Best Piano Entertainer on Carnival? (Part 2)

[Anung Un Rama]

Can anyone tell me about Samuel Marks on the Pride?

 

I'm considering the hurricane CTN on the Pride leaving this Friday and a good piano bar entertainer would help convince us.

 

I am also wondering about Samuel Marks. He will be playing for our wedding reception on board the Pride. Anybody know anything? :confused:

 

Hi, yeah that was me that posted on FB. Sam is a great pianist and basically a savant. He says he can learn about 5 new songs a day just from listening to them a few times! He was clearly sick and fighting what might have been laryngitis. It's hard for me to give an honest opinion on how good of a singer he was because he was trying to get the crowd to do a lot of singing along. He unfortunately ended both nights around 12:30. I would have no problem with sailing with him again when he's hopefully healthy.

 

Has anyone heard of Ron Pass? He's going to be on the Breeze with us for 10 days.

 

FYI, that was sarcasm :D I got my Rontourage shirt today!

[bbmom2boys]

Any rumors about who will be on the Glory after dry dock?

[patrice1]

Any reports of who is on the Liberty? We always go to the piano bar on all of our cruises and would like to know if the musician is either someone we know or has good reviews.:D

[Swampbaby]

A couple futures and a Spirit current.

 

Freedom: Martin Aucoin 8/19/2012 - 2/17/2013

 

*** A note about this list: This list is compiled from reports and reviews of current cruisers and reports from the entertainers themselves. There is no guarantee of accuracy. An actual date usually means that the schedule has been confirmed by either the performer or someone inside Carnival. Schedules are subject to change. Also, this list is updated very regularly, so if it's not on the list, we probably don't know it.

 

Any knowledge of who comes on the Freedom mid Feb?

[bbmom2boys]

Any reports of who is on the Liberty? We always go to the piano bar on all of our cruises and would like to know if the musician is either someone we know or has good reviews.:D

 

This is posted on the piano bar page on Facebook ...great site for the Piano Bar lovers! It is called Carnival Cruise Piano Bar-barians

Laura Tyrrell

 

Thanks to ceegers we have some future dates on the list. Including the much asked about Liberty. Taking over the Liberty on 10/27 will be Benjamin Gentry. He's a newbie to Carnival as far as I know. This is his website http://pianomanben.com/ and if you google "Benjamin Gentry piano" you will come up with a few videos of him playing piano bar classics.

[divetrash]

Any reports of who is on the Liberty? We always go to the piano bar on all of our cruises and would like to know if the musician is either someone we know or has good reviews.:D

 

Ben Gentry is on the Liberty currently, he is a newbie to Carnival but got a nice review after his first week. If you scroll down a bit you should see it.

 

Any knowledge of who comes on the Freedom mid Feb?

 

The Freedom and Imagination entertainers Martin and Marty are do a switcheroo on Nov. 10 in Nassau. So Marty Gast will be on the Freedom until April

 

 

Happy cruising,

 

Laura

[divetrash]

Got the new Victory entertainer thanks to John Heald. And there is a switcheroo happening between the Imagination and Freedom.

 

Breeze: Ron Pass 11/6/2012 - 2/??/2013 http://www.ronpass.com

Conquest: Michael Dardis 10/28/2012 - 3/24/2013

Destiny: Michael O'Quinn 9/8/2012 - 12/10/2012

Dream: Jerone "Imani" Howard 9/22/2012 - 12/12/2012 http://www.imanology.com

Dream: "Piano Bar Bob" Berhalter 12/12/2012 - 4/13/2013 http://www.facebook.com/bob.berhalter

Ecstasy: Milburn Dumas 7/21/2012 - 1/19/2013

Elation: Beau Tahana 9/8/2012 -3/9/2013

Fantasy: Larry Maconaghy 11/3/2012 - 1/26/2013

Fascination: Wally B. 8/13/2012 - 11/15/2012

Freedom: Marty Gast 11/10/2012 - 4/1/2013 http://www.*****/MartyGast

Glory drydock 11/2/2012 - 11/15/2012

Glory:

Imagination: Martin Aucoin 11/10/12 - 2/17/2013 http://www.martinalexaucoin.com/

Inspiration: Rick Yerkes 10/8/2012 - 12/7/2012

Legend: Jordan Heppner 7/15/2012 - 11/18/2012

Liberty: Benjamin Gentry 10/27/2012 - 3/23/2013 http://www.http://pianomanben.com/

Magic: Jim Morris until 1/13/2013

Miracle: Peter Brenner until 11/14/2012

Paradise: Tom Grable 6/11/2012 - 11/12/2012

Pride: Samuel Marks 9/23/2012 - 1/20/2013

Pride: Roger Concepcion 1/20/2013 - ???

