Rare Honolulu Blue Posted June 7 Author #26 Share Posted June 7 As I plan for my next musical adventure (which I should have a post or two on in a couple of days on my 2024 thread), I got an e-mail just now from the Super Legends Cruise 2.0. They set a date of June 14 for the pre-sale and they promise to have the lineup for it on that date. Let's see what they come up with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Honolulu Blue Posted June 10 Author #27 Share Posted June 10 (edited) Last night I attended the Abducted to the 80s concert that featured four bands from that decade. How did it go? I'll slowly get through all the details. Please be patient. I drove down yesterday from home. It took about 6 hours to get there. Part of the reason I agreed to go to this concert that's a long way from here was to test out both my car (which I bought in April) and my ability to drive long distances. Both worked out well, the car better than me. It sipped fuel (scans crowd) like a lady on a first date and generally rode, steered, and braked well. As for the driver, I had some minor navigation issues and I had to go through some construction in several places. But those were to be expected and I managed to survive them all. Anyway, back to the action at the Amphitheater. It was a nice place with good seating and views. I did indeed have a front row seat. I was close to the action - almost TOO close. The stage was about 5 feet above ground level, which meant that I had to look up at the stage and the camera angles were a little strange. OK, the show started at 7 on a warm night (that turned a little cool and windy after dark) with Naked Eyes. They had the honor of playing the session's best song (IMHO), "Promises Promises". They played it second to last to their biggest hit. I thought they were good, but then again, I thought all of these performers were good. Keep that in mind. Next up was The Motels. Their two big hits had a unique sound that made them haunting to me. And their lead singer Martha Davis was a big part of that. I was glad to see her still hanging in there. She was a quirky one. I bet she would be a lot of fun in a Q&A session. BTW, she and her band were on TEC in the past. And did you know she plays guitar? I did not know this. One of my VIP perks was a photo op with Ms. Davis after this show. There were about 18 people who were in line with me and I was #3 to go back stage. She autographed my poster (also a VIP perk) and we took a photo. It turned out nice. Modesty does not permit me to post it. She seemed really nice throughout our brief interaction. I was able to get back to my seat in time for the next show. Some other VIPs... were not so lucky. The next show was with Men Without Hats. I had written these guys off completely. That was a mistake and the biggest surprise of the event. I actually liked this show and would go see them again sometime. It helped a lot that their lead singer was very enthusiastic and moved around a lot - though it hurt my ability to photograph him. Also helping was the fact that MWH played their One Big Hit both at the start and the end of their set. Another help was the fact that they had a lady on keyboards. She looked to be a bit young to be an original band member from the 80s; maybe she was born in that decade. After they played their set, there was the longest delay between bands of the whole evening - about 40 minutes. And then Wang Chung came out. I had seen these guys in concert on The 80s Cruise back in March. They played most of the same songs, though one of the songs they dumped this time was "Don't Let Go", which was the song that introduced me to this band. They played a cute cover of "Should I Stay Or Should I Go?" before breaking into their big hit, which closed the show. After the show, the crowd cleared out quickly. But us VIPs had another backstage session - this time with the Wang Chung leads. I told them about how much I enjoyed them on the TEC, and they told me a story about how much they liked playing in Studio B instead of by the pool as they were scheduled for. They also autographed my poster and this time I got several pictures with them. The drive back to my hotel was surprisingly pleasant and drama free with very little traffic. The only bad part is that it was at night, and I don't do well with night driving in unfamiliar cities. Overall I had a wonderful time in Decatur and wouldn't mind spending more time down there to see a band or two (or more) that I liked. Thanks for stopping by. Edited June 10 by Honolulu Blue 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Honolulu Blue Posted June 12 Author #28 Share Posted June 12 (edited) The Super Legends Cruise 2.0 edition for 2025 announced their lineup a couple of days early: Of the relevant performers, the Isley Brothers, Sheila E., and Jody Watley are all duplicated from the one I booked. Only WAR moves the needle for me among the additions. This one is missing Heatwave, Tavares, and the Mary Jane Girls from the other cruise. I think I'd take that trade and officially am not interested in switching ships. Edited June 12 by Honolulu Blue 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wwcruisers Posted June 12 #29 Share Posted June 12 Hi HB! Have you seen Sheila E on a cruise yet? I got to see her in January '23 -- on what turned out to be the last Blue Note at Sea sailing. She was just dynamite! (really hard to believe that she's over 65!) I keep hoping that Michael Lazaroff will persuade her to sign up for a future Smooth Jazz Cruise. