Honolulu Blue

I saw tributes to all three of the mentioned acts, but they were on separate cruises - two of them music themed charters. The Jacksons were on one of them and did a couple of Michael's solo songs. The soloist Ashlie Amber performed Whitney Houston. The group Red Corvette paid tribute to the Purple One.

There are two things that interest me here. First, I'm shocked that MSC didn't just try to refund the aggrieved and say "sue us". That would seem to me to have resolved the issue conclusively without the need for armed threats. Second, this is the first time I've heard of someone on a ship that got charted who retained the cabin through a full charter. Most charters are for specialized groups that aren't of interest to the average cruiser. I suspect it wouldn't be much fun to be on a full charter that features a group that's not of interest. And besides that, the chartering company will want to jack up the prices for the cabins they now control. Could you lost a link to that thread? Pretty please and thank you.

Another entry in the Always Something There to Remind Me department... On the drive home from work yesterday, I heard "Heaven Is A Place On Earth" from Belinda Carlisle and "Listen to the Music" from the Doobie Brothers. Belinda was on last year's 80s Cruise. Since this was her biggest hit, she performed this one as her closer. LTTM was the Doobies' first hit song, so there's a fair chance the Doobie Others will perform it on the Rock & Romance Cruise. Mr. McDonald hadn't joined by then, so I'm not expecting to hear it on his cruise.

Thanks, everyone, for the interesting replies and stories!

This made me think about the cruise I had in November 2016 (not on Princess) where I intentionally tried to cut myself off from live news as long as possible. It worked for a while, but then... Oh my. 🙃 Not quite the same thing, but I've ordered a few excursions on Carnival via the TV with no issues.

There are four topics I'm VERY reluctant to talk about with others I don't know on any ship: Politics Religion Sex Money Discussing the wheres and hows of other people's bookings seems to stray into at least one of the above.

Quick update on my various music themed cruises for 2024: The 80s Cruise (TEC) just announced that they're completely sold out. Good for them. TEC announced all but one of their theme nights - Back to the 80s, John Hughes Prom, Pop Icon, Punks vs. Preps, and Kickback and Glow. 70a Rock and Romance remains sold out The McDonald LaBelle Cruise is inching closer to sell-out status - a majority of their stateroom categories are sold out, but most of the big ones still have cabins available.

I'm one of those geeks that likes to pay attention when they mention the plugs. I've had cabins with one 110v outlet, one 120v outlet, and no USB ports; and I've had cabins with four outlets and half a dozen USB ports. I think it's helpful to know which is which, besides the fact that newer ships tend to have more outlets and ports.

UPDATE - Forgot about Hank Greenberg's 58 homers back in the 30s. Cecil was second to that. Still pretty good.

Thanks @patty1955for the link. As a longtime baseball fan, I recognized most of the names. The one that caught my eye was Cecil Fielder. His Yankee career didn't amount to much, but his 1990 season where he hit 51 homers is still the Tigers single season record, and IIRC, he's still in the top 10 in team home runs. I'd found that as legendary. 😛 This cruise mildly interests me, but it's expensive for a (IMHO) meh itinerary. I'll wait for better opportunities elsewhere.

You can do it, there is a space for it. I can't recall exactly where it is, but it can be done.

I'm still shaking my head, but thanks for the update. I think almost any other cruise you take will make you happier.

I look for different things in videos at different times. Much of the time I'm looking for news from the cruise lines, and sometimes I want a more detailed explanation of what's going on than the news sites can give me. Sometimes I look for a tour of the cabin class (if not the exact cabin) that I hope to sail on in the future. Sometimes I look for where particular locations sit in relation to the rest of the ship. Sometimes I want to get a feeling for what someone thinks about a cruise line who's sailed a lot on it - why do they keep coming back? Sometimes I want to hear other opinions on a subject that's of particular interest to me. I do think cruise videos are of value to me and they've influenced me to a greater or lesser degree.

