wwcruisers Posted July 17 Author #376 Share Posted July 17 Thanks, HB! I loved that Johnny Carson homage, at the end. Can hardly wait for the big announcement, next month! 😎 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Honolulu Blue Posted July 20 #377 Share Posted July 20 In Jazz Cruises' weekly newsletter, Mr. Lazaroff did a preview of the excursions in Victoria and San Francisco. I'll attach a screen shot of it since there's a lot of text that I don't want to write or copy: It looks like the concerts on land will be "at cost", which means they won't be free. To which I say I'm sorry. When we had a land concert for one of my music charters NOT from Jazz Cruises, that one was free and the charter company provided free shuttles there and back (which we didn't have to take). They even gave us a free mat for those who wanted to sit on the grassy hill in the back of the amphitheater. The Journey of Jazz excursions aren't quite ready to book yet, so @NinS and others will have to wait to get in line for these experiences. I'm sure they will be great for all the fans onboard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wwcruisers Posted July 20 Author #378 Share Posted July 20 Thanks, HB. I seem to recall reading (somewhere in Michael's updates) that transportation to the Journey of Jazz venues in both SF and Victoria would be covered. Hopefully, that means arranged and paid for, by JazzCruises. And although I'm glad to have this information -- it still gave me no idea as to when exactly we will be able to book these shore activities. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Honolulu Blue Posted July 20 #379 Share Posted July 20 31 minutes ago, wwcruisers said: Thanks, HB. I seem to recall reading (somewhere in Michael's updates) that transportation to the Journey of Jazz venues in both SF and Victoria would be covered. Hopefully, that means arranged and paid for, by JazzCruises. And although I'm glad to have this information -- it still gave me no idea as to when exactly we will be able to book these shore activities. It wouldn't surprise me if what you said is true. Traditionally, on regular cruises, the transportation to any location is included in the final price. I think the fact that Mr. Lazaroff released this amount of detail about the excursions for this cruise means that an announcement could be coming soon, it may not necessarily be so. Perhaps a call or e-mail to customer service might be in order? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wwcruisers Posted July 21 Author #380 Share Posted July 21 2 hours ago, Honolulu Blue said: It wouldn't surprise me if what you said is true. Traditionally, on regular cruises, the transportation to any location is included in the final price. I think the fact that Mr. Lazaroff released this amount of detail about the excursions for this cruise means that an announcement could be coming soon, it may not necessarily be so. Perhaps a call or e-mail to customer service might be in order? I think that you are right about calling them for a time estimate. However, I do think that they will want to give folks sufficient time to: a) evaluate the options/details for the shore activities listed, and b) book the cruise -- if they had not already done so. So -- might still be a while.. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NinS Posted July 21 #381 Share Posted July 21 I emailed a few months back and was specifically told that there will be an additional charge for the concerts at the SFJAZZ concert hall. Michael's email says this excursions will be presented "at cost" which I read as meaning that he won't be taking a cut, but that we'd still have to pay whatever the actual cost would be. I'd be perfectly happy to just take one of SF's famous streetcars to SFJAZZ instead of paying for a charter bus. It seems like a quick ride. Even though most of these happen during the day when programming is light, I hope we can still cancel if we discover that an excursion conflicts with an on-board event we want to attend. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wwcruisers Posted July 22 Author #382 Share Posted July 22 Of course, Journey of Jazz is a brand-new offering -- but in my experience on SJC's (& one Blue Note), not much happens onboard, on days in port. I would imagine that even less will occur on this one -- with the jazz-cruise sponsored shore activities scheduled for both itinerary stops. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Honolulu Blue Posted July 26 #383 Share Posted July 26 (edited) I got an email from Jazz Cruises with a couple of items of interest. First, I was invited, as "a past guest of Jazz Cruises" (thank you Michael and Patti) to use a special code for a special rate on certain available cabin classes on the Botti at Sea Cruise. It's for new reservations only and doesn't combine with any other discounts. The code offers $75 to $125 off per person per cabin, which isn't bad, Second, I know I listed these in a previous post, but here's a picture of all the headliners on Botti at Sea by day: Edited July 26 by Honolulu Blue 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Honolulu Blue Posted July 27 #384 Share Posted July 27 There was a lot of detail about future cruises in this week's edition of The Weekender: Details for the 2026 editions of the Smooth Jazz Cruise (SJC) will be announced on August 14 This includes some of the performers Rebooking 2025 guests on the SJC for the '26 editions will begin on that date Pre-sale reservations for '26 will begin the next day, August 15 There are now over 4000 people on the waiting list for one or the other of the SJCs A lot of detail was given about booking on SJC '26. I won't repeat that here because I don't want to cramp out my hands. ☹️ Peter Cincotti will be joining Botti at Sea '25 Journey of Jazz land-based excursions will be announced "soon after Labor Day". 