Rock and Romance, 80s Cruise, and my other 2024 music adventures

[Honolulu Blue]

I attended the Ray Parker Jr interview. This was a wild one. Ray and Mark had so much fun with this one, and Ray has done so much.

 

 

As his songs, Ray picked Inner City Blues from Marvin Gaye, Superstition from Stevie Wonder, and For the Love of You from the Isley Brothers. Ray also mentioned that his favorite album was Marvin Gaye's What's Going On. 

 

Fun stuff. I'm glad I went. I didn't get anything signed because I forgot and left it in the room. 

 

Before this, also in Studio B,  was a memorabilia auction for the Wounded Warriors charity. JT hosted. Some of the bidding got wild. Would you pay over a grand fir this drum head autographed by 38 Special? Someone did.

 

 

Now it's time to get ready for the Air Supply concert. Would you believe that there were about 20 people in line already, an hour and a half before showtime?

[George C]

Just bought front row vip tickets to Todd Rundgren in June , extremely happy first time I saw him was on R&R , now we see him anytime he is in town.

[Honolulu Blue]

I just got back from the Air Supply concert. It was very good hearing all those catchy songs from that era. Russell,  Graham, and company did a masterful job.

 

JT, Mark Goodman, and Lori Majewski did the introduction. BTW, this is Lori's favorite band.

 

 

 

 

 

Today's gift is a wallet. This one might be too good for my friends and worth keeping.

 

 

And this is tomorrow's newsletter.

 

 

I can't believe tomorrow is the last full day onboard! I guess all things really do come to an end. ☹️

 

Stay tuned for tomorrow's report. 

[Honolulu Blue]

I went to Debbie Gibson's dance class this morning. No, I'm not a good dance and thus wouldn't have helped me. But it was interesting to watch others around me dance. The moves they were taught were the last 40 seconds of Electric Youth. It seemed rather complicated from the cheap seats, but most everyone on the floor seemed to pick it up well.

 

 

 

 

I also received my disembarkation instructions via flyer and app. I can leave the ship at 7:30, provided we make it to port by then and are cleared.

 

i slso received this item.

 

 

This is a reminder of the bad old days of cruising, before I started hitting the high seas. Trust me, the cabin attendants are getting taken care of from all of us through part of the extra fees they took out. I'll handle it, just don't look for a post about it.

 

BTW, I've stayed away from the casino,  so my room service charges look to be the only charges on my account. 

Edited March 6 by Honolulu Blue

[Honolulu Blue]

The folks at Rock and Romance are busy adding to their 2025 lineup already. Notable names include Air Supply (50th anniversary), Queen Nation, and Boogie Wonder Band.

 

I just saw Air Supply last night. I'll reiterate that they were very, very good. This DOES move the needle for me in the obvious direction.

 

QN I saw on the 2023 UDC and I will likely make room for them on the upcoming Rock and Romance Cruise. Seeing them on the list for next year makes me happy. 😀

 

BWB I also saw on last year's UDC. I can't remember if they're on R and R next week. It's good to see them avain, whenever.

[Honolulu Blue]

38 Special was in concert for us blue card holders. It was a challenge at times to get good pictures due to the activities of the people in the rows on front of me, but I won't judge how people have their fun.

 

 

JT and the three former MTV VJs introduced them. We actually got a brief mention of The 90s Cruise, which Julie will be co hosting. A few people in the crowd reacted, including me.

 

 

This was another very good show. They played just about all their hits, including Teacher Teacher, plus a few songs I wasn't as familiar with.

 

 

On the way out, the song in the background was War's Low Rider. We'll hear that for sure from them on the Rock and Romance Cruise next week.

 

We're on our way back to Pirt Canaveral. We should be there in 9 to 10 hours. I might have an adventure or two before we have to disembark. Stay tuned. 

[NinS]

Thanks for all of the great coverage, HB! Hope you had a smooth trip home. I got off Cayamo so early I easily made the 10:30 am flight that everyone said I would miss. Cayamo was a wonderful week and like the 80s Cruise we were also in Aruba which was beautiful (and inspired at least one band to do a folk/bluegrass cover of "Kokomo" during one of the late-night jams). We arrived two days after an 80s Cruise. I don't think I've ever been on a music charter that was docked next to a different music charter. 

