Calling all jazz cruisers

[wwcruisers]

Aa-ah, that explains it! 😸

[Honolulu Blue]

UPDATE:  I emailed Jazz Cruises for information about their '25 cruise.  A rep from there got back to me (not the big guy).  She said that there is no imminent announcement of The Jazz Cruise for 2025.  They're tentatively thinking that it will be made in early December, but they want to make sure all the pieces in place before they make any announcement.  Fair enough, but that runs into the time for the announcement of the 2025 Chris Botti Cruise:

 

Will this be delayed too?  It would seem so, but I didn't directly ask about it, so I can't be absolutely sure.

 

So I guess those of you who are looking for news about The Jazz Cruise '25 and Botti at Sea '25 will have to wait a little while longer. ☹️

[NinS]

Thanks for checking, HB. I can stop hitting refresh on TJC home page every hour, haha! Looking at my emails last year's TJC announcement came on December 7, so it looks like they're on a similar timeline now. I can spot 16 "headliners" (although the term is a bit fuzzy given the unique format of TJC) on 2024 who were not on the 2023 cruise, so it makes sense that the programming takes a bit longer than the Smooth Jazz Cruise which, if I'm not mistaken, seems to feature more of the same names from year to year with a few extra headliners (often from the world of R&B) rotating in and out. 

[Honolulu Blue]

Several updates from the Weekender newsletter:

 

• Chris Botti at Sea 2025 will be announced on November 29
• The Jazz Cruise 2025 will be announced on December 6
• TJC '24 is now listed as fully sold out
• The McDonald LaBelle Cruise is now over 75% reserved

[wwcruisers]

Lots to look forward to -- thanks, HB!!🎶

[Honolulu Blue]

From the latest Jazz Notes newsletter:

 

* This will be the last edition of Jazz Notes until February 21, 2024

* All the 2024 jazz cruises are sold out 

* Getting on the waiting list for any of the 2024 cruises is useless, since there's a long line with few projected openings 

* The McDonald LaBelle Cruise is not considered a jazz cruise and still has openings 

* Don't forget about the Jazz Cruise webinar tomorrow at 3 pm EST

* Announcement dates remain the same - Botti 25 on November 29, TJC 25 on December 6

 

Edited November 15, 2023 by Honolulu Blue

[Globaliser]

On 7/6/2023 at 4:26 PM, Honolulu Blue said:

The plot thickens on those 2025 sailings.  I checked the sailings for the Summit for early '25.  They're selling them for all the dates throughout the period.  They're also scheduled to sail from San Juan, Puerto Rico throughout the period.

 

Today's email made me look at the Celebrity website. Summit is now off sale for the four weeks that ECP is taking the ship, and the subsequent cruises (from 25 February 2025 onwards) are now ex-Fort Lauderdale. And FWIW, this appears to be what Celebrity has done for those who have been bumped.

[wwcruisers]

A couple of months ago, we booked the 9-nighter, departing Ft. L. on Feb.25, '25 -- as a B2B with our SJC 25.2 booking. When we discovered this sailing, it had been out long enough that many of the best cabins were already booked.

[NinS]

I was excited to read in Jazz Notes that TJC '24 will have a clarinet set with Anat Cohen, Ken Peplowski and Paquita D'Rivera -- and the name of the set implies lots of Brazilian melodies will be played. That will be a must-attend for me.

 

The waitlist stuff was a bit confusing, since the intro said there was no point in joining a waitlist, but later in the email it indicated you could join TJC and Botti at Sea's waitlists, which would make sense since those cruises took much longer to sell out. (And, given the average age of TJC passengers, one images the cancellation rate is a bit higher as well.) Not that any of this matters to me since I have my cabin and I don't know anyone trying to get onto any of the sailings.

[Honolulu Blue]

3 hours ago, NinS said:

The waitlist stuff was a bit confusing, since the intro said there was no point in joining a waitlist, but later in the email it indicated you could join TJC and Botti at Sea's waitlists, which would make sense since those cruises took much longer to sell out. (And, given the average age of TJC passengers, one images the cancellation rate is a bit higher as well.) Not that any of this matters to me since I have my cabin and I don't know anyone trying to get onto any of the sailings.

