Well done HAL

[Hlitner]

2 hours ago, madera1 said:

We are on the NA now and I have not noticed any change in service. Even though we said we didn’t require evening service we have had it and towels have been changed both morning and night. We have eaten at the Lido for breakfast and lunch and can always get a table. The staff are friendly and food has been very good.  We have fixed late dining at a table for ten and our waters have known our names from day one. One of the waters has been making oragami  gifts for us each night. We have been to a few EXC talks and those have been well attended. The BB Kings has drawn large crowds each night. Trivia is held several times a day and is also well attended. Overall I would not hesitate to book this cruise or another .

And how is the evening entertainment in the main theater?

 

Hank

[ontheweb]

13 hours ago, Hlitner said:

 

I once asked the leader of one of the BB King groups why they were called a "BB King" group when they did not play his music or other blues/jazz standards.  He told me that the repertoire was put together during pre-cruise rehearsals and the HAL folks had to approve much of the music.  It turned out that the musicians in that particular group all had a jazz/blues background but were not allowed to do much from those genres.  Another HAL mystery.  I am not so sure that BB King would have approved of his name being lent to groups that played Irene Cara music.

 

Hank

I wonder if BB King's estate is paid for the use of his name by HAL. And if so, do they have any approval of what is played there if it misrepresents who BB King was?

[cruisemom42]

2 hours ago, ontheweb said:

I wonder if BB King's estate is paid for the use of his name by HAL. And if so, do they have any approval of what is played there if it misrepresents who BB King was?

 

The whole thing is a "partnership" between HAL and the "B.B. King Blues Clubs" (of which I know there is one in Memphis but not sure where else...  And you can be sure B.B. King's estate gets a cut.

 

I'm quite sure HAL pays to use the name and the theme. At least initially, there was supposed to be an effort to present  "the true sounds of the American music genre of Memphis Blues performed by the B.B. King Blues Club Band" (quoted from the HAL blog referenced below).  There were/are supposed to be specialty drinks from the original Clubs as well.

 

https://www.hollandamerica.com/blog/topics/arts-entertainment/eurodam-to-feature-new-b-b-kings-blues-clubs-experience/

 

[mcrcruiser]

We got to wonder as there are positive posts & then doubted   posts . Since we haven't been able to  sail since 2019  on koningsdam ,,10 night Southern Caribbean & older Rotterdam doe a 7 night western Caribbean   .We are now wondering about the entertainment value . Our first  cruise coming up in March 13 m2022 on Koningsdam to the 7 night Mexican Riviera  .  HAL has not established health prtocols got the 2022  sailing season as of Sept 10th  . 

 

what will decide our future cruising on HAL ships is  the food quality & variety , the service we expect to be very good  & of cruse the variety & quality of entertainment  .Then we would continue our loyalty to HAL based on our experiences  

 

 We will also do the same for our B2B Dec 3 & 10 cruises on Discovery Princess 

 

 Because we have been to the Mexican Riviera so many times we  now sail for the ambiances & service on the ships . We no longer fly  ;thus ,Mexico ,coastal Calif ,Hawaii & if Princess resumes the Alaska route round trip from San Pedro  Ca  . These are the cruises available  to us   .Oh & RCCK Navigator of the Seas is doing a 4 night Catalina Island Ensenada cruise    Followed by the 7 night Mexican rivera cruise which we plan to book in 2023  ,making them a 11 night total 

[ontheweb]

3 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

The whole thing is a "partnership" between HAL and the "B.B. King Blues Clubs" (of which I know there is one in Memphis but not sure where else...  And you can be sure B.B. King's estate gets a cut.

 

I'm quite sure HAL pays to use the name and the theme. At least initially, there was supposed to be an effort to present  "the true sounds of the American music genre of Memphis Blues performed by the B.B. King Blues Club Band" (quoted from the HAL blog referenced below).  There were/are supposed to be specialty drinks from the original Clubs as well.

 

https://www.hollandamerica.com/blog/topics/arts-entertainment/eurodam-to-feature-new-b-b-kings-blues-clubs-experience/

 

There are several of them, not just Memphis.

 

Homepage - B.B. King's Blues Club (bbkings.com)

 

And if you scroll to the bottom, you see the one on the HAL ships, and it says "straight from Beale Street".

[Tampa Girl]

21 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

 

This is not a recent development.  On CC and this Message Board, I have expressed my opinions about this for some time.  A certain executive needs to retire.  Since there was such a long period of time when there were no cruises, what was the excuse to continue to keep him on the payroll?  

 

 

 

 

 

 

To which HAL executive are you referring?  The one that I thinking of has left HAL, although he remains within Carnival Corporation.

