hattack

New Orleans by Gaslight local chapter was announced today on the online edition of NOLA which I bet was a byproduct of the 1st Steampunk Cruise out of New Orleans last year that Moosiker was on

I love the motto. "what the past would look like if the future happen sooner" so much I am thinking about joining the local chapter so maybe I will join you on a future theme cruise

Your hubby's passion for all things Steampunk and your passion for cruising seems like the perfect union ;)

Ft Lauderdale Airport may serve the current cruiseship capital of the world, but Miami Airport

Is the South American international hub which presents more opportunities for delay at security checkpoints

It's the increase in passengers due to the introduction of the new megaships that cause the airport congestion...Ft Lauderdale is the prime example..airport facility constraints and the downsizing of aircraft type also contribute to the challenge

It's always tempting price and time wise to book the flight noon or before..there are too many factors outside your control that makes it dicey..let alone stressful which would be the last thing you would want after a great cruise

Count your lucky stars and start packing:D this is a group theme outing on a regular Royal Caribbean cruise.....you are going to pay a premium for the private concerts and activities but you can also partake in all the regular ship activities during the week

Your husband will be happy because he is a fan, but also he will be surrounded by like minded fans

You will be happy because you have the best of both worlds, you get to enjoy yur cruise and you will have a very happy husband that will want to do the cruise next year, which may have

ports more to your liking

Consider this an early Christmas present....have fun

Has anyone heard of or been on a Moody Blues cruise?

I've heard about it and from everything I have read, it you are a fan of the band, you really enjoyed the cruise

The pre cruise party the night before is alot of fun...it sets the mood for the week..you make new friends before you board..they play the music and do the dances of that era...some of the artists may be there...you will also receive last minute changes and if you are lucky there will be surprise guests that were not announce beforehand...on these types of cruises, many artists of that era will cruise as fans, (not scheduled to perform) which is like lagniappe (bonus)

I always enjoy watching the expressions on the faces of the cruisers who are not a part of your group, in the cruise terminal on the morning of check in...your group will stand out because of your energy level and excitement when one of your artists go thru the check in process and are recognized by the regular cruises..when they find out it's a private group function, they will be jealous(if they are fans of the music of that era)....the upside ,as another poster mentioned, is that the ship's areas are less crowded while your group is occupied..by designed, your group size is limited to the largest lounge, so not to interfere with the main showroom or normal ship's activities..

Very often, the promoter has a sign up desk onboard where folks who are not a part of the group, can sign up for next year's group outing..very smart on their part...your next logical step will be to sign up for a full charter cruise, cost more, but well worth it IMHO

These are the best type of cruises to go on if you are alone because everyone is there for the music and lots of the cabins have 3 (to cut cost), that you will make tons of new friends both at the concerts and activities and games

You may board alone but at the end of your cruise you will have tons of new friends who will be joining you next year

Thanks for that thought..after much discussion with my travel buddy..we decided to take a break from jazz cruising and travel to Capetown SA for their International Jazz Festival next Spring

Very often there will be additional shore excursions led by some of the featured artists based upon their passions which is really great because you have another opportunity to interact with them

I am seriously considering a cabin on the 2014 sailing on The Jazz Cruise on HAL Eurodam in late January . I am a huge smooth jazz and soul fan and was planning to do The Soul Train Cruise, but my cruising partner is a huge straight ahead jazz fan, so I thought I would surprise her with the switch

Has anyone on these boards been on one of their sailings andif yes, how are the performances arranged in the evening each night?

On BAM it indicted Nick Canon has purchased all rights to the Soul Train Name and not sure if that includes licensing to the Soul Train Cruise, but I'm sure he will try to bring back the tv show...maybe his wife will host....lol

I agree the line up for next Feb Soul Train Cruise is awesome..it' on HAL Eurodam (beautiful ship), which holds about 2200 (vs Carnival Glory 3200 psgrs), which should make it much less crowded and hectic and enjoyable. Understand from my friend that was on the 1st one, there were alot of former FV folks onboard (herself included) who share your sentiments about the FV

I hinted to my GF that FAS would make the perfect gift and will let you know...

You are right on target about old school rappers..Dougie Fresh did a noon time lido deck concert on the Capital Jazz SuperCruise two years ago and rocked the boat...I really enjoy that at the midnight allstar jam sessions we were treated to pairings of "old school r&b with today's neo soul singers i.e. Phil Perry with Eric. Roberson, Peabo Bryson with Dwele , Roy Ayers with Down To The Bone, Chuck Brown with Brian Culbertson

My friend was on the FV the year out on the west coast when it could not go to Mexico due to the virus and had to go to Vancouver...to make matters worse he was one of the ones who were confined to his cabin because of the illness on board. Tom should have given everyone credit for the following year...

I really loved Festival At Sea when I went several years ago, plus I live in New Orleans and they sail during my birthday week, so maybe I will see you onboard. My friend was on the Soul Train cruise and loved it also and she is already booked for next February and is trying to have us join them, Too many great options, not enough $$$$ or time....lol...