It seemed clear enough to me. What was less clear is the old language at the bottom encouraging use of the waitlists. Probably just an artifact.

[NinS]

Today was TJC webinar. As usual most of it was devoted to the small details that would be mostly helpful to first time cruisers, but I did glean a few tidbits:

 

-- The pool party show will feature an organ jazz set, which should be great. (Unlike most music cruises where the pool is a main stage all week, TJC has one or two outside shows.)

 

-- TJC 2025's ports will be Grand Cayman and Cozumel. Lazaroff quipped that he would reveal the lineup "if I trusted all of you -- but I don't." Smart guy.

 

--No music between 5 pm and 6 pm so people can have dinner. Lazaroff said he was stunned at how many people ate dinner in the buffet last year, so the programming will allow those who want a full MDR or specialty meal to eat one.

 

-- Since TJC is almost entirely a general admission cruise without "early/late" headline events, it was stated that if you're in a venue and you want to stay for the next show you can do so, but you have to actual remain in the venue and can only save one seat -- no putting a towel over a whole row. I'm not sure how widespread this actually was, but it was stated that there will be more ushers this year to facilitate the flow in between sets.

 

--The odd timing of the St. Thomas port (1 pm to 8pm) will impact the schedule a bit, with lots of programming in the morning, and things started back up later in the afternoon. I wouldn't be surprised if many of the passengers, myself included, find the programming more enticing than anything in the port, and I certainly won't be planning any excursions until I see the schedule (which as mentioned before won't be released until 7-10 days before the sailing).

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Honolulu Blue]

From the latest Weekender newsletter:

 

• The Jazz Cruise '24 will have its webinar on Thursday, December 7 at 3 PM EST
• A recording of this webinar will be available after the event
• TJC '24 has a few cabins that newly came available; they can be booked online for now
• TJC '25 will be announced with some details on December 6
• The announcement for Botti at Sea '25 has slipped (again); it is now scheduled for the first week in January "or so"
• Open booking for The Smooth Jazz Cruise '25 begins on January 10
• The McDonald LaBelle cruise is inching closer to full status; it's over 78% reserved now

[Globaliser]

On 12/2/2023 at 4:51 PM, Honolulu Blue said:

• TJC '25 will be announced with some details on December 6

 

My copy of the announcement email has just arrived. Of the headliners who aren't regulars, Dianne Reeves and Arturo Sandoval caught my eye.

[NinS]

Also nice to see Bill Charlap, who was spectacular on the '23 TJC, back on the lineup for '25. 

[Globaliser]

On 9/28/2023 at 12:53 AM, JazzCruiser1 said:

Does anybody know when they might release the performance schedule for the Jazz Cruise 2024?

 

An email today says that it will be:

• TJC: 8 January 2024
• SJC 24.1: 15 January 2024
• SJC 24.2: 22 January 2024
• Botti: 29 January 2024

[Honolulu Blue]

Snippets from the latest newsletter:

 

• As @Globaliser posted just before me, schedule reveals are planned for the following dates:

 

It looks like they will be revealed about 3 weeks before their sailings, which is in between what StarVista has done for their cruises (a month) and what ECP has done with its 80s Cruise (1-2 weeks).

 

• The TJC '24 webinar that focused on Celebrity's online check-in and pre-cruise planner is available now on that site.
• There will be other webinars upcoming for the other 2024 cruises that also focus on online check-in and pre-cruse planner.  Smooth Jazz will be Tuesday at 3 PM ET.  Botti at Sea will be January 9 at 3 PM ET.  
• The McDonald LaBelle Cruise is now over 80% booked
• The Smooth Jazz Cruises for 2025 are already over 60% booked

 

Edited December 16, 2023 by Honolulu Blue

[SignorEggroll]

Hi All,

My wife and I will be on Botti at Sea '24 and would like to schedule some excursions. I swear I remember reading that there are no music events while in port, but I cannot find any mention of this in the FAQs. We don't want to schedule an excursion only to find out that it conflicts with a performance. Can anybody confirm or deny that this is a standard policy on JC cruises?

Thanks!

