Dave Koz and Friends at Sea 9/26/12, a Smooth Jazz Cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Serena

[shakergirl]

Folks, in case you've not made shore excursion reservations, here is an update of what I have available: I have two seats available on my Rome in Limo Tour minivans for both Naples port and the Livorno (Florence) port. I have 2 seats available for the Riviera Premium Day Tours minivan at the Villafrance (Nice) port. If you are interested in sharing any of these air conditioned Mercedes minivans (8 passengers), please email me at sgcraig1@aol.com. Reminder on advance museum entry tickets to avoid long waiting lines: go to the website: Tickitaly.com and purchase those tickets. For folks who are in my Rome vans, request your Vatican Museum time as 9:30 AM. on Saturday, September 29th. Purchase the 1/2 hour Coliseum tour for 3:00 PM the same day which includes the ticket price. The Accademia (David) ticket should be purchased for Sunday, September 30th at 12:30 PM.
Shakergirl

[IBCruisin']

Well I am officially preparing for this cruise now that we are in the one month countdown. And to REALLY, REALLY get myself in the mood, I just went to Koz' summer tour concert. Absolutely off the hook! THAT definitely worked! Now I can't wait! I putting on a Koz CD and going to sleep, dreaming the cruise.

[GroovinCuban]

Hi ShakerGirl,

Do you still have room on your Rome tour? I am a "party of one" and would rather tour with others on the Koz Cruise than roam Rome alone! (tee hee)

Excited for the cruise!

[angelor]

Not long now

[shakergirl]

Groovin Cuban, sorry to be late in replying. All of my minivans are filled to capacity. If a cancellation occurs for the Rome excursion, I will notify you if it occurs before I leave OH this weekend.

[jazepam]

Contemplating going on the Oct 2013 Smooth Jazz Cruise West Coast Edition, but have heard that there are long lines for the smaller lounges/venues on the ship. Have also heard fans/cruisers being turned away because the smaller venue is filled to capacity. Any truth to this?

[vivavegas]

Originally Posted by jazepam

Contemplating going on the Oct 2013 Smooth Jazz Cruise West Coast Edition, but have heard that there are long lines for the smaller lounges/venues on the ship. Have also heard fans/cruisers being turned away because the smaller venue is filled to capacity. Any truth to this?

Yes, some of the lounges on the Westerdam are small and I've seen late comers have to watch from the hallway. We always tried to get there a little and have a seat, so we've never had a problem. Sometimes the lines for the main shows are quite long, but generally everyone has a seat.

[hattack]

don't let the perceived lines discourage you from booking the 2013 west coast edition of the Smooth Jazz Cruise (Brian Culbertson is an incredible host)..The Eurodam is newer (2008) and sliightly bigger (2104 guests) then the Westerdam (2004 & 1916 guests) with a slightly different public room layout...as Vivavegas correctly noted, seating for the main showroom is tied to dining times, so there are seats (remember, there really are no bad seats in the main showroom)...the smaller lounges will require planning because they fill up quickly, but often if you show up for the 2nd half of the show you can find a seat, ..
The Carnival Conquest style ships (Freedom, Liberty, Valor, Glory) are much more condusive to full charter music cruises but have the same challenges about the smaller venues filling up quickly but by using the atrium and the cigar lounge to schedule additional concerts at the same time it "spreads" the crowds that can not be seated in the mid size venue
Also remember if there is a particular artist that you want to see, that is scheduled for a smaller venue, if you can't get a seat, the artist will be performing with other artists at their concert, or the piano bar or of course the midnight allstar jam sessions and the mid day pool deck concerts
Yes there are lines but folks in line are alot of fun to interact with because everyone has the common bond of the music.
Book it soon, because with that awesome line up it's going to sell out quickly...if we were not already booked on the 2013 Capital Jazz SuperCruise Nov 2-10, we would he joining you

[vivavegas]

Where's everyone at! Looking forward to hearing all about this cruise!

[angelor]

I think we all needed to recover from this trip! What an AMAZING cruise this was - from the ports to the entertainment...Koz and crew did a FANTASTIC job of organizing this trip!
Regarding the day trips, my friends and I booked private driving tours for each day in Italy through Rome Driving Tours. I can HIGHLY recommend these guys - not only was their English impeccable, they were knowledgeable, friendly, funny, and lord, were they gorgeous men!
Michael Bolton made an appearance on ship for one night of entertainment - what a show he puts on! Amazing!
Even DW3 played their hearts out!
My only regret is that there was SO much to see and do that I couldnt do it all. I couldnt be physically in more than one place at one time! Oh, and lack of sleep too LOL! GREAT trip, if I could afford it, I would go on next year's cruise to Greece and Sicily!