. After not seeing it on the schedule I inquired and they said the priest didn't make it...now I wonder if they made that decision for him. I was very disappointed but we made a point to visit some beautiful churches on the islands midweek.

We were going to cancel a cruise on the Brilliance many years ago because I did not realize I booked it Easter weekend. There was no way we would be onboard during Holy week with no Mass. They promised us we would have Mass and we actually helped serve. As AllynAlan shared they had Sabath services on that same Equinox cruise we were on. I was actually going to join them for some prayer and share in experiencing and learning more about their faith. After returning I contacted our parish priest to encourage him to sign up to celebrate Mass at sea so I guess that won't be happening for him on Celebrity.

 

Failing to attend Mass is not a sin for Catholics when no option is available. My daughter is away for 6 months at a nondemonimational program, no Mass is available. Our priest said it was ok...she can't get to a Catholic church. I spend every day sitting Michaels Club, enjoying my latte's and doing my morning prayer and reflections. If your on the Solstice Class go to the Lawn Club deck..very comfy chairs with a beautiful aft view...nice place for prayer and contemplation. To each his own choice...

[denims]

I agree with you and I am Jewish. One of my best friends, who is Catholic, frequently slept over our house on Saturday nights when I was growing up. When she did one of my parents would drive her to church on Sunday morning, and I went to church with her so she wasn't alone, because she was a devout Catholic who felt it would have been a sin if she didn't go to church on Sunday. With that in mind, I can empathize with every Catholic who feels it is a problem if they don't have an opportunity to go to a priest led mass on Sundays.

 

Bridge Maven,

 

If ALL people had your attitude, we wouldn't have all the problems that we have in this world!

[usha]

Ask them and let us know what they say.

FC, I emailed Captains Club on Dec 22nd, when I first read rumblings about it on the Holland America board.

Haven't gotten an answer from Captains Club yet.

(no, I didn't call Celebrity; you can call them 5 times & get 5 different answers:rolleyes:).

[contom]

Ask them and let us know what they say.

I did inquire and they told me NO! They were not even polite about it, in fact they were somewhat snipity!

[Xcruising]

Very interesting to see the varied responses on this subject. I agree with many that a change to policy such as this should be made and announced much further in advance. However, there is no reason why a Catholic Priest, or a Jewish Rabbi, or a Baptist Pastor (which I am) or any other religious leader cannot pay their way on board and have a service somewhere on board. It may be difficult to always have the chapel, but we have never had any problems having "services" amongst a group of like believers while on a cruise. Now, we have only sailed twice, once on Celebrity and once on HAL, but we had no problems either time.

 

Again, while I can be sympathetic with the dedicated Catholics on this board, it would be nearly impossible to provide a Priest, Rabbi, Pastor, Leader, or whatever for every religion. There would be no room for passengers. We are in church every Sunday morning and night, and at least once during the week. We are not "obligated" to go, as some have mentioned that Catholics are, but we still try our best to arrange ALL travel around church services, at least on Sundays. It is interesting that our local Catholic Church has over 12,000 members, but only about 400 attend Mass each week. And no, not all of the members at our church attend each week either - just pointing out that if Catholics "have" to go, then there are a whole lot who must not really feel that obligated. Same with any religious group.

 

Bottom line - I can feel the pain of the Catholics who will no longer have a Priest on board, but they are now understanding what virtually everybody else as always experienced.

[Maya57]

There have always been Rabbis aboard Celebrity ships.

 

WRONG Been on many Celebrity cruises that did not have a rabbi

On Friday night one of the passengers usually stands up and takes the part of a Rabbi

 

Not 100% sure but I believe that the Catholic Priest did not pay for the cruise as he was considered a crew or worker. All other clergy's pay normal rate

[Ma Bell]

You need to read the rest of the posts.:)

[Can'tstopcruising]

To answer your question about daily Mass as part of a working person's schedule...the service is often available in the early morning ( around 7 am in a lot of churches) thereby accomodating the working person to attend before work. Also, in our downtown area ( Vancouver, Canada), the cathedral has a service at 12:10 which is the typical lunch hour.

 

Thanks for the answer.

[FinelyCruising]

I did inquire and they told me NO! They were not even polite about it, in fact they were somewhat snipity!

 

Well then now what?