Holland America is in the process of redefining itself and that dichotomy was constantly in evidence this particular week. The most recent ship in its fleet was designed to look older than its age with classic wood tones and bygone era photos of New York City throughout the ship. But with the apparent dwindling of its reliably elderly crowd, HA has introduced such entertainment features as an energetic Dancing With the Stars, B.B. King Blues Club, and a Piano Bar whose playlist and singer is from the rock and roll generation. There are a couple of the cheesy song and dance revues in the main nightclub, but there was also an extremely entertaining (and extremely loud!) percussion show that began with warnings and earplugs for the less adventurous audience members. While there are still traditional dining seating times available, gone is the inventory of tables for 8 with the chance to meet new sailing companions. My spouse and I, as was the case everywhere we looked during the 8 p.m. seating, were assigned a table for two for the week. The larger crowd was clearly choosing open seating.
No matter. The food in MDR was night after night just excellent. The choices were creative and well prepared. While we miss the efforts by MDR staff to bond with us for the week, the service is still efficient and polite.
The BB King Club musicians were extremely talented and a real entertainment step up. If you're actually hoping for authentic blues, lower your anticipations. They play popular R & B hits with the aim to bring you to the dance floor. The HALcats were also talented and lots of fun. But they were inexplicably setup to provide evening dance music in the smallest possible venue - at the atrium bar. They belonged at the spacious Crow's Nest while the Crow's Nest guitarist proabably was better suited for the lobby bar. The week also featured a brand name stand up comic (Rondell Sheridan) who was just hilarious.