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

[Honolulu Blue]

UPDATE:  I got my deferral.  So, a few days after I cruise with @George C and a couple of thousand others on the 70s Rock and Romance Cruise, I'll be doing my time on jury duty.  We'll see how it goes.

 

[Honolulu Blue]

A brief listing of my key dates for 2024, more for my benefit than anyone else's.  I apologize for the distraction.

 

• Next week - embark on cruise to the Panama Canal area.  No music theme.
• Mid-February - tentative schedules released for both TEC and R&R, booking for TEC 25 available, info about R&R 25 available - perhaps booking available here also?
• Late February - The 80s Cruise!
• Mid-March - 70s Rock and Romance! 
• Late March - jury duty ☹️
• Mid-April - partying with Michael McDonald and Patti LaBelle!
• Late May - VIP tickets to see Chicago
• Early August - another cruise to Canada & New England, not music themed (yet)
• Late August - swooning over DJ Jazzy Jeff, NKOTB, and Paula Abdul
• Mid-October - cruising from a long way away to an even longer way away, not music themed

Edited January 4 by Honolulu Blue

[Honolulu Blue]

Stephen Pearcy, former lead singer for the rock group RATT, e-mailed me with a link to a blog post about his latest tour dates.  Here are the most interesting details I took from it:

• Direct quote:
  Over the years Stephen has tried relentlessly to bring together the living members of RATT but to no avail. At a certain point he has to simply accept one's choice to retire, God knows the boys have earned it. He too has earned it but wants to give one last go around to the fans this year.

First of all, is this the last tour for Mr. Pearcy???  If so, I'm especially glad that I saw him when I did last year and that I will be seeing him again on The 80s Cruise.

 

 

And second, this is an interesting spin on why the RATT gang hasn't gotten back together.  I'm not sure how true it is, but it is interesting.

 

• There are a few stops listed.  The 80s Cruise is among them.  The gap between TEC and his other concerts is quite big (at least 2 weeks).  I wonder if he's actually going to spend the full week on the ship with us.  It's definitely a possibility.  We know he's going to be on early in the cruise, because he has a date for breakfast with me (and a few dozen other fans).
• The tour is called the "Back in the Cellar Tour".  It's the 40th anniversary of the release of RATT's big album "Out of the Cellar" and he promises to play it in its entirety.  Will he play this complete album on the ship?  I wonder.  OOTC isn't my favorite RATT album, but it does have my second favorite RATT song, the relatively obscure "She Wants Money", which he didn't play for me in concert in November. ☹️

Edited January 8 by Honolulu Blue

[Honolulu Blue]

I watched a YouTube video with discussion and a Q&A for the upcoming UDC from cruise director Jason Venner and Executive Producer Alan Rubens.  It was very interesting, but at about 43 minutes long, it's not for everyone.  Here's the link:

 

These are the points that I thought were of most interest:

• Alan acknowledged the community of UDC cruisers were instrumental in bringing it back, though he's a disco fan and originally designed the cruise
• On cabin sale progress... it's "so far, so good", but more needs to be done
• What's the best thing we can do to help things along?  "Bring a friend!"
• Why did they move to the NCL Pearl?  The Pearl is a veteran of many music cruises, including some on StarVista.  They want to create a better, more unique experience for us.  For example, the pool area is larger than on the Summit, so that could lead to bigger pool concerts
• They added "and Beyond" to the name because there's still a stigma to "disco".  Alan noted that disco never really died.  They're interested in soul and funk music from the era and near it.
• Alan and Jason agreed that they would love for the cruise to eventually go to 7 days.  There are more choices available in 7 days - more ports, more acts, more shows.  R&R and Flower Power started out as 5 days, but demand for those cruises was great enough for them to morph into 7-day journeys.  Jason said there's a different pace on 5-day cruises - more manic and more immersive.
• It's cheaper for StarVista to not change home ports for their charters, so that's why they don't switch those
• They're already working on itineraries for their 2026 cruises
• They noted that they can only go to so many ports in 5 or even 7 days
• Cozumel is a popular choice, especially for 5-day cruises
• They shy away from tender ports, which make a less than ideal experience for the guests
• StarVista (including Alan) and Jason do extensive scouting on potential performers.  They note which ones are solid performers and are friendly to their fans.  
• Tribute acts are used to fill in gaps when the original is not available (won't cruise, too expensive, no longer touring, deceased).  Bee Gees music is very important to the disco era and Bee Gees Gold is the best representation of that.  They also like it when the original performer endorses a tribute act - Rock & Romance's Hotel California was mentioned as an example of this.
• Alan said there will be more exciting additions to come.  Sometimes it takes a long time to seal the deal.

