OK that's a typo ... it should say cruise !!!

Just thought I would let you know what was on the Norwegian Cruise Ship Dawn last week ...

During the day there was a Caribbean/Reggae band at the pool side ... keys, bass (he played a 7 string) drums and female vocalist ...
Every once in a while they would sneak in an instrumental 'jazz' rendition of a pop tune - like Stevie's "Superstitious" ...

One lounge had a piano player that played EVERYTHING pop - EAGLES, Elton, Joel, Fogelberg, etc. etc. etc. ...
He did a show one night in the 'theater' - a tribute to Elton John - did a GREAT job ...

Main lounge had a nice 7 piece pop band - all Latinos playing American pop - did a really good job ...

KBs - NO ARRANGERS ... Rolands, Korg, Yamaha Motif ... Have to say I wasn't THRILLED by some of the horn sounds from the kbs ...

Another lounge featured a young female vocalist and a young guitar player, using backing tracks ... sounded good ... Biggest problem (to me) was they turned it over to karaoke after about 2 hours each night

One ironically funny bit ... there was a piano player playing more 'cocktail' type songs as we boarded the ship ... as we were taking off he was playing the theme from "Titanic"

All in all the players were good ... GREAT comedian !!!

t.



[This message has been edited by tony mads usa (edited 07-22-2008).]

Oh, okay. For a second there, we thought you were taking a 'virtual' cruise .

chas

Tony yes things are changing on these cruises since the days I was performing Oldie Shows On board in the 80's....it was fun then but now I hear too many times people are so disappointed with viruses....too many people, too many kids running around, too expensive, weather issues, too long on & off, etc etc .....been there done that no more cruises for me.

Tony,
Where did you go? My wife and I cruise several times a year. Never been on the Dawn. We discovered crusing because a friend of ours insisted we go with them a few years back and the rest is history as they say. It is always fun to see the entertainers on the ships - those folks work hard and always have duties around the ship in addition to just playing. Have you ever been on one of the Big Band cruises? At least once a year one of the cruise lines puts together a cruise featuring ghost bands and great music can be heard nearly 24-7. My wife hates those because I would rather sit and watch rather than dance or move around the ship. Tell us more about your experience.

Hammer

Hi Donny,

We were on a Med cruise last year for about 3 weeks and I was shocked at the prices ashore. In Venice we ate at a sidewalk cafe and paid 97 Euros for two pizzas, water, and a house wine. Thats about $150.00 US. It was our last city so we didn't care but it sure takes away from the overall experience. I don't know about the 1980s but currently if you get sick on a cruise the best bet is to get off the ship - health care on the ship is very questionable and very expensive.

Hammer

Hammer

Donny ... True, the cruises aren't the same ... But the cruise we took in 1987 wasn't the same as the one we took in 1969 either ...
Fortunately, our experience was not anything like what you are describing ...

To ward off any illnesses, the cruise line had hand sanitizers when you went in or out of any restaurant or eating area ...
If you got off the ship, they sprayed your hands as you got back on ...

There may have been a lot of people, but the ship is large enough to accommodate ... There were plenty of kids, but mostly you saw them at the pool(s) ...we had good seats at the shows, and seldom did we have a problem getting seating for 10 at dinner ...

The food was excellent, and service very good ...
If I have a complaint, it is that many of the staff, did not speak good English, and were difficult to understand at times ...

There can be weather problems anywhere you go, but of course if you are on a ship in a hurricane, I imagine things can get pretty unpleasant ...

Dollar for dollar, we felt the cruise was perhaps one of the better vacation bargains at this time ...

I had a co-worker who used to say "Some people would complain about a paid holiday !!!" ... that may be true, and I guess if one tries one can find something wrong with anything ...
Me, I like to try to seek out the good in whatever I am doing ...

We are actually looking forward to our next one ...

hammer ... We sailed out of NYC - going past the Statue of Liberty and under the Verrazano Bridge is a thrill - to Bermuda ... sailed from Sunday at 4PM to 8AM Wed, stayed in port until 5PM Fri, returned to NYC at 8 AM Sunday ...
Bermuda was BEAUTIFUL ...
For the most part, the seas were very calm - maximum on the way down was 7 - 8 feet ... leaving Bermuda, with Bertha on the way in the Captain said we might experience 18 foot seas for a period of about 3 hours ... It didn't seem that bad, and the Captain got us out ogf there pretty quickly ... Cruising to Bermuda, the ship did about 8 - 10 knots ... leaving he had it at 22 knots ...

t.



[This message has been edited by tony mads usa (edited 07-23-2008).]

believe me that is so true..I have performed in a hurricane although the Captain went 200 miles around the eye of Hurricane David we were thrown up & down like a row boat.....my keyboard & piano went sideways, the five lead singers couldn't stand straight due to the waves lhist....my drummer had to be replaced for that show also due to sea sickness by the Philippine Ships Orchestra drummer talk about not speaking English YIKES!!!
But somehow we made it through the night.
Never the less No More Cruises for me .....I'll fly

Many years ago I was in the North Atlantic on the USS Essex - we hit one of those famous North Atlantic storms. Waves were breaking over the flight deck and actually broke windows on the bridge deck. Folks thats nearly 100 feet above the sea! Unless you have been in somethng like that you have no idea what can happen at sea. I am not ashamed to admit I have never been so scared in my life - but we all survived to live another day. This is the reason I won't go on any cruises during hurricane season in the Gulf or off the East coast.

Hammer

I spent 11 days in a north-Atlantic hurricane aboard the U.S.S. Newport News, a heavy cruiser measuring 716 feet in length. We encountered 100 foot waves, split seams, a 3-inch 50mm anti-aircraft turrent was ripped from the bow and went overboard, lost three Chevy's that were chained to the ships deck and everyone, including the captain, was sick during the entire time. The irony of this was we were there to guard the presidents plane as it crossed the north atlantic to Geneva Switzerland for the Geneva Convention that year. We never saw the plane. Now, my days at sea are aboard a 27-foot Catalina sailboat, which is where I'm headed right now.

Bye Ya'll,

Gary

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Travlin' Easy

Hi Gary,

Yea, the military ships don't run from those storms - and it often takes days for the sea to calm down. Unless you have been in one of these monster storms it is impossible to explain to others what it is like. The destroyer escorts really had it bad - hell - they were under water half the time in calm seas.

Later,
Hammer

Tony sorry I took this in another direction!

Interestingly enough, I had a recent call to join a band for a 3 month cruise ship job. Only were paying around $600 weekly. Ahhh...to be young again - would've in a heartbeat

... not a problem ... it's all interesting ...

t.