Oceania for HAL cruisers who love classical music?

[Hlitner]

Last evening, while cruising on O's new Vista, we stopped at a lounge to enjoy the onboard classical music quartet (2 violins, 1 viola, 1 cello) do a long set of popular opera arias.  They were wonderful, had a good crowd (on O it is OK to talk during music performances), and 4 ladies (2 from Ukraine and 2 from Poland) were outstanding.  It reminded me of the days when HAL used to have classical music quartets.   I was also thinking that many HAL fans would have been happy to be sitting on this new 1200 passenger ship with decent classical music.

 

Hank

[ski ww]

We also miss the classical music on HAL. We had late seating so would go & listen until it was time to eat.

[kazu]

Classical music is coming back to HAL.

 

My one sailing on O was enough - one and done.  If they had classical music on that cruise it might have helped as a small saving grace..  There was very little.

[Mary229]

On my most recent HAL voyage there was classical music everyday with some sea days having up to 3 performances.  They moved them into the BB King where there is a half wall to protect from the distractions along the music walk. HAL got rid of LCS not classical music.  There was a transition time where they were short n entertainers for their “what is old is new again” concept of hiring performers from an agency instead of accepting a branded group with no control over quality.  These performers were the best quality I have heard ever on a cruise ship.  I have been on Oceania and I have been on many concert and recital halls. This trio on Hal was very good. 

[cruisemom42]

I've been on Insignia (one of the group of smaller/older O ships) twice and the classical music is nice. They play several times each evening and also each day during afternoon tea (which is the best version of this event I've been to on a cruise ship in recent years).

 

Unfortunately the classical music on HAL is unpredictable. It seems they cannot or will not commit to having it on all ships, on all cruises. 

[chill6x6]

Thanks for that info Hank!

 

One of my favorite cruises was on the previous Rotterdam where they had a string quartet!  WOW they were great!

 

I hope it's happening on the Rotterdam in November...

[foodsvcmgr]

Thank you, something to consider for sure.

[Iamthesea]

23 minutes ago, chill6x6 said:

Thanks for that info Hank!

 

One of my favorite cruises was on the previous Rotterdam where they had a string quartet!  WOW they were great!

 

I hope it's happening on the Rotterdam in November...

 

Hoping there will be some in May!!!

[cruisingxpert]

2 hours ago, kazu said:

Classical music is coming back to HAL.

 

My one sailing on O was enough - one and done.  If they had classical music on that cruise it might have helped as a small saving grace..  There was very little.

There have been classical quartets on every Oceania cruise I have been on since I started cruising O in 2013.   They had Noro on that cruise you were on so that may have caused changes in performances.

Edited April 7 by cruisingxpert

[Iamthesea]

5 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Last evening, while cruising on O's new Vista, we stopped at a lounge to enjoy the onboard classical music quartet (2 violins, 1 viola, 1 cello) do a long set of popular opera arias.  They were wonderful, had a good crowd (on O it is OK to talk during music performances), and 4 ladies (2 from Ukraine and 2 from Poland) were outstanding.  It reminded me of the days when HAL used to have classical music quartets.   I was also thinking that many HAL fans would have been happy to be sitting on this new 1200 passenger ship with decent classical music.

 

Hank

 

Glad that you mentioned talking during the performance.  While it is OK to speak quietly during the performance, we encountered the worse one evening last month.  There was a group of 6-8 persons that talked and laughed very loudly throughout the entire strings presentation!   We and others continued to look over and give perturbed stares to no avail.  They were unbelievably rude!!!  

 

14 minutes ago, cruisingxpert said:

There have been classical quartets on every Oceania cruise I have been on since I started cruising O in 2013.   They had Noro on that cruise you were on so that may have caused changes in performances.

 

There was a bad Noro outbreak on our first Oceania cruise in 2/2016.  The cruise was shortened, but up until the end, there was classical music every evening. 😉

[cruising Katie]

 

Does anyone know if the Ziederdam has any classical music on board.  Going on her for 

35 days July 20th.  I too feel that any talking or laughing from any other passengers spoils the show.  Two years ago, when a lovely evening on the Noordam was spoiled by a noisey group, when others turning and giving stares, I just finally got up and whispered to the loudest to please move to another location, where they were not disturbing others.  It actually worked.

