Charter Music Cruises selling out

[wwcruisers]

I do remember Joe Gilliam. If memory serves, he and Terry Hanratty were the Steelers' two starting QB's before the legendary Terry Bradshaw. LOL -- if you want to know how old I am, let's just say that I can remember when Bradshaw had a full head of blonde hair (and wasn't making commercials for the shingles' vaccine)!:p And, I also remember Kenny Stabler, as QB-1 for Oakland -- what an arm! Not a huge fan of John Madden's -- but it always tickles me how animated he gets when anyone brings up the "immaculate reception"!:D

[hattack]

we are of the same age group...you will notice on your first SJC, that most of your fellow cruisers are right there with us age wise and it's a very nice mixture of diversity which goes to show you that Smooth Jazz and the artists that we love are color blind and are heavily influenced by the music of 60's Motown, 70's Funk & Brass Bands..you will notice on your SJC that dinner conversations are centered around which is your favorite Boney James or Brian Culbertson CD or Live performance...no one talks politics or jobs..be aware that due to the artists practice schedule they eat in a separate area, but their spouses usually sit with the regular guests and unless asked will not tell you who they are until the end of dinner...one night at our table both Richard Elliot's and Rick Braun's wife joined us and were delighted when everyone at the table gave nothing but praise (blue eye soul brothers) to their husbands...my younger neighbors are often amazed when I share with them that I remember OJ Simpson when he was the greatest running back at USC and I saw him play against the Fighting Irish in South Bend...an entire generation has grown up not knowing OJ was a football player long before he was a reality tv star for his Bronco chase and trial...my friends and I are on a mission to interest our neighbor youths to learn how to play non tradional sports such as fencing, rugby, etc because they can earn college scholarships..tough thing to sell...we took a group of young boys to the ballet..they grumbled all the way there..what they didn't know was that we arranged for them to meet Misty Copeland..with her were 2 of her male fellow dancers..the boys had a preconceived notion about male ballet dancers and were vocal about it..the dancers told them to watch at a certain time during the performance to find out why they choose to dance (when they lifted Misty up and carried her across the stage...the next day at Church they sshared they wanted to be male ballet dancers...mission accomplished...lol

[hattack]

another perk of being on the SJC...you will fellowship with everyone at the Gospel show during the week...one year, Donnie McClurkin was the guest Gospel artist on the Capital Jazz SuperCruise...his show in the main showroom started at 1115 and scheduled to end at Noon...Doug E. Fresh was scheduled to start his show on the Lido Deck at 1230...McClurkin's testimony was so great, the show ran over and no one wanted to leave the showroom (which was packed)...but no one wanted to miss Doug E.....quick thinking on the part of the Capital Jazz staff resulted in delaying Doug E.'s show until 130 pm and broadcasting live on the big screen on the Lido Deck the end of McClurkin's performance..only on a Smooth Jazz Charter can one go directly from Church to Old School Hip Hop in one afternoon...will never experience that on a "regular" sailing:eek:

[wwcruisers]

LOVE Misty Copeland! IMHO -- the best ballet dancers are first (and foremost) amazing athletes. Of course, I also remember how Mikhail Baryshnikov blew everyone away, when he first came to dance in this country. :cool:

[hattack]

he teamed up with Gregory Hines in the movie white Nights...on another superCruise , Savion Glover (The Tap Dance Kid) teamed up with George Duke for a special concert tap dancing to " Dukey Stick"..priceless...I love Misty Copeland, so tiny, so strong...Mattel just released a Misty Copeland Doll that I have ordered for a gift for some small young ladies at my Church..next month on our SuperCruise the Dance Troupe of Harlem will be sailing with us for 3 days to do a performance and workshops..sure beats the Broadway Review productions one sees on a regular cruise...fyi, about 2 weeks before you sail on your SJC, you will receive a package with your SJC T-Shirt...be prepared when you wear it after your cruise when you go shopping, it will elicit lots of interactions with your fellow shoppers who are Jazz fans..a SJC is a bucket list type of vacation

[wwcruisers]

