HAL to Disband HAL Dancers and Singers

[bUU]

Considering more are cruising today than anytime in history and all lines have decreased service offerings over the last decade, I think Carnival Corp and RCI know the choice fits what they’re doing.

Precisely. That's what I meant about knowing how to manage a portfolio of companies rather than thinking of one cruise line as if it is a business in a vacuum.

 

This message may have been drafted using voice recognition. Please forgive any typos.

[Sir PMP]

Precisely. That's what I meant about knowing how to manage a portfolio of companies rather than thinking of one cruise line as if it is a business in a vacuum.

 

This message may have been drafted using voice recognition. Please forgive any typos.

 

I am sorry but these are all empty statements..

[SFBayAreaShipLover]

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Is this about the Massdam

 

Sent from my SM-G930T using Forums mobile app

[Wishing on a star]

Thank you SO much LoveHAL for the great info!

Perhaps there was confusion about this.

Perhaps the CURRENT program of singers/dancers/entertainment is being discontinued as this new program is being initiated.

 

How did you think the international production company and cast affected the entertainment as it is geared towards North American audiences?

[Wishing on a star]

Ohhhh, and about the local cultural influence on entertainment.

I think that is GREAT!!!!

My issue is if this is very limited performers, brought onboard, only while in port.

I def. WILL be ashore experiencing the area. ( in most cases )

If there are those who do not wish to go ashore, then that is their choice to not experience the destination.

This option might only be good for those who are simply physically unable to go ashore.

Lest I risk getting flamed here, and going totally off-topic.

Would this 'unable' demographic be the one that HAL is focused on.

That would really add confirmation to their floating old-folks home reputation.

[bUU]

I am sorry but these are all empty statements..

I'm sorry but they're not. It is the way corporations are actually run.

 

And thinking of this as "empty statements" is likely to lead to confusion and upset about how the corporation actually operates and therefore what happens with the cruise line. If you want to actually understand how these things work instead of being repeatedly confused and upset, you need to start accepting that these corporations don't operate in your own personal best interest.

 

If you find yourself thinking the airlines, the hotels, the cruise lines, the movie studios, the cable companies, etc., are making mistake after mistake, maybe you're not thinking about the situation in the most helpful way.

 

This message may have been drafted using voice recognition. Please forgive any typos.

Edited May 25, 2018 by bUU

[RDC1]

I think I may be in the Twilight Zone. During this thread, I have heard "Adagio" and "Rosario" mentioned as if they were still on board HAL ships. I thought Lincoln Center replaced them on all HAL ships.

 

I thought Lincoln Center was awesome on my last cruise . I enjoyed Billboard and spent a lot of time there.

Also enjoyed the live strings with the BBC films.

 

BB Kings was also extremely talented....I just had to leave because of the over assisted speaker volume. :(

 

I love the way HAL has arranged the timing of entertainment. You can go from aft to bow and experience each music venue set in it's entirety before moving to the next.

 

I actually can't remember anything about the dancers and singers on that cruise. I guess I was having a great time and forgot to notice. :) My apologies.

 

Not on all, for example there is not a Lincoln Center on Amsterdam. Larger ships yes, smaller ships maybe not.

[RDC1]

I do not expect that HAL will do away with the singers and dancers in the near future. I do expect that HAL will be watching how successful their experiment in making the Maasdam HAL's "expedition" ship. On that ship they are doing away with the traditional theater shows.

[ZN1300]

.although on some HAL cruises that is like being awake in a morgue.

 

Hank

 

Someone sometime back had a list of slogans for each cruise line. The HAL slogan was 'Holland America - for old people and their parents'.

 

Some joked once that the last walker goes into the last stateroom at nine.

[IRL_Joanie]

While I have not heard that HAL plans to stop having its own singers and dancers, the cruise director made a comment on the last cruise that the contract that the singers and dancers work under prohibit the ship from using the entertainers in any other capacity on the ship.

 

This meant that on a long cruise with a limited number of production shows , other than rehearsals, the entertainment staff had no duties on the ship.

 

The cruise director commented that he would like to see the entertainment staff available to the cruise director to supplement his staff for activities or other duties.

 

Maybe (pure speculation on my part) the contract with the supplying agency is up for negotiation?

 

Highlight and Underline is mine:

 

The person who stated the above is incorrect. The Singers and Dancers are also used in Passenger Safety Drills (Muster Drills) n various capacities. I do not think I've seen them do anything else onboard. So I'd believe that their contracts at least have that codicil (for lack of a better word) included.

Joanie

[TheEmerson]

While I have never seen one of the musical shows on all the cruises I have been on. I would not mind some sort of plays being performed from time to time. A smaller version of some Neil Simon play or something along those lines. Now if someone gets around to have a performance of Mozart's Cost Fan Tutte I am all in. But as a realist, that will never happen.

[navybankerteacher]

I didn't say it was. I said it would be idiocy for a company to compete against its own premium offering.

 

...

 

Many consumers, naive to the running of conglomerate businesses, think so but they are wrong. When your enterprise is a portfolio of companies it is *idiocy* to suboptimize your portfolio by allowing one business in your portfolio to undercut the premium another business in your portfolio leverages as a fundamental part of the enterprise's overall profit model.

 

Why spend extra to cruise on Seabourn if you get practically the same experience on Holland America or Carnival?