Kate     

[kazu]

1 hour ago, cruisingxpert said:

There have been classical quartets on every Oceania cruise I have been on since I started cruising O in 2013.   They had Noro on that cruise you were on so that may have caused changes in performances.

 

It seems there were a number of things lacking on our cruise.  I believe (but I am going by memory) there was a problem getting to the ship.  There was a massive staff and performer turnover on this cruise which I think accounted for some of the issues.  JMO though.

[ChinaShrek]

I guess I do not understand the purpose of playing and listening to classical music. Yes, I understand if they are performing in a concert hall or auditorium or closed off room on a ship then the audience should be silent. However, if they are just performing on a deck somewhere or at dinner then people should be allowed to talk. I see classical music as background music and prefer it that way. 

[foodsvcmgr]

I think the talking issue is best determined if the performance is truly designed to be background music such as in an atrium vs whether it is intended to be a show in a dedicated lounge.

The difficulty with Explorers Lounge is the proximity of the open corridor leading to the MDR.

[Mary229]

47 minutes ago, ChinaShrek said:

I guess I do not understand the purpose of playing and listening to classical music. Yes, I understand if they are performing in a concert hall or auditorium or closed off room on a ship then the audience should be silent. However, if they are just performing on a deck somewhere or at dinner then people should be allowed to talk. I see classical music as background music and prefer it that way. 

Though I do like classical music for listening and for background the old LCS concept was really bad being out on the music walk.  The classical music I enjoyed on the K was in the in of the BB King lounge , that lounge has a partial wall between the lounge and the walk.  People did respect the performance.  I used to think it was down right silly to such people walking by.  

[RuthC]

11 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Last evening, while cruising on O's new Vista, we stopped at a lounge to enjoy the onboard classical music quartet (2 violins, 1 viola, 1 cello) do a long set of popular opera arias.  They were wonderful, had a good crowd (on O it is OK to talk during music performances), and 4 ladies (2 from Ukraine and 2 from Poland) were outstanding.  It reminded me of the days when HAL used to have classical music quartets.   I was also thinking that many HAL fans would have been happy to be sitting on this new 1200 passenger ship with decent classical music.

 

Hank

How nice for you that you found a line you like. 

For some of us, though, sailing Oceania also means putting up with the rest of what sailing on them means. No thanks. Once was enough. 
I'll find my musical entertainment elsewhere. 

[Kay S]

We are right behind you, Hank.  We have an Oceania cruise booked for the fall.  My husband was the biggest fan of Lincoln Center, and he is very disappointed in HAL's decision to dump them.  We have a HAL TA booked for next year.  I'm hoping they will have settled what their entertainment will be by then.

[SSFrance69]

We just returned from an Oceania cruise on Vista last month. Our second Oceania cruise. First was on Riviera the year before. Both were lovely in every way. We enjoyed the quartet, especially during cocktails and afternoon tea. Next year we are trying HAL for the first time to Alaska... also first time visiting Alaska. I know it will be a different experience, but that's what makes life interesting...experiencing different things on different lines. I hope there will be some classical music on our HAL sailing, but we try to be open minded and go with the flow. Food is important to us, so hopefully HAL will be solid in that department. I'm not going to compare it to Oceania food, because O was a world apart from anything we've had at sea... but I'm hoping that HAL will pleasantly surprise us. 

[albingirl]

Every time I  look at Oceania cruises, I  find them very expensive. That's all.

[SSFrance69]

15 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Last evening, while cruising on O's new Vista, we stopped at a lounge to enjoy the onboard classical music quartet (2 violins, 1 viola, 1 cello) do a long set of popular opera arias.  They were wonderful, had a good crowd (on O it is OK to talk during music performances), and 4 ladies (2 from Ukraine and 2 from Poland) were outstanding.  It reminded me of the days when HAL used to have classical music quartets.   I was also thinking that many HAL fans would have been happy to be sitting on this new 1200 passenger ship with decent classical music.

