Is Striker still on HAL?

[sjde]

I have such fond memories of the Maasdam in Canada 8 years ago with Striker in the piano bar,  playing show tunes with a sing-a-long. Of all my many cruises in the last 20 years , that was one of the highlights. 

[kazu]

Strycker is gone I believe sorry to say.  We enjoyed him on the Rotterdam and I had numerous chats with him.

 

HAL does not have a piano bar per se any longer as such, great performers like he have moved on.

[bigjohn42]

The last time I saw and spoke to Strycker was on the Rotterdam in August of 2019, he was a total hit on that cruise as well as others I had seen him on. He's a really nice guy not too mention a very talented entertainer. 

Edited February 28, 2021 by bigjohn42
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[St. Louis Sal]

I’m not sure where he is right now, but over the summer and up until October he had a pop up piano bar at the Blue Strawberry in St Louis. He would play his own gig, but also in between other performers as well. I really wanted to go see him (they were being very, very, Covid safe), but I didn’t get there. I was hoping he might come back. 
 

St Louis Sal

[Infi]

Stryker was always our favorite piano bar entertainer - so talented and also hilarious, he really knew how to work a crowd. We last saw him on the Rotterdam in August 2019. Sorry to hear he is no longer with HAL, but understandable given the circumstances. They lost a great one. 

 

For those interested, his website is here: http://sirstryker.com/

 

[sandiego1]

22 hours ago, kazu said:

Strycker is gone I believe sorry to say.  We enjoyed him on the Rotterdam and I had numerous chats with him.

 

HAL does not have a piano bar per se any longer as such, great performers like he have moved on.

There was a piano bar on the Amsterdam. Someone told me they use Mix on the Zaandam as a piano bar, but I haven't been on that ship yet. Other ships have Billboard Onboard which have 2 pianos.  We've been on 2 ships and spent a lot of time in there, singing with the piano players. So much fun! They took requests on some nights. Other nights, there was a preplanned set list.

[kazu]

31 minutes ago, sandiego1 said:

There was a piano bar on the Amsterdam. Someone told me they use Mix on the Zaandam as a piano bar, but I haven't been on that ship yet. Other ships have Billboard Onboard which have 2 pianos.  We've been on 2 ships and spent a lot of time in there, singing with the piano players. So much fun! They took requests on some nights. Other nights, there was a preplanned set list.

 

Sorry, but the MIx is gone on the Zaandam.  It’s the Billboard. And, the Amsterdam has been sold (I believe they preserved it’s piano bar for the world cruisers.)

Myself, if we had a great piano player, like Stryker, I far preferred that ambiance but it is what it is.

 

the piano bars are gone on HAL.  The few ships that had them left like the Amsterdam and the iconic Prinsendam have been sold.  It’s the Billboard now.

[sandiego1]

1 minute ago, kazu said:

 

Sorry, but the MIx is gone on the Zaandam.  It’s the Billboard. And, the Amsterdam has been sold (I believe they preserved it’s piano bar for the world cruisers.)

Myself, if we had a great piano player, like Stryker, I far preferred that ambiance but it is what it is.

 

the piano bars are gone on HAL.  The few ships that had them left like the Amsterdam and the iconic Prinsendam have been sold.  It’s the Billboard now.

Yes, Amsterdam and others have been sold. That's why I wrote "was on Amsterdam." 

 

I'm glad Mix is now Billboard Onboard on the Zaandam. We will have fun there on the next WC (whenever that will be!)

 

I still consider Billboard Onboard a piano bar. There are piano players and a bar - LOL 🙂  They took requests some nights and we were all able to sing along with them.  Not quite the same as Stryker, but fun nonetheless.

 

[SumoCitrus]

Damn. I saw "streaker" and got excited.

[rkacruiser]

Never experienced Striker.  Many enjoyed Barry of Boston. I tired of his act after a few nights.  Anyone remember Perry Grant?  He was aboard HAL ships until he migrated to Celebrity.  A good one, I thought.  But...

 

My favorite has been Diana Fast.  (I hope that I remember her name correctly.)  Her husband was a bass player for the combo in the Ocean Bar.  Some evenings, he would join her in the Piano Bar after his set was done.  The venue was packed!  Her artistry equaled her humanity.  

[RuthC]

48 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

My favorite has been Diana Fast.  (I hope that I remember her name correctly.)  Her husband was a bass player for the combo in the Ocean Bar. 

Her last name (and her husband) changed a while back. Her name is Diane Slagle now. 
I agree---she's great. But the HAL format, changing from a piano bar, then to Mix, now to Billboard Onboard, is not the venue for her. Nor for Stryker, either. 
It's a shame, since that used to be the best place on the ships. 

[Hlitner]

Since HAL eliminated piano bars (and a lot of other live entertainment) you will not see Stryker of other piano bar entertainers.  Princess has piano bars on many of their ships.   With Celebrity it is hit or miss.  The last I heard he was working in Arkansas.

 

By the way, for those that do not know...Stryker cannot read music.  A truly amazing "play by ear" entertainer.

 

Hnak

 

 

[rkacruiser]

21 hours ago, RuthC said:

Her last name (and her husband) changed a while back. Her name is Diane Slagle now. 
I agree---she's great. But the HAL format, changing from a piano bar, then to Mix, now to Billboard Onboard, is not the venue for her. Nor for Stryker, either. 
It's a shame, since that used to be the best place on the ships. 

 

I did a bit of Googling and found a woman by her name that is listed as a professional musician and lives in Ketchikan.  Ruth, is that "our" Diane?  

[RuthC]

29 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

 

I did a bit of Googling and found a woman by her name that is listed as a professional musician and lives in Ketchikan.  Ruth, is that "our" Diane?  

That's her. 

[rkacruiser]

21 minutes ago, RuthC said:

That's her. 

 

Thanks!  I have a Facebook account that I only had to open in order to access a virtual service for my Church when their You Tube connection didn't work several months ago.  

 

I now have more interest in trying to use my account.  

 

Diane is memorable in so many ways for me.  

[sjde]

Thanks for all the responses. We loved Perry Grant too.

[whogo]

I hate to mention it, but not only is Stryker not performing on Holland American, no one is performing on Holland America. It will be interesting to see what the entertainment will be when cruising resumes. Will HAL still have an agreement with BB King?

 

I think they will cut back on entertainers to save money.

 

At first thought, one piano man sounds cheaper than two dueling pianists. On second thought, a native English speaking piano man may be more expensive than two Ukrainian dueling pianists or even four Russian string players.

 

[enchantedvoyage]

It's a huge loss for HAL to have gotten rid of so much good music. On the Noordam recently there was canned music in the Ocean Bar instead of the trio they had. All the production shows had canned music also. There is a general lack of music for people to dance to. HAL piano bars with talented pianists  with personality like Styker or Christine Sutin or Barry from Boston, have been lost to other cruise lines (NCL, etc) or venues. 

Edited February 6, 2023 by enchantedvoyage