BB King Blues Club band on the Westerdam -- AWESOME!! (+ questions)

[newlaxfan]

Came across the band in the Queen's Lounge their first night and loved them so much I saw them every night they performed after that! I'm not nomally comfortable dancing by myself but there was no way I could stay sitting during their shows! I also had a lot of fun watching the facial expressions on the bass guitarist and the drummer!

 

I have a few questions:

- are the two singers (Cece and Ron) normally part of the band? I saw them disembark with us yesterday, which is why I'm wondering.

- do you know the names of any of the other musicians? Each was truly remarkable on his instrument! I'd love to see them perform again, either as part of the same group or a different one.

 

I hope HAL extends the BB King Blues club program!!

[aliaschief]

Hal is expanding the BB King Blues Band to several ships this year. So there are several bands with different performers. They are a great addition to Hal on-board entertainment.

[newlaxfan]

there are several bands with different performers

 

Thanks, yes, that's why I specified that it was the group on the Westerdam I heard.

[CruiserBruce]

It is probably not possible to know the rotation of band members without an inside source at BB King. When we got off Eurodam Aug 1, the female lead singer was on our first leg of flights home. I later heard she had only been on for a month or two. Whether they rotate within the ship's band, or across ships is probably quite variable.

 

Bare in mind Eurodam was the only ship that had BB King until mid December. So figuring out assignments is difficult for that reason as well.

 

We agree, the BB King group is the best thing in HAL entertainment in our almost 20 years of sailing HAL.

Edited January 5, 2014 by CruiserBruce

[sun~]

The band is a "rent a ....." type band. I have heard they have a huge pool of musicians. The make up of the band could change weekly. From what I have heard in the blues community is that they have a lot of musicians that are in bar bands. So there will be musicians there who have been grinding away at your local bars for years. It will be a decent paycheque for those folks!

 

I gather they have a particular set list, so the tunes will be fairly standard from one ship to another.

 

Hopefully this will spur folks on to support live music when they are back on land :)

Edited January 5, 2014 by sun~

[PWCmum]

We agree, the BB King group is the best thing in HAL entertainment in our almost 20 years of sailing HAL.

 

I agree as well!

[Candiaccruiser]

We thoroughly enjoyed the band on our recent Westerdam cruise and look forward to more of the same on our upcoming Noordam cruise. We thought the music was great! We went to the Queen's Lounge every evening, just couldn't get enough of it!

 

 

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[lastlook]

FANTASTIC! Best entertainment ever on HAL, in my (limited) experience. Hope they add them to as many ships as possible, and for a very long time.

[mollyanne]

Came across the band in the Queen's Lounge their first night and loved them so much I saw them every night they performed after that! I'm not nomally comfortable dancing by myself but there was no way I could stay sitting during their shows! I also had a lot of fun watching the facial expressions on the bass guitarist and the drummer!

 

I have a few questions:

- are the two singers (Cece and Ron) normally part of the band? I saw them disembark with us yesterday, which is why I'm wondering.

- do you know the names of any of the other musicians? Each was truly remarkable on his instrument! I'd love to see them perform again, either as part of the same group or a different one.

 

I hope HAL extends the BB King Blues club program!!

 

We were on the Westerdam for the 12/7 cruise and agree the BB King Blues Band was excellent! We went 3 times that week. I am 99% sure that the female singer was in my row (window seat) during our flight from BWI to FLL. She was tremendous.

 

We, too, enjoyed the other musicians - including the drummer. He seemed to be the "leader" of the band - and seemed to be giving some direction to Cece - as if she was new.

 

I think this group is a definite asset to the entertainment on the ship and hope HAL continues with them in the future.

 

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[newlaxfan]

In case any of you are interested, here's a link to photos I took of the band.

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/newlaxfan/sets/72157639570978935/

[AlohaPride]

Really really really hope they are on the Amsterdam in August!!

[CruiserBruce]

Really really really hope they are on the Amsterdam in August!!

 

As discussed on one of the other threads on the BB King threads, I don't think the R and S class ships have the right types of places, other than the main lounge, for the BB King group to perform.

[Wakepatrol]

FANTASTIC! Best entertainment ever on HAL, in my (limited) experience. Hope they add them to as many ships as possible, and for a very long time.

 

Totally agree. I just got back as well. The drummer David Mason was incredible.

Edited January 9, 2014 by Wakepatrol

[JamesFic]

The female singer and guitarist look like the same members we saw on the Eurodam on the TA in April '13.

[AlohaPride]

As discussed on one of the other threads on the BB King threads, I don't think the R and S class ships have the right types of places, other than the main lounge, for the BB King group to perform.

 

Well, darn. Blues is my favorite type of music. I took my husband to see BB King for his 20th birthday lol.

 

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[Chelly]

I caught them every night on the Westerdam Jan 4 sailing. Fantastic musicians and talent in my opinion.

 

I got the sense that the HAL cruisers either really, really liked the band or really, really disliked the band. There didn't seem to be a middle ground.

The night they played in the Vista Lounge I was sitting near the back and saw many people walk out during first ten minutes of the show.

[Wakepatrol]

I caught them every night on the Westerdam Jan 4 sailing. Fantastic musicians and talent in my opinion.

 

There didn't seem to be a middle ground.

The night they played in the Vista Lounge I was sitting near the back and saw many people walk out during first ten minutes of the show.

 

They were suffering from "Tin Ear" syndrome

[sun~]

Well, darn. Blues is my favorite type of music. I took my husband to see BB King for his 20th birthday lol.

 

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You may want to look into the Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruise bluescruise.com if you want to see the real deal for blues music. The cruise leaves this Sunday on the Nieuw Amsterdam, it has been sold out for close to a year though. The pre-booking for January 2015 is closed, but check the website. There are a few cabins left on the October 2014 leaving fron Los Angeles.

 

All blues music all week!

[AlohaPride]

You may want to look into the Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruise bluescruise.com if you want to see the real deal for blues music. The cruise leaves this Sunday on the Nieuw Amsterdam, it has been sold out for close to a year though. The pre-booking for January 2015 is closed, but check the website. There are a few cabins left on the October 2014 leaving fron Los Angeles.

 

All blues music all week!

 

That sounds really fun! I'll have to put a cruise like that on my radar for sometime in the future!