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Well I think you made a very good decision HB. I got the email too and was bummed that it is the same week as Journey of Jazz. Jody Watley was on the 2019 UDC and was phenomenal. The Isley Bros were very good when I saw them on land about a year ago. Lenny Williams, Deneice Williams, and Bloodstone are also quite good live. And one name that might not be familiar, Little Willie G, is one of my favorite singers on the planet. He used to front a group called Thee Midnighters who never really were big out of LA but are local legends. (Thee Midnighters are still around with a different lead singer.) This cruise is usually an instant sell out and I doubt this will be any different so it was wise to jump on it. It's really a coin toss for me. I have cancel for any reason insurance and have only made the deposit payment for JofJ. Ultimately I think the longer cruise and the Celebrity ship has more appeal to me, but I'm going to give it a bit more thought.

Agreed that it seems like a very sold start, HB. And it might explain why it was said at the Lazaroff Q&A you attended that it will be an annual thing. I made the big mistake of looking at what this repositioning cruise would normally go for, and suffice to say I am sure that Celebrity is very very happy to have a charter operator taking over the ship.

When you look at the partial charter schedules they're only programming 2-3 hours a day so they don't tie up venues that the rest of the ship wants to use. I think it would be a big come down from the kind of programming we're used to on the full charters.

And here's one that does mention TEC: https://www.chron.com/gulf-coast/article/galveston-music-cruise-ships-18588969.php

It is funny that the Paul Abdul Polaroid would have been retro in her heyday! But I think it's still a fun and unique twist on the usual meet and greet option. Speaking of news about cruises: https://www.thrillist.com/travel/nation/music-festivals-on-cruise-ships

Those are some pretty nice perks -- especially the reserved seating. I'm a big fan of just waltzing in five minutes before showtime instead of waiting in line every night. (But I'm also happy that I snagged a J of J inside single as they're already gone.) It's funny because on one of Lazaroff's pre-cruise teleconferences someone asked if they could sit in on big band rehearsals. The Man paused and said "I'm not sure, but I don't think so." I guess the idea stuck in his head! I think sitting in on a rehearsal might be mildly fun for a land-based concert, but I can't see skipping an actual concert to go to one, which would be required on TJC. @Honolulu Blue Are you in one of the 12 featured photos, or would one have to shift through the 250 or so pictures in the downloads?

I'm late to this thread and have yet to sail on Virgin but I am shocked to see such notable musicians showing up a cruise ship. I am a longtime fan of both Slam Allen and the Lee Boys. These are artists who are really quite known in their field -- Slam Allen was the bandleader for James Cotton, one of the best blues artists of all time, and the Lee Boys tour all over and are appearing soon at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. This just makes me want to sail on Virgin even more!

Hi HB! I ate mostly at the buffet on Cayamo as those Sixthman cruises don't really offer dinner breaks the way that StarVista and Jazz Cruises charters do. It wasn't the worst food I've had on a charter -- I'm looking at you, Welcome to Jamrock Reggae Cruise on Royal Caribbean -- but there were a lot of repeat offerings over the week and it grew tiresome. The Indian food, which I usually live off of on cruises, seemed especially lacking in flavor and variety. I did make it into the MDR about three times and everything there was solid if not memorable. (So few people were there I wasn't pressured to join anyone else's table and there were quite a few solo diners.) I should mention that I eat fish but not meat or shellfish. It's not the most restrictive diet, but it means that most of the O'Sheehan's offerings are off the table for now. I have eaten in a specialty restaurant on a charter exactly once -- at a luncheon with one of the bands on the Country Music Cruise quite a few years back. A Sixthman staffer mentioned that there's a nightly vegan menu in the MDR that has to be ordered a day in advance. I did so, and it was really just a few vegetables, and of course the next time I came in the special diets director and hostess remembered me and tried to serve me the vegan meal again which I had to awkwardly decline as I ordered fish with creme brûlée for dessert! They were doing a great job -- it's not their fault I was just experimenting with veganism for the night. I did try the vegan menu one other night and it wasn't much better, so in the future I'll just leave that food for the actual vegans. For how I usually eat -- mostly buffet, with a few MDR trips if I can squeeze them in -- I'd say that for the charters I've been on Holland America has by far the best food, followed by Celebrity, with Norwegian a very distant third and RC in last. I have never been on a non-music charter cruise. If someone ever books a music charter on a Virgin ship they'll have my attention, although I'm not sure the venue setup would be conducive to a floating festival.

Thanks for all of the great reports, HB. I have to say I did not enjoy the food on the Pearl when I did Cayamo except for the one breakfast I had at O'Sheehan's, so you did well by having a few meals there. Today's newsletter did reiterate that it was a one-time sailing. I'm planning on seeing the Doobie Bros here in Boston -- they're at a huge shed and the show is very very far from sold out, so I'll wait and see if any promotions or good secondary market deals pop up. (There are already $25 lawn seats, but I'd like an actual chair if I can get one.) While you were out at sea there has been a lot of commotion over The Guess Who. Of course you and @George C caught Randy Bachman doing some Guess Who songs on R&R. Now Burton Cummings is suing the version slated to be on the 2024 R&R and Flower Power cruises, and he's infuriated by the current GW that he has withdrawn permission for ANYONE to play the Guess Who classics live, forcing the current GW to cancel a number of concert dates. You can read all about this at your favorite online music news source -- Rolling Stone interviewed Cummings and there's been quite a bit of coverage elsewhere as well.

Have a great cruise! I was surprised (given the short length) to see Lazaroff doing one of his Q&As. If you make it (and the 9:30AM start time would likely make it quite an if) I wonder if he'll offer more hints about possible short cruises. I also noticed that an earlier version of the schedule had Ms. LaBelle coming back on the ship on the second Nassau day to do an interview with Marcus Miller, but that's been scratched.

An email just came in about the fall '25 Soul Train Cruise. It said that Charlie Wilson had been added, which certainly makes me more interested in going. It also said this about this cruise, which will get either a red or green light in June: "We want to thank you for your continued support of this cruise. MANY of you have already shown your enthusiasm by pre-booking your spot for Fall 2025, but we still need your help to make this a reality! Please continue to share the news with your friends and family, and if you haven’t yet, make sure you book your spot soon!"

I'm likewise going to call tomorrow and get my presale cabin, @wwcruisers. As for the Ron Carter question, I emailed and got a prompt reply confirming that Ron won't be sailing and that his excursion show will indeed be subject to an additional (unspecified) cost. I don't think it's great advertising, but regardless it's a terrific lineup and I'm excited for my first non-Caribbean cruise.

Here in Mass we're actually allowed one extension to the date of our choice for any reason. You can do it online. It makes things a lot easier for both the jurors and, I imagine, for the court.

Interesting to hear your experience as my next round of jury duty is in July. (It was slated for last month but I pushed it back.) I was thinking of @Honolulu Blue when I saw this: https://www.retromanialive.com Fun lineup but the few times I looked into actually going to Branson (back when they had a lot of legendary country acts performing there) I realized it was just too far from anywhere to be worth my while.

Like @wwcruisers I've entered the pre-sale. It'll be fun to do a non-Caribbean cruise for the first time, and I love the lineup. One thing I noticed from looking at the fine print (on the excursion page) is that Ron Carter, a major jazz legend who is prominently advertised, will be performing at the land-based venue SFJAZZ, which makes one think he won't be sailing (I've never heard of him being on a jazz cruise and it can't be because he's never been invited). It isn't yet clear if that show and the transportation will cost extra -- I'd be quite disappointed if that were the case.