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Honolulu Blue Posted June 12 Author #30 Share Posted June 12 5 minutes ago, wwcruisers said: Hi HB! Have you seen Sheila E on a cruise yet? I got to see her in January '23 -- on what turned out to be the last Blue Note at Sea sailing. She was just dynamite! (really hard to believe that she's over 65!) I keep hoping that Michael Lazaroff will persuade her to sign up for a future Smooth Jazz Cruise. I have not. I guess I have a lot to look forward to. Thanks for the heads up! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Honolulu Blue Posted June 21 Author #31 Share Posted June 21 On the Blue Cruise has announced that they're going to do something a little different with their 2025 cruise. It will be August 22-29 on the Norwegian Gem. It'll sail round trip out of Boston and head to Canada and New England. Funnily enough, I have a Canada-New England cruise in a couple of months. It's not a charter cruise, a themed cruise, or a music cruise, and it's not on NCL. This is the first music cruise that I've heard about that's going to that region of the world. It's also an unusual time for a charter; most are between October and April. The last On the Blue Cruise was in April. They expect to make an announcement in mid-July with more details - including the exact itinerary and some of the performers. OTBC has been one of the cruises I've been following even though I haven't booked it yet. I'm unlikely to pull the trigger on this one, but it's not out of the realm of possibility. If something happens with this, I'll let you know. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NinS Posted June 22 #32 Share Posted June 22 Wow! That is interesting news. I live in Boston so of course that has my attention. (Because I only do music charter cruises I've never actually sailed out of or through my own hometown.) Often the OTBC has a bunch of artists I really like and a bunch that are of zero interest. But those dates are so close to the '25 Journey of Jazz that I can probably only swing one. Will OTBC's convenience make me want to cancel JoJ which has a great lineup? Unlikely, but you never know! Please keep me posted HB since I'm not on their email list and their social media presence seems to be sporadic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Honolulu Blue Posted June 22 Author #33 Share Posted June 22 26 minutes ago, NinS said: Wow! That is interesting news. I live in Boston so of course that has my attention. (Because I only do music charter cruises I've never actually sailed out of or through my own hometown.) Often the OTBC has a bunch of artists I really like and a bunch that are of zero interest. But those dates are so close to the '25 Journey of Jazz that I can probably only swing one. Will OTBC's convenience make me want to cancel JoJ which has a great lineup? Unlikely, but you never know! Please keep me posted HB since I'm not on their email list and their social media presence seems to be sporadic. OK, I'll keep you updated here when I get some news, but you might as well sign up for their mailing list on their homepage. That's all I've done so far. BTW, the OBTC's date is also close to the Super Legends Cruise, which reduces my interest in it. But they COULD round up a nice lineup that would force me to spend the $$$ on it. We'll see. P.S. Except for the McDonald LaBelle Cruise, all the music charters I've been on have had several artists that weren't of interest to me. Obviously, it didn't stop me from booking them. I'm perfectly willing to let others have their fun, as long as they let me have my fun in my own way. 😛 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George C Posted June 25 #34 Share Posted June 25 On 6/22/2024 at 9:08 AM, Honolulu Blue said: OK, I'll keep you updated here when I get some news, but you might as well sign up for their mailing list on their homepage. That's all I've done so far. BTW, the OBTC's date is also close to the Super Legends Cruise, which reduces my interest in it. But they COULD round up a nice lineup that would force me to spend the $$$ on it. We'll see. P.S. Except for the McDonald LaBelle Cruise, all the music charters I've been on have had several artists that weren't of interest to me. Obviously, it didn't stop me from booking them. I'm perfectly willing to let others have their fun, as long as they let me have my fun in my own way. 