Entertainment

[Toad]

Just off the Noordam and found the entertainment to be quite mediocre. The crew shows were WAY too loud, the singers, except for the lead female, were not good, and the song selections was pretty poor for HAL's clientele. The graphics were very good for the final "Droom" show, but other than that I was unimpressed. The two comedians were sort of, "Ed Sullivan" and the only good show was the violinist. I don't know what others think, but I find HAL's entertainment to be getting worse and worse. What do others think?

[GeriatricNurse]

Just off the Noordam and found the entertainment to be quite mediocre. The crew shows were WAY too loud, the singers, except for the lead female, were not good, and the song selections was pretty poor for HAL's clientele. The graphics were very good for the final "Droom" show, but other than that I was unimpressed. The two comedians were sort of, "Ed Sullivan" and the only good show was the violinist. I don't know what others think, but I find HAL's entertainment to be getting worse and worse. What do others think?

 

 

I think that the entertainment onboard HAL ships is in the ears and eyes of the beholder! In short, entertainment, like food, is entirely a subjective experience! ;)

[Krazy Kruizers]

It has been years since we have gone to the showroom for any kind of entertainment.

JMO -- but we also feel that HAL's entertainment has gone downhill -- according to what we like.

Others may like the shows -- we are not all alike and have different tastes.

[iflyrc5]

We loved the new crew shows on the Noordam in Feb and thought DROOM was super. We were on the Noordam in 2013 and got to see the first ever public performance of DROOM and it was great and loved it again in 2014. Everyone has a different taste in food and entertainment.

[YubaSutter]

The entertainment is comparable to junior high. People would like to think they will receive Las Vegas quality, but the entertainment doesn't come close.

[PatsyAnne]

I agree totally with the comment about the volume of the shows. I stood in the back for the ones I wanted to hear so I could back out when it hurt my ears.

 

 

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[lazey1]

We are just off the Statendam and felt that the quality of the entertainment was very good. In fact better than on some of our prior cruises. The HALCATS and the crew shows were outstanding. The only thing that was to loud was a soprano singer.

[Riversedge]

We've sailed several different lines and Holland America's entertainment is definitely the worst. Unfortunately it seems to be going downhill even more.

[OCruisers]

We actually very much like cruising on HAL sometimes.

Probably would cruise on HAL more if the entertainment options in the bar/lounges were better.

LuLu

[bert425]

Here's my 2cents from our Noordam 11/3-11/13 cruise (from a different thread where someone asked about the entertainers).

 

I fully admit that it is subjective (as I note in some of my responses). . targeted at the much older audience it seems.

 

full agreement on the High-school musical quality, and I think I even said something similar to that :)

 

we were on Noordam from 11/3-11/13 and I have all the daily "On Location" info (kept them for my trip report for FB, that I just haven't gotten to yet).

 

but here were the main performers:

 

Steel Drum Player Debra -- she played quite often thruout the trip (usually by the pools, or in the crow's nest. She was quite good, and even her teaching classes were well done. We enjoyed listening to her several times during the cruise.

 

Paige and the HalCats were almost nightly in the Ocean Bar (they didn't play on nights they HalCats were used for the main stage). We didn't listen to a full set by them, but they were decent, and always had a couple or two dancing prior to dinner when we walked by.

 

Adiago Piano/Violin duo was supposedly playing in the Explorer's Lounge, or thruout the ship during our cruise, but honestly? I can't recall ever seeing or hearing them!

 

Piano Entertainer Michael Sara was in the Piano Bar. He was supposed to be nightly, but got ill and missed a number of nights, tho he was back in good health by the end of our cruise. Honestly, we did not care for him, and didn't bother going back to see him after the first time. he was OK, but just we are not his target audience (picking on/joking with the folks sitting around the piano made us uncomfortable).

 

B.B.King's Blues Club was almost nightly in the Queens Lounge, with 3 sets each evening. They were phenomenal, and we tried to catch at least one set each time we saw they were playing. Very much enjoyed them.

as to the shows in the Vista Lounge:

 

11/3: "Listen to the Music" featuring the Noordam entertainment department. (we skipped this as it was the first night and we were exhausted from the day. . heard it was "so-so"

 

11/4: "Classique" -- "This beautiful production shows us how classical music and dance has inspired artists of all generations. From Mozart to Manilow, join the talented cast of the Noordam and some of your favorite musicans from around the ship for an evening of timeless treasures!"

