Honolulu Blue

I just watched the webinar for my McDonald LaBelle Cruise. Let me post the notes on that while they're fresh in my mind: * Grand poohbah Michael Lazaroff didn't host this one. Three Jazz Cruise staff members did the honors. * We arrive in Nassau on day 2 at 3 PM and leave on day 3 at 5 PM * Online check in starts on March 20 * It's recommended for us to print out the boarding pass * No soft drinks of any kind can be brought onboard * Wine can be brought on, though there is a $15 corkage fee for each * Cabins will generally be ready for occupancy between 2 and 3 on embarkation day * For blue card main theater shows, we need to bring the card to get in, doors open at 5, and one seat can be saved per person until showtime at 5:45 * In all venues, photos are ok under two conditions- be respectful and don't use flash. No video is allowed anywhere. * The performance venues are Stardust (main), Spinnaker (secondary), pool, Bliss Ultra Lounge (late) * Attire is casual all cruise with no formal nights. The only theme is a White Night on day 2. * Venues will be cleared between shows * The musicians will be all around the ship. We're asked to be respectful to them. * Included dining - buffet, MDRs, grill, O'Sheehans * Specialty dining, all at extra cost - Cagneys (steakhouse), Moderno (Brazilian), LA Cucina (Italian), Sushi Bar, Le Bistro (French).

This is a reminder of things veteran cruisers pick up and remember that newer cruisers sometimes do not. When I went on my first Carnival cruise a decade ago, there were multiple warnings both in the newsletter (printed on papyrus) and through announcements (we each had a tin can attached to rope to hear them) that we needed to cash out our casino balance before disembarking, otherwise we would have to wait for a check whenever TPTB in Miami got around to it. Other cruise lines have done something similar, including Princess. In addition, one wrinkle on Carnival is that casino balances under $10 are forfeited and added and eventually sent to their pet charity. Princess may or may not do this. Good luck getting your money back. I have faith that you will, though it might be a while. 🙏 Not necessarily. Princess machines cash out to the passenger's casino bank, which is separate from their onboard account. That casino bank has to be cashed out separately at the end of the cruise, which is where our OP got into trouble.

Interesting point. I don't hear a lot here about single parents. I would think the vast majority are too young, too broke, and too busy for cruising (and this board). But if they can put the ankle biter away for a few hours, then I'd accept them at a solo gathering. As for the OP's questions, I've thought some about this. Are a group of co-workers traveling together solo if they each have their own cabins? What if they don't? What about people who are sharing a cabin but matched together somehow? I'm inclined to consider them all as solos for most purposes, but I do sometimes go back and forth about this. There seems to me to be four main reasons for solos to gather: 1. To figure out the logistics of dining together 2. To find a partner for excursions and/or other events 3. General session to talk and bond 4. Those who want to mingle, if you know what I mean 😛 I would have thought that gathering all of these groups together would be good for attendance, but it really isn't. Outside of NCL's solo gatherings, I've mostly heard of poor attendance at solo get togethers. I often suggest splitting these sessions, but none of the cruise lines really have done much implementation of this. Things can change, we'll see.

We're leaving Aruba just now and are on our way to Curacao. Let me discuss my day. At 10 I went to the Debbie Gibson Q and A. Mark Goodman hosted. Mark used the same 3 song format here as with Mr. Pearcy. Debbie picked a Billy Joel song, one of her own songs, and one from Ben Rector. They each inspired her at different points in her life in somewhat different ways. This was another informative interview. One thing Ms. Gibson let slip is that she is working on an autobiography. I'll look for it when it comes out. Then came a long stretch with a lot of rest. I didn't go out in port at all. It was 85 and sunny. I preferred to take some pictures from the ship. I had a modest dinner featuring jerk chicken in the buffet. I thought it was very good. I then went to see Ray Parker Jr in Studio B. This was a show I wasn't sure how to feel about. He played his biggest hits, but instead of playing his other minor hits, he played songs from others that the either wrote or played guitar on. There was some good stuff, but I'd rather hear his other hits. After a short respite, I went to my last show of the night - Midnight Star. This went more or less as I expected. They put on a good show and I got reacquainted with their old songs. This was the shortest show I've seen on thus trip at 1 hour flat. I didn't mind. Somewhere in here, MJ delivered tomorrow's newsletter and a gift. Thank you and good night. Ill be back tomorrow.

