Honolulu Blue

The Soul Train Cruise has released its tentative schedule for 2024. IIRC, it was released about this time last year, which is a bit earlier than the 30 days it's scheduled to be released. I think I'll have some fun and go through the schedule as if I was a passenger on the cruise. Day 1 - Saturday, January 27: Sailaway Party with Urban Guerilla Orchestra (UGO) - This would be a maybe. I saw them on last year's UDC; they were good. I'm sure they would play some good old fashioned soul; it's just a matter of whether I'm in the mood to go by the pool to see and hear it. Represent Night - I assume this is the time when I'm supposed to wear something from my hometown or favorite team, or something like that. I can do this. The comedians - Frank Townsend at 7:45 and Kenny Williams at 10 would be maybes. I like to laugh, but I hate for me (or others) to be unnecessarily picked on. I remember the Kenny Williams the ex-Tiger that we tried to convert to a third baseman to get his bat in the lineup. He wasn't a third baseman. Day 2 - Sunday, January 28: The interview with En Vogue - Another maybe. They'll probably loop this the next day, so seeing them live is not a must-see. Super heroes and movie characters - today's theme. Sure, why not. The Temptations - they're the early main theater entertainment this evening. I'd wait patiently for them to play "Ball of Confusion". 🙂 Day 3 - Monday, January 29: The interview with The Temptations - Maybe. See En Vogue interview notes above for reasons why. The Manhattans - the early main theater concert this evening. "Shining Star" is pretty good, the rest of their set would probably be good enough to keep me interested. More comedy - Kenny Williams plays at 7:45, with B-Phist at 10. Day 4 - Tuesday, January 30: Tortola - We make it to port at 7 and stay until 6. I've only been here once before, so I'd probably find something to do with my time here. The Family Stone - They were on the UDC back in 2022. I missed them. This would be a by-the-pool session at 4. En Vogue - the main theater early concert. This would be the highlight of my day no matter what I saw on the island. I'm having trouble deciding on a favorite song from them... for now, let's go with "Give It Up, Turn It Loose". BTW, these gals would be a really good fit for The 90s Curise. Day 5 - Wednesday, January 31 Sint Maarten - We'd be here from 7 AM to 11 PM. Your average 16-hour stop. Raydio - Surprisingly, they're putting these guys by the pool at 4. They had some big hits in the late 70s and early 80s. Alas, the key guy behind Raydio went solo - and he'll be on The 80s Cruise in a few months singing many of these songs. Boyz II Men interview - another good way to while away an hour or so, live or not-so-live. Probably not-so-live, since it would start at 4:30. White night - today's theme. I'll refrain from comment. Boyz II Men concert - this is the early show. Will "End of the Road" be the closer? I'd be sure to be there to find out. More comedy - Tu Rae will be doing two shows at 7:45 and 10. I don't know them, so this one is a maybe. Day 6 - Thursday, February 1 More Raydio - they're by the pool again at 4. Are they worth hearing a second time? Or did I miss them the first time for whatever reason? Throwback to the 70s - today's theme. 70s style wasn't my favorite, but I think I could find something that would work. Interview with WAR - They'll be on Rock & Romance, but maybe a sneak peek would be nice. WAR's concert - I'd have to fight my body in order to make this 11:30 PM concert by the pool. Maybe they'd be worth it? Day 7 - Friday, February 2 Executive producer talk - ECP did something somewhat similar on TEC earlier this year. Soul Train is in no danger of being skipped in any year, so I'm sure the StarVista folks would get a nice reception. UGO by the pool - It's a 10:30 concert, which seems early for some people but is just fine for me. 👍 WAR by the pool - This one is at 4 PM, a much more reasonable time for me I hope you enjoyed this lap around the schedule of a cruise that I'm almost certain not to be on. I'll try to do something similar with TEC & Rock and Romance when those schedules come out.

I'm sure the nitty gritty of it (including permissions) is buried in their contract. But it's not a secret that they do this, and even on Carnival you can get leftover OBC of any amount refunded directly to you if you ask for it before you disembark. Why refundable OBC isn't be processed back to the credit card, you'll have to get someone else to answer.

I stole this thread from Twitter about concert experiences. I'll answer from my perspective. 1. 1st Concert: 5 Star/Ready for the World/New Edition back in the Triassic era. This was mostly for the benefit of my sister, who was really into those bands. 2. Last Concert: Stephen Pearcy 3. Worst: n/a; haven't attended a concert I thought I was notably bad yet 4. Loudest Concert: don't remember 5. Best Concert: Kool & the Gang's 2023 concert on the UDC by a tiny margin over several others 6. Seen The Most: "Weird Al" Yankovic, Kool & the Gang, KC and the Sunshine Band (twice each) 7. Most Surprising: Autograph (they're good even with no original members left and I liked the songs that weren't from their first album) 8. Next Concert: TBD, but probably on The 80s Cruise in February 9. Wish I Could Have Seen: Many, but let's start with The Police

Correct, on Carnival, refunds of under $10 are kept and donated to St. Jude. I don't know what Princess does.