 

/quote]

 

Truly questionable reasoning - most conglomerate businesses allow lower cost subsidiaries to undercut their premium brands: low cost Ford models have many of the options standard (or even optional) on high-end Lincolns.

 

Most conglomerates have subsidiaries which offer overlapping products - which (shockingly, I suppose) permit economy products to compete against their premium offerings.

[bUU]

Truly questionable reasoning

Nonsense. It's hardcore reasoning - you perhaps don't like its implications.

[navybankerteacher]

Nonsense. It's hardcore reasoning - you perhaps don't like its implications.

 

Are you saying that Ford and Lincoln models do not offer many of the same options - or that any two cruise lines do not offer similar amenities? They do not have to be of equal quality for a budget cruise line to compete with a premium cruise line.

 

I think you confuse the implications you wish to recognize with actual reality.

[*Miss G*]

While I have never seen one of the musical shows on all the cruises I have been on. I would not mind some sort of plays being performed from time to time. A smaller version of some Neil Simon play or something along those lines. Now if someone gets around to have a performance of Mozart's Cost Fan Tutte I am all in. But as a realist, that will never happen.

 

Theatre and opera. That would be amazing. Even a dinner (dessert?) theatre or a murder mystery! Those would actually get me out in the evening.

[bUU]

Are you saying that...

No I'm saying that many consumers, naive to the running of conglomerate businesses, think so but they are wrong. When your enterprise is a portfolio of companies it is *idiocy* to suboptimize your portfolio by allowing one business in your portfolio to undercut the premium another business in your portfolio leverages as a fundamental part of the enterprise's overall profit model. I know you really want to justify bashing the cruise line but your rationale just doesn't hold water.

[navybankerteacher]

No I'm saying that many consumers, naive to the running of conglomerate businesses, think so but they are wrong. When your enterprise is a portfolio of companies it is *idiocy* to suboptimize your portfolio by allowing one business in your portfolio to undercut the premium another business in your portfolio leverages as a fundamental part of the enterprise's overall profit model.

 

Actually what you are "saying" is simply a regurgitation of partially digested, clearly challengable, business school textbook cliches.

[bUU]

Actually what you are "saying" is simply a regurgitation of partially digested, clearly challengable, business school textbook cliches.

Nonsense. Meanwhile, you're just railing against what actually drives the cruise line's decisions in the best interests of their owners, for no other reason than you simply don't like how the decisions the cruise line makes affects you personally. How about we stop talking about the discussion and stick to talking about the cruise line?

[navybankerteacher]

Nonsense. Meanwhile, you're just railing against what actually drives the cruise line's decisions in the best interests of their owners, for no other reason than you simply don't like how the decisions the cruise line makes affects you personally. How about we stop talking about the discussion and stick to talking about the cruise line?

 

Can you point to any "railing" I've done on this thread "against the line's decisions"?

 

Of course they, like all honest managers, operate in a fashion to achieve what they believe is the best interests of their owners (sometimes successfully, sometimes not).

 

I suggest that you, as well, should talk " about the cruise line" - and give up your little lectures to the "naive" about how to manage conglomerates.

[taxmantoo]

How about we stop talking about the discussion and stick to talking about the cruise line?

How about we get back to the topic of singers and dancers? Much more entertaining, excuse the pun ;p;p

[LoveHAL]

Thank you SO much LoveHAL for the great info!

Perhaps there was confusion about this.

Perhaps the CURRENT program of singers/dancers/entertainment is being discontinued as this new program is being initiated.

 

How did you think the international production company and cast affected the entertainment as it is geared towards North American audiences?

Thanks for the kind thought about my post. All of the 8 cast members spoke perfect English. The interesting thing is, when they were just talking (the backstage tour) there were accents (slight, but didn't create an issue about understanding) BUT when the singers were singing their English was spot on. Amazing.

 

The shows are still geared toward (sung in English) and the dancing was (well obviously no issue). The were very few, if any walk-outs, and there were standing ovations after every performance. I guess that says it all.

[LoveHAL]

How about we get back to the topic of singers and dancers? Much more entertaining, excuse the pun ;p;p

I agree 100 percent. Sorry, but I have to say... how is it possible for a couple of people to totally divert the discussion from Entertainment to the sale of the Prinsendam, or which cruise line people should choose, with extremely long posts about economic and business philosophy of Carnival brands?

[Lady Chew]

The shows are still geared toward (sung in English) and the dancing was (well obviously no issue). The were very few, if any walk-outs, and there were standing ovations after every performance. I guess that says it all.

 

We have cruised quite a bit on several cruise lines; every performance we have ever attended has received a standing ovation. Every single one. In our opinion, that makes them (the standing ovations, not the shows) pretty meaningless. Standing o's should be reserved for truly superb performances.

[navybankerteacher]

We have cruised quite a bit on several cruise lines; every performance we have ever attended has received a standing ovation. Every single one. In our opinion, that makes them (the standing ovations, not the shows) pretty meaningless. Standing o's should be reserved for truly superb performances.

 

I'm glad I'm not the only one. I have also noticed that over the past few years every Broadway show we've seen (just two or three a year) has received a standing ovation. While I actually enjoyed them all (to greater or lesser degree) I did not feel they were all worthy of highest accolade - which is what a standing ovation used to be intended to give.

 

Making it routine makes it pointless.