Ford is now the "title sponsor" of the FV which hopefully should mean more resources for the onboard product. Everyone who cares about HBCU's is rooting for Tom and the FV to be very successful

Tom is really an "old school" DJ at heart but to try to attract a younger listening base for his radio show in the last few years has had alot of rappers onboard which may not align with the demographics of the majority of his guests. Don Cornelius had the same challenge in the final decade of Soul Train on tv. However, it stands to reason as the younger generation that grew up on and love rap music, mature, have careers and famirlies and take vacations, we will see full charter music rap cruises.

The "big 3" ( Carnival, NCL, Royal Caribbean) have figured out that these full charter music theme cruises are "recession proof" and provide a perfect conduit to attracting folks to try a regular cruise and paying for a higher cabin category. I surmise that the cruiselines will design the next generation ships or do modifications to their current vessels to better accomodate their venues for music cruises. NCL is leading the way when they purchased SixthMan Productions.

FYI, the annual Louis Armstrong Jazz Festival is the same weekend of Festival At Sea. If you are planning to come in town the day before, you might check it out

Dancedoc...just curious, have you tried Festival At Sea, The Smooth Jazz Cruise, The Soul Train Cruise, Dave Koz & Friends, The Jazz Cruise or the Capital Jazz SuperCruise?. If yes, how did they compare to the Fantastic Voyage? If no, you might consider because they all have a very high % of loyal fans who return year after year (myself included, 4th straight year on the SuperCruise this November)

I have never been on the Fantastic Voyage and my friends who have, indicated they enjoyed it, but would not be returning (value for their $$$$) Tom was on Royal Caribbean for 13 straight years prior to switching over to Carnival this year so I am sure all parties went thru an "adjustment period" this year and Tom will listen to feedback from his guests and work with Carnival to incorporate into next year's cruise.

I also think that the artists that are in the line up and their accessibility to guests have alot to do with guests satisfaction. On the cruises that I mentioned above, most of the artists are onboard all week and are very happy to interact with guests and guests honor the artists privacy when they are with their families. As I understand it, several big name artists this year on the Fantastic Voyage, were onboard for a very short period of time. I've been Blessed to have breakfast with Phil Perry, lunch with Fred Hammond and last year Chante Moore joined our table for dinner. Priceless!!

Hopefully you will find another music cruise that you will enjoy

That would be nice...the Breeze holds 3690 vs Glory 2984, plus the Breeze is a much newer and nicer vessel..considering how quickly the Fantastic Voyage sold out this year it 's possible Tom might consider...however when Tom was on Royal Caribbean he got himself in trouble when he went from the smaller 3200 psgr vessel to the Freedom of the Seas (4000+) and could not sell out the vessel and was forced to heavily discount to fill the vessel which create alot of hard feelings from guests who had paid the full rate...but in the words of Tom "kids got to go to school"

Is the Breeze not showing for sale to the general public on it's website any week in April 2014?

3 year deals are a win/win for both parties because by sticking with the same fleet type, the onboard logistics (sound, lights, venue logistics etc., working with the various ship's departments) can be fine tuned and Carnival can plan it's manpower reallocations and measure the residual benefits (guests booking a regular cruise after being on a music theme cruise).

Carnival has Tom Joyner's Fantastic Voyage, Capital Jazz SuperCruise & Festival At Sea

Royal Caribbean has Dave Koz & Friends

Holland America has EEC (Jazz Cruise, Smooth Jazz Cruise, Soul Train Cruise, Malt Shop Memories) and they host The Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise

NCL actually purchased SixthMan Productions and they host about a dozen alternate music theme cruises per year. In looking at the layout of the two newest NCL ships coming online, it appears NCL has incorporate features in it's design to host these types of cruises and can compete for the business at a lower cost

There is also a trend on the part of all the cruiselines on their regular sailings to cross utilize artists that appear on these wildly popular jazz/soul full charters and trend away from traditional entertainment (musical show production numbers etc.).

I LOVE his music...I think he was at Essence Festival last year...I will let you know if he is scheduled for any upcoming music theme cruises...

R. Kelly tried to put together a full charter theme cruise but it fell apart due to lack of bookings...perfect example of not understanding that his fan base cannot support him in this format. Kid Rock, on the other hand, has had 3 straight cruise charter sell outs

Just curious..who is your favorite R&B artist (s)? One of our ports of call this year on the Capital Jazz SuperCruise is Aruba...I'm excited, the last time I was there was in the 90's for Sinbad's Summer Jam Festival (awesome time!!!! ). You might check out St Lucia's and Grand Cayman's Jazz Festival also.

I noticed that the west coast full charter jazz/soul cruises have a hard time selling out even when they have almost the exact same artists line up as the east coast. I guess the Mexician ports of call are less desireable then the Caribbean. It also means lower prices or last minute deals.

