Entertainment Update Please

[MarylandBob]

Thinking of taking a HAL cruise next year but the last one we did prior to the pandemic was really disappointing. HAL's entertainment options had been slipping for years; no more cabaret singers, black and white officer's ball, contemporary club music and even song and dance shows on the main stage were missing on our last cruise in February 2020. I believe Test Kitchen may be gone too.

 

Can anyone offer insights on what's happening with their entertainment since cruising has restarted and they have new top tier management?

[sofietucker]

Only taking our first post-pandemic HAL cruise next month so I can't speak to current entertainment, but I can say that America's Test Kitchen is gone. That venue is replaced by Club Orange restaurant.

Edited August 6, 2022 by sofietucker

[RedneckBob]

2 hours ago, MarylandBob said:

Thinking of taking a HAL cruise next year but the last one we did prior to the pandemic was really disappointing. HAL's entertainment options had been slipping for years; no more cabaret singers, black and white officer's ball, contemporary club music and even song and dance shows on the main stage were missing on our last cruise in February 2020. I believe Test Kitchen may be gone too.

 

Can anyone offer insights on what's happening with their entertainment since cruising has restarted and they have new top tier management?

It’s terrible. It’s all gone and still gone

[CruiserBruce]

Terrible or not is subjective, just like food. We happen to like most, but not all of the entertainment. HAL is not going to be able to please everyone.

 

What entertainment is available depends somewhat on the ship. The larger the ship, the more venues and variety. There is still a fair amount of live entertainment, including club type music, depending on the size of the ship.

[twodjs]

Have never seen a black and white officiers ball or cabaret singers and we're 4 star. How long ago did you experience those events? The newer Pinnacle class ships offer the most variety of entertainment options with Music Walk. The live performances in the main theater include One Step Dance company which is significantly different from your typical song and dance show. People tend to love them or hate them. There is contemporary club music later at night in the BB King's Blues Club. Have not seen any changes since the top management change with the exception of a few BB King's Clubs switching to Rolling Stone Rock Lounges on a couple of ships. 

Edited August 6, 2022 by twodjs

[RedneckBob]

31 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

Terrible or not is subjective, just like food. We happen to like most, but not all of the entertainment. HAL is not going to be able to please everyone.

 

What entertainment is available depends somewhat on the ship. The larger the ship, the more venues and variety. There is still a fair amount of live entertainment, including club type music, depending on the size of the ship.

You are right. Terrible is subjective. Maybe should have used the word several times 😀.

As described by earlier post Showroom has a dance company plus movie and maybe one nite a comedian. Big difference from just three years ago where you could see comedians, magicians, singers, piano players, etc all the time. BB King is good but in some ships the Queens lounge is too cold. Plus every 3-4 days you hear the same songs over and over again.  Same with dueling pianos; every 3-4 days same songs. Rock and roll band is good. Like the strings in Lincoln  Center

Gone are the black & white ball from I guess +10 years ago, along with dance hosts, live band in Crows Nest, live band in Ocean Bar, etc, etc, etc.

[CruiserBruce]

11 minutes ago, RedneckBob said:

You are right. Terrible is subjective. Maybe should have used the word several times 😀.

As described by earlier post Showroom has a dance company plus movie and maybe one nite a comedian. Big difference from just three years ago where you could see comedians, magicians, singers, piano players, etc all the time. BB King is good but in some ships the Queens lounge is too cold. Plus every 3-4 days you hear the same songs over and over again.  Same with dueling pianos; every 3-4 days same songs. Rock and roll band is good. Like the strings in Lincoln  Center

Gone are the black & white ball from I guess +10 years ago, along with dance hosts, live band in Crows Nest, live band in Ocean Bar, etc, etc, etc.

Just off Statendam, 18 day cruise. We had two comedians in the show room...we only saw one, he was good and did a second, different show. They had a piano duo (one piano, two players/singers) very good and funny. Cantere (excellent) performed 3 times. The dancers did 3 or 4 different shows, including one involving the two pianist from the Billboard Lounge. They had a classical pianist (didn't see him). They had two BBC shows, plus one or two movie nights. That is just from memory.

 

Many nights we went to Rolling Rock and/or BB King. The Rolling Rock band played a huge selection of songs...playing unheard ones the last night. They even threw together a quick acoustic set when the drummer suddenly was unavailable due to a medical issue...he returned the next night. BB King had fewer songs in their repertoire. 

[RedneckBob]

15 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

Just off Statendam, 18 day cruise. We had two comedians in the show room...we only saw one, he was good and did a second, different show. They had a piano duo (one piano, two players/singers) very good and funny. Cantere (excellent) performed 3 times. The dancers did 3 or 4 different shows, including one involving the two pianist from the Billboard Lounge. They had a classical pianist (didn't see him). They had two BBC shows, plus one or two movie nights. That is just from memory.

