Catholic Mass/Priest on NCL Sun, March 8

[zqvol]

[quote name='ejmarf']Just wondering what beach people are thinking about and how are you getting there? We have read a lot of recommendations, and are leaning toward Mr. Sanchez beach because some people feel it is a quieter beach. Anyone know about this? And people talk about hiring a "beach boy". Any ideas? We are a group of late 40-early 50 yo couples, here for significant anniversaries, and looking for fun and relaxation:cool: , but not necessarily a rowdy party:eek: . Any suggestions? Thanks.
Eileen & Jerry[/quote]

Just a suggestion to the OP. A lot of your questions would fit better on a roll call thread than here in the general NCL info. I bet if you head over to the roll call section you can find a lot of people who can give you a lot of good info.

[URL]http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=624784[/URL]

[snorklinbarb]

[quote name='ejmarf']Thank you. If you are disappointed, I think you should let NCL know this. Maybe we can make a change. Right now they only provide a priest for the CEO's (Christmas and Easter Only's).[/quote]

This is simply not true. Wish I had kept all the Freestyle Dailies I've had over the years with masses being offered. As I mentioned previously, was on Gem Jan. 16th and a priest provided services.

What I do not know is if NCL "paid the way" or what the policy is on that.

So it's not just Christmas and Easter.

And, as also mentioned before, there have been a goodly number of rabbis aboard over the years as well.

[tunseeker1]

I have been on a lot of cruises and there have been many that didn't have services on them. The availability depends on if a minister/clergy are on board. The priests onboard are the exception rather then the rule.

[Gram Cape Cod]

I have been on five NCL cruises and there has never been a priest on board to say Mass. I have always made comments about this on my comments card, so if everyone makes a comment about how disappointed they are maybe they will do something about it in the future.

[ejmarf]

[quote name='Gram Cape Cod']I have been on five NCL cruises and there has never been a priest on board to say Mass. I have always made comments about this on my comments card, so [COLOR="Red"]if everyone makes a comment about how disappointed they are maybe they will do something about it in the future[/COLOR].[/quote]

I say AMEN to that!!! The man in charge (name mentioned earlier) from NCL told me that Christmas and Easter are they only time they will guarantee clergy on board. I've spoken with several priests about this recently, and they say that there are several cruise lines that do pay for them to be there as part of the crew. Sometimes they get there own cabin, when available, and sometimes they stay in with the ship crew. One shipline has our priest booked for the whole month of July! Pray hard... I'm still working on this. Thanks... have a great time on your cruise!

[ejmarf]

[quote=snorklin'barb;13362818]This is simply not true. Wish I had kept all the Freestyle Dailies I've had over the years with masses being offered. As I mentioned previously, was on Gem Jan. 16th and a priest provided services.

What I do not know is if NCL "paid the way" or what the policy is on that.

[COLOR=red]So it's not just Christmas and Easter[/COLOR].

And, as also mentioned before, there have been a goodly number of rabbis aboard over the years as well.[/quote]

The man in charge of this department told me that was the case on NCL. But I know that it does happen, and that was why this decline came as such a shock to us... we were led to believe way back in July that this would likely happen. We went ahead and scheduled our vow renewals in our home town with our family and friends before the cruise date. But we still want mass available on the ship for those of us who really want it.

[snorklinbarb]

I understand what you were told. How about contacting the ship coordinator in Miami for the Sun to see if anyone has been booked for your sailing?

[email]shipcoordinatorsun@ncl.com[/email]

Good luck.:D

[musicgirl63]

JMHO

1st-congrats!!!!

2nd-I'm surprised that a Catholic Priest would be available during lent?

3rd-My dh and ds are both Catholic (I'm Lutheran) and we all worship together. In fact, we all teach and attend the same Catholic school!

With that being said in our area, any kind of celebrations are generally asked to be not celebrated during lent. Such as, there are no Valentine's Parties in the grade schools (only an exchange of cards), they ask that birthday treats be brought in at another time of the year. We do not hold spirit days during lent. This year the diocese has asked that the annual St. Patrick's day parade NOT be held.

With this "tone it down" idea, I'm surprised a priest would even travel on a vacation at this time of year.

We travel with the (Catholic) high school band every year over a weekend. There have been a few occasions that due to the travel schedule/area, we can not attend Mass with our group. We pre-approve this with our school and arrange for a prayer service led by the staff and the students. While communion is obviously not offered, it does give us the chance to worship together.

This may not be acceptable to some, especially during lent (which we do not travel during this time), what is important is that we pray together.

Trying not to sound un-Christian like, I think it is probably best not to plan to travel where a priest or worship leader of your choice is most likely not available even if there are times when it has been arranged. If attending a Catholic Mass, especially during lent is important to you, better planning is needed in regards to your specific religious needs even though there MAY be a chance that the cruise line would provide a priest. Shorter cruises that don't include Sunday/important religious dates or an on-land vacation where there is a place of worship of your choice.


It is unfortunate that what ever was discussed or miscommunicated did not work out for you. When it comes to vacationing, anything goes whether it is the weather, a missed flight, a changed in ports or a change in personal plans. You have a choice -cancel or go without the priest.

[ejmarf]

Music girl,
1st-Thank you for the congrats.
2nd-The priest we were asking was available because he is retired, but still obviously able to celebrate mass.
3rd- I don't know where you are from, but, where we are, we tone things down too, but we certainly don't have to refrain from celebrations. No one even bat an eye when we asked if we could renew our vows and have a family celebration afterwards in the church on the Sunday the week before we sail. Our head pastor emailed me today and said in regards to when we are on the ship: "I would suggest you gather for a Scripture Service on that weekend. God nor the Church expect the impossible, when it is out of your control to celebrate Holy Mass, you do the best you can. Enjoy your cruise!". I believe Holy Week would be more likely a time to refrain, but even then, I don't think they would ever ask us not to take a cruise that week either. We have vacation when we have it... my husband and I both teach... that is when we are off at the same time as the other couples we are joining! When we booked this trip back in July or August, all we looked at was when our vacation time was, not Lent. Is that important to us? Of course it is... otherwise I wouldn't have made such a big deal about it. But, since we are still able to renew our vows beforehand, and we are being given a blessing from our parish priest to go ahead with the plan as it stands, then that is what we will do. Thank you for your advice.