DO YOU LIKE YOUR MUSIC UP CLOSE?
Gerard Murphy of Bon Voyage Cruises & Travel looks at how music and food art are setting Holland America apart.
Traditional cruising style, service and cuisine is what 145 year old Holland America Line was famous for, but new innovations in entertainment and food service, as part of their fleetwide modernisation programme has is making Holland America totally relevant going into the 2020’s.
To create points of difference many cruise lines added dream beds, celebrity chef restaurants, mixologists and the like to their line-up. Holland America has all of those and were in fact one of the first cruise companies to offer alternative fine dining venues with their deservedly renowned steak house, Pinnacle Grill and
Italian speciality restaurant Canaletto.
In recent years they have added more dining choices with restaurants by Master chef and food artist Rudi Sodamin. He has designed Tamarind an Asian fusion experience and the star of the show
Rudi’s Sel de Mer, where the plates look so good it is almost a crime to take knife and fork to them, but we did, and it was simply outstanding. While there is a cover charge for these dining experiences between US$15 – US$49 (food included) they offer outstanding value.
Holland America now has a good balance between included dining options and speciality venues like much of their competition, but where I think it has leap frogged the opposition is in music.
Sure, the ships have the traditional big theatre shows modernised with the latest technology for musicals, cabaret and comedy. You can even enjoy BBC Earth on a big screen with live orchestral sound track. But the new jewel in the crown though has to be Music Walk. Quite simply I believe this concept is a master stroke. You can find your groove at BB King’s Blues Club, enjoy a classical performance at Lincoln Centre Stage, sing along at Billboard Onboard and now on their newest ships rock the night away at the Rolling Stone Rock Room. These music venues are side by side to form a fabulous aural entertainment precinct. Holland America has partnered with these famous institutions to design and manage on board music experiences that get you up close and personal not only with the music but also the performers. The venues are intimate and the musicians are simply world class. We experienced Music Walk while cruising locally on Noordam last year.
The musicians have performed at their home venues long before they step foot on the ship. The BB King’s crew were from across the USA with two from Memphis itself and were outstanding. They had the funk and the soulful sound. Performing twice each evening, early for the listeners and later for those who wanted to groove on the dance floor.
The highlight for me was Lincoln Centre Stage. This is a partnership with the famous New York venue showcasing a small ensemble of outstanding musicians performing multiple programmes of chamber music in the evening as well as afternoon recitals on sea days. Even if you have not been a classical fan before in this small venue format it will capture your soul – it is pure unadulterated crystal-clear music to the ears.
On our cruise we found ourselves returning time after time, in the afternoons on sea days, to catch up on composers we hadn’t even heard of and lighter hearted performances of movie or TV themes. After a few days you get to know the performers and their personal music stories. Later in the evenings it was back to BB Kings in the front row! Music Walk gets my highest recommendation – quite simply this is music up close and personal!