wwcruisers

OK -- so I thought I was seeing things, at first. 😵

I just pulled up the Blue Note at Sea '21 web page, and guess who I saw back in the headliner section: Sheila E! At first, I thought that I must have clicked on an 'old' link -- but, scrolling around, I was able to find things like: current stateroom availability (no suites, and only a handful of inside cabins left). Plus, artists that have been added (eg: KebMo) since Sheila E disappeared from the line-up last month, are still there. Fingers crossed, folks! 🤞

HATTACK -- if you are thinking about booking this one soon, and thinking about a veranda cabin, I can point you in the direction of some 'hidden gems' on Infinity's deck plans! Looks like veranda cabins are what the inventory has the most of, right now. 😎

7 hours ago, davekathy said:

We would never book or not book a cruise, itinerary or a ship based on another person's experiences or opinions. 

Amen to that! So many of these 'experts' have NEVER even set foot on a cruise ship! 😒

Hattack -- We were actually a little surprised, on last year's SJC -- that the two 'head-liners': Dave Grusin and Lee Ritenour did not join us until San Juan (half-way through the cruise). However, once on board, they were EVERYWHERE -- large and small venues around the ship, as well as autograph and Q&A sessions -- what a treat!

2 minutes ago, ducklite said:

I have a friend who cruised often when her little was too young to walk all day.  She brought an umbrella stroller which fit easily into the closet or tucked into a corner.  It was compact enough that she could bring it onto a plane and store it in the overhead as well.  

When we took our DS, DIL, & DGD on their first 'family cruise' (Independence of the Seas) last year, we bought them an ultra-light umbrella stroller (with a good sun-visor), for their 3-year old. They LOVED it!  On that ship, we saw more than one family trying to navigate the ship's narrow hallways, with larger, jogging-type strollers. Well worth our investment, IMHO!

Oh YEAH -- pacing oneself on a charter jazz cruise is CRUCIAL! Especially for those of us who are used to mainstream cruises -- where they 'roll-up the sidewalks', shortly after second seating in the MDR! On the SJC's our 'private yacht' day usually starts with a continental breakfast, on our balcony -- followed by a leisurely morning in the Solarium & T-pool. Then, a quick and healthy late lunch in the nearby AquaSpa Cafe. By then, it's time to start getting ready for the evening's activities. And, maybe a short nap, if we anticipate staying up for the late, late, late show (wherever it might be)!

Hattack -- Amen on the T--Pool! That's where you'll find me and my DH, on many port days. We DO try to get off the ship at least a couple of times, on each jazz cruise. But, we always shoot for having at least one day, where we stay onboard and let the ship become our 'private yacht'!

18 hours ago, TuggleRN said:

On the 2020 BNAS cruise, Wyclef Gordon led a gospel hour with Kirk Whalum. It was fantastic! Next year Wyclef is on The Jazz Cruise, so I'm hoping Kirk leads the gospel hour for BNAS 2021.

I would imagine so. On last year's Smooth Jazz Cruise, we had the pleasure of Jonathan Butler AND Kirk Whalum, hosting the gospel hour.😎

13 minutes ago, clojacks said:

We are currently on the Constellation returning to Dubai from a cancelled ending in Singapore. About 3 times in the past week, we have been awakened by Crewman in Hazmat suits spraying outside our room in the middle of the night. We are close to one of the stairwell/ elevator landings, and my speculation is they are doing a heavy disinfectant spraying of common areas, but we never received any notification of any activity like this being performed and the gap under our door is about 3/4 of an inch. Suggestions of what you think or would do?

I would call the Head of Housekeeping and ask. If that person doesn't know -- keep going up the food-chain until you find someone who does.

WAMarathoner -- Thought that you might find this thread interesting. It's by a poster on the HAL boards, who does a good job of keeping track of dry-docks, group cruises, and charters on HAL. As you can see, it's a pretty ambitious (but achievable) undertaking -- keeping track of that information, just for one cruise line. Hope this helps!😎

1 hour ago, Orator said:

I have written letters citing crew who have gone beyond to create a memorable cruise. I've oven had telephone follow up by Celebrity. In some cases people were promoted shortly after contact. I was once told that they really appreciate positive feedback since most contacts concern negatives.

I write to:

Celebrity Cruises

1080 Caribbean Way

Miami, FL33132

Several people act as screeners for letters received by Celebrity and pass them on to the proper person. Really glad that you are taking the extra step to show your appreciation.

Charles, whenever we've had to deal with an issue, post-cruise, we've found that snail-mail to Corporate works best for us, too. Even when we are seeking help with a problem, we try to also cite specific instances of excellence, encountered on our cruise. That always seems to be appreciated by the folks at Corporate -- who usually respond to our letters, with a follow-up phone call. 😎

Hattack -- would LOVE to finally get a chance to meet you in person. After all, you're the one who showed me the ropes, when DH and I booked our first SJC (2018.2)! Hoping that you can get yourself booked on the 21 BNAC! 😎

Lately, I find myself wondering whether the BNAC (like the SJC) has a 'gospel hour'. Thanks to your advice -- I NEVER miss a gospel hour! Jonathan Butler will be 'manning the pulpit' on our upcoming (20.2) SJC -- since Kirk Whalum seems to have made the leap to BNAC -- for the next year or two anyway. What a GREAT way to spend a Sunday morning -- and get the cruise kicked off, on the right foot!😇

37 minutes ago, TuggleRN said:

Oh wow, that sounds great! I've got to look into that cruise for next year. Thanks for the info! Glad my son isn't looking forward to an inheritance!! 

