Bars, casinos and Christian groups

[dot73]

I am booked on a Nieuw Amsterdam cruise in January that will have a Christian group on it. There is someone who has budded into our roll and keeps insisting that the bars and casino will be closed on the ship because of the Christian group. Here is a sample of her posts: hi Christian groups usually take over the ship No booze or gambling on the ship. check with HAl call as soon as possible

To me, this sounds absurd. How is HAL going to make money from this cruise if the casino and bars are closed? Any comments?

[POA1]

Doubtful, unless you are on a full charter. Can you post a link to your roll call?I'm wondering if you are being pranked.

Edited August 6, 2014 by POA1

[Lizzie68]

I would call HAL rather than ask on here. But I agree with POA - unless they have chartered the whole ship it's very unlikely the bars and casinos will be closed. Sounds like a prank.

[dot73]

Doubtful, unless you are on a full charter. Can you post a link to your roll call?I'm wondering if you are being pranked.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1971801&page=5

 

This is not a full charter. Thanks.

[Baby sitter grandma]

This is very upsetting. I really do not know if a Christian group on our ship will make the casinos and the bars close. It seems unreal unless the group charters the entire ship. If this would happen I would think that we would be asked to rebook on another cruise.

 

I plan to call HAL tomorrow to confirm that all avenues of entrainment will be available to all passengers on the ship including the main dinning room. When we booked one year ago we were told the late nite dining was wait listed! That is when we decided to book As you wish dining but I would like to be able to dine late dining in MDR when we wish to.

 

We have been booked since last September and up until this week were completely unaware of this possible situation. Maybe this is why the Explore 4 program has not been offered on our cruise.?

 

I have no concern that a group is booked on our cruise unless it means that I as a paying passenger cannot partake of all entertainment including the casino,and bars. Even as I type this it seems unrealistic to me!

[POA1]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1971801&page=5

 

This is not a full charter. Thanks.

Okay... You're not being pranked. Watson's Aunt is a legitimate poster. I'd call Holland America if you are worried, but I can't see them shutting down the bars and casino without an alternate source of revenue.

 

Painting Christian groups with such a broad brush seems kind of odd. There are sects of many religions that don't drink. Irish Catholics are Christians and I have known some of them to bend an elbow. (Same with Irish Protestants for that matter.)

[iancal]

Apart from the idea making no sense whatsoever.....

 

Can anyone imagine HAL giving up the revenue and the profit that flows from bar services and from the casino? Not in my lifetime.

 

Besides, anyone I know who is part of the temperance movement does not care if others imbibe and why should they?

 

There are some staunch Presbyterians in my family who do not believe in strong drink. Well, except for medicinal purposes. They seem to be in a state of constant ill health!

Edited August 6, 2014 by iancal

[dot73]

iancal, exactly my thoughts also. I tried to reassure my roll call about this but this poster (who btw is not on this cruise) has posted this information more than once on our roll call.

[CruiserBruce]

If it were a full charter, HAL will do a lot of things to please the chartering group, like changing the route. If the chartering group wanted no booze and no gambling, I suspect HAL would charge more to make up for the lost gambling and alcohol revenue.

 

This doesn't sound a charter. Rather it sounds like a group booking.

[doublebzz]

I wonder if we can entice some nudist and gay groups to join this cruise to balance things out.

[mikeange]

I was on the Eurodam if February 2013 that was a PARTIAL charter by a Christian group. There were 600 church folk who largely kept to themselves with their own activities. The bars and casino were not closed. I can not speculate what the sailing in question would entail. That being said, the funniest line I heard during the two weeks I was on the ship, back to back, was one of the Christian passengers commenting to another how in the main theater the preacher was really on his game and that

they be churchin'.

[PathfinderEss]

We were on a cruise years ago that had a rather large religious group on board and no way did they shut down the bars or casino. Now I will say they were pretty empty, but sure made it more fun for us. We were the center of attention from the bar and casino staff. Love every minute of it. I wouldn't worry, everything will be open.

[TiogaCruiser]

I have no idea how many people would be booking through Inspiration for MercyMe. My last cruise included a LDS group of 350-400 people. The bars and casino were open. (For that matter so was Explorations :) ).

 

They did have their own speakers and meetings in the showroom but there still was plenty of time for the regular lectures (Antarctic team) for several daily sessions. The only impact I noticed was the crowds getting off at ports. ( they had their own shorex and could have had an impact at tendering ports). And for the record I met two very lovely ladies from the group on the flight over.