The charges in Chibang and Capitano are different than the MDR charge. You get one meal in each of those restaurants (not considered one of the MDRs) for free. If you dine in there again, it's $8 per person per meal. There's no per item charge like the "excessive main course" in the MDR. And there's one extra charge in the MDR that you didn't mention - the extra main courses from the steakhouse. Those cost $23 each.

It depends on which cruise line you're booking with. Some cruise lines offer future cruise certificates, which have been described above. I haven't personally used them. Some offer OBC and perhaps a reduced deposit for booking online. I've done this a few times on Carnival when they offered it. And I've done this a couple of times on charters. They don't offer space on regular cruises, but you get first dibs on your cabin for the next year's sailing. They can also book cabins on other cruises from the same charter company. They can offer OBC and other benefits.

I asked Brand Ambassador John Heald about this a couple of months ago. He said that Guy's was only open for breakfast on the Sunrise.

Snippets from the latest newsletter: As @Globaliser posted just before me, schedule reveals are planned for the following dates: It looks like they will be revealed about 3 weeks before their sailings, which is in between what StarVista has done for their cruises (a month) and what ECP has done with its 80s Cruise (1-2 weeks). The TJC '24 webinar that focused on Celebrity's online check-in and pre-cruise planner is available now on that site. There will be other webinars upcoming for the other 2024 cruises that also focus on online check-in and pre-cruse planner. Smooth Jazz will be Tuesday at 3 PM ET. Botti at Sea will be January 9 at 3 PM ET. The McDonald LaBelle Cruise is now over 80% booked The Smooth Jazz Cruises for 2025 are already over 60% booked

Generally my answer is the same as @Steelers36above me - the freebie seminars give away items of limited value. But allow me to tell you guys a funny story. On my last cruise last month (not on Princess), I was at one of these intro shows that happened to have raffles for the usual stuff - Internet packages, excursions, jewelry, etc. One of the prizes was for a painting. I checked my ticket once, twice - I had won! It was my first time ever winning one of these raffles. What to do? I discreetly slid my ticket to the couple seated beside me. They did the right thing and claimed their prize. They were very appreciative. The painting was nice, but wouldn't have fit in with my Velvet Elvises and dogs playing poker on my walls. 😁

Thank you very much for your comments. I've read a few performer autobiographies myself - Belinda Carlisle, Lou Gramm, Morris Day... they've all been interesting. So far they've all been eBooks, so i can't get them autographed easily. I'll work on Stephen Pearcy's when I get time. That's also an eBook, but I might pick up a hard copy before The 80s Cruise.

I think it's a good idea also. It's good to have a point person for all the job issues that all 1000 or so crewmembers have rather than just going to the Hotel Director or the Captain.

In the Always Something There to Remind Me Department, on the drive into work today I heard "Cold As Ice" from Foreigner, "Kiss" from Prince, and "Sister Christian" from Night Ranger. Lou Gramm played this on this year's 80s Cruise. I think it's likely that Foreigner will play it on the Rock & Romance Cruise. The Prince tribute band Red Corvette played "Kiss" on my 80s themed cruise on the Ruby Princess back in April. And Night Ranger played "Sister Christian" on The 80s Cruise last year.

Thanks for your kind words. It's always heartening to find others who are inspired by my words and my journey. Good luck to you as you make your own trips - whether on the Head bangers Boat or elsewhere. 😎

One other thing... I found out that Michael McDonald has written his autobiography with Paul Reiser called "What a Fool Believes" (of course 😛). I'll be on a cruise with Mr. McDonald as one of the headliners so I could take this book to have him autograph it... except that it won't be out until May 21. The cruise is in April. ☹️ Maybe he'll have advance copies available for purchase onboard?

I have several mostly small items of significance to my musical journey: I was visiting the local dollar store when I saw copies of Dolly Parton's rock and roll album. I'm weak. I couldn't resist. It was $20 and I bought it. I'm sure I'll listen to it sometime. It might even be good. I received a notice from one of our state megacasinos about a show that's coming to their showroom on March 8, 2024 called the "I Love the 90's Tour". It features Montell Jordan, All 4 One, C+C Music Factory, and Color Me Badd. I remember the big hits from the first two and can sing their choruses. I can sing many of the hits from the latter two. You may recognize them as participants on The 90s Cruise coming up in early 2025. This would provide a good preview of the shows on that cruise. One problem is that travel could still be dicey here next March. The other problem is that it will be the night after I return from The 80s Cruise. I could be all concerted out by then. I'll have to do some research on this and figure out what I want to do. Another notice from the same casino on the same day advertised another concert - this one from an Elton John tribute act (Kenny Metcalf) and a Billy Joel tribute act (Billy Nation). The tickets are quite cheap ($29 and $19) and I like both Elton and Billy a lot. Fun story - I did an Elton and Billy trivia session on a Carnival ship a few years ago. I aced the Billy Joel portion, but missed two of the Elton songs - "Circle of Life" was perhaps forgivable, but "Tiny Dancer" definitely not. They play it a lot on the radio station I listen to most often. Alas, this show is in the deep freeze portion of our year on February 17 (a Saturday). It is about 10 days before TEC, so no conflict there. Somehow I get the feeling this isn't the type of show I can pick up tickets to at the last minute, so maybe I'll do that.

