En Route with Hank in Japan and the Westerdam

[cruisemom42]

As if to make up for the earlier lousy weather, the gods smiled on us this morning on our way in to Shimizu and granted lovely views of Mt Fuji. The captain opened the bow area on deck 4 and I got this lovely photo:

 

 

Happy Easter all!!!

[AncientWanderer]

10 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

As if to make up for the earlier lousy weather, the gods smiled on us this morning on our way in to Shimizu and granted lovely views of Mt Fuji. The captain opened the bow area on deck 4 and I got this lovely photo:

 

 

Happy Easter all!!!

 

What a wonderful delight for you.  Happy Easter to you as well.

[cruisemom42]

6 hours ago, tamadig2001 said:

 

I am with you 100% about the freedom and flexibility of independent travel, not to mention the dollars saved. In fact, I believe that having to do prior research would give you a better understanding of the places you travel to. 

 

Monica

100% agree and also wanted to tell how much I’ve appreciated your knowledgeable posts and info sharing on our roll call re: various ports. Arigato!

[cruisemom42]

Easter Brunch at Pinnacle Grill: 

 

 

[oakridger]

The Easter brunch menu looks very nice.  Is there a charge for it? (I'm guessing yes!)

 

~Nancy

[cruisemom42]

1 minute ago, oakridger said:

The Easter brunch menu looks very nice.  Is there a charge for it? (I'm guessing yes!)

 

~Nancy

I booked it online precruise, I believe it was $20 but onboard it’s $25. I’m a non-status Mariner, so no idea if any discount would apply….

[bennybear]

3 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

Easter Brunch at Pinnacle Grill: 

 

 

That is a way nicer Easter brunch menu than precovid!  Even dessert!  

[cruisemom42]

5 minutes ago, bennybear said:

That is a way nicer Easter brunch menu than precovid!  Even dessert!  

 

The egg is vanilla ice cream and inside was Nutella!!!  It’s sitting on a base similar in consistency to a chocolate rice krispy cookie or candy bar — it was yummy 😋 

[ontheweb]

9 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

Easter Brunch at Pinnacle Grill: 

 

 

$4 for the freshly squeezed orange juice? Do they squeeze it on front of you at the table?

[cruisemom42]

LAST PERFORMANCE AT LINCOLN CENTER STAGE ON WESTERDAM

 

Well, it’s a sad day. I just attended the last performance of the LCS group on Westerdam. They confirmed they are leaving the ship tomorrow (after 5 months), and no new classical group is coming on.

 

The talk in the room before the concert was fairly bitter. Seems a large number were 4-5 star Mariners. I hope every one of them will complain vociferously!

 

They burned the barn down in this last concert including an encore after the crowd just wouldn’t leave. They also welcomed their sound crew on stage to thank them personally - very classy.

 

Some photos:

 

 

 

 

 

They will be greatly missed. ☹️

[Hlitner]

Hard to follow Cruisemom's depressing about the Lincoln Center Stage.  It almost sounds like HAL has become self-destructive and looking for a way to alienate just about all their fans.  But for a brighter note, we had a fantastic port day on Shimizu.

 

DW and I went on an 8-person private tour arranged by a wonderful Canadian lady.  We had an excellent English-speaking guide and driver in a nice van.  Our tour cost about $110 per person (for 5 hours) and HAL had nothing comparable.  Our tour was all about Mt Fuji, and we went to several viewing sites, a nearby waterfall area, and a Shinto Shrine (to the Gods of Mt Fuji), Our little group of 8 consisted of 4 Americans, 2 Canadians and 2 English.  A fantastic group of folks able and willing to deal with the walks and steps on our tour The various views of Mt Fuji were fantastic, and we lucked out with the perfect weather.

 

We returned to the ship in time to get ready for cocktails and dinner.  We met some friends (who are disembarking tomorrow) for cocktails and went to the MDR for a so-so dinner, After dinner we saw the best show of the cruise which was a hybrid show made up of the Step One dancers, duel piano players, and a terrific singer from the Rolling Stone Lounge Band.  It was the biggest crowd we have seen in the theater, which proves the point that if HAL puts on something akin to a Production Show, the folks will come!  IMHO, this was the only decent "Production Show" of the 14-day cruise.  After the show we went to the Rolling Stone Lounge for a drink (and show) and that entertainment ended at 10:30!  I kid you not when I say that was the end of all the entertainment on our ship!  At 10:30 you either go to bed, sit at near empty bar (only 1 is open after 11) or go to your cabin for sleep.  I will admit to normally being a night owl and find 10:30 a ridiculous time to end entertainment on any vessel.