Did not care for it and left after about 20 minutes. . amateur hour on parade, and there were other things (casino) we were more interested in.

 

11/5: "the Magic Kat Himself: Bob Brizendine"

The jokes were very old and stale, but the audience ate it up, and the magic was decent. We enjoyed him.

 

11/6: "Ryan Ahern" - World Champion Show Pianist, and dynamic Las Vegas Headliner, Ryan Ahern, takes you on an unforgettable high energy musical journey. an event not to be missed.

We were exhausted from our excursion on Samana (DR), so we turned in after dinner. But we heard from several folks, including my Parents, that he was very, very good.

 

11/7: "Rock Legends" - "From the Stones to Sting, Michael to Madonna, Lennon to Lennox. . come hear the music of these legendary artists. This show ROCKS. (starring the Noordam Singers and Dancers)

HILARIOUSLY awful. It was so bad at one point i was giggling at the costumes and my partner said "be nice" and my response was. . I can't! it was like a trainwreck high-school musical that we couldn't take our eyes off of. Even the staging was atrocious. But hey. .it DID entertain us.

 

11/8: "David Pengelly" -- Entertainer, Singer, Humorist -- with Strings attached.

We stayed only thru about 1/2 his show -- we were not his target audience. He was a cute diversion, playing banjo songs on a ukelele, and telling ancient jokes. The crowd really liked him, but after the 2nd song, we knew how the rest of the show would go and as I said, we're not his target. but those that stayed seemed to enjoy him.

 

11/9: no show. . we were in Curacao until 10:30 pm

 

11/10: "Toni Warne" -- Toni Warne's "one woman show" grips you from the moment she steps on stage, she has a rare vocal talent. Toni was a finalist on the BBC's "the Voice: UK" and her performances have gained Toni and international following.

This woman was incredible. Hands down the best 'show' we saw on the Cruise, and it was just her singing with support of the HalCats. Blew us away, and makes us want to buy her CD. She knew her audience and sang mainly ballads and showtunes. Very, very good.

 

11/10 Latenight: "Indonesian Crew Show" (stars at 11pm).

Cute, fun, and packed showroom. Could use a little more practice, but very enjoyable none-the-less, and worth staying up for. As a bonus, we recognized our MDR waiter in one of the roles (monkey with an erection) and got to tease him about it for two days.

 

 

11/11: "Droom" - "Join us as we transform the Vista Lounge into an enchanted dream garden where mystic creatures, both good and evil, dwell. (Featuring the Noordam singers and dancers).

The best *staged* show of the cruise, as it really was impressive what they did to the show room. The concept is basically bargain Cirque Du Soliel, but the women in the troupe really brought it (both singers and dancers) and wiped the stage with the men in the group. The women are what made this a good show, the men seemed to have not rehearsed enough, or simply didn't care. Still, worth going to, and we enjoyed it.

 

11/12:"Dancing with the Stars at Sea"

we skipped this, as it was the Noordam Dancers dancing with Cruisers, and we had missed all the levels leading up to the finale. So instead played in the Casino.

 

 

Hope this feedback helps :)

[Toad]

I realize that entertainment is subjective and that is why i asked for others opinions.

[PathfinderEss]

Just off the Noordam and found the entertainment to be quite mediocre. The crew shows were WAY too loud, the singers, except for the lead female, were not good, and the song selections was pretty poor for HAL's clientele. The graphics were very good for the final "Droom" show, but other than that I was unimpressed. The two comedians were sort of, "Ed Sullivan" and the only good show was the violinist. I don't know what others think, but I find HAL's entertainment to be getting worse and worse. What do others think?

 

...........well, its not getting any better.:rolleyes::rolleyes:

[RuthC]

I don't know what others think, but I find HAL's entertainment to be getting worse and worse. What do others think?

There was a point after the introduction of Showroom at Sea that I thought the evening shows had improved tremendously. I looked forward to getting to the theatre on time at night. The headliner entertainers weren't any better, and sometimes were quite a bit worse.

 

But more recently I haven't liked the production shows at all. They are too loud, for one thing. The music selections are not appealing, and the female singers in particular tend to screech. The most maddening thing is that they have reverted to a formula they used years ago: they sing only part of the song, instead of the entire piece, much too often.

[iancal]

HAL is cutting back.

 

Perhaps they are only willing to pay for half a song instead of the whole tune.

 

Costumes and loud music do not do it for us.

