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Charter Music Cruises selling out


Chyna3032
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For anyone who has been interested in the relationship between Celebrity and the company that produces The Jazz Cruise and its stablemates, the latter has just published an open letter from the former: https://www.ecpcruises.com/weekender/letter-celebrity-cruises.

 

It provides an interesting read-between-the-lines exercise.

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For anyone who has been interested in the relationship between Celebrity and the company that produces The Jazz Cruise and its stablemates, the latter has just published an open letter from the former: https://www.ecpcruises.com/weekender/letter-celebrity-cruises.

 

It provides an interesting read-between-the-lines exercise.

 

Thanks for posting that, Globaliser! I was particularly happy to see that X is paying attention to what the music charter guests want. Makes me even happier that we've booked the (second) SJC on Summit, next year! :cool:

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  • 2 weeks later...

All you Smooth Jazz Cruisers -- we just got an e-mail from the charter company that details of the 2019 SJC's will be released July 15th! Looks like it will be two cruises, Feb. 2nd and Feb. 23rd -- both on X's Infinity (sister ship to Summit). :cool:

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...
Wendy, I made a pre-sale deposit. I am hoping to sail on the 19.2 cruise. Looking forward to Brian, Boney, Najee and the others.

 

:halo: Don't know who Wendy is, ZZYX -- but, glad to hear that another CC'er is signed up for 19.2! Are you, by any chance, booked on either of the 2018 Smooth Jazz Cruises? We do have roll-calls set up for both of those (Part One & Part Deux) -- over on the Celebrity Summit RC boards. (BTW -- I'm Suzanne, and Katie has the other r/c). Sadly, neither of those threads has sparked much interest -- so, I probably won't start one for 19.2

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  • 2 weeks later...

LOL @ Wendy, sorry that is my dear friend, I must have been thinking about her while I was posting.:eek: I am cruising with Koz in 2018. I am hoping to booked the smooth jazz cruise for 2019. There's a facebook group for the smooth jazz cruisers.So many are probably on FB.

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Hey guys-- I hope this isn't hijacking this thread-- I started my own, but it hasn't seemed to generate any responses, So I am posting my question here as it seems this thread is pretty active!

--

 

After many years of "wishing," I have decided to get on Board the Sixthman Cayamo Cruise. I've done all the pre-sign-up stuff, but am feeling a bit disheartened, as I have heard it's all but impossible to "get in" unless you have been on a Sixthman Cruise previously (kind of a Catch-22). Today, in reading a review of last year's cruise, I read this and sunk a little deeper:

 

"Cayamo's popularity has grown and now sells out each year. Priority for booking is based on your past 'loyalty’ – bookings start with those with the most consecutive (and current) attendances, followed by those that have sailed some time previously and, finally, newcomers who usually need to know someone to get on to the boat."

So... am I doomed to never check the box beside this particular bucket-list item? :confused:

 

 

 

 

 

I and husband will be on cayamo 2018..for the 3rd time. Did you get a cabin?

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LOL @ Wendy, sorry that is my dear friend, I must have been thinking about her while I was posting.:eek: I am cruising with Koz in 2018. I am hoping to booked the smooth jazz cruise for 2019. There's a facebook group for the smooth jazz cruisers.So many are probably on FB.

 

Do you know if Koz has announced anything for 2019 yet? His cruises go to such interesting places (bet you're looking forward to 2018!) :)

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  • 1 month later...
  • 2 months later...
  • 3 weeks later...
If anyone is interested (and not booked yet), open-booking for both (2/2/19 & 2/23/19) of the 2019 Smooth Jazz Cruises has started.
FWIW, I see that the first week is at the end of what's become the traditional 3-week block for this company: The Jazz Cruise, Blue Note at Sea and then The Smooth Jazz Cruise.

 

Great for anyone who wants to have a 3-week jazzfest!

