11th Annual ETA Bluegrass Cruise 2009

[cruisegrass]

Since I cannot find a thread for this fantastic theme cruise, I thought I would post it for all to read.

My family and I had the most incredible cruise when we joined the ETA Bluegrass Cruise last February 2008. It was our second time on this cruise and once again, the ETA Staff did a heck of a job!

The cruise ship, Liberty of the Seas, Royal Caribbean, was just unbelieveable! We went ice skating, surfing, rock climbing - all from the ship!! The service and food were great!

It was nice to see old friends and of course, make new ones. With well over 250+ people, ETA made sure all of the shows ran smooth and that we were taken care of. Once our seats in the dining room were confirmed, we took over our area and had a blast! Loyado and his assistant were our waiters and they were wonderful. One thing about the dining room, ETA lets us decide on the first night who we'd like to sit with and gives us the opportunity to change seats. We had our own section. A great idea!

The bluegrass shows made the cruise that much better! ETA Steve and Tami had everything down to a system. We really enjoyed listening to Cherryholmes. They put on a great show! Mark Newton and also Grasstowne were our other favorites. Actually, we liked ALL of the bands that were there!! Bradley Walker knocked me over! What an inspiration he is and his voice is powerful. I can't wait to see him again in 2009.

Another thing I like about the ETA cruise is that they continue bringing many of the same bands back year after year. We really like that because we have all become like a family and knowing that we can look forward to seeing and listening to these great musicians next cruise is a plus. They do add new bands as well.

We're already booked on next years ETA Bluegrass cruise. The date is February 21-28, 2009 on the Liberty of the Seas again. Next year the ship is going to the Western Caribbean. The lineup so far is Cherryholmes, Bradley Walker, Grasstown, Mark Newton, Lorraine Jordan and Carolina Road, Tim Graves and Cherokee. I also had such a pleasure listening to a man named Fletcher Bright on his fiddle. (I found out that he is a member of the Dismembered Tennesseans, a band consisting of some great older players who will also be joing us next year. Looking forward to that.

We have done another bluegrass cruise and had a nice time, but having now done 2 with ETA, we really love Tami and Steve and of course Steve's parents, Berni and Joyce. They made it all look so simple.

All of the shows were in a beautiful lounge that was reserved just for us and we never had to figure out where things were. The workshops were taught by Ross Nickerson and other top instructors. Im doing that next year.

Well I hope I covered everything! We'll be there and we hope to hear from others. Let's start this thread and keep it active.

Thanks again ETA for another great Bluegrass Cruise.:)

[SKYBAR STIRRER]

They certainly have a lot of things to offer in the way of cruises. Maybe look into that if I don't go on the bike cruise.

[davfan]

Last years cruise was our first ever cruise! We really had a great time! Will be there again in 2009 with The Mark Newton Band!!

Tami and Steve are the best and all the bands were great.

I just can't say enough about the staff on the ship , the food, the folks, the whole experience is priceless.

See ya in 2009!!