A Question for anyone just of the Mariner.

Hi all,

I am on the Mariner (1st time!) on the 3/13 cruise. I have sailed on the Navigator twice, and was wondering if anyone knew what lounge acts (vocal duo, piano, etc) were currently on board. I had such a wonderful time with the acts on the Nav, that I am hoping for a repeat. Thanks for your help, I can't wait.

Jennifer :o

Hi Jennifer,

I am also on the Mariner March 13th with my daughter. (husband will be working and is not keen on warm weather vacations) Our cruise is a "spotlight on jazz" so there should be special musicians with jazz being their specialty. I hope Kenny Smiles is on the ship as my daughter would get a laugh out of him.....not sure what ship he is on right now.

Cheers, Pam

Hi Pam!

It will be good to have some friendly faces! I know your daughter will love it. I have not seen Kenny Smiles yet, I do know he is featured on some sailings this year. I am hoping for Cachet Duo (vocal/keyboards), or Jordan Hopner (piano - not sure on the spelling ;). I really enjoyed them on my past cruises. I am sure we will all have a great time either way. Six days and counting!

Jennifer :)

Jennifer and Pam, those lounge acts and special entertainers seem to change with segments, or right in the middle of them, so people get different entertainers in the first and second half. While you could try calling "headquarters" I have no idea whether they would be willing to share this info, as things change, and they don't want to be committed. Perhaps you TA can work a little magic and at least tell you what is "planned".

I know Kenny Smiles was on the Voyager Word Cruise for the Sydney to HK segment in mid-Feb, because I know someone on that cruise who reported on her blog and elsewhere that he was a big part of the celebration of Captain Dags 50th birthday. He put Dag in a huge red chair (throne), and put a crown on his head. Then lifted the crown "cover" after it was on Dag's head, and it was a toilet plunger! They sent (banished according to the blog) Kenny off the ship the next day with a plunger on his head to take a bottle of champagne to another ship in the area (captain a friend of Dag's). Funny stories you get from people onboard.

For any of you who have not had the pleasure of seeing Kenny Smiles, it is a singular life experience to be in the front row seat when he is performing and let him pluck you out of the crowd for a little "recognition"! All in good fun, of course! I have chatted with him before in a lounge waiting to disembark, and find he is a "regular" fellow. His wife is usually aboard with him.

I have a good cruising friend aboard the Mariner right now for the entire SA circumnavigation, and have e-mailed her with your question. If she can find the answer, I'm sure she will She is having a GREAT time, and just reported today about the wonderful Academy Awards night they gave for the full SA cruise guests last night and sent some pictures. They took all the chairs out of the Constellation Lounge and replaced them with dinner tables, with seating only on one side facing the stage. There were huge life-size Oscars everywhere, a big screen live TV viewing of most of the awards, along with a RSSC Oscar award ceremony of its own! They were also giving full SA people Oscars in different categories! I'm sure you will have a great time. While I have never been on a full WC or full-anything on RSSC, I have found that on these longer cruises, it takes a little more effort to keep people "up". Since you are coming on near the end, I'm sure they have some great times in store for you, as the challenges become even greater for the staff. Have a wonderful cruise, and hope you will report on your return!

When we were on the Mariner in Alaska in August 2004 and then again on the ship in Australia/NZ in November 2005, Marty and Holly were in the Horizon Lounge. They're a terrific duo, who can sing almost anything and are happy to take requests. We enjoyed dancing to them on many occasions. Of course, I have no idea if they will be on the Mariner when you'll be there.

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Eugene

Thanks for the great info. The ships Oscar party sounds better than mine! I am sure we will have a great sailing.

Jennifer :)

Jennifer, my friend wrote me today that she thinks Kenny Smiles is getting off in FLL. I didn't realize this was the last leg of the SA cruise. We have enjoyed her reports so much we thought it would never end!

Thanks for the news. I am sure they will have some interesting acts. I cannot wait - 4 days!:D

Jennifer