LOL -- you should get one of those bumper stickers/license plate holders, that reads:

Spending my kids' inheritance -- one cruise at a time!

(I keep telling my adult son that it's NOT really a joke!)

14 hours ago, dogo88 said:

To be able to answer the OPs initial question I would want to know what type of thermometer they would be using to  measure my temp. Oral or digital and I would have no issues. But rectal would not be good. And also, where would this be done? During boarding? Would cause a lot of other issues that I would not care to get into right now. 😯

Just guessing here, but I would imagine that we'd see those 'forehead scanners' in use. They're quite popular here -- even in our local medical offices.

22 hours ago, hattack said:

 

the cost for a cabin on a Jazz Cruise is steep..the opportunity to interact with our favorite artist is priceless

AMEN to that! 😇

Hattack -- although I understand that rural areas of Puerto Rico are still struggling, post-Maria -- it was encouraging to see San Juan back to normal (or at least close) on our stop there, last March (Smooth Jazz cruise 19.2). We walked around the old part of the city and found a lovely cafe, for lunch. LOL, who should we run into there, but folks from our cruise! It would have been hard to miss us, since all of us just happened to be wearing our SJC t-shirts! After lunch, we went shopping -- and guess who we ran into, in a downtown SJ shoe store? Candy Dulfer! What a sweet and talented lady! (And as DH says: Not hard on the eyes, either!)

13 minutes ago, MerePrize said:

Wondering what are the best things to buy IF we are going to shop on each of the islands:

1. St. Thomas
2. St. Maarten
3. Dominica
4. Barbados
5. Grenada

I've read that a lot of the "souvenirs" are the same from island to island. But, I'm more interested in things like liquor, jewelry (local, not high end), clothing, etc.

 

Thank you!

St. Thomas is good for liquor -- except you used to be able to do better with French cognac on St. Maarten - maybe still can?

There is a lady in Philipsburg who makes great chocolates (Belgian Chocolate Shop) -- if it's still there.

There a great local hot sauce in Barbados, called 'Delish' -- don't be put off by its mustard-yellow color.

Grenada is the place for all things spice. You can even take tours of old spice factories.

Dominica is a beautiful island, and we saw lots of local art there (didn't buy any, though).

Do be careful about jewelry purchases. All of the mainstream cruiselines (and X is no exception) really push their local favorites, with 'guarantees' that may not even be worth the paper they're printed on. So, a big 'caveat emptor' on that one.

Just remember that suitcases magically become heavier on the way home, than they were, when you left for your cruise! 😜

43 minutes ago, hattack said:

Ibut if you corner me on the ship after a full day at sea and coming out of the Celebrity Spa watching the sunset on deck  as we sail away from Tortola , sipping a Painkiller I would confess to Gregory Porter, Brian Culbertson & the late George Duke , Duke Ellington , Cab Calloway & Lena Horne & almost any 60's & 70's Funk Bands with Big Horn Sections & Lalah Hathaway & New Orleans Trombone Shorty 

 

LOL on the Painkiller, Hattack! Have you ever had one (or maybe more) or those, at the Soggy Dollar Bar, on Jost Van Dyke? Sadly, I don't even know if it's still there. I don't think that part of the BVI did well, with Hurricane Maria (and the other hurricanes that year).

3 hours ago, Purplerock said:

Thanks!  I love your advice!  My husband and I would love to find a jazz community both on the ship and at home.  We can't believe there's no place to go hear jazz near our house -- the streets roll up at 9.  We go to Blues Alley in Georgetown sometimes, but we need a Blues Alley north in Bethesda!  We debated between the Blue Note and Jazz Cruises, but kind of accidentially signed up for the Jazz Cruise and decided to stay with the straight jazz for our first time.  AND WE LOVE ARUBA!  It's a great place, and we're excited to go to Curacao.  

 

Who are your favorite artists?  I tend to the saxophonists, and hubby likes piano.

Purplerock -- we are very lucky here, to have a jazz quintet, that gigs all over Whidbey Island. I try to never miss a chance to see them, when they appear at our local Italian restaurant. And, if we ever get to downtown Seattle for an evening, I would love to go to Jazz Alley (maybe when DH retires and we have more time for day-tripping).

When we did our pre-booking for the BNAS '21, Sheila E. was one of the headliners. But, sadly, her name disappeared from the line-up, a couple of weeks ago. However, they had me at Chris Botti. Not to mention, David Sanbourne and Christian McBride. So, who's on your musical 'bucket list'?

