Rock and Romance, 80s Cruise, and my other 2024 music adventures

[Honolulu Blue]

I found this gem on my travels through various music charter cruises:

 

 

I can't recall seeing any cruise ship with two separate dress themes each day and night (though I know a few cruise lines have separate dress codes).  That can take quite a toll on the luggage, unless you can find ways to combine themes and reuse costumes.

[Honolulu Blue]

Another interesting tour has come to my attention... New Kids On the Block (NKOTB) will be hitting the road with their Magic Summer Tour 2024 with support from DJ Jazzy Jeff and Paula Abdul.  The Kids are all right (they just hosted a charter cruise earlier this month), I liked Jeff and his partner quite a bit back in the day, but Paula's the one that really made my hyperventilate.  😍 She's one of my guilty pleasures.  An article about this tour with dates is at https://www.mlive.com/life/2023/10/new-kids-on-the-block-to-tour-with-paula-abdul-dj-jazzy-jeff-with-a-pine-knob-show.html .

 

The closest they'll come to my neck of the woods is Pine Knob, but it's not my preferred destination to go see them.  I'd rather go to Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio (near Akron); Tinley Park, IL (near Chicago); Cincinnati; Columbus; or Noblesville, IN (near Indianapolis) and make a weekend out of it.  Tickets won't start selling until Wednesday, with some not being available until Friday.  We'll see where this goes.  I'll give an update later on this.

[Honolulu Blue]

High Seas Rally 2023 sailed from Tampa a few days ago.  They've now switched the site over to the 2024 edition.  That year's cruise will run October 26 through November 2 on Radiance OTS.  I can't remember if that's the same ship as last time or not.  I do know they are sailing out of Tampa again, and the itinerary looks like a tour of the Bahamas - Bimini, Freeport, Nassau, and Coco Cay.

 

They announced some of the bands they'll have.  The names are surprisingly familiar to me - Vixen (on TEC 2023 and HSR 2023) and Lou Gramm (on TEC 2023):

 

 

I didn't attend Vixen's concerts, but they shared a (very big) room with Mr. Gramm in an autograph session that I did attend.  I'm sure I could have gotten their autographs if I wanted to badly enough.  I didn't want to.  But they're OK.  High Seas Rally could do much worse, IMHO.  They did announce a couple of other performers that weren't familiar to me.

 

Booking for us peasants not on the current cruise starts on November 7.  I won't be doing this one, but don't let me stop you motorcycle fans from getting onboard.

[Honolulu Blue]

I got an e-mail from the UDC with some more announcements.  First was the itinerary.  Since the cruise is only 5 days, they couldn't do much with it.  And... they didn't do much with it.  Here it is:

 

 

I've been to both Cozumel and Costa Maya multiple times.  They're all right, ports that are suitable for ordinary use.  I can't recall a late night stop in Coz before; that'll be new for me.  I might be able to do something with it.  And surely StarVista will do something with it - like shuffle around our guest performers to and from the airport.

 

Speaking of performers, they announced some more of those for this cruise.  First up was The Spinners.  They were on this cruise last year and they're due to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in a few days.  I liked them and I'm glad they could make it.

 

 

Also on the list is Shalamar.  The most famous former member of Shalamar is Jody Watley, who was scheduled for The 80s Cruise earlier this year.  Alas, she couldn't make it.  This version of Shalamar won't have her, but it still should be a good show.

 

Next is Lisa Lisa.  I don't think the traditional disco fans are going to think too much of her, but I like this addition.  Her songs have always had a good beat and you can dance to them.  I've always had a soft spot for "I Wonder If I Take You Home", her first top 40 hit.

 

The last performer announced in this wave was Double Exposure.  I used to play double exposure blackjack in Las Vegas when I was more of a gambler and when they offered games like this.  I found it to be a fun diversion from regular BJ.  This doesn't have anything to do with Double Exposure the band, which had a few disco hits in the mid-to-late 70s.  In other words, the disco traditionalists are going to like these guys better than Lisa Lisa.  I wouldn't be surprised if I go back and do research and find that I recognize their songs.