Edited January 9 by Honolulu Blue

[NinS]

Thanks HB! I had not heard about this video, which I guess was just sent to the current cruisers, not past UDC vets like myself. I'll definitely be tuning in. On Malt Shop Jason and Alan have done similar Q&As in person on the last day of the cruise and they addressed many of the same questions. 

[Honolulu Blue]

3 minutes ago, NinS said:

Thanks HB! I had not heard about this video, which I guess was just sent to the current cruisers, not past UDC vets like myself. I'll definitely be tuning in. On Malt Shop Jason and Alan have done similar Q&As in person on the last day of the cruise and they addressed many of the same questions. 

You're welcome!  I was not sent this video by e-mail.  It was linked on their FB page and is also on YouTube (where I subscribe to StarVista).

[NinS]

Oh I see now -- I had thought it was a live Q&A with the online audience asking questions but I see it was pre-recorded and that the questions were those that had been generally asked (and indeed they had been as anyone who reads the UDC Facebook groups knows).

[Honolulu Blue]

I'm on the road and can't talk much, but I got an email with some details about the 2025 edition of TBE Rock and Romance Cruise. It's March 15-22 on the Celebrity Summit, which will be sailing out of Fort Lauderdale. The ship will visit Cozumel and Costa Maya. They didn't say if those were the only ports. From Port Everglades I know you can visit one or two additional ports if you want to. Maybe StarVista doesn't think we want to. Also, no performers were listed, but I'm sure that will come later.

[Honolulu Blue]

Now that I have a little time, let me post my feelings on the R&R 25 thing. The date is close to this year's cruise, which was as I expected. Saturday-Saturday cruises are nice. I prefer Miami, but Port Everglades is all right. I like the Summit.

 

On the other hand, I already have two music themed charter cruises scheduled for 2025, with one (TEC) that I'm extremely likely to book. That doesn't leave a lot of room for Rock and Romance, which I think has had a hot and cold lineup through the years. Obviously I like this year's list, but who knows about next year?

 

At this point, I'm about 50-50 to book. Most of the fog will lift by the time I pull the trigger or don't - including the lineups for this and TEC and whether @George C can successfully twist my arm onboard.

[George C]

49 minutes ago, Honolulu Blue said:

Now that I have a little time, let me post my feelings on the R&R 25 thing. The date is close to this year's cruise, which was as I expected. Saturday-Saturday cruises are nice. I prefer Miami, but Port Everglades is all right. I like the Summit.

 

On the other hand, I already have two music themed charter cruises scheduled for 2025, with one (TEC) that I'm extremely likely to book. That doesn't leave a lot of room for Rock and Romance, which I think has had a hot and cold lineup through the years. Obviously I like this year's list, but who knows about next year?

 

At this point, I'm about 50-50 to book. Most of the fog will lift by the time I pull the trigger or don't - including the lineups for this and TEC and whether @George C can successfully twist my arm onboard.

I would prefer flower power since I grew up in 60’s, but wife totally loves 70’s music , I am 99.9 percent sure we will book next year , the only year we missed was the first year , also don’t want to give up our royal suite. I still hope they add another headliner, I was disappointed that Mellisa Manchester canceled she was fantastic on previous cruise. I some of my favorite musicians I discovered on these cruises really wasn’t very knowledgeable about Boz Scaggs or Todd Rundgren, now we see them any time there in Dallas area. 