[Borge]

On 9/10/2021 at 1:00 PM, RetiredRich said:

The muster drill was much easier and more sanitary since you don't have to crowd into your boat area.  You watch a safety drill in your cabin and sometime in the afternoon go to your boat area and a worker will check your room card to show you went there.

Thanks for update on the safety drill

[rkacruiser]

2 hours ago, Tampa Girl said:

 

To which HAL executive are you referring?  The one that I thinking of has left HAL, although he remains within Carnival Corporation.

 

The Director of Entertainment whose last name begins with the letter P.   If you know otherwise, I would appreciate being informed.  

[RuthC]

37 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

 

The Director of Entertainment whose last name begins with the letter P.   If you know otherwise, I would appreciate being informed.  

A real 'Prince' of a guy. 😉

[Hlitner]

1 hour ago, rkacruiser said:

 

The Director of Entertainment whose last name begins with the letter P.   If you know otherwise, I would appreciate being informed.  

Hal Prince has been dead for a few years!  Oops, I think that is the wrong "P."

[bcummin]

Are you thinking of Bill Prince in Seattle?

Willem "Bill" Prins, who died a couple of years ago, was responsible for the HAL Jakarta school.  A truly great man.

Barbara

Edited September 12, 2021 by bcummin

[madera1]

On 9/10/2021 at 5:44 PM, Hlitner said:

And how is the evening entertainment in the main theater?

 

Hank

We only went to the main theater twice in the evening. We had 8 ok late seating and we would be one of the last tables still in the main dining room. Perhaps because there were 6 at our table and we enjoyed visiting with each other. They did have comedians who performed at the BB Kings venue and we caught part of one act. 

[Hlitner]

32 minutes ago, madera1 said:

We only went to the main theater twice in the evening. We had 8 ok late seating and we would be one of the last tables still in the main dining room. Perhaps because there were 6 at our table and we enjoyed visiting with each other. They did have comedians who performed at the BB Kings venue and we caught part of one act. 

We would get along :).  DW and I enjoy sharing late dining tables and are often the last out of the MDR.  Most of our HAL tables have turned out to be lots of fun.  Given the situation with HAL entertainment our MDR tables are sometimes the best entertainment on the ship.  We really hoped that HAL would upgrade their entertainment after COVID but have not seen any online posts to give us a reason for optimism.

 

Hank

[aliaschief]

I really miss the main show room entertainment of years past. The latest dance troupe numbers, though talented artist, just don’t satisfy. 

 

Hopefully down the road when Hal gets back to full operations and cash flow they will readdress Show Room At Sea entertainment.
 

 

[rkacruiser]

21 hours ago, aliaschief said:

I really miss the main show room entertainment of years past. The latest dance troupe numbers, though talented artist, just don’t satisfy. 

 

Hopefully down the road when Hal gets back to full operations and cash flow they will readdress Show Room At Sea entertainment.
 

 

 

The head honcho in Seattle that overseas entertainment needs to be replaced.  Chief, it's not any more complex than that.  How many years have we read comments about the disappointing entertainment offered on HAL?  

 

[rotjeknor]

Just got back from the Eurodam. Some changes : no towel animals ( really don't care), more can be done with the navigator app like having tour laundry picked up, ask for extra pillows etc. But asking the room stewards works just as well. I noticed far less stuff on paper. No shop " offers" or future cruises on paper.

Service and food were absolutely great. Everything on the Lido is handed to you, just point and it is put on your plate. Just as getting a drink, a steward operates the coffee and iceboater/tea/lemonade machines.

As far as entertainment goes :A presentation/movie on HAL's history ( very nice), Ruben Villagrand (twice) and the dancers (three times). And of course BB King, Billboard on Board and the fabulous artists of the Lincoln Center Stage.

Everyone wears a mask ( except when actively eating or drinking), a pcr or antigen test two days before disembarkation, two stations to do a DIY temperature check, all surface are being cleaned even more than usual. So I would say Covid proof !

No complaints on anything, except that I had to leave after a week....

 

[VMax1700]

On 9/11/2021 at 6:14 PM, ontheweb said:

There are several of them, not just Memphis.

 

Homepage - B.B. King's Blues Club (bbkings.com)

 

And if you scroll to the bottom, you see the one on the HAL ships, and it says "straight from Beale Street".

The musicians are employed by BB King Corp.  Pre covid BBK sent a sound specialist to get the band into shape and mix the sound properly (but not necessarily quietly!) who would be onboard for the first cruise of each new band.  The HAL guy in the sound booth has very limited parameters to adjust the sound, as it is more switching between preset sound for band, DJ, entertainment etc.