You can purchase an Internet plan before boarding and most of the time it will recognize your status and give you the discount when you book it. Some people have problems getting the right rate and have to get help onboard to get the proper rate.

It's not that new; it's been active since December 2021, when I used it to buy some souvenirs in a shop on Princess Cays. I also saw at least one location advertise its availability while I was in Belize, not on a Princess cruise:

I feel VERY sorry for ship crew because they HAVE been expected to work harder since the restart. However, I think they will be compensated for it - at least in part. Wages have been going up worldwide, at all levels. I don't expect cruise ships and their crew will be an exception.

I did find out what a Wang Wang is. Thank you, random Internet folks! It's a mixed drink similar to a Long Island Iced Tea that's better known as a Weng Weng, but I'm sure the name was switched up slightly to fit the band. The two past editions of the UDC that I've been on had events that were similar to what you saw on TJC '24 - alcohol tastings hosted by those other than headliners, announced before the cruise but not able to be booked until we got on board, and limited quantities of them - two or three IIRC. It'll be interesting to see what the artist led experience was/is on Rock & Romance; perhaps @George C can help there. I'm glad you had a good experience with your wine tasting with Mr. Price. I told the story of how I met Mr. Pearcy after his concert a few weeks ago. He seems like a cool dude, so I'm looking forward to spending as much time with him as I can. Sheena Easton - what can I say? I don't drink either, but she's bewitching enough to make me do bad things. 🙃 We'll see how it goes. P.S. The breakfast with Mr. Pearcy has now sold out; it did so sometime yesterday evening.

All right, the initial frenzy over the artist hosted events on The 80s Cruise is over and I can breathe now. I got the two that I most wanted to attend - the breakfast with Stephen Pearcy and the wine tasting with Sheena Easton. The latter seems like the hot ticket of the day, as it's already sold out. Internet rumors say it sold out within 10 minutes. Here are some details on my chosen events:

My perception is similar to yours - on the cruises I've been on after the restart, the shopping aspects seem to have been deemphasized - fewer fliers, less time for the "shoppies" at their desks and on video, less mention of shopping in town, etc. This could be for any number of reasons - different cruise lines, different ports, an increase in charters, etc.

I've had a few 7 AM port calls on Carnival, though none lately. IIRC, breakfast times in the buffet (both continental and regular) adjust to around 6 or 6:30 opening times. I think the MDR adjusts their opening times also. Different adjustments may be made by different ships at different times going to different stops. In other words, YMMV.

A few items of interest to me about my musical journey: Today is the day I can pick up some artist hosted events if I'm interested. Tentative plans have been made. I'll let you know what happens with this. Styx announced a concert at one of the local Native megacasinos for next May. This is earlier than, and seems to be unrelated to, the tour they announced with Foreigner and John Waite a couple of weeks ago. They're on their own for this stop. I don't see any VIP tickets. I'm not sure if I'll pull the trigger on this. We'll see. My AARP Magazine had an interesting article on how music can stir up memories. More interesting to me is that they had a quiz with opening lyrics from various songs. The songs were all from the 70s and 80s, which suited me just fine. I got 19 of the 20 titles correct; the one I missed was my least favorite of the bunch from my least favorite band. Perhaps it was a case of repressed memories.

My favorite thing about Princess is that in the past they've had 80s themes on some of their cruises and let people like these perform onboard: My second favorite thing about Princess is the customer service I've received off the ship. Four stories: Just before the pandemic was declared, I had a cruise on Princess that was set to sail in a couple of weeks. I needed some guidance and I got some from the customer service rep I talked to, who advised me to wait for further news and not do something rash like cancel. As a result of that cancellation, I received a refund of some gift cards that I used to pay for the booking. The refund went back to their original gift cards - two of which I had thrown out. I was routed to a gift card rep, who eventually e-mail me a replacement GC in the remaining amount of the refund. I've written CC's favorite whipping boy John Padgett a few letters. His staff has responded every time - mostly with neutral stuff, like "Thank you for writing & your patronage", but one time I got a heads up on when some trips to Yorktown were going to start booking. I recently had my credit card slurped for too much $$$ (my fault) for a booking I made on Princess. I was able to claw it back to the amount I intended thanks to one of their customer service reps. Here's the thread I started on that:

From the FAQ link provided above: