Hal cutting back on musicians

[sail7seas]

I'm thrilled there will be no singer with HAL Cats. Far too often, the screaming killed our ears. They might have been talented but were so loud, I couldn't tell. :o

 

[Stevedan]

I used to really enjoy sitting in a lounge before and after dinner, listening to good music, and talking with friends and family. The lack of music in lounges truly detracts from the cruise experience to me.

[rkacruiser]

I'm thrilled there will be no singer with HAL Cats. Far too often, the screaming killed our ears. They might have been talented but were so loud, I couldn't tell. :o

 

 

I agree. Some of the vocalists were good; some not so much so.

 

Some of the instrumentalists were truly excellent.

[rkacruiser]

I used to really enjoy sitting in a lounge before and after dinner, listening to good music, and talking with friends and family. The lack of music in lounges truly detracts from the cruise experience to me.

 

Yes. I agree.

 

There is a new generation of executives in Seattle, I think. They seem not to understand what their Mariners with some experience appreciate.

[theloo]

Just off the Statendam as well. We enjoyed listening to Adagio almost every night, as we do every cruise. I made a point of praising them on the post-cruise survey, adding that I hope HAL will continue having them. IMO they're the best music provided on HAL cruises.

 

Robert and Olivia were excellent!!

 

We had 2 gentlemen on the Statendam last summer, but we really enjoyed them. Like you, we'd stop in for a short while every evening.

[Gardendog]

On the Zuiderdam in February we thoroughly enjoyed the Band that played in the Ocean bar pre dinner and sometimes again later in the evening.

 

They played good dance music and the dance floor was always crowded.

 

Music taste is personal, but to us and many other couples who enjoy dancing, it was a great improvement.

 

We also liked the Blues club, but for good dance music, the Band was great.

[Sherry H]

I really missed the guitarist in the Crows Nest on our last trip.

 

Now just "canned" music. Really...........how much can 1 guitar player cost HAL?

[david,Mississauga]

Just off the Statendam as well. We enjoyed listening to Adagio almost every night, as we do every cruise. I made a point of praising them on the post-cruise survey, adding that I hope HAL will continue having them. IMO they're the best music provided on HAL cruises.

 

Robert and Olivia were excellent!!

 

It seems that the duo will be the only entertainment that we might enjoy on our Alaska cruise. Over-amplified and/or screaming "entertainment" is not my cup of tea, even with ear plugs that have been recommended by the fans. (I say this with some trepidation because it has been made clear to me earlier that if you do not conform to liking what the regulars like in terms of a style of music, snide comments will be made.)

 

What about the "piano guy": does he play without amplification so conversation is possible? Fortunately, entertainment is not important on an Alaska cruise and we have booked second sitting for dinner.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We hated the screaming HAL Cats and are glad to see them gone.

We had The Band on the Zuiderdam. The group we had for our first cruise on Feb 23 were excellent. But on the March 6 cruise, a new Band came on and the girl tried singing. Reminded me of the HAL Cats.

Many times there wasn't any music for those of us who like to dine at 5:30 -- that was the early fixed dining time on the Zuiderdam.

As far as the BB King -- we don't like that kind of music -- JMO. A couple of times we walked past the Queen's Lounge -- way too loud.

[Cruising-along]

It seems that the duo will be the only entertainment that we might enjoy on our Alaska cruise. Over-amplified and/or screaming "entertainment" is not my cup of tea, even with ear plugs that have been recommended by the fans. (I say this with some trepidation because it has been made clear to me earlier that if you do not conform to liking what the regulars like in terms of a style of music, snide comments will be made.)

 

What about the "piano guy": does he play without amplification so conversation is possible? Fortunately, entertainment is not important on an Alaska cruise and we have booked second sitting for dinner.

 

Well...I'm afraid I'm not the one to talk about the piano bar. Going out on a limb here, since everyone seems to love the piano bar, but I just don't care for it. Why? Because he tries to sing. Apparently I'm in the minority here, so I've kept quiet about this. But why, oh why do they try to sing? It's painful to hear how they mangle popular music I love.

 

Don't get me wrong, I grew up in a musical family -- piano, and voice. My niece is an opera singer, my sister taught piano. So I do like piano and vocals. But (and this is only my opinion) the piano bar would be much better if he would stick to playing piano. Until then I stay away, and walk past as fast as I can. :D:D

Edited April 20, 2015 by Cruising-along

[igraf]

BB King Blues Club is now featured on all Vista and Signature class ships plus the Rotterdam according the HAL web site.

 

igraf

 

 

 

 

I so agree! I should have said Adagio and BB King are the best entertainment on HAL ships. Just wish BB King could be on all the ships. We really enjoyed them on the Eurodam.

[igraf]

They are probably more concerned about the next generation of customers, and rightly so if they want to stay in business.

 

igraf

 

 

 

 

....There is a new generation of executives in Seattle, I think. They seem not to understand what their Mariners with some experience appreciate.

[Cruising-along]

BB King Blues Club is now featured on all Vista and Signature class ships plus the Rotterdam according the HAL web site.

 

igraf

 

Fantastic!

[Lizzie68]

On the Westerdam right now- no solo guitarist in the Crows Nest, the Adagio duo is excellent. The Band in the Ocean Bar is not there every night. I am not a big fan of the BB King bans on here. so yes, live music is very limited. The piano bar guy is OK.

[Fizzer59]

Like many things music is all a matter of taste and there is no pleasing all the people all of the time. As igraf pointed out there is also a need to change to attract newer and younger customers.

 

There are also an excellent series of videos on YouTube describing the experiences of a younger musician on cruise ships. It was not on HAL for sure but I would imagine some similarities. They are intended for other musicians considering this as a career move but they give a great insight into the lifestyle of the crew, as opposed to passengers.

 

What I found particularly poignant was on one video where he talked about being "Soul Dead" (or a similar term), which is how he described having to play music that he didn't particularly like, in a way that he found to take the joy out of playing. I don't believe that he was wanting to play heavy metal or hip hop but rather that any sense of individuality is drummed out of the musicians so that the music is as inoffensive as it can be to most, while likely being as uninspiring to many ( as evidenced by many of the posts on CC). He was advising budding cruise musicians to think carefully before choosing this route. He seemed a particularly thoughtful and articulate individual and was thought provoking for myself at least.

[earljr]

I'm thrilled there will be no singer with HAL Cats. Far too often, the screaming killed our ears. They might have been talented but were so loud, I couldn't tell. :o

 

 

 

 

Spot on, as they say

[Hlitner]

HAL's recent history with music and musicians is just awful...and a tale of cutbacks. Lets go back a few years when HAL had 7-8 piece ship's orchestras. Then one day HAL decided to eliminate all the brass musicians (trumpet and trombone) to cut the number of personnel and cost. Meanwhile, HAL decided to sever their long time relationship with Mr. Rosario (Rosario Strings) and cut the wonderful (and highly skilled) Rosaria quartets to the Adagio duos....who (in our experience) vary from excellent to near awful!

 

And then HAL decided to further cut costs be getting rid of the independent dance/party bands...many of who came from the Philippines and had great skill. They replaced the real bands with essentially pick-up bands that they named the HAL Cats. These are independent musicians and singers who are simply tossed together on a ship and expected to fill multiple music rolls. The skill level of the HAL Cat musicians and singers really varies from excellent to about the caliber of a decent high school band player.

 

So now, HAL discovers BB King :). Now I love BB King music (am a lifelong jazz and Blues fan) so this is a plus for me. But DW (and many other folks) strongly dislikes that type of music. While having a BB King type group is fine for some cruises, this is not what we would want for a long cruise with few alternative music options.

 

HAL then came up with the idea of using a solo guitar player/singer to replace an entire band! We have found the guitar players to be very good and think that HAL had a good idea. But this is still no substitute for having a good party/dance band.

 

Last December we were on a 14 day Celebrity Eclipse cruise where they had 5 piece Phillippino group that was amazing. This group could do a rock set and sound just like the Eagles, Beatles, etc....or they could do a dance set with Big Band music. Since the group had been working together for years (this is a real band as opposed to the pick-up HAL Cat concept) they worked together like a fine watch. We used to hear these type bands on HAL, but they are long gone (the victim of cost cutting). We have also been on other Caribbean cruises with excellent island bands (with steel drums) which is something also lacking on HAL...where they think that the HAL Cats can play Caribbean music with a couple of electric guitars and a keyboard. Yuck!

 

Hank

[igraf]

I agree that the Filipino "Neptune" bands on HAL were really great. I don't understand how HAL saved money by replacing them with musicians from the USA and Canada.

 

Your description, however, is not quite accurate. The HAL Cats were in place along with the Filipino bands, and post-Filipino "Neptunes" have been (but not always been) comprised of musicians who played together professionally before the cruise. Ashley Wey's jazz trio comes to mind.

 

igraf

 

 

 

 

...And then HAL decided to further cut costs be getting rid of the independent dance/party bands...many of who came from the Philippines and had great skill. They replaced the real bands with essentially pick-up bands that they named the HAL Cats. ...

Hank

Edited April 20, 2015 by igraf

[rkacruiser]

While I cannot deny that some cost cutting may be at play in the entertainment category, could some of the issue lie at the feet of the person or persons (and I do have one particular man in mind) that schedules/plans entertainment, particularly in the music area?