 

Cayamo had pretty good weather except for the second night which happened to be the night Lyle Lovett was slated to do his pool deck show before getting off the next morning in Puerto Plata. The winds were so intense that the show was wisely canceled (I walked around the pool deck later that night and could barely stand up). Since all the indoor venues were already programmed and have more limited capacity they ended up moving Lyle to a 9AM pool deck slot the next morning so he could play and then get off the ship as scheduled. We docked at 7:30 AM or so and about halfway through Lyle's show a Virgin ship docked next to us, so a very small number of Virgin cruisers got to watch a Lyle Lovett concert from their balconies!

 

We also got the starting lineups for the 2025 Outlaw Country and Cayamo cruises, and my personal preference leans strongly toward Outlaw's lineup, which alas would keep me from UDC. Another major factor is that I have multiple friends who would room with me on Outlaw but none for UDC, so in effect the disco cruise would cost me about twice as much. Hopefully it'll sell well and I can catch up with it in 2026. I'll also be getting Cancel for Any Reason Insurance so if the final Outlaw and UDC lineups make me change my mind I'll have some flexibility to switch.

 

HB, this might be of interest: https://mcdonaldlabellecruise2024.sched.com

 

[Honolulu Blue]

36 minutes ago, NinS said:

Thanks for all of the great coverage, HB! Hope you had a smooth trip home. I got off Cayamo so early I easily made the 10:30 am flight that everyone said I would miss. Cayamo was a wonderful week and like the 80s Cruise we were also in Aruba which was beautiful (and inspired at least one band to do a folk/bluegrass cover of "Kokomo" during one of the late-night jams). We arrived two days after an 80s Cruise. I don't think I've ever been on a music charter that was docked next to a different music charter. 

 

Cayamo had pretty good weather except for the second night which happened to be the night Lyle Lovett was slated to do his pool deck show before getting off the next morning in Puerto Plata. The winds were so intense that the show was wisely canceled (I walked around the pool deck later that night and could barely stand up). Since all the indoor venues were already programmed and have more limited capacity they ended up moving Lyle to a 9AM pool deck slot the next morning so he could play and then get off the ship as scheduled. We docked at 7:30 AM or so and about halfway through Lyle's show a Virgin ship docked next to us, so a very small number of Virgin cruisers got to watch a Lyle Lovett concert from their balconies!

 

We also got the starting lineups for the 2025 Outlaw Country and Cayamo cruises, and my personal preference leans strongly toward Outlaw's lineup, which alas would keep me from UDC. Another major factor is that I have multiple friends who would room with me on Outlaw but none for UDC, so in effect the disco cruise would cost me about twice as much. Hopefully it'll sell well and I can catch up with it in 2026. I'll also be getting Cancel for Any Reason Insurance so if the final Outlaw and UDC lineups make me change my mind I'll have some flexibility to switch.

 

HB, this might be of interest: https://mcdonaldlabellecruise2024.sched.com

 

Thanks for the link to the McDonald LaBelle Cruise schedule. I knew most of what was going on, but it's nice to see it in black and white.

 

I'm happy you found something to like about the OCC lineup. Don't worry about us on the UDC. Of course there may not be a UDC in 2026, but we'll worry about it much later.

 

And thank you for your summary of the Cayamo trip.

[Honolulu Blue]

I started a thread about the 2025 musical adventures I have scheduled at 

I'll mostly talk about the 2025 cruises and other concerts in that thread, while continuing to discuss my adventures for this year in this thread.  Thanks for following along.

[Honolulu Blue]

For the fun of it, let's do a summary of my adventures on The 80s Cruise.

 

I saw four concerts in the main theater - Stephen Pearcy, Debbie Gibson, Air Supply, and 38 Special.

 

 

I did 6 concerts in Studio B - Animotion, Sheena Easton(!!!), Jessie's Girl, Wang Chung, Ray Parker Jr., and Midnight Star.

 

 

 

I didn't see any concerts by the pool or in the Star Lounge.  The former were canceled much of the time and I don't think there were any concerts offered in the Star Lounge at all.

