Catholic Mass/Priest on NCL Sun, March 8

[WinnieinWA]

I wish you the very best in your endeavor. :)

 

Winnie

[I'mwithhim]

I looked there and couldn't find anything... perhaps I am not understanding how roll call works. More clues needed! Thanks for your support and enthusiasm!:rolleyes:

 

Go to the Roll Call section, find Norwegian Cruise Lines, click it. Scroll down the list until you find Norwegian Sun, click it.. browse the list of threads until you find the one that says March 8..and click it.. ;)

 

You can read posts form your fellow travelers, respond by putting up a post saying you would like to join the roll call and the person organizing it will add your name (s) to the list. It's that easy.

 

Good luck in your endeavor, enjoy your cruise, and Happy Anniversary. :)

[torybruno]

We are on the Sun for Easter and I was wondering if there would be some type of Catholic or nondenomational service. Two years ago when we were on the Carnival Valor for Christmas, there was a Christmas Eve service at 11:00pm and it was packed!

 

To the original poster, if it doesn't work out in your favor, perhaps you can do some kind of morning prayer, devotional, or Bible Study among your own group.

 

Have a great cruise!

[VoyageVirgin]

Your cruise begins March 8th (per your post) for a week - which means you will be back in port March 15th - so being RC I do know that March 16th is Palm Sunday - and March 23rd is Easter Sunday (holy week actually starting March 16th through the 23rd. So, I don't see why NCL would appoint a room/cabin for a priest during the week you are travelling. That being said - when we were on the Sun in 2006 there was mass provided on Sunday - not daily - renewal of vows as well during the week for those who wished to take part. Personally, I think you are being a little over optomistic to expect the cruise line to offer a free cabin during this time -Lent or no - Consider the percentage your group represents of the amount of passengers on board. Also you chose the time to travel and really should have realized it would be during Lent - and if you wanted your priest to accompany your group you should have booked him in a cabin. Quite a few people cannot afford to cruise - or do so on a budget - maybe the archdiocese could help out.

[slotaddict]

On our Pearl cruise in November we had an African priest who said Mass 3 times in the 9 day trip, unfortunately he then got off so no services for the b to b 5 day trip. Not sure if he was a paying passenger or part of the crew as the Priests are on Costa where there is Mass every day when you are at sea and on a Sunday , of course.

Good luck for the 8th.

There was a Sabbath service every Friday on the Pearl as well so its not just "us RC's " that are catered for.

 

Absolutely correct, there has been a Sabbath service on every ship I have been on.

[Garn]

Absolutely correct, there has been a Sabbath service on every ship I have been on.

 

But was it conducted by a Rabbi who received a free cruise, or was it just that they provided a space for those wishing to celebrate to do so?

 

I suspect if a group of 20 Hari Krishnas, Apaches or Zulus requested a meeting room, NCL would be happy to provide it. But that's very different than providing a cruise for their religious leader.

[slotaddict]

But was it conducted by a Rabbi who received a free cruise, or was it just that they provided a space for those wishing to celebrate to do so?

 

I suspect if a group of 20 Hari Krishnas, Apaches or Zulus requested a meeting room, NCL would be happy to provide it. But that's very different than providing a cruise for their religious leader.

 

Well good question, since I never attended them I do not know. But the service is listed in dallies so I just assumed it was a service that they always provided.

[Mooder]

If we offended anyone here, we are sorry. Have a great day.

 

I apologize as well for offending you, which I no doubt did. I was sorry later that I had gotten worked up, it is just a hot button issue for me that I don't like to mix with this wonderful board. You are perfectly correct in feeling that if it was promised to you, it should happen. I wish you and your husband a very happy anniversary and a wonderful cruise. I know it will be fabulous! The roll call is an excellent idea since the more people on your cruise that you meet, the more likely you are to hear of other Priests who may be cruising with you. Good luck!

[hls74]

On every cruise I have been on, (10 or 11, I've lost track, across many different lines) Jewish services have been offered - however, in no instance did they provide a Rabbi, the services depended on if there was a Rabbi or someone else capable of leading the services on board. (I am Jewish, but not observant, and both times I went to check out the actual service, there was none because there wasn't a Rabbi on board as a passenger)

 

I too think it's a LOT to ask that NCL should give your personal Priest a free berth, and to assume they would made this concession is a bit much. You can't expect them to give your Priest a free room when the only way to do that would have been to turn away a paying passenger. I could see them offering it if there were a significant number of empty rooms available close to sailing, which is why they told you to check back 30 days prior to sailing.