 

Hank

We had the same quartet on our Vista sailing last month. They were wonderful. The ship is beautiful. The food was amazing. We were on a 10 night sailing and ran out of time to try all the food we wanted to try. We had to double down on a few things the last day. Other than specialties and all the wonderful food in the GDR, be sure to try the gazpacho soup and crunchy chicken sandwich with avocado and chipotle mayo at Aquamar... it was so good, I had to go back for it a second time. Also the pizza at waves. We should have done more of that pizza. Sigh... Oh and the stateroom bathroom and shower had me spoiled for ship bathrooms. If you know... you know. 😉

[Sea42]

17 minutes ago, albingirl said:

Every time I  look at Oceania cruises, I  find them very expensive. That's all.

We switched from a booked HAL cruise to an O cruise several years ago due to a comparable price and better itinerary on O (overnights at Easter Island & Bora Bora). I was very happy with our O cruise and would definitely sail with them again but I have not found a competitive price and good itinerary combination again.

Classical music availability is not a consideration for us.

Edited April 7 by Sea42

[TRLD]

13 hours ago, kazu said:

Classical music is coming back to HAL.

 

My one sailing on O was enough - one and done.  If they had classical music on that cruise it might have helped as a small saving grace..  There was very little.

While we enjoy the classical quartet on Regatta, we are also one and done with Oceania. This is our 4th cruise on a 600 passenger R class ship, including 2 with Princess and 1 with Azamara. The Pacific Princess was one of our favorite ships. Compared to the other 3 or for that matter any HAL cruise this one on Oceania seems to be very low energy and sedate, maybe even sedated.

 

We found food on Oceana to be on average a little better than HAL with some dishes better and some worse, really not a huge difference. Though the ability on Oceania to get grilled lobster each night at the Cafe to be nice.

Edited April 7 by TRLD

[kazu]

37 minutes ago, TRLD said:

While we enjoy the classical quartet on Regatta, we are also one and done with Oceania. This is our 4th cruise on a 600 passenger R class ship, including 2 with Princess and 1 with Azamara. The Pacific Princess was one of our favorite ships. Compared to the other 3 or for that matter any HAL cruise this one on Oceania seems to be very low energy and sedate, maybe even sedated.

 

I never got to the Pacific Princess - I so wanted to.  I did a number of Collectors cruises on the Prinsendam and while that ship had a few more than 600, I found the service and food top notch.  In fact they could have taught the O ship I was on a few things 😉 😂  Prinsendam was dignified but not sedated  - If she were sedate, the Crow’s Nest sure wasn’t when we all shut it down with our piano man 😊 

 

You hit the nail on the head.  Our cruise on O was definitely sedated and the crew were very ambivalent.    It was a big disappointment for us.  We thought we had moved up - not.  Trust me, I got flamed on my LIVE thread once I started pointing out stuff.  

 

I tell it like it is on all of them - whether it be HAL or any other cruise line.  

 

[TRLD]

12 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

I never got to the Pacific Princess - I so wanted to.  I did a number of Collectors cruises on the Prinsendam and while that ship had a few more than 600, I found the service and food top notch.  In fact they could have taught the O ship I was on a few things 😉 😂  Prinsendam was dignified but not sedated  - If she were sedate, the Crow’s Nest sure wasn’t when we all shut it down with our piano man 😊 

 

You hit the nail on the head.  Our cruise on O was definitely sedated and the crew were very ambivalent.    It was a big disappointment for us.  We thought we had moved up - not.  Trust me, I got flamed on my LIVE thread once I started pointing out stuff.  

 

I tell it like it is on all of them - whether it be HAL or any other cruise line.  

 

We find the crew to be quite good. Service is also very good. No lines or crowds, but overall too sedate.

[Torquer]

We have had 3 HAL cruises post-covid, and just got back from our 1st post-covid cruise on Oceania.  It was very depressing to see how HAL has regressed in their entertainment compared to Oceania.  We enjoyed many nights with the string quartets on O.  We liked LCS on HAL, and hope the classical music returns consistently on all ships; our last two cruises had zero classical music since LCS ended.  In addition, O has a singing and dancing production company for its shows.  Step One is good, but how many times can you watch the same four shows; we really missed the ship's singers HAL used to have.  And finally, O has a live 7 piece band that plays for all shows, whether it is accompanying the ship's production company or guest entertainers.  HAL really needs to improve its entertainment, like it was years ago.