Sensation: Del Clark 8/9/2012 - 2/10/2013 http://www.delclark.com

Spirit: Geoff Davies until 11/27/2012

Splendor: Brad Alexander 9/16/2012 - 3/23/2013 http://www.bradthepianoman.com

Triumph: Frank Glenn 9/20/2012 - 11/10/2012

Valor: Gregory George 6/23/2012 - 12/2/2012

Valor: Seth Gibson 12/2/2012 - 3/24/2013

Victory: Dana Honey 11/4/2012 - 4/6/2013

[laumicmah]

Never mind...sorry!

Edited November 5, 2012 by laumicmah

[patrice1]

This is posted on the piano bar page on Facebook ...great site for the Piano Bar lovers! It is called Carnival Cruise Piano Bar-barians

Laura Tyrrell

 

 

Thanks to ceegers we have some future dates on the list. Including the much asked about Liberty. Taking over the Liberty on 10/27 will be Benjamin Gentry. He's a newbie to Carnival as far as I know. This is his website http://pianomanben.com/ and if you google "Benjamin Gentry piano" you will come up with a few videos of him playing piano bar classics.

 

Thanks so much! Just joined on FB and we're looking forward to having fun in the piano bar! We loves us some fun piano bar on our cruises!:D

[MarkandJen33706]

Got the new Victory entertainer thanks to John Heald. And there is a switcheroo happening between the Imagination and Freedom./2012 - 12/12/2012 [/i]

 

 

Victory: Dana Honey 11/4/2012 - 4/6/2013

 

Thanks - Does anyone know anything about Dana Honey?

[OSUKNIGHT]

Thanks - Does anyone know anything about Dana Honey?

 

We had Dana on the Imagination last year. He was pretty good. Played all the standards. Not crazy, but the piano bar was never crowded so he didn't have a crowd to encourage him.

[sailor_jimc]

Ben Gentry is on the Liberty currently, he is a newbie to Carnival but got a nice review after his first week. If you scroll down a bit you should see it.

 

 

 

The Freedom and Imagination entertainers Martin and Marty are do a switcheroo on Nov. 10 in Nassau. So Marty Gast will be on the Freedom until April

 

 

Happy cruising,

 

Laura

 

Laura- DO you know the reason behind the switch between Marty and Martin? Scheduled to be on the Freedom Thanksgiving week and thought Martin was going to be our PB entertainer. Not that I know either of them, but its interesting that they are switching like that.

 

Just wondering

[divetrash]

Laura- DO you know the reason behind the switch between Marty and Martin? Scheduled to be on the Freedom Thanksgiving week and thought Martin was going to be our PB entertainer. Not that I know either of them, but its interesting that they are switching like that.

 

Just wondering

 

If I had to hazard a guess, and this is only a guess (trying to figure out the hows and whys of Carnival's scheduling and hiring decisions is like trying to understand String Theory), I would say the switcheroo happened because Marty Gast has a good history on the Freedom, a good working relationship with the staff there and proven track record as a popular entertainer, one of the favorites. I personally thought he was wasted in a more hidden Fantasy Class piano bar, but I guess that was all that was open at the time of Marty's return. The fit was not good and I believe Marty had requested a transfer to a different ship.

 

Conquest class ships and above have the piano bar in a fairly prominent location and the tendency in the past has been to have proven good players scheduled in there, real piano bar party types. They often start newbies on the smaller ships. Martin Aucoin is a Carnival newbie and from the the reviews that I have read of him, it seems that he was struggling a bit to find the "Carnival" style. Talented musician, but I think he needs some time to figure it out, the good ones eventually do.

 

If you like a big fun piano bar, I think you will really enjoy Marty Gast.

