Rolling Stone Lounge

[AtticusFinch1]

We went on our first Holland America cruise last year and were blown away by the BB King Club. Absolutely incredible. So we were a little disappointed when we learned -- after booking on Nieuw Amsterdam -- that the venue had been switched to a Rolling Stone Lounge. Not that we don't like rock (we do). The blues experience had simply been that good.

Turns out our concern was misplaced.

I know a lot of people like to come on these boards to complain about stuff but this is not one of those posts. The band on NA was absolutely amazing. They killed it every single night in every single set. Honestly, if there's a better live band at sea, I'd REALLY like to see it. Rock, disco, funk, whatever, it was terrific. And the people who were in the seats and standing around the back clearly loved it.

Consider this nothing more than a public service announcement for those who reach the Billboard Lounge, hear the duelling pianos and stop. At least once, keep walking to give the band a listen. I get the sense a whole lot of people never did and they missed one of the best elements of the ship. 

Now back to the quibbles ...

 

[Nodakboiler]

We've also found the integrated lounge on the smaller ships has bands that play a much greater variety of music and not the same old sets previously heard. They weren't limited by licensing.

[chisoxfan]

2 hours ago, AtticusFinch1 said:

We went on our first Holland America cruise last year and were blown away by the BB King Club. Absolutely incredible. So we were a little disappointed when we learned -- after booking on Nieuw Amsterdam -- that the venue had been switched to a Rolling Stone Lounge. Not that we don't like rock (we do). The blues experience had simply been that good.

Turns out our concern was misplaced.

I know a lot of people like to come on these boards to complain about stuff but this is not one of those posts. The band on NA was absolutely amazing. They killed it every single night in every single set. Honestly, if there's a better live band at sea, I'd REALLY like to see it. Rock, disco, funk, whatever, it was terrific. And the people who were in the seats and standing around the back clearly loved it.

Consider this nothing more than a public service announcement for those who reach the Billboard Lounge, hear the duelling pianos and stop. At least once, keep walking to give the band a listen. I get the sense a whole lot of people never did and they missed one of the best elements of the ship. 

Now back to the quibbles ...

 

Agree... we loved BB Kings and experienced it on Eurodam and Westerdam previously. It is a reason for us to choose a ship and we are doing Nieuw Statendam upcoming.  Looking forward to Rolling Stone also. HAL seems to be unique in how they present good live music.

[zonk42]

4 hours ago, AtticusFinch1 said:

Turns out our concern was misplaced.

We had a similar experience on Zuiderdam last October. The Rolling Stone band was excellent!

[jenp123]

12 hours ago, AtticusFinch1 said:

We went on our first Holland America cruise last year and were blown away by the BB King Club. Absolutely incredible. So we were a little disappointed when we learned -- after booking on Nieuw Amsterdam -- that the venue had been switched to a Rolling Stone Lounge. Not that we don't like rock (we do). The blues experience had simply been that good.

Turns out our concern was misplaced.

I know a lot of people like to come on these boards to complain about stuff but this is not one of those posts. The band on NA was absolutely amazing. They killed it every single night in every single set. Honestly, if there's a better live band at sea, I'd REALLY like to see it. Rock, disco, funk, whatever, it was terrific. And the people who were in the seats and standing around the back clearly loved it.

Consider this nothing more than a public service announcement for those who reach the Billboard Lounge, hear the duelling pianos and stop. At least once, keep walking to give the band a listen. I get the sense a whole lot of people never did and they missed one of the best elements of the ship. 

Now back to the quibbles ...

 

When were you on the ship? Hoping it was recently and the really good band is still onboard in 2 weeks 🙂 thanks for the review

[POA1]

The BB King, Rolling Stone, Billboard and Lincoln Center were/are all licensed names. The performers come from a talent agency.

[Real NHDOC]

Wish I could be as positive about the RS lounge band on Eurodam. I miss the Pinnacle ships for both the vastly superior venue BB Kings has in addition to the horns which are woefully lacking in the RS lounge band. Blues without horns is just not the same. And the singers on Eurodam - let’s just say they are weak. 

[PROCRUISE]

8 hours ago, POA1 said:

The BB King, Rolling Stone, Billboard and Lincoln Center were/are all licensed names. The performers come from a talent agency.

And boy do we miss Lincoln Center. Can now find more classical music on X than HAL.

[Blackduck59]

Call me an optimist, even naive but I think ditching the "Brand Name" licenses is a good thing. People clearly want classical music, who cares if they are from Lincoln center. I'm guessing there are plenty of talented classical museums from all over the world who would love a cruise gig. My biggest problem with most "Rock" bands is that they plat too oud for the space they are in. Most bands use volume to mask missing talent. Also a common complaint is that vocals are so often lacking. 

I hope the powers that be will soon wake up and realize that HAL is getting thoroughly thrashed by the competition when it comes to "Entertainment". With that knowledge maybe find an "entertainment coordinator" who is in overall charge at head office with subordinate "assistant entertainment coordinators" in the various markets where ships are home ported. Hire the local talent and rotate them around the fleet in each market. How hard can that be. I saw an episode of "Mighty Cruise Ships" that was produced when Koningsdam was brand new (Lead ship in the Pinnacle Class), there is a state of the art theater on those ships and what do we have? Rather spotty performances that do not match the capabilities of the space.

I just read my own post and it really is allover the place, What I am trying to say is find local talent who will be the core cast for your entertainment venues, add some extra acts that rotate around the ships in a given market and quit paying licencing fees for brand names.

[2Long2NxtCrz]

17 hours ago, Blackduck59 said:

I just read my own post and it really is allover the place, What I am trying to say is find local talent who will be the core cast for your entertainment venues, add some extra acts that rotate around the ships in a given market and quit paying licencing fees for brand names.

