Not Missing What You Never Knew??

[cruisemom42]

9 minutes ago, REOVA said:

they have a list of 50- 100 songs to play. With 3 - 45 min sets each night, they played the same songs each night which got tiring after 4th night. We didn't sit for piano players in Billboard but passengers told us not only did they play same songs, but they spoke the same script in between.

 

And what does that mean for passengers on a 28-day cruise which, granted, is two 14-day cruises sold as one? On a ship that doesn't even boast the Rolling Stones venue.  Am I going to go stark raving mad?

 

(Yes, I am cruising for the itinerary but really, would it kill them to provide a little variety at night?)

[Florida_gal_50]

22 minutes ago, REOVA said:

Yes. Herein lies one problem. The bands can only play a certain list of songs. This month on Rotterdam the Rolling Stone band musicians were excellent. They stated they have a list of 50- 100 songs to play. With 3 - 45 min sets each night, they played the same songs each night which got tiring after 4th night. We didn't sit for piano players in Billboard but passengers told us not only did they play same songs, but they spoke the same script in between. Just some minor changes to the program can make a better experience. I don't think most of us want major changes or return "back to the way it was",  but a few tweaks here and there will help. 

It's to bad Seattle is so rigid on this.  I guess it has to be free of anything that might offend.  I can see how this can become tiresome.

[REOVA]

3 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

It's to bad Seattle is so rigid on this.  I guess it has to be free of anything that might offend.  I can see how this can become tiresome.

Every generation gets offended by the next generation of music. 😉🤣 Definitely hard to pick a selection that will please everyone (except me) but if you give a band a limited list, THEY will definitely choose which songs they like (can) playing better, which cuts the list even further. (As from the band's words). And while we are talking music, when eating in Alt Dining venues, we would expect to hear nice, music that fits the decor and ambiance of the restaurant. The music in Tamarind, Pinnacle, CO, etc don't fit the venues and even the crew get tired of the loop each night. I'd be curious if HAL asks the crew for opinions/ suggestions. 

[BermudaBound2014]

2 hours ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

But how old is that data?  Is there any new data since the start up? 

 

 You may want to start with every single 10Q reported from every single mainstream line since 2021.

[LMaxwell]

4 hours ago, Mary229 said:

@LMaxwell  I understand exactly what your are saying.  When I was on the short vacation timetable and was sailing one or two weeks at a time I was looking for a different experience.  I was wanting to just get away and relax and maybe take in a few sights.  When I travel with my still working sister, in her 50s, it is still that way.  We really liked Norwegian at the time, Carnival was ok for us because of the convenience of driving to port, I tried Royal and Princess and those were  ok too.  I always wanted to try Celebrity but I have yet to find an itinerary that fits my list.  Those are all great lines for short Caribbean cruises, had wonderful entertainment and good food.
 

now I sail exclusively for itineraries and as a career road warrior I just am tired of packing and unpacking constantly so for us it is 20+ days or nothing, preferably over 30 days.  HAL does very well in that niche.  

Working my way up to that type of travel. It does seem to be their stronger suit.  I don't need a mega ship, but Nieuw Amsterdam is about the smallest/least amount of amenities I like. I don't think I'd like anything much smaller; but maybe. 

[LMaxwell]

3 hours ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

Of course it does.  Hal has a certain playlist approved by Seattle.  They don’t play what they feel like.

What entertained 40 year olds 40 years ago doesn't work very well now in terms of enticing younger generations onboard.  As I said, they need to send someone on Celebrity if they want to get serious about the younger demographic. Always need to be feeding into the pipeline. 

[REOVA]

15 minutes ago, LMaxwell said:

Working my way up to that type of travel. It does seem to be their stronger suit.  I don't need a mega ship, but Nieuw Amsterdam is about the smallest/least amount of amenities I like. I don't think I'd like anything much smaller; but maybe. 

NA and Eurodam are a nice sweet spot for HAL with maybe a few minor tweaks in programming. We loved the last Prinsendam which was small (under 900 passengers and <450 crew) and have cruised over 100 day voyages on Amsterdam (Rotterdam class - Zaandam and Volendam sisters) so smaller has been nice experience. But the Signature ships added things and kept things to make a good mix. IMHO

[LocoLoco1]

My ORIGINAL Post’s intent was to note that little extras that previously were ‘Part of the Deal’ on HAL are no more. My 1st cruise was 1973, my most recent a coupla months ago; and 1st & 2nd Class ala Cunard seems to be making a comeback, but they’re renaming it HIA & Club Orange, Neptune Lounge etc etc.  Must one go on the Up-scale cruiselines now to find those Bling-bling goodies as standard fare?? Maybe so. Whatever….

[Florida_gal_50]

It amazes me that someone that complained about everything on their cruise from food to entertainment to cabanas taking up his personal space that believes hal should just through hoops to entice him to become a permanent customer.  

[cruisemom42]

21 minutes ago, LocoLoco1 said:

My ORIGINAL Post’s intent was to note that little extras that previously were ‘Part of the Deal’ on HAL are no more. My 1st cruise was 1973, my most recent a coupla months ago; and 1st & 2nd Class ala Cunard seems to be making a comeback, but they’re renaming it HIA & Club Orange, Neptune Lounge etc etc.  Must one go on the Up-scale cruiselines now to find those Bling-bling goodies as standard fare?? Maybe so. Whatever….