😛 Wife gave me Michael McDonald new book ‘What a fool believes “ it was co-written by comedian Paul Reiser. I like that he has been married for a very long time , on rock and romance cruise a few years ago his wife was one of his backup singers. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Honolulu Blue Posted June 25 Author #35 Share Posted June 25 3 minutes ago, George C said: Wife gave me Michael McDonald new book ‘What a fool believes “ it was co-written by comedian Paul Reiser. I like that he has been married for a very long time , on rock and romance cruise a few years ago his wife was one of his backup singers. Thanks for the notes. That reminds me that I need to order the Kindle version of Mr. McDonald's book so I can actually read it sometime soon. I've been busy with other things, so I've let it go by the wayside. I'm sure he's lived an interesting life. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Honolulu Blue Posted June 27 Author #36 Share Posted June 27 The 90s Cruise announced today two of their theme nights for their inaugural cruise in January. Since I don't think I did a note for the first one, let's cover them all together: All That 90s Party (general 90s theme) Smells Like Teen Spirit (grunge) Hip Hop House Party (hip hop and dance) They're all vague enough that I could find some matching items in my closet if I chose to. Assuming they won't have a theme for the final day (as TEC does not), there's only one theme night left. And it's going to be a formal night, unless they think grunge wear or hip hop apparel are formal. I do not, so we'll see. BTW, the one theme night TEC has announced for its cruise IS the formal theme - the Fat Tuesday Prom. My official rection is meh. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Honolulu Blue Posted July 1 Author #37 Share Posted July 1 I got an e-mail from Sixthman with some links to their charter cruises that still have availability. I might as well do a list of the music cruises (sailing in 2025 unless inidicated): Lindsey Stirling, Master of Tides - the violinist Little Steven's Underground Garage Boots on the Water Chris Jericho's Rock 'N' Wresting Rager at Sea EDSea (2024) Headbangers Boat (2024) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Honolulu Blue Posted July 2 Author #38 Share Posted July 2 A very quick note that the Soul Train Cruise for fall 2025 is officially a go. This was done a few weeks ago. I apologize for not noting it before. They also said it was about two-thirds sold out at this point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mangrove Snapper Posted July 2 #39 Share Posted July 2 Little Steven's Underground Garage - That's cool. My father's been a fan of Stevie Van Zandt for a long time and would likely enjoy this. Chris Jericho's Rock 'N' Wrestling Rager at Sea - This is the sixth one of these. I saw some videos from the fifth and it looked like fans of Fozzy and/or AEW who like to party would have a great time. I'm not really a Jericho fan but I certainly can't hate on him for being able to sell six of these cruises and perform on a cruise ship in front of his fans. He's living the dream. Headbangers Boat - This one still tempts me and I saw they released some more cabins. Lamb of God is probably our favorite band to see live and the video package for this cruise was awesome. We already have cruises booked for later in the year, though. If this happened to be the week before the one we have out of Florida, I would have booked it. I'll keep an eye out if they do it again in 2025. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Honolulu Blue Posted July 22 Author #40 Share Posted July 22 On 6/21/2024 at 3:27 PM, Honolulu Blue said: On the Blue Cruise has announced that they're going to do something a little different with their 2025 cruise. It will be August 22-29 on the Norwegian Gem. It'll sail round trip out of Boston and head to Canada and New England. Funnily enough, I have a Canada-New England cruise in a couple of months. It's not a charter cruise, a themed cruise, or a music cruise, and it's not on NCL. This is the first music cruise that I've heard about that's going to that region of the world. It's also an unusual time for a charter; most are between October and April. The last On the Blue Cruise was in April. They expect to make an announcement in mid-July with more details - including the exact itinerary and some of the performers. OTBC has been one of the cruises I've been following even though I haven't booked it yet. I'm unlikely to pull the trigger on this one, but it's not out of the realm of possibility. If something happens with this, I'll let you know. Today I got an e-mail with some details about this cruise. Justin Hayward, host and voice of the Moody Blues, will be on this cruise. No other artists were announced at this time. But they did announce the itinerary: Friday, 8/22 - embark Boston, 4 pm Saturday, 8/23 - sea day Sunday, 8/24 - Halifax, Nova