I'll throw out ideas randomly in hopes that something will stick: I'm surprised any Royal ship would have such a focus on the 50s these days. The cruise either must have been a while ago or you must have been heading to Alaska. There are several charter music themed cruises that feature music and performers from the 70s and 80s. Some are more specialized than others (e.g., rock, R&B, dance), which may or may not be your preference. Princess has offered some 80s themed cruises in the recent past. They did a fairly good job of being on-theme for the whole cruise with mostly tribute bands in the main theater, mostly 80s-related trivia onboard, and some other activities from that decade. I still think they're going to offer some for late this year into early '24, but they haven't done it yet. ☹️ Carnival, on their longer Journeys cruises, has a dedicated 80s day with trivia and other activities focusing on that decade. Many of Carnival's Playlist productions in the main theater have music from the 70s and 80s. Don't ask about the plots, just enjoy the music. 🙂 I saw a show on the Celebrity Millennium called Boogie Wonderland which, with its thin plot, celebrated the music of the 70s. Most of the cruises I've been on have had at least something for the 70s and 80s - a silent disco session, karaoke, trivia, etc. I hope this has been helpful for you.

No problem. 😆 I know what you and I said. I hope the other hat are following along have done the same.

Normally they release cruises about 12 to 13 months before they're due to sail. For example, we could hear about the 2024 sailing of The Big Easy Cruise as soon as late September, but probably closer to October. Keep an eye on your emails. 🙏

I'm curious about everyone's experience with their most expensive cruise so far. And when I say "expensive", feel free to think of it any way you want - just the base price, base + grats, base + excursions + airfare, or the whole vacation experience. I guess I'll go first. Leaving aside the music charters for now, my overall most expensive cruise was the 11-day shot I took from Vancouver to Honolulu on the Carnival Legend in 2018. We had several stops in Hawaii, including an overnight in Honolulu. This was a great cruise, one I'd like to repeat sometime. I got lei'd several times on this voyage. I'm a little camera shy, but my buddy would want me to share this: My most expensive upcoming cruise is only 7 nights but promises to be packed with great music from beginning to end. Here's a hint about the headliner: this guy WON'T be there, but many of his songs WILL: But that's enough about me. Tell us your stories. Thanks in advance!

I'm sorry to hear you won't be going on the cruise this year. There's a good chance it will be offered next year with (mostly) different performers. Good luck in your travels. 👍

On my drive from work yesterday I heard, consecutively, Another One Bites the Dust from Queen and Dreams from Fleetwood Mac. It's a good bet that we'll hear these songs on the Rock and Romance cruise from their respective tribute bands.

cruiseplum.com has everything you're looking for and more. In fact, it has so many search options it can be a little clunky to search for and find what you want.

I don't think ANY Carnival Corporation ship currently homeports in San Juan. I haven't heard of any plans for them to resume. I miss them too. ☹️ There are other options on other cruise lines. Royal stations a ship there seasonally, as does Virgin. Celebrity will be back there for the winter of '24-'25. The NCL Viva will be there seasonally starting in December.

Yes, I mean whole ship charters.

Noted. Thanks. I got the e-mail, saw the Web site, and saw your other post. I'll try not to repeat too much of what I said there. This is good stuff. I'm especially intrigued by all the tribute bands - one of whom is a tribute to the Dobbie Brothers, which might serve as a warm-up to my McDonald LaBelle Cruise, which will be a couple of weeks after this one. It doesn't look like there will be any shortage of musical action that I'll enjoy. I just hope that they don't have too many scheduling conflicts. 🙏

I didn't know that. Not my thing, but thanks for the heads up!

I'm not sure if this change was made in '16, '17, or '18, but it was somewhere in there - there is no more future cruise desk, future cruise booking associate, or future cruise seminar/lecture. I miss them all. ☹️ Also, the Hasbro shows didn't survive the pandemic. I miss those as much as anyone. ☹️