 

I also would not be happy if I ever learned that my cruise fare was even the slightest bit higher to offset the costs of a free berth based on religion.

[Magyar]

We just completed a cruise on Explorer of the Seas, Royal Caribbean. A priest was onboard and I think he got a free room, he was with members of his parish, about 30 or so. They told me that he not just did masses for the passengers but was there also for the crew. It was great having him on board but Royal Caribbean did limit the number of masses to only days at sea and a Sunday. I was disappointed with the limits on the masses but it was great to have him onboard. I hope you get your priest on board or any priest if he can't make it. Before I book another cruise I want to find out if a priest will be onboard. If not than I will look until I find one that has a priest. For those who think Gurus or Indian Whitch doctors, or whatever should get the same treatment, fine, if about a third of the ship are oriented that way, great.

[cruise4kicks]

Before I book another cruise I want to find out if a priest will be onboard.

You might want to try Costa -- a priest is a member of the Captain's staff. MSC probably does the same thing. They're both Italian cruiselines. Italian -- Catholic. <duh> The priest aboard when we sailed Costa was a hoot. He did all the pool games and obviously was living La Dolce Vida! :D

[elron]

We have requested that our Catholic Priest be available for a large group of us cruising to celebrate significant wedding anniversaries on the NCL Sun the week of March 8.

 

Just curious, how many cabins were booked and were they all booked at the same time?

[cruise4kicks]

We have requested that our Catholic Priest be available for a large group of us cruising to celebrate significant wedding anniversaries on the NCL Sun the week of March 8.

 

Just curious, how many cabins were booked and were they all booked at the same time?

EXACTLY my thought! If they booked as a group and were 8 or more, they should have received one free berth (not cabin).

[ejmarf]

Just curious, how many cabins were booked and were they all booked at the same time?

 

Elron, We have 8 cabins booked. We started out with only two, and then started asking more people, and this is where we ended up. We thought if we got more people, it would be more likely to happen. We did our best. Again, I realize some of you have pretty strong feelings about this, and again, I appologize for upsetting you, but we were told this could happen, and so got very excited about it. I know we were not crazy to think this could happen because, again, if you'll notice all the replies of people who have seen this on other lines, it does happen frequently. We were led to believe NCL did it also. We obviously chose the wrong line... we will try our best to have a good time anyway. By the way, hls74, I think it is sad that a service/Rabbi wasn't there when you went looking for it. Like Magyar said above, if a third of the ship is oriented toward that religion, why not? And tell me NCL can't afford to give up a room for a clergy of any kind when his presence is really desired by many people on board. I'm not asking other passengers to fork over the payment, but NCL could write it off as a tax donation, I'm sure. Anyway, again too, I wasn't looking for arguments here, just trying to find out if others were interested in having a priest on board and if they wanted to join our efforts. I never wanted to offend anyone or get anyone heated. Have a great night. E.:o

[ejmarf]

EXACTLY my thought! If they booked as a group and were 8 or more, they should have received one free berth (not cabin).

Sorry... what is a berth? See... I told you I am new to this!

[cruise4kicks]

[quote name='ejmarf']Sorry... what is a berth? See... I told you I am new to this![/quote]
One passenger space. But according to what you posted above, your group wouldn't qualify. In order to qualify as a "group" you must book it as a group -- put a deposit on a block of eight or more rooms at once, not book them separately. Sorry. :(

[hls74]

A third of passengers may be Catholic on any particular cruise, but only a very small percentage of those people would have any need for a Priest on board. There's well over 2,000 passengers on board the average ship - if you have 100 people wanting religious services (which I would assume to be a much higher number than average) thats 5% of the people, and not the third that you mentioned. We're talking a group of 20 or 30, are we not? that's ONE PERCENT.

So what you're saying is, if I worship the devil, and I can get 20 or 30 of my fellow devil worshippers to come along, I should expect the cruiseline to provide someone to lead our services.



