"Nothing to do after 9pm" fact or fiction?

[ijsprinses]

We've booked our first Hal cruise and I hope there are some things to do after 9pm, because we've late seating and after dinner I hope to be able to see a nice show or to have a couple of drinks with some music. It's a mediterranean cruise with only 1 sea day, so i won't be dancing until 2pm but I don't want to go to bed right after dinnner...:)

[Lizzie68]

that's odd.

 

we had two trivia a day: Team trivia around 1pm each day (hosted by Cruise Director), and then Pub trivia (also team) in Crow's nest each day at 7:30 pm (hosted by Show Hosts).

 

we had the occasional 1-off addition on sea days as well.

 

I think much depends on the Cruise Director. Some ships have more trivia times than on others. Our last cruise only had 1 game a day, at 1pm.

[sail7seas]

Cruise Directors no longer have the same number of cruise staff they had in years past. They had people to do the horse racing, bingo, napkin folding, art tours, scavenger hunts, golf and pool games ........ The whole cruise staff team was rearranged and many of the games that used to offer Passport to Fitness stamps and then the program that followed it (can't remember what they called it) faded away. All sorts of reasons have been given but one can pick the reason that makes the most sense to them. ;)

 

Edited November 15, 2014 by sail7seas

[igraf]

The Ryndam is one of the older and smaller ships. Not a good choice for an active evening.

 

HAL has made it simple. Book passage on a ship that features the BB King Blues Club if you desire a livelier evening. This would include the Vista and Signature class ships in the Caribbean. Look at the Zuiderdam daily programs posted earlier in this thread and you can see that an evening for late diners is something like this:

 

7:45pm : late traditional dinner

9:30pm : adagio strings or perhaps something else

10:00pm : late show

11:00pm : BB King Blues Club (or the Neptunes on the smaller ships)

11:45pm: linger in bars or go to bed

 

This has been similar to our typical HAL schedule. People who have early dinner have even more options. I really am not seeing the problem with evening entertainment. It is not a 3-ring circus but it is enough.

 

igraf

 

 

 

 

Ryndam, a year last Jan. After 10 ship deserted. Might be things going on, but sat in a lounge with four of us isn't my idea of entertainment. Went up to the Crows Nest late, one night really good, the rest most in around 10.

Ryndam great ship, but never again on HAL due to this.

Edited November 15, 2014 by igraf

[PathfinderEss]

I am really being tempted by some of the low 7 day fares to try HAL out but everything I read, people I know and speak to, reviews, all basically say there's nothing going on after dinner.

 

For a ship like Eurodam or NA for 7 nighters what is the nightlife really like? Does anyone have any cruise dailies from years past on either ship?

 

I think it depends on you, there are things to do, if you want to.

[Watson's aunt]

Hi

 

My last cruise I was up in the crows nest dancing the night away. there were a few couples and single women

[Hlitner]

We have found HAL late night activities to be hit or miss (mostly miss) on our many HAL cruises. Part of the problem is the oft older HAL cruisers who think that dinner after 5:30 is too late and want to be in bed by 9:30. Another problem are the cruise directors who feed into the situation with lousy late night schedules. On our most recent 38 night Oosterdam Cruise (last month) the CD actually broke with HAL tradition and scheduled a late night comedy show (once in 38 days) with Julie Barr (a well known HAL regular). Her late adult show (at 11) was packed and great. It was the first time, in our more then 300 HAL nights, that there was a late night comedy show. The Piano Bar had Jimmy Maddox who did attract a decent crowd of regulars until after 11, but that crowd represented less then 40 folks out of the nearly 2000 passengers. We have previously taken a few long Prinsendam cruises when the normal late night crowd was in the Crows Nest and consisted of fewer then 10 passengers mixed with a few ship's officers.

 

Hank

[MOcruiserman]

On our most recent 38 night Oosterdam Cruise (last month)

Doesn't the Oosterdam have the BB King Show? I'm looking forward to it on my upcoming Noordam trip.