[VMax1700]

On 9/11/2021 at 11:39 AM, ontheweb said:

I wonder if BB King's estate is paid for the use of his name by HAL. And if so, do they have any approval of what is played there if it misrepresents who BB King was?

The auditions page on BBK specifies.......

• The performance repertoire includes his within the Blues, Classic Soul, R & B, & Classic Rock genres. Artists must be able to play or sing like the original recordings in the original keys.

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, VMax1700 said:

The auditions page on BBK specifies.......

• The performance repertoire includes his within the Blues, Classic Soul, R & B, & Classic Rock genres. Artists must be able to play or sing like the original recordings in the original keys.

But people have been reporting that they do not play BB King's repertoire.

[Boytjie]

10 hours ago, rotjeknor said:

... more can be done with the navigator app like having tour laundry picked up, ask for extra pillows etc. But asking the room stewards works just as well.

 

 

I used the Navigator app on the Nieuw Amsterdam to request a tray to be picked up and for extra ice to be delivered. It seemed to happen much faster than the old way of calling someone or looking for your cabin steward.

 

Click on "Experiences" then "At your service". If I remember correctly it lists a whole lot of service request options and maybe even a way to type in something specific.

Edited September 14, 2021 by Boytjie

[cruisemom42]

3 hours ago, ontheweb said:

But people have been reporting that they do not play BB King's repertoire.

 

I think that audition blurb has a typo (on the actual website, not the person who posted it) and is meant to say:

 

The performance repertoire includes hits within the Blues, Classic Soul, R & B, & Classic Rock genres. Artists must be able to play or sing like the original recordings in the original keys.

 

I don't think the intent was ever to play only the repertoire of BB King himself -- it's an evocation, not a duplication.

 

Here's a HAL blog entry with a playlist of 20 songs meant to remind people of BB Kings at sea. Presumably they are in fairly frequent rotation onboard:

 

20 Songs That Bring B.B. King's Blues Club Into Your Home - Holland America Blog

 

Notice there is only one song credited to BB King, plus one duet with Eric Clapton.

 

[VMax1700]

15 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

I think that audition blurb has a typo

Thank you!  I knew there was a typo and tried to work out which word(s) was missing.  It was only a letter 't'.

[ontheweb]

13 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

I think that audition blurb has a typo (on the actual website, not the person who posted it) and is meant to say:

 

The performance repertoire includes hits within the Blues, Classic Soul, R & B, & Classic Rock genres. Artists must be able to play or sing like the original recordings in the original keys.

 

I don't think the intent was ever to play only the repertoire of BB King himself -- it's an evocation, not a duplication.

 

Here's a HAL blog entry with a playlist of 20 songs meant to remind people of BB Kings at sea. Presumably they are in fairly frequent rotation onboard:

 

20 Songs That Bring B.B. King's Blues Club Into Your Home - Holland America Blog

 

Notice there is only one song credited to BB King, plus one duet with Eric Clapton.

 

Two of those songs are credited to the artist who covered them rather than the artist who wrote and first recorded the song.

 

Respect was made into a hit by Aretha Franklin but is originallyby Otis Redding. Proud Mary was a hit song well before Tina Turner (not Ike and Tina Turner as listed there) recorded it. It was written by John Fogerty, and recorded by his group Creedence Clearwater Revival.

[cruisemom42]

4 hours ago, ontheweb said:

Proud Mary was a hit song well before Tina Turner (not Ike and Tina Turner as listed there) recorded it. It was written by John Fogerty, and recorded by his group Creedence Clearwater Revival.

 

Not to get too into the weeds, but it was recorded by Ike and Tina Turner and it was the second single from their album Workin’ Together (1970). Yes, CCR did it first. Yes, it became very identified with (just) Tina Turner later.

 

I wonder if the choices of artist listed reflect which version is the preferred "model" for the BB King Club bands....?

 

[ontheweb]

2 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Not to get too into the weeds, but it was recorded by Ike and Tina Turner and it was the second single from their album Workin’ Together (1970). Yes, CCR did it first. Yes, it became very identified with (just) Tina Turner later.

 

I wonder if the choices of artist listed reflect which version is the preferred "model" for the BB King Club bands....?

 

Yes, CCR obviously did it first because they, well John Fogerty who really was the group, wrote the song.

 

There is an anecdote in an autobiography he wrote in which he was called up on stage to sing and refused to do Credence songs (because the copyrights were basically stolen from him by their manager). Dylan tells him to sing the songs because people think Tina Turner wrote the song.