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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.

Hi @George C! Were there any special guests at Peter's acoustic set? Also how did you like Don McLean? He's got a bit of a reputation but I have to say I've seen nothing but raves about his show and his interview/meet and greet on Facebook from my friends who are on the ship.

Glad you're having a good time, HB! FWIW if you end up going to any more theater concerts I've found that the balcony seats in that theater are excellent. (Some of the shows might also be less crowded than Foreigner.)

The only issue about doing The Jazz Cruise and then Cayamo a month later was that the Norwegian food was a big letdown after the generally good Celebrity food. I'm looking forward to being back on Holland America when that fall '25 Soul Train Cruise finally happens. I don't pick a music cruise for the food, but it's nice when it happens to be good.

So while @Honolulu Blue is starting their week on Rock and Romance there was some big '25 cruise news: The Soul Train Cruise has added a fall '25 sailing. This is what the email said: So… we’re excited to share that we’re planning a second sailing of the 2025 Soul Train Cruise, to sail in the fall, NOVEMBER 9-16, 2025 out of Ft. Lauderdale, FL aboard Holland America Line’s Eurodam. The decision to sail in November 2025 is contingent upon guest demand and we will judge that demand by asking for deposits from guests. We will assess the demand and confirm if we are sailing no later than June 14th, 2024. Should we decide not to sail, your deposit will be fully refunded within 30 days of our notice on June 14th. No details about itinerary (which I don't care about) or artists (which is all I care about) was provided. I decided to leap at the chance to get a single inside cabin, and now I'm going to get cancel for any reason insurance. I'd be thrilled with a replication of the lineup for the Jan '25 cruise which I couldn't get an inside cabin for, but I don't think that will be the case.

Hi HB! Yes, because I've done three prior Outlaw cruises and three other Sixthman cruises I was able to book an inside cabin yesterday. I think some lucky first timers could have gotten a cabin today via the pre-sale -- although there wasn't much left by that point. The fast sell-out should make it easy for me to get a cabin mate if the friend who is considering that role declines. Interestingly Sixthman is introducing a brand new waiting list system where you make regular payments and get the first cabin that pops up in your category. If none ever become available they pay you a future credit. They are using historic cancellation data so chances are nearly everyone who makes those waiting list payments will end up being able to sail. StarVista doesn't really have waiting lists, they just email when cabins open up and it's a free for all. Rock and Romance had about seven cabins open up on Monday so you might meet some people who came on board at the very last second! Have a great cruise!

Thanks for all of the great coverage, HB! Hope you had a smooth trip home. I got off Cayamo so early I easily made the 10:30 am flight that everyone said I would miss. Cayamo was a wonderful week and like the 80s Cruise we were also in Aruba which was beautiful (and inspired at least one band to do a folk/bluegrass cover of "Kokomo" during one of the late-night jams). We arrived two days after an 80s Cruise. I don't think I've ever been on a music charter that was docked next to a different music charter. Cayamo had pretty good weather except for the second night which happened to be the night Lyle Lovett was slated to do his pool deck show before getting off the next morning in Puerto Plata. The winds were so intense that the show was wisely canceled (I walked around the pool deck later that night and could barely stand up). Since all the indoor venues were already programmed and have more limited capacity they ended up moving Lyle to a 9AM pool deck slot the next morning so he could play and then get off the ship as scheduled. We docked at 7:30 AM or so and about halfway through Lyle's show a Virgin ship docked next to us, so a very small number of Virgin cruisers got to watch a Lyle Lovett concert from their balconies! We also got the starting lineups for the 2025 Outlaw Country and Cayamo cruises, and my personal preference leans strongly toward Outlaw's lineup, which alas would keep me from UDC. Another major factor is that I have multiple friends who would room with me on Outlaw but none for UDC, so in effect the disco cruise would cost me about twice as much. Hopefully it'll sell well and I can catch up with it in 2026. I'll also be getting Cancel for Any Reason Insurance so if the final Outlaw and UDC lineups make me change my mind I'll have some flexibility to switch. HB, this might be of interest: https://mcdonaldlabellecruise2024.sched.com

Thanks for keeping us updated, HB! Great to hear that Sheena Easton delivered live. Who is that singing next to her? Regarding the '25 80s Cruise, if anyone wants to see the lineup HB is referring to it is here: https://the80scruise.com/lineup/ I've only seen three of the artists: Squeeze, Sheila E, and Kurtis Blow. Sheila is a great entertainer. Squeeze do what they do -- I happen to like their music but of course everyone has their own taste. I saw Kurtis so long ago I don't remember anything about his live show. (It was probably a hip-hop package show where everyone got short sets.)