[RiciRicardo]

Just returned from a week on Ms Veendam on the Mexican Riviera. I think your theory about nothing to do after 9 pm is pure fiction. On a port day we didn't get back to our room after watching sail away until 5 or 5.30. Then we had to clean up and eat. The shows were usually 7.30 and 10.00 pm. During the evening there was the Adagio Duo in the Explorers Lounge from 6 to 10 pm, as well as Kevin from Scotland, a solo guitarist in the Mix Bar from 5.30 to 9pm.

From 6.30 till way past 11.30 there was Ashley Wey in the Ocean Bar with her Trio, the Neptunes. She was a phenomenal piano player who told stories and could play any request given to her. Possibly the best entertainment on the high seas.

Darren wowed everyone in the Piano Bar from 9 till closing, a wonderfully entertaining guy. The Hal Cats played party music and rock and roll in the Crow's Nest....plus there was Karaoke. And if you were a night owl there was always the Casino. So in my opinion, something for everyone. We had a great cruise!

[Hlitner]

Doesn't the Oosterdam have the BB King Show? I'm looking forward to it on my upcoming Noordam trip.

 

The BB King show is not currently offered on the Oosterdam.

 

Hank

[Lis2065]

The BB King show is not currently offered on the Oosterdam.

 

Hank

 

Wish it was!

 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Forums mobile app

[igraf]

We sailed on the Veendam to the Mexican Riviera last spring and were also lucky enough to be entertained by Ashley Wey. She is an excellent entertainer. BTW, here is her web page:

 

http://ashleywey.wix.com/fanclub

 

igraf

 

 

 

 

Just returned from a week on Ms Veendam on the Mexican Riviera. I think your theory about nothing to do after 9 pm is pure fiction. ....

 

From 6.30 till way past 11.30 there was Ashley Wey in the Ocean Bar with her Trio, the Neptunes. She was a phenomenal piano player who told stories and could play any request given to her. Possibly the best entertainment on the high seas. ....

[Swice]

We're not old (in our 40's)! But our last two HAL cruises have been in Europe and we noticed "less" entertainment late at night. One of the cruise directors told me they have found that European cruises are so port-intensive that people are tired and go to bed earlier than "beach" cruises. At first, I thought that was an excuse, but after a few days of touring-- we were mentally and physically exhausted and went to bed early ourselves!

 

We booked private day-long tours (non-HAL) in most ports and each tour company strongly suggested we get off of the ship the moment the doors open. ...One day in Athens, we were among the first off and our driver "raced" to the Acropolis-- we got BEAUTIFUL pictures of us and the ruins without others in the shots. As we left, the cruise ship buses arrived and there were so many people it I took pictures of the crowds-- it was unbelievable!!!

 

You are not going to party hard, stay up late, and then get up early the next morning to look at ruins of ancient Greece.

 

So, I think it would be hard to generalize the nightlife.

(Is it port intensive, time of year, school holiday time, is it a theme cruise?)

[Dancer Bob]

Just got off Westerdam (Eastern Caribbean, beaches). Make that 11 PM, then definitely fact. For singles- I was traveling with a group, otherwise it would have been a disaster. The 26 of us constituted about 90% of the nightlife. For couples- you'll have the ship pretty much to yourself after 9 PM, but not everything is shut down.

Edited November 17, 2014 by Dancer Bob

[YubaSutter]

No true. The 2nd show in the theatre starts around 10. Plus there's the piano bar, casino, Northern Lights, Ocean bar etc.

 

Were you there for MY experiences? I don't think so.

Edited November 17, 2014 by YubaSutter

[nschamp]

Have any of you ever participated in "Bowling in the Halls" (any deck)? Some Cruises even have 9 PM Bocci Ball on the Promenade.

 

:D

[MOcruiserman]

Just returned from a week on Ms Veendam on the Mexican Riviera. I think your theory about nothing to do after 9 pm is pure fiction. On a port day we didn't get back to our room after watching sail away until 5 or 5.30. Then we had to clean up and eat. The shows were usually 7.30 and 10.00 pm. During the evening there was the Adagio Duo in the Explorers Lounge from 6 to 10 pm, as well as Kevin from Scotland, a solo guitarist in the Mix Bar from 5.30 to 9pm.