Almost all of the major full charter jazz/soul. music theme cruises open for sale about a year in advance with their line up so you can choose which cruise to select based on who's performing..my favorite Capital Jazz SuperCruise does it differently.

You might go to the Capital Jazz website and sign up for their newsletter today. They will be opening for sale within the next 4 weeks their 2014 SuperCruise....they have an early bird ( thru November)special pricing along with several payment options...they will announce the ship and the ports of call now...and announced the artists in November/December...once the artists line up is announced, the prices go up. The SuperCruise is modeled after the Capital Jazz Festival which means the cruise line up will feature a strong combination of jazz,r&b, gospel, comedy, old school, funk, neo soul and lagniappe (i.e. a bonus musical offering that one would not expect to see) performers .

I strongly suggest that you visit all of the websites and view the photos and line ups of this years and past years to gain a sense of what teases your musical palate

You might make a list of your favorite musicians or idenitfy your favorite musical style (i.e. neo soul, jazz, funk etc.) that you would love to spend a week on a cruiseship with and go to their website and see if their tour schedule includes a full charter cruise...line ups are usually announced a year in advance.

Also if you usually attend summer smooth jazz & soul festivals, there is usually a booth from one of the cruise promoters where you can sign up for a cabin

For most 8+ million fans of the Tom Joyner Morning Radio Show the Fantastic Voyage is on everyone's "bucket list"..When Tom first started 14 years ago it was him and "Festival At Sea"..These days we can now choose private full music charters featuring the music of Tom's fan base including The Jazz Cruise, The Smooth Jazz Cruise, Dave Koz and Friends, The Soul Train Cruise, The Malt Shop Memories Cruise, The Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruise and my favorite the Capital Jazz SuperCruise

Tom has yet to figure out the formula of success that moves the Fantastic Voyage from the "bucket list"to the "annual music vacation cruise" that sells out with over 50% annual return guests. IMHO is that the Fantastic Voyage is not perceived as best value for one's dolllar.

All the major cruiselines are in a fierce competitive battle to capture this very lucrative market. That may have something to do with why Tom switched to Carnival. The other challenge is guests perceptions and any promoter's abilty to meet those high expectations (for premium $$$$) given the limitation's of the ship's design . The good news is that the new ships coming off the line are designed to offer more venues that will be able to host more concerts that are perfect for concerts. Also, guests pay a premiun to interact with their favorite artists during the week. There are certain artists that would not be a good fit for a music theme cruise.These private full charters attract a very high % of first time cruisers who are drawn by the artists and the music, not the normal cruise experience. If the music and the weather is great, the food and your cabin type and location is very far down the list. Whether it's the Fantastic Voyage or the others that I listed, once you have gone on one ror the first time it is a 99.9% chance you will never go on a normal cruise again

Jubilee...I was on that cruise for my honeymoon that same year

Glad it worked out for you and thanks for the invite but I will be just coming off the full charter Capital Jazz SuperCruise in November...so many great music theme cruises and not enough money or time

I am a child of the 60's and remember seeing most of the artists on your cruise live in concert on my college campus...from time to time these days we attend the PBS concerts (that you see during their annual pledge drives) and it's incredible because the entire audience knows every word to every song and sing along with the artists and do the dance that were current at the time.

The neat part of your cruise is the interaction you have with all of the artists and the friendships you form with the other members of your group. I bet you will sign up for next year's cruise while you are onboard this one.

I spoke with my friend who is a TA and sends alot of her clients on music theme group cruises and she indicated that you selected a good one. Have a great time and don't forget to bring your 33 1/3 LP album covers to be signed by the artists and a really good SLR camera with an extended lense to take great pictures

How BIG of a fan are you of the music of that era? Looking at the "raw" numbers (inside cabin) it's about a $1000 difference in price (prorated over 7 days about $140 per day more) and you are talking about a January 2014 cruise date, so you have plenty of time to adjust your cruising budget

The Crown Princess holds 3080 and according to the promoters website they had a group of 1000 on their cruise last year which means it will impact dining times, room venues etc.

You can have your TA contact the promoter to see how you can join their group. I have been on 2 cruises as part of a private group featuring 60's oldies artists and had a BLAST!!!! Well worth the price differential. Imho...plus you have the option of being able to participate in regular ship activities while the non group cruisers cannot attend your private events. Not only do you have the nightly concerts, but there are planned theme activities with the artists on sea days. In essence you are getting two cruise experiences in one week. Cruising with 1000 oldies music friends is alot more fun then 2000 strangers

To paraphrase my favorite Visa Card commercial...expression on regular cruisers faces...priceless

Isn't that one of the 60's music theme cruise featuring Paul Revere and the Raiders, BJ Thomas, Mary Wilson (Supremes), The Drifters etc on a Princess cruise ship?. A private promoter is sponsoring it , which usually means in order to attend the concerts and events you have to book thru the promoter? Depending on the size of the private group will determine how it will impact guests who are not part of that group

Sounds like a great line up...