Any News From HAL About Upgrading Entertainment ?

[mcrcruiser]

We are hoping that HAL will upgrade their entertainment around their ships .

 

 Has any one noticed any entertainment upgrades  ?  Also. where can you dance to sime mild music for us older folks ?

 

TIA

[albingirl]

No

[SilvertoGold]

Most ships have an hour of ballroom dancing to recorded music around 5 pm.

[Roz]

This is what I posted after my Alaska cruise on the Noordam:

 

• The contract and affiliate fees for Lincoln Center Stage, America's Test Kitchen, Rolling Stone Lounge, etc., along with port fees and taxes, are increasingly expensive.  HAL hopes to bring back LCS and ATK in some form, but they will be called something different.  

• Production shows and a ship band (remember the HAL Cats?) will be gradually brought back.  One of the obstacles to doing this is that the musicians and performers that appear in the World Stage, Rolling Stone Lounge, and Billboard Onboard onboard can't perform in other venues according to the terms of their contract. 

What is "mild music", and how old ARE you?  Anyone born from the late 1940s on up was raised on rock 'n' roll.  🤪

[Ken the cruiser]

53 minutes ago, Roz said:

This is what I posted after my Alaska cruise on the Noordam:

 

• The contract and affiliate fees for Lincoln Center Stage, America's Test Kitchen, Rolling Stone Lounge, etc., along with port fees and taxes, are increasingly expensive.  HAL hopes to bring back LCS and ATK in some form, but they will be called something different.  

• Production shows and a ship band (remember the HAL Cats?) will be gradually brought back.  One of the obstacles to doing this is that the musicians and performers that appear in the World Stage, Rolling Stone Lounge, and Billboard Onboard onboard can't perform in other venues according to the terms of their contract. 

What is "mild music", and how old ARE you?  Anyone born from the late 1940s on up was raised on rock 'n' roll.  🤪

That would be awesome if HAL brought back production shows and guest entertainers performing in the main theater again! And hopefully by the time we sail on our 21-day Panama Canal cruise on the Eurodam in April 2025!
 

FWIW that’s the cruise we chose to dip our toes back into HAL waters. We used to enjoy cruising with HAL a lot. But we’re just not lounge people, so we found greener pastures on other cruise lines.  But like I said, that would be awesome if they brought back nightly main theater entertainment again. 😁

[iflyrc5]

7 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

That would be awesome if HAL brought back production shows and guest entertainers performing in the main theater again! And hopefully by the time we sail on our 21-day Panama Canal cruise on the Eurodam in April 2025!
 

FWIW that’s the cruise we chose to dip our toes back into HAL waters. We used to enjoy cruising with HAL a lot. But we’re just not lounge people, so we found greener pastures on other cruise lines.  But like I said, that would be awesome if they brought back nightly main theater entertainment again. 😁

We had guest entertainers on the World Stage on the Eurodam the last 3 weeks.

 

[Ken the cruiser]

Just now, iflyrc5 said:

We had guest entertainers on the World Stage on the Eurodam the last 3 weeks.

 

So there was some sort of entertainment offered every night on the World Stage? If so, that is awesome! Sounds like we can start getting really excited about that cruise now!

[iflyrc5]

16 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

So there was some sort of entertainment offered every night on the World Stage? If so, that is awesome! Sounds like we can start getting really excited about that cruise now!

Yes - one night there was a last minute substitution of a movie instead of the Step One Dancers because of rough seas.  Yes we were on for 28 days and had live entertainment every night on the World Stage.  Some was excellent - some was good - some was OK - one (the comedian) was bad.  Just my opinion. Just like people's food tastes - some might love the entertainment (I really like the Humanity show by Step One) and others may hate it.

[FlaMariner]

8 hours ago, mcrcruiser said:

Has any one noticed any entertainment upgrades  ?

 

Not sure what you are looking for w/entertainment but we sailed 13 nights on the Oosterdam last month and I can pass along the following:

 

the Main Stage was busy every evening....

 

3 different production shows

comedian 2 nights

instrumentalist 2 or 3 nights

vocalist 2 nights

local performers

HAL Origin Story (first night)

....and the captains toast

and other stuff I cannot recall.....

 

Main Stage was busy during the day with a guest lecture, EXC talks, movies, future cruise presentations

 

The schedule was packed with all kinds of stuff.....towel critter making, wine tastings, trivia, work out classes, ping pong and on and on....

 

Also, mariners lunch, mariner cocktail party welcome......and art auction if you are so inclined....lol.

 

Also, in the evening....Rolling Stones band and Billboard Onboard were playing...

 

Small band in the Ocean Bar (and folks were dancing)

 

Westerdam Ball....the Captain and officers danced with the guests.....

 

and the casino was busy.....

 

We love the entertainment on HAL (Billboard Onboard is our favorite).   Just rattling off from what I recall.....What's missing?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[cruisemom42]

2 hours ago, FlaMariner said:

the Main Stage was busy every evening....