[Rudy888]

Just got off the Noordam 21 days. First time on Holland America, we were pleased with the experience. We felt the entertainment, shows were much better than expected except the volume. We had to leave a couple of times as it was too loud. We wanted to hear BB King but stopped in and within one minute we had to leave. This is not just Holland America, we felt the same way with Celebrity. Next cruise I am going to take a DB meter and what the volume level is, but when it feels like your eardrums are vibrating it is enough. We saw many leave the shows in mid-performance.

[Lizzie68]

I can only compare to one other cruise line, and all I can say is it's a good thing I cruise HAL for other reasons because it's definitely not the entertainment.:rolleyes: They don't even come close to what we enjoyed on the other line.

[OCruisers]

I can only compare to one other cruise line, and all I can say is it's a good thing I cruise HAL for other reasons because it's definitely not the entertainment.:rolleyes: They don't even come close to what we enjoyed on the other line.

 

Have to agree! There are lots of very GOOD reasons for cruising on HAL ... but the entertainment is not one of them. :rolleyes: ... :D

LuLu

[esimon]

Just off Noordam. BB king band was fabulous. Wonderful music and the musicians had great stage presence.

[RMLincoln]

Unfortunately we haven't been on a BB King cruise yet, but hope to as so many seem to like it.

 

I have begun making sure that I have a pair of foam earplugs with me for the shows.

 

I'm easily entertained and usually enjoy the shows though I've seen many of them too many times.

 

I try the headliners but then often have to walk out: sopranos especially - I should stop trying; and I cannot abide comedians if they start making the paying passengers the butt of their jokes.

 

I have heard the Flight of the Bumblebee on at least half a dozen instruments - harmonica, piano, guitar, miniature trumpet, violin and flute. Every virtuoso must prove their virtuosity but can't they learn a different tune?

 

I sorely miss the string quartets.

 

m--

[freestyling]

We only plan on viewing the crew shows in the showroom to show our support. We stick to the piano bar or b.b. king shows.

[rkacruiser]

B2b on the Noordam in January: on the first cruise, the volume during the cast shows were too loud, except for Droom. 2nd cruise: the sound level was better.

 

The BB King group was good, if you liked their kind of music. They did not seem to have the same interest in playing a variety of music, i.e. pop, rock n' roll, etc. that other BB King groups would do on other HAL ships I have sailed.

 

Individual shows were mostly OK; I don't care for magicians. The comedian that was featured was a riot. I had seen him before and I liked him just as much. (Sure wish they could bring back Patrick Murray and Matilda, but "she" seems to like Vegas.)

 

The Adagio string duo was most enjoyable.

 

In short, I enjoyed the entertainment on the Noordam. I just wish there had been entertainment in the evenings in the Crow's Nest and a more guest-friendly Happy Hour policy for those of us in 2nd seating.

[1aCruise4wks]

As mentioned several times, opinions on quality can vary from person to person - so I won't comment on quality. But quantity is not quite as subjective. Based on my recent cruise aboard the Nieuw Amsterdam in February, the quantity of entertainment on HAL has definitely declined. There used to always be entertainment in the Crow's Nest every evening - but there was none on this cruise. There used to always be entertainment before dinner (as well as after dinner) in the Ocean Bar - but not on this cruise - "The Band" played before dinner on most nights but not all and there was never any entertainment in the Ocean Bar after dinner. The Adagio Strings used to be a Quartet, now it is only a Duo. Now, they even use passenger talent as a substitute for a stage show in the Vista Lounge!

 

Definitely a decline!

[Vict0riann]

I agree totally with the comment about the volume of the shows. I stood in the back for the ones I wanted to hear so I could back out when it hurt my ears.

 

 

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I imagine they think we're all deaf! :eek:

[PatsyAnne]

I imagine they think we're all deaf! :eek:

 

 

Well, I did get hearing aids soon after my last cruise. So if I thought it was way too loud before...

 

I'll probably skip the shows altogether on my next cruise (Noordam).

[debsjc]

We only went to 3 shows on the Noordam ... a guitarist who was good, but I found just sitting watching someone play the guitar not very exciting. 'Heat, by the ships singers and dancers, which was quite good, and a show by the singer Andrew Derbyshire, which was absolutely amazing.

 

The singer in the piano bar was good, but it was too hot and crowded in there for us, never a spare seat. My mum liked the BB King band, but they weren't my kind of thing.

 

I didn't notice the shows in the vista lounge as too loud, and I have really sharp hearing.