Hattack -- I knew we would get t-shirts (since they asked for sizes, when we booked) -- but, I didn't know when. Glad to hear that they send them to you before the cruise. That way, DH and I can plan to have our boarding photo taken in them. We did chuckle about that though -- each of us already has a boat-load of cruise t-shirts! :D One group of folks who always seem to pay attention to t-shirts are the ships' crew. We've struck up quite a few conversations with crew members who'd say "Oh, you were on XYZ ship -- I was on the take-out crew for that one." or "I'm hoping to be transferred to that ship, for my next contract." :cool:

[hattack]

besides being colorful (and cool looking) your T-Shirts will have the names of all the artists performing on the SJC during your sailing..shoppers that will engage you either know ALL the artists or NONE of them, either way a great ice breaker...Every year I collect a new series of "theme" T-Shirts that I wear on my cruise which serves as a nice ice breaker to make new friends...this year's theme is Jazz Clubs (or Festivals)..this year my collection includes R&R HOF (CLE), Jazz Alley (SEA), Blue Note (NYC), Yoshi's (SFO/OAK), Oklahoma Jazz HOF (Tulsa), SeaBreeze Smooth Jazz Festival (Panama City FL), Litchfield (CT) Jazz Festival, Maine Windjammer Cruises, Brian Culbertson Napa Valley Wine & Jazz Getaway and of course French Quarter Festival (NO)..looking forward to collecting unique T-Shirts next year on my Koz Cruise...having a T-Shirt from the Fenice Opera House in Venice and the Oslo Jazz Festival should really throw Wal Mart shoppers for a loop...and yes, I have T-Shirts from almost every ship that I have cruised on..my Son told me he would give away my extensive T-Shirt collection to the Homeless Shelter in New Orleans upon my demise...

[wwcruisers]

LOL, Hattack -- I think that any recipient of such a great T-shirt collection should truly count themselves as lucky! :cool:

[hattack]

on one of your full days at sea, you will be asked to wear your SJC T-Shirts for a Lido Deck photo of all 1800 guests wearing various colors of the same shirt..makes for a very nice keepsake photo...on your flight to your cruise, you will easily be able to spot your fellow SJC'ers in the boarding area, they will be wearing a huge smile on their face and some type of Jazz related clothing...very easy to spot waiting in the boarding area on the way home, they will be wearing their SJC T-Shirt and sleeping, trying to catch up on their sleep, that they did not get on their cruise..depending on the week, you may see guests from other full charter music cruises wearing their music cruise T-Shirts, which makes for a great conversation about the concerts & artists on each respective charters...also, while you are waiting for your flight home is a good time to go thru your photos to sort out and place in some type of order..be prepared, your friends and coworkers at home who have never been on a full charter music cruise will be stunned when they look at your photos and hear your stories that goes with each photo..make sure your husband has a photo of him with both Candy & Keiko to balance out your 10 photos with Boney James..lol

[wwcruisers]

..make sure your husband has a photo of him with both Candy & Keiko to balance out your 10 photos with Boney James..lol

 

ROTFLMBO, Hattack -- Will do!!:p

[hattack]

so of course you have signed up to receive emails from Jazz Alley to be notified of upcoming concerts just in case Boney James makes an appearance between now and the time of the SJC...you are also planning to pack your matching sneakers & fedora for your photo with Boney that you place on a stretched digital canvas to go next to your framed signed Model Minority Documentary movie poster that Boney produced and his talented beautiful wife Lily Mariye wrote and directed in case she is sailing with Boney for the week (loved her in ER and Shameless)...you should be able to secure a photo with all of the artists that you can place in a collage and have framed to be placed over your fireplace..make sure you have the full collection of the most current CD's of all the artists so they can sign them...which of the artists have you not seen perform live (I've seen them all live)

[wwcruisers]

Houston -- we have lift-off!:D

 

I'm happy to announce that BOTH of the 2018 Smooth Jazz Cruises now have roll-call threads. They can be found in the Summit section of Celebrity's roll-call board -- or at the links below:

 

February cruise:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2400055

 

March cruise:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2397963

 

Anybody who's booked (or thinking about booking) either of these sailings, please join us -- let's get this party started!:cool:

[hattack]

mission accomplished...I noticed there is also a thread for the 2017 edition which will be logical candidates for your 2018 thread