[Honolulu Blue]

A couple of items of note in the world of music cruising.

 

First, The 80s Cruise sent me an email mostly to remind me that there are only 45 days to go on that cruise,  and I can now check in. I'll likely do that later today, though I'm on another cruise and my tools are limited.

 

Second, Chris Botti at Sea announced their second annual cruise by email. I normally don't pay much attention to jazz cruises or Jazz Cruises, but one of this cruise's special guests is Kool and the Gang. Yes, these guys.

 

 

They were on the UDC in 2022 and 2023 (when the above photo was taken) and I've been hoping and praying 😇 for them to come on next year's sailing, which I'm booked on. 

 

Botti at Sea presents a bit of a conflict, as it sails February 4-11 and the UDC sails February 19-24. Perhaps they'd like to take a short break in Florida, or maybe do a concert or two there, and then they can do both. Or maybe they won't do both. ☹️

Edited January 15 by Honolulu Blue

[NinS]

Botti At Sea will be in Cozumel until 11:30 pm, which indicates that Kool -- or perhaps another artist (as the Weekender indicated there's at least one or two contracts that haven't yet been signed) will be coming on just for the day or leaving the cruise on the third day. And it does call Kool a "special guest." So that would leave them plenty of time to also make UDC.

 

And speaking of UDC, today its Facebook page promised "big news coming soon." Kool? KC? Or perhaps UDC year 1 headliners Gloria Gaynor and the Village People? I've always been surprised that neither returned since they're such huge disco names, although perhaps Gloria, now 80, was hesitant to book a cruise while Covid was raging. 

 

And, finally, speaking of StarVista and big news, such a promise was recently made on the Malt Shop Memories Cruise page. The announcement turned out to be that Priscilla Presley is coming on the ship to do a multimedia and Q&A presentation. That actually sounds pretty interesting to me, but there were a few cruisers who made it abundantly clear that they were not interested. I'm not sailing on Malt Shop this year so I'll be eager to hear from my friends how she goes over.

Edited January 15 by NinS

[Honolulu Blue]

11 minutes ago, NinS said:

Botti At Sea will be in Cozumel until 11:30 pm, which indicates that Kool -- or perhaps another artist (as the Weekender indicated there's at least one or two contracts that haven't yet been signed) will be coming on just for the day or leaving the cruise on the third day. And it does call Kool a "special guest." So that would leave them plenty of time to also make UDC.

 

And speaking of UDC, today its Facebook page promised "big news coming soon." Kool? KC? Or perhaps UDC year 1 headliners Gloria Gaynor and the Village People? I've always been surprised that neither returned since they're such huge disco names, although perhaps Gloria, now 80, was hesitant to book a cruise while Covid was raging. 

 

And, finally, speaking of StarVista and big news, such a promise was recently made on the Malt Shop Memories Cruise page. The announcement turned out to be that Priscilla Presley is coming on the ship to do a multimedia and Q&A presentation. That actually sounds pretty interesting to me, but there were a few cruisers who made it abundantly clear that they were not interested. I'm not sailing on Malt Shop this year so I'll be eager to hear from my friends how she goes over.

Thanks for your comments. Kool said the Gang could certainly switch up in Cozumel or do an all day gig there. That would help things along.

 

One site that I can't access at all is Facebook. It cramps my style a bit, but I'm happy to sacrifice it to be on this cruise. I don't know exactly what they said, but they've promised imminent big news before. I'm hoping for Kool or KC (preferably both), but I'm not holding my breath.

 

GG and the VP don't interest me. I'd rather have Priscilla (whom I mostly know from The Naked Gun movies), though I know she would be a horrible match for the UDC crowd. 

[NinS]

I emailed the man in charge and he wrote back right away saying he wasn't yet sure how long Kool would be on the cruise, "but a bit for sure." 

