A Journey to the 90s, 80s, 70s, and beyond? My 2025 Music Adventures

[Honolulu Blue]

Hi everyone.  Thank you for coming to my new thread based on the 2025 musical adventures (mostly cruises) that I will have in 2025.  This will supplement the thread of my musical adventures for this year (2024) that I have here: 

 

 

To establish my background, in case you're not familiar with it, I took 2 music charter cruises in 2022 (Ultimate Disco Cruise and The 80s Cruise) and 2023 (same two).  So far in 2024 I have taken one (The 80s Cruise), but I will be embarking on one later this week (70s Rock and Romance Cruise) and another next month (McDonald LaBelle Cruise).  Details about those cruises are in the thread I linked above.  In addition, I took a couple of 80s themed cruises on Princess in 2021 and 2023 that had plenty of music from that decade, much of it from tribute bands - but really good ones, IMHO.

 

OK, now for 2025.  The first cruise I have scheduled sails at the end of January - The 90s Cruise.  Here's the lineup so far:

 

 

It's a short cruise (5 days) out of Tampa on Royal Caribbean's Serenade of the Seas that goes to Cozumel and Costa Maya.

 

Moving along, two weeks after I disembark from that cruise, I'll be shuffling along to Miami for the return of the Ultimate Disco Cruise.  It's another short, 5-day cruise that goes to Cozumel and Costa Maya on the Norwegian Pearl.  Here's that lineup:

 

 

And 6 days later, guess what?  It's time to change eras again - back to the 80s for the latest edition of The 80s Cruise.  This one goes from Miami to Nassau, San Juan, and Labadee (yes, we all have doubts about that latter stop - but a year is a long time). And here's that lineup:

 

 

Also under consideration is a repeat journey on Rock and Romance in 2025.  I won't detail the lineup for that one, since I'm so uncertain about going on that cruise.

 

There will be much more to say about these cruises and their lineups at a later time.  For now, I just wanted to establish this thread before I get too busy with other things.

 

Edited March 11 by Honolulu Blue

[Honolulu Blue]

I finally got a chance to look at the full planned itinerary for The 80s Cruuse. Here it is:

 

Day 1, embark Miami @ 4 pm

Day 2, Nassau, 7 am - 4 pm

Day 3, sea day

Day 4, San Juan, 10 am - 11:59 pm

Day 5, sea day

Day 6, Labadee, 8 am - 5 pm

Day 7, sea day

Day 8, return @ 6 am

 

Again, I have my doubts about whether we'll make it to Labadee, but let's go with what they have for now. It looks like our day in San Juan will be the day some of our artists transfer to and from the ship. And from there, there are severalnice islands tostop if they feel a need to replace Labadee for whatever reason. 

[Honolulu Blue]

Sixthman is trying something a little different with their recently sold out cruises Rock the Bells and Keeping the Blues Alive at Sea.  Instead of maintaining a waiting list, they're introducing First Available Cabins.  Allow me to try to explain what's going on...

 

Rather than booking a specific cabin (because there are no specific cabins available), you can book a cabin in a category (interior, ocean view, balcony).  There's no discount for this, but if they can't find a cabin before sailing, they'll refund your money, give you $1000 in Sixthman credit, and get priority booking for other Sixthman events.  

 

It sounds like they're trying to sell a guarantee cabin like regular cruise lines do on some of their regular sailings.  But usually the cruise lines will reward those who purchase a guarantee with a discounted price.  I guess Sixthman, at least on these sailings, are assuming we're too happy to get on a currently full ship to worry about little things like the cabin.  I'm somewhat finicky about cabin location, etc., so this option wouldn't make me happy, but I think this will get some takers.

[rigs32]

If you were on the waiting list and got the call that a cabin was available, you wouldn't have much (if any) choice in the matter regarding cabin location anyway.

 

They've had events with thousands of people on the waiting list, so it's just not workable for some of their events now.  I would sign up for First Available only if I just wanted to get on the boat and didn't care about what cabin I had.

[Honolulu Blue]

40 minutes ago, rigs32 said:

If you were on the waiting list and got the call that a cabin was available, you wouldn't have much (if any) choice in the matter regarding cabin location anyway.

