Easter Aboard (Arcadia 2013)

[Uralba]

G'Day

 

It just occurred to me while watching Queen Mary 2 in Sydney Harbour on Valentine's Day that we will be aboard the Arcadia and At Sea during Easter, 2013 (Good Friday March 29th - Easter Sunday March 31st)

 

P & O 'Before You Sail' Q&A says:

Can I attend a religious service whilst on board?

 

Although we do not have a chapel aboard any of our ships, the Captain or Staff Captain will hold an Ecumenical Service each Sunday. This usually takes place in one of the theatres on board. For religious holidays such as Easter and Christmas, we also have a Chaplain on each of our ships and services are held accordingly.

However, it is also a common occurrence for passengers of the same faith to organise their own services on board, if the numbers are great enough, and the times and location for any such services are then advertised in the ship's daily newspaper.

There are occasions when a priest may be travelling as a passenger on board who may offer their services. This would be an independent arrangement therefore cannot be confirmed in advance. Such services if and when available, will be advertised in the daily paper

 

 

So my questions today are:

 

** Has anyone attended Good Friday or Easter Sunday religious services while onboard / at sea / as a shore excursion attending a local Church / Cathedral? (We attended Midnight Eucharist at Norwich Cathedral 2011 - so beautiful, brought tears to my eyes!)

 

** Is there likely to be an Easter Theme Formal Night? (Should I pack my Play Girl Bunny outfit? - hey, only joking!)

 

** Is there likely to be an Egg Hunt or something similar or will the acknowledgement of the festivity on Sunday be limited to table decorations in the MDR and chocolate deserts elsewhere?

 

** Chocolate eggs on the pillow?

 

** As Good Friday is a day of mourning, is there likely to be any reduction of activities offered on board on that day?

 

** Any other observations or experiences of being aboard particularly during Easter, but also during any other major religious festival periods eg if aboard a Greek ship and sailing the Mediterranean during Orthodox Easter?

 

 

Note: We will be sailing between Huatulco/Mexico (Thursday, Mar 28 and Panama Canal Sunday Mar 31)

 

I would assume that these regions would be largely Catholic - can we expect to see quite a few Easter festivals and festivities in this region?

 

 

Cheers

Kristine

 

 

[beachchick]

As not all passengers will be Christian, I would not expect that there would be any decrease in onboard activities or options on Good Friday. I can't answer about your specific cruise line or ship, but most lines do seem to have some holiday (that is holy day) themed things for Christmas, Hannukah (sp?), Easter, Passover, etc. I seriously doubt that they do religious observations specific to a region though (e.g., Orthodox in the Mediterranean). You might want to ask on the P&O forum though for specifics.

 

beachchick

[jocap]

I've not been on board over Easter, but I have been to many P&O Sunday services- just a straight forward lesson, hymns, prayers and some sort of talk or special reading by the captain or his chosen member of staff.....the service feels rather Church of England....

I haven't seen services on other cruise lines, although my husband, a C of E vicar, was allowed to take 2 on NCL Jade, for Ash Wednesday and the first Sun in Lent.

I have heard that Costa has a Catholic priest on most cruises.

If we're in port on a Sunday, we generally look for a local church service....it was Venice this year.:)

Jo.