[wwcruisers]

mission accomplished...I noticed there is also a thread for the 2017 edition which will be logical candidates for your 2018 thread

 

Once again, Hattack, thank you for the 'heads-up'!:D

 

I'm normally pretty shy, when it comes to 'crashing' other people's roll-calls. But, I just had to pop in and say "hi" on the 2017 SJC thread. Took advantage of the opportunity to tell them about the 2018 SJC r/c's. I'm also reminding everyone of this thread, which has been a wealth of information, for me. :cool:

[hattack]

it's a good bet they probably already know about 2018 and are booked or will be booked as soon as they finish paying off 2017...I would suspect around 90% of the folks who will be on the 15th Anniversary SJC in 2018 have been on at least 2 or more others...I have 6 friends who do the SJC every year and they treat it like a continuous monthly bill (car payment, cable) and consider the SJC as their yearly entertainment outing and do not do local concerts and all the associated cost (dinner, parking, gas, hotels etc)...they have been "busting my chops" for doing the Capital Jazz SuperCruise since 2010 and will be happy that there is the possibility I will rejoin them in 2018..you will be delighted to discover that your fellow SJC"ers are serious fans of the artists and of the music..it's a very different "feel" for the week when all 1800 guests are there for the same reason (the music)..in the "big picture" of music fans, Jazz is a very small %..in the world of Jazz,Smooth Jazz is a very small % but we are the most loyal in supporting our favorite artists by purchasing their music, attending their concerts and Festivals. If you do not already subscribe, you should obtain a subscription to Smooth Jazz News (our "unofficial Bible) so you can stay current on what's going on in our little corner of the music world...you will be making life time friends on your SJC and will probably bond with them by attending Smooth Jazz Festivals as well as the yearly SJC

[wwcruisers]

Wow - looks like some folks on the X boards still have some hard feelings about their 2018 cruises getting bumped for our SJC charters! :(

 

I can sympathize, having been in a similar situation. In my case, it wasn't a charter, but an unscheduled dry-dock, that derailed our cruise -- just over a year out. It was an annual cruise that we booked every year, with handful of friends -- from all over the US (and Canada). And, even though nobody had bought airline tickets yet, it was still very inconvenient to have to start from scratch, planning dates and itineraries -- trying to work around everyone's schedules and preferences. (Sort of like herding cats uphill!:eek:;))

 

Hattack -- thanks for your enlightening posts, on that thread. It may help folks to understand just how the charter process works. Hopefully, this upcoming season will be a great success, both for X, and the SJC charter company. That should help them make their future plans, without up-ending the apple cart for X's regular passengers.:cool:

[hattack]

you are welcome (my job is to serve...lol)..my beloved Oakland Raiders vs New Orleans at the Super Dome today so I will be immersed in watching tv and not paying attention to these boards..I suspect ECP (the promoter) & Celebrity based upon the success of the first few charters will gleefully sign a 2-3 year deal with options which will be a win/win for all parties...the Smooth Music Cruise in Jan 2009 was on the Celebrity Century and it was the perfect marriage to enjoy great music on a beautiful ship that was the right size (mega ships don't work for the concert format)

 

Charters have a very mixed record with the cruising public..Carnival's decision to allow FEMA to charter 3 Fantasy Class ships to provide housing for 1st Responders post Hurricane Katrina was extremely controversial on the CC board..this in spite of the fact that Carnival had more then enough excess capacity to accommodate booked guests for the same week and comparable ports of call and provided incentives including onboard credit and cabin upgrades..sadly some CC posters failed to grasp the magnitude of the situation and made several less than compassionate postings (which I freeze framed and keep to this day to remind me)..I would hope that those same posters with the benefit of an 11 year hindsight, would have posted differently today