PS -- Here's the 2024 Flower Power schedule. https://2024flowerpowercruise.sched.com John Lodge of the Moody Blues cancelled his land tour and isn't on the final schedule but is said to be recovering nicely so I don't see any changes to the status of his appearance on the 2025 R&R cruise. Tommy James, an oft-requested artist who won't sail OR do two shows in one night, is going to do one big show on the pool and then get off before the ship actually leaves Miami at 7pm. Last time he was booked he did one single show near the port in San Juan and the venue got pretty mixed reviews, so I think most cruisers will be happy to just have him by the pool even if it'll be a crowded affair. And John Kay of Steppenwolf will be the "on and off" guest doing two shows in port.

Thanks HB! So when the announcement happens I'll be on another Sixthman cruise, Cayamo, which leaves on Friday. The nice thing about the timing is that if I love the OCC lineup I can go right to the NextCruise desk and buy a certificate to use on my OCC reservation. And if I don't, perhaps you'll see me on UDC, although I might wait it out a bit more to see who gets added to either cruise.

HB, that webinar will get archived on YouTube. And based on prior webinars the vast majority of the information is geared towards people who have either never cruised or have never been on a music charter. That makes sense, but it also means that what you'd learn would be pretty limited. I watched the archives of TJC webinars with my finger on the fast forward button as I didn't have to hear about luggage tags and specialty dining options.

Today the 2025 Flower Power Cruise was announced. It's a very good lineup that includes Mark Lindsay's first live appearance anywhere in a number of years -- he had retired due an injury and had cancelled on a prior FPC. Rare Earth (with no originals), The Guess Who and ex-Hollies member Terry Sylvester are also doing Rock and Romance in 2025. Alas the dates probably won't work for me (and I won't know for sure until after the April pre-sale) so it's not likely that I'll be booking a cabin.

I might be misreading things but I actually think the performance will be the Hall of Fame Band (Peter Asher's backing group) doing a tribute to Badfinger, rather than a Joey Molland set. When Peter Asher does StarVista cruises he does a matinee show with a full band (including Cara Lee singing "You're No Good" which Asher produced) and then the late night acoustic shows which have lots of special guests. I wonder if he's the only artist who has been on Malt Shop, Flower Power and Rock and Romance.

Looks like you've got a great and very full week of music, HB. When Peter Asher did his late night acoustic show on Flower Power he brought out some special guests (including the Cowsills) and I loved it, but different strokes for different cruisers!

As expected today the Soul Train Cruise pre-sale had only Oceanview and veranda cabins, which are out of my budget. It looks like the 30 or so cabins that were available sold out in 30 minutes. The good news is that Jeffrey Osborne is part of this land-based event I'll probably go to (as are multiple UDC 2025 artists) and I can just catch up with the other artists I wanted to see on land at some point. I am waiting on the Outlaw Country lineup before I pull the trigger for UDC. https://classicrandbevents.com

While our Botti At Sea friends are enjoying their cruise I noticed that Boz Scaggs was removed from the 2025 lineup, while David Foster with Katherine McPhee were added for a return engagement.

As of now the Nieuw Amsterdam is selling cabins for a non-charter cruise leaving the day Soul Train Cruise '25 gets back, so perhaps we'll have to wait until '26 to see two sailings. (Although I am very aware from other parts of this board that sometimes people buy cabins only for the ship to be chartered later on.) A friend is on the Outlaw Country Cruise and quite sadly host and entertainer Mojo Nixon passed away from a cardiac event while the ship was docked in San Juan. Besides his own string of 80s novelty songs (more underground cult classics than hits) he was a Sirius/XM radio host and did a lot of the interviews on the OCC as well as a few sets with his band the Toad Liquors which had performed the night before he died. I'm pretty sure he'd been on every sailing. Today there will be a "Mojo Remembrance & Pontifications" in his honor. His family issued a touching statement saying in essence that he passed doing what he loved in a setting that he loved.

That's awesome, HB! Outlaw Country Cruise '25 was announced and conflicts with Ultimate Disco Cruise (as often happens). I'll wait and see what the OCC lineup is like as it doesn't seem like UDC is going to sell out any time soon. Soul Train Cruise '25 is supposedly 96% sold out from on board bookings that took place during the recent cruise. While some of that comes from people just rebooking their cabin, I'm told there was also a lot of cruisers signing up friends on board. So I don't think my odds at scoring a cabin during the pre-sale are very good, especially since I would go only for an inside cabin. But there's also an online rumor that there will be a second sailing -- whether that will be in '25 or '26, and whether or not the lineup will be identical, are things that remain to be seen.