 

Tomorrow, it is back to Yokohama for a "turn around" day.  DW and I have been debating taking the train into Tokyo vs just spending the day in Yokohama with a nice lunch in China Town.  As independent travelers we will likely make our decision when we get off the ship in the morning.  If we do decide to go back into Tokyo (about a 45 min train ride) we need to decide among many options in that huge city.  While we are sad that many of our newfound friends are leaving the cruise, we are also excited at the prospect of welcoming new cruise mates. 

 

Hank

 

If the suits in Seattle think that they can attract a younger crowd by ending entertainment at 10:30, they should all find a new profession!  I recently read a Celebrity blog about a late-night comedy show (about 11:30) that was packed!  On HAL, not only are there no late-night shows, but adult comedy does not exist!  

 

 

 

 

I

 

[GeezerCouple]

2 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

LAST PERFORMANCE AT LINCOLN CENTER STAGE ON WESTERDAM

 

Well, it’s a sad day. I just attended the last performance of the LCS group on Westerdam. They confirmed they are leaving the ship tomorrow (after 5 months), and no new classical group is coming on.

 

The talk in the room before the concert was fairly bitter. Seems a large number were 4-5 star Mariners. I hope every one of them will complain vociferously!

 

They burned the barn down in this last concert including an encore after the crowd just wouldn’t leave. They also welcomed their sound crew on stage to thank them personally - very classy.

 

Some photos:

 

 

 

 

 

They will be greatly missed. ☹️

 

"...and no new classical group is coming on..."

 

What a shame! 

We had belatedly "discovered" HAL just before Covid (our cruise ended mid-December, 2019; we had made some reservations on board for the future, but nooooo.... they weren't to be...).

 

We fell in love with LCS.  Amazing!  What a wonderful surprise that was.

We were genuinely impressed with the quality of the musicians.

 

The room was way too small for the number of people who wanted to watch, so I would arrive very early, with a good book, and peacefully sit there in a prime seat (first row, center... that was me 😉 ), with a seat saved for DH.  We absolutely *love* classical music, and we help support our local world-class Symphony and also a period chamber orchestra.  I had read here on CC when LCS was announced, but I never thought it would have such good musicians... or we *would* have booked with HAL sooner! 

To be at sea with an excellent chamber group?  Heaven indeed!

 

HAL would have found us on quite a few of their cruises (except for the horrible misfortune of Covid, in so many ways).

 

Now?  Okay, we are often itinerary-driven, which is how we found ourselves on HAL, on the Noordam in NZ and Australia in late Nov/Dec 2019.  But there is often more than one cruise line in a particular area, if one is flexible on dates, and we certainly are.  If there are other "classical music cruises", we sure hope to find them...

 

Yes, LCS will be greatly missed.

I guess we should feel fortunate that we had that one special cruise, with some very special musicians.

 

We may end up spending more of our "cruise dollars" on more of our Opera, Symphony, Ballet, and Theatre trips to NYC, with some to London.

But we'd both rather enjoy good classical music on a ship...  the best of both worlds!

We are glad we had those two weeks once, at least.

 

Thank you, Lincoln Center Stage musicians!

🥂 👏👏 🥂

 

And serious complaints to HAL, which we will absolutely send along separately!

You had something very, very special with LCS, and the quality of the musicians and the music selected was a very nice surprise!

 

GC

 

[bennybear]

 

wow!  DH is drooling, he loves Nutella! 

 

12 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

The egg is vanilla ice cream and inside was Nutella!!!  It’s sitting on a base similar in consistency to a chocolate rice krispy cookie or candy bar — it was yummy 😋 

 

7 hours ago, ontheweb said:

$4 for the freshly squeezed orange juice? Do they squeeze it on front of you at the table?

I paid 8$ in NYC at least 10 years ago, so seems like a bargain to me. 

[LAFFNVEGAS]

18 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

As if to make up for the earlier lousy weather, the gods smiled on us this morning on our way in to Shimizu and granted lovely views of Mt Fuji. The captain opened the bow area on deck 4 and I got this lovely photo:

 

 

Happy Easter all!!!

