No more event staff - what next?!?

[COLLEYBERRY]

Never fear ... there aren't any. :D Oh, on occasion the ladies of the ship's cast have been known to dance with unattached men at events like the Captain's Black and White Ball, etc. I've enjoyed several such dances, though they being professionals and my being a rank amateur with two left feat have made me feel quite conspicuous. But, I managed not to clobber her instep, so I suppose they were all marginal successes.

 

What's really funny is when, serving as Chaplain, I've had ladies ask ME to dance! Once we were sitting in the Piano/Seaview Lounge listening to the piano player do a nice danceable number and one little old lady who had been at my service that morning got up and said "Come on, Reverend, cut the rug with me."

 

Another of the ladies said "Now Annie, he's not a gentleman host, he's the Minister!"

 

Annie looked at me and asked: "You're not a Baptist ... are you?"

 

I was wearing a black suit and clerical collar. I said: "No ma'am."

 

Annie nodded and turned back to the other lady with, "He can dance."

 

She was about 90, though, so "dancing" mostly involved rocking back and forth without too much in the way of fancy moves. Besides ... one doesn't do much fancy stepping to "Sentimental Journey."

 

 

You do find yourself in the most humerus situations( hey you ,get me a blanket)

I suppose dear Annie ,at ninety ,is entitled to her own definition of 'pastoral ' duties.:D

I do hope our cruise paths cross one day,I have a feeling there are many more tales to be told. Thanks for the chuckle:)

[kryos]

And doing so, I accept that the experience is not going to be Crystal-like and what may have been on HAL at a higher price point in times gone bye. I will accept that my incabin experience is not going to be the Deluxe Suite life. It's Antartica ! I'll be doing my own dance and the heck with the dance hosts and board games. It's affordable.

And that's exactly what we have to do ... compromise. If we are insistent on everything being first class, then we have to expect to pay for that. Of course, we don't want bargain basement either ... but I honestly don't think the HAL experience is bargain basement, even in these rough economical times.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[RlrCstr]

On our recent Noordam cruise, we both felt that the CD Drew was outstanding. However, it was evident that he was stretched to do all the stuff himself.

 

Was this the tall blondish guy from Australia?

[RevNeal]

Let me try this another way....I can right now book a outside cabin on the Veendam for 2009 for about $130 p/p, per day, exclusive of variable taxes and port charges or I can book a similar sized outside on Crystal doing the same # days and intinerary for about $435 p/p.

 

It's more like $200 - $235 pp/pd, inclusive of taxes and port fees, for an outside cabin aboard the Veendam for the Antarctica run next January. Of course, one should keep in mind that the Veendam will do that run 3 times during the season, while Crystal only does it once ... and over the Christmas/New Years Holiday. So, HAL has more sorties to the region, carrying more passengers, and not just over the Holidays. That changes the comparison a bit. Nevertheless, I agree in principle with your point. The out-of-cabin experience on HAL is not "as good" as one will find on Crystal. However, HAL has far more sailings than Crystal, far more ships (14 vs 2), and a far more extensive theater of operations planet-wide than Crystal can manage. It's a matter of give-and-take, trade-offs, and priorities. I prefer HAL, at a price-point I can afford and with more itinerary and cruising options, than the financial and option restrictions that Crystal's very nature as a cruise line would force upon me. If this means that going with a lesser-experience is my best option for most of my cruises -- and it does -- I'm perfectly fine with that.

 

I just find it a bit odd for one to attempt a comparison of HAL's Flash-sale prices in Antarctica with the nominal bottom-basement prices in the Caribbean. Per-day, on average and category-by-category, HAL will tend to charge between two and three times as much for their exotic routes as they do for their "mass market" bread-and-butter runs. That's simply a fact ... one that I've experienced through my own pocket book on multiple occasions. I'm not complaining; HAL, thankfully, makes it possible for me to cruise to unusual destinations at a price I can afford.

[Susie51]

Thank you Mountain guy for your insiders perspective. Being paid in cash was the biggest surprise we had when our daughter told us this. We wondered how the crew managed to send the money to their homeland.

 

LOL about the dancing. The humor on the HAL board is quite entertaining!

[RevNeal]

You do find yourself in the most humerus situations( hey you ,get me a blanket)

I suppose dear Annie ,at ninety ,is entitled to her own definition of 'pastoral ' duties.:D

I do hope our cruise paths cross one day,I have a feeling there are many more tales to be told. Thanks for the chuckle:)

 

LOL ... thanks. I've got, maybe, 6 or 7 funny stories from my service as Chaplain, and another dozen or so stories from my years of cruising as a passenger. I enjoy life, try to look for the best in everything and everyone, and don't take myself too seriously.

 

Hey ... My future cruises are listed in my signature ... sign up for one! :D

[wander]

Rev Neal,

Was that the infamous "Kissing Annie" by any chance or were there two Annie's who liked to dance?