lv2cruiseanywhere Posted July 19, 2015 #1 Share Posted July 19, 2015 We have enjoyed Ray Coussins on several Princess cruises (and on one Royal Caribbean cruise several years ago) but have not seen him recently. We saw him last in 2014 and I think he said he would be performing on the new Royal Princess next. He was performing in Crooners Bar each night. He was at one time Frank Sinatra's personal piano player and had many stories to tell about that era. My husband especially enjoyed his performance of Rhapsody in Blue. Yes, we did book a cruise just to see him! Have you seen him lately? Or do you know where he is performing, or will be next? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare dickinson Posted July 19, 2015 #2 Share Posted July 19, 2015 (edited) He may have been on the Royal when we were on April 25- May 21. His name sounds familiar. Also I vaguely remember someone doing a Frank Sinatra tribute. Or maybe it was my cruise on the Grand this past February. Edited July 19, 2015 by dickinson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laughing husky Posted July 19, 2015 #3 Share Posted July 19, 2015 we were on a ship in Alaska....think it was the Crown....and he played. He was wonderful. He did say that he wasn't sure how mych longer he would be doing this as he had some type of cancer....He also talked about Frank Sinatra.....One of the better people I have seen in Crooners....place was packed every time he was there. Nice, nice guy. I have often thought about him and wondered how he was doing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astro Flyer Posted July 19, 2015 #4 Share Posted July 19, 2015 (edited) Searching online I found his website (http://www.thepianoplayer.biz) but no schedule listed & here's his email address to contact him: raycoussins@yahoo.com Edited July 19, 2015 by Astro Flyer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peety3 Posted July 19, 2015 #5 Share Posted July 19, 2015 He is (or at least was) on the Ruby. We saw him in April/May and I saw him listed on the Patters for June. By the way, he's a pianist, not (at least by primary calling) a singer. He's famous for having been Frank Sinatra's house pianist for years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2 to cruise Posted July 19, 2015 #6 Share Posted July 19, 2015 We were on the Grand to Hawaii this past December/January - Ray was fabulous! We took several pictures with him and enjoyed his playing so much! I would sit in Crooner's for 2 hours just to get a seat for his show. He did a wonderful New Year's Eve performance, very memorable. I thought he was supposed to be on the Grand until August (next month), but don't know for sure. Would like to be on another cruise where he is performing, he is the best! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lv2cruiseanywhere Posted July 20, 2015 Author #7 Share Posted July 20, 2015 He is (or at least was) on the Ruby. We saw him in April/May and I saw him listed on the Patters for June. By the way, he's a pianist, not (at least by primary calling) a singer. He's famous for having been Frank Sinatra's house pianist for years. I hope you are correct. We will be on the Ruby Princess in September and October this year and it would be a real treat to see him again. Thanks for all of the responses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
romancing_the_sea Posted July 20, 2015 #8 Share Posted July 20, 2015 Oh I hope so. We'll be on the Ruby in September. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruiserkenn Posted July 20, 2015 #9 Share Posted July 20, 2015 Yes, he was on the Grand's Hawaii cruise, in March, 2015. His stories about Frank were wonderful, and his rendition of Rhapsody in Blue was absolutely spectacular. A great experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Putterdude Posted July 20, 2015 #10 Share Posted July 20, 2015 Ray also has a show act which he will preform in a pinch in the Princess Theatre. I can,t remember the circumstance for certain but either the scheduled artist became ill or was so bad was removed from the ship and Ray filled in and did a great job. You will often find him hanging around the IC around 10 or 11 am. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DDF2821 Posted September 15, 2015 #11 Share Posted September 15, 2015 He performed at the Universe Lounge last night on Coral Princess, 9/13/2015. His final number of "My Way" with the Princess Big Band was simply sensational. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruiserkenn Posted September 15, 2015 #12 Share Posted September 15, 2015 He performed at the Universe Lounge last night on Coral Princess, 9/13/2015. His final number of "My Way" with the Princess Big Band was simply sensational. Fabulous! Fantastic! Thanks for sharing;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoyosma Posted September 15, 2015 #13 Share Posted September 15, 2015 He performed at the Universe Lounge last night on Coral Princess, 9/13/2015. His final number of "My Way" with the Princess Big Band was simply sensational. If you get to talk to him, ask how long he will be onboard. We are on Coral in November. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laughing husky Posted September 16, 2015 #14 Share Posted September 16, 2015 (edited) I have seen him several times......He knows us by sight now....He told us that he plans to stay on the Coral for the rest of this contract which should be through November.....Then he will go back home and who knows what ship next. He is great....If you see him, ask him how his tooth is. He knocked it out on our Alaskan cruise, and couldn't get to a dentist for a few days.... Edited September 16, 2015 by laughing husky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoyosma Posted September 16, 2015 #15 Share Posted September 16, 2015 I have seen him several times......He knows us by sight now....He told us that he plans to stay on the Coral for the rest of this contract which should be through November.....Then he will go back home and who knows what ship next. He is great....If you see him, ask him how his tooth is. He knocked it out on our Alaskan cruise, and couldn't get to a dentist for a few days.... thank you . I hope it really is through November. We board on November 22 and disembark on December 7 so I'll keep my fingers crossed he's on our cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DDF2821 Posted September 18, 2015 #16 Share Posted September 18, 2015 If you get to talk to him, ask how long he will be onboard. We are on Coral in November. He said that he was on the Coral through to Ft Lauderdale, but after that would be off for a while. We did not get the impression that he would still be onboard beyond October, but don't know specific dates.... Sorry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
custompcsys Posted September 18, 2015 #17 Share Posted September 18, 2015 Is this another Bert Stratton kind of thing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
romancing_the_sea Posted November 4, 2015 #18 Share Posted November 4, 2015 We had Funch on the Ruby in September. Really enjoyed him. Anybody know who will be on the Crown next spring? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centralcalicruzer Posted November 4, 2015 #19 Share Posted November 4, 2015 We enjoyed meeting Ray on our Ruby repositioning cruise this past April. Our daughter was one of the production singers and he had her join him spontaneously in Crooners for several numbers during his set - really fun and memorable! I got some great photos of the two of them together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thrak Posted November 4, 2015 #20 Share Posted November 4, 2015 He played on our recent (Sept 21 - Oct 9) 17 day Panama Canal transit. He did a show in Universe Lounge and also played most nights in Crooner's. He had a loyal following who were in Crooners repeatedly. He played, told a few short anecdotes, and took requests. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alison48 Posted March 23, 2017 #21 Share Posted March 23, 2017 Has anyone heard if Ray Coussins is back on the Princess ships? He was so wonderful when we saw him. We would love to sit and listen to him sing his songs again. What makes him so special is that he is so personable and reaches out to his audience. A really wonderful entertainer. We will be traveling again soon and wish Princess would book him again. <|3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LARGIN Posted March 23, 2017 #22 Share Posted March 23, 2017 As of now Ray is no longer working on any Princess ship. His whereabouts is currently unknown,, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astro Flyer Posted March 23, 2017 #23 Share Posted March 23, 2017 I found his website & discovered this undated statement. To the many wonderful people that I met on Princess Cruise Lines over the past few years, I have some news. After many years of working for them Princess Cruises have sadly not booked me for any of their present scheduled cruises. I loved working with them of course and hopefully they will find a place for me one day on one of their great cruise liners. I miss my many cruising friends with whom I had a fantastic time entertaining them with my piano and my songs. I hope that we will meet again somewhere over the rainbow. If you have enjoyed my company and would like to see me on board once more, please let them know. Princess Cruises can be contacted here: customerrelations@princesscruises.com http://www.thepianoplayer.biz/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jase0581 Posted March 23, 2017 #24 Share Posted March 23, 2017 Ray performed on the Island Princess sailing from Feb 28 to March 15 this year. Saw him in Crooners and 1 night in the theater. It was interesting to hear his stories about Sinatra and he is very talented. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alison48 Posted March 24, 2017 #25 Share Posted March 24, 2017 So, Ray Coussins performed on the Island Princess that ended last week? How lucky for you that you saw him play the piano! How unfortunate for us that we did not sail on that voyage. <|3 Thanks for the information, Jase. Maybe he will turn up again. I only wish there were a way of knowing when that will be as we would book a cruise to see him. That's just how fantastic his performance is! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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