 

My reaction is, "That's nice, but give me more!"  I'm greedy. 😈

[Honolulu Blue]

On the drive into work I heard "Don't Stop Believing" from Journey and "Rhiannon" from Fleetwood Mac.  DSB, a tribute act to Journey, played this on the Ruby Princess in April:

 

 

We'll have Bella Donna as a tribute act for Fleetwood Mac on the Rock & Romance Cruise next year.  Will they play this one?  I'm not sure.  They might focus on bigger Stevie Nicks solo tunes instead.

[Honolulu Blue]

Good news and bad news:  The good news is that John Mellencamp is coming to town.  I like him and would probably go see him, except for the bad news... which is that he'll be in town while we're on the Rock & Romance Cruise.  ☹️  Oh well.  He probably wasn't going to play "Rain on the Scarecrow" anyway.

[Honolulu Blue]

After a lot of consideration of the pros and cons and the general logistics, I purchased my ticket for the NKOTB Magic Summer 2024.  Part of the contemplation process was deciding whether I wanted to try to see more than one show.  I decided against it.  

 

I'm heading to Columbus, Ohio for the show on Friday, August 23.  It's in Nationwide Arena downtown.  There are some hotels within walking distance that currently show space available; I'll likely try to get accommodations at one or the other of them later.  The seat is on the middle level (between the floor and the upper level), near the center.  The view should be decent.  I was tempted by some options that were much closer to the stage (and much, much more expensive), but all the ones I liked best booked up.  Oh well.  The cost was $86 including all fees - not bad, all things considered.  The hotel I expect to cost much more, even for one night.

[Honolulu Blue]

The Big Easy Cruise announced some performers and other details about their 2025 cruise:

 

 

No New Orleans stop this time, which I'm sure will be disappointing to some. Since the initial edition leaves today (good luck!), those passengers get first dibs on cabins for 2025. They can book onboard. Bookings open to the general public on November 21.

Edited November 4, 2023 by Honolulu Blue

[Honolulu Blue]

Quickie bursts of rock and roll news from around the Net:

 

• One of the guests on the Headbangers Boat went overboard.  There was a search, no body found.  Doesn't look good. ☹️
• Bret Michaels will be having a show at one of the area megacasinos in February.  Tickets on sale soon.  I had the chance to see Mr. Michaels on The 80s Cruise earlier this year, but didn't do it.  Not my speed.  So I think I'll pass on this opportunity.
• At the same megacasino in August, ZZ Top and Lynyrd Skynyrd will be performing.  Tickets on sale... sometime.  I saw ZZ Top a couple of years ago, just before they lost Dusty Hill.  My pictures of these guys at this concert are really bad, so no pictures - sorry about that.  I don't think I'll go to this concert either.

[NinS]

There was a lengthy Reddit thread about the Headbangers Boat incident. While it's always hard to separate Internet myth from fact, it does seem like the passenger had some mental struggles which contributed to the very sad situation.

 

Various friends are off the Malt Shop Cruise, which seems to have been incident free aside from a few minor conflicts over people dancing and blocking the views of those seated at the pool shows. One friend is on The Big Easy Cruise and is having a blast. She says everyone seemed to get into the one show by cruise co-headliner Tedeschi Trucks inside the theater. Perhaps it helped that not only was another band counter programmed on the pool deck, but there were free drinks offered during that competing pool set! I saw some online videos of Irma Thomas, a New Orleans legend who would seemingly be a big draw, and there appeared to a number of empty seats in the theater for her set, so StarVista seems to have made the right decision in not having any kind of assigned theater shows like they do on most of their cruises. 

 

If you follow the Sixthman.net/Today update announcements for their ongoing cruises, you might have seen that the Headbanger's Boat had to switch the date it landed in Nassau, probably due to weather. Since the whole band roster was on for the whole boat they just swapped the port day schedule for the sea day schedule. The fix wouldn't be as easy on a StarVista cruise when nearly half the bands get on or off at a port. The Sixthman EDM cruise that just finished had to miss a day at one of the private cruise ship islands because of weather. The DJs (there were no live bands on this cruise) slated to play on the islands just got moved to the pool. There were also repeated requests on that cruise from the head Sixthman cruise director for passengers to stop vaping indoors.