 

By my count there is room for at least one major headliner to be added to the Botti affair and probably two or maybe even three as this year's schedule shows that they frequently do double bills for the evening theater shows.

[Honolulu Blue]

In the Always Something There To Remind Me department, I had a couple of opportunities at trivia.

 

First, I wanted to do discovered music trivia, but my excursion held me up so I didn't make it on time.

 

I did make it to the 70s and 80s music trivia held earlier today.  I didn't win, but it was fun. I noticed that one of the songs was one these guys DID NOT PLAY on the UDC earlier this year.

 

 

Another song was one these ladies played last year on the UDC:

 

[Honolulu Blue]

UDC made their big announcement that I'm sure @NinS was referring to. Kool and the Gang are coming back to the UDC in 2025!!! 🤩 This makes me so happy.  I'm feeling a lot better about my decision to get on the ship.

[Honolulu Blue]

According to Jazz Cruises, the McDonald LaBelle Cruise is over 90% reserved. Only a few balconies remain. Most of the other remaining cabins are balconies. 

Edited January 20 by Honolulu Blue

[Honolulu Blue]

The latest Internet rumor for TEC 2025 is that it will be on Explorer of the Seas out of Miami on March 2 through 9. It seems credible - there's a 2-week gap in Royal's official sailings that ends on the 9th, its last dry dock was in March 2023, and it's the same class of ship as the Mariner and Navigator which were used for the past two 80s cruises. 

 

If this is what ECP is planning, then it works well for me. I like Miami as an embarkation port  much better than Port Canaveral. March 2 is a Sunday, which is better than a weekday. It will sail 6 days after the UDC, which means I can either stay in Florida to take another cruise, or i could head home to regroup and repack. And it will end 6 days before Rock and Romance, which means I could fit THAT one in if I really want to torture myself.😱

 

We'll see. TEC could make this announcement at any time.

[Honolulu Blue]

I finally finished Stephen Pearcy's autobiography.  Good stuff. Like many other rock and rollers, he's been through a lot. And he had a lot of stories to tell. I could see it in his face when I met him. Now I know better where it all came from.

 

By the way, he mentioned my little city in the book as one of the places his band played on one of their numerous and seemingly everlasting tours. No, I didn't go to see him then; I wasn't much into seeing live music at that time. Besides, I was a college student at that time and didn't have much money to spend on such frivolities.

Edited January 21 by Honolulu Blue

[Honolulu Blue]

On 1/21/2024 at 3:48 AM, Honolulu Blue said:

The latest Internet rumor for TEC 2025 is that it will be on Explorer of the Seas out of Miami on March 2 through 9. It seems credible - there's a 2-week gap in Royal's official sailings that ends on the 9th, its last dry dock was in March 2023, and it's the same class of ship as the Mariner and Navigator which were used for the past two 80s cruises. 

 

If this is what ECP is planning, then it works well for me. I like Miami as an embarkation port  much better than Port Canaveral. March 2 is a Sunday, which is better than a weekday. It will sail 6 days after the UDC, which means I can either stay in Florida to take another cruise, or i could head home to regroup and repack. And it will end 6 days before Rock and Romance, which means I could fit THAT one in if I really want to torture myself.😱

 

We'll see. TEC could make this announcement at any time.

UPDATE: The Star Trek Cruise made its announcement for 2025. It will be February 23 - March 2 on Explorer OTS out of Miami. They also announced they will be heading to Cozumel,  Costa Maya, and Belize. 

 

The reason why I discuss all this is The 80s Cruise has traditionally followed Star Trek on the same ship with the same itinerary. So the rumor I quoted above turned out to be true - or about as true as we can get at this point.

 

I remain happy with it. The ports are ok, as if they mattered anyway. We'll see when the official announcement is and when they start taking bookings.

[Honolulu Blue]

I found out through random surfing that The Doobie Brothers are heading put on tour with Steve Winwood (at some stops). The article link us at https://thedoobiebrothers.com/blogs/news/the-doobie-brothers-announce-the-2024-tour .