 

They've had events with thousands of people on the waiting list, so it's just not workable for some of their events now.  I would sign up for First Available only if I just wanted to get on the boat and didn't care about what cabin I had.

 

Thanks for the perspective on the Sixthman cruise waiting lists.  And I agree with your conclusions about who the First Available program is most useful for.

[NinS]

So while @Honolulu Blue is starting their week on Rock and Romance there was some big '25 cruise news: The Soul Train Cruise has added a fall '25 sailing. This is what the email said:

So… we’re excited to share that we’re planning a second sailing of the 2025 Soul Train Cruise, to sail in the fall, NOVEMBER 9-16, 2025 out of Ft. Lauderdale, FL aboard Holland America Line’s Eurodam.

The decision to sail in November 2025 is contingent upon guest demand and we will judge that demand by asking for deposits from guests. We will assess the demand and confirm if we are sailing no later than June 14th, 2024. Should we decide not to sail, your deposit will be fully refunded within 30 days of our notice on June 14th.

 

No details about itinerary (which I don't care about) or artists (which is all I care about) was provided. I decided to leap at the chance to get a single inside cabin, and now I'm going to get cancel for any reason insurance. I'd be thrilled with a replication of the lineup for the Jan '25 cruise which I couldn't get an inside cabin for, but I don't think that will be the case.

[Honolulu Blue]

16 hours ago, NinS said:

So while @Honolulu Blue is starting their week on Rock and Romance there was some big '25 cruise news: The Soul Train Cruise has added a fall '25 sailing. This is what the email said:

So… we’re excited to share that we’re planning a second sailing of the 2025 Soul Train Cruise, to sail in the fall, NOVEMBER 9-16, 2025 out of Ft. Lauderdale, FL aboard Holland America Line’s Eurodam.

The decision to sail in November 2025 is contingent upon guest demand and we will judge that demand by asking for deposits from guests. We will assess the demand and confirm if we are sailing no later than June 14th, 2024. Should we decide not to sail, your deposit will be fully refunded within 30 days of our notice on June 14th.

 

No details about itinerary (which I don't care about) or artists (which is all I care about) was provided. I decided to leap at the chance to get a single inside cabin, and now I'm going to get cancel for any reason insurance. I'd be thrilled with a replication of the lineup for the Jan '25 cruise which I couldn't get an inside cabin for, but I don't think that will be the case.

Thanks for posting this. I just turned on the Net for the day and came here first.

 

It's interesting that they did this, of course. I'll give you credit for seeding the idea in my mind, though it had been obvious for several years that there was enough STC demand for at least one more cruise per year.

 

I really like the lineup SV have had for Soul Trains in the past, and I like the fact that it's away from the other music charters I have scheduled (which may or may not include the 2025 edition of this one). That said, I'm going to pass up this opportunity and make them make me regret this.

[Honolulu Blue]

A very quick look at how the music themed cruises I'm booked on for 2025 are doing booking-wise:

 

• The 90s Cruise - booking percentage unknown, but probably less than 80%.  Solo-dedicated studio cabins sold out, though not the special rate for singles.  Most suites sold out, most other classes have availability.
• Ultimate Disco Cruise - latest rumors show the UDC down to its last 100 cabins, which puts it at over 80% full.  Only balcony suites and interiors show as available.
• The 80s Cruise - they advertise over 80% full at their main site.  Interiors are almost all gone.  Ditto suites and OVs.  Balconies are available, though some categories are waitlisted.

[Honolulu Blue]

Southwest has opened up flight bookings through early March.  I used this window to book several of my flights to/from my 2025 cruise cities. This ate into my current stack of miles, though I'll make up much of it with spending over the next year. One leg I left open because I didn't like SWA's available flights, and one leg won't be available to be booked on Southwest until early August.

Edited April 25 by Honolulu Blue

[Honolulu Blue]

A few notes from around the Net:

 

• Both Rock and Romance and Flower Power have sold out. R&R did it early this month, while FP took a little longer and sold out about a week ago. I hope George got his back to back suites if he wanted them.
• I got an announcement that Summer of 99 is on for next year. Creed will host again. No other performers were announced at this time. It will go April 9-13 and head from Miami to Nassau and back on the Norwegian Gem. It's about $2500 for a solo interior cabin, and I can take another $100 off if I'm willing to pay in full. Despite all this, I was intrigued enough to sign up for the pre sale. I'll get a time to book on or about May 27. We'll see what happens.
• Soul Train 2.0 keeps adding performers. It sounds like it's going to go.