 

3 different production shows

 

Are you referring to Step One? 

 

I don't consider them to be "production shows".....

 

 

[FlaMariner]

2 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Are you referring to Step One? 

 

I don't consider them to be "production shows".....

 

 

 

Yes...step one.

[mcrcruiser]

7 hours ago, albingirl said:

No

Perhaps you should read on ?

[Shmoo here]

2 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Are you referring to Step One? 

 

I don't consider them to be "production shows".....

 

 

Me, either.

 

While I like dancing in shows, I don't feel the Step One shows are what I'd call "big" entertainment.  More like a dance studio recital.

[Blackduck59]

So many of the responses on this thread show how objective everyone's taste in "Entertainment" is.

One person's idea of a production show is another's dance recital. Apparently all baby boomers are rock & rollers. News flash we're not, some of us have varied tastes in music, some are rockers , some like country, others classical. Everyone has there own tastes, hopefully HAL will find a solution that appeals to a wide array of likes for their guests. It just feels like there is a slight lull right now while HAL tries to come up with a plan. Hopefully it's a good one and it doesn't take years to pull their head out.

[CruiserBruce]

Well said @Blackduck59

[cruisemom42]

15 minutes ago, Blackduck59 said:

So many of the responses on this thread show how objective everyone's taste in "Entertainment" is.

One person's idea of a production show is another's dance recital. Apparently all baby boomers are rock & rollers. News flash we're not, some of us have varied tastes in music, some are rockers , some like country, others classical. Everyone has there own tastes, hopefully HAL will find a solution that appeals to a wide array of likes for their guests. It just feels like there is a slight lull right now while HAL tries to come up with a plan. Hopefully it's a good one and it doesn't take years to pull their head out.

 

While I can completely agree with what you say about varied tastes, I think it's a bit kind to say that there is a "slight lull".  I'm not sure you realize that the lack of production shows, "dark nights" in the main theatre or showings of movies, etc. predated Covid by several years and they still have not come up with any real replacement for that.

 

The excuse at the time was the initiation of their "music walk" focus -- but as we know, several of the components of that have also now been scuttled as well.

 

 

 

[Will_Dieterich]

Should not be that hard to replace the classical music, you don't need to pay the fees for lincoln center.  Tie in with some musical school and get 2 violins, a viola, cello, and piano and you a have very wide range of music from a string quartet, wide variety of solo, duels, and trios so that they could just stay on the ship and do multiple different shows a day.

 

Even with Costa they were flying in and out a new main act for every night.

 

 

[Mary229]

To keep up with that kind of news you should bookmark this page

 

https://www.carnivalcorp.com/media-center/news-releases

[Ken the cruiser]

8 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

While I can completely agree with what you say about varied tastes, I think it's a bit kind to say that there is a "slight lull".  I'm not sure you realize that the lack of production shows, "dark nights" in the main theatre or showings of movies, etc. predated Covid by several years and they still have not come up with any real replacement for that.

 

The excuse at the time was the initiation of their "music walk" focus -- but as we know, several of the components of that have also now been scuttled as well.

 

I could be wrong, but I’m thinking around 2018 is when they started backing off the theater entertainment and moving more towards the Music Walk. I remember we booked a 40-day B2B cruise on the Maasdam in Oct 2019 because they had redesigned it for their In-Depth EXC program outfitted with $50k diesel powered zodiacs and everything! They had 4-6 lectures on sea days and awesome theater shows every evening as we circumnavigated Australia. Unfortunately, that program shortly fizzled after that as their Music Walk strategy continued to be fleet-wide. Of course, the Maasdam was later sold to the highest bidder I believe.

[MISTER 67]

17 hours ago, SilvertoGold said:

Most ships have an hour of ballroom dancing to recorded music around 5 pm.

In comparison to better days when we had a small band and dancing nightly in the Ocean Bar. We are boycotting HAL until the food and entertainment improves to what is was in the past. We are hoping things eventually do improve because HAL still has the best cruise ships on the high seas.

[FlaMariner]

52 minutes ago, MISTER 67 said:

In comparison to better days when we had a small band and dancing nightly in the Ocean Bar.

 

On the Westerdam last month, the Ocean Bar had a small band playing every evening and a few folks were dancing.

 

(We did not partake but we would see that when departing first sitting dinner and walking past)

Edited November 4, 2023 by FlaMariner

[Hlitner]

43 minutes ago, MISTER 67 said:

In comparison to better days when we had a small band and dancing nightly in the Ocean Bar. We are boycotting HAL until the food and entertainment improves to what is was in the past. We are hoping things eventually do improve because HAL still has the best cruise ships on the high seas.