 

Elsewhere, I found that these guys are mostly covering the same territory at the same time as the NKOTB and friends tour. There are several options for me if I care to take a road trip. There are also a couple of VIP ticket options. 

 

I'm thinking about doing this. Mr. McDonald will be joining the Doobies for this tour and I'll see him in a few months on the McDonald LaBelle Cruise. I'm sure he won't play all the Doobie hits. And I like Steve Winwood too. 

 

Stay tuned.

[NinS]

This is great news -- I managed to miss both legs of the Doobie 50th tour with Michael McDonald so I'm looking forward to catching it when it hits my town. I've also never seen Steve Winwood before.

 

I just (an hour ago!) got off The Jazz Cruise which was a great time. We did have very choppy seas one night and one singer tried performing from a chair and then just gave up entirely. Everyone else just soldiered on. A friend is on StarVista's Country Music Cruise and the weather report for their original ports was so dire that they were worried about artists being able to make it onto the ship at the halfway point, so the ports were changed from Grand Turk and Key West to Miami (yes as a port stop!) and Nassau. Everyone had to get off at Miami and then get back on again. There was some online grumbling but I heard the process wasn't too bad.

[George C]

Doobies are playing in Dallas on our anniversary but in a bad section of the city , so I will pass. Really hope rock and romance will get Michael McDonald again he signed a CD for me last time . We saw Steve Winwood with Eric Clapton about a decade ago in a suite . Really looking forward to seeing Judy Collins this Saturday. They should be announcing 2025 lineup soon .

[Honolulu Blue]

49 minutes ago, NinS said:

This is great news -- I managed to miss both legs of the Doobie 50th tour with Michael McDonald so I'm looking forward to catching it when it hits my town. I've also never seen Steve Winwood before.

 

I just (an hour ago!) got off The Jazz Cruise which was a great time. We did have very choppy seas one night and one singer tried performing from a chair and then just gave up entirely. Everyone else just soldiered on. A friend is on StarVista's Country Music Cruise and the weather report for their original ports was so dire that they were worried about artists being able to make it onto the ship at the halfway point, so the ports were changed from Grand Turk and Key West to Miami (yes as a port stop!) and Nassau. Everyone had to get off at Miami and then get back on again. There was some online grumbling but I heard the process wasn't too bad.

Thanks for sharing. There's a lot to digest here.

 

If I decide to go, I'm sure the Doobie Brothers will put on a good show. I'm a bit less certain about Steve Winwood, but I'm hopeful.  🙏 Life is short for these artists and for me, and that's always been the goal - see as many of my favorite artists while they're available to be seen and while I can go see them.

 

I'm on a cruise that embarked almost 2 weeks ago in Galveston. We made our way steadily towards Panama, with some stops along the way. There were some musical shows and plenty of background music on the way, but nothing of much note other than what I've already mentioned. 

 

Today we made it to Cozumel. We had about 24 hours of rough seas on the way here. Most of our stops have featured strong winds, which I'm sure made the going rough. Thankfully, we haven't had much rain anywhere. 

 

None of the performances I watched, musical or not, on this cruise have been canceled or delayed, but I've heard of both on other performances. I haven't had any on any of my musical cruises so far, but I think I'm due for some. 🫨 

 

Thanks again for the updates and I'm glad The Jazz Cruise turned out good for you.

Edited January 25 by Honolulu Blue

[Honolulu Blue]

15 minutes ago, George C said:

Doobies are playing in Dallas on our anniversary but in a bad section of the city , so I will pass. Really hope rock and romance will get Michael McDonald again he signed a CD for me last time . We saw Steve Winwood with Eric Clapton about a decade ago in a suite . Really looking forward to seeing Judy Collins this Saturday. They should be announcing 2025 lineup soon .

I'm sorry to hear the Doobies will be playing at a bad location and you'll have to miss them. 

 

I dunno about Michael on R&R. He's got this cruise named after him... it might go to his head. 😁