 

on the other hand..I know first hand that the CC posters (Wendy & Grumpy posted May 12tg, 2014) on the RCI thread (Freedom of the Seas, May 3rd, 2015, Not Available for bookings) have every reason to be upset to be caught up in the worse nightmare of music charters out of control..folks were booked early, were advised by RCI the Freedom would turn into a charter (Maxwell & Friends), were displaced and made alternative plans, the promoter failed to sell enough cabins to make their payments and tried to revert to a partial (shared ship) charter, the promoter defaulted (and lost their bond), RCI opened up bookings 120 days before sailing at bargain prices) and the folks originally booked and displace first found out thru this board..The charter failed by this 1st time promoter because of greed (way over priced as compared to the competition)..lesson learned both by the cruise line industry (be very cautious of unknown promoters without a proven track record in chartering ships ) and the consumers who failed to to due diligence before spending their hard earn $$$ or by checking with resources such as this CC Board) which if they had posted they were thinking about doing this particular charter they would have benefitted from our experience

 

I enjoy the give and take of cruising boards such as CC..I learn something new all the time and try to contribute from time to time my experience of 41 years of cruising on 44 cruises of all varieties

[wwcruisers]

Hattack -- congrats to your Raiders -- that must have been quite a game! :cool:

[hattack]

great game...sadly my neighbors have banned me from the neighborhood pre game crawfish boil and watching on the huge flat screen when the Saints play Oakland and any Saturday night LSU home games, so I called my cruising friends in the Bay area after the game to celebrate..every year die hard Saints fans do a Carnival Cruise out of New Orleans with retired Saints players and the Saintsation cheerleaders...I make a point of skipping that cruise...lol...one of the great joys of the Capital Jazz Super Cruise charter is when we sail on Saturdays, on our full day at sea on Sunday we have a huge pre game tail gate party on the Lido Deck which features an old school artist...one year featured Jeffrey Osborne, another George Clinton and another the Average White Band...everybody wears their home team NFL jerseys or their college jersey(it always throws folks when I wear my college's NCAA Division Three Ice Hockey Championship T-shirt (lol).all the artist participate and party with the cruisers..we discovered that Jonathan Butler has a Son who played for the Saints the year we won the Super Bowl & Norman Brown has a daughter who is a West Point graduate (there is an pre dinner cocktail reception every year to honor our Service Members and we bonded due to my Son graduating from the USAFA)

 

I asked my friends who will be on the 2017 SJC to save extra copies of the daily programs so that I can scan and email to you so you can have a sense of what to expect on your 2018 sailing

[wwcruisers]

Hattack -- last night, my DH and I were talking about this whole charter process, and he brought up an interesting point: If the SJC switch from HAL to X works out for the 2017 sailing, we will probably be given the same "priority" status, when it comes to booking our same (or maybe better) cabin -- once when they firm up plans for the 2019 cruise. The ironic twist is that, if the time-tables remain the same, we will still be six months out from taking our first SJC. So, that booking will be mighty tempting (since we booked a GREAT cabin) -- but, it will still be a real 'leap of faith'! ;)

 

And on the NFL front: the 'talking heads' on sports TV are saying great things about Jack Del Rio and the Raiders' performance, against the Saints, yesterday. This was the first season opener they've won in a few years, right? Could be a sign of good thing to come, this season. I'm getting ready for Monday Night Football, and hoping that the Steelers have a good game! :cool:

[hattack]

you have a very practical spouse (cautious because this will be your first music charter experience, what happens if you don't like it or plans change "stuff happens").. it's a safe bet you have already purchased trip (travel) insurance with the cancel for any reason option for your 2018 cruise...I just checked the 2018 SJC website and it looks like both weeks will be sold out by the end of this month (yea I know I better get moving...lol)...you might try to pay down your 2018 bill as early as possible (to avoid a brief overlap of paying for both 2018 & 2019) and anticipate that ECP will start talking about it's 2019 sailing while they are onboard it's 2017 cruise (and using the 2018 WL as a powerful marketing tool to book 2019 while onboard (with a small deposit made onboard (they will deposit for cabin categories,) at that juncture with the 2018 guest...very powerful "hook" and barring any major issues on the 2017 cruise, good bet they will stick with Celebrity (comfort level with onboard crew,sound systems etc.)..be prepared to place a small deposit for 2019 (and purchase trip insurance with cancellation for any reason),that way if you run off with Boney James in 2018, your DH can get his $$$ back for 2019 and book the Dave Koz Cruise to see Keiko & Candy...lol..it's better to have a cabin for 2019 and cancel, then standing in line at the ECP future booking desk onboard the Summit in 2018 to sign up for the WL (you can walk past the desk on your way to brunch and say very loudly, my DH plans ahead...lol