 

But they did offer some Behind the Music (aka Q&A sessions) interviews in the Star Lounge.  I went to one for Stephen Pearcy.  It was a tight squeeze to fit in the audience and Mark and Stephen's egos in that small space.

 

 

The other Q&As I attended were in Studio B - 38 Special, Sheena Easton, Debbie Gibson, and Ray Parker Jr.

 

I attended some special events in Studio B - the 2025 lineup announcement (immediately before Jessie's Girl's concert), TEC memorabilia auction, and Debbie Gibson's dance class.

 

 

 

Last, but certainly not least, I attended two extra cost artist hosted events - a charity breakfast with Stephen Pearcy at Jamie's, and a wine tasting with Sheena Easton in the main dining room.

 

 

@GeorgeC, remind me to show you my extra special pictures of Stephen Pearcy when we meet onboard.  That should take up another 30 seconds.

 

Anyway, I had a most excellent time on The 80s Cruise, and I hope this picture-heavy posted shows much of why I did.  Expectations are lower both for next year's edition of TEC and this year's edition of Rock & Romance.  I know George (and maybe his lovely wife) will do his best to show me a good time, but I have an independent streak a mile wide, and though his advice, guidance, and preferences have been rock solid so far, some mistakes you've gotta see on your own ("Lez Zeppelin or Don McLean?  I'll see you on the stairway!  I don't hear any train whistles!!").

 

Thank you for reading and very soon I'll be reporting on R&R.  I won't have Internet for this one, so it'll be more hit and miss.

Edited March 11 by Honolulu Blue

[Honolulu Blue]

@NinS: I'm on my way to Miami for some rock and romance, but I found this disturbing message in my email:

 

I hope you got your ticket and that this message to us outsiders doesn't affect you.

[NinS]

Hi HB! Yes, because I've done three prior Outlaw cruises and three other Sixthman cruises I was able to book an inside cabin yesterday. I think some lucky first timers could have gotten a cabin today via the pre-sale -- although there wasn't much left by that point. The fast sell-out should make it easy for me to get a cabin mate if the friend who is considering that role declines. Interestingly Sixthman is introducing a brand new waiting list system where you make regular payments and get the first cabin that pops up in your category. If none ever become available they pay you a future credit. They are using historic cancellation data so chances are nearly everyone who makes those waiting list payments will end up being able to sail. StarVista doesn't really have waiting lists, they just email when cabins open up and it's a free for all. Rock and Romance had about seven cabins open up on Monday so you might meet some people who came on board at the very last second!

 

Have a great cruise!

[George C]

Can see our ship from the distance right past the bridge 

[Honolulu Blue]

17 hours ago, NinS said:

Hi HB! Yes, because I've done three prior Outlaw cruises and three other Sixthman cruises I was able to book an inside cabin yesterday. I think some lucky first timers could have gotten a cabin today via the pre-sale -- although there wasn't much left by that point. The fast sell-out should make it easy for me to get a cabin mate if the friend who is considering that role declines. Interestingly Sixthman is introducing a brand new waiting list system where you make regular payments and get the first cabin that pops up in your category. If none ever become available they pay you a future credit. They are using historic cancellation data so chances are nearly everyone who makes those waiting list payments will end up being able to sail. StarVista doesn't really have waiting lists, they just email when cabins open up and it's a free for all. Rock and Romance had about seven cabins open up on Monday so you might meet some people who came on board at the very last second!

 

Have a great cruise!

Thanks for the well wishes and the comments!

 

Congratulations on grabbing that OCC cabin! Why did I ever doubt you? 😛

 

I saw Sixthman's waiting list changes. I commented on them more in my 2025 thread. To make that long story short, I like that Sixthman did this, but as a potential Sixthman customer, I would be less than thrilled to play this game.

 

Last minute cruisers, bring them on!!

[Honolulu Blue]

I arrived in Miami last night. For cost and wear and tear reasons, I chose to stay at the airport hotel overnight. 

 

 

It remains a decent enough option, though not providing the sizzling views @George Cprovided in his post above this one. I'll move on from here shortly and start the cruise properly. There's plenty of music to hear and people to see.

[Honolulu Blue]

I made it on the ship, and I've been onboard for almost exactly an hour. There was a little too much drama in finding my Lyft driver for my tastes, then some stop and go traffic on the way to the port.

