Calling all jazz cruisers

[wwcruisers]

On 4/3/2024 at 5:03 PM, NinS said:

I'm likewise going to call tomorrow and get my presale cabin, @wwcruisers. As for the Ron Carter question, I emailed and got a prompt reply confirming that Ron won't be sailing and that his excursion show will indeed be subject to an additional (unspecified) cost. I don't think it's great advertising, but regardless it's a terrific lineup and I'm excited for my first non-Caribbean cruise.

If you have never done a Pacific Coastal cruise, you are indeed in for a treat!😎 IMHO, this particular fall itinerary is the best! If you like wine, there are nice vineyards in the Cowichan Valley (just outside of Victoria, on Vancouver Island). Being so far north, mid-September is harvest season for these small wineries. And, of course, anytime is a good time to visit Napa/Sonoma! 🍇🍷

[Honolulu Blue]

I just got off the McDonald LaBelle Cruise a few hours ago. I had a most excellent time watching and hanging around with Michael, Patti, comedians Alonzo and George, and even fearless leader Michael Lazaroff. 

 

 

 

 

 

I did a more complete trip report in my personal thread. I'll link it once I get back to my computer. I'm still on the road. Thanks for your patience. 

 

As for a TL, DR - Patti was good, Michael was very good, Alonzo and George were fun and funny at their Q and A session, and the other Michael had some interesting stories to share.

[Honolulu Blue]

Mr. Lazaroff sent out a copy of the Weekender an hour ago and I had a chance to read it. Here's what I took from it:

 

* He discussed briefly at his Q and A what today's newsletter was going to be about, basically saying that this cruise was great. And so he did, in some detail. 

* In his Q and A session, Michael L. discussed the nuts and bolts of how this cruise got booked. The newsletter tells the sane story, with some additional details. 

* No real clues in the newsletter as to whether this particular cruise or another one time short sailing will happen again 

* TJC is over 82% reserved

* Botti at Sea is over 50% reserved

 

Edited April 13 by Honolulu Blue

[wwcruisers]

Thanks for the report, HB -- so glad to hear that you had a great time! 😎

[Honolulu Blue]

36 minutes ago, wwcruisers said:

Thanks for the report, HB -- so glad to hear that you had a great time! 😎

Thank you!  I indeed had a great time on the McDonald LaBelle Cruise.

 

And I apologize - I said I'd link my posts in the other thread.  I should do that now.  My report is in the linked post and the one after it:

 

 

[Honolulu Blue]

I received my e-mail a few hours ago announcing the opening of bookings for the Journey of Jazz Cruise to the general public.  A few details caught my eye - all the suites and some other top-end  non-suite cabins are already sold out, as are the allocated solo inside and balcony cabins.  Overall they say the ship is almost 50% booked.  That's a pretty good start, IMHO.

[NinS]

Agreed that it seems like a very sold start, HB. And it might explain why it was said at the Lazaroff Q&A you attended that it will be an annual thing. I made the big mistake of looking at what this repositioning cruise would normally go for, and suffice to say I am sure that Celebrity is very very happy to have a charter operator taking over the ship.

[Honolulu Blue]

21 minutes ago, NinS said:

Agreed that it seems like a very sold start, HB. And it might explain why it was said at the Lazaroff Q&A you attended that it will be an annual thing. I made the big mistake of looking at what this repositioning cruise would normally go for, and suffice to say I am sure that Celebrity is very very happy to have a charter operator taking over the ship.

Thanks for the kind words.

 

I'm sure Celebrity is thrilled to have this repositioning cruise chartered. Traditionally, across cruise lines, cabins on repositioning cruises tend to be sluggish sellers that only sell out at giveaway prices. They might have passed along a discount for the charter to Jazz Cruises, which if true, then I'm happy for them. I like win-wins. 😃

[wwcruisers]

Anyone seriously interested in the Fall '25 (West Coast) Journey of Jazz Cruise should think about booking soon. I was shocked at how fast all of the suites and more desirable cabins booked-up! Rather unusual for a 'new' jazz cruise offering.The very first Botti-at-Sea took much longer to get to the 50-60% (booked cabins) point!

[Honolulu Blue]

I'm in receipt of Jazz Cruises' latest biweekly newsletter Jazz Notes.  They had a lot of little details about their upcoming cruises and jazz show in St. Louis.  Here are the ones that were of most interest to this amateur jazzer:

 

• The Jazz Cruise is over 86% reserved
• Botti At Sea is 65% reserved
• Journey of Jazz is nearly 65% reserved
• As for the Smooth Jazz cruise story, I'll quote Mr. Lazaroff directly (emphasis mine):
• Both sailings of The Smooth Jazz Cruise ’25 are fully reserved and have been since February. The current Waitlist has nearly 2,500 names. Realistically, joining the Waitlist at this time will not result in a stateroom for ’25. It will, however, move you up the ladder for ’26.
• There will be a webinar for Botti At Sea that will cover what's going on with this cruise in detail that will be scheduled for some time around June 1 (250 days before the cruise).
• On the Journey of Jazz Cruise, there will be a live performance at the SFJAZZ Center on Tuesday, September 15 with Ron Carter and his quartet (Renee Rosnes, Jimmy Greene, and Payton Crossley).
• The next day there will be another performance at the SFJAZZ Center by the SFJAZZ Collective.  I'll quote Mr. Lazaroff to give the highlights of that lineup (emphasis mine again):
• The 2024/2025 edition that will perform for our guests features Michael Rodriguez (trumpet), David Sanchez (saxophone), Chris Potter (saxophone), Warren Wolf (vibraphone), Ed Simon (piano), Matt Brewer (bass) and Kendrick Scott (drums), all of whom have sailed on a past edition of The Jazz Cruise. 
• There was no mention of an additional charge for either of these concerts for passengers on this cruise
• There will be an "exciting jazz excursion in Victoria on Saturday, September 13" with details TBA. This implies to me that it will be "optional" and "extra cost", but as an outsider, I can't confirm this.  Well, I suppose I could, but my interest level isn't that high.

