another first time cruiser comment - ship too quiet?

[cruisehome]

cruising next week -  been doing a lot of reading  and am realizing I think Holland America is going to be too quiet for us.

 

While we don't like all the craziness of iceskating, rock climbing etc  we do like nice music before and after dinner.  I think I am wrong in assuming there will not be much around the ship -  too late to cancel obviously.

 

We are celebrity cruisers and find the nightly entertainment quite nice    Any comments to make me feel better??

 

carol

[princeton123211]

2 minutes ago, cruisehome said:

While we don't like all the craziness of iceskating, rock climbing etc  we do like nice music before and after dinner.  I think I am wrong in assuming there will not be much around the ship -  too late to cancel obviously.

 

We are celebrity cruisers and find the nightly entertainment quite nice    Any comments to make me feel better??

It just depends on the itinerary and the time of year as well as the ship. The older HAL ships like Veendam and Maasdam have fewer live music venues than the newer ones. Warm weather trips during holidays are a younger crowd and its a bit livelier. Extended voyages in the off season the crowd it a bit more subdued and therefore the ship is a bit quieter. 

 

It's true that HAL tends to edge a bit on the older side but theres usually something to do for most age groups. I will say that I think the food and overall ambiance are a small step above Celebrity. 

[cruisehome]

Just now, princeton123211 said:

It just depends on the itinerary and the time of year as well as the ship. The older HAL ships like Veendam and Maasdam have fewer live music venues than the newer ones. Warm weather trips during holidays are a younger crowd and its a bit livelier. Extended voyages in the off season the crowd it a bit more subdued and therefore the ship is a bit quieter. 

 

It's true that HAL tends to edge a bit on the older side but theres usually something to do for most age groups. I will say that I think the food and overall ambiance are a small step above Celebrity. 

traveling Dec 1 for 10 days to panama canal   I think the cruise itself will be nice

 

it is just we enjoy music before and after dinner  

 

How are the shows??

 

thanks

[princeton123211]

4 minutes ago, cruisehome said:

traveling Dec 1 for 10 days to panama canal   I think the cruise itself will be nice

 

it is just we enjoy music before and after dinner  

 

How are the shows??

Without knowing the ship its hard to say. Ships like Koningsdam and Nieuw Amsterdam have extremely innovative live music venues like Blues and rock venues and World Stage. Older ships like Veendam have a guy banging away at a piano in the lounge, trio in the Ocean Bar, and more traditional stage shows. 

 

These are the extreme examples on either side-- the majority of the fleet have several venues for live music. 

[cruisehome]

going on eurodam

 

[oaktreerb]

Eurodam last week listed evening entertainment of Billboard Onboard (dueling pianos, requests, sing along), and BB King from 8:0O p.m. with BB King last show beginning at 11:15 (dancing).  Standing room only at times for both areas.  Lincoln Center Stage had two performances per day which were well attended.  There were also the two shows per night in the showroom.  We had a great female comedian who also sang and a John Denver tribute show.   Those are the live entertainment venues.

[bjbear]

cruisehome, I  was on Erodam last April and, as oaktreerb said, the music was good, a bigger selection than on the smaller ships. I am an avid fan of the BB King Blues band and went to that almost every night!!. 

[jay888]

First time HAL cruise, on the Westerdam at the moment.  I look BBKing and Billboard.  I also like the more relax atmosphere off not running from one venue to another.

[Cruzaholic41]

16 hours ago, oaktreerb said:

Eurodam last week listed evening entertainment of Billboard Onboard (dueling pianos, requests, sing along)...

It’s not dueling pianos. It’s 2 pianos. Unfortunately, there’s a difference. 

[Greysandy]

BB Kings is our favorite music venue on HAL. 3 separate 45 minute sets offered each night. Piano bar can be great or mediocre depending on the artist.

 

Sandy

[boom_boom]

Was on the Eurodam in mid-October. BB Kings is nice as is the Lincoln Center Stage, but we never saw anything live at the Billboard. To us the live music was lacking, but what they had was good,, just not  much of it.

[cruisehome]

thanks everyone for your replies.

 

carol