1 hour ago, Purplerock said:

We are booked on the 2021 Jazz Cruise Jan 16-23.  I just (tried) started a Roll Call.

Welcome, Purplerock! We'll be boarding Blue Note at Sea '21, as you are disembarking -- we'll wave to you, LOL!🛳️

Good luck on the roll-call thread, but don't get your hopes up. Sadly, jazz cruisers who frequent the CruiseCritic boards seem to be few and far between. On our first Smooth Jazz Cruise, I promptly started a roll-call thread (we were on Celebrity Summit, that year). I spent the better part of a year, keeping that sucker on life-support -- but to no avail. I was able to touch base with some folks on the other SJC sailing that year, but not one peep out of anyone on our cruise.😪  So, if your r/c thread doesn't exactly take off, just remember that you can always come here to talk all things jazz and all things cruising!😎

17 hours ago, hattack said:

hopefully we will be able to join you on BNAS next year...been a rough past few years health wise and other wise so have not been able to Jazz Cruise or do much posting on CC 

 

hopefully the success of Rick Braun's European Jazz River Cruises will soon be duplicate in the United States 

 

have you attended any of Brian Culbertson's Napa or Chicago Jazz Getaway  Weekend  Festivals 

 

in these terribly divisive political times in Our Country a full charter music cruise is great therapy to bring music fans from diverse backgrounds together for a week of unity & breaking bread together over a late night jam session 

 

I am a huge Sheila E fan also

 

Be Blessed and thanks for missing me on these boards

 

 

Hattack, so sorry to hear of your recent health issues. Would love it if you could join us for BNAS '21!

Sadly, Sheila E was pulled from the BNAS '21 line-up, about a month ago (haven't yet been able to find our why). While I can only hope to see her sometime on a future cruise, the '21 line-up is still fabulous! And, speaking of talent cancellations, I was just crushed to hear that Ramsey Louis and the Urban Knights will not be on our Smooth Jazz Cruise (20.2), next month. Apparently, Mr. Lewis's health took a turn, after his recent performance on the 20.1 SJC sailing. I'm so sad, because I'm pretty sure that was my last chance to see a legend! I'm sure that we will still have a great time on the cruise, though.

And, you are SO right -- there is a Balm in Gilead, and it is MUSIC!

16 hours ago, TuggleRN said:

Went to my first BNAS. It was fantastic! All music, all the time. Interviews with the artists, CD signings, multiple concerts,  and BBQ's ...hardly spent anytime in my cabin at all. Usually book verandas/balconies when I cruise but took a chance and booked an oceanview. I found I wasn't in my room long enough to justify a balconey. In fact, I booked an inside cabin for 2021 because it didn't make sense to me to do otherwise.

And yes, a full music charter cruise is great therapy. Everyone's common denominator is the love of music-nothing else mattered!

Hope to see y'all next year!! 

We will see you on the 2021 Blue Note at Sea cruise (we're already booked, too!) -- thanks for the positive review! After several (GREAT) Smooth Jazz Cruises, this will be our first Blue-Note cruise. 😎

10 minutes ago, hattack said:

I concur with George C...if you enjoy your 1st cruise you should really research a future full charter music cruise ..who are some of your husband's favorite acoustic guitar artists  (I am a huge fan of Jonathan Butler, U-Nam etc0

Hattack -- long time no see, my friend! Getting ready for SJC 20.2, next month -- looking forward to seeing Jonathan Butler again. BTW -- I started a thread over on the Specialty Cruise board: "Calling all Jazz Cruisers" -- would love to hear from you! 😎

2 hours ago, Pinboy said:

 

Too bad I can't contact them personally .

Being new to this, I find it very difficult to maintain my composure and stay within the Guidelines when I see people purposely trying to get negative reactions that they know are deserved. 

Personal messaging has never been activated on the CC website (at least not in the 10 years that I've been on the boards). The 'ignore' function however, does work quite well -- and can be your best friend!😎

Anyone waiting for open booking to begin on the 2021 Blue Note at Sea should Google their web page, for availability and pricing. It looks like Feb. 10 is the day that booking opens up to the general public. Looks like this one is already booking-up quickly! From what I can see, it looks like all of the suites are already gone. Sad to report -- Sheila E. is no longer listed on the roster of performers. Haven't seen any explanation for that -- but maybe we'll be able to catch her on a future jazz cruise sailing! My DH and I are booked on this one, and looking forward to our first Blue Note cruise!😎

13 hours ago, WAMarathoner said:

Thank you WW.  How can I tell the difference when looking them up?

Hmm.. a good question, my fellow Pacific-Northwesterner!😎

I think that the easiest way to check would be to go to the cruise-line's web page and try to do a 'dummy booking'. If the sailing is a complete charter (like my upcoming Smooth Jazz Cruise on X's Infinity) you shouldn't even SEE that particular sailing, in the cruiseline's inventory. However, if the cruiseline's website shows that sailing as available for sale to the general public -- and you happen to know that there's a large group sailing on it -- then, that would be one for your list.