 

At the port two years ago, all passengers had to take a rapid test for you-know-what, in addition to providing proof of vaccine and negative test results. Yeah, it seemed like overkill at the time too.

 

At the port last year, most of the nonsense was gone, but we still had to provide negative test results. 

 

This year,  sanity seems to prevail.  🙃 I was able to arrive at 11:40 and make it on the ship by 11:55. That's really fast by modern standards. 👍 And much faster than I was able to board TEC last week. Edge R&R.

 

This is an interesting crowd. The best I can guess is it's about the same age split as the UDCs, with more tie dye here and more neon and glitter there.

 

 

My cabin wasn't ready when I arrived, so I briefly met my cabin steward and dropped my bags off. There's a shirt ready for me. I'll have to take a closer look later.

 

I then checked in at my muster station (main theater), then headed to the OVC for lunch at the trough. It wasn't too busy, but it looks like LHB has allowed the seating and layout to be switched around. I liked the old seats and old layout better.

 

 

I had some fajitas and cake, along with fruit punch and water. Good stuff. 

 

In a couple of hours will be the sailaway party bu the pool featuring Queen Nation. That should be my first onboard event of note. I'll try to make it.

[Honolulu Blue]

I'm sorry this report took so long to get out, but let's get to it.

 

I missed the sailaway, the Cara Lee Show, and the late pool concert. I felt fine, just a little tired for these events.  I guess I'll try to make up for it today.

 

I wasn't given a StarVista schedule last night for today, and I may or may not pick one up in my rounds later on. I did get a separate Celebrity newsletter today. That will have to do for now.

 

 

My buddy and I took a few pictures around the ship this morning. Breakfast was about as good as I can imagine from a cruise ship buffet.

 

 

More to report later today, I'm sure.

[NinS]

The only issue about doing The Jazz Cruise and then Cayamo a month later was that the Norwegian food was a big letdown after the generally good Celebrity food. I'm looking forward to being back on Holland America when that fall '25 Soul Train Cruise finally happens. I don't pick a music cruise for the food, but it's nice when it happens to be good.

[Honolulu Blue]

13 minutes ago, NinS said:

The only issue about doing The Jazz Cruise and then Cayamo a month later was that the Norwegian food was a big letdown after the generally good Celebrity food. I'm looking forward to being back on Holland America when that fall '25 Soul Train Cruise finally happens. I don't pick a music cruise for the food, but it's nice when it happens to be good.

Thanks for the food discussion. I've heard a mix of things about NCL's food in the past. I'll experience some of it for myself on the McDonald LaBelle Cruise next month.

 

I'm not too finicky about food, but I do know what I like. Celebrity and its OVC happens to have, I feel, the best variety of good food at sea. That's a small point in R&R's favor as this cruise will continue on the Summit next year.

[Honolulu Blue]

Let's catch up with a few things.

 

First, I did get the schedule for today from guest services. 

 

 

I then retreated to the room and found a couple of gifts from StarVista. Thanks guys. 

 

 

I then met @George C and several other CC members in his suite. It was a wonderful time and I surprisingly fit in quite well, in a quirky sort of way. 🤪

 

Then we moved on to the Pablo Cruise concert. This one was quite enjoyable, better than I expected. 

 

 

 

The big Foreigner concert is a few hours away. I'll be sure not to miss that one. Then I'm not sure what trouble I'll get into tonight.

[Honolulu Blue]

Yeah, the Foreigner thing happened. I arrived half an hour early and snaked my way through a considerable line just to get into the main theater, only to find no seats available on the main floor. I guess I'm too used to having reserved seats or sailing on under 100% occupied ships, because I can't recall anything like this.

 

I called an audible and went up to the OVC for dinner. It was quite good and there was barely anyone there. I'll have to note this in the future. 

 

Then I came down to the room and turned on the VOD for some Foreigner action. They had already started. What? No intro? I guess not. OK. 

 

I started to relax and get into the show. The video was of very good quality. The vantage point used was also very good. The sound was about as good as one could ask for from a stock TV speaker.

 

 

 

The guys put on a very good show, about in line with expectations. Kelly Hansen, the lead singer, directed traffic well and did his best to fire up the crowd. No Mick Jones, of course, but the other performers did quite well.