Edited May 1 by Honolulu Blue

[Honolulu Blue]

I got a couple of notes with my e-mails from ECP this afternoon.  This coming TEC is 85% full.  Pretty good, but Star Trek is at 97%. 😮

 

Also, next year's Rock Legends Cruise just changed their port stop to CocoCay.  They were scheduled in Labadee. 😵, so they made the obvious call there.  TEC is still scheduled to head for Haiti as one of their three stops.  When will they make the change?  Who knows??

Edited May 1 by Honolulu Blue

[Honolulu Blue]

I got e-mail notification of the Super Legends Cruise in September 12-15, 2025.  It's on Navigator OTS.  I'm familiar with that ship thanks to last year's 80s Cruise.  I liked it better than the Mariner.  The timing is all right - it's well away from my other cruises, though I don't like that it's during prime hurricane season.  Yes it's short, and it's VERY expensive, but the lineup is interesting:

 

 

I like what I've heard of the Isley Brothers and would look forward to hearing from them again.  Sheila E. will be on next year's TEC, so this would be a double down.  Not too risky, since I expect her to be quite good.  Tavares will be on next year's UDC.  They should be all right, worth my time to while away an hour by the pool with.  Heatwave was on the last UDC, but I missed them.  They have two killer songs that I'd look forward to hearing.

 

But the key performer here is Jody Watley.  I really liked her back in the day.  If she's still got "it", then she could top Sheena from the top of my charts.

 

Anyway, El Lay is a long way to travel for just three days, and I don't much care for the terminal in San Pedro.  And the itinerary is just 8 hours in Ensenada.

 

 

The per day cost in even the most basic cabin would be the most of any cruise I've had or booked.  But I keep hearing Jody singing to me, "You turned your back on me when I needed you most of all" (my favorite song from her, BTW).  It remains to be seen whether I resist her siren's call.  Stay tuned. 

 

[Honolulu Blue]

I should have taken the advice of another Jody Watley song - "Learn to Say No".  But I tinkered with the Super Legends Cruise site, signed up for an account, looked for cabins near the library (where I ended up on TEC 2023), booked one, paid the $50 deposit, and set myself up for $160 payments for the next 12 months.  So, I guess I signed up for another music themed cruise, my fourth in 2025.  I hope Jody Watley is in really good form. 🙏

 

P.S. I forgot to mention that she was supposed to be part of TEC '23 but canceled out on us for unknown reasons.

[NinS]

Well I think you made a very good decision HB. I got the email too and was bummed that it is the same week as Journey of Jazz. Jody Watley was on the 2019 UDC and was phenomenal. The Isley Bros were very good when I saw them on land about a year ago. Lenny Williams, Deneice Williams, and Bloodstone are also quite good live. And one name that might not be familiar, Little Willie G, is one of my favorite singers on the planet. He used to front a group called Thee Midnighters who never really were big out of LA but are local legends. (Thee Midnighters are still around with a different lead singer.) This cruise is usually an instant sell out and I doubt this will be any different so it was wise to jump on it.

 

It's really a coin toss for me. I have cancel for any reason insurance and have only made the deposit payment for JofJ. Ultimately I think the longer cruise and the Celebrity ship has more appeal to me, but I'm going to give it a bit more thought.

[Honolulu Blue]

47 minutes ago, NinS said:

Well I think you made a very good decision HB. I got the email too and was bummed that it is the same week as Journey of Jazz. Jody Watley was on the 2019 UDC and was phenomenal. The Isley Bros were very good when I saw them on land about a year ago. Lenny Williams, Deneice Williams, and Bloodstone are also quite good live. And one name that might not be familiar, Little Willie G, is one of my favorite singers on the planet. He used to front a group called Thee Midnighters who never really were big out of LA but are local legends. (Thee Midnighters are still around with a different lead singer.) This cruise is usually an instant sell out and I doubt this will be any different so it was wise to jump on it.

 

It's really a coin toss for me. I have cancel for any reason insurance and have only made the deposit payment for JofJ. Ultimately I think the longer cruise and the Celebrity ship has more appeal to me, but I'm going to give it a bit more thought.

