Catholic Mass on HAL Ships Still?

[2disneydads]

Hello, Everyone:

 

I have not sailed on HAL for a while, so I am not aware if HAL still offers Catholic Mass each day on its ships.  Is Mass still offered?  My mother would like to sail on a ship that offers daily Mass.

 

Thank you!

[Loreto]

2 minutes ago, 2disneydads said:

Hello, Everyone:

 

I have not sailed on HAL for a while, so I am not aware if HAL still offers Catholic Mass each day on its ships.  Is Mass still offered?  My mother would like to sail on a ship that offers daily Mass.

 

Thank you!

Yes, Holland America offers daily mass with a priest on board.  Mass is at 8 am on sea days and 5 pm on port days, but schedule is subject to  change.  This was the schedule last month on the Eurodam, Alaska.

[JeffElizabeth]

We had Mass on our Voyage of The Vikings this Summer. The priest did take some time off. Mid cruise he got Covid-19 and went into quarantine.  He was fine. 

[DaveOKC]

Two weeks ago on the Volendam we had daily Mass for 2 weeks.

 

[CruiserBruce]

Yes, on Zaandam in September.

[VMax1700]

Yes on both Nieuw Statendam in August and Rotterdam in September/October.

[jljcruise]

2 hours ago, 2disneydads said:

Hello, Everyone:

 

I have not sailed on HAL for a while, so I am not aware if HAL still offers Catholic Mass each day on its ships.  Is Mass still offered?  My mother would like to sail on a ship that offers daily Mass.

 

Thank you!

I've seen daily Mass posted on all of our cruises. I was told that the ships usually do have priests aboard due to the many Catholics on the crews.

[Ferry_Watcher]

Yes, daily on the Westerdam at least Oct 1 - 15, 2023

[cruzn single]

Yes on the Zuiderdam for 09/29 thru 10/10.

[RuthC]

Check the current 'live from' threads, where those currently on a HAL ship are posting their Daily Programs. Every one of them has Mass showing as an activity. 
It is something I do look for, and notice, on the Daily when it is posted. 

So long as the priest actually makes it to embarkation, then Mass is scheduled daily. 

[mightycruisequeen]

We've been on a bunch of HAL cruises, and there was only one that we didn't have a priest onboard.  

[2LoveBikes]

Just got off Zuiderdam Sep 30 thru Oct 10.  We had a priest and daily Catholic Mass. Fr. Paul Parker.

[Sunset Viewers]

One tip-- At the first Mass of our last cruise one of the parishioners asked if we could change the Mass to start at 4:30pm so we could make dinner on time. The priest asked if that was OK with the rest of us and he spoke to the HAL staff and, the next day, Mass was at 4:30pm.

[2disneydads]

23 hours ago, DaveOKC said:

Two weeks ago on the Volendam we had daily Mass for 2 weeks.

 

Thank you!  How was the Volendam?  I would like to do the Canada cruise between Boston and Montreal.  I see a lot of negative reviews and comments on the ship.  How is its condition?  Thank you again. 

[2disneydads]

Thank you for all of the good information. I appreciate all of the responses. 

[Loreto]

4 hours ago, 2disneydads said:

Thank you for all of the good information. I appreciate all of the responses. 

You are welcome!  I think your mom would be very happy with Holland America.

[DaveOKC]

On 10/15/2023 at 4:12 PM, 2disneydads said:

Thank you!  How was the Volendam?  I would like to do the Canada cruise between Boston and Montreal.  I see a lot of negative reviews and comments on the ship.  How is its condition?  Thank you again. 

Just off her two weeks ago - was on for 12 days.  Thought the ship was in very good condition, seemed to have recently been upgraded.  Only negative was the limited (and not very good) entertainment.  Easy to get around, due to three elevator banks and smaller ship size.  Great crew!

 

[2disneydads]

16 hours ago, DaveOKC said:

Just off her two weeks ago - was on for 12 days.  Thought the ship was in very good condition, seemed to have recently been upgraded.  Only negative was the limited (and not very good) entertainment.  Easy to get around, due to three elevator banks and smaller ship size.  Great crew!

 

Thank you.  That is good to hear. 

[LouChamp]

Aloha. In my opinion there is nothing more beautiful than Mass at sea.

[bforget]

Please tell me that Holland still has priests on their ships?

[RuthC]

They do. That is so long as the priest makes it to the sailing! Once in a rare while a priest can't get a necessary visa in time, but that happens so seldom as to be not worth worrying about. 

[Himself]

The aim of HOLLAND AMERICA is to have a priest on each sailing.  These priests ae\re vetted by the Apostleship of the Seas of the United States.

[ShipWalker]

I had never heard of the "Apostleship of the Sea of the United States" so I looked up their website.

https://www.aos-usa.org/

 

Interesting information. Over 100 years in operation.  If you look deep enough into the site one will even find a .pdf of the "Cruise Ship Priest Manual".

Edited November 17, 2023 by ShipWalker

[BruhnSisters]

Hello.  Approx. how long does the daily mass usually last?  I hope to attend a service.  Thank you.

[Crew News]

My February Eurodam roll call just added Father Weselka (well-traveled HAL chaplain), moving to Nieuw Amsterdam in March, and then joining the Noordam in May for Alaska.