 

on the NFL football front...my neighbors aren't speaking to me and the Saints play the NY Football Giants and I am from upstate NY..guess I will be watching the game next Sunday by myself again...lol

 

I strongly suggest you google 2017 Brian Culbertson Napa Valley Jazz & Wine Getaway..BC just announced his line up and it is awesome..ticket packages will sell out by Thanksgiving..since you are in the Pacific NW you are well within driving distance to Napa..you might go to BC's website, order his brand new CD " Funk" and his "It's On Tonight" CD, leave both on his pillow with a bottle of BC's Napa Valley along with a note of possible early Christmas presents

[hattack]

yes BC makes his own Wine (very good btw)...there is another practical reason to seriously consider attending the Napa Valley Jazz Getaway...BC has a huge West Coast loyal fan base and I bet there will be a huge contingency in attendance that will be on your 2018 SJC...you can network with your future shipmates and yes I will be there (but with a different lady friend)...lol..your DH and I can hang out with Larry Graham after Funk Night and share with him our mutual attraction in the 60's with Cynthia Robinson (he will know who she is///lol)

[hattack]

if your DH is worried about what the 2019 SJC line up will be before placing a cabin deposit..it will reflect EPC's system of returning yearly a core group of fan favorites complimented by a few guest artists...if you notice the 2017 SJC line up and the 2018 SJC Anniversary Fan Selected line up share 10 common artists so one can almost bet these 10 artists will represent the core of the 2019 line up (why mess with success)..on the other hand, Capital Jazz Productions (Super Cruise) sold out CJSC 10 (next month) in 24 days when it open for sale in June last year and did not announce their line up until December..CJSC uses a formula of about 30% returning artists who have performed on previous CJSC, 30% 1st time artists or those that have performed at the Capital Jazz Festival & 30% emerging (or not yet national exposure) artists and 10% lagniappe (i.e. Dance Troupe of Harlem, acts one does not expect to see on a Smooth Jazz Charter)..both formula's work

 

Brian Culbertson's Napa Valley Getaway (this will be his 4th year) affords the opportunity to enjoy a wide range of artists and styles that reflect BC's love of old school r&b, straight ahead jazz, funk, gospel, Motown and smooth jazz..it should be noted that along with BC, Rick Braun & Richard Elliot will also be performing on your 2018 SJC..BC will also be performing his new CD "Funk" and do not be surprised that all the artists performing that weekend will be part of the jam session

 

be careful, you and your DH could become addicted to this lifestyle;)

[wwcruisers]

LOL -- the "addictive" part is what worries me, Hattack! :p

 

We actually had the line-up list available for pre-book on this (2018) SJC, so I'm pretty sure that they'll release at least a preliminary line-up for the 2019 cruise, prior to pre-booking. But, since that will most likely occur before we have our first SJC 'under our belt', random thoughts pop into my head: What if we don't like it? .. What if we decide that it's too much $$ for a one-week cruise?... etc.:eek: Oh, who am I kidding? I think that both DH and I are going to LOVE this cruise -- and, we will be kicking ourselves around the block, if we pass on the opportunity to do it in 2019! :D

[hattack]

last thought of the day:rolleyes: Candy Dulfer, Rick Braun & Richard Elliot will be on Dave Koz's Cruise out of Venice next May along with Sheila E & Jeffrey Osborne & Al Jarreau

 

at this point it looks like we will be leaving New Orleans on May 3rd to fly to Frankfort and take the 200 mph high speed train to Venice...on our return we will be doing a side trip to Milan, Oslo and Reykjavik..we also plan on going to Jazz Clubs in each City....if your DH does in fact treat you to the Napa Valley Getaway in June, if you remember it post on this thread if you would like me to bring back anything and also your T-Shirt size (I will bring your DH back a baseball cap and a signed Sheila E. something:cool: ) and I will bring it to Napa..tell your DH he will owe me & my friends dinner in Napa