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  • 2 months later...

welcome home..which artists did you miss seeing perform..what was your single best memory (or interaction with an artist)..did you take a selfie with Boney James..did your husband feel it was worth the extra $$$..how many hours of sleep did you average per night ..what did you think about the late night jam sessions..now that you are no longer a rookie, what single piece of advise would you give to someone who will be on the SJC next year that has never been on one before

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welcome home..which artists did you miss seeing perform..what was your single best memory (or interaction with an artist)..did you take a selfie with Boney James..did your husband feel it was worth the extra $$$..how many hours of sleep did you average per night ..what did you think about the late night jam sessions..now that you are no longer a rookie, what single piece of advise would you give to someone who will be on the SJC next year that has never been on one before

 

LOL, Hattack -- let me break this down (in order):

 

-- Don't think that I missed seeing anyone perform -- they were all 'on' so much. (Couldn't catch everything, though.)

 

-- Out of MANY great moments, the best was being in the front row for Rick Braun's late night show, where he and Boney played "Notorious".

 

-- I do have a picture (from the Oceanview Cafe) of me with Boney, Eric Marienthal, and Alonzo Bodden.

-- My DH thought it was the best cruise he's ever been on -- he's now a huge fan of Keiko Matsui!

 

-- Sleep? What sleep??

 

-- I thought that the late night sessions were some of the very best shows. Marcus Miller hosted a "History of Jazz" one night, that just blew me away! In two hours, they took us all the way from from ragtime to modern smooth jazz.

 

-- My single best piece of advice to a newbie would be: Study those daily planners, the night before, so you won't miss anything important. You'll still have to make tough choices, though!

 

-- Oh, and the best piece of advice I'd like to pass along (given to me by my friend, Hattack) is: Whatever you do, DON'T miss Kirk Whalum's Gospel Show (a truly enlightening experience)!

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Welcome back Suzanne, It looks like you had a fabulous time on your first jazz cruise!! I am looking forward to seeing Keiko and Kirk on the Koz cruise. I had booked the 19.2 smooth jazz cruise but I cancelled it and book the Koz cruise to Australia. Boney James is joining Rick Braun for New Years Eve in Tucson. I won't be able to go because I will be going to Australia for three weeks. Too many events not enough money...lol

 

Hey Hattack, I am glad you are well. I miss your posting about your jazz cruises and festivals.

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you do realize you have become :Dspoiled:D so if you went on a ;)regular;) cruise you would be bored to death..I concur with your husband about Keiko, she is incredible...I am a huge Candy Dulfer fan ever since I saw her perform with Prince at the Essence Festival in 2004...I am planning on attending the Seabreeze Smooth Jazz Festival next month in Panama City Florida where many artists that you enjoyed on the cruise will be performing..I figured you slept for 48 hours straight when you returned home on Saturday to catch up on the sleep you missed all last week...hopefully will be back in the Jazz Cruising mode in 2019..big trip planned at the end of the summer to Boston see my Son graduate from MIT/Harvard then up to Maine for a Maine Windjammer Cruise///...time will fly quickly for your 2019 installment..I bet when you show your friends/neighbors/coworkers your photos they will be jealous

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SO jealous, on the Koz to Australia Cruise! ;)

 

Very tempted by Rick Braun's NY's Concert for Autism, in Tuscon. He said that he and Boney will be doing a lot of their "Shake it Up" classics, for that one.

 

Already signed up for the SJC 19.2 cruise -- looking forward to seeing Dave Grusin and Lee Ritenour, for the first time! :cool:

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I suspect it will not sink in until this upcoming Saturday what an incredible experience your first SJC was..typical 1st timers are so immersed in Smooth Jazz sensory overload that your mind/body/soul needs to have that much space to recover..your generic regular cruise vacation mentality has also been altered forever ..very different cruising experience when all 2200+ fellow cruisers are there for one common bonding theme...the love of the music and the artists ..the lagniappe is the new friends you made this year, you will see next year and pick up without missing a beat..every time you hear a song on the radio by one of the artists you saw on the Summit there will be a special connection..you might consider giving your DH the complete collection of Keiko's music for Father's Day I always enjoy wearing my Jazz Cruise t-shirt to Walmart when I am restocking groceries and having fellow shoppers asking me about the artists listed on the back of the shirt..that will start a conversation in the check out line:cool:..moving forward you might consider expanding your Smooth Jazz charter cruising palate (i.e Koz & Friends Rick Braun does a European River Cruise, Capital Jazz SuperCruise, Blue Note at Sea etc)..you might :*suggest:* to your DH to get another side gig and put the earnings aside in a special account...I suspect that now that Susan Taylor has regained the Essence Festival brand, do not be surprised in the next 2-3 years to see an "Essence Festival at Sea" in conjunction with the Essence Festival on the July 4th weekend in New Orleans..he can treat you and your GF's to your very own version of the hit summer blockbuster movie "Girl's Trip"..your DH can come hang out with me and we can do a Blues Alley road trip in my VW Bug from New Orleans to Memphis to Nashville and check out all the "Juke Joints":halo:

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Hattack -- First of all, let me offer my congratulations to your son, on his graduation! You must be very proud of both of your boys -- sounds like they have done well! My DH and I are proud of our son, who serves in the USN. Just wish that he, our DIL, and our DGD weren't so darn far away! Our next trip will be a family re-union/birthday land-cruise to Suffolk, VA, to see them.

 

And, you are spot-on, about this being a totally different cruise experience! I felt like we had stumbled into a 'family reunion" -- everybody (performers AND passengers) seemed to know everybody else! As jazz-cruise 'newbies', we were made to feel very welcome, by everyone. Can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to next year's cruise.

 

Just about the only negative comments I heard from our fellow cruisers was about the ship (Celebrity Summit). Most of the veteran SJC'ers felt that the ship, food, and service, did not measure up to what they had experienced on HAL's Eurodam. I had to admit (having sailed on her three times now) that Summit has not been kept up as well as she should have been -- but then, she's older than Eurodam, too. Everyone, including the performers, had good things to say about the entertainment venues on Summit. They held more passengers than the previous (HAL) ship, and the ingress/egress flow was much better. There was even a stage constructed in the Main Dining Room, which turned out to have excellent acoustics! :cool:

 

I

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I went on the SJC in 2006 (when Dave Koz & Wayman Tisdale were cohost) and probably many of the same friends I made then were on yours...it is a family in the truest sense of the word...from time to time you might hear feedback that the core line up of artists stays the same year after year which is both a positive and negative but sometimes a promoter does not want to mess with a formula that works...in this case ECP introduced Blue Note at Sea two years ago which is between The Jazz Cruise and The Smooth Jazz Cruise with a line up that combines both styles and then some..the Capital Jazz Super Cruise has a broad offering off all styles (Jazz, Smooth Jazz, Soul, Gospel, Opera ( 3 Mo Tenors), modern dance, comedy, Funk, 70's Horn Bands) which attracts a wider variety of guests and musical taste...as far as the ships are concerned, ECP will continue to try to find the "balance"..the service on HAL may have been better but the performing venues were lacking...on Celebrity the performing venues may be better but service lacking..on Carnival huge upside because of the large lido deck for concerts but some folks just flat out hate Carnival...the fiasco on NCL Breakaway for the Capital Jazz Super Cruise 10th Anniversary was a perfect storm of screw ups on all parties but seemed to have been worked out for last year but next year they are back on Royal Caribbean whom they started out with 12 years ago..it does not matter to me as long as the water is smooth, the concerts start on time, the food is good...service is subjective ..the staff (dining, housekeeping) LOVE the Jazz music charters because their lives are made so much easier because everything is on schedule by the concert performance times, plus they are fans of the artists .ironically the older cruise ships were not build for Jazz music charters..the new mega ships are but the venues are smaller, the lido decks are smaller, the dining venues are smaller and more of them so it is not condusive to the "family" feeling ...you are now a veteran so next year you will adjust and know the ends and outs of how to see and enjoy more of the artists,,,plus you have new best friends to sit with and your DH will be more fluent in enjoying Keiko's music...fyi Nick Colionne is on the SJC next year..you will LOVE him make sure you secure seating in the front row

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