From 6.30 till way past 11.30 there was Ashley Wey in the Ocean Bar with her Trio, the Neptunes. She was a phenomenal piano player who told stories and could play any request given to her. Possibly the best entertainment on the high seas.

Darren wowed everyone in the Piano Bar from 9 till closing, a wonderfully entertaining guy. The Hal Cats played party music and rock and roll in the Crow's Nest....plus there was Karaoke. And if you were a night owl there was always the Casino. So in my opinion, something for everyone. We had a great cruise!

Pretty much my experience this past August when I was on the Veendam.

[BearInStPete]

Lots of opinions on this subject - at the end of the day your experiences and expectations may differ. Keep the CC forums and reviews in perspective, extremes & inflammatory commentary are generally outliers. Try to read in-between the lines and consider the commentator's cruise pedigree as well in evaluating responses.

[Aquahound]

It was a fact on my 2012 Nieuw Amsterdam cruise in the Med, but fiction on my Alaskan Zuiderdam cruise this past July. I think it had a lot to do with the different Cruise Directors. The NA CD was boring, but Hamish on the Zuiderdam was awesome!

[Lizzie68]

It was a fact on my 2012 Nieuw Amsterdam cruise in the Med, but fiction on my Alaskan Zuiderdam cruise this past July. I think it had a lot to do with the different Cruise Directors. The NA CD was boring, but Hamish on the Zuiderdam was awesome!

 

Yes, I have experienced Hamish. He is actually quite good at his job, but his "woohoo" drove me nuts.:( And in San Diego where we had to clear immigration in the lounge, he screwed up royally and announced that everyone who had not cleared should go there right now. Well, only 2 decks had gone. So it turned into an absolutely chaotic and dangerous situation with everyone crammed into the narrow hallways. He had lost track of how many he had sent down. Someone passed out and the medics had a heck of a time getting to her. As a CD he was good. As an organiser of anything else, he sucked.

[RuthC]

Perhaps the question is less "Is there anything to do after 9:00 PM?", and more "Is there anything to do that I would enjoy after 9:00 PM?"

 

Clearly, people have posted of many activities in the evening. But if none of those activities are to your taste, or if you want to share the activities with a large crowd that doesn't appear, then you won't find anything to do.

[Ocean Dancer]

So if you are still eating dinner at 9, and want to see the show afterwards, then I guess there will not be much to do unless one has early dining?:rolleyes: On many lines, the show is earlier for late diners...........is this ever true on Holland?

[sail7seas]

So if you are still eating dinner at 9, and want to see the show afterwards, then I guess there will not be much to do unless one has early dining?:rolleyes: On many lines, the show is earlier for late diners...........is this ever true on Holland?

 

Some ships, sometimes, have the show for those with 8:00 P.M. seating before dinner. Personally, I didn't care for that at all. We like a cocktail before dinner and if we are to enjoy our cocktail in a lounge and see the show before dinner, we have to be dressed and out so early. We elect 8 P.M. dinner because we don't want to leave our cabin at 6:30.

 

[Shellback801]

There was plenty to do aboard the Westerdam after 9:00PM last week. I missed out on a few because I was 1) Too exhausted after the days shore activities, or 2) Stuffed from a meal at the Pinnacle Grill or Le Cirque which made me want to relax before the shows (read: fall asleep with my pants on).

 

Between the piano bar, the comedian, magicians, Dancing With the Stars, the BB King Blues Experience, the HALCats, Northern Lights shows, Filipino crew show, and the Texas Hold 'Em tournament, I slept well knowing that there were cruisers out there enjoying the evening's festivities.

 

And those shows that I actually caught were well worth staying up for, most especially the BB King band.

[fire eater]

BB King shows starts on the Oosterdam on the day we join her in Sydney (Oz), 16th January, 2015.