Like you, we are not booking any future HAL cruises (and we are 5*) until, or if, things improve in terms of both entertainment and cuisine.  There are plenty of other cruise lines (since our last HAL cruise in May we have been on Seabourn and Explora Journeys and have upcoming bookings with Princess, Oceania, Silverseas and Seabourn).  We think that the only ways that HAL continue to be competitive are with price and itineraries.  But we no longer are willing to sacrifice the overall quality (with entertainment, service, and cuisine) that are better with other lines.

 

As a reminder (from our past live blog), the only good entertainment on our 42 day cruise was the Lincoln Center Stage group (which ended 2 weeks into our voyage), and the excellent Rolling Stone Lounge Group (formally BB King group).  But the latter only performed 2-3 sets (5 days a week) and often ended at either 10:45 or 11.  Step 1 dancers cancelled more performances than they performed (they do not work on a moving ship) and their shows were the same-old same-old stuff they have done since HAL abandoned song/dance Production shows.

 

I do sometimes think that many HAL fans have no idea what they are missing on other lines.  As a simple example, our recent Explora Journey 1 cruise (which cost us about the same as a suite on HAL) had 5 dining venues with absolutely no price add-ons or fees.  One evening we decided to dine in their Lido (something we rarely do) and at the raw seafood bar found fresh oysters on the half shell, cracked crab claws, huge shrimp, and mussels.  At the nearby seafood grill we could choose between swordfish, halibut, salmon, lobster tails, lobster, and more...all grilled to order.  At the carvery they were carving beautiful lamb saddle, prime rib, etc.  And this was just the LIDO!  The 4 sit-down restaurants had the kind of food you can only dream of getting on HAL.  That cruise cost us about $400 per passenger day (for an all-inclusive suite) although prices have since increased (big time).  The one thing we did miss from HAL was the decent salad station (in the lido) as the salad station on EJ1 was obviously designed by a chef who believed in a "minimalist" salad bar.  And there was no bread pudding :(.

 

Hank

 

 

[syesmar]

18 hours ago, Roz said:

…One of the obstacles to doing this is that the musicians and performers that appear in the World Stage, Rolling Stone Lounge, and Billboard Onboard onboard can't perform in other venues according to the terms of their contract….

I recall multiple cruises where the BB Kings band did an entire evening show on the World Stage. Those were often amongst the most well-attended of the entire cruise. I also enjoyed the variety performance evening on the World Stage, usually on the first or second night of a sailing, where all performers from the various venues throughout the ship would give a highlight performance. I thought it helped inform passengers of the ship’s entertainment options. It’s unfortunate if these types of shows wouldn’t be permitted under the new contracts. 

Edited November 4, 2023 by syesmar

[Ken the cruiser]

2 minutes ago, MISTER 67 said:

In comparison to better days when we had a small band and dancing nightly in the Ocean Bar. We are boycotting HAL until the food and entertainment improves to what is was in the past. We are hoping things eventually do improve because HAL still has the best cruise ships on the high seas.

Sounds like a plan. However, we’re taking a different approach. As I mentioned earlier, we’ve booked our first HAL cruise, since moving on to greener pastures, for Apr 2025, over 6 years since we last cruised with them. However, those pastures are not so green anymore, especially with regards to booking a Celebrity cruise.
 

We are also now in our early 70s and with HAL’s various early booking deals, along with the recently added Military and AARP perks as well as their lower aft-facing veranda prices, they have once again caught our attention. Of course, it also helps that we are 4* mariners. 😂

 

Only this time we’re keeping our expectations low, as we did on our NCL B2B to Africa last year on which we were totally wowed once we stopped comparing NCL with the other lines we cruise with. However, in this case our plan will be to avoid comparing the “new” HAL with the “old” HAL prior to the implementation of their Music Walk strategy. Hopefully, we will be once again wowed by our “new” HAL experience. 

 

But again, that’s just our plan to give HAL another try, especially since they have some pretty cool 3-5 week cruises. 😁

[MISTER 67]

33 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Sounds like a plan. However, we’re taking a different approach. As I mentioned earlier, we’ve booked our first HAL cruise, since moving on to greener pastures, for Apr 2025, over 6 years since we last cruised with them. However, those pastures are not so green anymore, especially with regards to booking a Celebrity cruise.
 

We are also now in our early 70s and with HAL’s various early booking deals, along with the recently added Military and AARP perks as well as their lower aft-facing veranda prices, they have once again caught our attention. Of course, it also helps that we are 4* mariners. 😂

 

Only this time we’re keeping our expectations low, as we did on our NCL B2B to Africa last year on which we were totally wowed once we stopped comparing NCL with the other lines we cruise with. However, in this case our plan will be to avoid comparing the “new” HAL with the “old” HAL prior to the implementation of their Music Walk strategy. Hopefully, we will be once again wowed by our “new” HAL experience. 

 

But again, that’s just our plan to give HAL another try, especially since they have some pretty cool 3-5 week cruises. 😁

I’m sure one of these days we will give HAL another go as we are also 4 Star Mariners and had some great cruises with HAL but for the time being we continue sailing with Celebrity and Princess.