 

Happy cruising,

 

Laura

[sailor_jimc]

Thanks Laura! That is good news, the wife and I love a good piano bar and Martin's reviews had us concerned. We would have made the most of it, but a fun party type of PB is our style. Good to hear.

[Irishlinny]

Thanks Laura! That is good news, the wife and I love a good piano bar and Martin's reviews had us concerned. We would have made the most of it, but a fun party type of PB is our style. Good to hear.

If you love a fun party piano bar, you will LOVE Marty! We had him on the Freedom last November and had a blast! We spent every nite in there. His nite off happened to be the nite of the deck party and it was nothing compared to the piano bar! Enjoy!:D

[Nathanyell]

Sam Marks left the Pride today so I will be interested in who is replacing him.

[doctordi]

I feel sorry for the people on the Imagination who are getting Martin Aucoin. Just off the Freedom and he was awful. He has a limited range and was not entertaining. The guy does not know how to work a crowd, and the second time I wandered in into the bar (thinking that the first bad experience was just an aberation), he was obviously drunk and still doing shots of tequilla. Carnival needs to find a replacement ASAP.

[ceegers]

Updates!!! A lot of newbies...

 

 

Breeze: Ron Pass 11/6/2012 - 2/??/2013 http://www.ronpass.com

Conquest: Michael Dardis 10/28/2012 - 3/24/2013

Destiny: Michael O'Quinn 9/8/2012 - 12/10/2012

Destiny: Steven Burks 12/10/2012 - ???

Dream: Jerone "Imani" Howard 9/22/2012 - 12/15/2012 http://www.imanology.com

Dream: "Piano Bar Bob" Berhalter 12/15/2012 - 4/13/2013 http://www.facebook.com/bob.berhalter

Ecstasy: Milburn Dumas 7/21/2012 - 1/19/2013

Elation: Beau Tahana 9/8/2012 -3/9/2013

Fantasy: Larry Maconaghy 11/3/2012 - 1/26/2013

Fascination: Wally B. 8/13/2012 - 11/15/2012

Fascination: Steven Burks 11/15/2012 - 12/8/2012

Fascination: Angela Johnson 12/8/2012 - ???

Freedom: Marty Gast 11/10/2012 - 4/1/2013 http://www.*****/MartyGast

Glory drydock 11/2/2012 - 11/15/2012

Glory: Justin Abrams 11/15/2012 - 12/9/2012

Glory: Tom Riccio 12/9/2012 - ???

Imagination: Martin Aucoin 11/10/12 - 2/17/2013 http://www.martinalexaucoin.com/

Inspiration: Rick Yerkes 10/8/2012 - 12/7/2012

Legend: Jordan Heppner 7/15/2012 - 11/18/2012

Legend: Keith Turner 11/18/2012 - ???

Liberty: Benjamin Gentry 10/27/2012 - 3/23/2013 http://www.http://pianomanben.com/

Magic: Jim Morris until 1/13/2013

Miracle: Peter Brenner until 11/14/2012

Miracle: Darin Isaacs 11/14/2012 - ???

Paradise: Tom Grable 6/11/2012 - 11/12/2012

Paradise: Dewey Hunt 11/12/2012 - ???

Pride: Derrek Robertson 11/11/2012 - 1/20/2013

Pride: Roger Concepcion 1/20/2013 - ???

Sensation: Del Clark 8/9/2012 - 2/10/2013 http://www.delclark.com

Spirit: Geoff Davies until 11/27/2012

Spirit: Trevor Jones 11/27/2012 - ???

Splendor: Brad Alexander 9/16/2012 - 3/23/2013 http://www.bradthepianoman.com

Triumph: Michael Geier 11/10/2012 - ???

Valor: Gregory George 6/23/2012 - 12/2/2012

Valor: Seth Gibson 12/2/2012 - 3/24/2013

Victory: Dana Honey 11/4/2012 - 4/6/2013

Edited November 12, 2012 by ceegers

[OSUKNIGHT]

I feel sorry for the people on the Imagination who are getting Martin Aucoin. Just off the Freedom and he was awful. He has a limited range and was not entertaining. The guy does not know how to work a crowd, and the second time I wandered in into the bar (thinking that the first bad experience was just an aberation), he was obviously drunk and still doing shots of tequilla. Carnival needs to find a replacement ASAP.