 

They played most of Foreigner's biggest and most famous songs. It was very similar to the set Lou Gramm played for us at last year's 80s Cruise - minus the silly solo songs.

 

 

While the concert was going, Ketina brought copies of tomorrow's documents - including the schedule from StarVista. 

 

 

I think I'm done for the evening. It's been a good day. I had a couple of solid meals, saw a couole of great shows, and met some like minded (sort of) cruisers. I'll take a minute to be thankful for all of it, and all the moves that made this possible. 

[Honolulu Blue]

I had a day off from the Internet, but we're docked in Aruba today, and I'm hanging out in a location where the Net is plentiful, reliable, fast, and free.

 

So, what happened yesterday for me? Not a lot,  just a couple of concerts. I must have a warped sense of perspective if I think that in anyone's else's normal life that two concerts is "not a lot". 🙃

 

Before those concerts, I saw @George C walk by my hiding place and say hi. It took me a couple of seconds to recognize him. Sorry about that. Anyway, he was on his way to book his suite for next year's edition of Rock and Romance. Congratulations! I haven't booked yet, but I'm leaning toward NOT booking next year. It's a long, complicated story. I would rather talk about more fun and less complicated stories. 

 

My first concert was by the pool with Lez Zeppelin, tribute band for Led Zeppelin. I guess I'm a casual fan of the Zep; they mostly came and went before my time. I have three if their LPs somewhere in cold storage- 3, 4, and Houses of the Holy. My favorite song from them is the highly quirky The Crunge. SPOILER ALERT: the gals didn't play it. 😦

 

The weather by the pool was nice- low 80s with mostly steady seas and some wind in the right places. 

 

Lez Zeppelin put on quite the show, I thought. They were a tight foursome, so they photographed really well. The music was crisp and the lead singer did a good job of heating up the crowd. BTW, the drummer was a guy, not that it mattered.

 

 

 

 

I think I have a new #2 song from Led Zeppelin. They played some intro bars from a song that piqued my interest and I turned on the video camera. It turned out to be KASHMIR and this version of it ran for 10 1/2 minutes! Ouch!! I guess I can kiss my career as a videographer goodbye. But that was quite a song, quite a song indeed. I had heard it before. But only bits and pieces and not anything like the full version. 

 

It's moments like these I crave on my musical adventure. 

 

Other songs? They played The Ocean, which was a surprise to me but really shouldn't have been (we were on the ocean, duh). And they closed with Black Dog and Rock and Roll from 4.

 

What about that most famous Zeppelin tune, the classic rock staple? Well, sorry, Stairway was DENIED AGAIN. No telling if they played it in their other show. This wasn't that big of a deal to me; I think it's a good song, but it's long and slow and tough for an afternoon party crowd by the pool to properly appreciate. 

 

Anyway, after retreating to the trough for some drinks suitable for all ages, I settled into my seat for a little WAR. It was nearly the same seat as for Lez Zeppelin, just one seat to the left. The view was similar, but as this band is a sextet, my camera had to cover more ground.

 

 

 

 

These guys were good, roughly in line with expectations. Low Rider closed out their show. I captured two of their other songs on video, which I will keep for personal use.

 

Later on in the evening I got my schedule for today.

 

 

It's a little slow during the day, but will eventually pick up. Stay tuned for further adventures!

 

P.S. I skipped the Bee Gees Gold concert late by the pool. I guess I'm really not a late concert person. Let me make a note.

[NinS]

Glad you're having a good time, HB! FWIW if you end up going to any more theater concerts I've found that the balcony seats in that theater are excellent. (Some of the shows might also be less crowded than Foreigner.)

[Honolulu Blue]

7 minutes ago, NinS said:

Glad you're having a good time, HB! FWIW if you end up going to any more theater concerts I've found that the balcony seats in that theater are excellent. (Some of the shows might also be less crowded than Foreigner.)

Thanks. Yeah, I've been in the theater on other shows on the Summit. I know they're good. And I'm pretty sure the Foreigner shows were the most popular ones here. Everything else, I hope, is downhill from here. 🙏

[George C]

Some people were lined up 2 hours early to get best seats for foreigner , they were ten deep by the stage we like the first row balcony so nobody can block our view.