WOW, very Impressive photo!!  Happy Easter to you as well although as I write this it is 4:02 AM Monday for you.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

6 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

LAST PERFORMANCE AT LINCOLN CENTER STAGE ON WESTERDAM

 

Well, it’s a sad day. I just attended the last performance of the LCS group on Westerdam. They confirmed they are leaving the ship tomorrow (after 5 months), and no new classical group is coming on.

 

The talk in the room before the concert was fairly bitter. Seems a large number were 4-5 star Mariners. I hope every one of them will complain vociferously!

 

They will be greatly missed. ☹️

YES Lincoln Center Stage will be greatly missed but HAL is between a rock and a hard place financially, I think worse than many of the other cruise lines. They are trying to find a way to be more profitable but a failing at doing this.So they instead are just cutting everything they think that does NOT make them profit. What they have forgotten is that many go on cruises not just for travel but for the entainment and experiences while on board the ship. They have forgotten the old business term "You have to spend money to make money" and as Hank mentioned something similair Build it and they will come. Sadly HAL has had the mentality of shutting down the ship early for many years.(I do think it is worse now) I can still remember being on board the Zaandam for a 10 day cruise on my 50th birthday ( I am now 68) we spent 2 hours going from one venue to another trying to find somewhere to enjoy some time of  entertainment. Things were listed in the Daily but nothing was happening. We went to Ocean Bar, to Explorers Lounge to Crow's Nest several times and absolutely nothing. Sad to say that there was no where to celebrate.

Many of the other cruise lines have had cutbacks but they are still offering some type of entertainment. Even Princess had live music happening in every lounge this past December while I saw cutbacks with them they still wanted people out and about on the ship nightly.

 

I will add that I am impressed that they had a nice spread in the Pinnacle for Easter Brunch. That is very nice.

Edited April 9, 2023 by LAFFNVEGAS
added more

[MomentsNotice]

11 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

LAST PERFORMANCE AT LINCOLN CENTER STAGE ON WESTERDAM

 

Well, it’s a sad day. I just attended the last performance of the LCS group on Westerdam. They confirmed they are leaving the ship tomorrow (after 5 months), and no new classical group is coming on.

 

The talk in the room before the concert was fairly bitter. Seems a large number were 4-5 star Mariners. I hope every one of them will complain vociferously!

 

They burned the barn down in this last concert including an encore after the crowd just wouldn’t leave. They also welcomed their sound crew on stage to thank them personally - very classy.

 

Some photos:

 

 

 

 

 

They will be greatly missed. ☹️

are you sure that a new LCS group will not onboard after the crossing to USA????

in my post #158 I noted that I had been on Oosterdam last November and it was strongly rumored that HAL would shortly be discontinuing LCS as we know it and replacing with a roving classical group playing a few concerts on the main stage then transferring to another ship. Can anyone ask the entertainment director if this is in fact true?

 

if so we need a MASSIVE letter writing campaign to corporate letting them know that this change will affect their revenue. These groups are not that costly to HAL. each member gets a single inside cabin in crew area, they eat in the buffet and they receive a small salary and transportation to/from ship. They do it for the experience, because they love to play and want to see the world while they are young. Or so I have been told at the musicians Q&A sessions. 
 

I have already chosen a Cunard sailing around Japan for this month rather than HAL partly based on no LCS available and I plan to focus on celebrity and the smaller ships which still seem to have a pianist for evening entertainment. Too many cuts to HAL for me. Sad. 
 

would love some confirmation of the future of LCS from someone in the know. 

[cruisemom42]

17 minutes ago, MomentsNotice said:

are you sure that a new LCS group will not onboard after the crossing to USA????

in my post #158 I noted that I had been on Oosterdam last November and it was strongly rumored that HAL would shortly be discontinuing LCS as we know it and replacing with a roving classical group playing a few concerts on the main stage then transferring to another ship. Can anyone ask the entertainment director if this is in fact true?

 

if so we need a MASSIVE letter writing campaign to corporate letting them know that this change will affect their revenue. These groups are not that costly to HAL. each member gets a single inside cabin in crew area, they eat in the buffet and they receive a small salary and transportation to/from ship. They do it for the experience, because they love to play and want to see the world while they are young. Or so I have been told at the musicians Q&A sessions. 
 

I have already chosen a Cunard sailing around Japan for this month rather than HAL partly based on no LCS available and I plan to focus on celebrity and the smaller ships which still seem to have a pianist for evening entertainment. Too many cuts to HAL for me. Sad. 
 

would love some confirmation of the future of LCS from someone in the know. 