[quote name='Magyar']We just completed a cruise on Explorer of the Seas, Royal Caribbean. A priest was onboard and I think he got a free room, he was with members of his parish, about 30 or so. They told me that he not just did masses for the passengers but was there also for the crew. It was great having him on board but Royal Caribbean did limit the number of masses to only days at sea and a Sunday. I was disappointed with the limits on the masses but it was great to have him onboard. I hope you get your priest on board or any priest if he can't make it. Before I book another cruise I want to find out if a priest will be onboard. If not than I will look until I find one that has a priest. For those who think Gurus or Indian Whitch doctors, or whatever should get the same treatment, fine, if about a third of the ship are oriented that way, great.[/QUOTE]

[caribbean girl]

ejmarf...I certainly hope your predicament has a happy ending and I wish you a wonderful anniversary celebration and a very enjoyable trip. We've always been grateful to have a priest on every one of our trips with HAL and I understand where you're coming from. It's great to be able to count on Mass everyday during the week, even while on vacation. As the nuns used to say, 'God never goes on vacation!'. Hope it all works out for you...:)

[ejmarf]

we did book them all together as a group... we get the wine, and other extras... tell me more.

[ejmarf]

Caribbeangirl... thank you for your kind reply. I will go to bed more peacefully now, after reading this. By the way, I teach in a Catholic School, and the nuns still say that! They say a lot of wonderful things. E.

[Lisa&Neb]

[quote name='ejmarf']Caribbeangirl... thank you for your kind reply. I will go to bed more peacefully now, after reading this. By the way, I teach in a Catholic School, and the nuns still say that! They say a lot of wonderful things. E.[/quote]

I actually teach Religion in a Catholic School!!! small world!!!

[lil buddy]

This forum sure does stir up some thought provoking subjects.
As a Catholic, I understand your feelings completely and wish
you only the best. As a passenger I have to agree that unless
the cabin is paid for, it gets to be very "sticky".
I have always been [U]a little put out [/U]on my past cruises that they
used "public space" for Bill W and Dorothy meetings. Again, there
are no end of groups that are missing meetings of some sort, while
on vacation ( weight watchers, counsling sessions, come to mind )
Should leaders of all groups, be allowed to sail free so that nobody
is left out ?
So in conclusion, I agree that it would be an awesome experience, for you and your priest and there are still cabins available, so it may still
happen.
Happy sailling and a very Happy Anniversary.

[helitiminaz]

Hi, we're one of the eight couples going. Our travel agent said something like... if the ship is filled, there will be room for him, so let's do our best to fill it. So we tried hard and got 8 couples. We'll it didn't make much sense then, (if filled, then room?), and even less now that the ship is full and there is no room. Unfortunately, our Priest says it's too close to the deadline now, so even if space opens up, it's not likely he's going.

Well, we're going to have a great time in any case.

Tim and Barb

[BeachBumMama]

[quote name='helitiminaz']Well, we're going to have a great time in any case.[/quote]
You'll have a grand time, I read there's much to celebrate!:)

[beachchick]

[quote name='Magyar']We just completed a cruise on Explorer of the Seas, Royal Caribbean. A priest was onboard and I think he got a free room, he was with members of his parish, about 30 or so. They told me that he not just did masses for the passengers but was there also for the crew. It was great having him on board but Royal Caribbean did limit the number of masses to only days at sea and a Sunday. I was disappointed with the limits on the masses but it was great to have him onboard. I hope you get your priest on board or any priest if he can't make it. Before I book another cruise I want to find out if a priest will be onboard. If not than I will look until I find one that has a priest. For those who think Gurus or Indian Whitch doctors, or whatever should get the same treatment, fine,[B] if about a third of the ship are oriented that way,[/B] great.[/quote]

Are you saying that a third of the ship's pax are RC? I don't think so. Perhaps it's true, but you'd have to show me some concrete proof considering how many Protestant denominations there are. In addition there are all the other major religions. So, no Catholics and their priests should not get special treatment just because of their religion. Why should they? I don't ask for special treatment for our minister because I don't believe it is appropriate.

In this case, it does sound like the cruise line might have had the idea that if there were many cabins available close to the cruise date, then they would be willing to make arrangements for their priest to cruise with them at no cost. For that, I'd expect the cruise line to insist that he officiate masses for [I]all [/I]Catholics onboard, not just his own parish.

beachchick