 

 

[Honolulu Blue]

@NinS - thank you for sharing your stories!  You're well connected and well informed in a way that I hope that I'll be, but probably won't ever achieve.  

[Honolulu Blue]

On the drive in to work today, I heard "Love Is A Battlefield" from Pat Benatar and "Low Rider" from War.  I saw Ms. Benatar in concert in September and she played this song.

 

 

WAR I will see on the Rock & Romance Cruise next year.  They seem like a lock to play their song there.

[George C]

Here are some autographed CDs and albums from previous rock and romance cruises

[Honolulu Blue]

5 hours ago, George C said:

Here are some autographed CDs and albums from previous rock and romance cruises

Thanks for sharing this.  I'll note that I will be cruising with Air Supply and Michael McDonald on separate cruises next year.  Perhaps I'll get autographs from either or both of them? 🙏

[George C]

8 hours ago, Honolulu Blue said:

Thanks for sharing this.  I'll note that I will be cruising with Air Supply and Michael McDonald on separate cruises next year.  Perhaps I'll get autographs from either or both of them? 🙏

Air Supply was the only band that I can recall that brought their entire band with them on the ship , we were in a specialty restaurant and the entire band was together with their wife’s . Michael McDonald also had his wife of many decades with him as one of his backup singers . 

[NinS]

The Norwegian Pearl is now out with Sixthman's Salty Dog Cruise, a long running charter helmed by the Celtic/punk band Flogging Molly. Yesterday it rained so all the pool deck shows got moved to indoor venues. Today they were in Costa Maya and cruisers got this message: "The weather is so much better but I have one very small change for you, we have some shore excursions that have been delayed getting back and it’s no salty left behind here so we’re getting Broilers started at 5:30 on the Pool Deck."

 

The original "all aboard" was 4:30 pm -- I'm not sure what time this band was slated to originally play. It is a reminder that the ships will wait for those who take an official ship excursion, but not those who get delayed while exploring an island on their own. The Mayan ruin tours that leave from Costa Maya tend to be long treks so I imagine the risk is much higher than if you are just taking a short cab ride to a local beach as I typically do at port stops.

 

The Malt Shop Memories Cruise used to have artist-led excursions. I have especially fond memories of going scuba diving with Little Anthony. On the 2018 excursion Felix Cavaliere of the Rascals "led" a trip on a scenic train ride in St. Kitts the afternoon before his first show, which also happened to be the debut of his new backing band, which he planned to rehearse at sound check. 

 

It wasn't much of an artist-led excursion because the train had many cars, so most of us weren't anywhere near Felix. And then the scenic train broke down! One could see Felix's manager outside the stuck train frantically making phone calls and chain smoking. Eventually they found some buses and we all got back a few hours after we were supposed to. People who had the early show probably missed the first part. They also gave us some sort of sound check party with free drinks later in the cruise. I've never heard of StarVista having an artist-led excursion ever since. Clearly there were no hard feelings with Felix as he's continued to frequently appear on StarVista events, including the 2024 Flower Power and Malt Shop cruises.

 

 

[Honolulu Blue]

Oh boy, I figured this day would come. I just wish I wasn't on another cruise (not music themed) and have limited tools at my disposal.

 

Anyway, ECP today announced THE 90s CRUISE. It's like their 80s Cruise, but a decade later. I think there was still a lot of music put out in the 80s - like Blues Traveler, Collective Soul, Gin Blossoms, Color Me Badd, Lisa Loeb, C+C Music Factory, and Jesus Jones. I didn't mention those names at random; they're all announced to be on the cruise! Yeah!!

 

It is scheduled for January 31 - February 5 out of Tampa on the Serenade of the Seas. It's just before the Comic-Con Cruise on the same ship. They're having to Cozumel and Costa Maya. Yawn. Sorry, been a busy cruise so far. 😁

 

The best priced cabins for solos are the dedicated studios, which are already gone. I signed up for the waitlist just in case. 🙏 For a few hundred extra, I can choose my own full-size interior or OV, since those are offered at 150% of the singles price.

 

It all works out to be slightly more than my TEC without the full drink package that cruise offers (they offer a non alcoholic package instead). I think I'm going to do it, but I need to take some time to properly consider this cruise. Stay tuned for more details.