[BearInStPete]

Don't think you will have anything to worry about, only in the event of a full charter would hotel services be adjusted from normal HAL standards. In a CC M&G Mark Pells said that HAL would curtail bar and casino operations for a full charter, or modify menus, but this is all at extra cost for the charter group to cover opportunity costs of HAL.

[Krazy Kruizers]

It is not a full charter, but I would call HAL and ask how many have signed up for this cruise. We were on a cruise once many years ago where the show room was closed all morning and afternoon for lectures by a group. It wasn't too bad.

Read about your group here:

http://www.inspirationcruises.com/christian-cruises/mercyme-caribbean-2015

[navybankerteacher]

It is not a full charter, but I would call HAL and ask how many have signed up for this cruise. We were on a cruise once many years ago where the show room was closed all morning and afternoon for lectures by a group. It wasn't too bad.

Read about your group here:

http://www.inspirationcruises.com/christian-cruises/mercyme-caribbean-2015

 

I doubt that HAL will give anything like a head count. The best you can hope for is confirmation whether or not it is a full charter - and the answer to that is already known, as shown by the fact that there are a number who have booked the cruises not knowing about the group.

[jbhcw]

I would call Hal..but think like so many have said if it's not a full charter bars and casino will be open..I do have a friend who took her mother and aunt on a "Gaither" cruise on Hal several years ago and she did tell me bars and casino would not be open..but also price of cruise was about twice what is normally paid.

[cbr663]

iancal, exactly my thoughts also. I tried to reassure my roll call about this but this poster (who btw is not on this cruise) has posted this information more than once on our roll call.

 

If this poster is not on the cruise, they have no business posting or participating in a roll call for the cruise. You should be reporting any postings from this poster to the board administrators as nuisance postings.

[VMax1700]

Irish Catholics are Christians and I have known some of them to bend an elbow. (Same with Irish Protestants for that matter.)

 

:D

hic

:D

I like my gin with agnostic bitters :D

[Boytjie]

In a CC M&G Mark Pells said that HAL would curtail bar and casino operations for a full charter, or modify menus, but this is all at extra cost for the charter group to cover opportunity costs of HAL.

 

Or expand bar operations, as on our RSVP cruises. :D

[Boytjie]

Painting Christian groups with such a broad brush seems kind of odd. There are sects of many religions that don't drink. Irish Catholics are Christians and I have known some of them to bend an elbow. (Same with Irish Protestants for that matter.)

 

And where two or three Episcopalians are gathered, there’s usually a fifth.:D

Edited August 6, 2014 by Boytjie

[TiogaCruiser]

If this poster is not on the cruise, they have no business posting or participating in a roll call for the cruise. You should be reporting any postings from this poster to the board administrators as nuisance postings.

 

Please show us the rule that says someone not on the sailing can't post to a Roll Call. I've participated in several Roll Calls where people who were not booked posted. Especially if someone is on another sailing of the same itinerary. I found the "cross pollenization" helpful.

 

And while the accuracy of part of the post is in question, was anyone aware of the partial charter prior to WA's post? (And aren't you better off knowing in advance or would you prefer to find out after boarding? If you have a lot of tender ports and they have private tours it gives you a chance to make a back up plan or adjust tour start times for Shorex.)

Edited August 6, 2014 by TiogaCruiser
iPhone's intellisense isn't helpful. Bad iphone!

[sportsmum]

And where two or three Episcopalians are gathered, there’s usually a fifth.:D

 

I always heard : it used to be called Anglican in the States but after prohibition they changed it to E'pis'copalian!

 

I also agree- it makes no sense that HAL would shut down bars and casino's on a cruise unless the price shot WAY up.

[Lizzie68]

If this poster is not on the cruise, they have no business posting or participating in a roll call for the cruise. You should be reporting any postings from this poster to the board administrators as nuisance postings.

 

That is absolutely not true. You really should not post such misinformation.

[navybankerteacher]

If this poster is not on the cruise, they have no business posting or participating in a roll call for the cruise. You should be reporting any postings from this poster to the board administrators as nuisance postings.

 

WRONG!!!!

 

Someone who has just finished a particular itinerary may want to share thoughts with people slated for a later one. Alternatively, checking roll calls for particular itineraries may help someone decide whether to book or not. If you want to be punctilious, you might suggest that someone not booked on a particular cruise might think of letting roll call members know.

 

What no one has any business doing is unthinkingly posting "rules" such as these.