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wwcruisers Posted July 27 Author #385 Share Posted July 27 (edited) Great summary of the latest Weekender, HB! I can hardly wait for August 14th. I can certainly see why Mr. Lazaroff is announcing that date, now -- as some folks may not be expecting the next SJC line-up to come out, until closer to Labor Day. And, with a current waiting list for the SJC's that would rival the Koz Cruises -- this will definitely be a 'you snooze, you lose' scenario! Edited July 27 by wwcruisers 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Honolulu Blue Posted July 31 #386 Share Posted July 31 In today's newsletter, the dates for the 2026 Smooth Jazz cruises were revealed, so plan accordingly: #1 will be February 3-10 #2 will be February 10-17 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wwcruisers Posted July 31 Author #387 Share Posted July 31 Thank you, HB -- I already have the 10-17th date marked, on my 2026 calendar!😎 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wwcruisers Posted August 13 Author #388 Share Posted August 13 Fingers (& toes) crossed that the 26 SJC line-up info comes out tomorrow!🤞 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpicyP Posted August 14 #389 Share Posted August 14 23 hours ago, wwcruisers said: Fingers (& toes) crossed that the 26 SJC line-up info comes out tomorrow!🤞 The lineup was on the website this morning. Looks fabulous. I won’t spoil the surprise if you haven’t seen it yet🤫 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Honolulu Blue Posted August 14 #390 Share Posted August 14 45 minutes ago, SpicyP said: The lineup was on the website this morning. Looks fabulous. I won’t spoil the surprise if you haven’t seen it yet🤫 I got an e-mail about this this afternoon. I won't spoil the performer list, but... Both cruises will be on the Summit out of Ft. Lauderdale Both have the same itinerary: Port Everglades -> Key West -> sea day -> Costa Maya -> Costa Maya -> Cozumel -> two sea days -> Port Everglades There's a video on the site (and a link in the e-mail) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wwcruisers Posted August 14 Author #391 Share Posted August 14 Thanks, Guys -- saw it this afternoon! I have never seen Kenny G -- so that will be a treat. Also looking forward to seeing Marc Antoine for the first time. Hoping that he and Peter White do a set together! Also thrilled to see Keiko in the line-up. We saw her on our very first SJC (back in 2018)! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpicyP Posted August 15 #392 Share Posted August 15 I saw Kenny G many, many moons ago at the Westbury Music Fair on Long Island. He walked up and down the aisles playing. It is something I remember to this day, although it was more than 30 years ago. I would love to see him again. As the video brought out, he was my 1st introduction to Smooth Jazz!! Hopefully we get a chance to book. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wwcruisers Posted August 15 Author #393 Share Posted August 15 We are officially booked on the 26.2 SJC! 😃 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpicyP Posted August 15 #394 Share Posted August 15 6 minutes ago, wwcruisers said: We are officially booked on the 26.2 SJC! 😃 We are officially 'Pre-Sale-Booked' on the 26.1 SJC! Hopefully we will get a spot. The line-up is amazing!! Culbertson, Matsui, Dulfer AND KG....who could ask for anything more? Don't have to ask for more because we're getting more!!!🎉👏 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wwcruisers Posted August 15 Author #395 Share Posted August 15 3 hours ago, SpicyP said: We are officially 'Pre-Sale-Booked' on the 26.1 SJC! Hopefully we will get a spot. The line-up is amazing!! Culbertson, Matsui, Dulfer AND KG....who could ask for anything more? Don't have to ask for more because we're getting more!!!🎉👏 You were wise to pre-book as soon as you possibly could -- fingers crossed for you to be able to book this one! My motto has always been: If there's going to be a long line for something, I'd rather be at the front of it, than standing at the back!😎 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wwcruisers Posted August 18 Author #396 Share Posted August 18 (edited) According to today's Weekender, they already have 600+ folks signed up for the SJC '26 'pre-cruise' queue! 😮 Edited August 18 by wwcruisers 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Honolulu Blue Posted August 21 #397 Share Posted August 21 From the Jazz Cruises biweekly newsletter: * The 2025 Jazz Cruise is fully booked * The details for the 2026 edition are tentatively planned to be announced in mid to late October * Details for the 2026 Chris Botti Cruise will come after this * The 2025 edition is nearly 85% reserved 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wwcruisers Posted August 25 Author #398 Share Posted August 25 Eagerly awaiting details of the Journey of Jazz shore excursions -- hopefully coming "soon" after Labor Day! 😎 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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