 

P.S. Part of the entertainment today was a 90s music trivia contest. I didn't win, but it was quite fun. They didn't play any songs from any of the artists that will be on this cruise.

 

Also, this will be 2 1/2 weeks before the return of the Ultimate Disco Cruise, which is interesting timing. I wonder what this means for TEC 2025, if anything. Could they move it to Tampa and fit it in with their two other cruises. Or will it continue to be separate? Staying separate seems likely since TEC uses much larger ships than the Serenade.

 

 

[NinS]

Since Sophie B Hawkins is on the 90s Cruise I'll say the obvious line: Damn, I wish I were on that cruise!

[Honolulu Blue]

13 hours ago, NinS said:

Since Sophie B Hawkins is on the 90s Cruise I'll say the obvious line: Damn, I wish I were on that cruise!

Yes, Sophie B. will be on the cruise too. I like the song and I like your paraphrasing of it.

 

Anyway, small update... I tried booking while I had time in the wee hours of the morning. I couldn't use the single rate code, and I'm not willing to pay the full single tax for this cruise (blame Mom 😁). So I sent ECP a note about this and any linkage between TNC and TEC. They've responded to me relatively quickly in the past, so I expect to hear from them in the next day or two. I'll post more when I get that reply.

[Honolulu Blue]

6 hours ago, Honolulu Blue said:

6 hours ago, Honolulu Blue said:

 I sent ECP a note about this and any linkage between TNC and TEC. They've responded to me relatively quickly in the past, so I expect to hear from them in the next day or two. I'll post more when I get that reply.

 

That was quick. I got a reply from ECP. No answer to a link between TEC and TNC, but they gave me an active (I assume) code to get the proper singles rate. Then they asked me to email them and they would manually add my alumni discount and OBC. Sounds good. 👍 I'll give it a try later today.

 

More updates as warranted.

[Honolulu Blue]

UPDATE:  My agent at ECP and I booked me a space on The 90s Cruise. Its an interior cabin on deck 8.

 

This is another music charter for me to enjoy in 2025. I hope there aren't any conflicts that come up, like Soul Train.

Edited November 14, 2023 by Honolulu Blue

[George C]

7 hours ago, Honolulu Blue said:

Yes, Sophie B. will be on the cruise too. I like the song and I like your paraphrasing of it.

 

Anyway, small update... I tried booking while I had time in the wee hours of the morning. I couldn't use the single rate code, and I'm not willing to pay the full single tax for this cruise (blame Mom 😁). So I sent ECP a note about this and any linkage between TNC and TEC. They've responded to me relatively quickly in the past, so I expect to hear from them in the next day or two. I'll post more when I get that reply.

Sophie B did a fantastic version of Dylan’s “I want you” during Dylan’s 30 anniversary concert , I don’t understand why they removed it from the DVD version. That was about 20 years ago.

[Honolulu Blue]

We had a show on my current cruise called America Rocks. This was a step up from the typical shows you see on this cruise line,  IMHO. The music was true to the theme, and it was performed live by a band rather than just singing and dancing to prerecorded music.

 

There were so many ties to music performers I've seen and will see that it would take me hours to explain it all. Suffice it to say that there were a bunch. 

 

Here are a few pictures from the show, more for me to remember than for both of you to enjoy.

 

[NinS]

Tomorrow the inaugural Rock the Bells hip-hop cruise sails back to Miami. It sold out before the lineup was even announced, so not surprisingly a second edition has been announced -- and it'll actually be the exact same dates, November 13-17, just one year later. This year had lots of 80s and 90s hip-hop acts, but a lot of that may have been because it was the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, and those old school artists could do both live sets and panels. Ironically one vintage act who was never on the lineup was LL Cool J, who had the song the cruise is named after.

 

A Rock the Bells resort weekend was recently announced for next spring and then very quickly cancelled. It had a much more contemporary lineup, and I wouldn't be surprised if next year's RTB cruise was also a bit more oriented toward current hip-hop. 

[Honolulu Blue]

Sad news: George Brown, Kool and the Gang co-founder and drummer,  recently passed away. I thought they were the best show on each of my UDCs, despite some stiff competition.  I still hope they'll make it on UDC 2025.