[summersigh]

While I cannot deny that some cost cutting may be at play in the entertainment category, could some of the issue lie at the feet of the person or persons (and I do have one particular man in mind) that schedules/plans entertainment, particularly in the music area?

 

I have to agree with you here.

 

From what folks say here on CC -there's a huge variance in "piano bar guys". On the Eurodam we had Greg Gallello who was excellent - to the point that, due to complaints people couldn't get in to see/hear him, he was moved to the Crow's Nest the last 2 nights. On the other hand, we've been on ships where we downed our drinks as quick as we could so we could move on. We've been on ships where there were lots of seats available almost every night.

 

We're not hugely picky but after going to the first "Mainstage" production that involved the singers and dancers we didn't go back. It was not particularly impressive (the dancing choreography looked like a dance recital and the singing sounded like a High School musical) Auditioning the talent and ok'ing the production shows do fall under some "big guy-Seattle" type :D

[donaldsc]

We had a solo guitar player on our last HAL cruise. To say that he was dull, boring and unimaginative would be kind. If they paid him anything at all, they overpaid.

 

DON

[taxmantoo]

Auditioning the talent and ok'ing the production shows do fall under some "big guy-Seattle" type :D

 

Wrong ! All stage production show entertainers are auditioned, hired, trained and under contract with Stiletto Entertainment of Los Angeles. They are never seen by HAL staff prior to hiring and are not HAL employees.

[rkacruiser]

We had a solo guitar player on our last HAL cruise. To say that he was dull, boring and unimaginative would be kind. If they paid him anything at all, they overpaid.

 

DON

 

Volendam, 2012: a solo guitar player packed the Piano Bar in the pre-dinner hours and once in awhile, a crew member, off-duty, would join him with some bongo drums. Even more people showed up--standing room only and the bar revenue (and Steward's gratuities) had to have increased.

 

Where is the consistency of product performance that once was a hallmark of this company? And, why has that consistency been lost?

[bandp407]

HAL's recent history with music and musicians is just awful...and a tale of cutbacks. Lets go back a few years when HAL had 7-8 piece ship's orchestras. Then one day HAL decided to eliminate all the brass musicians (trumpet and trombone) to cut the number of personnel and cost. Meanwhile, HAL decided to sever their long time relationship with Mr. Rosario (Rosario Strings) and cut the wonderful (and highly skilled) Rosaria quartets to the Adagio duos....who (in our experience) vary from excellent to near awful!

 

 

 

And then HAL decided to further cut costs be getting rid of the independent dance/party bands...many of who came from the Philippines and had great skill. They replaced the real bands with essentially pick-up bands that they named the HAL Cats. These are independent musicians and singers who are simply tossed together on a ship and expected to fill multiple music rolls. The skill level of the HAL Cat musicians and singers really varies from excellent to about the caliber of a decent high school band player.

 

 

 

So now, HAL discovers BB King :). Now I love BB King music (am a lifelong jazz and Blues fan) so this is a plus for me. But DW (and many other folks) strongly dislikes that type of music. While having a BB King type group is fine for some cruises, this is not what we would want for a long cruise with few alternative music options.

 

 

 

HAL then came up with the idea of using a solo guitar player/singer to replace an entire band! We have found the guitar players to be very good and think that HAL had a good idea. But this is still no substitute for having a good party/dance band.

 

 

 

Last December we were on a 14 day Celebrity Eclipse cruise where they had 5 piece Phillippino group that was amazing. This group could do a rock set and sound just like the Eagles, Beatles, etc....or they could do a dance set with Big Band music. Since the group had been working together for years (this is a real band as opposed to the pick-up HAL Cat concept) they worked together like a fine watch. We used to hear these type bands on HAL, but they are long gone (the victim of cost cutting). We have also been on other Caribbean cruises with excellent island bands (with steel drums) which is something also lacking on HAL...where they think that the HAL Cats can play Caribbean music with a couple of electric guitars and a keyboard. Yuck!

 

 

 

Hank

 

Ditto on the Filipino bands & the wonderful dance music! I think the band on your Eclipse cruise was D'Revelations. We had them on our first Celebrity cruise & they were AMAZING! Unfortunately Celebrity is too cutting back AND looking to attract a different demographic. Our next 3 cruises on Celebrity were a real let down as to music and we tried HAL & the Eurodam this past March. We enjoyed The BB king group & "the Band" & could dance way more than on Celebrity the last few times. Wish the powers would hear us & bring back our bands !! We are going to give Nieuw Amsterdam a try next year & at least will have BB King & hopefully a decent band in the Ocean Bar.

[Elorac123]

<< Inabsolutely agree with you. BB King group is not going to help anything in those bars. Very sad, for us who like to drink in these particular venues.>>

 

 

Should Inbring my old school recorder with me I think Inxan still play Frero Jacko

 

Xxx