NA Malt Shop Cruise

[violet stillwater]

I have never been on a themed cruise before but wondered what this Malt Shop Cruise was like—how does it differ from a regular trip? We were disembarking the Nieuw Amsterdam last week  when this cruise was beginning. Lots of maneuvering on the Lido deck setting up what looked to be a stage and dance floor.

 

Anyone ever done one of these cruises before? Just wondering...

[J&Dhighdesert]

Yes, we have done two Malt Shop cruises.  The company that charters the cruise is in charge of all entertainment.  It it music  from about ten in the morning till the last person goes to bed.  The company does several theme cruises.

[Taters]

A friend and his band perform on the Legendary Blues Cruise every other year or so (they have 2 per year).  The Ft. Lauderdale departure usually sells out in a day.  These cruises are so expensive (about $5000 for 2 for 7 days in an outside cabin) and they have the ship to themselves (full ship charter).  There is no dress code, there are stages set up everywhere, and there are bands playing from bow to stern almost 24/7.  It's a big deal.  LBC passengers also do not get Mariner points and there are many people who go on every single cruise that they offer.  Many do not even get off the ship in any port.

[ger_77]

12 hours ago, Taters said:

A friend and his band perform on the Legendary Blues Cruise every other year or so (they have 2 per year).  The Ft. Lauderdale departure usually sells out in a day.  These cruises are so expensive (about $5000 for 2 for 7 days in an outside cabin) and they have the ship to themselves (full ship charter).  There is no dress code, there are stages set up everywhere, and there are bands playing from bow to stern almost 24/7.  It's a big deal.  LBC passengers also do not get Mariner points and there are many people who go on every single cruise that they offer.  Many do not even get off the ship in any port.

There's a LBC happening right after we disembark in January; it will be interesting to see the activity on the back deck in the morning before we get off.  As we are usually the last people to leave the ship, we'll be scanning the line of people waiting to get into the building to see if we recognize any famous faces!

 

Smooth Sailing!  🙂🙂🙂

[Djptcp]

Friends of ours do the Malt Shop Cruise almost every year and absolutely love them! You have to book through Malt Shop and not Holland America. There are tons of big time performers that we Baby Boomers remember from the 50's and 60's. The performers are on the ship for the whole week and are pretty accessible around the ship. There are performances almost all day and you can make reservations for those you particularly want to see.

[Roz]

On ‎11‎/‎8‎/‎2019 at 7:16 PM, Taters said:

A friend and his band perform on the Legendary Blues Cruise every other year or so (they have 2 per year).  The Ft. Lauderdale departure usually sells out in a day.  These cruises are so expensive (about $5000 for 2 for 7 days in an outside cabin) and they have the ship to themselves (full ship charter).  There is no dress code, there are stages set up everywhere, and there are bands playing from bow to stern almost 24/7.  It's a big deal.  LBC passengers also do not get Mariner points and there are many people who go on every single cruise that they offer.  Many do not even get off the ship in any port.

I wonder why they don't get Mariner points?  

[Taters]

On 11/9/2019 at 4:23 AM, ger_77 said:

There's a LBC happening right after we disembark in January; it will be interesting to see the activity on the back deck in the morning before we get off.  As we are usually the last people to leave the ship, we'll be scanning the line of people waiting to get into the building to see if we recognize any famous faces!

 

Smooth Sailing!  🙂🙂🙂

Here's the line up!  Another friend is performing on this one.  He is the bassist for Tab Benoit.  Good times! https://bluescruise.com/34-jan-2020-western-caribbean/ 

[J&Dhighdesert]

We received on board credit on our two trips. This was two and three years ago.

[Diver2014]

We were on the first Malt Shop Memories cruise and the second Flower Power cruise.  Both were absolutely awesome!  Exhausting but awesome.  Star Vista is the company that charters the ships (full ship charters) and they sell out in no time.

We're on a waiting list for the next Flower Power cruise.  It was amazing walking around the ship and seeing so many famous people also just walking around, mixing with everyone.  I had my photo taken with Brenda Lee,  Martha Reeves, all of the Duprees, Mark Lindsay, Charlie Thomas of the Drifters, Dean Torrence, OMG I can't think of them all.  They had jam sessions, Q & A's, interviews, meet and greets and concerts each evening in the theaters.  The Flower Power cruise was memorable for me since the Beach Boys (Mike Love and Bruce Johnston), Dean Torrence and Dion all sang 'Barbara Ann' together on stage for the finale - wow where will you ever see THAT again?????   It was phenomenal.  Yes, the cruises are expensive but Star Vista has to pay for chartering the ship and crew and pay for all the entertainers for the week.  But was it worth it?   Absolutely!!!! It made no difference what ports of call were, many folks didn't even get off the ship!  Exhausting because we were given the daily schdule at the beginning of the cruise and we had to sometimes run to the next venue to keep up with all the appearances all over the ship.  But it was so much fun, fun, fun!

[sun~]

On 11/10/2019 at 12:29 PM, Roz said:

I wonder why they don't get Mariner points?  

Yes, we do get Mariner points on LRBC.

 

I have done about 10 LRBC, we are back on in January 2020.

 

I am a three star Mariner on HAL. They are my least favourite cruise line, so I would never have reached 3* without LRBC. Not that it matters, there is nothing worthwhile unit you get to 4* and get free laundry and priority embarkation and tenders.

 

 

[TonyC1952]

"nothing worthwhile until you get to 4*; I guess I got ripped off when I got a 25% reduction in the prices of my wine packages and meals in the Pinnacle and Tamarind, while I was a 3 star... if you don't use the benefits you've earned, they are worthless.

Perhaps you don't get those benefits on a LRBC? Call me confused.

 

Edited November 13, 2019 by TonyC1952
additional text

[sun~]

21 hours ago, TonyC1952 said:

"nothing worthwhile until you get to 4*; I guess I got ripped off when I got a 25% reduction in the prices of my wine packages and meals in the Pinnacle and Tamarind, while I was a 3 star... if you don't use the benefits you've earned, they are worthless.

Perhaps you don't get those benefits on a LRBC? Call me confused.

 

We get some on the blues cruise. 50% is a decent deal for 4*. I know what isn't allowed for 4* on the blues cruise is the 50% mini bar purchases. I have friends who have complained about that. 25% off of a terrible wine list isn't very enticing. We eat almost exclusively in Tamarind and Pinnacle, so it is nice, but there was a big price hike a couple of years ago, so it sort of makes up for it.