Malt Shop Cruise on HAL Eurodam, 2013

[Gangway Style]

Has anyone here done a previous Malt Shop cruise on HAL? The lineup of performers this year looks especially good and there will be a group of Elvis impersonators too.

The itinerary looks good also.

I wouldn't hestitate, but I notice that the prices for a balcony are very high. I'm just amazed, in fact. I have also been told that one must book through the tour organizer and not through HAL.

I was wondering if anyone here has done a previous Malt Shop cruise and did they think it was worth the money? Are the seats reserved in the auditorium or is it first come, first served each night? Do you get to actually meet the performers or do they keep to themselves?

Do the performers have live musicians or do they sing to pre-recorded backing tracks?

I'd appreciate any feedback you can give me about this. It sounds like great fun, but it is a considerable investment.

[hattack]

The same folks that puts on the Malt Shop Memories Cruise have also put on The Smooth Jazz Cruise and The (straight ahead) Jazz Cruise for the past 10 years and this year The Soul Train Cruise. These cruises sell out every year and have a very high repeat business. My best friend is going this year and I would love to go but it overlaps with my annual. Capital JazzSuperCruise.
Check the website, these are private full charters but there are some designated TA's that you can book thru.
If you are a big fan of the music, this is an incredible value for your money...your show seating is tied to your dinner time...open seating, first come first serve and you have multiple opportunities to interact with the artists...they perform live backed by live musicians...great theme nights and parties
I strongly urge you to book a cabin..bear in mind, you spend very little time in your cabin because of all the activities both day and night, so that might influence your selection of cabin type

[Gangway Style]

Thank you very much for your answers. Thanks to you I have a better idea of how things go on these cruises. I'm really glad they artists have a live band. That makes so much difference in how much one enjoys the music.

I'll take another look at the pricing. I really do prefer a balcony cabin, but the prices are high. If the cruises sell out fast, plenty of folks must think they are good value.

[hattack]

Understandable concern....if you booked a VT cabin on the Eurodam the following week (Nov 10th) and compared the cost, at first blush it would seem out of line...however, if you factor in that if you add up the cost (prime concert tickets, dinner, gas/parking, hotel) if you went to see 10 (of the 17 featured artists on the ship) artists in individual concerts in your City over the course of a year, then the value would be much clearer
Plus there are 2000 like music fans like yourself which is priceless...you become immersed in the music and activities for the week, plus the artists perform in mutiple venues thru out the week
You might consider an HH (oceanview) as opposed to a balcony for this cruise because unlike a "regular" cruise, you will be drawn to all of the music activity venues thru out the ship on full days at sea and all the concerts and parties at night, so you will not be in your cabin much to enjoy your balcony...fyi, there are also concerts on the pool deck.
However, these types of full charter cruises are really for fans of the music

Most folks will tell you that once they go on these types of music cruises will never go back to a "regular" cruise...plus you receive normal HAL cruise credits

[reginakarek]

Hi, I have been on all 3 Maltshop cruises, and are great... I LOVED IT..Yes pricey but worth it.. FYI: the seating is not on a first come basis, they tried it on the 2nd. cruise and they had alot of complaints.Hey u only live once, So go for it . Feel free to ask me whatever. I'm already booked for 2013...Hope to see u there.

[hattack]

thanks for the update about the seating...is it by cabin category booked and the time you booked it? How do they enforce it?

[reginakarek]

Yes, it is by both, when u booked and how much u spend for a cabin..

[hattack]

Thanks for the update...I know they tried that on one of the Smooth Jazz Cruises and was met with alot of resistance, so they discarded it

[szdiver]

I went on my first MSM cruise last year and it was terrific.....

[youngatheart136]

Originally Posted by Gangway Style

Has anyone here done a previous Malt Shop cruise on HAL? The lineup of performers this year looks especially good and there will be a group of Elvis impersonators too.

The itinerary looks good also.

I wouldn't hestitate, but I notice that the prices for a balcony are very high. I'm just amazed, in fact. I have also been told that one must book through the tour organizer and not through HAL.

I was wondering if anyone here has done a previous Malt Shop cruise and did they think it was worth the money? Are the seats reserved in the auditorium or is it first come, first served each night? Do you get to actually meet the performers or do they keep to themselves?

Do the performers have live musicians or do they sing to pre-recorded backing tracks?

I'd appreciate any feedback you can give me about this. It sounds like great fun, but it is a considerable investment.

My husband and I did this cruise in October. It is worth every penny. Wish we could do it again this year, but we are already booked on a cruise in March, so can't pull it off.

[monroevillecruisers]

We booked a VQ spa cabin in December. First timers. Agree it is pricey, but well worth it for the lineup. Also everyone will want to be there, unlike some cruises where some people are just there to complain.

hope to get decent seats with our cabin category and booking date. Will be glad to see Bobby Rydell back performing after his transplants!

SEe YOU IN NOVEMBER - as opposed to September

Allen

[sayhey024]

I am just soooooooooo excited about joining the 2013 cruise. Just listening to the music on the MaltShopCruise website elicited goosebumps. I got one of the few single cabins left, 4170; when I called today for some departure information, I found out that they were no longer available.

Of course, the cruise is much more expensive than a standard 7 days on the Eurodam. However, it's worth the experience to share music which was such an important part of my life with 2000 other zealots.

Don't delay. This cruise will be sold-out in no time.

Looking forward to meeting all of you,

Bill in Boston

[beshears]

Oh my, I'm getting "excited," and I haven't even booked yet. The reason, it is so late in the year, and I have been in the hospital several times, and want to make sure, I will be able to cruise then. (We were to leave the 30th of this month on a cruise, but we had to forget it because of my situation.)

I like some of the rest (it may have already been said), have a couple questions.

If we book an "inner cabin" (it is still expensive to us, but I do KNOW it would be worth it) then that means we will be sitting in the "back rows," or something like that, is that what it means?

Also, for those of you who have done these Malt Shop cruises, have you ever seen the list of "performers" (I'm asking because it is so far down the road this year) that are to be there for the cruise, not able to because of health, etc. and they put someone else in their place???

Also, after the performers perform either in the daytime or night time, do they ever "mingle" with the audience, or go back to their rooms, etc.

Is this ship just for the Malt Shop cruise, or do they have other passengers (other than the workers) on it too?

[sayhey024]

Beshears, I hope that you're feeling better. This is my first cruise, but I can answer some of your questiong.

Your cabin choice has nothing to do with seating either in the dining room or for the show. The shows are offered at 6:00P.M. and 8:00P.M on a first-come, first served basis. Your choice of showtime depends upon your elected dinner seating.

I think that ALL of the passengers on the cruise are registered through MaltShopCruise.com.

It appears that most of the performers have shown up as scheduled on the prior 3 cruises, though I note that Bobby Rydell apparently had to cancel last year for health reasons. I don't know how much "mingling" takes place.

Hope that you can join us. I can't wait!!!!

BILL in BOSTON

[yankeeseven]

Hey sayhey024; I know who you are a fa of. Met Willie three times. He was a great player. Just wish he had a better personality. We are booked for this cruise also, so maybe we can get together and argue about who was better, Mantle or Mays. Just kidding, but I did have the good fortune to meet both of them and I can say Mantle was the nicer of the two.

Kerry

[beshears]

sayhay024, thank you for getting back with me in regard to my questions.

That really helped, and it is still on the "back burner" on my mind.