[NinS]

@SignorEggroll You can be assured that no headlining performance will happen on port days. I say "days" because the ship is in Aruba until 11pm, so the usual main stage times of 5:30 pm and 8 pm will still be in effect. (When a music cruise is in port that late it's often so that one of the artists can leave the ship after their performance.)

 

Even lounge/poolside performances will be very limited as the artists also enjoy exploring the ports and no one wants to play to a mostly empty venue. There's a possibility that there might be a late afternoon interview. If you're booking through Celebrity you can cancel an excursion and get a refund 48 hours in advance, so there's not much risk in booking something now and then waiting for the schedule to come out.  

[SpicyP]

23 hours ago, SignorEggroll said:

Hi All,

My wife and I will be on Botti at Sea '24 and would like to schedule some excursions. I swear I remember reading that there are no music events while in port, but I cannot find any mention of this in the FAQs. We don't want to schedule an excursion only to find out that it conflicts with a performance. Can anybody confirm or deny that this is a standard policy on JC cruises?

Thanks!

I thought I read something similar but like you, can't find anything. This is the closest thing I did find:

 

Sunday – Super Bowl Sunday / Jersey Night: It’s a full day in Aruba. It’s Super Bowl Sunday. It's another night of great music. Balancing them all will be fun. So that you may enjoy Aruba, most activities for the day start in the afternoon. For those interested in the game, we have plans for you. There will be ample places to watch the game, feast on Super Bowl food and wear the jersey of your favorite sports team. But, for those wanting more music, that will be our primary focus. A full slate of music, as always.

 

This was from the 'Get Ready' series #4 dated 10-2-23. I'm guessing there won't be too much going on when in port. Maybe some music for those staying onboard, but I would venture to guess no Headliners though.

[SignorEggroll]

@NinS @SpicyP thanks for the responses. That definitely puts my mind at ease

[NinS]

Today's TJC "Get Ready" newsletter mentioned that there will be a schedule app that will be updated during the cruise. Now you didn't hear it from me, but maybe, just maybe, such an app is already available for download if you search for it and it has an early version of the schedule already on it. While the schedule will certainly change, one thing is for certain: there will be a lot of tough choices on TJC '24. (I did search for the sister Botti at Sea and Smooth Jazz apps but couldn't find them.)

[Honolulu Blue]

Small details about and from the latest newsletter:

 

• No newsletter next week; the next one will be on January 6
• There will be "live" newsletters from the cruises in 2024, starting with TJC on January 20
• Botti at Sea's 2025 date and ship were announced.  Here is the calendar of '25 cruises as listed:

 

• Other details of Botti at Sea '25 will be announced no later than January 8
• Artist hosted events can only be signed up for once onboard.  Former partner ECP does their events differently; theirs were made available roughly 10 days ago for booking and prepayment.  The longer story is in my thread in this forum on my musical adventures that I'm too lazy to link.
• Absolutely nothing about the McDonald LaBelle Cruise in this newsletter. ☹️  We'll see what there is to say in two weeks.

[NinS]

The SJC apps are on the app Store, but don't waste your time downloading them -- it just lists the first day (spoiler: there's the welcome concert) and a few "test events." Which of course makes sense since no one told me to go looking for it!

[Honolulu Blue]

The Weekender newsletter is back, and here are some details I found most interesting from it:

 

• Botti at Sea 2025 will be fully announced (including the lineup) on January 15.  Here's what we know about it so far:

• The final Botti at Sea 2024 webinar will be Tuesday, January 9 at 3 PM ET
• Both Smooth Jazz Cruises for 2025 are already 85% reserved
• McDonald LaBelle is nearly 85% reserved

Edited January 6 by Honolulu Blue

[NinS]

And here's the 2024 Jazz Cruise schedule which has been officially posted on TJC website:

 

http://thejazzcruise.sched.com

 

What a packed schedule! Even though there is a 5pm dinner break I see very few evenings where I'll actually have time to go to the MDR for a full dinner. I'd rather eat at the buffet and get a good seat for some of the small venues shows that start in the 6pm hour.

 

Also, you didn't hear it here, but:

 

https://thesmoothjazzcruise1.sched.com/

 

https://thesmoothjazzcruise2.sched.com/

 

and finally, just the first day so far, but:

 

https://bottiatsea.sched.com