[Globaliser]

On 5/8/2024 at 4:17 PM, Honolulu Blue said:

• Both sailings of The Smooth Jazz Cruise ’25 are fully reserved and have been since February. The current Waitlist has nearly 2,500 names. Realistically, joining the Waitlist at this time will not result in a stateroom for ’25. It will, however, move you up the ladder for ’26.

 

It makes me wonder whether they will start thinking about doing the SJC for three weeks a year, although the musicians may not be so keen on that.

[Honolulu Blue]

4 hours ago, Globaliser said:

It makes me wonder whether they will start thinking about doing the SJC for three weeks a year, although the musicians may not be so keen on that.

This was brought up briefly at the Q&A Mr. Lazaroff had on the McDonald LaBelle Cruise.  He did mention the difficulty in having the same artists on for three consecutive weeks.  I don't know how best to resolve it, but obviously the demand is there for additional cruises.

[wwcruisers]

RIP David Sanborn....🥹🎷🎵

[NinS]

Here's a photo of myself with David Sanborn on the 2018 Blue Note at Sea. David hosted the late night jam and among those who participated was Chick Corea. His passing is a huge loss for the music.

[wwcruisers]

Thanks for posting that treasured memory, NinS! Interestingly enough, the one time that my DH and I saw Mr.Sanborn was in '23 -- on what turned out to be the very last Blue Note at Sea Cruise. As amazing as all of his performances were, my absolute favorite memory was watching Marcus Miller interview David, in one of the smaller forums onboard. It was like sitting in someone's living room, while a couple of old friends swapped tales from bygone years!😎

[wwcruisers]

Lots of wonderful tributes to David Sanborn on Watercolors (Sirius) this past weekend. Also, Mr. Lazaroff said that, while nobody in the whole world can replace Sanborn, Eric Marienthal will play sax with the Summit supergroup, on the upcoming SJC's. Oh, and you Patty Austin fans are in for a treat -- she's just been added to the SJC lineup!

[Honolulu Blue]

Botti at Sea sent out a special e-mail a few hours ago.  I assume all of you who are interested got it, so I'll just quickly summarize what's there:

 

• Chris Botti himself will be hosting a webinar called "Botti 250" on June 4 at 3 PM EDT.  It will include news about the lineup, special programming on the cruise, and more.  Jazz Cruises staff will also be there.
• On Mr. Botti's summer touring schedule, I notice three stops in our little state. There's also a stop in Shipshewana, IN, which is also close to me.  I'm still not interested.  Sorry Chris. ☹️

[Honolulu Blue]

A couple of details from the latest Weekender:

 

• Mr. Lazaroff gave an explanation of why Jazz Cruises uses the Millennium Class Celebrity ships for its cruises - specifically the revolutionized Millennium and Summit.  He also explained this in his Q&A on the McDonald LaBelle Cruise also.  To summarize those briefly, they like being able to convert the MDR to concert/nightclub use, they like the fact that the main theater can hold at least half the guests in one seating, and they like all the music venues onboard.
• Celebrity has removed Labadee from certain sailings that include both Smooth Jazz Cruises for 2025.  They're meeting with Celebrity to decide on a different port and promise to let us know when they make a decision.  

[wwcruisers]

Hoping that they replace Labadee with CocoCay -- my preference in private islands. I remember watching Peter White play on that little beach-side stage, back on the '18 SJC. Now THAT was a 'Perfect Day at Coco Cay'!😎

[NinS]

If you were wondering which artist addition was going to be announced during today's Botti at Sea webinar, you'll have to keep wondering. It was stated that the contract hasn't yet been signed so the news will come "very soon."

[Globaliser]

Well, this is a bit of a coup: Diana Krall on Botti next year.

[George C]

2 hours ago, Globaliser said:

Well, this is a bit of a coup: Diana Krall on Botti next year.

Great lineup, but expensive, royal suite on rock and romance music charter is 3k less. Same ship. 

[retired dude]

23 hours ago, George C said:

Great lineup, but expensive, royal suite on rock and romance music charter is 3k less. Same ship. 

of course it is expensive, oprah touts botti....give me rick braun any day over him...

[George C]

2 hours ago, retired dude said:

of course it is expensive, oprah touts botti....give me rick braun any day over him...

We have seen Botti a few times in Dallas one time he did a solo a few feet from our chairs I will pay to see him any time he is in Dallas , but not paying 9K for a royal suite.

[wwcruisers]

I had been looking forward to seeing Botti, on the last (ever?) Blue Note at Sea (Jan '23). I was a little disappointed, though. Don't get me wrong -- the man can PLAY. However, his performances and public appearances seemed a little lack-luster, and definitely focused on promoting the very first 'Botti at Sea' cruise. He was only onboard for part of the cruise -- and had limited events, to begin with. But, his featured show in the main theater seemed to feature the artists he had brought on in his band, more than Chris himself. And I don't know how long the first seating show went -- but the second seating didn't last as long as any of the other main-feature performances. I would still consider booking a Botti at Sea cruise -- but it would depend on the other artists in the line-up. Not a big fan of Ms Krall, so -- we'll just stick to the SJC, and the Journey of Jazz cruises in '25! But, that's the beauty of Jazz Cruises -- there's something for everyone! 😎

Edited Friday at 10:44 PM by wwcruisers