Find local talent. Absolutely. Still by far the best music we've ever had on a cruise was on the Serenade of the Seas way back in 2014. It was out of New Orleans and was just after Mardi Gras. So we got all of the talent that had just finished. Absolutely amazing.

 

I also agree that there is no need for "branding". Fabulous musicians are everywhere and most would love to have a steady gig on a cruise ship. There was a cellist from Ukraine (I think) when we were on Beyond back in December 2022. She joined the other musicians for group sets, but she also played solo. Incredibly talented. And on the Discovery Princess, they have a dedicated jazz lounge. We spent every night there.

 

Hubby and I love live music. And, to be honest, our Alaska cruise on Nieuw Amsterdam disappointed on that front. We still enjoyed the cruise and the ship so we're giving HAL another try (especially because the itinerary is fabulous). But, you're right HAL is losing out by not taking advantage of the talent that is out there and making sure there's live music all around the ship at all times of the day.

[CruiseIreland]

Currently on Nieuw Statendam and we are blown away by BB King All-stars and the Rolling Stone Lounge band. Each does 3 shows per night and we alternate between them, after dinner. By far the best live music on any cruise of ours. Our kind of music, loud yes! 

[mama2bifs]

I just stepped off Eurodam on Wednesday and it was the weakest onboard entertainment I've sailed with. The loss of Lincoln Center Stage is tragic. And I agree - I don't need a brand. Call them the Adagio strings and bring them back. No classical onboard that I found. And the pianos were sad. Barry from Boston used to pack them in with every person singing along. How hard is it to play Rocket Man or some such and have people sing along?  That was an eye opening cruise for me; most loosey goosey run cruise on HAL I've been on.

 

[caminomama]

We absolutely loved the RS band on the Koningsdam last April!

Edited February 20 by caminomama

[montythecat]

I couldn’t agree more with Chisoxfan. Holland America are

most certainly unique in their approach to providing

music on their ships. Our experience is limited to Pinnacle 

and Vista Class ships and we love their loud rock bands.

No other cruise line even makes an attempt to provide any

competition which is why we travel with HAL as often as

possible.

[slewis7]

We just got off the Oosterdam and we enjoyed the music in the RS Lounge.  The guitarist, Tako from Tokyo, is a phenomenal talent and he seems to play a ripping solo on just about every song.  
 

On my one prior HAL cruise I really enjoyed the music in the BB King Club; I much prefer it to rock.  Will that type of music still be present on the larger ships?

[Blackduck59]

3 minutes ago, slewis7 said:

We just got off the Oosterdam and we enjoyed the music in the RS Lounge.  The guitarist, Tako from Tokyo, is a phenomenal talent and he seems to play a ripping solo on just about every song.  
 

On my one prior HAL cruise I really enjoyed the music in the BB King Club; I much prefer it to rock.  Will that type of music still be present on the larger ships?

You can see Tako on several of the "playing for change" videos on you tube. Including Doctor my Eyes which includes the original bass player, Leland Sklar who is playing the original bass from the album.

[slewis7]

7 minutes ago, Blackduck59 said:

You can see Tako on several of the "playing for change" videos on you tube. Including Doctor my Eyes which includes the original bass player, Leland Sklar who is playing the original bass from the album.

Perhaps I found the wrong “Doctor my Eyes” video as Tako was not in it.  He is a pretty young guy.

[Blackduck59]

33 minutes ago, slewis7 said:

Perhaps I found the wrong “Doctor my Eyes” video as Tako was not in it.  He is a pretty young guy.

I'm pretty sure the version I'm thinking of has Tako, it starts with Jackson Brown, Leland Sklar and Russ Kunkle in the scene and then shifts to other players all over the world and I'm quite sure there is a caption that reads Tako, he is an older guy though. 

[talpostal]

Is the format/musical style changing from BB King's to Rolling Stone or is this just a branding change?

[Blackduck59]

8 hours ago, slewis7 said:

Perhaps I found the wrong “Doctor my Eyes” video as Tako was not in it.  He is a pretty young guy.

It was easier to quote you again. I was indeed wrong the Japanese musician in that video and several others was "Char". My mistake, I apologize for being misleading. That being said It's a great video, as are many of the "Playing for Change" videos.

[redbanshee]

I agree with the musical comments. Used to love Mike McCabe as the one man piano guy getting the crowds singing. Live music by the pool and in the crows nest (usually a guitarist), adagio strings. The ocean bar also had the HAL cats and was often going strong after dinner.  Is it me or does HAL even have a band that can back performers in the world stage anymore? I usually enjoy BB King but the last cruise it felt like the catalogue was small and each song lasted for far too long. The two person piano show had no chemistry at all. Still I love HAL and will be back on board soon 🤗

[oakridger]

Based on "Live From" posts currently on the ships, the music on HAL seems to be improving with new choices and some classical musicians being added as well.

 

Let's watch as the year progresses!  I'm feeling encouraged!

 

~Nancy

[TMJplus1]

I'm concerned to hear that the entertainment might be lacking on Eurodam. We're sailing to Alaska in May and it will be my boyfriend's first cruise (my 8th, and 4th on Eurodam). He's been a little nervous, not knowing what to expect, but is a music lover and I've been gushing about live music by the pool, amazing band at BB King's, and the dueling piano bar. I hope they improve (or upgrade performers) before the Alaska cruise season!

[KAKcruiser]

I don't remember any live music by the pool for a number of years.  Did I miss it?

[CruiserBruce]

4 minutes ago, KAKcruiser said:

I don't remember any live music by the pool for a number of years.  Did I miss it?

Nope. Haven't had it since a few years before Covid.