This is true for me too, though I'm sure what I call "great" on our upcoming cruise you'll call "mediocre" or worse. It's all good, of course. 😀

Good morning from Aruba! Well, we're almost here - fewer than 50 miles away. We had a clock change last night and it's very quiet around the ship at this time. Where were we? Oh yes, last night. I went to the Debbie Gibson concert and it was better than I expected. She was introduced by JT, Larry the Duck, and Lori Majewski Then the star of the show took the stage. She was in fine firm - both her body and voice were in great shape. She had the moves and knew how and when to use them. That made taking pictures a challenge at times, but I didn't mind that. She played about half of her Electric Youth songs at this concert, so it wasn't wholly dedicated to that album as I thought it might be. In addition to her biggest hits, she played a Motown medley... ...and she pulled her biggest fans onstage (all conveniently seated in row 2) so she could perform for them while she was onstage. This was a fun and enjoyable show. Then I followed it up with Wang Chung in Studio B. This was another very good show that was better than I expected. The show was about half full when we started, with the dance floor in front less than that. It filled steadily as the songs got more familiar. They were another group that seemed glad to be here, which always helps. They obliquely referred to Sheena Easton. Perhaps she was a medical scratch after all? After that I headed to bed and reviewed the schedule fir the next day, now today. I have some plans for today. We'll see how they go.

I'll cover the first part of my day with this post. In the morning there was the Sheena Easton Q and A session. I tried to get there early, but I was too early and ran into a formidable line. Studio B wasn't open for us yet. They did eventually open up and let us in. There was seating on the floor and I found something suitable in the second row. The arena was very near full, similar to the crowd for 38 Special the day before. Downtown Julie Brown was the host for this. Sheena had a frog in her throat, which made it difficult for her to talk at tines. I find it to her credit that she was willing to soldier on and entertain us. Julie and Sheena covered a wide range of territory, from Sheena's early life and how and why she started singing, to her early success, to her adventures later in life. It was all very interesting, as were the questions the audience asked. There was the opportunity for autographs afterwards, but the line was pretty long. Time moved along, and in the early afternoon, i got the chance to attend Stephen Pearcy's Q and A session. This was in the Star Lounge and filled early, as I expected. It was standing room only when Mark Goodman did the introductions. He's on the right in this photo. The format for this session was unique- Mr. Pearcy gave Mr. Goodman three songs that were played at certain intervals, and an explanation of why each song was chosen was given by Stephen, with some questions on the way. The first song was "You Really Got Me " from Van Halen. Stephen explained that the band was a big influence on him and what he did as a band leader. He also became friends with Eddie and David. The other two songs were "Desperate But Not Serious" and "Kings of the Wild Frontier", both from Adam Ant (one of the acts on next year's cruise, which was noted). Stephen was influenced by their look at the time, and also some of their drumbeats. Mr. Pearcy noted that there would be something called the "Sunset Strip Experience". Derails were vague, but it seems to involve him, his band, and other veterans of the LA scene in the 80s performing and perhaps some other stuff. He also teased that he would be releasing another solo album (#6) and the Ratt EP. Some more hours went by and I went to the Sheena Easton wine tasting. Yes, I really like Sheena Easton. 😛 I got there a little early and guess what? Another line. This one was relatively short because capacity was capped at 100 for this event, which was held on the lower level of the MDR. JT was the host, who went around with a microphone for those with questions to ask them of Sheena. There were also a couple of people to explain the wines we were pouring and what to do with the snacks that were around us. Sheena didn't do the wine thing as she was on antibiotics. But she certainly took careful notes as each bottle was poured and explained. She sounded a little better as she pontificated to us from her high stage and throne. OK, I exaggerate slightly. This event made me uncomfortable for reasons both obvious and not. None of it was ECP's fault, but it just wasn't my thing. I appreciated everyone's questions, Sheena's answers, my tablemates, and even the basic education in wine. Sheena stuck around for autographs and such. She looked happy to do it and there wasn't much of a line. I didn't have much to say or much for her to autograph, so I took my glass and left. As I was writing this, JT dropped a bomb on us - My Posse In Effect would be performing at 7:15 in Studio B instead of Sheena Easton. I hope it's not a medical scratch 🤒 This evening I have a couple of concerts, and I'll report on those later on.

I rested and did some casual work until going to the Stephen Pearcy concert this evening. His voice isn't quite what it once was, but it was good enough because he had backup from us. He didn't like how quiet we were, especially in front. We did warm up later on in the show. The theater was pretty full from the start of the show. My seat in row 3 was pretty sweet, but I'm directly behind a guy in a baseball cap that occasionally raised his hands to the music. No complaining, just noting. I know I do many of the same things. This wasn't quite a playback of Out of the Cellar that I thought might happen. He played the first two, then veered off into hit territory. He did play a lot from OOTC, but not all. He missed In Your Direction and She Wants Money from side 1, and Scene of the Crime from side 2. Have I mentioned that She Wants Money is my second favorite Ratt tune? I was probably the only one in the crowd that missed it, but miss it I did. Mr. Pearcy partially made up for it by including I Want a Woman in this set list. My overall view is that Mr. Pearcy was very good, but then again, I expected him to be very good. He'll have to settle for second place on the cruise for now. Here's a fun story. I was walking out of the buffet after eating there when I saw this guy: He didn't have his instrument, but he wore the same clothes. We bumped fists and I told him I admired his work onstage. He liked my shirt. He greeted a few others similarly. I was quite surprised that he was alone and that he got away from the stage so quickly to get here. Fun story #2 - an hour before the Debbie Gibson show, there were several people lining up for it already. What a dedicated bunch. I took the scenic route back to the cabin. Here's tomorrow's schedule: Sheena's concert that was scheduled for tonight was moved to tomorrow at 7:15. I'm still not going to make it because that interferes with Debbie Gibson's concert. They also scheduled an autograph session for tomorrow featuring people I don't care about. There's plenty to do tomorrow and I plan to chronicle it all then. But for now, have a good evening.