 

Well, in answer to that particular query, it's an oft-quoted fact that cruise prices in relative terms were much more expensive in 1973 than today for a comparable cabin. You can't logically expect cruise lines to offer a "champagne" experience on a "beer" budget (as my grandmother used to say).  Something's gotta give. This year alone, most of the world has seen substantial increases in the cost of food and fuel. The cruise lines are no different and are faced with millions of dollars of debt to boot. 

 

That said I am not excusing issues that should be addressed as there is a risk of driving away the customers they need to survive in the next few years.  Things that impact peoples' overall perceptions like too many lines onboard ship, too many "outages" (of food items or beverages that should be a given), too many ports skipped (or port times shortened) all tend to be things people remember when booking their next vacation.

 

But no, I don't think they're going to bring back free cappuccinos in the MDR or the yum-yum person or other "bling" without raising their costs to match.

 

Edited November 23, 2022 by cruisemom42

[Wakepatrol]

15 hours ago, LMaxwell said:

Celebrity uses live musicians all over the ship throughout the day.  HAL limits it to evening hours in music walk/using some of those acts in  theater shows.  

 

I was hoping they'd use the BB Kings band to do rock Karaoke or something; first time I have ever been on a cruise that didn't have Karaoke.  No silent disco. No deck party. No live musicians around dinner time. No music in dining room (although that seems to have died off everywhere). Piped in music near the pool (I did hear 80's/90's music piped in).  A lot of loyalists act like we're asking for hairy chest belly flop contests or some club thumping noise until 3am; not at all.  Just a little more vibrancy, variety, and relatability in the content. It just adds to the premium feel. An indicator of "where the money went". 

 

I did really enjoy the lectures on board; but seems they are common across the ships and there are only 3 or 4 of them so if you've seen it...it will be the same the next time too. 

 

I would be game for a "dinner show" of some type, a murder mystery or "lounge singer" act with dinner service.  I've had that on other cruise lines and enjoyed blending the dining and entertainment for the vening. 

They used to have a live piano player every night at dinner. Then it was an automatic piano that plays itself then that was gone. They used to have a couple of members of the house band at the pool for a couple of hours a day, or a steel drum player. This has all disappeared. We started cruising in 2000

Edited November 23, 2022 by Wakepatrol

[BetsyS.]

If people think that the Yum Yum man only worked at dinner time, that is not 

the case. Years ago on the Veendam, the Yum Yum man cooked breakfast 

in the Lido. I never cut in front of the line, but when he saw me waiting 

my turn, he started cooking my breakfast. One day when he handed me my 

plate, the woman in front of me said "You didn't order yet." I said I had 

the same thing every day. 

[LocoLoco1]

My guess is that the Accounting Dept has told Food/Ent/Housekeeping Depts. they must do more with $less$. The Quarterly Rpts. say as much. But there comes a point….

[Hlitner]

On 11/23/2022 at 10:12 AM, Florida_gal_50 said:

It's to bad Seattle is so rigid on this.  I guess it has to be free of anything that might offend.  I can see how this can become tiresome.

Years ago, HAL used to hire real bands.  These were folks used to working together, had a big repertoire, and could handle most requests.  But then HAL decided to simply hire musicians (not bands).  While they are certainly professionals, they are not a band but rather a group of individuals.  The old HAL Cats, the BB King Groups, etc. all fall into this category.  You put a bunch of musicians together and expect them to gel as a group.  Sometimes it works and other times it fails.  Some of these groups get a few pre-cruise days ashore to work on the play list. 

 

Some other cruise lines (MSC is a good example) actually hire real groups (folks that have worked together for some time and can pass muster at an audition) and the difference can be astounding.  DW and I still remember a fabulous Italian duo on MSC that played some fantastic rock sets.  On the Enchanted Princess we had a 4 piece Jazz/Blues quartet (from Brazil) that were fantastic. This group had an amazing repertoire of music written by Antonio Jobim (think...Girl from Ipanema").  Iistened to that group for 10 days and rarely heard them repeat anything.  And on those rare times when they would repeat something it was always done with a different style/arrangement.

 

 It has been the same on Celebrity where we have enjoyed several groups (duos to quintets) with amazing talent.  The difference from HAL's bands is that these other groups were professional "bands" who had worked together for years...and it showed.  HAL used to have some amazing piano bar talent who had nearly unlimited repertoires, but they been replaced (often by duel pianos with limited repertoires).  When we took one of the Voyage of the Vikings cruises the piano bar player was "Barry from Boston" who is a musician we knew from many years earlier when he worked on RCCL.  Barry claims to know over 3000 songs.  You can often find him working in the Boston area although now he is working on an Oceania ship (where they still have a real piano bar).   I am sure there are plenty of longtime fans who can still remember their favorite piano bar players including the flamboyant Stryker (now working on the Noordam....one of the few HAL vessels with a real piano bar).

 

Hank

[albingirl]

On 11/23/2022 at 10:12 AM, Florida_gal_50 said:

It's to bad Seattle is so rigid on this.  I guess it has to be free of anything that might offend.  I can see how this can become tiresome.

Really boring, too. I  like all that jazzed up honky tonk music and wish they'd loosen up their neckties in Seattle. 

[BetsyS.]

albingirl - I agree with you. I think the "suits" in Seattle should be required 

to take at least one cruise on a HAL ship.  They should be "undercover" 

and mix and mingle with passengers.