 

Many nights we went to Rolling Rock and/or BB King. The Rolling Rock band played a huge selection of songs...playing unheard ones the last night. They even threw together a quick acoustic set when the drummer suddenly was unavailable due to a medical issue...he returned the next night. BB King had fewer songs in their repertoire. 

Just curious CruiserBruce, do you like the new entertainment format or the old format. 

[CruiserBruce]

2 minutes ago, RedneckBob said:

Just curious CruiserBruce, do you like the new entertainment format or the old format. 

We prefer more of the current styles and types of entertainment.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

On the Rotterdam today All Venues sound great. 

[oakridger]

I suggest that the OP read some of the current Live From reviews which sometimes have the "When and Where/Daily Programs" listed.  All the entertainment and everything on board pretty much will be there so you can see what's currently showing.  It does vary by ship.

 

Also from @Crew News:  Alaska Ms Zuiderdam 7-Day When & Where Daily Activities – 2022 | Roger Jett Photography (rogerjett-photography.com)

 

2022 Canada, Greenland and Iceland Itinerary - The Inside Cabin - Exploring the world from the inside cabin

 

[The-Inside-Cabin]

We are on the NS - The entertainment has been fantastic.    The musicians here are first rate - if you enjoy live music - you will have a great time.

 

They still have the Black and White balls on Grand Voyages.   

[oakridger]

I posted your wonderful blog, Pete @The-Inside-Cabin for the OP because you are presenting everything so well!  Thank you!

 

~Nancy

[Wakepatrol]

Please don’t forget this guy plays at the pool daily

[FlaMariner]

On 8/6/2022 at 11:37 AM, MarylandBob said:

I believe Test Kitchen may be gone

 

...but since the unpleasantness, we've been on two HAL cruises and instead of America's Test Kitchen, they had one of the onboard chef's and the cruise director present a cooking demo....It was just as good...if not better.

[MarylandBob]

Thanks all for your insights. I will definitely check out "Live From" and "The Inside Cabin".

 

We've been cruising for a long time and have many days on HAL but grew increasingly disappointed with the elimination of many of their more popular and enjoyable entertainment venues and acts. When we started sailing with HAL in the 1990s, there was live entertainment in the dining room at dinner, orchestras played in the Crow's Nest, cabaret singers and comedians performed in the Queen's Lounge and the Main Stage included cast shows, individual singers and orchestra/band music for dancing and general enjoyment. A DJ played contemporary music in the Club late night.  The Officer's Black and White Ball was usually held on the second formal night in the Queen's Lounge, always a favorite.

 

On our recent HAL voyages which we typically take on Vista or Signature-class ships, most of this was gone. The late night Clubs had been changed into "library/reading/game rooms", the Crow's Nest is relegated to another lounge with puzzles, maps and a coffee-selling cafe. What a waste of a great entertainment venue! On our last HAL voyage in February 2020 on Eurodam, the only things happening at the Main Stage were BBC movies and port/shopping lectures.  No live entertainment.  

 

I realize everyone's tastes for cruising are different and lines appeal to varying clientele based on those interests.  We've cruised on quite a few other lines and have many days with RCCL where entertainment is second-to-none. But, we really liked HAL for the service and dining, spacious staterooms and even their entertainment some time ago.  That's why I'm willing to give them another try but wanted to get a read on what, if anything, may have changed with new management.

 

Thanks again, for your feedback and insights!

[iceman93]

I, too, miss the days of the kinds of entertainment you just described, @MarylandBob.  I just got off the NS which I assume had the same entertainers @The-Inside-Cabin is quite pleased with--we found the shows not to our liking and the talent of the musicians quite lacking.

 

But while we miss things like live music in the dining room and a DJ playing current dance hits in the crow's nest late at night (and believe me, the only way to describe what they're playing now as "current dance hits" is if the ship is actually a time machine back to the 50's and 60's), we still had a great time on our cruise.  The casino was another disappointment as both my wife and I like to play Texas Hold 'em poker--in years gone by it was at a table with a live dealer, a few years ago it was an automated machine, and on this cruise there was no poker at all.  So we spent our time and money on other things!

 

In so many ways it seems that HAL is a cruise line in search of a distinct identity.  They put in the music walk supposedly to appeal to younger cruisers, but it's a half-hearted effort at best that is likely to leave younger cruisers disappointed.  We attended a couple of the EXC Talks, which are supposed to be deep dives into relevant subjects of interest, but instead they were just watered-down TED Talks read off a script by the cruise director (who clearly knew nothing about the subjects she was speaking about).  HAL's tagline has shifted from "A signature of excellence" to "Savor the journey", but I feel they're not really delivering either way.

 

All that being said, the overall HAL experience is still a good one--they just don't shine in any particular area like they used to.  If onboard entertainment is one of your main criteria for picking a cruise line, I'd be hard-pressed to recommend HAL given the other lines out there that seem to be putting specific emphasis (and monetary investment) into theirs.  But if you can make do with what HAL offers, then it might be worth giving them another try--just know in advance what you'll be getting (which I guess is exactly why you started this thread!).