Scotia, 8-5 Monday, 8/25 - Sydney, Nova Scotia, 9-7 Tuesday, 8/26 - sea day Wednesday, 8/27 - Saint John, New Brunswick, 8:30-6 Thursday, 8/28 - Portland, Maine, 8-5 Friday, 8/29 - disembark Boston, 7 am The e-mail also had some highlights of each port. I'll pay some attention to this, since like I said in my previous post, I'm heading up that way in a couple of weeks. They promise to announce more details later, so I'll keep posting updates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Honolulu Blue Posted July 25 Author #41 Share Posted July 25 (edited) The folks behind the Super Legends Cruise did a couple of interesting things today. First of all, they opened up 10 cabins on the original version of its 2025 cruise (the one on Navigator OTS) for booking for friends & family of those who have booked. I don't have any need for another cabin, but I find it intriguing that they did this while the 2.0 version (same dates, same itinerary, most of the same artists, but on the Carnival Radiance) is still selling cabins. I don't expect these cabins to last long. The other thing is the parent company behind SLC asked me to fill out a short survey. It was five questions about other cruise combinations I prefer or might be interested in in the future. I'll err on the side of caution about releasing the questions, but if in the future you see a 5-day cruise to Cabo on the Carnival Panorama that features country music, then you'll know who and what is to blame. Edited July 25 by Honolulu Blue 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Honolulu Blue Posted July 29 Author #42 Share Posted July 29 The 80s Cruise announced that 80s-era tribute bands Sunset Blvd and The Reflexx will be on the 2025 edition. I approve of this development and look forward to seeing them onboard in March. I'll miss Jessie's Girl a bit; they were on my other three editions of TEC. Here they are: This takes the number of artists onboard to 20, which is about the number my other cruises have had. I assume this means that the only way we'll get a new act is if someone has to drop out. I'm definitely not rooting for that, at least not publicly... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Honolulu Blue Posted July 31 Author #43 Share Posted July 31 A few random bits of news around and about the cruises I chose for 2025: First, according to StarVista Live, the Ultimate Disco Cruise and Beyond has officially sold out! I think this is the first time they've sold out, as neither of the sailings I was on sold out (blame the pandemic) and there were only two before then. They had to take a year off and change cruise lines in order to get it. Maybe they'll go for an every-other-year strategy? We'll see. Second, I kind of thought the UDC was done adding artists, but they weren't. On their list I spotted Robin S. and Jourdan Carroll (Barry White tribute). Robin isn't really a disco act, as her One Big Hit was actually during the 90s. I guess she's a "beyond" artist. I think I'll give her a pass. I don't consider Barry White disco either, though his era of biggest success was during the disco era. Mr. Carroll I'll give a "maybe" to. I expect him to appear in one of the B or C theaters inside, where he'd be a good fit. BTW, one of Taylor Dayne's last hits was a remake of Mr. White's "Can't Get Enough of Your Love". She performed it on the last edition of the UDC in 2023. Last on the list is the announcement of two artists that will be performing locally in the next couple of weeks - The O'Jays and Sheila E. The O'Jays are the lead act on next year's UDC. And I get a twofer for the Prince protege, as she'll be on The 80s Cruise in March and the Super Legends Cruise in September. This would represent an excellent opportunity to see what we're in for on those cruises, but I think I'll pass. On a couple of stops on this mini tour (not Detroit, sadly), she'll be performing with Morris Day and The Time. MD was on The 80s Cruise last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Honolulu Blue Posted July 31 Author #44 Share Posted July 31 The 80s Cruise finally decided to move on from their stop at Labadee, instead heading to Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic. I haven't been to this particular port, but I have been to Amber Cove, which is nearby. Mostly for my benefit, this is the completed updated itinerary; I don't think anything changed other than Labadee/Puerto Plata: 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NinS Posted July 31 #45 Share Posted July 31 I was in Puerto Plata on two different cruises last year. If I'm not mistaken there are two different ports there, but the one I was at was a newly built facility with a pool and lots of stories inside the port for those who don't like to venture outside the gate. I do, and I happily found a bustling street scene in the city with multiple busking musicians, and I also took an interesting local culture excursion. And maybe none of that even matters if you're departing at 5 pm. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Honolulu Blue Posted August 1 Author #46 Share Posted August 1 I found an article on Cruise Industry News that mentions the fact that Royal Caribbean's Serenade of the Seas will be homeporting in Cartagena, Colombia and Colon, Panama from October 2025 to April 2026. Why am I mentioning this? I'll be on Serenade in January 2025 on The 90s Cruise. It looks like ECP will have to find a different ship for the 2026 edition. Or do they? These are their options as I see them: Follow the ship to Panama or Colombia and make us embark from there Do a special charter that moves the ship from there to the US and back Use whatever ship ends up in Tampa for the next edition Choose another Royal ship and port Choose another cruise line, ship, and port Declare TNC and ComicCon "one and done" and forget they ever happened. ☹️ Some of these options are more likely than others, but I truly have no idea what they're going to do. I'll have to quiz them about it if the answers don't become obvious by the time we board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Honolulu Blue Posted August 1 Author #47 Share Posted August 1 More theme night announcements from ECP! The 90s Cruise announced their last theme, called 1990s Icon Night. Well, OK. And The 80s Cruise announced two more classic themes - Back to the 80s Night and Pop Ion Night. That cruise has one more theme left to announce. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Honolulu Blue Posted August 27 Author #48 Share Posted August 27 I received an e-mail from the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise with an announcement for their January 24-31, 2026 cruise. They didn't announce any scheduled artists with this, but there were some other details that I found of interest: It goes to Half Moon Cay (HMC). They may or may not have a dock by then, not that it matters to the Nieuw Statendam. The second stop is St. John in the USVI. I wasn't aware that any but the smallest cruise ships were able to dock in St. John. I went there once, as part of a shore excursion from St. Thomas. That was about 10 years ago. There wasn't room for a dock then, and I don't think they've added one since. So this might be another tender port. It also goes to Sint Maarten, one of my favorite stops. I'll get there next year, though not one one of my music themed cruises. Prebooking starts on September 24, but... There are very limited spaces on their upcoming cruise in October There's almost zero chance that I'll be on this cruise (their past lineups don't appeal and it's likely to interfere with second sailing of The 90s Cruise), but I just wanted to get my notes down about this. Perhaps other music themed cruises that I'm more interested in will start announcing earlier? This would be a nice development, IMHO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Honolulu Blue Posted August 28 Author #49 Share Posted August 28 Sixthman snuck in a couple of pre-bookings for music themed cruises that haven't been previously announced. Both are heading to Alaska from Seattle. There's the SeaBisco featuring the Disco Biscuits. Yeah, I never heard of them either. 😦 They'll be heading to Juneau, Sitka, and Victoria on the Norwegian Jade on September 9-15, 2025. No other artists have been announced yet, but they promise an "all-star lineup". Don't they all? And there's Keeping the Blues Alive at Sea Alaska on September 15-21, 2025. They didn't mention their stops or their ship, but considering it's right behind the SeaBisco cruise and the same length, I would assume that it will be the same. But I could be wrong and they could use another NCL ship and/or make different stops. Anyway, the previous edition in the Caribbean in March has already booked solid, so that bodes well for this edition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Honolulu Blue Posted August 29 Author #50 Share Posted August 29 Because I have a few spare moments, I want to take this time to take an inventory of my currently scheduled 2025 music themed cruises: The 90s Cruise (January-February) - I haven't received any occupancy bulletins for this one, which seems to imply that it's less than 80% sold. That has to be a little disappointing to ECP, since TEC and STTC both at 90%+ occupied. We'll see how full it is in a few months. Ultimate Disco Cruise (February) - Sold out The 80s Cruise (March) - 90% full Super Legends Cruise (September) - The edition that I'm on is sold out; they're currently taking buyers for a simultaneous cruise with most of the same acts scheduled to appear. I continue to waste time about how this is all going to work out. I should just have faith things are going to work out, right? Unless someone puts out a killer lineup, that's probably it for 2025 and I should concentrate on making room for 2026. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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