And now let's cover the daytime portion of day 2 of The 80s Cruise. The seas have been occasionally choppy and the winds have been high. Thus caused them to cancel Wang Chung's concert by the pool today. I was disappointed, but they could make up for it by jamming in Studio B sometime. Breakfast was a charity thing with Stephen Pearcy. They had us line up outside of Jamie's until they decided to open for us. Eventually we all got in. I brought the paper copy of Mr. Pearcy's autobiography and he cheerfully signed it for me. I also posed for photos with him - some for ECP's collection that they promise to release to everyone a few months after this trip, and a couple on my camera. I'll share them with @George C when we meet in a couple of weeks. Breakfast was nice, with a simple menu that was prepared while we waited (and there was a bit of a wait). It was very good, a notch better than I would have had at the trough. I had scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, hash browns, water, and orange juice. I, solo diner, was paired at a 2 top with another Ratt fan who was solo only for this Breakfast- his spouse liked more mellow music. We talked a bit about this and that, which was fun. Stephen got up to say a few words near the conclusion of the breakfast. Everyone got up and left at their own pace after finishing their meals. After a bit of catching up, I went to the first Behind the Music Q and A session of this cruise. This one was for 38 Special. Alan Hunter was the interviewer. This was interesting and eye opening. I'm glad I went. There will be several more Q and A sessions of interest later in the cruise. There are a few hours until the next event of interest - Stephen Pearcy's concert at 6:30. I wonder if he will play the Out of the Cellar album in its entirety here. We'll find out shortly.

She mentioned his name, but I didn't record or remember it. Sorry. He was the backup/duet singer who played the Prince and Kenny Rogers roles. He was good, with a solid voice. I'll add a photo I took of the banner that was placed by the buffet: While I'm here I might as well comment on the lineup as I promised to do earlier. First off, thanks @NinS for your comments. They're always valued highly by me. OK, first the good news. @George C has commented on seeing Christopher Cross before. I like him too and look forward to seeing him live. Sheila E. would be the third consecutive year of Prince disciples on TEC. I've always been interested in her songs and career, so I'm encouraged by the words of @NinS. I saw Quiet Riot last year locally (not on a cruise), so I would be quite happy to see them again. Men At Work has always been a favorite of mine. And... uh, Honeymoon Suite isn't TOTALLY worthless. This completes the good news. Let's just say the other artists are of more interest to others than me. I just wish I got more out of this. They'll improve it in the future, of course, but who knows how and how much.

Good morning! How far behind am I? Very far, I suppose. Not a lot of time and a lot of ground to cover. First, I skipped out on the pool concert, and went to see Animotion. They were good, better and more interesting than I expected. Then came a briefrest back at the cabin, and the Sheena Easton concert. I got there early and took a place as close as I could to the stage. I was really close, as I hope these pictures show. This was the best concert I've ever seen! Sheena really knows how to run a show. I really liked her banter. I think she's going to be a lot of fun in the Q and A. Then there was the introduction of the 2025 performers. I will have a lot more to say on this in later, but two 90s songs that came to mind are Disappointed (Electronic) and That Don't Impress Me Much (Shania Twain). After the intro, we got a concert from tribute band Jessie's Girl. They were good, though they had a very tough act to follow. Bonus points for playing a cover of the third best song in the history of music (IMHO), The Police's Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic. Then I went to bed. Gotta run. Q and A coming.

I think I could do it without much issue. Recall that the cruise industry was recently shut down for about 15 months with barely any cruising. That was the cause of my longest gap between cruises since I started cruising, which in my case was 20 months. I also recently broke a streak of nearly 4 years without sailing on one of my favorite cruise lines. I know, it's not quite the same as not sailing at all, but it did feel extended at the time. I'm thankful to be able to afford most adventures as the come, and hope that I can continue to do so. 🙏

