Catholic mass

[d9704011]

Not the least bit to me, but I'm not catholic.  My wife is French-Canadian Catholic, and not important to her either.

[Alberta Quilter]

Not important to me.

[Blackduck59]

15 hours ago, Niagarawine said:

I attended mass on the Koningsdam and Rotterdam and the Hudson room was packed every time. I am disappointed to hear this about no mass. It’s one of the main reasons I sail with them.

I just checked and the combined capacity of the 2 "Hudson" rooms put together is 64 and the full capacity of Koningsdam is 2,650 guests. I understand that for Catholics no mass is a big deal. But for people to say "I will no longer sail with HAL because of this" is really a non starter because there really are no other lines who consistently have Priests on their ships. The choice is cruise or don't, the cabin won't be empty because you didn't, and maybe you could take the opportunity to attend mass at that fine church you traveled all that way to see.

[srsurman]

You should reword your question.  Obviously every non-Catholic could give two hoots, and since Catholics make up 18% of the population...

[*Miss G*]

Is it too late for you to edit this thread as a poll? I think people are more likely to respond when they can remain anonymous… or they just don’t feel like commenting in a thread.  It’s also easier to see the results.

[mightycruisequeen]

Having the opportunity to attend Mass during a cruise is very important to my husband & me.  The only way Mass can be celebrated is with a priest, so having a priest onboard is quite important.  Masses onboard are ALWAYS PACKED.

It's one thing for us passengers to miss the chance to attend Mass for the week or so that we're cruising, but I feel for the crew members.  They sacrifice sleep to stay up for Mass very late in the evening.  I'd say it's pretty important to them too, maybe more important to them than it is to the passengers who are practicing catholics. 

[KAKcruiser]

One of the reasons I have sailed Holland America is because Mass is important to me and having a Priest onboard was appreciated.  I can't believe it was discontinued because of money.  What could it cost to supply a cabin for the Priest?  They paid their own transportation costs.  

[srsurman]

8 minutes ago, mightycruisequeen said:

  Masses onboard are ALWAYS PACKED

 

2 minutes ago, KAKcruiser said:

What could it cost to supply a cabin for the Priest?

 

Maybe all the Catholics could pass the plate and pay for the priest's cabin...

[KAKcruiser]

I disagree with the capacity of the two Hudson rooms.  There have been many more people than 64 attending Mass.  People would often be standing in the back and in the aisles.  Mass was celebrated in the BB Kings lounge on my last two cruises on the Rotterdam.  

[KAKcruiser]

I would be willing to do that.  However, again, I don't think the price of the cabin is the reason the Priests are being discontinued.  

[FOPMan]

Neither my wife or I are Catholic. We regularly sail at Christmas, however, and enjoy the crew concerts immensely.

[Sir PMP]

41 minutes ago, Niagarawine said:

Just wondering how many feel that having a priest on board is important to them

Yes, important.

[vms]

Likely an unpopular opinion, but not only is it not important to me, I would prefer not to have any organized religious celebration of any faith sponsored by the cruise line onboard.

 

If passengers want to celebrate their faiths together while onboard, they should feel free to do so. But I do not see why it is necessary for private companies to sponsor religious observances for specific faith traditions and not others.

 

As an example- a number of years ago, my mother & I cruised together over the Easter holiday. There was a Catholic Mass onboard to celebrate Easter, but because my mother was raised in a Protestant faith tradition, she did not feel comfortable attending that service.

 

Was she saddened to miss a formal celebration of one of the most important days to her religion. Yes, very much so.  Did she realize that this was a consequence of traveling at this time of year. Yes, she did. Is it possible for a cruise line to include a clergy-person to hold a service for every Christian denomination to celebrate Easter in their own way? Of course not.  Now throw in every holy day for every religion around the world, and it becomes absolutely impossible.

 

In my opinion, the same goes for the crew. I'm not sure why prioritizing crew who have the Catholic faith over any other faith is a good thing.

 

[julia]

Isn't there already a thread on this very subject?  If it's that important, contact HAL directly, in writing, and voice your opinions.

[Mary229]

Isn’t the current status that only certain voyages have a compensated priest onboard?  I have no problem if people of faith want to congregate onboard.  There are many groups congregating onboard so why would they discriminate against people of faith?

[Emme1233]

Not interested in religion. 

[Cruise Junky]

Could not care less

[chill6x6]

Onboard Priest or Mass has no bearing on my cruise choices. Personally, I would attend a "religious service" though. I'm Protestant so a Catholic service doesn't affect me either way.  

[Sir PMP]

1 hour ago, vms said:

Likely an unpopular opinion, but not only is it not important to me, I would prefer not to have any organized religious celebration of any faith sponsored by the cruise line onboard.

 

If passengers want to celebrate their faiths together while onboard, they should feel free to do so. But I do not see why it is necessary for private companies to sponsor religious observances for specific faith traditions and not others.

 

As an example- a number of years ago, my mother & I cruised together over the Easter holiday. There was a Catholic Mass onboard to celebrate Easter, but because my mother was raised in a Protestant faith tradition, she did not feel comfortable attending that service.

 

Was she saddened to miss a formal celebration of one of the most important days to her religion. Yes, very much so.  Did she realize that this was a consequence of traveling at this time of year. Yes, she did. Is it possible for a cruise line to include a clergy-person to hold a service for every Christian denomination to celebrate Easter in their own way? Of course not.  Now throw in every holy day for every religion around the world, and it becomes absolutely impossible.

 

In my opinion, the same goes for the crew. I'm not sure why prioritizing crew who have the Catholic faith over any other faith is a good thing.

 

I disagree 100% with your remarks, others might prefer something different than you do.

[KAKcruiser]

Julia - Many people did contact HAL in writing about wanting to keep the Priests onboard.  They obviously don't care and responded with some excuse about not having sufficient crew which doesn't make any sense.

[Mary229]

2 hours ago, vms said:

but because my mother was raised in a Protestant faith tradition, she did not feel comfortable attending that service.

 

HAL allows Protestant believers to congregate also in a reserved space .  If there is a minister onboard they will usually be the ones to organize 

[Lido deck main]

I am Irish Catholic and my husband French Canadian Catholic, we don’t go to mass on the ship.

[cruisetravlr]

DH and I would like to have a priest on-board for every sailing. It was the main reason we chose HAL as our preferred cruise line. Sure, you can attend on land or virtually, but it’s so nice to have it as an option on the ship. Those that don’t want any religious gathering have the choice to not attend. No one is required to be there. Just as there are many gatherings offered that I choose not to attend. We have always attended the Sunday and daily Masses. It is just a part of our day to set aside time to be thankful for what we have received. I would gladly give to a fund to aid in getting priests on board. Even though HAL provides the stateroom, they are still receiving money from purchases made by the priest, e.g. drinks, shore excursions, dining, gift shop, etc. And, not only is the priest there to celebrate Mass for both passengers and crew, but also counseling or aid in the event of illness or death.

[albingirl]

I rather like having the Catholic mass onboard.  Tell you why.  I'm not Catholic, but it's a bright light in a dark world.  Nice to have something to combat the dreary sadness people face, and I'm a huge supporter of the happiness it gives people.

[3rdGenCunarder]

2 hours ago, chill6x6 said:

Onboard Priest or Mass has no bearing on my cruise choices. Personally, I would attend a "religious service" though. I'm Protestant so a Catholic service doesn't affect me either way.  

 

I've attended nondenominational (Christian) services on both Princess and Cunard and thought they were lovely. I think on Cunard, it's up to the captain (who usually leads it) whether they do it or not, because it hasn't always been available.