I can’t profess to be in the know and the only time I’ve seen the cruise/entertainment director is when he’s on the World Stage introducing a show. (Speaking of which I thought it a bit shoddy that no HAL staff was at the last LCS show to thank them…..)

 

All I do know is that there appears to be a new act and/or venue replacing them that will debut tomorrow night:

 

[kw@sea]

Really enjoying this thread, as this is a cruise I would love to take.

 

I had to laugh at the name of the new act replacing LCS. Third Avenue West is the street in Seattle where the HAL HQ is located. :)

[LAFFNVEGAS]

20 minutes ago, kw@sea said:

Really enjoying this thread, as this is a cruise I would love to take.

 

I had to laugh at the name of the new act replacing LCS. Third Avenue West is the street in Seattle where the HAL HQ is located. 🙂

Maybe it's the HAL Bean Counters coming on board to explain cut backs as they song and dance their way into convincing HAL Mariners that Less is Better while they can collect their higher pay check.

[oakridger]

On another current thread they discuss Third Avenue West.  It's live music for listening and dancing on Eurodam and Nieuw Amsterdam.  Read about it in the link:

 

 

It isn't the same as LCS with classical type music, but it does sound like a great addition to the live music offerings!  To me, there doesn't have to be music with a business arrangement with the  Lincoln Center but a well chosen group of musicians who play that type of music would work also.  Hired by HAL directly might save HAL some funds and still deliver what the customers want.  I stress that the quality of talent hired still needs to be there!

 

~Nancy

[LAFFNVEGAS]

4 minutes ago, oakridger said:

On another current thread they discuss Third Avenue West.  It's live music for listening and dancing on Eurodam and Nieuw Amsterdam.  Read about it in the link:

 

 

It isn't the same as LCS with classical type music, but it does sound like a great addition to the live music offerings!  To me, there doesn't have to be music with a business arrangement with the  Lincoln Center but a well chosen group of musicians who play that type of music would work also.  Hired by HAL directly might save HAL some funds and still deliver what the customers want.  I stress that the quality of talent hired still needs to be there!

 

~Nancy

Totally missed this thread, ....interesting while not LCS this sounds like it might be good if they are talented and perform a bit more frequently than once or twice a week. Sounds like others have enjoyed them. As mentioned it may have been put together by HAL rather than a Entertainment Management Group that was a middle man collecting money. If HAL can same money and bring back entertainment more power to them. I will stand corrected if they can bring back in some good entertainment.

[oakridger]

Maybe Hank or the others onboard Westerdam can check into this new group and get back to us land lubbers!

 

Thanks,

~Nancy

Edited April 10, 2023 by oakridger

[REOVA]

On 4/4/2023 at 10:04 PM, Hlitner said:

.    On our various cruises in the past two years we have experienced all kinds of shortages on Princess, Seabourn and now HAL (all part of the HAL group).  No shortages when we cruised in MSC Yacht Club.  

YES MSC surprised us when I asked about wines by the glass in YC restaurant. They were out of a few but had no problem opening bottles of similar grapes (retrieved from different venues) to pour me glasses every night. I expected to see bottle charges on my statement but was never charged. That would never happen on today's HAL. 

[REOVA]

On 4/5/2023 at 2:47 AM, Copper10-8 said:

 

Could be another change and not for the better! In the past, the No. 2 cruise activities staff individual, formerly known as the ACD, was always the DJ. No bueno! 😔

I betcha there is a crew DJ below deck that could provide if HAL wanted it. Similar to what they had Nyron do on the GWC last month at the Lido pool. (Even though that's a "Grand" cruise, HAL could make very simple changes on others). 

[Copper10-8]

3 hours ago, REOVA said:

I betcha there is a crew DJ below deck that could provide if HAL wanted it. Similar to what they had Nyron do on the GWC last month at the Lido pool. (Even though that's a "Grand" cruise, HAL could make very simple changes on others). 

 

Yep, been to many a crew party and there is always a DJ to be found among the crew, most of the time with extensive equipment brought from home. We will see if the "cruise activities staff" DJ has completely disappeared from HAL in about three weeks on Nieuw A.

 

Personally, I think it's long overdue that HAL's vice president of Entertainment Enrichment, Guest Experience & Product Development, Bill Prince is shown the exit stage left, Do not Pass Go, and do not collect $200 after 19 years on the job!     

 

Edited April 10, 2023 by Copper10-8