Here's a short post for a long day, so far. I'll have to cover the rest tomorrow. I flew into PC today. Both flights were early and the connection was smooth. I used GoPort to go to Terminal 5. There was about a 20 minute wait between me checking in and us getting on board the bus. We left about 10 minutes later for a 45 minute trip to the port. I found a very, very long line to embark the ship. It took about an hour to get through it, into the terminal, and on the ship. Some pieces of paper were waiting for me, including an updated schedule: I noted no significant changes. I went to the buffet for lunch. Perhaps I shouldn't have done that as it was very busy there. The food was all right. Im loooking forward to some rest and some sizzling hot concert action. 👍

On my last cruise on the Ruby last April, I found in looking at my old newsletters that there was a single and solo cruiser meetup on the first night at 8 in the Wheelhouse Bar. There were other gatherings on that cruise most days, at different times and locations. They were all publicized in the newsletter. I didn't go to any of them and haven't been to any solo gatherings on any cruise. I generally haven't heard good reviews of them, but YMMV. Good luck and have fun!

I'm glad to be of assistance. Thank you for the notes on Mr. Stewart and Mr. Bruce. I'm sorry about your old cat but have fun with the new kittens! 😺 And have fun with your pre-cruise events! I'm not sure how much I'll be posting for the next few weeks between travel to TEC, the cruise itself, a little retreat and R&R back home, the Rock & Romance Cruise, and a little obligation to my county. I'll try my best. I do have the Internet package on TEC, which will help.

I got an e-mail announcing some additions to the R&R lineup for 2025: Al Stewart, The Ides of March featuring Jim Peterik, The Family Stone, Hal Bruce, The Newbees, and The LSB Experience. None of them move the needle for me, though I'm sure @George C will be glad to hear about LSB.

I'm sorry for your experience. I applied for my deferral online and got the thumbs up the next day. Filling out the form online took about 5 minutes and I didn't have to go anywhere. 🙂

I got a jury summons a couple of months ago for a cruise I was scheduled to be on in January. I was able to get a deferral for that. I provided an open week that I wasn't cruising and they agreed to it. I just received my new summons for my new date yesterday. It's nice to know they haven't forgotten about me, I guess. Good luck. 🙏

You're welcome. I didn't know you were going to be on Cayamo. Have fun! I wish I could buy or use future cruise certificates from Celebrity on my StarVista or other charters on that line. Alas,there's not the tight integration between Celebrity and the charter companies it contracts with that Sixthman has with NCL.

@NinS: I got am email from Sixthman that says the initial lineup for the Outlaw Country Cruise will be released next week, on March 5. I don't know who I'm rooting for to fill that ship. I want you to be happy, so I hope they find the performers that you most want to see. 🙏 When the lineup announcement is made, I'll be kind of busy reliving the 80s. 😎 Be sure to tell me how it goes.

2 days to go until The 80s Cruise. I'm almost completely packed for that, just a few last-minute items to fill in. 16 days to go until I join @George C and his Rock and Romance Cruise. I'm excited about it, but I have to go through the nuttiness of TEC first. 🙃 27 days until jury duty. 😵 I got my updated summons in the mail today. I filled out my info for that online and think I'm all set. And it's 44 or so days to go until my McDonald LaBelle Cruise. I got an e-mail from Jazz Cruises about this. The cruise booking info is now available at Norwegian's Web site. It's also available on their app. With either I can now book excursions, drink packages, and such. Both the site and the app seem to work well enough from what little poking around I've done so far. I'll investigate my options later. I think it's interesting the way Jazz Cruises and NCL are handling flex time dinner dining on this cruise. Those with blue cards like me (early show, late dining) are suggested to head to one of the dining rooms after the show, 7:30 or so. They further suggest that we hit the bar and go a bit later to avoid peak times. Those with red cards (late show, early dining) are suggested to go to the dining room between 5 (opening time) and 5:45. They further suggest being out of the dining room by 7:15 so they can prep for the blue card crowd. The dining room is open 5-9 each day.

The offer I referred to in my post was from Carnival.

You can book Carnival excursions whenever you want. The one downside of booking them early is that you have to pay for them when you book - you can't add them to the total bill for the cruise and paying them along with the final payment. If you have OBC, you can use it for them.

I don't know how helpful this is to you, but I just had a cruise to Aruba and Curacao last month, have another one that's going there THIS WEEK, and yet another that's heading there next month. They're on three different cruise lines (Carnival, Royal, and Celebrity, respectively). I've been to all the ABCs on other occasions. As for cruise lines, I think the ones I've been on have been roughly equal in unequal ways. Most of them have ships that head there seasonally (November-April). Some have cruises that go there the rest of the year, if that's the time that works best for you. The ABCs are a popular Caribbean destination. A couple more notes... most cruises I've seen that go there cover just two of the three islands in order to fit within a 7 or 8 day window. There are ABC cruises that go out of San Juan, PR, so be sure to look there. And don't forget to look at our Caribbean port board. I don't snorkel, so I'll defer to others about that. Happy searching, happy snorkeling, and enjoy your cruise!

Fair enough. I didn't realize that.