 

This is going to be interesting. I'll let everyone know after next week.

[hughsonb]

You just made my week with the update that roger is going to be back on the pride starting the day of our cruise...I actually asked carnival before we booked if roger was going to be there, but they did not know.. He really made the cruise great last year, this year we will be in the piano bar every night...

[Lancy]

I thought I read yesterday on here somewhere that there was a new 23 year old named Benjamin Gentry on Liberty for our dates. Does anyone know for sure?

[divetrash]

I thought I read yesterday on here somewhere that there was a new 23 year old named Benjamin Gentry on Liberty for our dates. Does anyone know for sure?

 

 

Yes, if you scroll down you will see the schedule. Here is his website:

 

http://www.http://pianomanben.com/

[divetrash]

Thank you ceegers! As always you are my hero!

 

 

Updates!!! A lot of newbies...

 

 

Breeze: Ron Pass 11/6/2012 - 2/??/2013 http://www.ronpass.com

Conquest: Michael Dardis 10/28/2012 - 3/24/2013

Destiny: Michael O'Quinn 9/8/2012 - 12/10/2012

Destiny: Steven Burks 12/10/2012 - ???

Dream: Jerone "Imani" Howard 9/22/2012 - 12/15/2012 http://www.imanology.com

Dream: "Piano Bar Bob" Berhalter 12/15/2012 - 4/13/2013 http://www.facebook.com/bob.berhalter

Ecstasy: Milburn Dumas 7/21/2012 - 1/19/2013

Elation: Beau Tahana 9/8/2012 -3/9/2013

Fantasy: Larry Maconaghy 11/3/2012 - 1/26/2013

Fascination: Wally B. 8/13/2012 - 11/15/2012

Fascination: Steven Burks 11/15/2012 - 12/8/2012

Fascination: Angela Johnson 12/8/2012 - ???

Freedom: Marty Gast 11/10/2012 - 4/1/2013 http://www.*****/MartyGast

Glory drydock 11/2/2012 - 11/15/2012

Glory: Justin Abrams 11/15/2012 - 12/9/2012

Glory: Tom Riccio 12/9/2012 - ???

Imagination: Martin Aucoin 11/10/12 - 2/17/2013 http://www.martinalexaucoin.com/

Inspiration: Rick Yerkes 10/8/2012 - 12/7/2012

Legend: Jordan Heppner 7/15/2012 - 11/18/2012

Legend: Keith Turner 11/18/2012 - ???

Liberty: Benjamin Gentry 10/27/2012 - 3/23/2013 http://www.http://pianomanben.com/

Magic: Jim Morris until 1/13/2013

Miracle: Peter Brenner until 11/14/2012

Miracle: Darin Isaacs 11/14/2012 - ???

Paradise: Tom Grable 6/11/2012 - 11/12/2012

Paradise: Dewey Hunt 11/12/2012 - ???

Pride: Derrek Robertson 11/11/2012 - 1/20/2013

Pride: Roger Concepcion 1/20/2013 - ???

Sensation: Del Clark 8/9/2012 - 2/10/2013 http://www.delclark.com

Spirit: Geoff Davies until 11/27/2012

Spirit: Trevor Jones 11/27/2012 - ???

Splendor: Brad Alexander 9/16/2012 - 3/23/2013 http://www.bradthepianoman.com

Triumph: Michael Geier 11/10/2012 - ???

Valor: Gregory George 6/23/2012 - 12/2/2012

Valor: Seth Gibson 12/2/2012 - 3/24/2013

Victory: Dana Honey 11/4/2012 - 4/6/2013

[Anung Un Rama]

Sam Marks left the Pride today so I will be interested in who is replacing him.

 

 

That is really interesting. He was just there for the 2 day CTN. I know he was sick so I wonder if that had anything to do with it.

[frito58]

I promised to come back and write on Ben that is on the Liberty . Well He was good , not the best I have ever seen . I would give him a 9 on entertainment as he is good with the crowd , on voice and knowledge of songs a 7 as he is young and learning . He sounded like a week was wearing on his voice , but I think he will improve greatly and grow into it , hey they all have to start somewhere LOL.