Thank you for your comments and thanks for your support. I'll have to check out the artists you mentioned. There's lots of time until the cruise and I suppose I can spare an hour or two in the name of entertainment.

 

I wish this cruise was twice as long with twice as much talent while not costing twice as much. But it is what it is. Let me know if you make it onboard. It's always fun to be with people you kind of know. 😀

[Honolulu Blue]

I started a roll call for the 2025 edition of the Super Legends Cruise that I just booked.

 

 

[NinS]

As you like know @Honolulu Blue this cruise has a sister Old School Cruise that just sailed -- they had two boats going out and partially shared a lineup. Here's the schedule for 1.0 which I found on social media. No "early or late" -- just a lot of first come, first served music on the lido deck and in the theater plus some DJ events elsewhere. Some acts played once, some twice, and there was a revue with a number of artists which I think will be the case with the artists at the bottom of the billing for the SLC.

[Honolulu Blue]

18 minutes ago, NinS said:

As you like know @Honolulu Blue this cruise has a sister Old School Cruise that just sailed -- they had two boats going out and partially shared a lineup. Here's the schedule for 1.0 which I found on social media. No "early or late" -- just a lot of first come, first served music on the lido deck and in the theater plus some DJ events elsewhere. Some acts played once, some twice, and there was a revue with a number of artists which I think will be the case with the artists at the bottom of the billing for the SLC.

Yeah, I know about the OSC and its two sailings.  I liked those lineups enough to consider them, at least briefly.  I wonder if they'll split this cruise.

 

Thanks for the schedule flyer!  I note that they don't use Studio B as a performance venue at all.  That's interesting.  Also interesting is the fact that it's all dance-dance-dance-party-party-party and no scheduled Q&As or formal meet and greets/autograph sessions.  I can live with that.

[Honolulu Blue]

Well, well.  Another day, another music themed cruise for me to look at.

 

The Monsters of Rock Cruise will be sailing March 10-15, 2025 on the Norwegian Joy.  This is a bigger ships than most charters on Norwegian, which favor the Pearl or Gem these days.  It will head to Great Stirrup Cay, NCL's private island; and Nassau for an overnight visit.  The initial lineup features 27 acts, including LA Guns (who were on the TEC '23 and I didn't see) and Stephen Pearcy, from the TEC that sailed earlier this year, whom I did not miss:

 

 

You guys know I love me some RATT action, but the others I either don't know or don't impress me.  And it's expensive - they're charging as much for me for 5 days as The 80s Cruise is charging for 7.  So it looks like this one is a pass. ☹️

[Honolulu Blue]

The 80s Cruise provided us with an update on its performers.  There's good news and bad news.  The good news is that Warrant, Dokken, and Firehouse will be joining us on this cruise.  I think Firehouse is the best band of this group - though I have heard of all three.  "Don't Treat Me Bad" is my favorite Firehouse song.  I assume they'll play it.

 

More good news is that we have an awesome band for 2026 - Quiet Riot! 

 

 

You can probably guess what the bad news is... Quiet Riot is now OUT for this upcoming cruise.  They cited a "scheduling conflict", which the cynic in me interprets as they got a better 🤑 offer somewhere else.  OK, maybe not that.  Maybe when I get a free moment, I'll figure out where they plan to be while we're cruising.  In the meantime, I'm banging my head.  I'll do a metal health check when I'm finished. 

Edited May 8 by Honolulu Blue

[Honolulu Blue]

A couple of interesting items in the UDC's latest FB post.  First, they disclosed that cabins are over 90% sold out.  I don't think the UDC has EVER sold out in their history, so that would be a nice feather in their cap when they're able to do it.

 

And second, they said in a P.S. that "We have some exciting things in the works that we hope to share VERY SOON!".  Hmmmm, I wonder what they mean?  🧐  Whenever I think of BIG news and the UDC, my mind immediately goes to KC and the Sunshine Band.  They'd be great to get, of course.  But it's probably not that.  We'll see soon enough what they have in mind.

[Honolulu Blue]

I got an e-mail from the Super Legends Cruise saying that they're almost 70% booked already, after being (unofficially) available to the public for just one day.  It sounds like they're on schedule to sell out eventually.