I just noticed that Boz Scaggs has been added to Botti At Sea '25.

We were in Labadee on The Jazz Cruise last week. A beautiful beach and three different traditional Haitian bands. They will absolutely not let you outside of the gated compound (which is in the middle of nowhere) but one of the excursions is a trip to a nearby village (I can't remember if it is via bus or water shuttle) where you see a cultural presentation of drummers and dancers and traditional medicinal practitioners. I did it about six years ago and it was fun once but not something I needed to do again this time. While I certainly hope the currently dire situation in Haiti improves, it's hard to imagine that they'll be letting anyone wonder around the country a year from now, and I'm not sure there'd be much to see even if you did.

HB, it looks like at some point your R&R schedule is going to be here: https://202470srockandromancecruise.sched.com but certainly not while SV is hosting the Soul Train Cruise, and probably not until their staff has recovered from three consecutive cruises. My guess is it'll get released in 2-3 weeks.

Speaking of UDC '25, here are my guesses for who will play where: Kool & The Gang -- definitely an entire theater show The Spinners -- definitely an entire theater show Shalamar featuring Howard Hewett, Carolyn Griffey, and Jeffrey Daniel -- when Shalamar Reloaded featuring Jody Watley were on UDC '20, they did an entire show in the theater, but it's always possible this could end up as a split bill. Tavares -- A theater act. I think the last few times they were on UDC or Soul Train they split a bill with another act. (In one case they were scheduled this way but cancelled at the last minute.) Rose Royce -- They've played many SV cruises and are always at the pool. The Brothers Johnson -- Since this is their first SV cruise there's no precedent to go by. A bit on the funky side so could work in either venue. I'd be a bit surprised if they were given a full 75 minute set. Lisa Lisa -- Another one with no precedent. I would have guessed the pool but fellow freestyle stars Expose played the theater last year. Also, she usually does a short set on freestyle package shows but I found one instance where she did an entire set by her own in a casino theater. (Based on the set list it took a few covers sung by her backup singers to get her through an entire full show.) Since she uses backing tracks she's also a possibility for one of the late night restaurant slots where a full band isn't set up. The Legendary Blue Notes -- Last year they did a split theater bill with Double Exposure but they played one pool set and one lounge set on UDC '20. The Trammps ft. Earl Young -- Always a pool favorite. Original Stone City Band -- Rick James' old band -- seems like a pool act to me. George McCrae -- A one hit wonder (but what a hit!), we'll likely see George as a special guest with UGO or as part of a package set. I can't remember if he's even done one of the short artist spots that happen in the restaurant but that would probably work for him too. Double Exposure -- see Legendary Blue Notes. They're not going to headline a theater show but could open for the Blue Notes or Tavares, especially in a matinee, or could be part of a pool/lounge package set. Bee Gees Gold- -- Pool/lounge Boogie Wonder Band -- Pool/lounge Forever Donna - The Ultimate Donna Summer Tribute by Rainere Martin -- Pool/lounge Based on all of this I think it's possible that another theater headliner will be added -- but not at all guaranteed. The tribute slots seem pretty full. Another one or two hit wonder act that can bounce between the pool, lounge, and late-night restaurant seems likely -- a France Joli, Ritchie Family, or First Choice, for instance.

Note from the Soul Train Cruise FB page. The cruise starts today and this was posted yesterday. I'd say the replacement act is just as wonderful and famous as the one who couldn't make it. "We wanted to share with you that last night, we were informed by Gerald Alston of The Manhattans that he will not be able to join us on our upcoming cruise. His doctor recommends that he does not travel at this time, but should be fully recovered shortly. We are looking forward to hopefully having him back on a future Soul Train Cruise. Luckily, we were able to get the incredible Russell Thompkins, Jr., lead singer of The Sytlistics, to perform onboard this week. We’re excited to have him join us again, and can’t wait to see you all tomorrow!"

Speaking of the demographic, there were at least two major medical emergencies. The first night I noticed that many hours after departure the lights of Miami could be seen and my phone was working. I assumed it was just a matter of whatever route we were taking and didn't think much of it, but a passenger I spoke with claimed that we had to go back due to a medical issue. (Perhaps a smaller boat came out and met our ship to transport the passenger?) When we were nearing the end of our time in Labadee I was watching Emmet Cohen's B3 set (which was jam packed because so few people had gotten off the ship) and I noticed from the window of the Sky Lounge that there was a helicopter parked on the dock and that no one could go to or from the ship. Eventually a passenger was wheeled out and put into the copter which took off. Only a handful of the audience seemed to notice.